How To Have A Positive Social Media Mindset

On this episode of She's Crafted to Thrive, our guest is Natasha. She is a social media manager and she loves what she does, you guys. I especially like this conversation because we get real about what it means to be a social media manager, as well as what it means to have a good, positive mindset when it comes to social media. We all know we need social media in our business, but how do we view it? How do we actually work on there without feeling overwhelmed and without feeling icky at the end of the day? So we talk about that mindset. We also talk about how to practice the no muscle, and we also talk about taking time and being intentional with your social media marketing. And lastly, but certainly not least, we talk about what you need to look for when you're hiring a social media manager like Natasha herself. So stay tuned. I hope you guys find this very practical and useful and also inspirational. Welcome to She's Crafted to Thrive. I'm your host, Nikita Williams, and this show is for all the ladies who are making and creating things that they love. You will hear conversations about the real everyday struggles of juggling life and business while trying to maintain passion and harmony. As women, we have the skill of getting things done, but sometimes we get in our own way. It's here where you'll see that you're not alone. You'll discover that success does not mean perfection. Fear and negative thoughts Thoughts and challenges are all a part of the journey. And on this podcast, you'll find the inspiration and tools you need to have a life and business that thrives. I'm so excited to have Natasha Samuel on today, you guys. I'm super excited. She is a really cool marketing, social media marketer, manager, like guru. I know she probably might not think of herself that way, but I think she is.

I love that. Thank you for having me.

It's just been— it's been really nice following you on Instagram. So everybody knows that's listening has listened to my show. Most of my guests come from Instagram and they come from me stalking them for a few months. I'm just being honest. I love that. So introduce yourself. Tell us who you are, what you do, what's your business, and we can get into it.

Awesome. But yes, my name is Natasha and I am the founder of Soul Studio. And so my focus is Instagram marketing and social media management. So I love Instagramming. Being on Instagram stories, IGTV, all the things Instagram and really like helping serve my followers so they can like feel confident to show up on social media for their business or brand. So usually I'm like managing accounts for my clients, but I also do coaching courses, resources, all the social media things. So that's kind of a little bit about what I do.

I love it. I, first of all, if you, if, if you're listening to this and you're like, what, is that if you know how stressful it is managing your own social media, anything, you understand that if you're doing it for somebody else, it's a lot of work. Like, I feel like I need to say that. Like, I feel like we need to get real with that. Like, that is a lot of work and it takes a lot of like energy from you to kind of like produce that kind of creative content, which, you know, you do it with so much joy. It feels like on Instagram, I'm like, when I watch your Insta stories, I'm just like, man, she really likes doing this.

I do, I really do. And I feel like the, the time when people really struggle with social media, it's because it feels like a chore and it's not fun. So that's like a huge part of my philosophy is like Instagram, social media, it should be fun. So I do try to have a lot of fun with my clients and managing all the accounts, all the things. I like to have fun with it.

That's awesome. Well, I'm going to ask you about that in a second, about how do you do that. But tell us, how did you come to being a social media manager? Like, how did you get to this path?

Yeah, so I actually started in journalism. So I was writing for my high school paper, then I started writing for blogs and publications when I went into college. Um, but then I kind of pivoted from journalism to PR, um, public relations. And so that became my major at the University of South Florida. So I started getting some digital marketing internships and kind of dabbling in marketing. And my first internship was actually with a woman that had her own business. So we did it remotely. Remotely. And she was just super cool and super inspiring. And we did a lot of workshops and she always was like, you can start your own thing, you can absolutely do it. And I was like, oh, like girl, that's cute. Like that's a fun idea. But I never even thought like I would be an entrepreneur. So the more I worked for other, you know, companies and got a lot of experience and I also traveled a ton. I studied abroad twice in college. So I really was like, I love traveling. I love being able to kind of be remote and experience new places often. And then kind of learned my love for social media. And so I kind of was like in that crisis and I'm like, "Oh my gosh, I'm about to graduate. I have no clue what I want to do." And so I really sat down with myself and I'm like, "What is kind of like my dream job?" And I could think of just like being able to work for myself and serve my clients, be creative and also have the freedom to travel if I wanted to, work remotely and be really flexible. So I told my mentor, my first internship woman, and she was like, "Girl, go for it. Like let's do it. I'll give you your first client." And I was like— Oh, okay, we're starting. So this was like an entire semester before I graduated actually. So I started my business while I was still in school, started getting clients, started building my brand, started building Soul Studio, and then went full-time right after I graduated. So it was kind of a whirlwind. I didn't really have the chance to think no. I was just like, let's try, let's do it. And it just felt amazing. So.

Wow. Wow. What, you know what? I think it's so amazing that, okay, this is, Multiple, multiple women have said this, like just having another person like have that belief in you and then to give you that kind of like support, like real support, like your first client, that's huge. That's one of the hardest things to do when you're first starting out, right? It's getting that first client.

