If you’ve been following me for while then you’d know that before I was “Martha” I consulted with hospitals and health systems all over the United States coaching and planning their social media strategy. And now as “Martha” I do the same, but for all sorts of small businesses. Helping other businesses understand the wild, wild west of social media is a true passion of mine, so I’m thrilled to announce that I’ll be hosting a private 2 day social media workshop in conjunction with The Southern Coterie, here in Atlanta in two weeks!

My entire business has been born and grown because of social media. One hundred percent. I mean think about it, we’re living in a time where you can completely brand, build and grow your business just by harnessing the power of the FREE media platforms that are available to you. That is as long as you know how to use them. Social media while a blessing changes every single day, and understanding it is a full-time job in itself, and one I take very seriously. And I’m serious when I say it changes every single day. I just gave a similar, but much smaller talk in Sea Island in February and do you know Instagram has already changed the shopping function since then which has changed my opinion and strategy when it comes to tagging products?!

Did you know I run all 3 of my Instagram accounts myself. I have apps and planning tools, and a bit of assistance here and there, but other than that it’s all me. I tell you this not because I want a pat on the back, but because I want you to know that you don’t have to pay someone big bucks to do it. You can do it!! Which is just one of the things we’ll be covering during the workshop. But before I get too far into the weeds about what we’ll be talking about, I feel I need to give everyone a quick run down of Waiting On Martha (WOM).

Late 2011 – Worked in corporate America helping hospitals & health systems all around the country with their social media strategy. Was in dire need of a creative outlet so started beading bracelets and selling them on Etsy under the name of Waiting On Martha.

2012 – Started a Blog Waiting On Martha and at the same time became incorporated and started an e-commerce home & gift store, Waiting On Martha Home. Moved to Atlanta. Still making and selling bracelets on Etsy, still working in healthcare.

2013 – Opened my first pop up shop in Atlanta for 6+ months to test the waters. Between 2013-2016 would open up 3 additional pop up shops all around town. Still beading bracelets, still in healthcare. Hired my first employee.

2014 – With the blog and e-comm taking off, along with the pop up’s couldn’t manage beading bracelets any longer, closed my Etsy store. Still in healthcare.

2015 – Left healthcare, became “Martha” full-time. Moved my e-commerce storage out of my garage and into an actual warehouse. WOM grew to 4 full-time and 2 part-time employees. Pop-up shop still in full swing.

2017 – Opened Waiting On Martha Home Brick & Mortar. Grew to 4 full time and 5 part-time employees. Surpassed a million dollars in annual revenue.

2018 – Grew Waiting On Martha Home 44% in point of sales revenue 28% online revenue.

2019 – Welcomed Waiting On Martha Everyday, an apparel and accessories shop to the family, officially opening my second brick and mortar. Grew to 6 full time employees, 7 part-time employees, and countless contractors. Currently up 43% YTD. Plans to launch a 3rd business, late 2019.

This timeline is definitely the cliff notes version of my business. If we really got into it, in between these years you’d see all different ups and downs, major collaborations, speaking events, and whole lot of blood, sweat and tears. But the most important part of all of this is in the 7+ years of business I’ve never ever had a non-growth year, and my entire business has been built for FREE on social media. Sure, I invest in social media ads and campaigns now, but that didn’t begin until last year because let’s face it social media is tricky enough without pouring money into until you full understand it. And understand it you will my friends.

My goal from these 2 days is that you walk away understanding the social media landscape, a new vision of what branded social media channels can and should look like, and the tools you need to run successful social media campaigns and accounts. Here’s a quick look at what we’ll be covering, as well as a round-up of my growth stats for Waiting On Martha Home over the past year or so. And remember, this is a QUICK look. The dive will be so much deeper than what I could ever write or share here.

• selling through…
  • different social media outlets and mastering the current algorithm
  • crafting your message to hit the right consumer audience for you and your needs
  • mastering how to create paid for social media ads & understanding the different types of ads. For example, Mandy will share how a $5 a day continuous ad on Facebook grew WOMH’s Facebook followers to 22,000 in less than 9 months.
  • email marketing & automatic email marketing (ie. abandoned cart emails)
  • creative ways to engage and grow your audience “outside of the feed”
• selling through email marketing
  • how to grow your list
  • how to set up a great abandoned cart emails
  • best practices for creating email campaigns (times, days, platforms, etc.)
  • mastering the email algorithm (yes, there is one and it’s likely hurting your current email list)
  • why you need to be “cleaning” your list quarterly
• hands on exercises in
  • creation of audiences
  • sponsored/paid social media ads
• working smarter, not harder: apps and programs used to run the life of any entrepreneur

Aside from all the information you’ll walk away with, you’ll also be forging and forming relationships with other individuals from across the country that are in the same boat as you. And if I’ve learned anything from these past 7 years as an entrepreneur is you better surround yourself with likeminded people who have gone, or are going through what you’ve gone through. Support is everything!

And you know it wouldn’t be a TSC event without really pulling out all the stops. There will be a mix-and-mingle event with cocktails and pie from Southern Baked Pie. The all-workshop will be held at the Arron Terrace Gardens, and ope-air venue at Braves Stadium in the brand new Battery. We’ll have breakfast by Callie’s Hot Little Biscuit. And so many more sweet surprises that are, well surprises!

Read more about the event HERE, and definitely grab a seat! We’re making this a small gathering so I believe there’s only about 10 seats left and 5 seats for the add on workshop. Yes, there’s an add on workshop specifically for anyone who has a brick and mortar, physical store. The add on workshop is focused on the daily operations and practices that make a physical store successful as well as out-of-the-box thinking when it comes to events and attracting new customers.

I cannot wait to see you here in my home town next week! Truly, MKR

P.S. Membership to the TSC is definitely something you should look into, but you do NOT have to be a member to sign up for the workshop. The workshop is open to all.