05. Carly Merryweather on Being a Digital Nomad Living in Bali & the Evolution of Her Online Business

Podcast
Written By Jessica Sheehy
 

Are you setting up your business intentionally?

In this episode of the Hashtag Managed podcast, I'm joined with Carly Merryweather to talk about her journey and the evolution of her business — from starting out as a social media manager to living in Bali to where her business is headed.

Carly's goal in becoming a VA is to have more freedom with her schedule and her life. She's missed way too many farmers markets, festivals and pints with friends from having to work a traditional job.

She has been virtual assisting since 2019 and has fallen in love with the craft. Carly never saw herself as an entrepreneur and would always follow the herd growing up. After moving out in 2017 and -as cliche as it sounds- falling in love with traveling, Carly searched for a way to be able to travel sustainability. She wanted to find a way to work online, and be able to make decent money while traveling, without having to post her face all over the internet.

She wanted a way where she could travel without the usual routine of saving up money for months, take as much time off work as she could, travel until she had $0, come home, rinse, repeat. She wanted something where she could take her years of customer service experience and make money wherever she wanted to.

(JESS) Welcome back to another episode of Hashtag Managed! I'm so excited for today's guest and the conversation that we're going to have today on the podcast.

I'm joined with Carly. She is the founder of Carlyita Co. She helps creative entrepreneurs to feel empowered in their business by unleashing their full potential in creating a sustainable, potent business. Tell me a little bit more about you and why you started your business.

(CARLY) This is a new, like, I help statement that I've written and, like, been using lately. So it sounds really good when people say it. So thank you.

I love a good I help statement and I feel like this really does embody everything that you're about. And I've known Carly for a while now. I was on her podcast, Wildly Balanced, a couple of a couple months ago. I don't remember how long it's been, time has flown by. But we will have a link to that podcast in the show notes so you all can go over and listen to all of the amazing episodes that Carly has and will record in the future.

So Carly, I'd love to start off with talking a little bit about your business. And I'd love to just ask the question, has your business changed at any point since the time that you started it? And it could be small changes, big changes, could be changes in what you do, who you do it for, and how you do it, but yeah, I'd love to hear that.

(CARLY) Yeah, you don't even know. So I started my business in early 2019, so it's been through so many evolutions and transformations since then. And, yeah, I started mostly as a social media manager, if you can believe it. I started similar to you as a social media manager. I was like, making content, posting it, engaging all that good stuff. And then as I kind of, like, grew my clientele, it kind of like funneled or niche down into general admin, if that makes sense. So I just kind of like, fell into the general admin side and then I was like, doing a little bit of everything. Like, I would do social media, I would do email marketing, I would do email management. I would just kind of like, I love learning new things, so I would just, like, try on everything to see what fit and what didn't.

And then it niche down into kind of what I'm doing now and what I'm still doing, which is like, general admin stuff, like organization, OBM, all those fun buzzwords, like all that good stuff. So, yeah, it's interesting seeing, like, how it shifted from social media management down into, like, what I'm doing now. It's just still it's like a little bit of everything. Like, I still do social media, I still do email marketing, all that good stuff. It's basically, like, what my client needs I do. And it's interesting of when I first started, how I was chasing the tasks, like chasing the job and now I'm kind of chasing the client if that makes sense.

Like right now I have two really freaking awesome clients that I love so much and I'm just stoked to support them everyday.

(JESS) Yeah, I love that. I think that's something to be said about so many of us when we start in this big online scary business space. There's so many different things that we can do and a lot of times just depending and we all come from different backgrounds like maybe working a corporate job maybe. I know some people really hate their nine to five. Some people really love their nine to five. I don't think there's a right or wrong answer to anything.

And being an entrepreneur, I don't think that's the right way. I just think if people fall into entrepreneurship and it's what they love, it's such a great combination. But I love that you are now chasing the passion and chasing the clients that you're working with over chasing the tasks and the evolution from social media management to general admin and online business management because so much goes into managing an online business. And I think as you kind of layer on each different layer of business, there's so many different ways that you can provide support to clients and all of that. So I really love that look in your background and in the evolution from social media manager beyond because a lot of the people in our community and listening to this podcast are current, new or aspiring social media managers, content creators, strategists, content writers. But a lot of times things spiral into that.

