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

Madison , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Alright, so we’d love to hear about how you got your first client or customer. What’s the story?

When I first moved to California, I showed up with literally no plan at all. I was searching for random jobs that I thought I would either enjoy or make me happy. It was really hard to find something that wasn’t a scam or took advantage of young adults entering the workforce. I decided to just get the first job I could to not only get money but to grow my network of people around me. What better place to do that than a coffee shop! I started working at a local spot and became friends with the staff and a few of the local customers. I was having a ton of fun working with new people, meeting new people, and gaining confidence in a new state across the country. As I got super comfortable here, my creative brain started going a tad crazy. The only creative task at the coffee shop was writing the new specials on a chalkboard. As a graphic designer, writing on an actual surface versus my iPad or laptop was very difficult. As that was clearly not for me, I looked at the business’s Instagram page. I noticed a bunch of things that needed fixing and the next thing I know I signed the coffee shop as my first client. This was HUGE for me. The main thing I learned from this is that sometimes working at the bottom is the best way to learn everything you need to then take them on as your client and continue their business message and goals. It was truly an amazing opportunity that quickly grew my business.

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

I have ADHD and interests all over the place. I found myself working in the field of social media and business management, I wondered to myself, why this and how did we get here? It took me a while of some self-reflection to realize I have already been doing this, what I love, since I was a kid. I remember it started with my sisters, I am a middle child if you can’t already tell! We were close in age so we were al on summer breaks and such at the same time and watching tv got old fast when I was growing up. Mainly because my parents only had the local channels or VCR so we became creative very quickly. It was called Design Academy. My sister and I designed clothes and other things and we submitted them to our older sister. This quickly turned into us playing teacher, as our mother has her masters in early childhood education so inspired would be an understatement. From there as we grew, I turned to DIY, photography, film, and many more hobbies. So I love creating things and I like to help others. I was a swim teacher for a while which filled my need to follow my mother foot footsteps of being an awesome teacher, and I was one! So with that, I think my whole life I have been searching for a way to create anything and everything while helping others. I just help other business owners, creators, and women absolutely slay their social media and marketing, as well as all things legal and business. Starting my own social media management business has been overly fulfilling. Seeing my clients make strides, teaching my clients new things within technology and seeing my own business thrive has been so fulfilling it honestly becomes overwhelming. But I wake up more grateful each day….unless I think about all the bookkeeping a business entails- that I do not enjoy but I love saying I know how to do.

Any fun sales or marketing stories?

I got a new client in the most basic way, but it was so monumental to me. I was at my coffee shop, being a barista and managing their social media, and it was a super busy day. My shift ended, so I was filming content before I went home for the day. There was a woman in line asking my co-worker what I was doing and who I was. This honestly has never happened before, people normally already know or just observe. But this woman pointed at me! I went over and introduced myself and what I do while she waited for coffee. She asked for my card and when it took me 5 minutes to find it, and I thought she left, there she was, still waiting. She said perfect, meet me here, and we’ll talk. I was utterly shocked and stunned by what had happened to me. Before this woman, all my clients had been referrals, so this was huge! I met with her about her business needs and goals- it was so much fun! She gave me a task and a deadline, if I showed up, the job was mine. I obviously killed it and got the new client! She was the first client I got all on my own, just by doing my job. Such a great experience I have been so blessed with. I can’t wait for more.

How did you build your audience on social media?

This is such a hard question for me because it truly depends on the client/business and their goals. For my personal brand, I follow other people doing what I do, who inspire me! They keep me motivated and I have found a few of them to be great mentors of mine. They show up for you on social media when you need it most and that is hard to find. It is about creating a community that you know shows nothing but love and support for what you do. I have had my fair encounter of trolls and negativity, but it almost always is a short phase that goes away.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.madisonavenuecommunications.com
• Instagram: @madisonavenuecommunications

Image Credits

Mad Photos & Piper Gibson Photography