Dee Boswell-Buck works closely with women-led businesses to help transform their marketing on LinkedIn, allowing her clients to grow their business and revenue.
She shifted gears after 25 years in her previous career because she had discovered a love for social media and helping others achieve their goals. Through determination, perseverance, going back to school, and building her business from the ground up, she decided to take the leap into the challenging, as well as rewarding, world of entrepreneurship. This busy mother is passionate about her work, and helping clients strategically navigate in the online and social media spaces.
In addition to being a Certified Social Media Strategist, she is also the founder of Boswell-Buck Creative Consulting. She took time out of her busy schedule to talk with The Edge about key fundamentals for entrepreneurs, including networking and considerations for digital marketing and social media.
What path led you into your current role?
In 2012, I was on maternity leave and I started a Mom group. I had over 400 active members — I arranged events, created a website and had a Twitter account. I didn’t know much about LinkedIn at the time, but I went into the skills area and updated my information. The next day, there were notifications about jobs in digital marketing. I went to night school and became certified in social media management. I hit 25 years [in my previous career], and wanted to make a go of being an entrepreneur; I hired a coach and started my own business.
As a strong female leader, what are some challenges you have faced, and how did you overcome them?
At first, being an entrepreneur was very new (compared to my previous 9 to 5 job, in retail as a supervisor); for example, not having the same paycheck and saying’ yes’ to everything. As an entrepreneur, I didn’t understand boundaries — taking calls at dinner or when I was out with my family. The coach I was working with said, “Start as you mean to go on” — which means so much to me now. I think challenges have made me a much stronger person today.
What advice would you have for women entrepreneurs — looking to take that next step in their careers — to grow their networks and revenue?
I think it’s important to remember your “why”. If leaving a previous career and becoming an entrepreneur, remember what you wanted before you left. Entrepreneurship is an interesting and challenging journey. Be aware of your numbers. What is the minimum that I have to make? Meaning, that if you have rent, a mortgage, groceries, be aware of those costs. For many entrepreneurs, looking at your numbers right from the get-go is kind of scary. If you have an understanding of that base point, then at least you’re striving to get to that number.
When it comes to networking, what are some key elements to consider? Or aspects that are overlooked?
Ask yourself questions. How am I going to benefit? Are your ideal clients there? One aspect that is overlooked, is what happens after a networking event. Make sure you leave with some names and think about who you want to follow up with. Connect with people who could not only be your target audience or future clients, but also possible collaborators, somebody who can help you grow your business as well as theirs.
What are some misconceptions about social media as a tool to help businesses?
One misconception is that the moment something is shared on social media, one believes they’re going to get thousands of followers. Social media platforms continue to change and roll out different options. In Instagram, I remember when they rolled out reels — I think there were a lot of people who were followerrich, but in terms of engagement and transactions being closed, not as much. You need to ask yourself, ”Is my target audience on a specific platform, and can that help me to reach my goals?”
The landscape of digital marketing strategies changed; what do entrepreneurs need to be mindful of, moving forward?
With digital marketing, it’s noisy, right? There are a lot of people using social media correctly, but there are others who are not. Entrepreneurs really have to be aware that as social media platforms change, the platforms will look out for themselves. A lot of business owners are upset that platforms are now requesting payments. It’s really important to invest funds into a marketing budget — for example, for ads that work for you while you’re not on social media, and you can focus on other areas of your business.
Stephanie Hawkins | Contributing Writer