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

Hi Candace, thanks for joining us today. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

To be successful I think it requires an unwavering sense of self. When I first started Digital Candy I had no external reasons that pointed to me being a successful agency owner. I did not come from a family of entrepreneurs, I’d only ever worked remotely at an ad agency for 9 months, and I had a limited amount of capital. But deep down I knew that it would be successful because I believe in my self and my ability to create my own reality. So rather than focusing on the externals around me that had the potential to prove that this endeavor would not be a success, I turned inward and put the focus on myself and my abilities to turn everything I touch into gold.

Candace, 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?

I originally set out to be a writer. I loved writing creative non-fiction and quickly found my way into copywriting. I loved writing taglines, blogs, website copy, etc. But I found myself on social media A LOT! My friend Sky Nellor was kind enough to take me under her wing and teach me the ins and outs of social media management, account management, and community management. Eventually, I found my wings and went to work for a remote start up in Charlotte, NC called Jars Digital. About 9 months in, the owner decided to close the agency to pursue something else. When they asked what my plans were, I had no idea. They asked, “why don’t you start your own agency?” and I was like, “I could do that?” and he was like, “yeah why not?” and I said, “why not!” Which has pretty much been my motto ever since.

Jars Digital is back open and Jason Spooner has been so immensely helpful as a resource and a mentor as I’ve navigated agency ownership and entrepreneurship over the last 4 years.

The biggest problem I solve for my clients is humanizing their brand online. I believe that business, no matter the industry, is about relationships. And people trust people. So I’ve been able to use my creative writing skills, fabulous networking skills, and strong understanding of how social works and what works on social to facilitate a connection between their brand/business and their audience. I use this relationship building to create a bridge to move their audience off social and into their physical business location or to their website.

I’m most proud of how I’ve been able to create influencer marketing campaigns for clients. The area I live in can be slow to adopt trends, especially digital trends. So I feel like my work has played a huge role in legitimizing influencer marketing in my area. Of course, this would not be possible without the incredible and professional influencers in my area. They’re great!

What I really want people to understand about myself and Digital Candy is that we are all about building community and fostering relationships between people and brands.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy

A book about a simple concept-doing things now so you don’t have to do them later. Which sounds super elementary but it actually was super profound. It’s beyond just like simple advice like “making your bed in the morning.” It’s about having future-thinking by having compassion and thoughtfulness toward future-you even though present-you might not want to do something right now. Knowing that if you do something now, you won’t have to do it later and that in turn makes your life so much easier.

The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks
Understanding the “Upper Limit Problem” which is a subconscious problem everyone suffers from where in which we believe when too many good things happen to us or we start to feel too good, we begin to self sabotage because subconsciously we believe we can’t or shouldn’t or don’t deserve to feel this good. Once we identify our Upper Limit, we can move into our Zone of Genius where we fulfill our fullest unique potential, where ‘work doesn’t feel like work’

The Gift of Fear by Gavin de Becker
Not really business related but it taught me about trusting my intuition. Following my gut feelings and learning how to follow my survival feelings to stay ahead of the game and safe. While this book mainly focuses on unsafe situations, I think learning how to follow your gut and listening to your intuition is essential in business. While you may never be in a situation where you are getting mugged or kidnapped, knowing when a deal feels bad or a client doesn’t feel. right is important.

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

So I built my personal presence on social (@pugprxncess) by finding a community (pugs) and engaging with them the same way I would a friend. I feel like because people associate social media with marketing and advertising that we’ve totally lost the point of social media– it’s about being SOCIAL! Social media is a place to connect, hang out, engage, and make new connections with new friends and stay connected with old friends (both online and IRL friends).

I took this same concept and applied it to my client’s social media accounts. Business is about building relationships and social media is an incredible tool to do just that. Often times when I first get access to a client account or meet with a client they struggle to see growth, engagement, and it just feels like their presence online has totally flat-lined. That’s because they were using it as a SALES tool and not a SOCIAL tool. No one wants to feel like they’re being sold to all the time and we all see enough ads as it is. I help them revamp their page not just by changing aesthetics, which is what most social media managers choose to focus on, but by changing how they engage with their audience. I find a community they can fit into or I build them one through engagement and socializing. Through this community building I’m able to help them build a relationship with their audience that is strong, long-lasting, and mutually beneficial for both their audience and my client(s).

REMEMBER TO HAVE FUN ONLINE!!!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.digitalcandyllc.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pugprxncess/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/candace-gasper-90151838/

Image Credits
Kelly Colleman Purple Monster Studios Catie Viox Sky Nellor