I have so many conversations with people who are like, hey, I'm working with a client on their social media accounts. Recently someone just shared, I really love creating SOPs and I love that as a business owner I'm like, yes, like you need SOPs in any online business, especially like if you're outsourcing or have a team. And she's like, I don't know if I, if I can run a business with a social media management business and offer SOPs. And I'm like, you're niche, you're pivoting, you're pivoting away from social media and it's completely okay to do that. So I really love learning that about your journey. Is there anything that you would contribute to maybe the change or the pivot in your business? Is it the clients that you're working with? I know you really enjoy working with them. Is it maybe any like lessons learned, any courses taken or just anything that you think really accounts for that pivot or change?

(CARLY) Yes. First of all, for all of the listeners, I don't know like how much you talk about this in your podcast cause it's not out yet and I can't wait to listen. But SOP stands for Standard Operating Procedures. So it's like a video or like a written process. Of how you do something so that you can kind of, like, grow as a team. And they are so important for team and something that I'm, like, just starting to implement in my business. And I'm like, damn, how have I gone for three years without these? They're so important. But yeah, I tend to think of my pivot as the incident. I'm just kidding.

There wasn't like it was kind of like a bunch of little things, and then it was like something that broke the camel's back that was like, oh, I'm not happy in my business how I'm currently running it. So let me give you a little bit of backstory. So I started my business with the intention to travel. So, like, I traveled a little bit in 2017, and then it was just like, pattern of like, I'm going to come back to Canada. I live in Canada. I'm on the west coast. So it's like, come back to Canada, work as hard as I can for as long as I can. So like, six months, a year, whatever, save up every single penny that I have and then go traveling for, like, as long as I can to deplete that, you know, like, if I save up five grand, I'm going to go traveling for as long as five grand will get me and then come back with nothing. And then I kind of, like, start the cycle over again. So I searched for a business that could allow me to continue traveling long term and continue making money without having to come back, start over, kind of like, keep that cycle going.

So I actually found Virtual Assisting, which is what I like, I'm a virtual assistant, so I do a little bit of everything. And like I was saying, I kind of niche into social media, and I found what worked for me. And then as soon as I so my business was going really well and then Ms. Rona happened. So I was finally able and established enough to take over my full time income with Virtual Assisting and, like, be able to travel long term. And then my partner, Chad, he also works online. He's a podcast producer, and he went fulltime in his business at the end of February in 2020. Like, the timing, the timing, the timing. So, yeah, we were both finally at this point where we're, like, established enough in our business to take it on the road with us. And we actually, like, bought a van, and we were like, OOH, van life. And then COVID happened. And then, you know, we've all been here for that. But yeah, just in time to be able to travel, I couldn't. So those last three years have been kind of just like I don't want to say plateauing, but like, plateauing kind of feeling stagnant. And I treated myself and acted as an employee because that's all I've known before I started a business.

And it wasn't until, like literally a couple of months ago, like, we're in November 2022 right now. It was like middle of August that I had this epiphany moment, and somebody online was like, oh, reminder, you're not an employee. You don't act like one. And I was like, I've been acting as an employee for years and not getting compensated for it. And so that was kind of the epiphany moment that I had. And it was also that mixed with in May and June this year, me, my partner, and my best friend went to Bali to, like, live out our digital nomad lives because that's, like, what I started a business for. And so that was freaking amazing. But every single one of my clients was like, because Bali is like, it's a 15 hours time difference for me and a twelve hour time difference from all my clients on the east coast, which is like, I was like, oh, that's cool. I'll work. And then we'll hand off tasks and like, it'll be great. It was not great because 12 hours is a lot.

And so when I started my day, they were in bed going to sleep, and like, when they woke up, it was like midnight for me. So I had a lot of, like, midnight meetings, which I would not recommend.

(JESS) I love that you're pulling the curtain back from the digital nomad lifestyle, because, I mean, like, anything in online business, there's so much that's unsaid. A lot of people celebrate their huge cash months that they make in their business. I'm not going to name drop the amounts of dollars they're working towards, but we all know what I'm talking about. And they're not sharing their expenses. They're not sharing how many people they have on the team, whether it's contractors or payroll. They're not sharing the tools that they're using or paying for the systems or anything like that. I think a lot is to be said about being a digital nomad. It's selling the dream of traveling, and I'm so jealous that you guys got to go experience Bali.

