So... it's been a minute, but I'm back in the swing of things!
Well, to be clear, I haven't been "gone". I've still been working hard for my clients, and I've been making some behind-the-scenes changes.
Like so many other business owners I found myself with a super common problem. No time to post on social media. I literally had the problem for the solution I am offering! Ain't that some shit? Well, it turned out that having my 10-year-old home during the summer was not going to help me out with my 3-year-old as much as I anticipated. As a matter of fact, I have gotten more work done on my business since my 10-year-old has been back at school than I have all summer!
Lesson learned? Summer camps are a must for working moms!
But like I said earlier, just because I haven't been posting on social media doesn't mean that I was gone from my business. In fact, I wanted to share with you all the fun things we did this summer, PLUS, all the new amazing changes to Social Circle that I am SUPER excited about.
It all started in July...
July Realizations
The start of July is always a fun time here. My sister-in-law, owner of Inner Circle public relations, and her 11-year-old son come into town to celebrate the 4th of July. We always have a fun time going to the lake and beach, and just generally have some water-friendly activities in the scorching Texas heat.
While visiting with the family I got notified of a company that was looking for a digital marketer. I submitted my proposal to this particular company and didn't think much of it until mid-July when I had a discovery call with them. I was stoked! They were a fun, unique travel experience in the United States. Now, if you know anything about my past, I was a travel agent for 8 years and grew up with my grandmother being a travel agent. Travel is in my blood and it is where I actually started my marketing career. So hearing about this company I wanted their business. Bad.
But, it was not in the cards, and I was their second choice. I was super bummed. But, then I realized if I am this bummed then I need to make this my niche.
So here I am at the end of July with my
- kiddos running amock at home
- needing a vacation from our vacation
- finding a stray dog, looking everywhere for a rescue (but they were all full), and eventually finding a home for sweet Buster
- and trying to reimagine the direction of Social Circle.
Now, my brain being my brain, decided that if I was reimagining the direction of my business I couldn't possibly post anything new until I had everything in place. Which is literally one of the things that I and many other digital marketers advise against doing. Why? Because now I am basically starting over with the dreaded algorithm. Logically, I know this, but realistically my brain decided to put all my extra focus into redoing my business as the most important thing.
August Dreaming
So now we are at the beginning of August and going on vacation! We took a fantastic trip, just the four of us for the first time! When we go on vacation we are usually visiting family out of state so it's rare that we get to get away for a trip just for us. We decided to take a trip up to Arkansas to visit Hot Springs National Park, then go mine for crystals and diamonds!
It was such a super fun trip that not just allowed some amazing quality time with my boys, but solidified my new business direction.
See, back at the beginning of the year my husband and I binge-watched "The Worlds Most Amazing Vacation Rentals" on Netflix so seeing all of these really cool, unique, and interesting vacation rentals inspired me to find our own on this trip.
Hot Springs, AR
When researching for fun places to stay in Hot Springs I came across this super fun, unique rental that I knew we needed to stay at. Working around our petsitters' timeline and availability for this location determined our vacation date.
The location we stayed at was called Fox Pass Cabins a collection of 8 cabins set in the mountains of Hot Springs. The cabin we stayed in was called The Hillbilly Hiltin
The name alone had me in stitches but seeing the pictures sold the destination. You see, each cabin is expertly decorated immersing you into that particular theme. Our bed was made out of an old truck, there was a "jail cell" for the kiddos and a tree in the middle of the cabin with squirrels and raccoons running around it.
I enjoyed waking up in the morning and having a peaceful cup of coffee on the porch swing. After a long day hiking around Hot Springs National Park it was so nice to be able to come back to the cabin and relax in their private hot tub that had the hot springs water piped in. For when it's cooler out they have a cute fireplace in the cabin and a firepit in the yard.
I would love to come back to this property and try some of the other fun cabins, and even a Tipi!
Washington, AR
After we stayed in Hot Springs for a couple of days we drove our way over to west Arkansas where we could mine for diamonds and crystals. When researching places to stay out in that area I came across this sweet little B&B Farmstead called Coulter Farmstead.
This farmstead is an actual working farm with goats, pigs, and chickens and each rental that you can stay in are all buildings from the 1800s that were built back up on their property with modern amenities.
We stayed in the Bozeman Barn which was a loft above an actual barn. It was decorated beautifully with vintage furniture. The hosts live on the property and were absolutely lovely. They made us feel very welcomed and made a delicious breakfast that had the best yogurt parfait I've ever had. They also had a cute little mercantile at the front of the property that had local soaps, candles, and other goodies.
We had a great time making friends with all the goats (I'm looking forward to seeing Brownies baby!), feeding the pigs, walking around the property, and swimming in their pool.
I would certainly love to go back to this location, especially when they get their fluffy highland cows!
Solidifying The Direction Of Social Circle
What I loved about staying in both of these locations was that each place was part of the destination. Usually, when I stay at a hotel when visiting a city the hotel is just a place to sleep. This is great when you are staying in a place like New York City, or Los Angeles where there are things to do all night long. But when staying in Hot Springs, or out in the more rural areas of Arkansas, places are not open all night. As a matter of fact, most stores closed by 7 PM at the latest, with a majority closing around 5 PM, even in the tourist parts of Hot Springs. So having a fun place to head back to with the hot tub, pool, or other fun activities was key to making this a fun trip for our kiddos.
When I was telling people about how excited we were about staying in these locations, or when I posted the pictures on my personal social media pages, I was asked how did we find these places?
I started thinking about all of these super cute B&B's that are all over the US and how they get noticed. I started thinking about these gems that are really relying on word of mouth or blogs like this to bring attention to their destinations. About how many of my friends and family have now said they want to stay in both of those locations if they ever head that way.
Growing up traveling with my grandmother to these major cities and destinations all over the world was amazing, but one thing this pandemic made me realize was how much there was to see in my own "backyard". My husband and I talked about wanting to start seeing a National Park every year. Now I'm not sure if that is realistic, but we want to visit them more, and having such a great experience in these two locations makes me want to stay at more places like this.
The goal of Social Circle was always to help small businesses get their names out in a crowded digital space - to help them compete against the big corporations. Small businesses are the backbone of our communities and are so important to our economy. I have always wanted to do my part in helping them get a leg up, and as a woman entrepreneur, I knew the difficulties we experience with things as simple as time.
But visiting these places led me to know that in my heart I also need to be helping these locations thrive as well, which is why I have added travel and tourism to my services.
I just finished updating and revamping my website, adding separate pages for women business owners, and travel and tourism. I hope you love it as much as I do.
And just an FYI, if you are not in the travel industry or a woman-owned business, that's OK - I can work with any type of business, especially those that I have a passion for.
So, if you are interested in setting up some digital marketing services to help your small business - fill out the form below and let's chat!
