Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Stefany Elliott. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Stefany, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Owning a business isn’t always glamorous and so most business owners we’ve connected with have shared that on tough days they sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have just had a regular job instead of all the responsibility of running a business. Have you ever felt that way?
I can’t imagine ever working for someone else ever again. I could, for a hot second, during the pandemic. There was so much uncertainty about the world, and more specifically about the hospitality industry. We lost nearly all of our clients. Bars and restaurants were cutting spending to survive, and our services were the first to go. Everyone was scrambling to figure out which government aid options were available and how to access them. I was pregnant with my first child and had the sudden realization that there’s no such thing as paid maternity leave when you run your own company. The easy option would’ve been to go in-house, but that would’ve meant abandoning the team I had still looking to me for answers in the midst of their own uncertainty.
Yes, the world of corporate benefits and a stable paycheck are always tempting, but never more tempting than being able to enjoy breakfast and dinner with my kids every day, being able to work from a beach whenever I feel like it, being able to walk away from my computer and workout in the middle of the day. As a business owner, I’m also able to ensure that my team never experiences some of the toxic, corporate culture I had to endure before starting The Same Paige. I’m in a position to create a work environment that encourages growth, prioritizes mental health, and acknowledges the lightheartedness of what we’re doing.
Having a “regular job” would mean missing out on those moments with my family, my team not being in a position to realize their potential, and my clients being saddled with less than worthwhile agencies. It makes me so happy to know that being a business owner is better for me, for my family, for my team, and for my clients. I love what we do and am so proud of what The Same Paige has achieved in nearly 13 years. It is tough. There are daily (more like hourly) challenges. There are highs and so many lows. It is mentally, physically, and emotionally draining. I’ve never been happier.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I sort of fell into PR. My sister was living in New York working for a PR agency, and I saw what she was doing. Like any little sister, I wanted to copy her. I had no clue what she was doing, but remember going to an event she did launching rainbow goldfish and thought it was just so darn cool that she was running around, telling people what to do, being told what to do, and getting tons of free goldfish. When I graduated from Georgetown, I went back home to Atlanta and started applying for PR jobs in New York. I would fly up for interviews and stay on friends’ couches (thanks, Katie!). One visit, I interviewed on a Tuesday, and they wanted me to start the following Monday. I was thrown onto the spirits team working with Moët & Chandon and I immediately fell in love.
I spent the next few years working with various clients at various agencies. I had the chance to work with beauty brands, real estate, doctors, and everything in between. I was fired from three of the four PR jobs I had before The Same Paige. After the third time, I took a minute for some self reflection. I loved what I was doing and was very good at what I was doing, but just couldn’t seem to find an agency that fit with my values and work style. Instead of getting back out there and trying to find yet another agency that might be a fit for me, I decided to start my own. In 2011, The Same Paige was born.
Looking back on all of the clients I’d worked with in previous roles, I felt drawn to hospitality. In my experience, when people are in hospitality for the right reasons, they tend to be good people. Being my own boss, I was now in a position to choose who I wanted to work with – I chose good people. Of course, there are exceptions to any rule. There are people in hospitality to simply make money. There are people in hospitality because they want to be a famous chef. We don’t work with those people. The Same Paige works with people and brands that want to show consumers a good time, share delicious food and drinks, and create a unique experience worth enjoying again and again. Those are the names you’ll see on our roster of past and present clients.
At The Same Paige, we genuinely believe in all of the stories we’re pitching and brands we’re supporting. We won’t tell you something is the best burger in the East Village if we don’t believe it. We can personally vouch for the smoothness of a vodka client. If we’re chatting with a potential client and discover we don’t like the taste of their product, we’ll let them know that we’re not the right partner and recommend other agencies. We absolutely love “first pancake” ideas and the seeds they plant for the next big idea. We love story-telling and working with our clients to find the right stories to tell. We also have fun and take ourselves as seriously as one should when working with cocktails and dumplings.
Where do you think you get most of your clients from?
This is a business of relationships, and relationships have been the greatest source of new business for The Same Paige. You’d be amazed by how much new business exists within your network, you just have to ask. Share on LinkedIn, post on Social Media, add something to your email signature – if no one in your network knows you’re open to new business, they may not even think to tap into you and your services.
