Becoming the Leader Your Business Needs - Stevie Social

Branding and marketing tactics matter, but the businesses that endure are built on something deeper. In this episode, Kelsie Downs and host Russel, chat about how personal hardship, intentional leadership, and a commitment to long-term thinking transformed both her life and her agency. You'll hear why the next best decision often matters more than the perfect plan, and how building the right business starts with becoming the right leader. 

Inside this episode:

•  How Kelsie turned personal adversity into renewed purpose and business growth 
•  Why focusing on the "next best thing" can help you move through uncertainty 
•  The importance of building systems before chasing more revenue 
•  How passion and expertise shape your business 
•  Why choosing depth over quick wins creates stronger client relationships 

Transcript

Welcome to the Podcast

Russel 0:01

Welcome to An Agency Story podcast, where owners and experts share the real journey, the early struggles, the breakthrough moments, and everything in between. I'm your host, Russell Dubree, former eight-figure agency owner turned business coach, who sold my agency and now helps agency leaders create their ideal business. Every agency has a story, and this is your front row seat. This is An Agency Story.

Meet Kelsie Downs

Russel 0:31

Welcome to the show today, everyone. I have Kelsie Downs with Stevie Social with us here today. Thank you so much for being on the show today, Stevie

Kelsie 0:39

Yeah

Russel 0:40

Kelsie

Kelsie 0:42

I, the amount of times people call me Stevie is pretty unreal. They're like, "You at least need to have a child named Stevie," because it, it doesn't quite click until they obviously hear the whole story, so.

Russel 0:52

It is burned in my brain. I think every time I've wanted to write you an email or it's like, as, like, my first instinct is to say, "Stevie," and then no, your name's Kelsey and the business is named Stevie. I don't know. Humans are weird. That's all I can say about that.

Kelsie 1:04

I know, I know. It is, it is a complicated one, though. I get that often, so- That's funny you're not the only one.

Russel 1:09

Oh, good. Well, I think that makes me feel better but, uh- uh, we'll see how many more times I mess it up in this episode. Well, glad To have you here.

What Stevie Social Does

Russel 1:16

And, just start us off right off the bat and tell us what Stevie Social does and who you do it for.

Kelsie 1:22

Yeah. So Stevie Social is a strategic social media, social media management agency. We do it for professional services. We have a lot of different partners throughout the industries. Um, the main thing I would say that we're looking for is a well-established business, and so startups, people that are small businesses just kind of with a smaller marketing budget aren't going to align with what we're doing. We're looking for people who have a well-established marketing plan strategy, and then we can come and be the social media leg of that. I think that's pretty much it.

Russel 1:55

Hey, simple, simple and short is the way to go anyway and we'll, we'll hear a lot more about the work you do and, and what that looks like in your business.

Entrepreneur Roots

Russel 2:04

But before we do that, uh, wanna go back in time, and I think somewhere along the lines of previous conversation you shared that, maybe you didn't quite fit the traditional mold growing up, or just what were some of those early experiences that eventually would shape the entrepreneur you were to become?

Kelsie 2:23

Yeah. I would say, one of the biggest ones is both of my parents, um, were entrepreneurs. Okay. So my mom, I grew up as, a three to five-year-old running around a hair salon, and my mom had a big hair salon that had 17 people, paying booth rent. And so I got to see her run that business while also doing hair, while also taking care of us, and we've always just had that chaotic life of both parents being entrepreneurs. My dad was, at that time when my mom was an entrepreneur, he had a full-time job, but then went off and started his own agency. My mom then became a stay-at-home mom, and so they kinda transitioned, back and forth to give a little bit of stability on each side. So I got to see him start, an agency from the ground up. Literally had one client in Texas and quit his job because he closed that one client, and then he hired someone to answer the phones, and then it was like, "Okay, we're, we're doing this." So then throughout my childhood, obviously experienced a lot of different, you know, pieces of that. I never thought I wanted to be an entrepreneur. I never thought I wanted to run an agency especially. My parents ended up getting divorced and I moved in with my dad full-time. And so my dad at that time was, he had started a couple of businesses, but he was running his agency. So he had exited the big agency that he had started and grown and, scaled up and then he exited it and then started another one that was making him a good amount of money, but he was basically contracting out all of the work and he could stay at home, every day. And I feel like I got a ton of time with my dad during that season because he worked like four or five hours a day and so I was getting to experience, oh, well if I did this then I could potentially, you know, spend more time with my kids as well in the future. And so I think all of those things accumulated into just having a lot of drive and being more of a high, like a high achiever and always striving and growing and just had this thing inside of me that I couldn't really control that just always wanted to do more and always wanted to learn more and grow and change and challenge myself. And then I just had this idea my senior year of college that, hey, I, I could do social media accounts. And so I just kind of hit on that. I learned as much as I possibly could to make the client feel safe with me and earn their trust and then started to Sell that way

