016. How to Make Social Media Fun Again with Maghon Taylor

Episode Transcript

016. How to Make Social Media Fun Again with Maghon Taylor

[0:58] What to post how to be strategic what's going to actually get engagement.

[1:03] It's really easy to feel burned out but what if social media could actually be fun again.

[1:10] That's exactly what we're diving into today on this episode of the build it like a business podcast. My guest today is Megan Taylor of all she wrote notes Megan's a calligrapher and author and she's a mom on a mission to spread happiness through her handwriting. Megan's truly an expert at bringing joy to social media and aren't our interview today she's sharing her best tips on how to bring the fun back into your marketing.

[1:34] Doesn't have to be like a chore my goal today is to help you release this pressure of perfection so that social media marketing feels less stressful. And maybe it can even become something that you look forward to my hope for you today is that you'll walk away from this episode feeling refreshed and renewed and inspired to bring some fun to your own social media and Megan's here to share some actionable tips on how you can do exactly that so without further Ado let's go ahead and dive into my interview with Megan Taylor.

[2:09] Hey Megan thank you so much for being here today I'm so excited to talk to you all about social media and Instagram and all things social. Thank you it's so good to see here thank you so much for having me oh yeah absolutely I have known that I wanted to have you on the podcast for a really long time like I just feel like we could sit down and talk about so many things and then when I finally thought about talking about social media I just seemed to make so much sense because you are such a joy in my feet thank you so much I have a lot of fun on there and I enjoy just being able to build my brand in that way and I love that just being able to keep up with friends and family and all kinds of stuff on there so I love following you too well I'm curious can you like introduce yourself to my audience and like I know all about you but can you tell everyone who you are and what you do and just give us a quick introduction absolutely I am Megan Taylor and my business is all she wrote notes.

[3:06] I am a calligrapher I am an author I'm a mom and I'm about to open my very own brick-and-mortar Studio later this year my mission is spreading happiness through my handwriting so everything that I share is my own lettering style but it's really just with that message of positivity with encouragement I don't put anything out into the world unless it's going to make somebody smile I love that so much like I and that's probably why every time I see your post I just feel I feel a little bit better like I always just feel a little bit a lot like a little level up in my mood whenever I see your post between that and your amazing like. Bright and happy Landing like you can't look at your brand without feeling a little bit better well thank you I think that it's a joy for me I think social media is really fun a lot of people kind of get tired of it in their business or they get bogged down on it you know as they go and it's something that I really truly enjoy and I think it's a deeper meaning in mission for me than just going online to sell stuff like I really want to be able to give and to encourage my community in that way yeah I really like that how it's really not. You're not going on just to mark it like you're not going on with the sole purpose of like making a dollar making a sale it's a really liked about the people. That are there puts it puts the social into social media.

[4:29] I think is missing these days it is it really is missing and I think going into a gear like 2020 where we don't get to see as many people in person as we used to wear a lot of us were used to doing in-person events and live Gathering.

[4:43] We're not able to do that anymore and social media has just been even more of like a deeper connection than it was maybe even in your 70s.

[4:51] Yeah I completely agree I feel like I think about it completely differently and I know that a lot of my audience is thinking about it really differently right now which is why this conversation is so relevant because to some extent even people who are you know experts and social media like we're all just trying to figure out what it really means today like given the past year and all that's gone on like what is what is social media look like right now.

[5:15] And how is that different from the way that we used to look at it and how we used to handle it and so thinking about your business. Has social media always been a big part of your business it has I started my Instagram account the night that I started my business I had one follower which was me on my other account and hi first did my very first set of note cards like calligraphy note cards like on Instagram so this came actually before and at Sea before a Facebook page before it website I just kind of hit the ground running right there with Instagram and that was really just out of convenience it was an app that I enjoyed using like this was back I mean this was 2013 so like people were still just taking pictures of their phone like are their food like and using all the Instagram filters to edit them at totally did that and so that was where I just felt really comfortable and felt really natural to start showing up and sharing and then. My following this really grew ever the years very organically there's never been a time that I increased more than.

[6:22] A couple hundred people at a time it was very slow and steady growth I don't believe in buying followers or likes are Bots like I don't even know you could do that until like recently and it hurts my feelings like a guy I every single one of those people there people and that's what makes it so special and that's what makes it so fun and so. It has been a part of all she wrote notes since all she wrote notes started so how did you get started like did you always want to actually have a business did you I grew up wanting a business like I used to tell my mom I was going to live in New York City and I was getting a glass house and I was gonna like run a business and I didn't know what it was.

[6:58] I just knew I was going to have a business what about you did you always feel like this was.

[7:03] Even if it wasn't this did you always want to be a business owner I love hearing that about you that's amazing I would say that no I didn't know that I didn't have that dream I wanted to be a news anchor that was my dream I wanted to be on TV.

[7:17] But looking back I sold rocks like in my yard like I had like a little produce Dan like I always worked in. Retail like I love to hustle for a dollar like even as a kid and so it all kind of lines up it make sense that I would have a business now.

[7:36] Um when I started I was working in event planning and I was good at that I loved it I loved the people and the energy and. I was great at spending other people's money like that was awesome but I I just kind of missed being creative I miss doing stuff with my hands like. Being on a screen like drains me and especially emails and computer and like working type thing like Excel like work type stuff and I just really miss like the creative piece of my job and so I started all short notes on the side. And it wasn't until about two years into my business that I left my full-time job in order to. To pursue off your nose but now I mean I could never imagine it any other way like I've never looked back like it's been such a joy and it's just it's like another child for me like I love it so much and. I'm thankful every day that this gets to be my life yeah that's amazing I think remembering that you're always talking to people like if you take nothing else away from this just remember that your followers are people. And that you're connecting with humans I think it's so interesting that you didn't necessarily grow up saying you wanted to be a business owner but when you think about how you know it thinking about how you acted as a kid and like things you did as a kid like selling rocks like it all adds up and it's so funny like hindsight is 20/20 I was the same way where I would sell anything and it was almost dangerous you know how like.