Definitely. And she's been a mentor to me to this day. Like whenever I like update my website, she's like, this looks amazing. And whenever she sees me on Instagram, because she— it's so funny because she like totally doesn't get Instagram. Like she does everything but Instagram. She's like, I saw your post and thought thought it was so amazing. So she's kind of like my hype woman in the back that's just always been that rock that I need. Because of course, like, family and friends can support you, but it's always nice having a mentor that like really gets it and is like a few years ahead of you.

I love it. I love it. So why did you like never think about being an entrepreneur? Like, were you set on doing it a certain— like, why was entrepreneurship so far away from your mind?

Yeah, I, I'm not quite sure because looking back, and I had this conversation with my mom, I was like, honestly, like, did Did you think I would be an entrepreneur? She's like, I knew you were going to do something not normal. Like I totally saw that coming. Um, because I've always been the type of person, um, if you believe in horoscopes, I'm a Scorpio where we like consistency, but we like change. We like new things. So it's always been kind of how I am, like sitting at like a 9 to 5, sitting at a desk, um, having like a consistent type of job just never appealed to me. And I didn't really know what that meant. So I was like, maybe I'll be a travel blogger or maybe I'll be a food blogger, like have kind of like that flexibility to still be creative. But I I was like, I know blogging isn't like what I want to do. I want to have a bigger impact than that. So, um, it makes sense, but I don't know why I never thought about it. I think I always thought like owning a business meant you had like a coffee shop and like had to hire employees and sell things.

There you go. Yeah, that's one way.

Yeah, right. I know that's another way to do it and I never really saw the online world of like I can have an online business where like I can, soly run my business from my laptop and my phone. I never really even saw that.

So I think that's why I never thought of it at the time, which is interesting because you were in college and like, I'm a big believer that, you know, if you go to college, great. But I also feel like I think gone are the days where people feel like you need to go to college to experience what you need to know in order to start a business. I mean, anybody can start a business online. And I feel like sometimes when we go to school or go to college, we kind of put ourselves in that box. Where it's like, okay, I'm gonna get hired, I'm looking for an internship with this big company so I can get all this experience, and then I'm gonna work up the career ladder, like, you know. So absolutely, maybe that's why.

Yeah, I think definitely that may have played a role into it because I think like I got a lot out of college, like my internships and stuff. I feel like I wouldn't have been able to get those connections to get those experiences because that is like hands down like the base of my business and what I do and the knowledge I have. But they do kind of teach you, like especially as a PR major, they're like, you're going to make this salary and you're going to be like in a corporate PR job. And that is like kind of the only way. But I like knew in my head, I'm like, that's definitely not what I'm doing. Like, I'm just trying to get the experience to like figure out what I want to do and kind of create it. But I never knew it would be entrepreneurship.

Well, I'm, I'm glad you did choose entrepreneurship because—

Yes, me too.

I don't think— I think you would have— I feel like a lot of entrepreneurs, like they may have tried the 9-to-5. I mean, I've tried the 9-to-5 multiple times and every time I do, I'm just like, Why? Why? I can't do this. I cannot be in this square peg. I need to be able to be free.

Absolutely. I agree with that. Just like a grow and evolve with your business. That's like my favorite part is like I have a new idea, I can have a new path and I can go with it instead of feeling like I'm in just one tunnel and I'm doing just one thing. I love the creativity of just being able to do what I'm passionate about at the time. And like if one day I'm like, I cannot do this management anymore, then I'll like put that on the backseat and I'll focus on something else. And I really love that freedom.

That's awesome.

So awesome.

While making that transition, like, okay, I guess I'm going to be an entrepreneur, I'm going to start my own business. Did you have any, like, fears about dealing with that? Like, were you like, oh, what am I doing? Did you have other people going like, what are you doing? Like, how did that go?

Yeah, believe it or not, I did have overall support, which was kind of crazy because like most of my friends were in college, obviously. So they're like, oh, you're an entrepreneur now?

That's like cool.

But like, How do I support you? Like, what are you doing? You know? So that was luckily something I was really fortunate with. But I think like my biggest fear was like the consistency of having an income and having benefits and just in general, like figuring out the like not creative fun parts, like how to, how to file my business, how to do taxes because like graduating and becoming like an adult is scary enough besides like, oh, I have to like figure out how I'm going to get benefits and how I'm going to do all these things completely by myself. There's no one to support me. Me and give me that consistency. I had to like create consistency myself with this, which is still something I struggle with actually.

Okay. How, how have you found success in finding— because I feel like we can struggle at something but still find ways to overcome that and still be successful in that. So how is that working for you?

Definitely. I feel like money and money mindset has always been something I struggle with. I feel like everyone has a different experience growing up with money and mine wasn't bad, but it's definitely shaped how see money and how I view it. And especially as an entrepreneur that I am responsible for my income completely. So for me it's actually been like tackling that head on. So, um, I got a CPA recently that's like amazing and she's like helping guiding me and obviously doing my taxes and stuff for me. But I told her, I'm like, I want to do my bookkeeping. I want to see my books. I want to see my expenses. I want to see how much I'm making. I want to understand what it looks like and like maybe one day I'll outsource that and that'll be amazing. But I really want to just like tackle it head on instead of just giving it to someone else and being like, I never have to look at my money ever again, because I think it's important to know your money for sure.

