Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Bethany Myers. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Bethany, thanks for joining us today. What’s the kindest thing anyone has ever done for you?

I think one of the kindest things someone has ever done for me was listen. Without interrupting. Without trying to fix me, or offer advice. Without trying to relate my pain or circumstance to something they had felt. And then, going one step further and asking me more questions about the root cause of my feeling, pain, or thought process. This was so meaningful because I think we often can get in the way of deep healing when we interject our own thoughts and ideas. People need to be heard. People need to know they’re seen and that someone cares enough to hear them. Being given that outlet allowed me to heal pain and trauma I had hidden deep inside me from my past.

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 like to think of my circumstance as quite rare. To be honest, I didn’t forge some deep meaningful path into the field of marketing – I fell into it. After a deep loss of a loved one. I wasn’t at the peak of my career. I wasn’t even in the right mindset to get started. But I think God had other plans for me. I left a Content Manager role so I could spend time grieving the death of my former fiance. I spent time at the beach, listening to the waves. Praying. And just trying to find part of me that was alive, because a lot of my plans, dreams, and future died with him. It was in the quiet moments that God whispered to me and encouraged me not to give up. To distract myself and find a sense of focus, I began writing. I’ve always been fond of writing, so it was nostalgic to put pen to paper after what felt like years. I also was approached by a few colleagues from my past, inquiring if I could start writing blogs for them. Writing and getting paid…doing something I love?

After a couple months increasing my client base, I created several logos. (Thank God I taught myself Photoshop) and shared it with my friends on Facebook. I asked them to vote for their favorite. The feedback was exciting and I picked their favorite one.

Now, 7 years later, what started as a passion has turned into a business. I have learned so many things about myself and the grit it takes to run a company. I’m no longer the employee, and I have learned to break free from that mindset. I value my services and charge rates that honor my talent and experience.

I offer Social Media Management, Email Marketing, Online Reputation Management, Business Consulting, Website Design, Content Writing and SEO services, Graphic Design, and Marketing Strategy.

I also have several amazing team members who are an extension of me, my vision, and also possess a perfectionistic approach. Our company motto is: We provide seriously exceptional work, without taking ourselves too seriously.

I think it’s important to inject humor into the work environment and cultivate a culture that’s empowering. My hope is that my contractors will remain loyal and genuinely enjoy working for me. I must be doing something right because my contractors have been with me since the inception of Content Social Media Queen in 2016.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Just one year after my fiance died, I was still recovering from grief as I was learning to build my business. It was an exciting time, but also mixed with heartache as I continued to recover. A client and someone I considered a close friend hit me with a shocking letter from her attorney. I was stunned to see that she wanted to sue me for something I didn’t do. I couldn’t believe someone could be so greedy (especially in such a difficult season of my life) and instead of simply having a conversation with me – would resort to an attorney. I hired my own attorney to defend myself and thankfully her charges were immediately dropped. Ironically, I’m thankful for this trial because it reminded me that I’m not truly ever in control, and it further solidified that my business is something worth fighting for. It made me have even more drive to create a stronger foundation and refine my business agreements to prevent something like this from happening again.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

This story is laughable (well, now it is.) I walked into a Chase bank, opened up an official business account and deposited $200 of my own money into the account. I walked out and immediately cried. “What did I just do?! What am I doing?” I was overwhelmed at the perceived finality that I had just locked myself into owning a business. After the emotions washed over me and I was able to process – I eventually felt proud of myself. I was the only investor in my business, and still am to this day. I can’t believe I get to help people every day grow their own business, enjoy what I do, and make a profit doing so.

Contact Info:

• Website: contentsocialmediaqueen.com
• Instagram: mrsbethanymyers and contentsocialmediaqueen
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/contentsocialmediaqueen/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bethanymichaelscostamesa
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/content-social-media-queen-costa-mesa

Image Credits
Brocoff Photography and Yazmin Hagemeyer Photography