For many entrepreneurs and small businesses, social media can be an absolute game-changer! All it takes is one viral post and a business can suddenly take off.
At Like A Voss Inc, we’re highlighting local businesses and entrepreneurs who are killing the online game. This week’s spotlight is on Visual Identity Coach, Rebecca Rowe!
Rebecca Rowe is a visual identity coach, working with women who want to love what they see when they look in the mirror. Through adjusting their habits, identity and style they’re able to start seeing themselves in a whole new light.
Our girl Betina interviewed Rebecca about her secret to success in business and in life. We also got some awesome insights into what they think makes social media such an effective tool in business.
A Little Bit About Being an Entrepreneur
1: How long have you been in business?
I just launched Visual Identity Coaching in January, with my beta course starting in March. However, I’ve worked as a full time fashion designer for 6 years before that which is what sparked my interest in the effect women’s closet’s can play on their mental health.
2: What made you decide to break away from the 9-5 and start your own company?
I actually never worked a 9-5, I always worked a 5-3 as a server, bartender and manager of various restaurants. For me right out of university I knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur and I always looked for jobs that I couldn’t fully invest in.
3: What do you love most about being an entrepreneur?
Not having a boss. I don’t like not knowing the big picture of a company. If I know the big picture I can help fill in where my puzzle pieces need to be. But as an employee knowing the big picture is none of my business and it drives me nuts. I don’t usually understand the business decisions that get made and as an entrepreneur I don’t have to worry about any of that. It also provides me with the freedom to help people the way that I’m best suited to do so and to run a company that’s people focused instead of money focused.
4: What is the hardest thing you have had to overcome as an entrepreneur? Something you did not foresee when you decided to start your own business?
Accounting and systems. They are the worst, I’m so glad I outsource them now. But ESPECIALLY in a creative industry where it’s almost expected that you become an entrepreneur – like fashion, hair stylist, graphic designer – they don’t teach you any business or marketing in school. All of that you have to learn on your own and the systems thing was by far the worst for me.
5: What is one thing about working in your industry that people would be surprised to learn?
With fashion in general there is so much we hide from the consumer that this question could become its own essay. With Visual Identity Coaching I would say that you’d be surprised by how few people actually know who they are or trust themselves. Which is sad to say but when you think about it, most people live their lives through a sequence of actions and they don’t take the time to get to know themselves or build that trust.
And Now Onto The Social Media Questions!
6: Do you have a favorite social media platform? Why?
Instagram is my favourite community platform, just because of the various tools available to you as well as the built in community that’s there. I’ve met a lot of amazing people through that platform.
TikTok is my favourite growth platform, the discoverability on there and the ease in which you can repurpose that content is brilliant.
EMAIL. – I nearly hit send without putting this in. EMAIL. And we, as entrepreneurs need to think about email way more often than we do. It almost seems like an afterthought a lot of the time, but these are REAL people who have invited us into their homes. We need to show up for them!
7: What made you decide to start using social media as a way to promote your company?
I had zero dollars but a lot of time and I owned a computer. Social media (can be) the most cost effective way to build your community and start getting your work out there. It takes a while for sure, but how long does it take you to make a new friend then actually go out to get coffee with them?
8: How has social media impacted your business? Would you say that it’s an effective marketing tool?
Instagram single handedly got me on the radar for Vancouver Fashion Week and I was granted an invitation to show my 2020 collection (in 2019) there which was amazing. Don’t ask me how it went after that, because we all know what happened in 2020. During the pandemic I jumped onto TikTok, like everyone else, and have sold thousands of dollars worth of product through that platform.
9: What advice would you give to other businesses and entrepreneurs who want to use social media as a way to connect with customers?
Don’t make it about the algorithm. Your clients, your real clients, the PEOPLE you want to help don’t care about the filters and the hashtags and if everything’s perfect and you posted 5 times a week. They don’t care. If what you’re saying rings true for them and has helped them in some way, you’ll grow. Trust your community, not the computer.
A Little More About Rebecca
I always draw a blank at these questions because I don’t know where to start. What’s made me who I am though was my hatred for shopping which is what got me interested in fashion design.
I am 6’1” and have never been comfortable in store bought clothes. My last capsule of clothing was designed for the Athlete where I rethought the classic sizing system to accommodate for an athletic build.
I got my education in fashion design from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn NYC and finished my education in Paris, France at ESMOD. I speak only English, although I have tried and failed to speak French many many times.
I believe that everyone has the choice of how they want to feel and can control their thoughts. I am a coffee addict and my favourite candy is the trash jelly beans you get at Shoppers Drug Mart that all kinda taste the same.
Connect with Rebecca
Know A Voss Boss?
Do you know a Voss Boss who loves social media as much as we do? Contact us today – we’d love to tell her story!
