Today we’d like to introduce you to Amanda Green.
Amanda, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Before I ever had kids, I had this big dream of being a stay at home mom. Which was crazy because I have always been addicted to work and what most would call a workaholic. In 2012, after a long run of infertility, we finally welcomed our first baby. I was determined to be a stay at home mom but quickly realized I not only missed working but I knew I also needed an income. In 2015, we learned I was surprise pregnant and I just knew there was no way we could afford childcare for two kids after the baby was born. I started praying for direction and through networking was introduced to a lady named Angie who owns multiple businesses here in Dallas/Fort Worth and was needing help with her social media accounts. I was affectionately named the queen of social media in our family and it had been a long-standing joke that I was the one who invented selfies. It seemed like I was stepping into my dream job of helping others run their social media. This started my adventure into Social Media Management which then turned into me self-teaching myself how to do graphic design so I could create stellar content, web design, logo design and any other type of graphic design you could imagine.
Word of mouth started a fire and unintentionally I picked up additional clients. I honestly never sat out to start a business I figured I was just helping someone else and that person was helping me to be a stay at home mom while still making an income. Almost three years later and I have monthly clients across the United States and just got my first monthly client in the United Kingdom this past month. I have done graphic designs for people across the globe including New Zealand, Canada, France, and the United Kingdom. I am also apart of an incredible collaboration called The Digital MECA. It is a small group of other entrepreneurs just like myself who all do something related to digital marketing and together we work together as a team to meet client needs by being a one-stop shop. The collaboration has been a highlight of my career and we are honestly just getting started.
Has it been a smooth road?
Definitely not a smooth road. I was actually very scared to own my own business and I honestly never paid for advertisement because I was scared it would become too much to handle. My parents owned a successful business for over 35 years and I saw the good, the bad, and the ugly and wanted no part of owning my own business. When I first started, I did not even own a laptop and at the time I was living in Justin Texas and could not get reliable internet at home. How was I going to run an online business without these crucial things? I ended up buying a MetroPCS phone that gave me 8GB of monthly data on it and then the rest of the time I was hanging out at Starbucks in the evenings trying to get my work done on a laptop that someone else purchased for me. There have been plenty of times when I have thought about quitting like the time that I borrowed almost $2K from someone to purchase a license to become a certified partner to a software company that ended up being a flop. I thought I was going to make a huge ROI and instead it hurt me financially. You live and learn. The work-life balance has also been one of the biggest hurdles to overcome. When you work from home, it is easy to fall into a place of not knowing when to leave work at work. I feel like I am constantly on the clock and so I am trying to be better about setting specific work hours and honoring them. I am thankful for my husband, Michael for being my biggest fan and supporter. Every time I have thought about closing up shop and running back to Corporate America he keeps me focused on why I ever started and that helps me a ton.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with The 8 Social – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
I personally specialize in Social Media Management. While I do web design, logo design and design marketing materials for other businesses, Social Media Management is the Oreos to my milk. It is literally my most favorite thing to do. I create custom content tailored to a personal brand or to a businesses specific needs. Each month I meet with my clients and we discuss their goals and objectives for the upcoming month. I then create content based on those objectives and then package it up into a monthly calendar. Then I am responsible for making sure that all of the beautiful content gets delivered to their social media channels in a timely fashion. In combination with using appropriate hashtags and other services offered amongst my co-collaborators at The Digital MECA, we are able to provide a completely unique experience. We want to give others the hands-off approach to their social media accounts and allow them to connect with their clients and do what they do best so we can do what we do best. I am most proud for sticking with it, getting things done, and not losing sight of why I do this. It is all for my kids and I hope someday when they are older they will look back and appreciate it. It is not always rainbows and butterflies but I definitely work my hardest to keep my eye on the prizes, which are my kids. I think what sets The 8 Social apart from others is that everyone deals with me and even as I grow I plan on still being a very hands-on business owner. Customer service is very very important to me and I never want to lose sight of that.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I love the opportunities that are here in Dallas/Fort Worth. Until you have lived somewhere else and experienced everything from shopping to business operations, there is just no other place that compares. I lived in San Diego and while I was madly in love with the city as a parent, there are too many greater things here. There are great school systems, great jobs, a booming real estate industry and tons of networking opportunities.
Pricing:
- We have social media management plans that start as low as $150 per month.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.the8social.com
- Email: amanda@the8social.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_the8social
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/the8social
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/socialmediamandi/
Image Credit:
RBC Life, Nicole Zysk, DT School of Fitness, Angie Leigh Monroe, Karli Ball
Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
