Today we’d like to introduce you to Megan Borman.
Megan, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My story is a bi-fold of hustle and balance and I am proud to tell it every single day. Hustle is the part that comes most naturally to me because it’s empowering to work hard for something I am passionate about. People can work hard at anything, but once they achieve what they have worked so hard for, the trick is balancing it and maintaining it. For me, working hard to start my business was only the beginning, a sprint. And now the real challenge lies in keeping it alive and flourishing it.
I own a digital content agency called Locally Known and this is how I went from working with one brand to over twenty over the span of eight months.
I started Locally Known in 2018 when I was managing social media for local companies in the San Diego area. I took photos of their products or shops and posted them with clever captions and considered it a side hustle in addition to working full time for another company. I did that for about a year and then decided to uproot my life and move to a more remote location in early 2019. This is when I was forced to make a decision about not only my occupation but my quality of life. I started reaching out to more and more brands as a “social media manager” and was overwhelmed by the response I was getting and decided to pursue it and make it my own.
I knew there was a market, and now it was all about crafting my business plan in order to be able to deliver for multiple brands at one time. And then it all began. I deemed the name Locally Known with the intention of taking small businesses and brands and making them well-known in their specific industry. I feel a strong connection to my business name in the sense that it keeps my everyday work grounded and close to home (local).
I started working with my first brand in early 2019 from the comfort of my home office. It’s December 2019 and I have worked with over 20 brands this year. I recently made my first hire to make my team a grand total of two people (including myself). Locally Known is the greatest thing I have ever built (it even tops the forts I used to build as a kid). The levels of joy, gratitude and fulfillment I have are incomparable. I attribute my ability to have my own business to all of the places I have worked in my short twenty-five years of life. Everywhere you work in your life is what builds your character, teaches you the power of people, and gives you a skillset to set off on your own adventure.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
First thing—there is no such thing as a smooth road when you are building your empire. Having the ability to navigate a bumpy road is what makes a great business owner and an even greater company. My greatest opportunity, the start of my company, sprouted from the end of a single chapter in my life. I was forced to step out from the comfort of working for someone else and award myself the role of being my own boss. When I was starting out, I didn’t know the first thing about managing a business, but I knew people. If I could figure out how to manage people, who would eventually turn out to be my clients, then I knew the first thing about business.
My advice to other women is this: have the confidence and the bravery to give yourself an empowering role. Take on more than you ever thought possible because you are capable of doing it all and more. Find a new brand or company role model each day and learn from them and grow with them.
My advice to young women who are just starting their journey is this: pick the lifestyle you want to live and design it for yourself. Don’t limit yourself to the confines of your “job title” or “experience level”. Your experience is reflective of not only your professional merit but the life you live on a daily basis. If your lifestyle means going to an office every day and working with a large team, take it all in and own every minute of it. Embrace the people around you and learn from them. If your lifestyle means working from home, make your workspace the way you need it to help you flourish in your environment and send ten emails a day to new businesses, clients, people you admire, brands you follow, anything.
So in answer to your question—no, it has not been a smooth road, and it never will be. That’s the beauty and unpredictability of paving my own way. The biggest struggle I have had is that there are just not enough hours in the day! I wish I had more time to meet more people, work with more brands, and make more creations, but I also value the balance of working while having a good quality of life.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Locally Known Agency – what should we know?
Locally Known is a digital content agency. We strategize, conceptualize and design content for brands in a wide variety of industries like baby goods, skincare, lifestyle and more. We create content for social media, websites, emails, print, and take the entire concept of branding and apply it cross-channel, creating an aesthetic and story that is unique and relevant in this digital age.
We are most proud of the brands we work with. All of our brands are young, exciting and looking to make a name for themselves with statement content and memorable branding. We are proud to help them on their journey from a start-up to becoming locally known and widely grown.
What sets us apart from others is our ability to define each part of our brands and make them one wholesome entity. With so many available platforms for content now, we pride ourselves on our ability to create digital experiences that influence how each of their customers looks at, think about, and act with our brands and their content.
Finding a mentor and building a network are often cited in studies as a major factor impacting one’s success. Do you have any advice or lessons to share regarding finding a mentor or networking in general?
Mentors are a necessary part of building a company. You need to build your community of support and surround yourself with people who empower you to follow your dreams and guide you on that bumpy road. My advice for finding a mentor is this: make a list of your top twenty favorite companies and reach out to them. You might not get a response, or you might be redirected, but put yourself out there and ask them questions. Anything you want to know about how they got their start. More than likely it didn’t happen by chance. They had mentors who had mentors who had mentors and their success is a chain reaction of asking for advice and struggling six days a week to have one good day.
I have found that there is no shame in asking questions. If you want to learn how to do something, learn how. There is a platform to learn anything on your own these days and so many tools and resources available that make the journey of entrepreneurship easier and more intuitive. Read articles, ask questions, and be informed about the industry you want to pursue.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thelocallyknown.com/
- Email: megan@thelocallyknown.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thelocallyknown/
Image Credit:
Lisa Langi for photo of myself
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