[9:05] You know you crochet something for the first time in your grandmother is like you should sell that everyone would love it and like that was my life growing up as I would make some things I've always been creative and then everyone's like you should totally saw that and I was like okay will you buy one that's how I always want so it's fun to hear that you were the same way oh cool and I mean I think back to like you know how you do those fundraisers at school where they're like you sell wrapping paper or like cookie dough or like this weird catalogs like I would win like I would hustle down some people to be able to get that free pizza party. Like I was not even like we did not come to play games like I came to to caption and so as I think it's just naturally like a part of me that but I'm working it's working out it's working out now so I really do love it that's so funny so okay knowing that I'm kind of curious was there ever a time where you thought.

[10:01] Maybe it was while you were like getting all she wrote notes up off the ground or at some point did you ever think about giving up on your business did you ever have a moment where you were like maybe this isn't worth the hustle like this isn't going to work out did you ever have a time like that it's not really that I thought about giving it up but I came close to losing it there I was still working at my full-time job I've been in business probably about a year and a half. And I got offered. And really amazing opportunity to work for a different company it was somebody that I really looked up to in the industry they were kind of famous like name-brand wise and I was really enamored by. Who they were that they had reached out to me that they had chosen me and going through the interview process one of the things they wanted me to do was to give up. All she wrote notes in it and it made sense why like it really did like in that context but they wanted me to. Essentially leave behind my business and go and work with them full-time and after a lot of prayer and like a lot of hard decisions like I decided not to take that opportunity and it was it was a harder know than you would have imagined but the best know that I ever said I wouldn't have what I have now. If I had taken that other job and then another time that it got a little sticky for me was coming back from maternity leave after I had my son. It was just really hard to get the wheels going again I knew that I wanted to work but I knew that I couldn't work the way that I had and so.

[11:30] Just having to shift and changed and I'm just I'm grateful to be here today I'm glad that everything worked out the way that it did so that I got to keep doing this yeah I always find it so interesting how.

[11:42] These moments of uncertainty really like these times when were questioning ourselves and our kind of at that fork in the road we're in the moment it really feels like they both weigh equally heavily like this opportunity and then you could continue with your business and that sort of situation shows up not that specific situation with the same. Needing to choose shows up all the time for people and it feels so heavy in the moment and then it's so funny how later on when we look back. It's like okay that was the obvious choice like this made perfect sense like I'm so glad that this happened because look at what came from it but it always blows my mind how heavy it feels in that moment and then how right it feels once you move past and you're able to like step back and look at what was going on right it's such a good perspective to have and I think I appreciate my business that moment with that job offer was that turning point for me because I chose me like I chose all she wrote notes over that opportunity and that was the moment that I decided hey I do want to take this full-time I can't imagine this being taken away from me I can't imagine this not being part of my life I think I realized how much I actually loved it and enjoyed it.

[12:54] When it was on the table to potentially be taken away yeah that's so interesting like when you had the ability to choose and you did choose it kind of changed the way you felt about it and probably was really motivating like this is real now because I made it so this is this is the way that it's going to be because that's what I chose right and I like I'll never look back and regret that decision I think it only solidified.

[13:18] Everything else how my future was going to unroll going forward yeah so I'm kind of curious to just and what we will get to social media but now I'm just like curious about all the things Frank inaudible you were balancing a traditional job and also your business at the same time and I actually didn't really have that Experience. When I started anchor design code my husband and I were being relocated for his job for the very first time and so we were about to move like to a new location anyway and so I had.

[13:47] You know I won't get into the story but I had actually been fired from my job when they found out that we were moving so I didn't have a job and I was like well I guess I'm gonna start a business that's removing anyway and so I never actually had the experience of balancing a job and also my business at the same time so can you talk about what that was like a little bit sorry I did it for about two years and I love the job I was at I think a lot of people started business because they hate their job and they're unhappy and they want to leave and they want to be their own boss and that really wasn't my story I was very content and very happy and this creative like passion project came along on the side and I would call it my jobby because it was like my hobby and my job like together and all she wrote notes I would work all day at my job my job job and I would my lunch break I would check in I would go and ship orders to the post office I would on a bathroom break like be on my phone answering Etsy messages and. Responding back to people and then as soon as I got home like the minute I got home like I worked my ulterior nut shot from like 6 p.m. until midnight.

[14:58] And I would ship you know fulfill orders answer customer inquiries do social media back and forth for two years and really I think the biggest change was that.

[15:11] There just wasn't a lot of room for anything else because I was all-in on my job and I was all in on my business I didn't have like. I was lucky enough that worked with my close friends but I didn't make any time for any friends outside of that I never went to happy hour and never went out to dinner I never saw my family even my grandparents looking back like we the sounds so sad now but I'm so glad I did it but we made a calendar with like a standing dinner date every month so that I could like plan for it and schedule it in my grandmother has since passed away and I would give her every day of the month if I had the opportunity now. But just in that season I was so focused on on making my business succeed that didn't really take time for a lot of other things and and other parts of your life can suffer when you're in that moment but I think now on the other side of that I've been full-time for.

[16:06] Much longer than I was ever in that circumstance and when you're in control of your own business and your own hours without having to answer to anybody else you're the boss like it's your fault if you're not scheduling balance and you're not making time for other things. And you're able to change that like you're able to set your own hours and set your own boundaries and I'm a whole lot better at that now in a lot of ways I've never worked harder but I've also never work smarter like I kind of know how I can stretch myself and what days of the week are what times of the week I'm best at doing this certain thing and I really can just play to My Own Strength yeah I feel like having that experience of having worked.

[16:51] The traditional job and also built started building your business at the same time it sounds like that experience really gave you the perspective that you needed to balance your time a little better once it was you making the once you were actually in control.

[17:08] And I can even see like as you were talking I was kind of thinking about myself and having not had that experience of balancing both where I can almost see in myself that I'm learning that now I am learning what it means to actually make time for other people and fun and like.

[17:26] Is anything other than business because.

[17:30] That can easily happen where you fall into the routine of you love what you're doing and so you put everything into that but it lets Other Things Fall by the wayside and so it's interesting to hear how that sort of.

