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

Katelyn, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you scale up? What were the strategies, tactics, meaningful moments, twists/turns, obstacles, mistakes along the way? The world needs to hear more realistic, actionable stories about this critical part of the business building journey. Tell us your scaling up story – bring us along so we can understand what it was like making the decisions you had, implementing the strategies/tactics etc.

Scaling up has occurred progressively over these past three years. Definitely not overnight. My first year in business was about identifying businesses that had a need for marketing and seeing how relationships would form. There was some trial and error, some clients that would only sign on for ninety days or want to do services on a month-to-month basis. I kept my pricing low so that I could retain clients but now that has changed. I am able to pursue business accounts now that have stronger marketing budgets and want to strategize with more than one service at a time. These accounts are comfortable with annual contracts, and they keep questions to a minimum.

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.

Well, I have been passionate about marketing and public relations for years. There are so many creative aspects that attracted me into this field. There’s a certain freedom to express brand missions and goals. Back in 2018 and 2019 I was dating my now ex and I learned a lot about being an entrepreneur from him. Sometimes I reflect back on how he would handle business situations. When I find myself needing guidance, I think to myself how would he approach this situation and find resolve. I am proud that I can effectively run my business not just day to day but in the long haul as well. I am grateful for my clients and certainly am not shy to ask questions to my accountant about any financial inquiry and my business attorney for any legal advice.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

Out of college with a bachelor’s degree in 2015, I went straight to work at various entry level jobs and saved up a good amount of money. More funding for my business took place summer of 2019 as I had just completed my Masters degree at East Carolina University. I studied hard and accomplished so much that quick year while also working for the university’s career center. I was able to pay the fees to start/register the LLC with the Secretary of State and purchase all of my office essentials. I paid an attorney in Raleigh to draw up a great business contract. The startup costs were not so much as I keep overhead costs at a minimum.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I focus so much on my personal as well as my company’s presence on the LinkedIn platform. It has truly been the best social media platform for me to utilize. Right now, I currently have over 7,500 connections there and my company’s Instagram is just shy of 2k followers. Go follow @centerpiecemarketing on there! ;) My advice is just put out content consistently and post what you would want to see from others. Keep it light, fun, and engaging. It is a place to let your personality shine and don’t forget to reply to comments, send posts as direct messages, and appreciate the connections.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.cpiecemarketing.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/centerpiecemarketing
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/cpiecemarketing
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/company/centerpiecemarketing