We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful April Henderson. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with April below.
April, appreciate you joining us today. Getting that first client is always an exciting milestone. Can you talk to us about how you got your first customer who wasn’t a friend, family, or acquaintance?
I still remember the feeling of landing my first client who wasn’t a friend or family member. It felt like a huge leap of faith for both of us. I was stepping into this dream of building a business around something I truly love, content creation, storytelling, and helping brands show up confidently online. At the same time, that client was trusting me with something they had worked incredibly hard to build.
That moment made everything feel real. The idea that I could do what I love while also helping support my family meant so much to me.
What makes that experience even more special is that the relationship didn’t end after that first project. We grew together. We held each other accountable, pushed each other to keep improving, and both of our businesses flourished along the way. In fact, my first four clients are still with me today. They saw me through the early days of learning, experimenting, and building this agency from the ground up, and I’ll always be grateful that they believed in me while I was still figuring it all out.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
If I’m being honest, AK Digital Media really started on the floor of my living room in 2020. Like a lot of people during that time, the world felt quiet and disconnected, and I found myself craving some sort of community. So I did what any slightly overwhelmed, slightly curious person might do… I picked up a camera and recorded my first YouTube video.
At the time I had no grand business plan. I was just showing up and sharing life. Some days that meant playing games with my daughter or trying out recipes in the kitchen. Other days it looked like fully unhinged decisions like attempting to dye my dark hair platinum blonde in my bathroom. And then there were the harder conversations too. Mental health, grief, the trauma I had carried with me for years. My audience and I navigated all of that together, over the years they started sharing their stories with me as well and a beautiful chaotic community blossomed.
Looking back now, those moments were actually my education. I was teaching myself how to edit videos at two in the morning, learning how to design thumbnails that made people stop scrolling, and figuring out how to tell a story in a way that made someone on the other side of the screen feel like they were sitting in the room with me. But the biggest lesson I learned was that authenticity and consistency will always outlive a trend. When people feel like they know you, when they feel like they belong in your little corner of the internet, they want to support you when you have something to share.
Over time, small businesses in my city started reaching out asking if I could help them show up online the same way. That’s how AK Digital Media Agency was born. At first it was strictly social media management and content creation, but when you work with small and local businesses you quickly realize marketing doesn’t exist in a neat package. Suddenly we’re talking about branding, websites, events, influencer partnerships, and how to make everything feel cohesive.
And honestly, the job rarely stops at “social media.” Most days it’s just the business owner and I sitting at a table brainstorming their next move. Other days I’m on-site filming content and I end up answering phones, wiping down a spill, giving someone a tour of the space, or helping check out customers. One time I even helped sell viral Labubus by convincing the kids they absolutely needed them, because I had one on my bag. When I say I love what I do, I mean it. I’m a helper by nature and it’s nearly impossible for me to stand in a corner and only wear the “social media manager” hat.
The biggest thing I help my clients with is the overwhelm. Most small business owners are doing everything themselves, and social media culture can feel like a full-time job on its own, which it can be. My role is to help them show up consistently with a strategy that still feels like them. Not something forced or trendy, but something authentic that actually connects with the people they want to reach.
Something that’s incredibly important to me is integrity. I’m very critical of the work I put my name on, and I’m equally intentional about the businesses I choose to work with. If I’m representing a brand online, it’s because I truly believe in the people behind it and the service they provide. My audience knows that about me too. If I’m supporting a business publicly, it means I stand behind them completely.
What surprises a lot of people is how personal these relationships become. When you add me to your team, it rarely stays strictly business. We celebrate wins together, we talk through big decisions, and sometimes I’m the person gently saying, “I love you, but that idea might not land the way you think it will.” I’m not afraid of the honest conversations, but I’m also the loudest person cheering and recording their joy when something finally clicks.
If I’m being honest, sitting down and reflecting on success is hard. Most small business owners are so busy building that we don’t stop long enough to recognize how far we’ve come. But when I do pause, I’m most proud of my consistency and my willingness to keep learning. I welcome feedback because I genuinely want my clients to earn every dollar they invest back and I know there is always room for more growth.
I’m also incredibly proud of the relationships this work has created. My clients constantly remind me how proud they are of what we’ve built together, and that kind of support means everything. Following my heart and trusting my instincts led me here. I’m proud that I stayed kind and grounded through it all, and that I’ve worked hard to keep my services accessible to small businesses who might otherwise feel like marketing is out of reach.