No, I agree with you. You know, that's kind of the same concept I say with my clients in general. Like if they're trying, if they don't want to do something, I feel like you still should know like the base of it. At least you should get the gist of it so that when someone else is going to do it for you, you're not like, oh, I'm so blind. I didn't know what's happening. Okay.

Yeah, that's fine.

Like at least now you kind of have an idea. And I think that's a really smart suggestions.

Exactly.

Yeah. So why do you love social media marketing so much? Like, what is it? Because I mean, to be real, real, like, I have a really love-hate relationship, and I think a lot of entrepreneurs do for multiple reasons. One, it's ever-changing. It's never the same. It's addictive, and they want it to be addictive. So it's kind of like that, do I really want to play into that? Then there's, then there's like I need to be on it for business. Like, if I have a business, there's got to be something. Should I be on all the things? Should I just focus on these things? And there's all these rules that you think there's rules for it. So it can become very overwhelming. And, you know, like I was telling you before the show, that's my background of digital marketing. When I talk to women and I talk to, um, people who are just starting their business, that is one of the things that they're like, I don't want to be sitting at my computer commenting and writing and forever. Like, that just just feels like life sucking.

Yeah, so absolutely, I get that.

How do you make it so fun? Like, how do you make it such a cool— like, yeah, really?

Um, well, it's funny because like when I did digital marketing, I feel like it wasn't necessarily fun. Like, the actual— the last job I had before I had my own business was actually for radiologists. So I tweeted and blogged for radiologists, which I can imagine could possibly be the worst thing to ever tweet about. Like, I was about like fruit MRIs. Like that's what this was about. It was, yeah, it was rough. So I think I saw the part of social media that I was like, okay, I want to be posting things that I like. And then I delved more into Instagram and I started my Soul Studios account and I kind of just started it. At first I was like, I don't want to do that because I want to focus on my own business. So thankful I did because I love my Instagram and I love the community I've created. So I think seeing how I can show up for other business owners, how I can offer value and how I've grown my own account has then kind of inspired me to see Instagram in a completely different way and then to like essentially see social media in a completely different way. So I think kind of like having a positive experience myself with it and kind of finding what I loved about social media and like kind of niching down to Instagram being my thing, learning more about it. I think even though Instagram is always changing, I've learned to kind of think of that as like a positive thing in like my mindset. I think social media often comes to mindset and that's one thing I teach with my course, my course, my coaching clients. Clients is you have to have a positive mindset. Like, Instagram is going to work for me. It's fun. I'm going to create a community that's going to work for me, that's going to sell, you know, I can sell to eventually. So I feel like changing my mindset around it and just really telling myself that I enjoy the platform is honestly like, it sounds super simple, but that's really been the biggest thing for me.

I love that. No, I totally agree with you. Mindset is huge when it comes to social media. And I think also like looking at it as like a piece of pie. Like you don't have to eat the whole pie. Like you don't have to be on every single social media platform. Like I feel like in the beginning of the days of social media, everyone felt like that. And I think that's kind of residual still there. Like everybody feels like they have to be on every single social media platform. But I think there's some businesses can afford to do that. But small businesses, it's kind of like you need to find out where your people are and stick with that. Like, you know, figure out who's getting the most engagement. And it might be, it might have to be more than one platform, but it doesn't have to be all of the platforms. And so when you find what makes you happy about each platform, it makes it a little bit easier for you to have that mindset of like, okay, I don't have to be on here all the time, 24/7, but when I am on here, I can be happy and make some connection from, from Instagram. There's something in here. This just brought to my mind something on your website that I love. And if you're looking for like likes, like, I can't remember how you say it, but basically it's like, if you're looking for, like, specific numbers or something like that, I'm not your girl. I'm the person who's like, I'm creating a community and I want rich engagement for you. I want that kind of thing for you. And I feel that that mindset is going to— one, Instagram is going to make you do that now. If you haven't heard about the new Instagram, you got to check out— she asked Natasha just did a stories on that, um, about like how that's changing. So yes, it's always been important to me, like that's been my hype. And I feel like you feel that way too. I can, I can tell just by the way you go about your, your social media is that it's never been about the like—

definitely not.

It's always been about the connection. It's always been about like, who are you connecting with? Are they— do they like you? Are they engaged with you? Are you reaching the people that you actually want to serve? And I feel like like when you are searching for ways to serve that group of people, it becomes less of a chore and more of a privilege.

Absolutely. I completely agree. And like, I think obviously metrics are important when it comes to social media, but I love focusing on like the impact and like some like metrics can give you that. Like when I see posts that are saved from people, I'm like, yes, people found this valuable. Like they saved this to look at this later. Or when I know I got a lot of replies on a story, like I'm like, yes, people are wanting to chat with me and have that conversation and like take it deeper to then just like double tapping my photo and having a like. I want to get those like conversations and like engagement in a different way. And it also like comes down to just being intentional with your time on social media. I set timers, I have downtime set on my phone. So from 8:00 PM, 8:00 AM, I am not on social media. So like I'm also super intentional with my time on social media. I wasn't always, but I think having that boundary and like I never post on weekends, I'm never on on the weekends. Like those little things really help you have a healthier relationship with with it because I treat it like it's a business, but it's like an extension of my business.