[17:43] Allowed you to have that perspective going into it a little more I'm sure it took time but.

[17:49] It's just interesting to hear that that different a different story a different story than what I know because I didn't ride never experienced that and I think like. I think it's very natural for anybody who's just getting started and who's passionate and who's excited to just give everything you have to that and to go all in on that and that's why you're so successful now that's why I'm thriving right in this moment because I work so hard then but I don't think you're supposed to have to keep. Keep going at that pace I do think it's worthwhile to like hustle until like bust your butt to get it ready so that you can maybe put it on like cruise control if you ever need to like if you have a life circumstance or you have a season where y'all moved and you went to a different state you recently like last year like there your business can survive without you being in every single minute every single hour you have done an excellent job of setting up. Pass it well when we all know Passover isn't really passive but like passive sip you know systems and and software and things that like are functioning without you specifically having to be there person turning those wheels and I think that's just part of growing as a business owner and growing is an adult too and just like my maturity like I've been in business for eight years like I'm a different person in so many areas now then I was when I started and I have Vance and I have Chris that like they need pieces of me too and I want them to have the best of me I don't want them to have the leftovers.

[19:18] Yeah oh gosh that's.

[19:20] You don't want them to have you want them to have the best of you and not the leftovers that's oh my God I feel like I'm like losing words I feel like I need to write that on a sticky note and put that right smack in front of me everywhere. I go because gosh what a concept to think about is like what are you bringing home to your family whether it's.

[19:41] A husband a wife whether it's kids whether it's just when you go and like actually give time and energy to friends if you're not married or in a relationship or living with somebody else like what are you actually bringing to that and. Are you giving more to your business than to everything else and and maybe you're in a season where you have to put everything into your business but also if that's a season That season does end eventually or at least pauses and then picks up like you have to.

[20:11] I guess lean into that seasonality of it like you have to actually give your business Seasons where if you're going to have a time when you're putting your all into the business you have to also have. That time where you balance it out and you give everything back to the people who were there supporting you while you made that happen and the people that are going to be there if your business went away tomorrow the people that are still going to be there with you.

[20:32] Loving you and cheering you on and part of your life I like what you said about the seasonality of it because I think that that is so important to remember and I you know people talk about balance I feel like that's kind of like a really interesting concept I don't think that's always. Equally like at the same time like the days I feel like I'm an amazing mom and wife. Might not be okay never are the same days I feel like I am a great amazing awesome business owner are awesome author like there are times I have to launch a book I have to travel I have to do these big big dreams and things for work but. I try really hard like where my balance comes in is that I can turn work Megan off and turn like wife Megan Mom Megan on and like work so hard in the time that I'm dedicated to work so that when I'm not working I cannot have to think about it and give my time to to my family and early on in my business I was single I didn't have to think about I mean it was it was almost a luxury looking back that like it was just me I didn't oh anything to anybody else like I could be selfish in that way and and just keep my head down and just do me but now like. There are a lot of other people that need things from me and so.

[21:45] I just have a better handle on how to kind of just shift my priorities like onto the other foot it's not that they go away it's just that I kind of need to. Go back and forth yeah absolutely yeah that that concept of balance is it's never it's never equal in its I don't think it's fair to measure it.

[22:03] To kind of like keep tabs on like a tally like you can't keep a tally on you know I spent this many minutes over here feeling this. Level of energy like you can't go and then say okay now I have to somehow match that here but just watching and just like.

[22:20] When you win that when you're so intense in one area just bring the fire in the other area too and sometimes that means that you have to do one and you're not giving up the other but you need.

[22:34] Wow your energy to flow in One Direction versus the other like you can't always just be like an open River. In every I don't know where I'm going with this metaphor it's really growing on itself but now you're right so okay I could keep talking about this obviously as you're experiencing I could just continue asking questions about this all day long but let's talk a little bit about social media because there was something that you said to me you didn't you might not have said it directly to me you said it last year and I heard it whatever it was and it was that you want to bring the party to social media and not the advertisement and that has literally stuck with me since then like it's been at least a full year since I heard you say that and I can't stop thinking about it and. Every time I see your post my mood like literally brightens like very selfishly I just love when your post. Come by because they just make me happy like it really is the party and not the ad I don't feel like you're selling to me even on your stories when you are talking about your products and like when you're doing. Your spring launcher like your winter lunch and you're showing everything off you always do an IG TV where you show everything. It feels so fun to me I feel like I'm there with you like we're just hanging out and you're like can I show you what's in my office right now like that's how I feel when you do this so.

[23:53] Can you talk a little bit about this concept of bringing the party and not the advertisement and like what does that mean and just. Just talk to me a little bit more about that yes I love this and I love it it makes me feel that way because that's exactly how I feel like I feel like oh my gosh I can't wait to show my friends like let me let me. Stand and Veil all this just like if you were at my house and. I think the people that I enjoy the most on social media and the people that I like following that I like getting excited about seeing come across it's like they're treating Instagram like it's like their own little reality TV show like they didn't wait on like e or HDTV to nominate them they have their own camera their own crew and they're making it happen and so they're entertaining me Instagram is an app on your phone like it is a game and it's about showing up. Thinking about not just your business and not because that's not what it's built for like originally when the app was created it was just for social it was just for fun for entertainment for looking at pictures of your friends and their food and your babies and all these kinds of connections and I think US Vision Center is kind of messed it up and we started putting all these ads on there not like physical ads that you pay for her but like showing up in a self-serving way we're like look at me look at what I make did you know I had handwriting look at this thing I wrote like you start to make your Channel.

[25:16] Me me me me me and like that's not really fun to watch I think if you can kind of think about it like a TV program if you're sharing and you're entertaining and you're giving and you're like trying to provide more of like a fun and happy environment or whatever it is in your brand instead of just being the ad you know how it is when you're like watching a really good show or if you haven't paid for the new subscription on Hulu and like. You're into it and then it's like if Allegra or whatever land comes across the finger like you're taking me out of this like that's how it feels on social media like if you're a normal user and by that I mean not a business owner if you were a consumer of and you're just scrolling through and you're enjoying your having her moment you're having your time and then someone stops and they're selling at you and like. Trying to get you to buy this thing and its product product product product product.