Russel 4:46

well, thank you for that, background.

Growing Up in Agency Life

Russel 4:48

I'm curious. I'm, I'm just trying to think of my young self and, when your dad was running a, his business as an agency? Like, did you even know what an agency was? Like, how did you perceive what he was doing for his clients and folks in the world at that time?

Kelsie 5:02

Oh, gosh. I, I did not really know. He had some really cool clients though because he started one of the biggest agencies in Oklahoma City, especially in the '90s. And so he was working with like the University of Oklahoma and their football and basketball team and sports are huge here in Oklahoma. And so I got to go down and meet Sherri Coale and be in one of the commercials for the OU women's basketball game. And, and so the times I did get to see him like in action, I was like, "Wow, this is a big production." He's got this entire production team. He's, you know, got a director and he's there kind of overseeing it, but he's not involved in all of the work. He's just the one that put it all together and then now he's like seeing it through. So I got glimpses of it with that. There was also like a big litter campaign that they did with the state of Oklahoma, and I remember being, 10, 12, 15 and still seeing those signs up and be like, "That was my dad's idea." But he, He even taught that to me like as I became an entrepreneur my senior year of college. Like he walked me through, this is how you Go into a sales meeting and this is how you go and cold call someone, and these are the things you don't wanna do. And he let me observe him even, you know, as a young 18 or 19-year-old. But I think that's also where I was a little bit different because a lot of my friends were just kind of like a stick it to their parents' attitude. And- um, I was, I was really never that way. I was always wanting to learn from my dad. When It came to business stuff, I think I, I, I had well-established respect for him, and so therefore I went to him for advice- Ah, yes and help, so.

Russel 6:37

Yeah. Well, it, it's funny. I've, I, I've talked to someone in, in the past, and there's this idea that, yeah, so if-- especially younger folks, but probably any human being in general, that we have to be willing and open to feedback before it's effective or what- whatever makes us open and willing to receive it, which can often be the struggle with young teenagers. I'm thinking of my own kid, I probably gave lots of unsolicited advice, and once they found out I wasn't entirely crazy or off the wall, they were far more willing to li- listen to it.

Kelsie 7:04

Yes. Yes. Absolutely.

Russel 7:06

And, obviously You got to see the, the glamorous side of agency work at a young age. And, I always say, something about an agency lends itself to, oftentimes being part of really cool experiences like, like the ones you're sharing with OU Basketball and, and all the other stuff that goes along with it.

Kelsie 7:22

Yeah. Yeah, it is. It's... That's the fun side. My dad's like, you know, there's a whole other- hustle and grind side or, you know, when he's coming home at 9:00 every night, like, those are the, those are the times that-

Russel 7:34

Yeah

Kelsie 7:35

aren't as glamorous.

Russel 7:36

Yeah. My, my kids just always ask, "Well, yeah, what do we get free tickets to next?" Because we had various clients that, that would ha- happen every now and then, and that's probably all they thought I did was s- ask people for tickets. I don't know. Uh, that's a good question. I'll have to go back and ask them. Um-

Kelsie 7:51

Never, never curious about how you have those connections and-

Russel 7:54

Yeah, yeah yeah, you

Kelsie 7:55

get tickets. Yeah they

Russel 7:56

just, they just fall, fall off the tree. Um-

Fear and First Clients

Russel 8:00

Okay. So, it seems like a very natural path for you to have followed, obviously having a mentor on your shoulder. So, did you have any trepidation when you started actually doing it, or did you feel like you were pretty well prepared for it?

