We were lucky to catch up with Chelsey Nelson recently and have shared our conversation below.
Chelsey, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What was the most important lesson/experience you had in a job that has helped you in your professional career?
I think the most important lesson that I have learned from a prior job is how to treat your employees/team. I worked for a marketing CEO who was very toxic in the office and towards her employees. I witnessed first-hand how her attitude reflected on the staff and resulted in an extreme high turnover rate. Someone quit every week because of how awful she was. That’s also why I decided to part ways with the company and really focus on my businesses. It taught me that when I grow my team, to treat each individual with the most respect because at the end of the day they are the one building my businesses up to be successful and I want everyone to win.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Chelsey Nelson. Born in Boston, Massachusetts and raised in Atlanta, GA. During my days as a college student, I learned the industry of marketing and media and absolutely loved designing and producing. Forward to the summer of 2019, Covid was full in affect and I was not working so i did my research on starting a marketing agency and before you know it, I was picking up clients and helping them build their online presence. My marketing agency is XO Media & Design. My company provides services when it comes to web design, graphic design, social media management, photography and videography. What I am most proud of is my drive and willingness to continue to do research on what I can do to help the next business out and the overall reactions of my clients when the see their vision come to reality.
I recently started my second business called XO Events & Design which is a full on event decorating and rental business. This business provides services when it comes to event design, 360 photo booth rental, balloon bouquets and more.
I think when it comes to creating, whether it be digitally or physically, I become very passionate and that to me is an award within itself.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
I never want to work for anyone else ever again after my experience at my last job. Everyday that I was there and I was annoyed, which was almost everyday, it fueled me to focus back on me and my businesses. I wanted to still work creatively but for me and my family. Now my goals are to continue to grow and build long- lasting relationships with my clients.
Have you ever had to pivot?
I think the most underlooked aspect of running a business is that there are slow seasons and you might not get clientele or bookings as often which means you can’t pay bills. So there has been time that I had to pick up jobs from time to time just to keep up but that still didn’t stop me from pursuing my dreams and goals. A hustler is a hustler one way or the other and I will get it done by any means. Once you have that mentality, you are more powerful than you think you are. Never stop grinding!
Contact Info:
- Website: xomediandesign.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itschelseynakia/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/xomediandesign
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTQteD1yTYMSfFi0eYKQI3g