[26:10] That is a very fun that's not very entertaining and so if you're shopping for Instagram feeds to follow. Make sure that your business isn't one of the ones that win bag or like at your feet it looks like a catalog but it's just product product product product product and not any behind the scenes not your face at your story not your light like I want to see like the whole show I want to I want to see it be more well-rounded because that's just so much more entertaining yeah oh my gosh okay so one thing that really stands out to me about this whole idea of like bringing fun bringing the personality the humanness and not the the advertisement or the sales pitch constantly is this idea of if you were watching Netflix and then suddenly the ad popped up in the middle of it like you're taken out of the moment of what you were there for originally like you were there to watch a show and now you're like oh you're selling me cars and like all the stuff that.

[27:07] Really don't need but now I feel like I need it in my whole attention has shifted and now I'm just like the moment is totally lost like this this special moment that I had.

[27:16] And I think if we think about what people are actually going on social media for is they're not going on there to shop this isn't like Pinterest where you're going on looking for the next cute sweater it's not Google where you're going on and you're trying to find like the best webcam to use.

[27:32] You're going on social media because you're bored and you're trying to fill time and you want something that's going to make you feel a little better if we think about just like stripping it down to what's really going on is we are looking to be entertained because we're probably a little bit bored in whatever that moment is and so.

[27:50] If you can provide what the person actually showed up to get. He's probably going to do better then if you're like high you showed up for some fun because you're bored but also will you buy my thing like. Sell sell sell like that's not really fulfilling the need for what they came therefore and I almost wonder if overtime if it's only ever about the sale.

[28:15] Will people stop turning to social media for fun and entertainment because if that happens then they already have.

[28:23] Yeah yeah they're already like that's that's why platforms like Tik-Tok are like taking off because my people aren't like businesses haven't ruined it yet like people are all in there trying to do dances and do silly things and like show you makeup packs and trick it's a platform that is just about giving and just about entertaining I'm not even on there but a scroll I guess girl I love like I'm not on there is a business but I really enjoyed just looking at it as like a normal person and I think that you have to be careful like how you're using specifically Facebook and Instagram like to connect with your customers y'all I make a lot of money on social media this isn't me saying don't sell them there I think about it more like product placement instead of like the ad so like integrating whatever it is that you use like into your life and like showing it in a natural way and showing it in like a like when I do I want it feels more like an unboxing it's like I can't wait to show you let me show you what I'll just came in and let me like you're watching me like react and interact with the product that's not scripted that's not plan that's not professional lighting or video it's just like organic and I think that that is gonna that's how you connect with your people that are your people and I think know people don't come on social media to shop but they might buy why they're there and think about how many times you have swiped up because you saw something that like somebody was using and I'm so much more likely to swipe up from like a.

[29:52] A video where it's being shown to me or is being recommended to me versus when it's just so. White screen with the picture of the item with the price that's telling me you know it's like a flat lay image that's like you need that I'm like do I don't I don't think I do like I think I'm going to keep clicking and it's just a different way. To I think I enjoy it a lot more when I don't feel like I have that pressure on me of you know having a certain number of followers are like their engagement or like I don't worry about any like I said to me I try to treat it like it's a game on my phone if it's fun for me if I'm enjoying it I will go on there like I will show up and try to give people what you said like what they're coming here for they want that dopamine hit right like someone told me one time that Instagram when you pull down like and your your screen refreshes that's like a slot machine like it's like you're like to changing like many many many like is it my gonna win I'm going to win and you're you're looking for like those likes or those comments or like whatever is going to come up and like.

[30:54] I don't know it's kind of weird it's crazy how closely connected all of us are to our phones to our social media to our internet but I think it's like that's what's necessary like this day and age to grow the businesses like we have especially these small one woman entrepreneur like small businesses but I just don't want to lose sight of like what the original purpose for social media was like I think that I succeed on there because I'm trying to serve a regular customer I'm not trying to go on there and just be a business sales yeah yeah we didn't get into business to be salespeople there are plenty of sales jobs out there and we could have all taken those there available but we got into business I think most people because it's a way that we can really connect and we can. We can help others we can solve a problem in some way and for you I think a lot of times that problem that you're solving is you're helping people feel a little bit better. Three hand ratings or your products through your stories through your posts whatever it is and I think that that's the root of it is that we didn't.

[32:01] Get into this to be salespeople so if we're not enjoying it what are we really doing we're certainly not making someone else enjoy it if we're not even having a good time or sell right well I'm people can see that like if you're not having fun like if you're not enjoying it like that's going to resonate like that's gonna show through and people are able to like tell and I just think it's a lot more make it fun for them to follow you and they're going to follow you they're going to stick with you they're going to be a loyal person and like I don't work hard to make it that way I'm just me and I'm showing that I'm letting them in on that. Like I don't have a different personality you mean you know me in person like I just say more bad words in real life than I do want Lawton title there's not like a different person I'm just a little bit tiny bit more professional there. But I just think that it's like you don't have to reinvent the wheel and like create all this like staged content just like I won't who you are like show. Your life and I think it's the Quark said like the little silly things like about you or like things you love like.

[33:04] I love piñatas like that's like I mean now it's a part of my brand that's a part of my business but like I've just always loved them and people will see pinatas are they'll see confetti and they'll like send me pictures of it and be like you need these shoes there confetti shoes are you need this and it's because I've invited them into that friendship with me that they know that about me that's like a fun fact that that I've shared and so now when they see that they think of me so it's easy to kind of harvest those little nuggets of of your personality and like fun facts about you that you can let people in on and I just think that that kind of. Makes you more relatable it makes you more approachable like we are not big CEOs like a Target like we're not a faceless brand and I think that's why it is important I'm a big advocate for showing your face like four for letting people see who you are like letting people into like your story because people buy from people they like and like you need to give them the opportunity to get to know you. And to trust you because so much of this online like. I mean you're investing and mad stuff is like $30 so like your it's not a life or death but like some of these bigger programs are like dollars and like you're really having to put your trust in somebody that you've only met a lot and social media is a perfect front porch for.