Yeah, I love that. That's such a good point, being intentional with, with using social media, right? That's a— that's gonna be a quote. Like, I'm sorry, um, so tell me a little bit about like what kind of clients do you like working with? And are you— you work with a niche group of people, I'm sure, because if you're on Instagram and basically only on Instagram there is a very niche type of people that you're working with. So tell us a little bit about that.

Yeah. So I primarily focus with Instagram, but I also do, do LinkedIn and Facebook. Those are kind of just like additional like add-ons to Instagram because that's definitely the focus. But honestly, it's mainly female entrepreneurs. Some have brick-and-mortar style businesses, but a lot of them are just like the solopreneur behind their business. So they're trying to build their brand. They're trying to build a community and build connection in a different way than someone that maybe had employees has a lot of, you know, different elements in their business. Like this person is a solo face of their business. So I've niched down a little bit naturally. Like I definitely serve a lot of wellness brands. Um, that's definitely something I'm niching down to, but I also do like to include all different types of women and all different types of businesses because I do think everyone can have a place on Instagram depending on how they choose to show up. So that's kind of like the type of client I serve, which I absolutely love doing. It's definitely my passion.

That's awesome. So tell me a little bit about how you decide who you want to serve. Like, I feel like this is one of those topics that are so hard for all of entrepreneurs, especially creative entrepreneurs. It's like, but I want to serve everybody. It's like, yeah, but how do you kind of— how have you decided who you really wanted to serve?

Definitely. Well, actually, when I first started Soul Studio, I did all the things. I did web design, I did email marketing, I did blogging, I did social media. I did too much to a point where when I would take like a web design project for example, I would fall and have like an anxiety attack about it because it just wasn't aligned with what I was doing. It's almost like having two separate businesses. Like the processes for web design is completely different than like managing Instagram. So that was kind of my first niching down stage is I was like, okay, I need to get rid of the stuff I'm not good at, the things I don't like doing and just focus on one thing. So that then became Instagram and social media. Um, but then it really came down to just kind of figuring out what felt most aligned for me when it came to the people that I wanted to serve and the type of content I wanted to create. But I feel like niching down actually came very natural to me because people kind of kept telling me like, you have to focus on one thing, you have to serve one type of person. And it didn't really come to me. It came to me more as in like the type of clients I talk to when I do discovery calls. It's very much a two-way street. So if I hop on a call with someone, they might be absolutely the sweetest. They may have great intentions, they may have an amazing business, But if it doesn't feel right, that's when I'm like, okay, I might suggest someone else and that relationship could be absolutely amazing. So I feel like it's also been very much my intuition. Um, that's been something I've learned is I'm kind of very intuitional when it comes to the people that I say no to, the people that I say yes to, and I kind of go with a feeling. So I know that's not like super set in stone. Um, but that's kind of how I've done it in my business is just choosing what feels best and aligned with the type of people that I like to work with and the people that I've had success with.

I, I'm totally with you. Like, I think that's one of the best ways. I mean, I know there's a lot of people that do it very strategically, like, oh, if they're in this industry and they have this many people or they're making this much money or blah, blah, blah. I mean, great. But I feel like if I can't, especially when it comes to social media, when you're starting to be someone's brand voice for them online, it is so personal. So you want someone that meshes with you and like as many ways as possible. And if you're not feeling like that, oh, this is great, and you're feeling like, oh, this is going to drive me insane, then we're not a good fit. But I know somebody that's got you, you know what I'm saying? So yeah, it works. Exactly. I love that. I love that. Yeah. I think intuition is a big part. I mean, Oprah Winfrey talks about intuition. She's like, that's how we should be making decisions about a lot of things is based on our gut. Like, how do you feel about something? And as women, it's a little bit easier because we, we, we live with that intuition very, very, uh, raw. Like, it's very obvious in us. We know when we feel good and we don't. Yes, yes.

It can feel very emotional almost sometimes. Like, I'm like, oh, I feel so bad saying no to this person. Like, they're so sweet. Like, our call went so well, but I can just tell, like, I am not their person. It's not going to be the best fit. So it's just sometimes, like, knowing that and being honest with yourself. Like, I've had those times where I'm like, I feel so bad, but it's like, I don't have to feel bad. You're doing both, both parties a favor, really.

Yes. And it takes a lot of— it takes, again, a different mindset of thinking about that. Like, how, how can you serve someone if you're feeling like icky in the beginning? Like, how do you do that? Doesn't really go well. Definitely.