It's definitely one of those places that it's like, I don't know what to expect until I actually get there and can experience that life. But the twelve and then 15 hours time difference is huge. I can't even imagine how hard that must have been, especially, like you said, waking up, doing midnight meetings and doing all of that, but at least you got a taste of that digital nomad lifestyle. I'd love to know, is there any travel, like, in the future? Anything you have planned or anything that you would maybe want to plan in the future for your business? Or did that trip really kind of cement things for you?

(CARLY) Yes, in 2023. I'm planning on just, like, being a little homeless hippie and traveling fulltime. That's my goal. So, yeah, it was super interesting to see the glamorous side of side of digital nomads on like, social media and the content consumption and all that. And then you get there and it's like, wow, I have to stay up till midnight and do meetings and it's hot and my computer overheated a lot, you know, and it's just like, all these things. And it was really interesting because all of my clients, the way that I set up my business through Global Pandemic was very, like, nine to five at my computer service base. Time sensitive tasks. Not like you have to be in the office at nine to five, but it's like, hey, all of the emails have to be responded to within a certain amount of time, which, like, totally understandable because people want to feel supported. But it was also like, as someone who started my business to travel, I did not make a business that was equipped to travel.

So that was like my epiphany moment of pivoting my business and being like, oh, okay, so it's worked for me. I love it. It's worked for me for three years. But now I want to actually act on the traveling part. And I have a lot of plans, nothing set in stone, but I have a lot of plans for the next year to go to Europe and go to other places in Canada and visit the States and Mexico, and somewhere warm is calling my name because we have snow right now. It's like all these things. And it was like, wow, what needs to shift in my business to allow me to act on the reason I started a business, which is to travel? So that's kind of been my pivotal moment this last couple of months of shifting my business in a way that allows me to do that.

(JESS) Yes, well, there's a couple of really good points and things that you said that I want to, of course, dive deeper into. The first thing is treating yourself as the an employee for so long. I think, of course, no matter what backgrounds and what corporate or non corporate work experience we have, we have some sort of work experience.

Maybe it's not anything to do with admin or tech or social media or any other service that we're offering in the online space, but we have some history, we have some background, we have different things that have shaped who we are as employees, and we bring those into business whether we want to. And whether we're doing it intentionally or just unintentionally, it just happens so, so much. One of my words for 2022 was boundaries.

It was something that I knew with the Pandemic. I let so many clients walk over boundaries. I would even take away my own boundaries for numerous reasons. For signing clients, for working with people who I had always wanted to work with, despite the clear boundaries being stepped on, even in like, an initial discovery call, but also treating my business as something I was working in 2023 is something that I want to work on the business. I feel like I have not done that since I started the business. Because you're new to entrepreneurship and you're so excited. You're trying to find new clients, you're trying to do new projects, of course, make the income, but you're also doing the fun stuff. You're working on your offer, you're working on your branding.

If you're doing that or just doing all the fun things and creating the visions and being a visionary for where you want your business to go. And I think that's so important and I think a lot of times we just get wrapped up in being the employee because we are bringing that in and we are trying to make our clients happy or make those projects go smoothly. And I'm interested to see your take and point of view on this, Carly. But one thing that I've noticed is the better boundaries that I set for myself, the better just partnership I have with the client and the better work I do for them. It's amazing how much of a cycle it is to have everything working in your favor. So I'd love to know, do you have a similar experience with that in your own business? Boundaries?

(CARLY) We love boundaries so good. And I feel like it's something that if you've never had to set boundaries for yourself. I was never an entrepreneur growing up, like, I didn't even have a lemonade stand. I wasn't one of those. I never saw myself as an entrepreneur. I never saw myself. I assume that the only way to work for yourself is to be an influencer and no shame to influencers. But I don't want a YouTube channel. I don't want to paste my face on social media, even though I know I should. And I've been getting better, but I thought that was the only way to do it. And it's like I didn't realize that virtual assistant, social media management, like all this stuff was a thing.

