We recently connected with Madison Stahl and have shared our conversation below.

Madison, appreciate you joining us today. Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?

As with most things, being a business owner has its ups and downs. They say it takes a certain type of person to be a successful business owner, and I would agree.

It requires long hours, lots of stress, taking on multiple roles, and making hard decisions. I’d be lying if I said there hasn’t been times where I thought “I wish I could just be done with work at 5pm, get a steady paycheck and have my weekends back.”

But on the other hand, being a business owner comes with the freedom to make your own schedule and be your own boss, ability to determine your income, and passion to wake up and do what you love everyday.

All that to say, I would never pass up being my own boss for a “regular” job. I didn’t start my entrepreneurial journey expecting it to be easy. There are good days and there are bad, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything else.

The exciting part is, this is just the beginning. I have so many goals for Creative Cowboy and a few other business ideas in mind. That’s the beauty of being a business owner, you aren’t being tied down by someone else’s agenda. As long as you are willing to take risks, make mistakes, learn, and work your ass off — the opportunities are endless.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am the Founder and Owner of Creative Cowboy, a social media agency helping businesses enhance their online presence with strategic, creative services.

Working with clients in all different industries, Creative Cowboy assists with showcasing brand values and voice through cohesive social media marketing strategies and eye catching content that increases brand awareness, clients and sales.

Specializing in organic social media management, content creation and strategy. We also offer paid advertising, influencer marketing, email marketing, user-generated content (UGC), consulting, and wedding content creation.

A strong social media presence for your business is no longer optional if you want to stay ahead, but it is also very time consuming. We can take social media off your hands so you can focus on what matters most — your business.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

Creative Cowboy all started as a side-hustle.

I honestly wasn’t sure what career path I wanted to pursue when I started college. I bounced around — transferring schools and changing my major more times than I’d like to admit. By the end, I had a degree in Advertising from the University of Georgia. My internships while at UGA happen to be social media based, and that’s where my passion for pursuing a career in the field really began. I loved that it required both a creative and analytical side, and that it was constantly evolving.

I happen to graduate during quite literally the worst possible time, the start of Covid, and actually had to finish out my last semester online back at home.

Due to the timing, I struggled to find a full-time job (like most). So, I started to think about ways to make money. That is when the idea of Creative Cowboy all began. I went through the process of establishing it as an official business, and started managing social media for a few local businesses.

I reached out to a high school friend who had just graduated and was struggling to land a full-time job too. She is a very talented graphic designer, so we began meeting at a coffee shop to brainstorm ways that we could collaborate and grow Creative Cowboy together.

A few months went by, and I landed a full-time social media position at an independent marketing organization (IMO). I always knew I wanted to start my own business, but at the time, moving out of my parents house and having a decent salary was more important to me.

While working there, I still continued Creative Cowboy as a side hustle. But if I’m being honest, I wasn’t really sure what I was doing then and I was under charging drastically compared to the amount of time and effort I was putting in.

About 6 months in to working at my full-time job, I began absolutely dreading it. I was miserable spending all my time working towards someone else’s dream when I had so many of my own.

So one Monday, I just spontaneously quit. I told myself that I would give Creative Cowboy my all for 3 months and if things didn’t work out I would look for a job elsewhere. Luckily my parents are business owners and were relatively supportive of my decision.

Quitting my full-time job allowed me the time to really dive into Creative Cowboy. I invested in a certification program to really further my knowledge within the field and gain credibility, I started going to local networking events, I reached out to those in my network who owned a business, etc.

Now here we are nearly a year and a half later and I’ve built a six-figure social media agency and helped over 30 businesses enhance their social media presence.

Moral of the story: Don’t spend time working towards someone else’s dream when you have one of your own. Take the risk and go for it!

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

I think everyone’s strategy and method for getting clients in the social media industry is very different. I would say what’s been most effective for me has been establishing myself as an industry expert and building strong connections.

I invested in a master strategist certification program called Social Superlatives. It’s a year long program where I gained clarity on what it takes to be successful, and learned valuable skills that help set myself apart from the hundred of other social media managers/agency owners out there.

I constantly show up on social media with examples of my work, results I’ve gained, businesses I’ve worked with, and valuable tips to position myself as a credible highly sought-after industry leader who knows my sh*t.

I am also involved in many local business organizations which has allowed me to build strong connections with other business professionals. This has led to many referrals and my business spreading by word of mouth.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.creativecowboyco.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/creativecowboyco/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/creativecowboyco
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/madstahl/
• Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@creativecowboyco