[34:25] Those kind of relationship yeah it really I love that analogy of it being like the perfect front porch and I think that right now we talk a lot and I mean not necessarily right now specifically.

[34:36] Just being right now I mean if you have a business you've talked about or heard about having an ICA having an ideal customer and attracting that person and that sounds very like.

[34:47] Um vague when you say that like attract your ideal customer okay well what does that really mean well it means that. Go online and be yourself and you're going to attract the people who are interested in you and you're going to repel the people who are not interested in you and I think that that. Not only helps you get the right people into your business just from like a strategy standpoint.

[35:09] But it also cuts down on like the Troublesome people like the people who are just there to like.

[35:15] Bring you down and cause problems and like you know pay a penny and ask for the world like it cuts those people out because they're so repelled by you just being like you but you just being happy and like being exciting and entertaining whatever it is and we all have the power to do that it only serves to it serves to benefit everyone is following us but it only serves to benefit us as well can't go wrong I don't think it kind of protects you to like I pray a lot about that like I was bullied growing up and like I am always afraid like of just mean people online and like all these things and it's not that never experienced out like I have but but I don't experience a lot and I think that I because I do show up and I am me like unapologetically like this is what you get what you see is what you get if it's not for you like you roll on out and like that's okay I've never been one to watch unfollows like if I mean if I'm speaking on a stage and somebody gets up to go to the bathroom I don't like chase them out the door right like I keep talking to the people that are but they're in the seats like let's love on those people and life.

[36:16] Eat them well and that serves me like I think that when you continue to show up and when you continue to put yourself out there as your business and when you're entertaining and when you're bringing the party and not the ad like you are opening yourself up to that possibility of people saying like hey I don't want to watch the show anymore like no offense like it's just or I've already seen that but let me let's see what else comes up like let's see what else is on TV today and I think it's like you can't take that personally like you are just you know Netflix gave them something else in the queue like you think Britain's mad that I'm watching the crown like know they're rolling on they're happy they're fine.

[36:55] And so you just have to know that you're not going to be for everybody but don't ever stop being you yeah absolutely so thinking about those like people who are following you you've really built.

[37:08] Really loyal following I mean you were talking about how people will and I have been this person will see confetti or like pinatas and send you pictures I have sent you pictures because I know that's very real and so you've created this really loyal following and it seems to me that it's more than just a falling it's more than just people who you know pressed follower hit like on your page it's really a community of.

[37:30] They not only love your products and your hand lettering but they really like you as a person as a human that they're connecting with so I'm curious how social media has really played a role in creating that sense of community and that's it.

[37:44] That sense of support that comes from the people who are following you has it been like that from day one or is that something you had to really intentionally work for like what what's what's that like I love as I thank you for saying I have I've never like thought about it like that it has been like that from day one like I started with one follower I mean if you go back if you scroll back I get like 12 likes like I could tell you every single but I got all their phone numbers like I know all these people again it's growing like really slowly like slow and steady but like very organically like there was never a big jumper like a big moment that I like you know took a big leap in and followers but I've always just tried to treat them like they were my friends like I tried to respond to comments I do respond to DM's I even you know have that set up in a way that I can manage that and I can get back to people and I try to like you know if they tagged me to go and at the very least like like it or double just to show people that I've seen it and I don't schedule any of my post like every post is like organically like in the moment typed with my little thumbs and I'm not saying that that's like what everyone should do because that's not for everybody but I think that I'm able to show up and be like available and connected on social media when I am and then when I'm not I'm not I like open up the door and put myself out there and give them all of me during the time that I'm available but then I kind of shut it down and move on when I'm not and I like.

[39:13] I think that people have grown up with me in this business and I think that followers they I owe a lot of My Success to them like they are they have gone on this with me like they are the people that show up and buy my books and you know support my Collections and I traveled around for years and they were the ones that would I would be in other states and they would come to my events and come to my classes and so I feel like in a lot of ways that we've done this together and so they feel connected and they feel invested in I'm just so thankful for them like I still am the smallest of small business like I don't have any employees I don't have a team I don't have an assistant like if I mess up an order like I'd mess it up like I did that like I spelled your name wrong on your first sticker like Matt no one else did that like I did. And I think it's just important like. When you grow like as you grow and as you scale and and I pray that we'll be able to grow eventually down the road but like I don't want to lose that sense of smallness and that sense of appreciation for one person and one customer at a time that's actually something that I thought about a lot in my business where over the past I guess it's been a little over a year now.

[40:25] Yeah it's probably been about a year-and-a-half now where my product the anchor card used to be a manual process it was something where like anytime someone bought an anchor card I had to go in like. You know take some time to like make them a little like website. And then I met my developer who was like you know we can audit like you don't have to be manually doing that we can automate this and so she so grateful that she did she help me turn it into software but during that time.

[40:54] You went from. Manually interacting with every single individual person to you know I could really step back and not actually interact with anybody who buys an anchor card I could just like peace out and go hide and people would still get their product but I don't ever want to do that like I don't ever want to lose the.

[41:16] Connection that I have with my people that are following you that are customers that are whatever they are and I always look at like having automated the software I always look at it as okay that didn't give me a chance to just like leave and go sit on a beach somewhere that gave me an opportunity to connect in a different way like now I can actually connect more personally I have more time to have conversations unlike. Hug the people like chat with them it's all virtual because I'm not in person business but it's a it's not an opportunity for me to just like.

[41:49] Begone it's an opportunity for me to find a way to connect and so I hope that I can always bring what you're talking about here that connection and and just being with the people that's my favorite part like that's that's what I love the most about my businesses being able to connect with. People and I mean in a similar way like my business was always like traveling and teaching in person events and I mean I've taught more than 10,000 people like right there live I'm hug their neck I've sign their books and all that came to it and end um in covid and then 2020 and I have been given an opportunity now to serve like I think I'm able to serve more people and just a different way it's like I'm going deeper instead of glider and I'm finding customers that are coming back to me like again and again they're buying products online I'm able to like stick a note in their package are like just do more do more stuff that back then I didn't really have time for and I'm even more excited and hopeful for when I'm able to have my studio space. For people to be able to come to me like I don't plan to go as much as I did I want to invite people in and give them.