If you're not used to it, you're going to continue to live in the patterns that you've been living in. I continued to be an entrepreneur. I was an employee for so long. So that's how I worked for somebody is as an employee. And no shame to this client that I had. But also they treated me like an employee because I'm sure that they've had, I would say, like, quote, real jobs, but like physical jobs, regular jobs, like nine to five jobs where they were the boss and they had employees. So it's like these subconscious things that you grow to know and these patterns that you use, and it's not like an overnight immediate change. You're going to have to acknowledge it and work towards it. Yeah.

(JESS) Sometimes as entrepreneurs and just people, we have to just get out of our own way. A lot of times. There's so many times in my business where I feel like I'm in the way, I'm in the way of projects, I'm attaching myself to something too much or I'm in the way of our team and holding back projects and holding back their success and all of that. So getting in our own way is such a big thing. But I think it's so important to make those boundaries.

I can't remember exactly how it was said or who said it, but how you go into a job and I'm going to use that lightly, like any real job, like your point on a physical, like nine to five job or an online job, a project retainer, not retainer one-off project. How you go into that job is how you're going to be seen for the duration until the very, very end. I mean, there are times where you can have open and honest conversations with clients or employers or employees and say, hey, I know I started this project or this job this way, but I need to set some boundaries for myself. I'm burning out, I'm exhausted, I'm working till 10:00 p.m. I'm doing, you know, midnight meetings, I'm doing all these things. And of course, circumstances change everything, but having the open conversation with them can be super helpful. But for the most part, how you go into a job is how you're seen. And I think that's so important to not fixate on and make sure that we're perfecting ourselves or our business before we go into jobs or career paths because that perfection will never come. We'll just keep working away at it. But just keeping in mind how we go into something is how in the project, in the job. I love the point that you mentioned about you set up your business for travel, but your business was not set up for travel. I think that is so, so important. I think so many entrepreneurs, myself included, do the same thing. We set up our businesses for one thing or another.

I know for myself, I had lost my job when I started Social Savvy, and I needed a job, I needed income. So I set up my business for I like to say my goal was financial freedom. My first goal was meeting that income that I had made in my job. And then from there I set more attainable goals to make more and make more based on expenses or if I had a team or just the lifestyle that I wanted to live. But at certain times throughout my journey, I've been capped for income. So it's like coming back to like, I created a business for financial freedom. But if I'm like trading time for dollars or anything like that, I can only make so much money. Like, how can I diversify? How can I do that? So I love the epiphany you had a couple of months ago about going from employee and this is how your business was set up. To now changing and things like that. I'd love to hear, is there anything different or exciting on the horizon for your business that has come about from that change or are things the same?

I think sometimes in entrepreneurship we're always so focused on the growth, but sometimes, like really quick growth and growth that happens overnight, which doesn't always happen. It's never really happened for myself. I don't have that as part of my entrepreneur story that, oh, I had 100K on TikTok and I make this much money per month. That has never been part of my story and I think that's the normal for most people. But I'd love to hear, has there been anything that you've kind of changed or anything that's like on the horizon that is happening for you and your business?

(CARLY) Totally. I love that you talk about like I talk about my values a lot, and that's something that I've kind of been honing into of values as a business owner and how to stay authentic and genuine in your business and transparent is, like, to figure out what your values are, and then everything you do kind of stick to that. Like you said, one of your values or the reason you started a business was like financial freedom. So every decision you make, every move you make in your business is going to reflect on financial freedom. And sometimes that means sacrificing.

So, like, if your value is financial freedom, maybe you're at an office and you're more stagnant and you just kind of have this area to create kind of thing. Whereas my value was travel and freedom. It's not all that glamorous and like, I don't have an office. I'm at my kitchen table right now because I don't have a desk or an office. And it's like I sacrifice that so that I have travel. So I love how you said that. Find your values and stick to them.

(JESS) Yes. I think authenticity goes such a long way in business and social media and the content that we share and just being true to ourselves. And I love that you mentioned sticking to values. I think that's so important and something to always revisit and just kind of come back to circle back and say, hey, am I really sticking to the values in my business that I started? And have they evolved? It's completely okay. We're humans, we evolve and we change over time and adapt to different things.