And yeah, that actually brings up a random story. I know we probably didn't talk about this, but actually, random story. So, you know, we talked about how I was kind of given my first client by my mentor and I actually ended up saying no and firing that client actually, which was one of the hardest things for me. Um, you know, we started working together and it was just not a good fit. The first thing was they were healthcare and going back to the radiology experience, I was like, I don't think I ever want to tweet for radiology ever again. So that was like the first thing. And the second thing is they wanted me to do so many things. It was like blogging and managing this and doing this and, and social media. So, I was like niching down and I was like, this is not the direction I'm going to go. So I sat down and I was like, I can't, like, how am I going to tell her no after she's mentored me and gave me this amazing opportunity and all these different things. But when I sat down and told her, she was like, I am so happy you said this now. I'm so happy you said it now and did this now. Like I can already tell. And like she's even said this now, you know, that my business is in a completely different place. She's like, that was the right decision for you. And saying no was so hard. Like I cried on my call. I'm not even gonna lie. I cried because I looked up to her so much and I felt like I had to say yes to be successful and start my business off the right way. But that no was, then I got two clients after that that are so aligned and that I've been with since then, since the beginning of my business. So that was the hardest no, but that really helped me quickly practice that no muscle, which I think is really hard at first when you're an entrepreneur, especially as a woman.

Yeah, I love— yeah, such a good point, right? That no— nos are hard. Why are they so hard? They are.

They're so hard.

So hard. But you know what I have found, just like you've just said, that when you say no, it frees— it's like a freeing thing. Like, we think of no as like this trap, but really is actually a freeness in it, right? You set yourself up to know what your yes is going to be. And then just like you said, you said no, and now you have two clients that are so yes. And because you— they are saying yes, they're going to tell other people that are more like your yes. Like if you start saying yes to a lot of nos that you really need to say no to, you're going to get a lot of people you don't want to work with, right? Like that's just how it works. You're going to be like, oh, they know other people that I really don't work with, you know, because it's kind of like that. Personality kind of thing that you have to be ready to say no to. And I'm so glad you shared that story because I know there's a lot of my listeners who are like, but I need to take them, or they've had that opportunity and like, but I feel obligated. But, you know, maybe it's not good for you.

Yeah, exactly. I feel like every no you say is usually a yes to something else. I've heard that's probably a quote somewhere, but it really is because it always leads leaves space and room and energy for something that's better for you.

Yes, I love that. Yeah, very true. So along this journey, has there been any like personal things like in your personality or your health that's kind of made this journey even more worthwhile or even more challenging for you?

Hmm, that's a really great one. Um, I feel like one thing that really sticks out was that transition from being a part-time, you know, part-time entrepreneur, part-time student, to then being being like full-time entrepreneur right out of the gate. And that was actually when I decided to make my first course. Of course, why do an easy transition when I can just make a course even though I've never made a course before? And I just remember that summer there was no balance, like no balance at all where I would wake up, work. When I was going to bed at night and eating dinner, I would work. And even on the weekends, I would go to a coffee shop to work to make it more fun. And even at night night I was dreaming about working and dreaming about courses. Like there was no balance and like my anxiety was through the roof. I was having anxiety attacks all the time for no reason because there was so much of my mental space that was just being taken up by work and I was not even giving myself the opportunity to take a break from it. I also wasn't spending time with my friends and doing things that I loved and spending time with my family because I was always quote unquote too busy and so many things I was working on. Um, and that was like a really hard lesson because I saw burnout. I completely saw it. I looked at it, head-on and I was like, I cannot, like, we are not doing this right now. I know it'll come maybe eventually, but I know burnout is a monster and it can really, you know, it can paralyze you almost. So I had to sit back and be like, okay, I need to find boundaries. I need to stick to those boundaries and I need to take care of myself. Um, because I'm the type of person where I'm very self-motivated, which could almost be a bad thing. So I will work and I will always find a reason to be motivated to do that work and to be in my business because I do enjoy it and I enjoyed making my course, but I didn't need to be making my course and working and having full-time clients 7 days a week, 24/7. So that's been now to a point where like today I'm taking a half day and taking a little bit of a break because I was working on my second course this weekend. And you know, last week before I was about to start filming, I took a beach day and really relaxed and recentered and I've found ways where I can find balance because people, you know, want to be entrepreneurs so you can travel and have these freedoms. But sometimes being so overwhelmed with working can really negatively affect that. And it definitely negatively affect me and my mental health and wellness. So it's been something that I still struggle with to find a balance with, but I've been trying to instill things like yoga. I have a coloring book that I really love. Just little things like that where it's just me time, where I'm not on my phone, I'm not on Instagram, I'm not creating. I'm really just doing something for me that's not, you know, to move my—

for my business forward. You know, that's— I'm so glad you shared that. Thank you again. I know, like, that's a very personal thing to share, and I'm— I've totally been there. Like, I— and it is a struggle all the time. Like, you know, for, for myself personally, dealing with a chronic illness, there's, there's so many things that I— you can feel limited in doing. So this is one of those things that I enjoy doing because it doesn't— like, I can— AKA, I'm sitting here, I'm having an okay day, but it's a heating pad kind of day. So we're having a conversation, I mean, but I'm, you know, I'm working, you know. So, and it's— and I'm connecting with another awesome woman. So like, you know, I can very much feel like you're like doing this job and you— I'm energized by other people, so even more it's really bad. Even more am I like, oh, I'm just gonna keep going. But you do need to take that time like you were just to like, okay, put all that away and let me just be with myself, which is really hard for a lot of people to just be with themselves. Right.

