We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sydnee Thompson . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sydnee below.
Hi Sydnee , thanks for joining us today. Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?
I didn’t grow up realizing that my hairstylist, our favorite seafood spot owner, or so many people in my community were entrepreneurs. I was born to a truck driver, a nurse, and a village of educators in Savannah, GA. Fast forward to 2020, I became something I never dreamed of…an entrepreneur. A business owner. And now four years later, I’m the CEO of a dynamic and phenomenal team of 7 and we are Digital319 – A creative strategy agency that equips business owners and leaders with the confidence to build a lasting digital presence through social media, email, and website marketing.
What people usually ask when they first hear of us is, “What’s 3-1-9?” And let me tell you, our foundation is one hell of a backstory.
3.19.2004 a 12-year-old girl got to replace the word “patient” with “Survivor” and because of her battle with cancer, 319 means strength. 319 means confidence. 319 means the start of something new.
That 12-year-old girl grew up to be…me. A natural storyteller, solution-finder, and dot connector when it comes to leading brands on a path to live their best strategic life in the online world.
After 7 years of building social media programs from the ground up for large, household-name brands and international airports I decided during the pandemic to bet on myself.
I wondered what an impact it would be if I only took an ounce of my expertise and resources and passion for social & digital media and poured it into small and growing business owners and their brands. During the pandemic, we all witnessed so many product and brick-and-mortar businesses struggling to keep up a social media and email presence so that their customers knew they were still open, struggling with maintaining UX-friendly websites so customers could order or book and struggling to merge the digital & contactless worlds into their physical processes.
I wanted to fix that.
So in 2021, when I decided to take a leap and start Digital319, my employer at the time (and my freelance clients) became my first client. Entrepreneurship, undeniably, has been my favorite career journey thus far.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Sydnee has been managing the digital experience for brands for more than 10 years including Avocados for Mexico, Bud Light, Dr Pepper Snapple Group, DFW International Airport, Visionworks, and many small businesses. She has led teams of social strategists and has trained agencies, organizations and business owners in social media management in the U.S. and Mexico. Syd has been a Full-time CEO of Digital319 since 2021.
When the laptop is closed Sydnee doubles as a sneaker influencer and co-creator for Nike, The Athlete’s Foot, and Foot Locker. She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Journalism from The University of Georgia where she studied the emphasis of Advertising, New Media and Spanish.
Sydnee is the founder and CEO of Digital319.
Through an authentic embrace and execution of strategy + storytelling + creativity + culture, Digital319 strategically disrupts social media, email, and website marketing to share stories that are meant to be told.
Our bread & butter is social media, email, and website marketing strategy & management and our goal is for our clients to live their best life, IRL to URL.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
The foundation or purpose you started your business with can evolve…and that’s okay.
In talks with other CEOs and entrepreneurs and even in my own recent experience, I often find that business owners have a difficult time accepting seasons of evolution in their business and it comes from a space of trying to separate themselves from the company or our roles as CEOs.
In September 2022, my husband and I welcomed our first child. At the time, Digital319 had 4 retainer clients and I had one employee. I took maternity leave through the new year and as I got back into the swing of things I kept racing down this path of the past to be the CEO and creative and business owner that I was aiming for before. It was a constant mental state of defeat and self-doubt that led to me not showing up as my best self, personally and professionally.
Instead of accepting my reality, I chased my past. Until I realized that the chase was smothering me into building a business (and ultimately a life) out of fear instead of growth. And knowing that now I am not only working for my (our) dreams but I’m working for baby girl’s dreams too. And that was all the fear I needed. So I rebranded my mindset. And embraced my evolution.
Recently, Digital319 launched a new era of marketing and the essence of this newfound approach is as an agency, through our work, experiences, and innate gifts we’re showing brands how to normalize their evolutions. Because when we do so, we arrive at the root of our real story,
Read more about this here: https://www.digital319.
Any advice for managing a team?
Humanity > Employee. Before we’re “employees”, we’re people first. And that’s exactly how I like to run D319, with people…not employees.
I’ve worked in one too many spaces where I felt as if I was just a number or led organizations alongside colleagues who managed their team members through siloes and those are the types of teams that never reached their full potential.
In the post-pandemic era, the corporate and professional workspaces as we once knew them are being ripped apart and redefined and as a CEO I for damn sure wouldn’t want to be a part of those that are reluctant to change.
The workforce is smarter when it comes to systemic approaches and outdated policies. The workforce is bolder when it comes to ensuring equality and fairness in their benefits, pay, and compensation potential. The workforce is savvier when it comes to the array of skills they’re equipped with to excel at any role. And because of this, anyone who manages a team must take note.
Digital319 is for brands that prioritize life balance (not “work-life”), because we’re all people (with titles like mom, brother, or friend) before we’re employees. Our agency is not a job. It’s an experience.
We aren’t a workforce. We’re a collective. A community.
I’ve always been one to be comfortably and unapologetically, myself. In any room and among any audience. For high morale, I instill this same comfy confidence in my team and any team I’ve ever built or led.
I believe every pillar of the D319 DNA speaks to maintaining high morale on a team and you can find them here: https://www.digital319.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.digital319.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/digital_319/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Digital319LLC
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/digital319
- Syd’s LinkedIn: https://www.
linkedin.com/in/ sydneethompson/ - Podcast: https://www.
instagram.com/coolhertalk/
Image Credits
Professional Photos – Marrica Evans