Kelsie 8:13

No, I for sure had some trepidation. I also didn't have a clue how hard it would be. I don't think any of us do when we start it. And I didn't know that it would go into, a full-time job, a career, and me running an agency. Like, I was... I started it as freelance, and so I definitely had a lot of fear, a lot of tre- trepidation. My personality type is, like, we go, I go to worst case scenarios. That's where my bra- my brain just naturally goes there. And so usually a person that's, very fearful and has worst case scenarios, like, doesn't start a business. It's just not, that's just too much risk. But-

Russel 8:48

Yeah

Kelsie 8:49

the risk didn't bother me if I knew I would be happy working. Like, I, the biggest thing for me was, like, I want to love what I do, so I will fight for that, and I think that has been what has kept me going and that was what kept me going in the beginning stages is, I have a tiny taste of what this is like now to work for myself and not have to go into a 9:00 to 5:00 and work from home, and I have my laptop and I can go anywhere, even in the country if I wanted to, and still be able to work for my clients. And then also the client relationships, like, oh, these people are actually becoming friends of mine and this is fun and I love work and I'm happy here and my clients are happy and this is, like, a very mutual... You know, they're running their own businesses too, and they're encouraging me in my entrepreneurial journey. So I think the biggest thing for me was, like, I wanted to feel satisfied in the work I was gonna be doing because me working at, like, a 9:00 to 5:00 job, I just don't think I just don't think I was made for it

Russel 9:44

Yeah. Well, I think that's baked in somewhere in there with the entrepreneurial spirit that the thought of a forever nine to five just isn't gonna quite cut it. And I love what you share there because I think that is so important in the journey, no matter where we're at, is this idea, like it's gotta, it's gotta be a part of building the life you want. And it seems like you really had a strong grasp at that pretty early on, which is, I won't say uncommon, but might be less than common.

Kelsie 10:10

Yeah. I think so, especially now when I find someone that's like young and hungry in that way, I just try so hard to encourage it because it's very rare that I run into or interview someone that they have this drive in them that I'm like, "Okay, this is kind of what I had, you know, in me, and so how do I help? How do I help kind of-" Stoke the

Russel 10:32

fire stoke that?"

Kelsie 10:33

Yeah, that's right.

Freelance to Agency Leap

Russel 10:35

So you said You started out freelancing. At, at some point, you decide or you get to a point where you move beyond the freelancer. What... When and where was that? What did that transition look like in your business?

Kelsie 10:48

Yeah. So I think one of the bigger things, what was going on in my life personally, once again, I started, doing freelance stuff was because I wanted to be happy and satisfied with life and all those good things. But when it came down to it, like, I really wasn't satisfied or happy in life, and I started my freelance stuff, and then I also got married the same year. And I thought that, "Okay, I've, I've done it all. Like I, work for myself and now I'm married, so like surely I'll be satisfied and happy," and I wasn't. And so I was married for about five years and it was really hard, and one of the biggest things that was difficult in that marriage was that I was not encouraged in my entrepreneurial spirit. I was instead like kinda crushed. And he didn't know what he was doing at the time. Like, we're freaking 22 years old. But I think that was probably the biggest transition for me was getting divorced. And when I was 26, he had moved out. I found out I was pregnant with my daughter, Esther, and he wanted to move back in, and I was like, "No, like this is still not healthy." And so, um, after we had separated and once we like really broke it off and we took a break from communicating, 'cause obviously we're gonna have a child together, we were going to need to communicate for the rest of our lives probably, but I was able to really get clear on what do I wanna do? Why am I doing this? I almost went and got a full-time job at an agency. I had an offer to basically start an entire social media sector of this agency that's local here, and I almost took it. I had a assistant working for me, and this was back in 2020, so this is also in the middle of COVID.

Russel 12:19

Well, you got a lot g- And I- There's a lot going on in, in, uh, 2020 for you

Kelsie 12:24

Yes, a lot going on. And I had an assistant that I almost gave all the clients to. Like, we sat down at Starbucks and I told her, like, "Here's all the clients, and I'm gonna introduce you and just tell them that, like, you're taking over the business, and you're gonna take over working their accounts. They love you. You'll do great work," whatever.

