We recently connected with Lisa Rabey and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Lisa thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.

In creating Nerd Girl Industries, I want to fill in the gaps for freelancers, small business owners, and non-profits on their needs for their online presence. I also stylize myself as a virtual assistant as other work I do is content strategy and audits, community management, tailored research, and so much more. Additionally, I offer one-on-one classes in-person and online on a variety of topics.

I introduce myself as an “Internet Consultant” because the services I offer are beyond social media management and creation.

Since I gear my services for freelancers, small business owners, and non-profits, I can provide a personalized touch that they would not get from a larger agency.

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.

Nerd Girl Industries has officially been in business since April 2024, but I have been creating variations of my work since the 1990s. I started in tech support for a small ISP in SW Michigan. Then, I moved to San Francisco to a larger firm doing advanced tech work.

I remained in the tech sector for several years until I got burned out and decided to return to college. I earned my BA in English Lit and Art History. Then, I got an MA in Humanities and an MLIS in Library Science and Archives. I am also a published author. My mix of right and left-brain skills lets me offer unique ideas and solutions.

While I may have left the tech sector, my work in the field never ended. I worked with small businesses, freelancers, and non-profits on their online presence. This included managing their websites and social media, and working with born-digital objects. Additionally, I never quit teaching groups and individuals about internet literacy, from how to use an app to computer equipment. I had taught classes in my tech career and loved it so I was glad I could continue teaching, albeit in a different field.

I work with clients from seniors learning Amazon to non-profits on content creation. As I work virtually, I am available worldwide. Locally, I offer boutique services. Because my work spans several industries, I refer to myself as an Internet Consultant. While yes, bulk of my work is in content, I also work in various roles outside of that. My background in tech, librarianship, writing, and bookselling gives me many skills and I can use them to help others.

I send a newsletter every Tuesday. It has the latest pic of my pug, Thursday, a meme, a tip, and an update on my work for NGI. I also offer a free 30-minute discovery call to see if my services work for you. Additionally, I offer free downloads and free bird’s eye view content audits.

As for me: I live in the Midwest with my husband (who I sometimes like) and our persnickety pug, Thursday. I spend too much time watching trashy TV and reading heaving bosom books. I have a Jane Austen empire. I hate leg day. My favorite meal is nachos or a rueben sandwich. Actually, I’m a big fan of all kinds of food. It’s blasphemous to say, but my favorite Elizabeth Bennet is Keira Knightley. I’m currently obsessing over Bridgerton. I support Nottingham Forest FC. You can find my personal accounts at https://linktr.ee/heroineinabook.

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

As my work is 95% virtual, and I am working solo, my costs are incredibly minimized. I started out with a small seed fund ($2,500) from stock I sold when I lost my corporate job at the end of 2023. I’ve been very careful on how I use that money and each purchase is well thought out. I use open source software in place of bigger brands as the software tended to be cheaper (or free), well supported, and cover my needs. I also use trials as much as possible to make the decision on whether or not to upgrade to a paid service. I keep all receipts for tax time. When I get paid by my clients, I move 30% to savings for tax time.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

As someone who works in the virtual space, competition in my industry is tough. I did a lot of research on who my competitors are but I had difficulty finding small companies who did what I did. Sure, I found a lot of larger agencies but the most results came from ads, promotions, and websites offering some kind of software service or classes.

I spent quite a bit of my seed money on advertising. I put ads on websites, print newspapers, and postcards to targeted areas. The results weren’t worth the investment. What I wish I had done was use websites that specialize in freelancers to search for similar companies such as mine to see what they are doing and to get inspiration. Such websites are free. I also wish I did more in person networking. Lastly, it’s on my plan to write up a proposal to send to local business that complement my work to see if we could work together.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://nerdgirl.net
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/nerdgirl_industries
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/nerdgirlindustries
• Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/nerdgirlindustries
• Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nerdgirlindustries
  Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/nerdgirlindustries/
  LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/nerdgirlindustries
  Newsletter: https://newsletter.nerdgirl.net/sign-up

Image Credits

Unsplash for both for the computer images. No creator was listed.