Online businesses can be overwhelming, messy and there are a lot of shoulds that come with running. One I'd love to know what advice can you give to business owners to help them find balance and to create sustainable business for themselves?

(CARLY) Yes. Kind of tying in your last question. In this question, there's a lot of things, especially in the last couple of months of growth and healing that I've been doing of like years of being like, oh, I should do this, I should do. That, like, the next path for me as a virtual assistant, as an entrepreneur, is, like, to grow as high, like, as much as I can, make as much money as I can be, like, stupid, filthy rich. That's the one goal as an entrepreneur is just to have millions of dollars in the luxury life. And it's like, that's not for me. That's not what I want. And it's like, just because it works for you, like, this formula worked for you. This sales tactic works for you doesn't mean, like, entrepreneurship is not one size fits all and there's no path that you should be taking. And that's kind of like what I stand for. And what the wildly balance stands for is, like, the nontraditional life of doing whatever the F you want. I don't know if we can swear on this podcast, go for it, whatever the fuck you want. That's kind of like what we stand for. And it's like the permission slip that you have to literally take life by the balls and do it your way. And I think that's what I kind of had to unlearn in these past couple of months is like, there's no one size fits all way to do things.

Like, I don't need to then make a course, which then, you know, like, it's not like you're a virtual assistant and then you're a coach, and then you do one on one, and then you do VIP days, and then you do courses, and then you do, like, evergreen courses. There's no sequence that you need to do things. And I think that's been a huge thing of unlearning the shoulds and just doing it the way I want. As my business shifts, I'm kind of taking on I'm still doing the same stuff. I'm still doing general admin stuff with clients that I love, but I'm setting better boundaries of like, okay, I'm not going to do email management. Like, you know, these are my working hours, but also, like, I reserve the right to change them if I want. You know, like, if it's a snow day and I want to build a snowman, I may take the morning off and go build a snowman because I want to. So it's just like, the way that my business hasn't shifted, but then it's also shifted has been really crazy to witness.

(JESS) Yeah, that's amazing. That's exactly why I knew I wanted to have you as one of our first guests on the podcast, because I know we're just so aligned with having that same vision for our businesses and there's so many voices and just noise in the online space of, like you said, all the shoulds that you have to do and all of the different levels that you have to do. I love that you mentioned that you need to do this service and then offer this course and then do the VIP day and you have to do it in this order and then you'll make 1000 million, billion dollars and it's always what is shared in the online space.

But when I look back, and I've been doing a lot of time since we're towards the end of 2022, about how successful was 2022 for my business, like, how profitable was I looking at 2021, 2020, and even 2019. Even though it's not always showing on paper the quote, unquote, what my business should look like, I like to consider all of the other factors. Like, I've been lucky to travel a few times this year. I've gone to some really cool places in Europe, which has been amazing. The year before is when I hired at the end of the year the team that we have now. And to me, that's a win. Finding great people to work on my team and under the Social Savvy brand is super exciting and something I had always wanted to find those great people and now we have them.

So I'm like, I got to hold on to you guys, but just kind of measuring all of the different things. I think measuring like, success in business just goes beyond the revenue that we're bringing in and even just the profits that we're taking home or putting in our pockets at the end of the day because there's so many different things that come from entrepreneurship that are just so great. So I really love that you said that and just unlearning a lot of the different things that we've just been taught for so long, even if we just don't know it. I mean, we consume so much content all of the time and sometimes way more content than I'd like to consume. And I always try, and I've always done this, try to be very conscious of who I'm consuming content from just because I have. And I don't know if it's the same for you, Carly, but I've worked behind the scenes, even though on the social media side of some businesses that I see what they're sharing and what the dream they're selling their clients or their customers.

And then I see the types of lives they're living and the businesses they're running, and for me, the values just don't line up. One plus one in that situation does not equal to and I'm like, I got to get out of here. That's not the kind of marketing I just like to do as a marketer anyway. It's really interesting that that's just what a lot of the industry is. That's why I knew I wanted you to be one of the first guests on here, because we just are so aligned with just wanting, I guess it is the different things that most people don't want out of business. But I think it's what the majority of business owners want. I know it's the majority of the people in our community. Like, they want to create businesses that they love and they're okay to sacrifice certain things. I love that you are still you're still the one working one on one with clients.