[42:57] The best of me like give them you know the 101 and the attention and the time and like not have to be thinking about traveling and flights and packing cars and selling tickets and like all these kinds of things and just focus on what I'm actually good at and so I'm looking really forward to that and. Miss keeping that connection strong yeah oh my gosh I have loved watching all of your it's like Megan's HD TV show like watching all that you're doing I just every time I see the little like you have a sketch that you did maybe on like an iPad or something. Of what the storefronts going to look like one at the front of your studio is going to look like and it's so freaking cute oops I don't know if I can say that on a podcast it's so cute I love it so much. I love it too and it that's been like such a fun process and such a different side of me and my life.

[43:51] That I'm able to share because I'm not selling anything this isn't business this is like the perfect example of being the entertainment and not the added like I'm showing like this renovation and good doing this story with my dad and you know every day like somebody at the very beginning like there was a picture of me with a hammer and they're like oh that's cute you like posed for that I'm like no I tore down that wall like with that hammer like.

[44:13] My dad doesn't cut me any slack like because I'm a girl he's like here can't make carry this beat like I know how to use every single tool. Now like because he showed me in so I am gonna look back and be so proud of of that process but it's just been fun to invite people in to do that alongside like customers and followers and it's taking a long time I could have I could have rented a space and moved in in 30 days. And now we're like eight months in and like will be another eight months in before we see the end of it but it's fine I'm enjoying it I'm loving the process and just being able to like I've ever they're like two days a week now and then I only work like this job packing and shipping and emailing the other days of the week so that's just like a new balance but it's awesome I love being able to be my own boss and have my own business and make those hours and make those choices because if I still worked for somebody else like that wouldn't be a possibility yeah and I almost think and you can correct me if I'm wrong but I almost wonder if you would have had.

[45:23] You'd have found the time right but I wonder if you would have had the time to do this this time a year and a half ago this time two years ago when you were doing all of these in person events where you were going out and connecting with people because that takes so much time to do it you've got driving time you've got the actual event time prep time on top of also having an online storefront where you're selling things through all she wrote notes.com and you're showing up on social media well to add a project like this on top of that.

[45:51] I can't imagine so it's almost it's interesting to see like you know we've had this crazy year. But almost because of that it seems like you were able to have the time to fit this project in which is a really beautiful silver lining you're exactly right because that it was never even a dream of mine or a goal of mine to have my own space or two ever moved a business out of the home like that was never the plan but I felt God like kind of telling me going into 2020 I'd only booked till May I felt myself kind of like wearing a little thin like I did really want to do that forever but I was very open handed like I don't know what's coming next I don't know what the plan is I don't know. And kind of behind the scenes over the last three years I had really been working on licensing my art and doing like bigger collaborations with national brands. That whole cell and they're all over but like all I do is write the stuff and make the pretty things like I don't have to do any of the shipping or the sales or the merchandising and so this the way that all that coincided it's my biggest collection today eight came out in 2020 and so I started having all this inventory at our home that like we didn't have anywhere to put I mean it was like in our kitchen like I would have like a transfer truck come and like bring in boxes to like they were in our living room and Chris was like what are you gonna do with all this this is gotta go and so I had just never even considered leaving home. Um

[47:17] And then that opportunity you know came up and a new like I'm a big like debt-free fan like I don't use a credit card for my business like and that's just like a personal choice like I've gone through some some stuff with all that in the panelists that like just helps me stay creative and helps me stay free if I don't have that over my head and so I bought the building and and I mean the reason I was a fixer-upper is because I bought it like that like that was what I could afford to just to just pay for what the check and so I got into this knowing that I was going to have a lot of work and knowing that we were going to be paying overtime you know instead of taking out a loan and that was that was a choice that was a choice that I made and I you know it's sometimes that's not the easiest that wasn't the easiest choice but it was the right choice for me and so I'm loving the time with my dad and loving being able to work with him and do that project with him like I'm going to appreciate it so much more because I built it like I actually did it myself like we put up our first wall yesterday like I raised it up like onto the I mean it's very empowering like as a woman like as a mom as a business owner to like literally have put the nails in the walls and I am really really grateful for that opportunity I never would have even had that dream or that Nest like I wouldn't have had the need for it if 20/20 hadn't happened and so as much as I don't like to say that 20/20 was a blessing because I know that so many people and their lives it wasn't and.

[48:46] We weren't spared like Chris lost his job for quite some time and my business got flipped on its head I lost all my live events which was my number one source of Revenue.

[48:56] But.

[48:57] Even in there's hard things like good things did come out of it and so I'm grateful I really feel like this this was probably like God's plan for me it was to have a space and to be able to have somewhere that the community you know I could kind of. Be home base and be able to give back and bring people to my town but like I never would have gotten off the hamster wheel I never would have slowed it down and hopped off to enjoy this myself it almost like it had to happen to me and looking back like I'm I'm really really excited about the future and I'm really grateful that this is just the path that were on. Yeah that's amazing and it's it's a really just a lesson in like.

[49:40] Don't close yourself off to something that has never crossed your mind like just you gotta just be open because you never you never know you never know when something like 20 20 is going to. And you never know when something like your studio is going to come along and actually be possible when you may never have even wanted it expected it and in the past would have never thought it was something you could do that kind of stuff can show up.

[50:05] Anytime so you just got to be open I feel like you just have to be ready and just willing just willing to roll with it so now in your business you're not just online you talk to a thought for a second a minute ago you have your online store but then you also host your in person classes where you teach hand lettering and I bring this up and kind of pointed out because a lot of the women that I work with are women in direct sales and so they are hosting these in person parties where that's where they connect with their people that's where they sell their products and they're used to working their person their businesses in person but kind of like you they were not able to do that in 2020 like that just stopped on a dime it was it was gone and that really threw them for a loop and made them rethink how they Market their business how they're connecting with customers how they talk to people and so you obviously experienced a similar shift. So can you talk a little bit about what it's been like this past year doing fewer in person events or.