A Sign

Kelsie 12:37

Then I had a guy randomly send me a book, and it was The E-Myth Revisited, and I read it, and honestly, I cannot even remember all the content in it today because it was so long ago. But he is a, a buddy of mine that I've gone to church with for a really long time, and he knew a lot of the stuff I was going through, and he had been praying for me, and he felt like God had told him to send me this book. So I read this book and I was like, "Okay, I'm not shutting down my business." Like, immediately God was like, "No, you're called to do this. I want you to do it. It's gonna be hard, but you'll be okay, and I'm gonna be there with you, and I'm gonna give you everything you need So I'm like, "Okay." So I tell her and she's like, "Thank God, I can't run this business. I would never wanna run it. Like, I was gonna do it just to make you happy, but like I don't wanna do this. I wanna work for you. I don't wanna run it," blah, blah, blah. So that ended up being where, okay, I'm gonna start an agency. I'm going to do this. What are the things I'm really good at? And what I found out was my giftings are very much in strategy, and so I built everything at Stevie Social on the foundation of strategic communications, um, and doing what is actually best for the person in front of me. That was in 2020, and then I go through that nine-month process of building out a name and a brand and all this stuff, and what, what are we going to do? What are we gonna be known for? And that's how we landed on Stevie Social. So my dad's name is Steve Parham, and I wanted to pay homage to him, but I did-- I wanted it to still be fun, and then our tagline is Social That Speaks, and so we're, we're doing something deeper than just posting on social media for your business. So that was more of the transition from like doing freelance to then doing, um, an agency. I would have never done an agency had I not had that push from my community, from God. It was very much like this is what I'm supposed to do, and so I'm just gonna walk this way and trust that this is what I'm supposed to be doing. And it's worked out.

Russel 14:29

Yes. As the Aerosmith song is playing in my head in the background as you, as you shared that. Obviously Some difficult parts of that journey and, But really just sounds like a rebirth of yourself and essentially a rebirth of Your business

Kelsie 14:44

Yeah. Yeah, that, that is a, a very good analogy to use for it, for sure, so.

Russel 14:50

And the birth of a child to boot too. A lot of birth, a lot of birthing happening during this, this period.

Kelsie 14:54

That's right. That's right. Yeah. There was a lot of new things, taking place. And what was crazy was after my ex-husband had moved out of the house, my business revenue, I think, tripled in, like, three months, and then it tripled again in another six months because I had the confidence that this is what I was supposed to be doing. And it was amazing how different I was in sales, in conversations, talking about my business. So, the people you put yourself around really, really matters because I did not come into these conversations with confidence and, like, understanding, the things I'm really good at and the things I'm not really good at, and speaking very authentically and vulnerably to, people in those conversations. So it was pretty wild to see how much, like, my income just shot through the roof once I got kind of away from that more toxic relationship.

Russel 15:47

Yeah. I'm sure when you're in the thick of it, it's hard to see, the forest through the trees in that sense, but, and something that probably doesn't get talked a lot enough about and, and happens various times on the episodes here is what's, what's your support system like or what's your support system not like? Uh, but, uh, this is a hard thing we're doing, and we need some pillars underneath our feet from time to time to keep going.

Kelsie 16:10

Yeah. No, that's exactly right.

Russel 16:12

Yeah.

Wilderness to Flourishing

Russel 16:13

Well, I mean, it, it's-- the other analogy that's coming to my mind, and I don't know why this probably hadn't come up before is, is, like, I'm thinking of, the cocooning process for, like, a butterfly so I'm Really excited for you that, I mean, some-sometimes it can take a long time for folks to, to get to that place, where they really reinvent themselves and focus on where they're really providing the most value and where they're gonna have the greatest impact. I, I imagine-- And since that's happened, or you already shared the how that worked out really well for you then, and I assume that's working out pretty well for you today.