One thing that I noticed, especially in the service based industry and kind of to your point, on all of the different moves to passive income that you mentioned, is that it's kind of seen, as I want to say, it lightly, but failure if you're not doing those one to many services like a course or a VIP day or group program or consulting, coaching, anything like that. Nothing is wrong with any of those different things if that's what's aligned with you. But personally, I love working with clients. I love creating social media content. I know that's not the majority of what people think, but I love that. I know content creation is not for everyone, but I also just love working with clients and meeting entrepreneurs and connecting with them and also just building their businesses. To me, that's such a great thing. So I'd love to just hear more about that if that's something that you see yourself doing, like, long term as well, and if that's something that you're still, like, super passionate about.

(CARLY) Yes, there's so much shame in the industry. Like, so much shame of like, you should do this and shaming you into buying my course and blah, blah, blah. And it's like, why can't we all just build a cake full of rainbows and happiness and just get along? I don't know if that's the I sucked up the mutual quote, but you get what I'm saying. Like, there's so much shame in the industry and Chad, my partner and I have been talking about this a lot of how we view success and that we've been subconsciously programmed to view success only as like, money goals and like, you know, if you don't have enough, you're lacking their scarcity. Like, you're fucked, basically. Like, that's the society that we've been given in the way that both him and I grew up.

If you're not having money, like, if you don't have money, there's a problem, you know, and it's like trying to reprogram those views of success into other things. And it's like, I've been able to create a sustainable business for three years and I may not be like, a millionaire with loads of money and like, a bank account and like, you know, a vacation home in Bali, yet it's coming. But like, I'm successful and I've created a sustainable business that allowed me to live my dream and work from home through a global pandemic. Like, some people aren't as lucky. And not that I'm like comparing myself to people, but sometimes there's goodness in comparison if it boosts your ego. So, yes, my success to me is being able to create a sustainable business that I can kind of give back to the environment. Like, sustainability that way. I'm super into that. It's been a little hard through the pandemic with all the, like, you know, but before the pandemic. I was really into like the zero waste movement. So like sustainability and environmental necessity that way, but then also sustainable.

That's been able to it's not just like you do one launch and then you leave kind of thing. It's like, I've been able to create this business that's evergreen and like ongoing and I've been able to bring that success for clients of like, you know, that makes sense.

(JESS) Yeah, I'm the same way. I've been a part of so many launches. I know there's so many launches coming on the horizon in our own business and social savvy. We launch one product and then we run an evergreen and that's just always been successful and that's always what I see it to be because the constant rinse and repeat of launches, so many things can go from that topic. But it's exhausting and it's draining. And that to me causes more work that needs to be done and more time that needs to be spent. I love that you and Chad have looked at like, success and kind of redefined it. I think it needs to be redefined so much, especially if we go on any social media platform like Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Pinterest, everyone is selling the dream and it all looks the same and it's all things that I have never like, really dreamed for, like huge MC mansions. I mean, nothing is wrong if you put a mansion on your vision board and that's what you're working towards, go for it. Absolutely go for it. But it's so different for everyone and just because I don't drive the fancy sports car or they live in a fancy mansion, I actually was able to buy a house in 2020 with my partner thanks to the success of this business. And it's not as successful as others in the industry, but it's provided like a really, really good life for me and I know it will continue to do that. So I love that sustainability is something that's so important to you and that you weave that into your clients businesses because I think it's something that especially after a global pandemic, we really need that.

We need that sustainability to keep us moving because the world is so unknown. Things are so unknown in life and in business. And to have that sustainability, to know that you're going to wake up tomorrow and you're still going to have the same things, then it's going to be really great. Kind of back to a little bit earlier in the show when I mentioned like overnight success. A lot of times people are always going after that. Like, maybe if I do this big thing, if I do this big launch, I'm going to make millions of dollars and I'm going to have so much success in my business, I'm going to reach 1000 followers on Instagram or TikTok or whatever platform it is and then they think the success will come.

I think it's so important to do the small improvements every day. Super small. Super, super small that you don't even know that they happen until you're at the end of 2022 and you're like, wow, I really grew as a person and as a business owner since January 1, 2022. And I think that is where actual sustainable success comes from.