[51:03] Even know him person events as I'm sure it was for a while has that made you think about social media differently have you done anything differently with that I think it's been for me a little bit of a blessing in disguise because I thought that was the only way like I thought I was only successful because I had pavement I would come I would look at other businesses and think like well I'm doing this differently like I'm not doing the same thing that they are because I'm going and I'm meeting people in person and so when I was surprised to learn like after the first couple months losing a lot of money and refunding a lot of tickets was that my business is still surviving even without that element and it just helped me like shift my focus to another part of my business so I've strengthened online sales and I have strengthened like licensing.

[51:55] Since I wasn't able to be strong in lab events and so it gave me an opportunity to kind of tap into other areas and like nurture and love one other parts of my business that I really had neglected before because the other part was going so great so I think that live events are important and I look forward to the world when we can get back to doing this but I think we can all kind of learn and see that like that's not all like there's there's still a lot of success and sales and money and relationships to be found on doing stuff. You do not just in person but in Virtual experiences but I think coming out of covid-19.

[52:36] I think people are going to be craving wives I think people are going to be craving girls nights they're going to be like hell yeah I'm coming to your party like sign me up I will be there like out what do you need me to bring like I just think I people are going to appreciate it even more in the future then they did in the past and but we're coming out of this stronger because we've learned and grown in other areas of our business instead of just the one on one but I look forward to being able to get back to that I Won't Go Back to the level that I was I won't go back to hopping on an airplane every month driving on the car every week like I mean. That was all I knew and I thought my business needed that to survive and it didn't and so I'm going to be a lot more selective and a lot more I would say balanced in like my home life if I'm going to hop on a plane I want to go on a vacation with Vance and Chris say like let's go do that instead of me going alone and sitting a hotel by myself to go and speak and do this thing like there's just I think it just out my business was a little bit stronger than I would have given it credit for and I have my customers you know to thank for that because even when they couldn't come and show up and person they bought from me online and it's because I built those relationships live for so many years that those.

[54:01] We're still together like we're still tight and said don't look at that as the wasted time.

[54:06] You know all that time that we get dig it to do it just know that you are planting seeds for for these relationships to go forward in the future oh my gosh yeah you really are you're planting seeds everything you do right now even if you're not. You know you're making money in person right like let's say you're hosting a party you're making money in person then all of a sudden you can't like it's great that you're making money but that's going to pay off in an even bigger way later on and it's later on right now like we're all experiencing later however we're seeing all the work we did before paying off right now and if you maybe just started your business someone who's listening just started their business in covid in there during this time and they're figuring out how to balance it all you know now is that chance to put everything into those relationships to really strengthen those relationships so that in the future you have the tools you need you have what you need to be able to survive that to make it past.

[55:05] Something like this if it were to happen again or any time in your life when you need to step away from your business maybe have kids maybe you do just want to go on vacation like you've gotta have the relationship Builder that you can come back and have something sitting there.

[55:18] When you do come back and I love.

[55:21] This idea of yo go back to hosting your in-person events and they might not be the same as they were before but.

[55:30] You know this time that's passed didn't mean you were letting go of something it was just an opportunity for you to strengthen the other parts of your business you know the supporting parts of your business and help those get up to the same level that these in-person events were and now you can go back you can go back and continue hosting those in-person events but what you've done to strengthen. Your social media your online presence your shop orders everything you've done over the past year to strengthen that will still be there as you're going back into in-person parts that's not like you give up everything you did this year to go back to those in-person events I said parties but in person events that you're doing yeah and so it's almost like. Right really end up gaining quite a bit in the actual presence and relationships because it doesn't go back down it only continues to grow I think I'm at go back because I want to not because I have to.

[56:27] And that is brand new for me like that is I've never I've never been in that position I've never felt that way and that is there so much freedom in that and there's so much joy in that and I like I look forward and I won't take it for granted either because I do I mean I never would have thought this would have been taken away from me but no I'll go back and like they're going to get an even better experience now then then they might have before and I think it was pretty great before but I I knew I had to be there like I knew I had to have a certain number every month and I had I had all these metrics and now I'm just kind of like you know what I didn't do that for a year I don't really have to go but I want to go and I look forward to going because I know it's a blessing to other people. Yeah and that's a whole different kind of energy that they'll get from you which is just amazing and I hope that I get to actually attend one of your Embrace events one day hopefully your studio like I will fly down there just for the studio like I cannot wait that's what I was going to say you were going to need to fly out here whenever we get the studio open whenever that might be but that'll be really fun.

[57:33] Oh my gosh yes I cannot cannot wait cannot wait. So to wrap this up what advice would you give to somebody who knows that they want to use social media in their business but maybe they feel a little bit like they aren't enough in some way so they're not outgoing enough they're not interesting enough to connect with people they're not experienced enough what words of encouragement can you leave that person with I think if you are waiting for a certain number of followers if your wedding for a certain number of likes of comments like you're never going to hit that number and I have a lot of them I don't have as much as I could ever want I think that you if there's a number in your head that you think when I hit that number I will have made it when you get there you're not going to feel that way you're just going to keep moving the finish line up and up and up and so don't let your worth be tied to those metrics like literally it's just a game on your phone it's like Candy Crush y'all like I mean it's like those are points like those are those are things that are not real and so it's important just to show up like.

[58:39] As you are to level the people that you have. While you're working to get more and I think to treat them like people because they are to treat those like relationships and too respond back to people to answer your DMs like they're my favorite quote like one of my very favorite scriptures is if you're faithful with a little you'll be given a lot and that my faith is a huge part of my life like that so important to me and that aspect but I see it so much in business that like if I nurture and if I love on the current people that people that I already know then wait at comes time and as my business grows and as my career goes down the road I'm going to be ready I'm going to be prepared I'm going to have a stronger Foundation because I served those first people really really well and so I don't ever think there's there's a time where I show up online and I feel like I've made it or I'm enough or I'm still surprised every day that people log in and what I hang out and want to talk and I just think that Gil you just got to keep showing up anyway and serving the people that you have and not just waiting until you have more yeah absolutely I did an episode.

