We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Maddie Lemay. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Maddie below.

Maddie, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you think folks should manage their own social media or hire a professional? What do you do?

My business handles social media for a handful of clients. We write the content, manage a calendar, and use a scheduling platform to publish the posts. But one thing people find surprising: I actually don’t have my own social media accounts on my phone. A few months ago, I hired someone to manage my own social media accounts. As a business owner who preaches the importance of social media, I know how important it is to remain active on my own accounts. However, I’m also prone to scrolling, which is detrimental to having a productive day. So I hired an amazing marketing coordinator who takes care of scheduling all my posts. The other week, when I saw her, we had a good laugh over the fact that she also doesn’t have her own social media accounts on her phone, but she has mine. And similarly, I have access to my clients’ accounts but not my own. There’s something about living in this space that requires a lot of boundaries! I’ve found I’m far more efficient during my most productive hours if I stop worrying about my Instagram comments or LinkedIn messages, so this is what works for me.

Maddie, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m a very fresh business owner, and I actually started the Story Studio unintentionally. I was a journalist at a small community newspaper for two years after I graduated college. Then, when COVID hit, I decided to branch out and get into freelancing. I picked up a few random copywriting gigs to build consistency as I tried to build out my journalism freelance career. But eventually, I became booked out with copywriting freelance work. I decided to build a website, which turned into a copywriting business! We offer fractional communications services for businesses that aren’t ready to invest in a full-time employee or that want a more strategic partner. We also write new websites and offer strategic advice for the user-friendliness and layout of new websites. We work alongside designers, so we can be a one-stop-shop for someone who wants a new website designed and re-written.

A piece of my heart will always belong to journalism. I love the scrappiness of it: the rawness of a well-told story, the honesty of an investigative piece, the pages of notes scribbled behind every paragraph published. And so I’m really proud that my business is founded upon that background. And my clients resonate because they are already daily consumers of story without even realizing it. We all are!

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

My freelancing side hustle quickly scaled into what’s becoming a successful business because I focused heavily on winning long-term, monthly contracts as opposed to one-off projects. Doing this was overwhelming and stressful at first. One piece of advice I often received as a new business owner was to say no to projects when I felt like I was at my capacity. I actually didn’t listen to that advice. I viewed new business and signing on new clients as an opportunity to offer my contractors more hours and build a more stable business.

So with just a few retainer clients, I was quickly able to hire a marketing strategist and a junior copywriter, and they are actually client-facing. So now I can work more behind-the-scenes on the strategy pieces and editing, and they do more of the implementation. Now, we actually near our capacity because my contractors can’t take on many more hours. But I feel far more stable because I don’t have to tackle all the work myself.

That’s the advice I would give to fellow service providers: if you keep getting inquiries when you’re starting out and they’re willing to pay you at your full rate, build a strong network of highly-capable people willing to join you on a freelance basis, and take on the extra work. Soon enough, you’ll have lots of clients but still have the capacity to work on your own business, because you have a team to help you!

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

The most effective strategy for me has been building an email list right away. I have a small list, with just over 100 subscribers, but I’ve already received a few inquiries from that list. It’s also a great way for me to keep tabs on people who maybe aren’t ready to schedule a call with me, but want to stay in the loop. I also use my weekly email marketing as a way to showcase my writing style, which is a plus!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.lemaystorystudio.com
• Instagram: @lemaystorystudio
• Facebook: Lemay Story Studio
• Linkedin: Maddie Lemay
• Other: Join us at the “Campfire” for weekly tidbits, stories, and exclusive offers! https://view.flodesk.com/pages/6363df332d6246fc1453ca7e

Image Credits
Emma Gottschalk