(CARLY) Yeah. I love this so much. Chad and I have talked about it a lot. Chad is one of my best friends in the online world because COVID has been lonely. And I'm excited that it's kind of like, the world is opening up a little bit and I'm going to more coworking events and that kind of stuff. But Chad and I were talking about it a lot, like, over the past couple of months, about like, launching especially too. And it's like, people get launches and they like, plan everything out meticulously and they're like, I'm going to have this many people and this amount of income. And I love that.

I think that active manifesting your goals like that is amazing in, like, setting goals, but then also with entrepreneurship. And maybe I'm just on the woo side of things, like the spiritual side of things, but I feel like you have to have this kind of, like, whimsical freedom with it too, of expecting the unexpected, of like, if you're going to get eleven people, maybe you're not. Maybe you're going to get more. Maybe like, ten people are going to come out of the woodwork that you've never seen before and during your course. And he gets very, like, I don't know if it's his human I've been getting into human design lately, so it's really interesting to see who I am and what my body is programmed for. And it's just another testament that entrepreneurship is not one size fits all because everybody is so different. But he gets very set on like, this person, this person, and this person. Like, these three people that I know are going to join my course. They're going to pay this amount of money kind of thing. And it's like, you don't know their journey. You don't know what they're going through. You kind of need to like, trust their timeline and trust your own timeline of like, you know, expect the unexpected.

(JESS) A lot of times what comes out of the unexpected is really, really great. And sometimes it's better than what you were hoping for, and sometimes it's not. I think that's entrepreneurship too, just learning how to, how to ride the waves, the ebbs and the flows of the journey, because it definitely is a journey. I'd love to know. If you had to give one piece of advice to another business owner, what would it be?

(CARLY) Good question. I know you send me these questions beforehand. I did not prepare, so I will stall. I think it's kind of like a two parter. I think one is like, we just talked about expect the unexpected and kind of allow for that, like, trial and error in the evan flow. Because, like I was saying, my business started as a social media manager and then I kind of like I liked it, but I didn't love it. And I'm sorry if that offends you. I love you, I love what you do, but like, social media management wasn't for me. So it kind of like I allowed the ebb and flow into niche, down into what I do now. And I feel like if I didn't allow for that kind of fluidity, then I would have led to more burnout faster. I'm very familiar with burnout, but like, I think if I didn't allow the ebb and flow, like, it would have happened sooner. And then for part two, community is your best friend. Humans are meant to thrive. They're meant for community. They're meant for surrounding yourself with, likeminded, people. And when I first started my business in like, 2019, when the world was open, I had this little group of entrepreneurs in my town that I would meet up with and we would go to cafes and restaurants and we would get a couple of hours of work in and it kept me sane.

And then COVID happened and it was kind of like two weeks we can't hang out and then it's still going. So it's shifting into the virtual coworking and stuff. I'm part of a couple of coworking groups that meet on Zoom once a week, which has been really great, but like, people need community. Don't be afraid to ask. Don't be afraid to reach out to your community.

(JESS) I think that's huge. I mean, community is everything. I think when I fast forward before I wanted to start my business, I started it because I lost my job. I was kicked from behind right into entrepreneurship. But in hindsight, it was like, the best thing that could have happened to me. But I had been side, hustling, if you will, before doing that for a really long time, like for a year and a half. And I don't know if I've actually admitted how long that was before.

I think I've just said, oh, it's been a little bit before starting my business, but it was about a year and a half, a really long time of just me not knowing where to go and like, who to turn to. And I will never name drop, but I did turn to a couple of people that were what I aspire to be as a social media company owner. And I got turned down. I didn't want to pick their brain, I didn't want to learn their trade or their industry secrets from them and whatnot. I just wanted to build community and to collaborate. And that has always been a part of my mission since starting Social Savvy and just our community. And we have a free Facebook community that is now to 5000 plus amazing entrepreneurs that are all over the world, and most of them are social media managers. There's a ton of VAs that's probably 50/50, and then there's some other service based entrepreneurs in there, some coaches, and it's a really amazing community to turn to.

