We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Addie Gross a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Addie, thanks for joining us today. Have you ever had an amazing boss, mentor or leader leading you? Can you us a story or anecdote that helps illustrate why this person was such a great leader and the impact they had on you or their team?

My best boss ever was Heidi Gollub. She started Free Fun In Austin years ago and hired me to write for her and help with social media. She was so much fun, so inspiring, always out on fun adventures with her kids. She had a laid back approach to managing, but was also clear and direct in the kindest way. She gave me the title “Ambassador of Fun” when I worked with her, which is something I was super proud of. I love searching out fun things to do and writing all about it!

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?

When I moved to Austin over 8 years ago, I had 2 little kids who were 4 and 2. To get to know our new city better, I started doing research on all the fun local places to bring little kids. Places like parks, museums, indoor play places, etc. I made a giant list and it was my goal to cross everything off that list. It made the move a little less intimidating because the more I got to know Austin, the more comfortable I felt here, and the more I fell in love with it! Then I began writing blog posts for local blogs and websites, which then grew into managing their social media channels. Eventually I decided to start my own website and here I am. I truly love exploring new places with my kids and then sharing all about it with others. It’s a passion of mine!

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Social media is such a necessary evil. I often beat myself up about how many new followers I got for that day. I love when my posts reach the right people and those people really get something out of it and appreciate the work that’s put into it. It’s all about the algorithm and really just dumb luck most of the time. It definitely takes a lot of work and dedication, posting every day, making reels, all of it. It’s more work than most people realize. I try to keep my channels honest and just true to myself and my mission to share all the fun things to do with kids in Austin. It’s hard to not get caught up in all of it. I’ve tried to grow several accounts for other businesses that hired me, and it gets slightly easier each time, but it’s always hard starting out. I think the trick is to post every day, make lots of reels, and keep it authentic.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

There’s definitely a creative/artistic element to creating content for social media. It’s fun to let that creative aspect run free when making reels and writing blog posts. I have a lot of fun with it.

Contact Info:

• Website: austinfunforkids.com
• Instagram: @austinfunforkids
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/austinfunforkids

Image Credits
all images Addie Gross