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

Katie, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.

When I created my instagram page: CHS (working) Moms, I promised myself and my viewers that the page would remain entirely authentic. With that, it meant sharing our stories, our values & the good, bad & the ugly alongside it. I see far too often, family creators that follow the trends of Instagram and TikTok and stay in that lane. Which, to be very honest, is very entertaining. For me, it was important to not only provide entertainment and favorite finds but to also provide a space for Moms and partners to feel welcome, ask questions, seek support and anything else they need.

I’m not afraid to share how I feel about things and I’m not afraid to stick up for or celebrate Moms in all capacities. Every time I do, I lose some followers but I always gain triple+ that many from it. This has created an amazing and dedicated audience & allows me to continue to build this space and create events outside of the phone screen.

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.

My name is Katie and I am a Mom – first and foremost, a Real Estate Agent, Content Creator for CHS (working) Moms & I also work for my friend’s children’s boutique (Tweedle Beedle) doing sales & marketing . When it comes to my Instagram Page, I started it mostly for fun to keep me busy postpartum and to rebrand the term ‘Working Moms’ to include ALL Moms. It was important to me to get that message across that every Mom is always on the clock no matter what they are doing whether it be a SAHM, 9-5 Mom, Mompreneur, etc.

There are 3 MAJOR reasons I will keep this account running for as long as Instagram will have me.
1. My daughter loves it and loves the adventures we go on. She asks to do something or to go model and we have the absolute best time. The time we get to explore together is the greatest and I wouldn’t change it for the world. I love that she has been able to experience so much in her young age (she’s only 4 y’all!).
2. I get to bring Moms together in big ways. I host a yearly Baby Shower for the Charleston area that helps bring local businesses to expecting Moms. It provides so many resources to these Moms and it fills my bucket! I also host networking events and Mom meet-ups. Nothing compares to face-to-face interactions and connections.
3. I’ve created a safe place for any woman to talk. My DM’s are full of Moms seeking support or questions on how to handle things. I’m no expert but to have created a space where a woman can come talk with zero judgment is pretty darn special.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect being a creator is the space I’ve made for Moms. I’ve been brought to tears on a few occasions by Moms who have reached out for support in regards to their children. That they don’t feel comfortable going to their family and friends to talk about it out of fear of judgment or lack of support. As a Mom who more often than not does not feel like I have the space to seek out support or talk about my struggles – I’m so grateful that I can be that for other Moms. It’s something we all so desperately need.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Building an audience can be daunting. It took me a minute from when I started my page to figure out what my true goal was with it. I knew after my first year that the most important things were sharing my story and creating a space for Moms in any capacity. I also knew that my audience growth would not grow as quickly as, let’s say, a foodie influencer. I mean, I cannot tell you how many food related instagram creators I follow because it’s harder not to follow them. Do I share about food? Yes, sometimes, but not on the daily.

My suggestions for audience growth:
1. Be yourself. Don’t try to be like other creators – create your own posts with authenticity and honesty
2. Engage with viewers. If they comment, respond. If they DM, respond. Be personable.
3. Do giveaways – they help a ton.
4. Share often. Figure out when people are most on your page and share, share, share.
5. Ask friends to share your page with their friends; Ask your friends to like, comment & save your posts. Any engagement is GREAT engagement.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://chsworkingmoms.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/chsworkingmoms
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/chsworkingmoms
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ktocarolinaproperties/

Image Credits

Personal Photo Image: Janet Winter Photography
Other Photos – Pink Balloons: Jennifer Mary Photography