Kelsie 16:44

Yeah. Yeah, no, that's, that's exactly right. Yeah, there's always a, a season. I, I called that kind of my, my wilderness season. Um- And I'm a Christian, and I love reading the Old Testament and hearing about the Israelites in the wilderness before they're able to go into the Promised Land. And so you get to see the ways that they're shaped and molded and formed by God by choosing to trust in eating the manna versus getting to the land of milk and honey, as they say. And they weren't ready for the land of milk and honey. They needed the manna, and I was in a season of where I just needed the manna instead of being ready to move into this flourishing new land. And you have to go through the process. You can't be, dead and then not be shaped, and then you're just suddenly this other person. Like, you have to go through the process. And I think a lot of times in that season, I just kept asking myself, like, "What is the next best thing to do?" And now I do feel like I'm more living in that, like I, I have been changed, and I've been shaped and molded, and now I'm more living in that promised land of the milk and honey. And now I'm like, I'm really proud of the business owner I am. I'm proud of the leader I am. I'm proud of, you know, my team and, um, the way I've grown that. And so completely different place where I sit today in 2026 and, and once again, this all kind of has gone back to like, I really desire to be satisfied in life and, and to be happy.

Russel 18:07

Yeah. Well, it's always inspiring to hear. And yeah, the, the season, you know, that, that's survival mode and, and survival mode when you're looking for your next meal can... And you know, you don't always make the best decisions, uh, here and there, and you're certainly not living your most fulfilled life. What is the name of the season today, though? I'm very curious.

Kelsie 18:28

I don't know. I'm trying

Russel 18:29

to figure that out Or is it not, is that not, is that... Has it not earned a name yet? Do we have to wait till the, till the season's over?

Kelsie 18:34

I know. That's probably, you're probably right. It's, you know, like you had mentioned, in the middle of the wilderness it's like you don't really see that that's what's happening, but you look back and you're like, "Oh yeah, that's what it was." But I do, I do feel like I'm in a season of flourishing and just goodness. So that's what I would say. I haven't named it though. I haven't thought about that. So maybe I need to come up with a name for the season that I'm in, 'cause I kinda like that.

Russel 18:55

Oh, I, I'm curious now. I'm sitting here anticipated like a, like a new episode comes out, uh, for Breaking Bad, going back a ways. That's, uh, that's how many shows I watch these days. But, no, I feel it. I feel it. Like, uh, yeah, I'll be curious to hear what that is

Psychology Meets Marketing

Russel 19:09

for you. Well, well, switching gears for a bit, and I don't know, like I don't know where this came up in the back of my mind, but that I, know, my sense is that there's psychology or that you've just got a very sort of human connection if nothing else, passion and background. Where does that come from and where does that play out in your business?

Kelsie 19:27

Yeah. Um, so yeah, I studied psychology for four years in college and loved

Russel 19:32

it. Um- That, that would make sense now that that's in my mind. Okay, good.

Kelsie 19:35

Yeah. Yeah. And I actually sped through the program, um, because I had originally gone into university to be an educator, and I went to like my first three education classes and I was like-

Russel 19:46

No. Uh,

Kelsie 19:46

uh "Okay, no. I can't do this." Like, I need, I need something with more depth, whether that's like philosophy, any critical thinking was basically what I had realized. And I still to this day have things in my life that like make me critically think because that is something I'm constantly really craving. And so about a year in, "Holy crap, is this what I actually wanna do?" It wasn't, so I go to my, you know, advisor and I'm crying and telling her I'm just gonna drop out of college and this is just not, not for me. And she's like "But I really think you should try Intro to Psychology. Let's just see how it goes." So I take Intro to Psych and I love it. I read the entire textbook, which I never did in college with anything. That's a good sign- It was a good

Russel 20:25

sign uh, if you're enjoying something.

