GIRL BOSS: OWNER OF PARK SOCIAL MARKETING AGENCY CHRISTY BRUCE

Never start a business to just make money, start a business to make a difference. Christy Bruce is the owner of Park Social Marketing a lifestyle agency that supports small brands with social marketing, branding, and consulting services. Along with running her agency full-time, she utilizes her skills as a content creator for her blog Parker Evonne that focuses on fashion, beauty, and life tips. I met Christy last summer after she slid in my DMs for an ice cream date at Jeni’s. We became friends through the internet after supporting each other content. After our first ice cream date, I was so inspired by her hustle to quit her 9-5 and start her agency full-time. One thing I love about her is her drive to support other women while sharing resources that can help one grow. If one win we all win! Today she will be sharing her story while being vulnerable about her journey. I hope this inspires you to face your fears and tackle any goal you set out for yourself.

Tell us about yourself and what inspired you to start your own social media marketing agency?

Hi my name is Christy Parker Bruce and I am the founder of Park Social Marketing, an Atlanta digital marketer with 5+ years of building and managing social media sites for business-to-business and business-to-consumer clients, and a fashion and lifestyle blogger. I helped raise brand awareness and implemented digital marketing and advertising initiatives for the ACLU of Georgia, Home Depot, Home Decorators Collection, Spanx, Darden Restaurants, CIAA, Southeast United Dairy Industry Association Inc., American Marketing Atlanta, Braden Fellman properties, QTS Realty Trust, Hodges-Mace, CD+M Lighting, Walter Mazzanti Designs, Georgia Coalition for English Learners and Kontrol Magazine.

How did you transition from working a full-time job and becoming a full-time entrepreneur? Was there a specific moment that motivated you to make that shift?

For the 6 months, I was at the ACLU of Georgia, I saved all of my money and cashed out my vacation day, as well. Before I fully went full-time as an entrepreneur, I was able to save about 6-8 months of revenue. I cut back on things that didn’t matter like getting my hair done, nails done, and buying clothes because that’s how bad I wanted it. Also, I moved back home when my lease was up and stayed there for about 4 months to save more money.

After the BYOB Live conference, that was the day I told myself that I could live on my own terms. 

How do you manage to run your business alone while having multiple clients?

It’s definitely a challenge. Some days are a bit overwhelming especially since I work in social media marketing. Things can come up such as current news and my whole schedule would need to change. I found that planning ahead of time makes things run smoothly. I plan out my content for about two weeks for my clients and now I’m saving content for when something happens we have a back-up.

Also, setting boundaries with clients has helped. I only try to take meetings two days out of the week and have set times from 11 - 4 P.M. unless you ask for evenings.

How do you go about finding clients and growing your agency? 

Most of my clients are based on referrals, but since I have been showcasing more of my work on social media on Park Social Marketing Instagram’s page, I have received some clients from marketing my agency. 

When I go about finding new companies to pitch to, I usually do a search on google or Instagram to find companies locally in Atlanta and then check their social media pages to see if they’re social media savvy. 

What is a typical workday for you? 

My typical workday may sound cool because I’m on social media for about half of a day for about 4-5 hours searching for content, engaging, and posting. About 2-3 hours of my day consists of actually creating the content and videos and about 2 hours scheduling content. 

What is the most difficult challenge you've ever had to overcome and how did you overcome it?

I believe the most difficult challenge I had to overcome is when I had a personal health issue that affected my mental state. Me as a creative need to feel inspired to create and at that moment I couldn’t. I was stuck not being able to write or create content for my clients for almost two months. What helped me overall was seeking out a therapist and understanding how to navigate through my mental health challenges. It was hard and it took months to get back to creating, but seeing how much trust my clients had for me and being patient really helped. 

What is one thing you wish you would have known before starting your own business?

Healthcare. Healthcare can run you about $300-$400 a month. 

If you had one piece of advice for someone starting out what would it be?

Choose a business that you really love and you’re passionate about. People think that just because you’re your own boss that you make your own hours and that’s true, but instead of you clocking out at 5 P.M. as the CEO you’re up until the work is done, especially if you’re starting a new business. Choose a business you love doing the work and you wouldn’t mind staying up late at night or early in the mornings to get it done.

How do you de-stress after a long day and find a balance between working and creating space for self-care?

I place my phone on Do Not Disturb from 10 P.M. at night until 10 or 11 in the morning. I have very strict boundaries when it comes to my time because I hardly get to have “Me Time.” In between that time I watch TV or look at funny videos on social media. 

Where can we find and learn more about your business and services?

You can visit my site at parksocialmarketing.com or go to Facebook or Instagram Page - @Park Social Marketing.