My husband, Spencer Elliott, is the Hospitality Director for The Same Paige and has been our biggest cheerleader and supporter since before we started dating. He has been in the hospitality industry for nearly fifteen years and has spent that time doing literally every possible role – barback, bartender, server, Beverage Director, General Manager…you name it. With his extensive experience, he has an insanely keen eye for stories worth telling. Whether its a cocktail ingredient that he’s never seen utilized some way or an attention to detail in a certain restaurant experience, he is constantly telling me when someone has a story worth pitching or posting about. Conveniently, because of his network, a lot of these stories worth telling are people he knows or has worked with in the past, and he is very comfortable telling people how much a comprehensive PR and Social Media strategy can benefit their brand. He has taught me to do the same. As a publicist, one of the most uncomfortable things for me to do is pitch myself; as it turns out, it is also one of the most important things to do.
For those who don’t have a Spencer forcing them to promote their business, dedicate time to truly defining your brand. Spend time writing your brand story, figuring out your mission statement, and memorizing the elevator pitch that defines your brand and differentiates your services from everyone else in the industry. Once you have that figured out, shout it from the proverbial rooftops! Post it, repeat it, email it. Defining all of that will ensure that you’re not only attracting new clients but also attracting new clients that align with your values and are a good fit for your company.
How do you keep your team’s morale high?
Treat people like you would want to be treated. I used to work in roles where the end of each day would trigger the same pattern – I would get an email drafted, get all packed up, get my jacket on, and wait to hit send until I was walking out the door. I wanted my bosses to know exactly how late I was working, because that’s what proved my value…because that’s what I was taught by them would prove I was valuable. It was toxic and so wrong. I’m not a perfect boss and there is always room for improvement, but I make sure my team knows their value, knows how much I appreciate their time and energy, and knows how to set workplace boundaries.
My team follows my lead, so I do my best to set the example for them. There are days when I am not in the right headspace to work, and I tell my team when that happens. There are days when I wake up at 6am and have to send an email so I don’t forget, and I let my team know to ignore it until office hours. There are days when I need to walk away from my computer and clear my head in the dollar section of Target, and I let my team know I’ll be offline for an hour.
I manage my team remembering that I am a member of my team. If I set the precedent of being available at all hours, turning in crap work instead of asking for more time to produce quality work, being okay with avoidable errors, always saying yes to clients or media, I am setting that standard for the rest of my team. Those things were the norm in previous work environments and they were brutal. They didn’t work. I was unhappy and, almost more importantly, I was unproductive. We’re all humans; by treating each other the way we’d like to be treated, we’re able to create a safe, open, and rather lovely work environment.
Keeping team morale high with a completely remote team has been a unique challenge. We can’t go to a yoga class together or leave the office early for happy hour. We can’t all go to client events and enjoy the perks of all the industry parties and openings. We have weekly work dates, when the whole team works on video call together. They’re wildly unproductive, but its an hour of each week that we get to hang out and chat about something or nothing. We recently transitioned to four-day work weeks, which my team earned. They work so hard and proved that they’re able to get the work done in a shorter work week. That long weekend gives everyone, me included, more space to be as productive as possible during those four days. We also try to schedule monthly VTSP (Virtual The Same Paige) to do some sort of team activity in lieu of those happy hours and lunches we’d be enjoying together in a traditional office setting. We’ve done cocktail classes, workouts, an escape room, and each holiday we make gingerbread houses together. When my team takes time off, I expect them to take time off. You aren’t expected to stay on top of your inbox. Your out of office doesn’t say “I’ll be checking emails sporadically.” You are expected to walk away and trust that the rest of the team is covering while you enjoy a deserved break. Again, I am a member of my team. These small things make work more enjoyable for me, as well! I love my job and this company, but I am very well aware of what it looks and feels like to not love my job and to not believe in a company. I have an amazing team that deserves to look forward to work, be excited about what we’re doing, and believe in The Same Paige as much as I do.
It is very possible to run a tight ship and still have fun. We work hard and are very very good at what we do, and it is because we, as a company, are set up to ensure that our team members have space to think creatively and work efficiently. It also helps to give their brains a break everyone once in a while by asking them to film some tiktok content. It’s amazing what a quick Barbie trend video can do for team morale.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.thesamepaige.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesamepaigeco/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stefany-elliott-8431797/
- Other: Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thesamepaigeco
Image Credits
Jenna Murray / Spilled Milk Creative