Meet Kayla Countryman

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kayla Countryman.

Hi Kayla, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Thank you so much for having me! Absolutely. I’m a Black woman living in Phoenix but originally from Southern California. I graduated from the University of Michigan in ’17 with a degree in Communications (Go Blue!). After college, I spent nearly five years working at a digital marketing agency specializing in social media management. In my five years, I worked with large name brands in industries ranging from healthcare to beauty and hospitality. The amount of money these brands spent on marketing efforts always blew me away, but it also brought something to my attention – large corporations have easy access to top-tier marketing support, but small businesses do not. Furthermore, I noticed BIPOC owned businesses continually being left out of the marketing space due to a lack of resources and funding.

My business launched mid-pandemic, in November ’20, with the goal of closing this gap. I have taken my five years of experience and launched Authentically Kay, LLC, a marketing agency built to support BIPOC owned small businesses and women entrepreneurs in gaining access to marketing support that is affordable and impactful for their businesses. I provide social media management and social media coaching to help brands and “solopreneurs” increase their business revenue using authentic social media practices.

My business encourages ambitious, connection-driven humans to use social media to form genuine connections with their community and build their brand based on their values, their story and their passions. When I’m not working on my business, you can find me spending time with my dog, Bentley, exploring local restaurants with my friends (foodie alert!), or teaching yoga throughout the valley.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Smooth? Absolutely not. Worth it? 100%! Entrepreneurship is hard. But, staying at a job where I felt undervalued and out of alignment was harder. My biggest struggle is letting go. As a business owner, every e-mail, project and client feels so personal that it can be difficult to take breaks and step away, even on the weekend. I am the type of person who will work my ass of to achieve whatever I put my mind to. Typically, we see that as a blessing, but it’s also a curse. Burnout is real and when I omit breaks and don’t take time for self-care, I feel it. I’ve had weeks where I’ve felt run down and completely unmotivated because I’ve overworked myself. Finding the balance between being “always-on” and taking a step back is my biggest challenge.

There are plenty of other struggles – for example, finances are much trickier when you’re self-employed, but I’ll spare you of that. That’s what accountants are for!

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Authentically Kay LLC is a marketing agency specializing in social media management and social media coaching. I help soulful entrepreneurs increase their business revenue using authentic social media strategies. My approach to social media is unique. We’ve arrived at a time where there is a TON of information out there about social media, most of which encourages people to essentially dedicate their lives to these apps if they want to be successful. My mission is quite the opposite. I use a wellness-first approach to social media that aims to help folks spend less time in these apps and more time doing what lights their soul on fire.

I believe your relationship with social media is just as important as your strategy. When I work with my clients, we start within. What are their challenges? What is their relationship with social media? How does social media make them feel?

Usually, people are feeling overwhelmed, exhausted and intimidated by social media. So, a key part of my process is teaching my clients how to use social media in a way that combats those feelings, and then I can help them create their own authentic approach using a proven strategy that feels in alignment with their brand values.

Social media has become a place we go to compare, and I’m interested in making it a place we go to connect. I don’t care how many followers my clients have (seriously!) – what I do care about is the community they create and the practices they use to cultivate their community, therefore growing their brand and increasing their sales/clients/customers.

I offer a few different services: Social Media Management (Instagram and Pinterest). My social media management is a “do it for you” service, in which I create and execute a strategy on your brand’s behalf. This is a monthly, retainer-based service. I am currently at capacity for this service but will be opening up additional slots in late Summer ’21.

Social Media Coaching. I am currently offering a 1:1 coaching program called “Social Soul-utions.” It is an intentional, 6-week program that helps ambitious entrepreneurs grow their presence on Instagram by implementing authentic strategies, as I outlined above. This program transforms your relationship with social media, in addition to your strategy on social media.

Strategy Calls (60min). Strategy calls are a one-time, 60-min 1:1 with me, where we cover any topics your business may be struggling with, from content creation to content planning, reels + videos, hashtags, caption writing, and more. I also offer this strategy calls for service providers (SMM’s, VA’s) who need guidance on their offerings, pricing and processes as they expand their business. If you’re interested in working together, I welcome you to apply through this link: https://bit.ly/3xmxXyY

Authentically Kay LLC is a brand built on the principle of leading with love. There is no place for hate speech or discrimination. It is important to me that each individual I work with is aligned with my core values. This is a safe space for BIPOC individuals, LGTBQ+ individuals, immigrants, all religions, disabled folks, those struggling with mental health disorders + all under the sun.

So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
Connection, community and authenticity are at the heart of everything I do. Sometimes people scoff when I tell them social media is my JOB. That’s because social media has gained a reputation of being fake, toxic and unpleasant. It can be all of those things, but it doesn’t have to be. You have a choice to actively change how you use it. I work with my clients to help them build the confidence to show up as they are on social media – no highlight reel, no B.S., just humans connecting with humans. Once you move past the need to “perform” on social media, it changes the game.

Social media is a wonderful tool to grow your business, but it is also just social media. Your mental health and well-being are far more important, so I find ways to work with my clients to adjust their mindset before we dive into their strategy. I hope my coaching style becomes widely adapted – there are many coaches out there whose practices feed further into the unhealthy usage of social media, and it doesn’t have to be that way.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: https://msha.ke/kaycountryman/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kaycountryman/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kayla.e.countryman/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/KaylaCountryman