Kelsie 20:28

Yes, yes, that's right, spending my free time, like, in my Intro to Psych book. Yeah. And so then I was like, "Okay, I really like psychology. What can I do with this?" And I asked her about, like, career paths. She was like, "Well, you could do counseling, and you can do research, and you can do a mix, of both if you wanted to." So then I took Psychology for Writing was my next class, and I loved it. We wrote a ton of research papers. We were able to put out all of our papers on the desk and piece it, piece together an entire paper. Loved that, and I loved that teacher. And then what was really cool was I was at a university that the average age student was 28, and at the time I was, you know, 18, 19. And so I was around people that had just lived a little bit more life than me and had kids or, you know, even there was like a, you know, a 45-year-old man in my class that had two teenagers, and I got to learn so much from him. And they were my study buddies, and they were the ones I was doing projects with and research papers and, and all of that. And I just had this something in me that loved to learn about people with people. And, and so yeah, I graduated with a psychology degree from the University of Central Oklahoma, and then I applied for grad school like crazy and took the test, the GRE, four different times to try to get the score to get into the programs I wanted to get into. And all this time I'm like, i'm running this marketing company, you know, that's doing really well and I have a really good solid income, but I can't do both, so I'm gonna have to give up and I'm gonna have to take on debt. Like I'm gonna lose money monthly, and then I'm gonna take on debt to go to school. And when I prayed about it, I just was like, "This is not what I'm supposed to do. I'm supposed to run the marketing company and I'm supposed to, you know, continue my work in psychology through reading and, and, doing my own research and keeping that critical thinking skill going. But I've gotten to see it come out so much. I mean, human behavior, messaging, positioning, your audiences, listening, asking questions. I mean, all of that is so dialed into, what I'm doing with marketing every day. And so I don't feel like I've been, I've lost, my love for psychology. It's like it's gone- Mm-hmm because I couldn't do research and counseling. I've just been very, very surprised how much of it has come out with client work and building a team and managing- Yeah um, social media content. So, yeah.

Russel 22:49

I mean, I'm not surprised at all. The passion that I felt just going through that entire experience and process and- how you approach research and, everything like that, this is all very telling to

Systems Over Survival Mode

Russel 23:01

my end. Another thing I wanna come back to, 'cause I, I think this is so important for folks that when they're looking at their business and what they're trying to do, that they maybe sometimes get caught up in analysis paralysis or trying too much to pick the right thing versus, uh, I think the way you said it, and I, I talk about this a lot, is the next best thing, and that's all that really matters. Is that still how you approach your business today? Or, or do you think there's a point where, where maybe you have to move beyond the next best thing?

Kelsie 23:33

Yeah, I think I've been able to plan and dream and, and cast more vision, um, because I'm not in that survival mode like you had mentioned. And so yeah, I would say I still, I still have days where I have to ask myself, "Okay, what is the next best thing?" And when that plan is not working, it really bothers me. And so I have really had to open my hands and know my tendencies of you're gonna crave to have this plan, and you're gonna let it ruin your day if you don't have this plan go exact. And so don't do that, basically. Like, you're aware now, you have all this awareness of how much you love a plan, and the feelings you have are valid, but don't let them ruin your day. Like, keep, keep going, and there's so much around you to be joyful about and grateful for, and so look for those things. So I do still have days like that, I mean, even now we're kind of coming out of it, but it's like you're, you are in survival mode. Like, you're doing whatever you have to do to stay open or make payroll or do this or do that. And it's like you, you can't just sit down and, like, look back and be like, "Okay, where do I wanna take this company? How do I wanna do this? Who do I want to become in the process of that?" Because that's really important to me. And so we have not lost a client this year, we have not lost a team member this year. I have been focusing on operations and systems and processes. I hired an ops manager. And now I'm finally at the place, and it is July tomorrow, where I'm going to bring on a new client. I have not brought on a single new client in six months because- Wow it was not going to go well. Um, not for how I wanted to run my, my company. So- Yeah I would say I'm kind of in that mode. I'm not in survival mode. Like, I'm very much planning for the future. We are going to be a better business at year five, 10, 15 because of the decisions I'm making today. But that is very hard because you I have had to turn away money multiple times in the last six months. Which

Russel 25:29

sounds crazy to do when you're thinking about being in survival mode and stuff, but very, very necessary obviously.

Kelsie 25:35

Right. But I knew I would churn them. I'm like, "I'm s- I would love to do work for you, but, like, you're not gonna be happy with the work I would do for you right now because it's not gonna be great work." And so I've been a lot more picky about who I do, strategy sessions with and bring on as retainer clients. So that's- Yeah that's pretty much where I'm at, at today.

Russel 25:52

Okay.

Kelsie 25:53

Mm-hmm.

Russel 25:53

Well, as maybe even goes, harkens back to previous parts of our conversation, seasons but I think you draw attention to what is a very real thing, and survival mode works, and then it doesn't. And, and but the climbing out of that is, taking a step back, not overfeeding yourself so you're so full that you, can't do the important shifts and, um, things you need to do in your business that are gonna solve long-term problems. But now we're in seed planting mode, not do I have to eat everything that's in front of me. But that's just a natural, normal transition, I think, in, for, for a lot of agencies. Um, so cool to see and hear where that's gotten you two. But all right.

Kelsie 26:31

That's encouraging for me to hear too- Yeah because I'm like, "Is this, is this normal what I'm-" you know, going through with this transition? And am I-" Very normal. you know, driving my business into the ground by not bringing on a new client in the last six months?" And y- I mean, those are just the things that obviously go through our heads- Yeah

Russel 26:49

and yeah. Very normal. But, I think what, give yourself an some, pat on the back to is I, you're, you're doing a very good job, it sounds like to me of being actualized maybe in the moment of when the pain is happening to be more proactive about the next step and, you know, sometimes... And I, and I get it, right? And I think we did it this for way longer than I'd would've liked to have hoped we would have, have stayed in survival mode. Versus taking that step back sooner, uh, or just saying, "Look, we've got to change things," and not being willing to put up with the status quo anymore. So-

Kelsie 27:19

Hmm

Russel 27:19

um, yeah, you, it sounds like you've done a really good job on that and at the different phases you've got in your relatively young journey still. So, um, that's a, that's a tool that we're so, will, will serve you well, I believe, as you go forward.

Kelsie 27:33

Well, thank you. Yeah, that's very encouraging.

Big Vision for Stevie Social

Russel 27:35

Well, I guess maybe talk a little bit about, uh, since we're talking about the future, um, what, what is the big goal with all this? What are you trying to achieve?

Kelsie 27:44

I would say the big goal is to be the best social media agency in Oklahoma City first. We love, we love Oklahoma City. I'm born and raised here, and so we do great work for Oklahoma City clients, and we als- also do great work nationwide, but this- this community is very special to me. And so I wanna be known as the best social media agency in Oklahoma City, and I would say I want to be, I wanna be known for someone who's not doing the quick fixes and the trendy stuff and the, the, "We gotta get this post to go viral." Like, I wanna be someone's marketing partner for 5, 10, 15 years as they continue to grow and grow, you know, their brand equity. But no, I think, I think long-term goal is we do the, we do the best, we do the absolute best work, and we take care of our clients so well that it, it goes against what everyone's used to in this culture of everything's cheap, quick, fast, and shallow. And I don't want, I don't want that. I want depth, and I want... Yeah, I just, I want that, that, what I've been, what I've been explaining this entire, you know, episode is like that, that depth and yeah, I-I- The satisfaction The satisfaction, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. The satisfaction in life and, um, and so I think that that could look like a lot of different things. Um, that could look like selling. That could look like, you know, I hire a CEO to be in my seat, and I work for the company, um, but I'm not having to work 40, 50, 60-hour weeks anymore. I think it could be, you know, a lot of different things. Right now, I Am really happy with where we're going, and we really have changed because of that, you know, scarcity and eat everything right in front of me. Like, setting aside that way of living and now moving into doing what we have been doing this year, I think it's given me a lot of excitement and so I, I'm now attracting clients that think about people first and not money first, and I think that's probably what excites me the most as I look at this transition, as I, I'm sitting here with only bringing on one client in the last six months. It's like, oh, but look at what's, look at what's to come because of what now, m- how you've, you know, reworked your, your own heart- Yeah and how you're attracting the people that you actually wanna work with that, that prioritize people.

Russel 30:08

Wow. I'm, I'm inspired. I, if it wasn't so damn hot in Texas right now, I'd probably have goosebumps. But, um, you know, it

Kelsie 30:16

just- 97 degrees.

Russel 30:17

Yes. Uh, well, probably, probably not too different than Oklahoma City, but yeah, what a great journey. You know, I think this is always... it has to be a path to satisfaction, and just this idea of, you know, be the magnet, be the change you want to see in the world, and, and good things will come. And so yeah, very excited to, hopefully to continue to watch your journey and hear about the amazing things you're creating.

Born or Made?

Russel 30:40

So let me ask you one last big question then, Kelsey.

Kelsie 30:44

Okay.

Russel 30:45

Are entrepreneurs born or are they made? From the psychology major of all things.