More than anything, I want people to know that AK Digital Media Agency is built on community. Everyone’s good days and hard days matter here. Whether someone becomes a client tomorrow or years from now, I genuinely want to see them succeed. And if someone just has a question or needs encouragement along the way, my messages are always open. Because at the end of the day, the best businesses are built when people support is centered.
How’d you meet your business partner?
When I first started thinking about growing AK Digital Media Agency, I’ll be honest, the idea of bringing someone else in made me a little nervous. The relationships I had built with my clients were incredibly personal, and I felt a deep responsibility to protect that trust. These were businesses that had taken a leap of faith on me early on, and I wanted to be absolutely sure anyone joining the team would hold those relationships to the same standard of care.
So I did what any cautious business owner would do and spent weeks interviewing candidates. I met with some great people, but nothing quite clicked the way I had hoped. Then one day I caught myself thinking back to an account I had shared with another marketing girl I had worked alongside before. She had a great eye, great energy, and we had always worked really well together. That person was Andie.
Instead of continuing the search, I picked up the phone and called her. I asked if she’d ever be interested in helping me with some of the workload at the agency. As it turns out, the timing couldn’t have been more perfect. Andie was in the internship portion of her marketing degree at the time, and the opportunity allowed her to complete those requirements while also jumping straight into real client work.
What started as her helping me manage the social media workload quickly turned into something much bigger. Over the course of that first year, I realized Andie brought strengths to the business that perfectly balanced my own. She’s an incredibly talented graphic designer and has a natural love for organization and structure, something every growing business desperately needs. Where I’m often deep in strategy, storytelling, and client relationships, she brings a level of visual polish and operational clarity that elevated the entire brand.
In January of 2026, we officially made her partnership with AK Digital Media Agency public. At the same time, Andie began building her own creative marketing company that works in tandem with the agency, allowing us to expand what we offer clients while still maintaining the personal, boutique approach we value so much.
Like many of the relationships in my business, our partnership works because of honesty and transparency. We communicate openly, support each other’s growth, and genuinely want the best for the clients we serve. Looking back now, I can confidently say I would never have been able to scale AK Digital Media Agency the way it has without her. Finding someone who shares your standards, your work ethic, and your care for people is rare, and I’m incredibly grateful our paths crossed when they did.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
From the outside, my journey can sometimes look like butterflies and rainbows because I try to lead with positivity and encouragement. But like most people building something from scratch, there have definitely been moments that tested my resilience.
Early on in my freelance work, I accepted a contract with a local gym. At the time, I was excited about the opportunity because many of the women coming into that space were working through body image struggles and trying to build confidence. I spent time connecting with their community, creating content, and helping bring people through the doors. But behind the scenes, I began hearing the owner speak about his female clients in ways that were overtly sexual and deeply disrespectful. Watching women trust that environment with something as vulnerable as their body image while knowing what was being said about them behind closed doors didn’t sit right with me.
That experience forced me to take a hard look at the kind of business I wanted to build. I realized that if I was going to represent a brand publicly, I needed to fully believe in the people behind it. Since then, I’ve made it a firm rule that I will only work with businesses whose values align with my own. Protecting my integrity and the trust of my audience will always matter more than landing another client.
Another challenge came when I took on work for a local moving company that never paid me for three months of completed work. Situations like that can make you question whether people respect you as a business owner, especially when you’re still growing and learning the ropes. But instead of letting that experience discourage me, it pushed me to become more intentional about how I structure my business. Today we have clear contracts, systems, and expectations in place to protect both my clients and my team.
I also believe in accountability, so I left a professional and transparent Google review sharing my experience and then moved forward. There was no reason to let a difficult situation change how I show up for the businesses that truly value the work we do.
Resilience in business often comes from moments like those. They remind you why your values matter and push you to build something stronger. For me, those experiences reinforced that my work is about more than marketing. It’s about trust, integrity, and showing up for the clients who believe in what we’re building together.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.akdigitalagency.co/
- Instagram: @april.kristine
- Facebook: april.kristine
- Linkedin: April Kristine Henderson
- Other: Tik Tok @ April.Kristine
Image Credits
Photography : Elena’s Photography (Elena Suarez)
Custom Branded T-Shirts: Krafted Kyndleigh