We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Angel Abad. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Angel below.

Alright, Angel thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Almost all entrepreneurs have had to decide whether to start now or later? There are always pros and cons for waiting and so we’d love to hear what you think about your decision in retrospect. If you could go back in time, would you have started your business sooner, later or at the exact time you started?

If I could go back in time, I don’t think I would have started my business any sooner. I’ve always believed that what’s meant for me will happen at the right time, and starting my business in August 2024 felt like the perfect moment. This journey has taught me a lot about myself, where I was at that point in my life, and how I envisioned my future career.

Before starting my own business, I worked at an engagement ring company in Washington State as a social media manager. Although my title was Social Media Manager, I brought additional skills to the table that I introduced and offered to help with, as the company was a small business. I didn’t mind taking on these extra responsibilities because it felt right to use my knowledge and skills to support the company’s growth. Beyond my assigned tasks, I assumed multiple roles, contributing wherever I could to help the business thrive.

Over the two years I worked there, I significantly eased the owner’s workload while helping to market the business to its fullest potential. However, by June, I started to feel burnt out. I began noticing a shift in the work environment—I felt micromanaged and uninspired. As a creative, I thrived on the freedom to craft unique ideas that helped the company succeed, especially when things were going well. Unfortunately, I started feeling pressure to mimic another company’s marketing style, implementing strategies that didn’t align with the brand’s identity. This led to a lack of authenticity in the marketing, making the brand feel disjointed and unoriginal. It became clear to me how important it was to stay true to a brand’s unique identity.

As another month passed, I realized what truly motivated me to start my own business: the desire to work with clients who trusted me to creatively align their branding, audience, and marketing strategies. In August, I made the leap to leave my job, despite being terrified that I’d struggle to find clients and end up jobless.

To my surprise, that same month, I landed multiple clients who trusted me to elevate their brands creatively. Whether it was through social media management or email marketing, I discovered how fulfilling it was to use my skills to help businesses thrive. It also reaffirmed that I knew how to do my job well—it just took the trust of others to show me that.

At first, I didn’t trust myself. I experienced imposter syndrome, doubting my abilities and feeling like I wasn’t good enough. But gaining clients and understanding why they chose me gave me confidence. It showed me that I was on the right path, and starting my business at this time was exactly what I needed after all.

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 Washington State, I didn’t really know anyone except for my older sister and her husband who lived here. I was in my junior year of college, and it felt like I was starting over completely. I had been a biology major, but after an uninspiring experience with a professor, I lost interest. I then considered switching to business, but the program at my college was highly competitive, and only a small percentage of students were accepted. Feeling lost, I had to make a decision, and someone suggested communications as a major. They explained it was broad enough to open doors to various career fields.

Taking a leap of faith, I chose communications. It turned out to be a good fit and felt manageable. One day, I found inspiration in a journalism class, taught by a professor who was a former news broadcaster. She asked if I wanted to pursue broadcasting, but I immediately declined. Despite my hesitation, she saw potential in me and encouraged me to intern for a news station, offering to recommend me. She also suggested I join the newspaper club to explore journalism. Although I lacked confidence and declined the internship, I did join the club as a photographer. I loved, and still love, capturing images that tell a story.

By the time the newspaper club season ended and I graduated college, I realized I wanted to create content inspired by my passions. In 2019–2020, I started creating content centered around something I loved: houseplants. I launched an Instagram account dedicated to my plant collection.

When COVID-19 hit in 2020, I used the extra time to create photos and videos of my houseplants. My Instagram following grew from 200 to 11,000, and I felt truly aligned with what I was doing. I also enjoyed connecting with a community of like-minded people. During this time, my best friend and I took online classes to earn marketing certificates, which helped me understand how to effectively market myself on social media.

Months later, someone on Instagram who owned an Airbnb business reached out, asking for help with social media management. Although I had only managed my own account at the time, I felt confident enough to take on the challenge—and it turned out I was great at it! I helped her business with social media marketing, and the following year, I gained another client. I continued managing social media for these clients until May 2022, when I secured a full-time position as a social media manager.

As a social media manager, I am responsible for developing, implementing, and managing a company’s social media strategy to enhance brand awareness and drive engagement. I create and curate content tailored to the target audience, ensuring it aligns with the brand’s voice and objectives. I analyze performance metrics—such as reach, impressions, and engagement rates—to assess campaign effectiveness and make data-driven adjustments. Additionally, I engage with the audience by responding to comments, messages, and mentions, fostering a strong online community. Staying up-to-date with trends and algorithm changes is also crucial to keeping the brand relevant and competitive.

I also offer email marketing as part of my services. In this role, I create and execute strategic campaigns to drive engagement, build brand loyalty, and increase sales. I craft compelling email content tailored to specific audience segments, ensuring it aligns with the brand’s voice. By leveraging data analytics, I optimize campaigns, analyzing open rates, click-through rates, and conversions to refine strategies. I collaborate with cross-functional teams to align email campaigns with broader marketing initiatives, ensuring a cohesive customer experience. Each email I send is designed to deliver value to the recipient and contribute to the business’s success.

What I’m most proud of is the way I fully engage with my clients. I strive to understand them and their brand as deeply as possible to help them achieve their goals and present their brand authentically online. Whether through social media management or email marketing, my ultimate goal is to address their needs and provide impactful solutions.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

Although I was working a full-time 9-to-5 job, I still had a few clients I worked with as a side hustle. I chose to do this because I wanted to explore different opportunities while maintaining my regular job. Balancing my side hustle alongside my full-time role ultimately helped me realize that I had the skills and determination to start my own business. It gave me the confidence to trust myself and understand that I had nothing to lose by pursuing my passions. At the end of the day, I knew I was capable of making it work on my own.

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

The most effective strategy for me is building genuine connections with my clients—not just learning about their brand, but also understanding their personal stories and what drives them. I love conducting one-on-one consultations to truly understand their business, their goals, and their vision. Since I’m a one-person team, I don’t aim to continuously grow my client base. My focus is on working with a select group of clients with whom I can build meaningful relationships and genuinely help them grow. I’m not someone who seeks clients every day just for the money; instead, I prioritize finding clients whose stories and brand voices I can amplify and make a real difference for.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/foliangel/?hl=en
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angela-abad-203477166/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@foliangel