This is about to be the craziest blog post ever. Ever. If you had told me five years ago that this is where we’d be – I’m not sure I could’ve pictured it. I’m not sure that I would’ve believed you. I told multiple people that it would just be me, we wouldn’t be an agency, we wouldn’t have a team. I didn’t believe that it would grow that fast. The fact that we’ve got this Virginia Beach social media management team that grew from just me and Wren in an office in my living room? Unfathomable.
Before I get too into it – here’s a little walk down memory lane.
Left: the day I went and got my business license. Middle: first time published. Right: BTS photo by Dustin Lewis Images.
Photos by Andrew & Tianna.
My first headshot session by Dragon Studio.
How It All Started
I started Misty Saves the Day right after I had Wren, when I realized at my old job that I was working a ton, out of the house, and had missed out on a ton with my family. I remember talking to Chris about it – and looking at him and saying that I couldn’t go back to my other job (that I loved), because I knew I had been gone too long and for too much. In the beginning, Wren and I were always home together. Then, as we grew, I had to make changes and sacrifices, but did my best to make sure that I took time off and that that time off was spent with them. Things adapted.
My kids grew with me. Piper and Wren are my biggest champions. Piper talks to me about the light being good for photos and asks if we can go on photo adventures. Wren is interested and invested in what social media is and how it works and what we do for our clients. They both love to learn about the businesses that I work with.
Photo by Valerie Demo.
Top left photo by Dragon Studio. Bottom left by Amanda Hedgepeth Photography. Middle by Chelsea Anderson Photography.
Photos by Dragon Studio.
Adding a Team
Choosing to add a team was a tough decision. Letting go of some of the control that I knew and loved and added team members? That felt crazy. But it was the best possible decision that I ever made for the company.
Photo on the right by Valerie Demo.
Adding in Photography
Adding in photography was a tough decision. I’m SO thankful to the photographers who supported me, taught me, took time to let me learn. Answered all my questions (my endless… endless questions). Their support and encouragement are the reason that I’m where I’m at today from a photography standpoint.
All photos but top middle by Valerie Demo. Top middle by Dragon Studio.
Photos by Valerie Demo.
All photos by Dragon Studio on content shoots he’s done for Misty Saves the Day clients except the middle one.
Photo on the left by Valerie Demo. Photo on the right taken by Jeramie Hobizal and edited by me.
Photos by Dragon Studio from an event at Vivid Expressions, LLC, creating an artistic vision of what 2020 would look like.
Photos on the left and middle by Dragon Studio. Photo on the right by Valerie Demo.
Five Years Later
And then somehow we became this. This group of people that works so hard for our clients. I NEVER could’ve imagined the last five years when I started a business. What I thought was going to be a Virginia Beach social media management company turned into so much more. I couldn’t imagine putting together crazy awesome styled shoots, getting published in magazines, growing my team to TEN people, adding in the photography component (whether second shooting, content shoots, or families for fun), websites, and so much more in addition to social media management.
But I have to be honest. I couldn’t have done it without a lot of people encouraging me. Whether it was friends giving me advice, or my family putting up with late night work hours – we wouldn’t be where we are today.
Most importantly, I couldn’t have gotten here without the team of girls that you see below (and some of the ones that you see above, too!). I don’t do this all myself. My success isn’t only my own. I have an amazing team that works hard for our clients, treats their businesses and mine like their own, and does whatever we can do to get the word out.
Who Makes Up The Team?
If you don’t know what they all do – let me spell it out for you:
Advice to 5-Years-Ago Misty
If I could give that girl that was outside the courthouse excited to start her own business a piece of advice: it’s fucking go for it. Do it. Do the shit that makes you scared. Live more, worry less. Don’t worry what other people do or say or think. Worry about you, your family, your life, and make shit happen. Believe in yourself. Believe in who you are. Take the time to grow – personally and professionally. Looking back at who I am now is completely different than who I was five years ago. I love who I’ve become in that timeframe. It’s meant the world.
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