Kelsie 30:51

Oh gosh, that's nurture versus nature crap. Um- I, it can't, it can't just be black and white. It can't just be one, so I can't, I can't give you an answer. It, it's both. Like, it has to be both. Okay. They're born and they're made. Yeah. I think it has to be in your DNA, but I also think that there has to be something and someone stoking that-

Russel 31:12

Okay. I'll dig it. I dig it. Okay. I dig it. And with a little more credibility from, from a psychology major, so that, uh- you know, goes a long way.

Where to Find Stevie Social

Russel 31:22

Well, if people wanna know more about Stevie Social, where can they go?

Kelsie 31:26

Go to steviesocial.com. Uh, there's a link on there to book a call with me, and I would love to, to meet some more awesome people, so yeah.

Russel 31:35

All right. Awesome people, you heard it. Go out there, Stevie Social, not, not Stevie Downs or, or what- what... I got it right, right? I think, uh, by the end of this, but- You

Kelsie 31:45

did.

Russel 31:46

Well, awesome.

Closing Thanks and Wrap

Russel 31:47

Well, thank you, Kelsey, for taking the time, being so transparent about your journey, reminding and highlighting the power of a support system, the importance of doing what you do best and, and the transparency about just what survival mode's like and how to get out of that. And if nothing else, if we walk away from today remembering that focus on the next best thing, maybe especially when some of those periods, that can't steer you wrong. And, uh, yeah, really appreciate you taking time to share that with us today.

Kelsie 32:13

Yeah. Thanks for having me, Russel. It's, uh, it's been great. It's been good for that struggle that I was in this morning. Like, this is really good. It's been really good for me to remember and reflect on all the good things that has, that has happened, so thank you for that.

Russel 32:27

Thank you for listening to An Agency Story podcast, where every story helps you write your own. Subscribe, share and join us again for more real stories, lessons learned, and breakthroughs ahead. What's next? You'll wanna visit anagencystory.com/podcast and follow us on Instagram @anagencystory for the latest updates.

The Courage to Fire a Client

Kelsie 32:50

I can laugh about this now, but it was kind of traumatizing in the moment. I had to fire a client in the middle of, like, a pre-production call. So we're, like, going through their content. We're like, "We're gonna come and shoot your content on this day, and here's all the ideas we have." And this man comes in angry from, like, meeting with an attorney 'cause he's going through a divorce. I didn't know any about, anything about this. And I was like, "Okay, something's off." I was like, "Hey, do you need to reschedule?" And my, my employee is in there, and he said... Which everyone's gonna be like, "This is not funny." He, like, walks in and, you know, I'm like, "Okay, we're gonna run through these ideas, but we can, you know, reschedule if not." He's like, "No, I'm fine. Let's just move forward." And so he was like, "I'm just, I'm so mad, I'm gonna choke the thing that's right in front of me right now." And I remember being like, I'm standing right in front of him. And we were in an office where, like, tons of people were walking around, and I was like, "Hey, you need to leave. Like, you need to get up right now, and you need to go, or I'm gonna call 911 because you cannot threaten me that way." And, and he's like, "Oh, I'm sorry. I wasn't meaning, like, choke you. I was just... I'm so mad about this, this, or this." And, and I remember my teammate was sitting across the table, and I was like, how I handle this is going to show her what she's worth and what her value is and what, like, she should put up with and what she should not put up with as, you know, this 21-year-old new, new employee of mine. And so I was very clear. I was very kind, and he, he left. He left the building. And I, you know, sent him an email later with my attorney CC'd on it and told him, like, I was terminating the contract because of this, this, and this. And if he moves forward with, like, not paying, you know, the final invoice or whatever, like, he would be charged for whatever. But the coolest thing was that this girl Emma, who had been in that meeting, she was like, "I could have never said that to someone because I would've been so scared, but you stood up for me in that moment when you decided to stand up for yourself, and that means the world to me. So I know that probably wasn't easy to say that. It wasn't easy to lose, the... I think it was like $7,000 a month client. It wasn't easy to lose that, but, like, to show that you really stand by who you are and the things you say. When, when push comes to shove, you actually acted that way, and I just wanna say, thank you." Um, so that was probably the craziest client story I've ever had.

Final Sign Off

Kelsie 35:15

I have never had a cl- uh, uh, never had to fire a client on the spot except for that one time