We recently connected with Audrey Salazar and have shared our conversation below.

Audrey, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about your team building process? How did you recruit and train your team and knowing what you know now would you have done anything differently?

Let’s Bee Social started simply as a way to have a name behind a digital marketing freelance hustle. Once I decided I wanted to be my own boss, I quit my job on a whim and dove head first into figuring out what that really looked like. As I began securing gigs – whether it was a website project or a social media management client – I quickly realized that the work would require a whole lot more than my own two hands.

As I was nearing my first year of freelancing, I started thinking it was time to bring on some type of intern or assistant. I had never hired someone before so I was clueless and had major trust issues. Thankfully, I was able to ask around in my friend circle and discovered a friend of a friend who was interested in learning more about the digital and social media marketing realm. I hired her on the spot and she was the catalyst for helping me to begin scaling at a more efficient rate.

After a few months working together, I was blessed with another opportunity to bring on another team member. This one dropped practically in my lap. I got a cold call from a friend of a friend of a friend who said “I know this sounds crazy but I just quit my corporate job and I want to get into marketing, can I come work with you?” To which I responded even crazier – YES!

I had a few more big hires that literally looked just like that – friend’s of friends who sent angels my way. A massive shout out to those friends for 1.) believing in my vision that much and 2.) sending me the team members I didn’t even know I needed to build this freelance gig into an actual marketing agency.

Liz, Courtney, Brodie and Dominique (who’s still with us!) – you have all shaped Let’s Bee Social into what it is today and I am eternally grateful for your impact on my life and my business.

From there the hiring journey got real crazy – I made some bad decisions based on applicants that I had found via Indeed. I had people who took the position got onboarded and then quit 2 weeks later, I had a gal massively overcharge me for work that she didn’t even complete (40 hours to do an 8 hour task that still wasn’t done) and had to make some really tough decisions during COVID to scale back my team and say goodbye to team members that had become like family to me.

When we finally got out of the weeds of COVID & shutdowns, I was in a place to hire once more and I could not for the life of me find the right fit. I interviewed for what felt like an eternity (in reality it was closer to 10 months) and on the day that I was about to give up altogether, I had an applicant in my inbox that was truly a God send. She changed the trajectory of bad hiring decisions from Indeed and has been one of the most reliable team members I could’ve asked for. Her hunger for growth and her love for the industry continually reignites my own flame for growing this biz. Thank you, Avery, for listening to your instincts and joining the LBS team.

I wouldn’t change anything about the hiring journey I’ve been on. Every season taught me something new, every team member brought out strengths and weaknesses in me and all of it has brought both myself and Let’s Bee Social to where we are today.

Audrey, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My career in digital marketing actually started as a degree in Journalism with an Emphasis in Public Relations from San Diego State University. In my final year of college I was the head of branding for our class’s capstone project and was fortunate enough to have an internship at J Walcher Communications for the semester. It was here that I found my passion for digital design and social media marketing.

After graduating, I worked as an Intern for a Start Up SEO Firm with a renowned SEO Expert, Jason Hennessey. He taught me everything about the world of Search Engine Optimization and allowed me to continue furthering my knack for social media and copywriting.

In 2016, things took a turn when on a trip to Portland, I got hit by a car while riding a public city bike. Upon returning home I was unable to work and during that time I decided life is too short to not take a risk and bet on yourself. I had already been thinking about leaving my job to work with companies in industries I was passionate about. So I took the leap.

I quit my job, I started building my portfolio and I went all in on building a freelancing business. I had no idea that it would turn into what it is today. After the initial 3 years, Let’s Bee Social was becoming more of a marketing agency than a freelance passion. I began solidifying the foundation of the business more seriously, brought on a team to come alongside me to push the vision forward, and I never looked back.

Fast forward to today, we are about to enter year 7 of business and this business has become my biggest passion in life. We’ve helped nearly 100 small and local businesses grow their brand’s online presence. Be it through a branding package, a website redesign, SEO, ongoing social media marketing, or media coaching.

Today our most successful clients are the ones who trust us to handle their content ideation, creation and manage their social media channels. We take full responsibility for helping your business put your best foot forward. Allowing you to focus on the areas of the business that need your utmost attention.

We offer more than a service, we create content that moves the needle and gives you confidence knowing that when your ideal target audience looks for you online, they will find you.

The distinguishing factor in it all – we treat your business as if it was our own. It’s our own passion and commitment to our client’s success that has brought us here today and will continue to propel us into tomorrow.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

That I am the best person for every job. It was a great mindset when I was first starting, simply because I was the only person available to do the job. However, I quickly realized that there were more things that I didn’t know than things I did know. While I spent countless hours learning on the job, there were still things that I simply did not know how to do.

The journey of an entrepreneur, especially a solopreneur, can be extremely lonely and incredibly taxing. A lot of times you feel like there is not anyone you can trust or lean on. You think, it’s up to you and you alone to make it happen.

Growing up as an only child, I was my mother’s daughter and my father’s son, who constantly had to adapt to these roles. In my high school years, while my parents were separating, I had to yet again adapt into a more adult role, learning independence and how to take care of myself all while still maintaining straight A’s to please my mom and playing sports to please my dad.

I knew that once I decided to shift from freelancing into agency ownership mode that I was going to have to learn how to relinquish control and allow others to do things – even if I could in fact do it myself. It was the only way that the business would actually grow. So while it’s been an incredibly tough lesson to unlearn, it’s been the most rewarding experience to let go of feeling like I have to carry the weight of the world on my shoulders every single day.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

The biggest lesson I had to learn as the owner of the company was the difference between what it means to lead and what it means to manage. For a long time, I managed my team and when I say managed I really mean micro-managed. Everything had to be perfect and done exactly how I would do it. I would ask for help and then immediately takeover to change everything that was done. I was hindering my team from growing, learning and excelling in their positions.

Once I learned how a leader moves, I quickly started seeing where my pitfalls were with managing my team. Leaders don’t micromanage. Leaders don’t solve problems, they ask questions. Leaders set clear expectations. Leaders seek to bring out the best in their team members. Leaders allow for their team to learn from their mistakes.

Always make time to show gratitude and give praise where praise is due. Look for ways to lead, always be true to your word and create a safe space for your team to come to you openly and honestly. It’s an area I am constantly being challenged in – even today.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.letsbeesocial.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/letsbeesocial
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/letsbeesocial
• Other: https://letsbeesocial.gumroad.com/

Image Credits
Photography by Victor Hernandez, Midnight 45 Films