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

Jared, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How do you think about vacations as a business owner? Do you take them and if so, how? If you don’t, why not?

The key for entrepreneurs to take regular vacations that are enjoyable is two-fold: proper planning and recognizing that time off actually improves your output and quality of work. Vacations don’t have to be elaborate road trips or adventures abroad. Extended stays at home can be even more refreshing.

Unfortunately, studies show that Americans are taking less vacation than they ever have before. In fact, more than half of Americans (55%) let their vacation days go to waste, which equates to 658 million unused vacation days (source: https://hbr.org/2016/07/the-data-driven-case-for-vacation).

You can and should step away. Properly planned vacations can provide rest and focus, spark creativity, and change your perspective. Creativity can be seen as the ability to make connections between disparate ideas, but unless you have explored a wealth of experiences, you will not have anything to draw from. Going on vacation provides a wealth of novelty to spur creativity. (source: https://www.inc.com/jon-levy/4-science-backed-reasons-vacations-increase-productivity.html)

At Istoria, we have a fairly aggressive vacation policy for a US-based company. Employees start out with 4 weeks of vacation, two of which are required. In addition we take 2 weeks off company-wide, one week in July and one in December. And of course we take all of the federally recognized holidays and provide additional sick leave.

It has been liberating as a business owner to empower employees to do good work and have an improved quality of life.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m the founder and Creative Director at Istoria, a digital creative studio that creates story-focused video, photo, and web experiences for brands that make the world a better place. Quite simply, we help folks bring their brand’s story to life. We dig into a company’s ethos and discern what mediums and messages will best resonate with their audience to achieve the company’s goals.

We’ve also started to support original programming with the creation of HomeLAnd, a documentary series focused on helping end homelessness in America.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I’ve had a lot of success with 757 Collective, a brand I created to showcase the 757 area code’s landscape, culture, and community. It was initially an Instagram account but has blossomed into so much more. The success of the Instagram account in particular has been tied to engaging, consistent, high-quality content within a niche. I shared user-generated content every single day and quickly became the region’s most popular hub account. People follow the account because it beautifully exposes them to places in their backyard they love and many they didn’t know it existed.

My advice: focus on creating consistent, niche content that provides unique value.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

My agency started as a side hustle while I was in grad school. I started out by designing custom websites built within WordPress. Many of the clients I was creating sites for wanted original media to give their sites a truly custom feel. Before I knew it, I wasn’t just a freelancer, I had built an agency with 12 sub contractors working for me.

There were a few key milestones in shifting from freelance to agency. Firstly, I literally formed the business. It might seem intuitive, but getting a registered company name, opening a business bank account, and creating company books is a big deal.

Secondly, I reframed how I talked about the work I was doing. Viewing the work through the lens of the agency instead through “Jared Beasley” changed my state of mind. It became bigger than just me.

The final big milestone was hiring full-time employees. I put it off for years because I enjoyed running lean. I also knew that if I did take on employees I wanted to be a pay leader and provide a work environment/culture that was inspiring. Now I can’t imagine doing the work without the support of full-time help.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://istoria.co agency, https://jaredbeasley.net photography portfolio
• Instagram: @istoriaagency, @757collective
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaredcbeasley/