Today we’d like to introduce you to Kim Beechner.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Kim. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
The food & beverage industry saved my life literally. At a mere 16 years old, my single mother unexpectedly passed away leaving me with a mortgage and a mountain of bills. Being a high school student I wasn’t quite sure what I was going to do to keep everything together. It was then that my career in the food & beverage industry began. I worked sometimes up to three jobs in restaurants as a server while completing high school through night school. This experience helped me not only survive financially but launched me into what is today my passion.
When I officially graduated high school, I quickly applied to the University of the Incarnate Word for an Undergraduate degree in International Business and Marketing. During my time in college, I transitioned to the bar industry becoming a craft cocktail bartender in the fine-dining segment. Here, I was able to fine-tune my customer service skills and learn more about the marketing & management of restaurants.
In 2010, during my senior year of college I started my company Embark Marketing. At the time, social media marketing was still very new and not many independently owned businesses had figured out how to leverage social media. This became my niche – helping restaurants and bars leverage not just social, but all digital media to gain more brand exposure.
After several years of working with both independent and franchise brands I returned to the University of the Incarnate Word to attain my Master’s degree in Communications. This field of study gave me even more insight into consumer behavior and how to create content that envoked emotion.
I feel that my educational background, combined with years of experience in the service industry and marketing restaurants in a digital space has provided Embark Marketing a unique opportunity to grow. Over the last nine years we have blossomed into an agency with a team of professionals that are dedicated to the food and beverage industry. We have successfully helped countless restaurants with their branding and marketing campaigns which resulted in new customers and higher revenues.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The life of an entrepreneur is never a smooth one – there are constantly bumps in the road – but isn’t that what makes it exciting? Maybe that’s just me.
On my journey, I feel the biggest struggle for me has been finding that perfect work and life balance. When the success of a company lays on your shoulders there is a lot of pressure to not only work hard but work A LOT. As a wife and mother – I have found that it can be difficult to disconnect with work mentally and fully be present during family time. After much research and countless podcasts, I’ve learned to incorporate block schedules into my work-life to ensure that everything gets done and I still have designated family time that can actually be enjoyed. I also made a commitment to self-growth because without it my company would never florish. This included incorporating exercise, a healthy diet and learning into my daily routine. Additionally, giving myself one international travel adventure per year.
I really think incorporating these life balance techniques have helped me keep a sound mind and body and pushed me to achieve my peak potential with Embark Marketing.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Embark Marketing is a full-service agency specializing the creative marketing solutions for the food and beverage industry. We assist food and beverage brands, restaurants, bars, coffee shops and more. Essentially, if you can eat or drink it, we’re there. We pride ourselves in staying up to date in technology and trends that directly impact our industry. We believe that because we are in such a niche market and all we work with is food and beverage brands that we have the ability to identify unique marketing opportunities for our clients based on market trends. Our services include a multitude of marketing facets including social media management, content creation, public relations, branding, website development, search engine optimization and email marketing.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
I believe success can only come from within. If you don’t love what you do and have a passion for your work, then I don’t think you can achieve success. For me, business achievements are measured by concept development, execution and results. Our clients are a true reflection of our work & their success is our success. There’s nothing better than having a client say a marketing campaign worked and helped them achieve their goals.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.embark-marketing.com
- Phone: 210-365-7635
- Email: info@embark-marketing.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/embarkmarketing
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/embarkmarketing
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/embarkmarketing
Image Credit:
Kody Melton
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