Hi I’m Lauren- Founder/Director of Get Social.

I guess I’ll give you our spiel quickly *Deep breathe*

We offer digital marketing services for a wide range of corporate clients such as social media management, online ad placement, web design and development, graphic and video content creation and influencer marketing.

 

We’re also partnered with one of Jamaica’s largest ad agencies, Dunlop Corbin Communications, and act as their social media arm. We love them.

We share office space with them on Oxford Road and here’s a pretty view from our office:

Anyway blah blah blah. You can check out our website for more info. Not really here to talk about what we do. I’ve decided to use this blog as a no holds barred opportunity for my team to talk about whatever the hell they want to, and use it as a creative outlet. So we’re going to be posting random stuff weekly and if it interests you. Great!

Personally I’m going to use this blog to tell stories about my entrepreneurial journey so far which will hopefully inspire and bring value to other young entrepreneurs and businesswomen that may be going through similar challenges, setbacks or triumphs.

 

Just kidding 🙂

 

But for real though…

So anyway, I’ve been in Social Media for over 6 years since I graduated college. 2 1/2 of those 6 years was spent building a very successful and well recognized online marketing brand locally called Go Viral. However, my business partner at the time and I had different visions for the company and we decided to part ways.

 

Coming out of that I formed Get Social which, although came with many challenges along the way, has grown from strength to strength thanks to the guidance, hard work and support of many- especially my team, friends and family. (I’ll expand on this in another post).  

After what I went through with Go Viral I decided to stop sharing details about my business life publicly and I was so discouraged from making the effort to build another brand. Honestly, the thought of even designing a logo for Get Social was like pulling teeth.

Zero. Interest.

 

Go Viral was like my baby and even though 2.5 years is nothing in the grand scheme of things, I was heartbroken and disappointed to see it fall apart having invested my blood, sweat and tears into building it.

(Wish I could go back in time and tell myself to take a chill pill and it’s all going to be fan-freaking-tastic).

So basically I was like “Screw it!” I’m just going to put my head down and work my ass off and focus all my energy and creativity on my clients.

That has worked out pretty well for us so far, because our work speaks for itself and we’re doing great.

But then, a digital marketing agency that doesn’t have a fully functioning website or social media presence?

 

Not a good look, I know.

 

But you know what they say about the Shoemaker’s kids… They always go barefoot. I guess I put Get Social in that box of professionals that don’t apply their skills for themselves. Just a crappy excuse to cover up how disheartened I was..

Then last year I developed a slight obsession with the serial entrepreneur and internet personality – Gary Vaynerchuk.

@GaryVee has inspired me in so many ways (more on him in later blog posts) and has become somewhat of a mentor for me. Yes, I know I sound like a nut job because I’ve never met him, but he’s my #NerdCrush and has truly re-energized me!

One of his messages that he pushes hard is that the key to content success is Documenting instead of Creating. What he means by that is- Instead of trying to be all fancy and create content for your brand that is top notch, perfectly scripted and vetted- Don’t overthink and overplan… JUST START.

Document the journey organically, which is far more important than the destination.

JUST START. How hard can it be?

Easier said than done, I know.

For the longest time it has been on my conscience to get our website and social media presence and blog back up and running, but my reluctance to do so stemmed from being burnt in the past. I was stuck and crippled by the fear of it crumbling again.

Me to myself after a year of saying “this is the week I’m going to work on the website”:

So finally today we reintroduce our website. It’ll give you some insight into what we’ve been up to for the past 3 years. It’s far from perfect or where we want it to be, but I’ve decided to face my fear and start putting us out there again… Because we’re pretty damn awesome if I may say so myself.

 

The lesson here is that failing is a part of the game, and fear of failure kills growth!

What you take away and learn from a setback is what’s important. I could’ve thrown my hands up in the air in defeat after what happened… But I decided to push through that shitty period (thanks to the support of my friends and family) and rise from the ashes like a phoenix. I started again from zero, zilch, nada.. and although it wasn’t easy, we’re doing better than ever and it has molded me into a better businesswoman.

 

Another thing that Gary Vee preaches is that 1 > 0, so I appreciate your attention. I will continue to document my entrepreneurial journey and I hope this inspires/encourages even 1 person in some small way 🙂