Absolutely.

It's really hard.

Yeah. It's, I feel like solo traveling has helped me learn how to be alone and how to be by myself because I remember thinking like, how am I going to go somewhere when I'm traveling and just sit and eat by myself, especially in like a European country where like, it's so like, people are always in couples or pairs. So I feel like that really kind of got me out of the comfort of like, I do need alone time. I do need to do things alone because like I know you said you recharge when you're around other energies and interacting with other people. I mean, I think everyone recharges in solo time to some extent, but I like completely get drained. Like I love coaching calls. Like I get so excited. I put my whole heart into them. But afterwards, like I'm gonna need a nap, like a full-on nap because it just drains my energy because I give it my all. And networking events, I love them. I feel like I make so many great connections. Nikita Williams. But I like need to limit how many I go to because then I went to a stage where I was going like to 2 a week, every week. And it was like, okay, we need to create a balance here. We need to figure out like what is going to give me energy back and what is going to completely drain it to a point where I can't recharge from it.

Isn't there a funny thing about like finding energy balance? And I don't mean like in the frou-frou, haha, like energy balance. I like, I don't know. Yeah, I don't mean like, you know, the universe energy. I mean like our energy within our body. Like we have so much of it and if we don't learn how to one, listen to, okay, I need to recharge or no, I need to not be doing this right now. I need to give myself grace. I need to, you know, say no. I need to say yes to me. And I feel like that's so important and kind of wrapping that back into social media. Social media is an energy sucker. Like, even if you know what I'm saying, it's like you think you're just scrolling with your finger and you're like, oh, this is nothing. No, it's an energy sucker because your mind is— I mean, our mind is just constantly taking that in. It is literally taking that in. So we need to kind of put that away, put that phone away at night. Like, I'm always talking to my husband because he's like, oh, I'm just— I'm de-stressing. I'm like, actually, you're Because scientifically it's proven that that's actually not true. You're actually giving your brain more stimuli for before you go to sleep. So you need to put that phone over there and get in the bed, right?

So it's like one of those things that we have to be really—

I don't want to say stingy because I should say more conscious of how we use our energy, especially when it comes to our business and social media. It to.

Definitely.

Yeah.

And just how much you're consuming, what you're consuming. I love pushing the mute, the block, because sometimes it's necessary. It's not a petty thing. It's not a mean thing. It's like, I have to take care of me. And if I'm looking at your content and I'm not feeling uplifted, I'm not feeling good about it, then it's like, okay, we're just going to put it on mute. So we just can't see it. I can see it if I need to. She won't get her feelings hurt, but block if it's really negative, those type of things. I love instilling, even as a social media manager, I feel like social media managers never talk about it, but it's important.

Yeah.

No, I'm with you.

I'm, I'm, I'm the hot minute. Yeah, minute.

Okay, exactly.

Because yes, I don't want that. Like, I don't want that energy, and I don't want anyone else to feel that way. I mean, like, I can't control what they're gonna do, but I sure enough can control what I consume. And as a consumer, we all have that power of saying, nope, I don't want to see that, um, period. Like, that's how I feel about it. And that's why You know, it's, you know, people joke with me all the time. They're like, why does it take you so long to like decide on who you're going to have on your show? And I'm like, well, one, I want to make sure the guests, like our lovely Natasha right here, is positive. And it like is talking about things that is, you know, real. Like we're not, not having any negative thoughts and stuff, but like what's real and let's connect with each other. Because when you listen to this, I want you to feel like, oh, I connect connect, you know. I connect with her, I connect to what she's saying, and I want you to go to her feed and to her Instagram page and her website and be like, oh wow, this is really uplifting. Oh, that— I can feel that. But if you're like this Nelly, uh, not Nelly, if you're this like negative Nelly, I don't want you on my show.

Like, I'm just being honest, like, I don't want you here.

Um, so thanks for being positive.

Of course, thank you, girl.

Yeah, I love it. Like, I just love how bright your stuff is. And plus you like have like yellow and like—

Thank you.

Like that's one of like my happy colors. You know, yellow is happy.

It's such a happy color. I love yellow. I just love it.

So in your business, are there any like tools that you use that kind of help you, one, keep your energy in its right place, to help you kind of manage all of the things that you have going on?

Yes, I am a tool junkie. Like, it is so obnoxious. Anyone that follows me on Instagram knows, but I probably have like 3.

Do I have to choose 3?

Yes, I'm gonna—

I'm gonna keep you at 3 because that's my big thing with everyone. I'm like, choose 3 and stick with them.

Okay, I'm just gonna do 3. They're gonna be real short and brief. If you guys want to read more about them, like, shameless plug, but I do write about them on my blog. So if you do want read about them. But the first thing is Airtable. Oh dear, Airtable. I love Airtable. I will put everyone and their mama on Airtable because I think it is such a powerful tool. It's basically like a really advanced Excel sheet that's completely customizable to your business and your needs. So I think Excel sheets are absolutely horrendous, totally outdated, and are just not really intuitive for like social media content calendars, blog content calendars. And that's what I love Airtable for. So I organize literally my entire life in it. Course launch launches, course preparation, my newsletter, my blog, my social media for every client. So that's a huge tool for me and it's free.

