We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Todd “Cope” Bailey. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Todd “Cope” below.

Alright, Todd thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

We are on a mission to humanize marketing. Living in a hyper-transactional environment removes the human element of what a conversion really is. Someone is trusting you to deliver a product or service on their hard-earned dollar. We believe more time needs to be spent understanding that human connection is more valuable than a short-term transaction and that businesses have the responsibility of serving their customers.

Our mission is to serve more companies who share these values and to elevate their story to allow more community building and in turn more sales.

Todd, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a passion-driven human who reluctantly started GreyDot Media as a result of running into multiple roadblocks and people who didn’t match my values. Prior to founding GreyDot I was wearing all the hats and running myself around as a solopreneur looking to help everyone I could. Through trial and plenty of error I found myself at a crossroads; do I continue to do this work for other people or do I set out on my own and build a team around my purpose?

I am glad to say I chose the latter as I have been on an incredible adventure and come across some really amazing humans I’m proud to call my friends, clients, and partners. Today GreyDot Media serves businesses in the Sacramento region that reflect a similar growth mindset. We bring the perspective of creatives who also understand that marketing is more than just things looking pretty, we want them to connect and interact with the brands we serve.

Being able to bridge between web design, content production, and traffic (paid and organic) we have a suite of opportunities to help business owners build and maintain their digital presence. We are not a full-service agency, we are a whole-service agency in that we give our whole heart in everything we do and that leaves no room for bullshit.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I’m continuing to surprise myself with the level of self-doubt I’ve overcome and continue to do the same even today. Growing up as a really creative kid in a world that doesn’t value art is tough and then going through a school system that further boxes you in creates a lot of baggage and programming. Constantly feeling like I need approval or permission to do anything has been something I still fight for and have grown to appreciate and accept. Being able to reframe imposter syndrome as lingering programming that needs love has been a valuable tool and the kick I’ve often needed to make a leap and be bold enough to really believe I’m capable of anything. Having a team that supports that mission and that growth has only amplified the levels of peace I’ve unlocked as a result.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

I started my entrepreneurial journey as a DJ who threw parties. I picked up a camera from a friend at a nightclub and realized it was an easy promotional tool that got a direct response. I started building websites as a scrappy way to build my online presence and the authority it represented. It never occurred to me that other people would pay for this kind of service because I was just focused on my own projects. While sitting in a marketing meeting a friend put me on the spot and said “Cope can build websites.” This unexpected shift in perspective opened the door for services I was able to sell on top of my photography, marketing, and promotion. This side hustle continued to grow and expand until it gave me enough of a foundation to leave my 9 to 5. Many years later, it is the same foundation I built GreyDot Media on and we continue to serve some of those same clients I had back then still to this day.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://greydotmedia.com/
• Instagram: http://instagram.com/greydotmedia
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/greydot-media/

Image Credits
Clayton Guzman, James d’Shone, Alyssa Rosario and Eucario Calderon