I could tell from speaking with her that Shane prides herself in being family oriented, and I was impressed with her ability to juggle her family priorities with business, but that was the exact reason she wanted to own her own business. She wanted to have the flexibility to do things with her children and still have a professional career, and working in social media is allowing her to do just that. Currently with around nine clients, including Rooibee Red Tea, Mint Julep Tours, and Popcosmo.com (profiled here a few weeks ago), she expressed that her desire is to only grow to around 12-15 clients total. She said that she feels to be effective in what she does well, which is really knowing the brands, what their wants and needs are, and giving each careful attention, that she doesn't want to become a huge business.
I very much enjoyed meeting Shane and took away the feeling that she is a very genuine person who truly cares about her clients and their businesses. She has gotten the majority of her clients through referrals and word of mouth, and I think that is a testament to the type of person she is and how she represents her clients socially. She won't take on a client if she doesn't feel that she can fully understand, and convey the message, of their particular business or industry, and has even referred business to others in the social media management world if she feels they would better benefit a particular company. This is a quality I feel is rare in today's economic environment where I think a good majority of companies will say or do just about anything they can to attain and retain business.
Social media has been around forever and its not going away anytime soon, if anything its getting more prevalent. Shane handles the important social presence of her clients either because they don't have the time to focus on it, don't want to be bothered with it, or don't even know where to begin, but know how important it is. Companies that don't invest time and effort in their social media are destined to get passed up by competitors who do. Shane is constantly learning and staying ahead of the trends in social media so that her clients will be best served by her efforts, and after talking with her at length about social media I could see how sharp and savvy she is about it. I can honestly say that, after meeting with her, if I owned my own business, 520 East Brands would have earned my social media account. Shane is knowledgeable and friendly, outgoing and talkative, and most important....not arrogant. She knows what she does well, what she doesn't, and earns her business because she's not afraid to admit to either. Thanks for coming back to Louisville Shane, we are lucky to have you.
Connect with 520 East Brands via:
Website: http://520eastbrands.com
Facebook: http://facebook.com/520eastbrands
Twitter: @520eastbrands
Linked In: http://www.linkedin.com