Nice.

It's free. And then social media schedulers are like an absolute necessity. I can't imagine being a social media manager without it. It sounds absolutely horrendous. So I feel like Later is definitely my favorite and I— Mine too. It's such an amazing one and it's what I love to recommend. It's what I use for all my clients and you can do it for Instagram, but you also can add other platforms like Facebook, Twitter. Um, so that's my go-to scheduler for automating my schedule, planning my Instagram grid, all those things. And then the newest addition to the tools family is Things. Um, and it's an app that you can have on your desktop or on mobile. And it basically has helped me manage my to-dos and projects because I realized I was trying to do things in Notes. I was trying to do things in a calendar, trying to do things in Asana, Trello. I tried all the things, but it just wasn't working. And I felt like I was storing things in my brain to remember, which just doesn't work. It just doesn't work. So Things has been really amazing for me for keeping on track on what I'm doing each day. And it's been a really great addition to my little toolbox. But those are like the 3.

So I've heard of the 2, obviously Airtable and Later, but I haven't heard of Things. Is it new?

Is it— I just, I don't know if it's new. I guess it's maybe not super entrepreneurial. Like you can use it for anything. Like, I have like put grocery lists in it, I put my workouts in it, I put travel plans, I put like personal things to remember, personal to-dos. But I also have it separated for businesses because you can really organize it for your different needs, which is why I love it. Because I literally just look at my Things app every day and it has everything I need to know. Like, it even integrates with your calendar. So it's just amazing.

I'm gonna have to check that out because I feel like I, I'm a list person. I just did a post about that today. Like, I'm a list person. And I make a list every night, if not several times a day. Like, I used to be the person when I did work for somebody, I had like sticky pads everywhere with lists. Like, that's me.

Me too. That used to be me. And then I was like somewhere else and I'm like, where's my sticky pads? I need my sticky pads. So now I carry my sticky pads.

Yes, exactly. So I definitely will check that out. Thanks. Okay. So are there any women that besides your mentor that kind of really, you know, inspire you? Ooh, I know this is a new question.

Yeah, this is a good one. I feel like to an extent I don't like to idolize other entrepreneurs or women too much because I think it really helps me stay true to me because I think consuming things can be overwhelming. But I digress. I do think there are definitely people I admire. Um, I love Jacqueline Johnson. I love Create and Cultivate. I love her whole story. I just finished her book and it was absolutely amazing.

Um, I do love Libby Crowe.

She's been like my jam right now. I love her new podcast and she's just super uplifting and very true to herself. I'm trying to think if there's anyone else off the top of my head, but Ashley Graham, I listen to her. She has a podcast, just bought her book. Love her as well. I feel like people that are just really true to themselves, really authentic, really inspirational, those have been kind of like my favorite women to look up to and go to for now.

But yeah, I love that. I love— yeah, all those ladies are great. You know, I want to speak to something you just said because I feel like it's a really important thing to speak to, um, because I feel very similar. We're very aligned. And as soon as you said that, I was like, oh my gosh, um, I feel the same way about like not idolizing people or even tools or whatever, um, because the very fact of what you just said, because we are all the competition, like, I feel like there's competition in everything you do. There's— everybody's doing something that's very similar. But the thing that really distincts or makes everyone different is how you do that thing, like how you bring yourself to that thing. And I feel like what happens so much, and I have— I've seen that in my coaching in a lot of ways, is that women, we start to see other women doing these amazing things. And whether we realize it or not, we start trying to be like them versus trying to use them as sources of inspiration. Those are two different things, you know? And I think it's so important. I mean, I got a little flack when I first started my podcast because women were like, well, what do you mean you don't listen to podcasts? I was like, well, one, I'm not like a podcasty person. Like, I didn't think I was. And I mean, even still to this point, I don't like I don't gorge on podcasts. Like, I'm not just listening to tons of podcasts for multiple reasons, but one of the reasons why I didn't really just like start going gung-ho into it is because, oh my gosh, what if I start listening to all these amazing podcasts and I start being like, I need to sound like them. I need to ask questions like them. I need to approach how I, you know, interview my guests like them and all that kind of stuff. And I didn't want the Nikita factor to go away. Like, I wanted my factor to still be there. I'm like, that's what's going to make this different. Different. And I feel like it's powerful when you recognize that other women are doing amazing things and that's wonderful, but what you're doing is amazing because you're doing it your way. And I love that you just said that. And when you're like, yeah, I, I don't idolize them, but they're inspiration. And I think that's so awesome.