[59:49] I think it was last last well at the time of recording this I think it was last week this is not going to this is not going to make sense timeline wise talking about this now but I did another episode where I was talking about how you need to show up for the people that are in front of you you can't wait for this larger audience and it's almost this is like I'm taking this a little bit controversial but it's almost like a little disrespectful to look at your current audience and say yeah you're not really enough I'm going to wait to actually show up and give anything until you're more like you're not enough and so just just be there for the people that you have like they're they're real and you wouldn't do that two people that were standing right in front of you so don't do it to the people who are giving you their time and their space and their energy and room on their crowded news feed don't do that to them online they're I literally got chills like you saying that like it's so true like care about those people that are there in front of you like like give them all of you.

[1:00:53] At 100 just as much as you would at a thousand and I think that is like I showed up the same eight years ago as I show up now even when it felt like nobody was watching like I was still there like I was so me I was still consistent I was still trying to be positive and and be true to my vision and what I wanted.

[1:01:13] To provide to people and so. If you kind of lock that in early and just stick with that your business will grow with you and all of those people are going to be so excited and so proud to be one of your ogs like to be some of your very early followers like I have people now that they'll tell me like I remember before you ever had a baby or before you got married or when you were still at your old job and like they're still here like I I am so excited every time I see an order come through that it's like one of my original customers and so just be. Good to that people that you have now and then they're going to help you bring more people just like them yeah absolutely oh what a good what a good note to end funny here oh my gosh well this has been a seriously amazing conversation and that there's just so many nuggets like I can't wait to go and edit this like when my dog just started barking just now at the FedEx guy I can't wait to go and edit that out because I get to listen to all this over again. This is really good conversation so. To wrap it up I have a couple of Rapid Fire questions that I just love to ask everybody because I think it's so interesting to hear all the different perspectives and like opinions so I have three questions for you so one is I'd love to know your favorite Business book.

[1:02:32] Kelly it is called life is good and it is the story of that brand life is good and I got it when we were on that trip in New Hampshire and so it was in like the little life is good store and so it is really my favorite book my favorite Business book it's just a story about just perseverance and positivity and just looking for the good and being grateful for what you have. Even in circumstances where you are going after more oh my gosh okay I have not read that I will now because that just sounds so relevant and so needed today so I'm really excited to check that out and now I'm really missing one trip to New Hampshire when we actually all got to be together so yeah we're going to be missing that so I'm curious about a tool or software you use in your business that you can't live without.

[1:03:27] And for like a did not have internet I did not have a computer I did not have anything normal people have I started it right here on my phone and I took a picture of my note cards and posted them on Instagram and then eventually posted them on Etsy and it was it was about six months before I ever had internet or computer. Running my business literally from my phone and then I would say our runner-up is like my label printer that prints all the like packing slips and postage thanks for me but couldn't do it without it yeah I can't even imagine doing that manually we did it manually for my husband's business all of that he started last year and we do not get nearly as many orders as you do I don't know how many orders you get but I guarantee like we don't we just don't get that many and I can't imagine doing all those labels manually so I can definitely understand that okay last one so what is your favorite thing to do to unwind when you're not working I love to read a book in the bathtub like I love to just kind of tune out and listen or read something like paper book and I like reading like.

[1:04:37] Murder mysteries or like chicklet the romantic comedy type books I don't want to learn anything like I've I don't want you to tell me any facts or anything interesting like that will better my life in any way I just want to relax and there now and like listen to that kind of stuff and so when I working at tend to listen to a lot of like informational or educational podcast like this one like things that are going to help me and so when I'm relaxing I'm like I don't want to be helped I just want to chill and just do me I'm the same way if I'm just relaxing like I can't I have a stack of business books and I will go through that stack a lot slower than I'll go through my fun books because I can't just read for like learning purposes all the time because I will know my brain it's the same brain that I use when I'm working like it won't turn off I like near the turning off time or I will not be like I will run out of juice midday I don't think I have physically read a business book in about three years because I started listening to all of them on Audible so I'm so giving it but I listen to it like a podcast like when I'm working or when I'm sleeping or when I'm packing.

[1:05:47] And so I get all the information or when I'm driveway I used to drive now I don't drive anywhere but I started listening to the business ones and then reading the fun one so like if you look at my shelves they're all like like fun silly stuff and in my phone like all of those all Villages serious brain books but life is good so what I recommended is like a hybrid of the two so you should buy the physical book and you can see all the pictures okay yeah I definitely will okay I love a picture book as an adult that sounds great all right well so tell us if somebody wants to connect with you where can they find you where can they follow you how can they shop with you give us all the details of course my favorite places on Instagram and all she wrote notes I'm on Facebook is all she wrote notes and my website is you guessed it all she wrote notes dot-com amazing and do you have any special products are coming out right now I know you have a book you probably either just had a spring lunch or have one coming up.

[1:06:47] What's going on right now like what should we go and look at first what biggest thing going on right now is Miss Betty confetti so that is my children's book that came out about turning your mistakes to confetti but spoiler alert It Was Written just as much for us growing up women as it was for the kids it's a beautiful awesome message we can all resonate with there's a matching doll and then I also have like a whole spring collection with colorful like rainbow stripe Vibes all about spreading happiness in ways that you can enjoy at home things not things you have to to buy and take and go everywhere because right now this is where we are and we can bring you happiness right where you're at I love that I love that this is also just like side comment my favorite collection that you've come out with yet like I am obsessed. With colors and like the really clean Stripes like I literally love it. So I hope everyone goes and gives you a follow and goes and checks out your shop because if nothing else they're going to walk away a little bit happier but is for sure.

[1:07:49] Thank you so much yeah thank you so much for being here with me today it was amazing to talk with you and I can't wait to connect again soon I'm looking forward to your studio opening up I will be on the first flight okay alright have a good day.