Sometimes if I'm not in the Facebook group for a day or two, I jump in there and I miss so many posts and it's so amazing just to have that, like, sounding board for people. And a lot of times, you know, myself or our community manager, when we're engaging in the group, so many people will private message us and they'll say, I can't believe the value or the support you gave me for free in this group. And it really does just blow my mind because we're just trying to connect. And it helps us on the other end too. It helps us grow as humans and marketers and entrepreneurs. So I'm interested to see if this last question kind of comes into play with what you just shared there. But you've built your business by helping creative entrepreneurs to feel empowered. How has social media deepened those connections? And how does social media impact your online business?

(CARLY) Good question. I love social media. I'm a huge fan of Instagram. That's like, where I play the most. I feel like all of my clients I've met kind of through social media. They're all through referral based. A lot of my clients are referral based right now. And it's through the Facebook groups and the Instagram that I've met them. And that's where I play. That's where I have the most fun. I think also it's cool seeing the shift over this last, like I said, a couple of months of healing that I've been doing. I've bulk unfollowed a lot of people and then bulk followed a lot of other people. And it's cool just kind of like broadening my horizon of like I feel like I was very tunnel vision into this certain group of people and that's who I followed and that's who I was friends with, and I was like, I don't want outsiders. And it felt very like, mean girl clicky. And so lately I've been able to follow other people on social media. So I think that's been really cool and feeling inspired by like, different realms of people and just being able to because I'm very much a person who's like, the seven people that I hang out with is my personality, no doubt about it. So being able to follow more inspiring people has been really fun.

(JESS) Yeah, I love that. I'm an Instagram fan through and through. That's my favorite platform to create on. It's my favorite platform. It's a platform that grew my business. I have to give all the success to Instagram. I know so many entrepreneurs and business owners. Maybe people listening to this podcast now kind of have a love hate relationship with Instagram. And I think that's okay. I think that's totally normal. We should we shouldn't, you know, be so into it. But I've recently been connecting with a lot of people on TikTok. It's still a platform that I'm I can't say I'm a TikToker by any means, but I definitely do love to consume content on TikTok because I feel like a lot of the people and creators that I've followed and connected with on there are just sharing really amazing, like, inspirational content that is making me feel good. It's making me find new things that are like personal interests or hobbies. And it's just been a really amazing thing. So I really, really love your take on that final question. Well, thank you so much, Carly, for sharing with us today on the podcast and just for having this amazing conversation with me. Where can our listeners find out more about your business and services?

(CARLY) Yeah, like I said, I like to play on Instagram. Also signed up to TikTok. I love that you said that because I also was like, I'm better than TikTok. I don't need it for like, the longest time. And now I'm like a full sand. I like to be transparent and vulnerable. I'm not going to share my screen time because we just don't need that right now. But, like, I'm on TikTok a lot and I actually posted a Tik tok today. You inspired me with your recent Instagram post of, like, content repurposing. So I was like, I posted a TikTok. So, yeah, you can find me on TikTok. It's Carlyita Co. So, Carlyita Co, I also have a website which is like, where everything else is hosted. You can find everything on there and it's CarlyitaCo.com.

(JESS) Amazing. Well, I'm definitely going to jump over to Carly's TikTok and go check out that new video. But thank you so much again, Carly, for joining us. And definitely go check out Carly on Instagram and over on her website to see everything that she has to offer in her business. Until next time.

Meet Carly Merryweather

Carly is the founder of Carlyita Co. Carly helps creative entrepreneurs to feel empowered in their business by unleashing their full potential and creating a sustainable, potent business.

Get ready to onboard and off-board your clients seamlessly and efficiently to get you more leads and more income with ease with Onboarding and Off-boarding like a Badass: https://carlyitaco.podia.com/on-boarding-like-a-badass

Learn all of the tools that you need to start outsourcing in your business with the How To Hire + Utilize a VA in Your Business Master Training for only $22: https://carlyitaco.podia.com/how-to-hire-and-utilize-a-va-in-your-business


Connect with Carly

Follow Carly on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carlyita.co/

Join her FREE Facebook Community, Business Integration: For The Modern Entrepreneur: https://www.facebook.com/groups/837089926949531

Listen to the Wildly Balanced Podcast: https://www.wildlybalancedpodcast.com/

Grab her freebies: https://www.carlyita.com/tools-resources

Check out her website: https://www.carlyita.com/

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Jessica Sheehy
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