Yeah, I think that's always been a really big part of my business because I totally see how you can get influenced by other people you're following. And I think they can be very inspirational and they they can help give you the motivation you need and like you can relate to them and they're that one level up. And I think it's really important having women like that in your life. But I maybe have like 3 other social media managers I follow on Instagram and they're actual friends of mine. Like I connect with them, I refer things to them. Like I have maybe 3, but other than that I just don't choose to follow those people because you do get influenced and I want them to be my tips, my tricks, my information, my brand, my voice, how I'm showing up. I never want to be altered by how other people are showing up, which is really hard to not choose to consume it. But I totally agree with everything you said.

I'm glad you said that. It's always cool when I hear other women say something that I've thought, and I'm like, I'm sticking to it no matter what nobody says, you know? And then it's like, yes, it means it's everything. And which is another testament to the very fact that because of the way you do what you do is probably the reason why I was even more attracted to, to you. Like, it was because it's like, oh, I love this, it's so different, it's still kind of fresh and feeling, and it was you. Even though it's not like I don't know other social media marketers or managers, but it's just, it was you. And so it's like meeting a different person, and it's really nice and refreshing when you find someone that's them. That makes sense.

That's awesome. Thank you. And that's definitely like my goal with the way that I teach, the way that I coach, is just to to really make people feel inspired to just show up as them and show up real and authentic. Um, cause I try to do that myself and I find that it makes it more fun that way.

Sweet. So I'm going to ask you two more questions. One, if someone is looking to hire a social media manager, what should they be looking for?

Hmm. Ooh, a good one. Um, first thing personally is I think you should look at their social media and this is when a lot of other social Social media managers like, oh no girl, don't say it because some people don't focus on their social because I get it. It takes so much time, let alone to do it for other clients, but to do it for your own business. But I think being able to see someone's social media style is really important. Um, and then just overall, like I feel like there's so many different ways people can go about using social media. Some people may use ads, some people may focus on organic growth, some people may focus on images and content creation. So I feel like there's a lot of different ways that people manage their own social and social for clients. So really looking into what you want as a brand, because I think each of those styles are totally valid and work in different ways, work combined, but making sure that your goals are aligned with the way that people, you know, manage accounts. Because if like someone comes to me and they're like, I want this many followers by the end of this, I'm like, that's not really how I roll, but I can create you community. Right. And you know, you're going to show up more and you're going to be on lives and stories, believe it or not, you will. So that's how I work. So I think just like seeing how other social media managers work and what style aligns with you really helps.

Okay, cool. Very good. And the last question, of course, is if you could do one thing differently from when you first started out, what would that be? Hmm.

One thing differently. I feel like it probably just would have been saying a little bit more nos, practicing that muscle a little bit more and just being more intentional earlier on. I think there was definitely some lessons where I was with a client for a while, knew it wasn't going to work out and probably should have said no the first month instead of like the sixth month. Um, and just like staying really true to that, I think would have been what I would have told myself, what I would have done a little bit differently. But I think I'm really happy with all of the obstacles and things that I have been able to face because I think now just a year and a half in and being pretty young of an entrepreneur, I've really been able to learn so much, which is invaluable because I've had not successful launches. I've had really successful launches. I've had different things and I just always look at it as I can learn from this and this can help me be a better business owner. So maybe just not being so hard on myself when I have those type of things and really seeing it that way in the moment because that's the harder part.

Yes, because a year and a half is like not a very long time to learn a lot.

Yeah, exactly.

Tell us how we can find you on, you know, social media, and then like what exciting things you have coming up.

Um, yeah, um, so you can follow me on Instagram at Sol Studio Marketing, S-O-L, um, and that's where I am daily, all the time. Lots of yellow, so hopefully you like yellow. Um, And exciting things coming up is I am releasing a second course and I'm updating my current course. So I have an Instagram course now that is going to be the 2.0 version. And then I'm releasing an IGTV course, which I'm really excited about because I haven't seen any other IGTV courses on the market and it has been one of my favorite ways to serve my audience and I'm really seeing results from it since I've been using it since the first day it launched, like literally about a year ago. So that I'm really excited about. So that's what's coming soon. June and summer 2019.

Okay guys, that sounds— I mean, that sounds amazing. Um, I'm saying guys because I'm already thinking in my head, you guys, I'll have the link in the show notes so you can check this out for— definitely, especially the IGTV stories. Girl, I'm not gonna lie, I have gone and opened that app for the IGTV stories a thousand times to record the first one, and guess what? I still don't have it.

And that's what people are saying. Like, I totally get it. Like, there's like the imposter syndrome comes in and like, I don't know how to create video and I don't even know what I would talk about. Will people even watch it? Like there's so many elements, let alone like optimizing it, getting views, all those type of things. So that's what this course is for, is really serving people so they can post their first video and be like, yay, instead of like post the first video and be like, oh my gosh, what did I do? Yes. Or never post the first video, which I've heard too.

So yeah. Well, thank you so much for being on the show. Thanks for taking some time to talk to the She's Crafted to Thrive tribe. And thank you.

Thank you so much for having me. I loved our conversation, loved everything we chatted about, and I'm looking forward to continuing to connect. All right, ladies, thank you for listening, and I hope this conversation inspired you.

Be sure to subscribe and tell a friend. That's it on this episode. And yes, you are crafted to thrive.