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

Nicole, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What was the most important lesson/experience you had in a job that has helped you as a business owner?

I’ve held many different jobs, all types of positions within various industries. In each of these roles, I took something away that has helped me in my entrepreneurship journey.

In college, I was a business administration major, fashion merchandising minor and my dream job was to be a fashion buyer. However, after working in fashion retail management throughout college and for 2 years after my graduation, I was burnt out on working weekends, late hours, all for very little pay. I took a risk, quit my job, packed my bags and my apartment, and moved from Houston to Dallas for an opportunity in a totally different space- the car industry.

I accepted a position as service cashier for Sewell Automotive, and anyone who knows Sewell knows that excellent customer service is their number one priority. Sewell has best-in-class customer service training and this training gave me a great foundation for understanding the importance of putting my clients first.

My next role was Sales Executive for Pitney Bowes where I gained experience and training in sales strategy, opportunity pipeline, sales presentation, and understanding how to interpret what clients really want even though they are not directly saying it. PB taught me how to solution sell and present differently to each area of the business.

The next several positions I held were in merchandising management where I led teams of retail reps. These roles taught me how to successfully manage multiple projects, lead and influence people.

All of my past experience, no matter how minor, has taught me how to launch and run SavvynSocial. I think the most important lesson of my experience has been customer service. It’s the one transferrable skill every entrepreneur needs to master because your customers/clients are vital to your business.

Whether you are working in a restaurant, bank, grocery store, retail or have a seemingly basic job, there is always a lesson you can take from that role and apply it to your next. Never stop learning and make the most of each opportunity to maximize your potential.

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

I started SavvynSocial because I wanted to turn a fun hobby into a way to make additional money. SavvynSocial is a social media agency that helps small business’ grow through the power of social media. I am the online marketing solution for those business’ who want to be on social media, but either don’t have time to manage their own accounts or don’t have time to understand the in’s and out’s of being online.

What makes SavvynSocial different is my approach. I take time to get to know each client and their business so that I can tailor an individual plan to fit their needs. I work with small businesses and I’m most proud of the relationships I am able to build with each of my clients.

Through my business, I host virtual networking events, speak on professional platforms- webcasts, podcasts, and live interviews mainly on social media topics, networking, career development, and more!

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

Building a viable social media presence isn’t done overnight, especially when building a presence of actual followers that can turn into customers. You have to be consistent, be willing to take risks, and you must know your target audience.

For one of my clients, the first growth goal target was 10k followers. We reached this goal by creating a SM calendar that supported the strategy of this goal. We got creative participated in the #30reelsin30days challenge where we posted a reel a day for a month, using specific hashtags, and engaged with other accounts in the challenge. We got intentional about what type of content to post when, and really encouraged the customers to create the content for us. Doing this increased our reach, followers, and engagement and within 10 months the account grew from 3K to 10.5K.

The advice I would give anyone starting to build a social media presence is to stay consistent and be true to your brand. You may not see immediate progress, but being consistent and active will help to reach new followers.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

One of the quotes I use often is “Even when no one is in the room, someone is watching.” For example, if you post a picture on Instagram you get 10 likes, if you post a video, you’ll still get 10 likes but over hundreds of views. Never let your “likes” validate your content.

I refer back to this quote often because you shouldn’t be afraid or hesitant to promote your skills, business, brand or even brag about your recent accomplishments. You may not get all the “likes”, but people are definitely watching and will remember.

I say all this because staying true to who I am on social media and promoting myself has built a positive reputation for my brand. People don’t always like my content, but they do remember my brand when they are looking for the skills or services I provide.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.savvynsocial.com
• Instagram: @savvymrswright and @savvynsocial1
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SavvyMrsWright/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/savvymrswright/
• Twitter: @savvymrswright

Image Credits
Images by @courtneyhalephoto @wisdomcapture and @savvynsocial1