We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Chrishayla Smith a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Chrishayla, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?
It all started for me in late 2019 when people all around me were turning their talents into actual side hustles and their businesses were going fast! The more they grew, the more questions I got about how they could be successful on digital spaces. After seeing and hearing the struggles of small business owners trying scale their digital presence, I got the idea to post a Black Friday deal on Facebook to help small businesses set up their social media accounts. I got a little interest, but not as much as I expected. I didn’t let that deter me because I knew that there was still a need for me to use my education and experience with digital media to help them in that area. I knew that I wanted to start a digital communications agency so I immediately reached out to a previous professor, Nicole Morgan, founder of Resolute PR, told her what I hoped to do and showed up to her office with a notebook full of questions. That meeting ignited the possibilities in my mind for how far I could take this. For months, I researched marketing agencies day and night, watched interviews, researched trends and went to what felt like hundreds of webinars. I began to get a better picture of what it took to create an agency and hone in on your craft. It took some time to decide what I wanted my business to look like and how I wanted it to be different from all of the others. In January 2020, I started creating my website, writing out services, creating pages on social media and making posts to let everyone know that I was more than ready and willing to help them take their dreams to the next level. In February of that same year, I landed my first long-term contracted client. I was so excited! The creativity was flowing, people were reaching out for services and it was going great! When COVID hit and we were stuck in the house and everyone was glued to their phones even more than before, it was the perfect opportunity to get all of the eyes that I could on my page. I had a great time creating content for myself and clients and even got invited to host a webinar to help nonprofits with social media. As I began to gain more clients, I began to realize that there was still time for me to figure out the business. Being a one-woman show, I wanted to be able to do everything for everyone, but quickly learned that I’m more valuable mastering specific services. I went back to the drawing board and restructured the business. In the midst of my restructure and about 2 years into the business, my mentor reminded me that I needed to start to operate like a real business. She helped me register for an LLC and get the financial things in place to be an official business. This was a big step for me as a young business owner because, I realized there were still areas that I needed to educate myself on. Being a business owners requires much more than being able to do something well, it requires you to manage people, finances and plan for existing long-term. With these new revelations, I knew that it was time to hire contractors to help with specific areas like graphic design and content creation and accounting. I am now three years into owning and operating a business that continues to grow towards becoming my dream company
Chrishayla, 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’m Chrishayla Smith, owner and lead strategist at Small Things Branding Co. I’ve always loved communications, marketing and branding. My interest led me to getting a degree in the field and later internships and jobs within communications in multiple industries. Throughout my experience, I’ve realized that I’m most passionate about equipping small businesses with the tools to level up their digital presence. I’ve observed that a lot of small business owners are usually turning their passion or hobby into a business. They want to focus doing the thing, but don’t know how to get people to want buy the thing. That’s where Small Things Branding Co. comes in! We work hands on with small business owners to help them dig into the details that sets them apart and brand their small business like a big business through web design, brand kits, social media content strategy and creation. We prioritize equipping businesses not just providing services because we know that starting a business can require out of pocket money to be spent on everything. So our goal is to provide tools and create a solid foundation that will allow that brand to build on and the business owner to easily sustain. We also know that social media and digital media are constantly growing and changing so we’ve recently added communications consulting, strategy planning and platform training to our list of services for larger organizations. We’re a small business with a passion for helping others grow and provides the maximum results for clients through services like a large agency.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Only one year into starting my business, I decided to take a leap of faith and move from my home state Oklahoma and moved to Houston, TX. This was a huge shift for me personally, professionally and as an entrepreneur. I didn’t have a group of clients or even other business owners that I knew here. I was completely starting over in a foreign place. It required me to step outside of my comfort zone and the old way I got most clients. I had to find networking events and find avenues for local small business owners to find me. I changed my advertising strategies, began to join communities to help me grow as a business owner and have since seen the results. My business has been able to grow and become even better than before, and I’ve been able to help with projects that I never would’ve imagined. I’m very grateful for the creators around me and the clients that have taken a chances and welcomed me to create change in their communities.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
On this journey as a young business owner, I had to unlearn that market saturation will indicate how your business will perform. I’ve rewired my mindset to know that what is for me will always be for me. When you have a dream, you don’t have it on accident and it will always find a way to pull you back to it. I’ve learned that this is a big big world and there’s enough room for all small business owners to be successful. What makes a difference is your determination, consistency and ability to set yourself apart, which is why we emphasize those important small details at Small Things Branding Co.
Contact Info:
- Website: Smallthingsbranding.com
- Instagram: @smallthingsbrandingco
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Smallthingsbranding
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/small-things-branding-co