We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kalyn Bell a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Kalyn, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea

I always had the idea that I wanted to do my own thing in my career. I just did not know what industry that would be in or how to start.

I was still in college and working full-time when I came across someone on my social media feed who started her own marketing agency in Chicago. She was posting a lot of lifestyle and business content that I found interesting! I reached out to her asking for advice on how she started. Never be afraid to reach out!

Since she was receiving such a high volume of questions she decided to open up a 6-week mentoring course that covered things like how to form an LLC, contracts, building a brand, case studies, etc. I took this in addition to my college courses and learned a lot more about the ‘real life’ side of the business.

When I finished the mentoring program I began the process of forming my LLC for my agency and starting social media accounts to build my brand online (I receive 95% of my inquiries through social media).

Before officially launching my company online and taking inquiries, I wanted to have:

-an active website
-separate Instagram business account established
-contract templates
-onboarding workflow process created
-knowing what niche to target

I think it is important to have these things established before launching your business. This will create a smooth transition when you start taking clients.

About a month or two later I announced the opening of The Only Agency!

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

I have been running my business for almost 3 years now. I specialize in social media management, coaching, and content creation for businesses.

For businesses who want to collaborate with my agency, I help run their social media accounts and create the content we post. This allows business owners to have more time to run their business! Time is money. For people who may not be ready to commit to handing over their social media, I created a coaching program. People get to pick my brain for ideas and strategies! While still having 100% control of their accounts.

What sets me apart from others is I like to be involved with every project or call that involves my clients. I think businesses whose founders are involved will build better relationships overall.

I am the most proud of the community I have built for my business. I have spent a lot of time reaching out and going to networking events to meet business owners in Kansas City. This has brought me a lot of positive friendships I am thankful for! It is important to surround yourself with people who have the same goals as you.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

The strategy I used for capital when creating my business is keeping a corporate job. This gives me a consistent income! It is difficult working full-time and running a business, but if you can do it I would recommend it.

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

Confidence is key! Be confident when you are networking yourself. You should know you are the best in the business. Show people that they can trust you. This will help you be reputable in your community.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.onlyagencyllc.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theonlyagencykc/
• Facebook: The Only Agency
• Other: https://stan.store/kalynbell

Image Credits

@natalie.h.collective