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

Holly, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s talk about social media – do you manage your own or do you have someone or a company that handles it for you? Why did you make the choice you did?

I’ve approached social media from several different angles and still haven’t figured out what’s best for my business. I’ve hired companies on two occasions to manage our social media and they were creating content that looked nice and aligned with the brand from an esthetics standpoint but since they weren’t physically in the business on a regular basis the content lacked personal touch and insight into who Holly Bowls is from a personality perspective. But, paying someone to be physically at your business on a regular basis to capture authentic content can get pretty expensive. I’ve also engaged current team members to help with social media but without my guidance, leadership and input on a regular basis, the content is more authentic and current but it can have gaps and holes in telling a cohesive story. Whoever drives the personality of the business needs to be driving the story on social media and if you are not natural inclined to pull your phone out on a regular basis and capture content then your social media presence lacks that look behind the curtain that is so appealing on social.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Of course. Over seven years ago, I started to feel a bit restless in my career. I was implementing marketing strategies for real estate developers in the hospitality and commercial real estate space. I had a dream “first career” in that industry with wonderful colleagues, cool projects and beautiful locales. I was being pulled though by an urge to do something that allowed me to work more independently and aligned with my personal interests. I loved making food for my friends and family and since I’m a plant based eater, I was enchanted with the idea of doing something in that space.

I felt completely overwhelmed though by the idea of building from scratch so I started doing a lot of research in the plant based franchise space and landed on a smoothie bowl concept that I thought was a good fit for me. I signed a five year contract and started working harder than I had ever worked to deliver a great product and build trust within the Sandy Springs & North Atlanta communities. My first year of operating was easily the hardest year of my life. But, finally, one step after the next, I grew my location into one of the top locations within the franchise group.

When the renewal date of my franchise agreement came up, I decided I wanted more freedom to localize my concept, ease the challenging demands of traditional retail hours and operate more of a local mom and pop shop. So, here I am, almost 7 years later. I survived a pandemic and corporate restructuring, plus, I’ve developed a great base of loyal customers and am always working on improving our menu.

The thing I am most proud of regarding my business is how committed we are to high quality ingredients. We are one of the only smoothie bowl shops in the area still blending our bases in house rather than ordering pre-blended, sorbet type bases with a lot of extra ingredients and added sugar. We’re also working with a local granola manufacture and transitioning our granolas over to all organic, naturally sweetened granolas. All of our coffees and teas are naturally sweetened without the added coloring, sugar and preservatives that you’ll see in a lot of products. I sincerely want to provide my consumers with products that fuel their bodies properly with limited extra ingredients.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Once you become a business owner, you really have to unlearn the pace in which corporate America in general operates. Problems that arise in retail are overtimes customer facing and impact your sales flow immediately. If a shipment of product doesn’t arrive, the bathroom sink overflows, it suddenly snows twice in three weeks in Atlanta – those problems all need immediate attention. There’s no assistant to call to set up a meeting to discuss the problem where someone will take notes and then circulate the notes for feedback and then schedule a follow up meeting five days from now. In three hours I will be out of product so this problem needs to solved NOW. The overflowing sink is going to flood the space, damage equipment and cause the business to close, it needs to fixed NOW. Most of the problems I come across throughout the daily operation need an immediate solution and so at first, I felt completely out of control , stressed, and chaotic because I would sometimes come into tiny fires all day long that needed somewhat immediate attention. I’ve gotten so much more comfortable with the lack of structure owning a retail business requires and constantly having your focus interrupted and then being able to dive back into whatever the priority task is. It’s no longer death by 1,000 paper cuts but instead, I solved 1,000 tiny problems today. Business owners have to reshape how they perceive their day to day or you really will burn out from stress and chaos.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Being very present in my business has been critical in building my reputation within my market. Prior to being a business owner, I had a completely different perspective of how I would spend my time. And many times, corporate franchises sell the dream of your business making a lot of money while you barely work. That can be true but you’ve got to invest a lot of time upfront in your business; either with your customers or with your team. Customers like knowing (and liking) who their money is going to and employees need to be properly trained, mentored, and encouraged. Plus, understanding your business operationally helps you make quick and productive decisions for your business. When I was operating a business under a franchise system, the top 3 stores were all owner operated. As a business owner, you’ve got to be prepared to invest time in your customer, your team members and your operation. It will take your business so much further than you ever could by being hands off and disconnected.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.hollybowls.com
• Instagram: @hollybowls_atl
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hollybmorrison/
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/@HollyBowls Joined Dec 9, 2024
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/holly-bowls-and-bites-atlanta