I was a mom of two little ones and on maternity leave with my second baby when I decided to launch my side hustle.

Like many new moms, I had been racking my brain trying to figure out ways to make money from home so I wouldn’t have to go back to the office after my (wayyy too short) 12 weeks of maternity leave.

Any of this sound familiar?

One night I was up with my daughter in the middle of the night and scrolling Facebook when an ad appeared about how to replace your 9-5 income and be your own boss. So, I clicked on the video.

What I got was an hour-long intro into launching a digital marketing business and becoming your own boss.

This resonated with me – It was exactly what I was looking for!

I ended up purchasing the course (which was focused on how to run Facebook ads), and two months later I had my first client!

It’s funny how things work out. That course was so valuable to me because it taught me how to launch my own marketing business. However, instead of Facebook ads I decided to focus on organic social media marketing.

Fast forward six months, and I was able to land SIX MORE CLIENTS and earn enough money to quit my corporate job.

It has now been one year since my last day working in someone else’s office. My Porch Social has more than tripled in revenue and I’ve surpassed my corporate salary.

Wow. Just. WOW!

The best part of it all – and the reason I went down this path in the first place…

I get to be with my kids.

I am the one to drop them off and pick them up from daycare (which is now shortened days… because I CHOOSE not to work past 3 p.m.). 🙌🏻

Sometimes I randomly decide to take the morning off to take them to the park.

I get to be there any time I want.

I am my own boss. I make my own hours.

And it is all because I MADE THE CHOICE to take that leap… invest in that course…. work hard to build my business…. and create the life I wanted! ✨

PLUS…

And this is a big plus…

I LOVE WHAT I DO!

Creating content, building brands, and getting results for my clients. This is a dream career!

So how did I do it?

What brought me clients so quickly? How did I learn to get real results for my clients on social media? When did I know it was time to quit my 9-5?

Here are the things I think contributed most to me building a successful digital marketing business in a short amount of time.

Mindset

Most people don’t think they have what it takes to really unlock what they want in life and it’s just because they haven’t been shown the logical steps to get there.

Building an empire requires two things: mindset and tactics.

That’s it.

It is easy to get overwhelmed and doubt yourself when launching a new business…

But I promise you, if you never give up, and you’re committed to working on ways to combat the feeling of being overwhelmed, you will be able to build something truly special.

The biggest recommendation I have for improving your mindset is surrounding yourself with a supportive, like-minded community. This is precisely why I created a Facebook group for women working towards becoming a social media manager. Join our community here!

Life isn’t about how you perform when things are good. It’s actually more about how you perform when things are going bad.

If you study any pro athletes or ultra-successful business people, they’re masters of controlling themselves and controlling their own mindsets.

In order to master your mindset, you need to take specific actions.

You need to improve your self-belief and grow confidence.

Visualize what you want in life.

Tell yourself you have the grit and resilience to make it happen.

Work hard and don’t give up!

Turn those thoughts of self-doubt away and don’t give them space in your mind.

Coaching

Once you’ve decided you want to start a social media management business AND you are committed to making your mindset a priority, I recommend investing your time (and sometimes money) into learning.

For me, this was a game-changer in setting up my business properly.

I invested in a course where I learned about the nitty-gritty of running my own business.

From forming an LLC to setting aside money for taxes, there is a world of things to learn as a new entrepreneur.

Beyond the legal side of things, I was also eager to learn about industry standards.

How could I streamline my processes? What are the best tools for an SMM? How could I get real results for my clients? What metrics should I be looking at to measure success? How do I consistently find new clients? How do I price my services?

For all these reasons, investing in a course (and a mentor) proved to be invaluable in the early stages of running my business.

I was able to put systems in place to grow my business THE RIGHT WAY and have confidence in my methods.

Canva Pro

Man oh, man. What would I do without Canva Pro?!

I couldn’t run my social media management business without it.

At first, I started with the free version of Canva and quickly learned that investing in Canva Pro was a no-brainer.

It is affordable and you get SO MUCH VALUE for your money.

If you haven’t already looked into using Canva for your SMM business, make sure you check it out right away.

A total game-changer.

Networking & Facebook Groups

There are many ways to find clients. The two most successful ways for me have been through networking and Facebook Groups.

I recommend joining as many Facebook groups as you can for business owners and female entrepreneurs.

Once you’re in the groups, you’ll want to NETWORK.

Answer questions. Provide valuable insight. Post information that provides value to the community.

Before you know it, you’ll start having conversations and forming relationships.

People will tag you in posts when someone is looking for a social media manager.

It’s amazing to see this at work! It happens to me all the time, and it is the way I’ve landed most of my clients.

Plus, forming strong relationships with other business owners and female entrepreneurs is a great way to grow a community of support (and help with your entrepreneurial mindset). It’s a win, win!

I also recommend networking in your local community and your already-established network of friends and family.

Don’t be shy about letting people know that you are a social media manager.

It’s amazing to see how many friends and acquaintances come out of the woodwork saying they’re looking for the exact services you offer!

Make a Budget

If you are working towards quitting your job and making social media management your full-time gig, you’ll want to establish what you need to make each month to replace your current paycheck.

This was huge for me in knowing when the right time was to quit my job.

Mine ended up being about $4,000 per month.

This was less than I was making at my corporate job, but it was enough to pay the bills and get by.

For me personally, I felt I needed to commit to my business full-time in order to take on more clients, grow my business, and ultimately exceed my corporate salary.

Once I was bringing in $4,000 per month with my side-hustle, I had the confidence and skills to quit my job and fully jump into my business. It was an amazing feeling!

I was committed to making it work, and my faith and hard work have paid off!

I built the business of my dreams. ✨

OK, so what are my first steps?

Now that you’ve read my high-level summary of how I grew my social media management business, you may be itching to get started!

And that’s amazing!

That’s exactly the kind of fire you need to start a side hustle and turn it into an amazingly successful business.

Here’s exactly how I recommend you get started building your business right now. ⬇️

1️⃣ Join my Become a Social Media Manager Facebook Group.

2️⃣ Grab my FREE Social Media Manager Launch Kit.

3️⃣ Continually work on your mindset.

4️⃣ Network with other social media managers and coaches (like myself) to learn the skills needed to become a successful social media manager. Ask questions. Grab all the free resources you can find. Schedule free consultations with people who you think do it well. Secure a program or business coach to take you to the next level.

5️⃣ Get familiar with Canva.com.

6️⃣ Grow your network in Facebook groups and let your personal connections know you have started a social media management business.

7️⃣ Make a budget to know exactly how much money you need to be bringing in from your side hustle before you can quit your 9-5.

I can’t wait to see what you build!