Today we’d like to introduce you to Niki Blackwell.
Hi Niki, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Well. That’s a tough one… since I feel like I’m still just beginning! But I’ll give it a shot.
I grew up in the Atlanta suburbs and loved my childhood! I grew up with two very involved and active parents and one younger brother that has always been my buddy! I went to great schools, had great friends, and otherwise lived a very basic and happy childhood. I am incredibly grateful for this and know that not all experience these same privileges.
I can remember as far back as elementary school, people telling me or my parents that I was very outgoing, bubbly, and might have a future in sales. Ha! People have never scared me! Quite the opposite, actually. I love meeting new people and fostering really close relationships with, essentially, anyone who will let me! (I’ve even been known to get close to a janitor or two. Haha! I wrote my Hero paper on our school janitor in 4th grade and no one has forgotten this since that day).
After a pretty normal school experience overall, I left for college feeling 100% ready. I was always independent and this felt like a natural and easy next step. Though my intense level of involvement in high school would not have reflected this, I actually wasn’t always good at the actual learning part of my education. After failing math and caring much much more about community outreach and homecoming floats than actual test scores, I was slightly limited on my college options. And I thank God for this every day because I had the best four years at Georgia Southern. This is really where my story begins.
After 10 minutes of arriving at GSU, I knew it was the place for me. There were a few other schools willing to accept a very involved 18-year-old with a solid 3.0 GPA, but I didn’t need to see any. I knew instantly Georgia Southern was for me. I spent those years being equally as involved if not more (still struggled with math…) but feeling so much better about my education once in my major courses.
It didn’t take me long to land on Public Relations as a major after first thinking marketing then leaning into the communications side of things instead. I knew events, social media, and PEOPLE were where I belonged! I loved my major and thrived in those courses landing myself a 3.5+ GPA for my major courses. Oh yeah! I also found my now husband and some of the best friends I have had throughout those years.
When the time came to start a career, the high of college wore off and things went downhill rapidly. Why does no one talk about post-college depression, I will never understand? I was at possibly my lowest going from constant friends and activities to the mundane 9 to 5 life. I came home crying most days. The job itself wasn’t the problem. It was the lack of fulfillment and the “something missing” feeling I constantly felt. It took three months. Three months, until I said I had to go. There were some other factors, like commute and job requirements, but ultimately it came down to a lack of real purpose.
Little did I know, this move would change my life forever.
I was dying for a job with more freedom that gave me the sense of fulfillment I was so lacking in my previous job, and a schedule that didn’t make me feel like I was living for the weekends and crying when Sunday night came around. On a whim, I reached out to a friend to see if she knew anyone that needed a nanny. I figured… I love kids (in another life, I’m a teacher), I have experience, I could freelance social media management/events, and it would be the opposite of my previous job. Long story short, I spent the next four years living my B E S T life with the best family ever.
I traveled all over with them from Colorado to Iceland and more, this job and family filled my empty cup back up in a way that I didn’t know I needed. I stuck with them from one to three kiddos and loved my unique schedule and simple (maybe boring to some) days wandering the city and doing art projects with those babies. It was within these years that I realized the traditional 9 to 5 was likely never going to work for me. And when the time came that my nanny family moved away, I was painfully heartbroken yet ready for the future. And then… BOOM. COVID.
2020 was wild. I branched fully into entrepreneurship in the spring and started taking on private social media clients full-time while also planning my wedding. 2020 was a hard year. For everyone. I didn’t have much capacity outside of keeping up with my own blog, planning my covid wedding, and managing the few private clients I had. Towards the end of 2020, as our wedding approached, I promised my husband that after the wedding I would look for a more stable job and give up my entrepreneurial dreams for now. I pitched myself out of the blue to one of my favorite local clothing and gift shops and within a couple of weeks, I was full-time doing the 9 to 5 thing again.
Of course, because life and God-like to throw us curveballs to get us back on track, I immediately started getting the interest I’d been praying for in my own social media management business, CREATIVE by NIKI. I turned down many opportunities, I was happy at the shop and loved my team (still do!).
Fast forward a couple of months, my amazing boss blessed me with the opportunity to switch my schedule/involvement around to allow more of a balance and open my availability to take on more private clients. Now we’re a couple of months in, and I just know that I’m in the right place. Even on the days, I’m up at 6:00 or up until 1:00, I know this is my path and I’m just getting started! All I’ve ever wanted was a balance that felt like I’m not losing myself to the grind.
I want to help small businesses be great at social media and arm their clients with the creative tools needed to do so. I’m getting back into events/weddings, and really just filling my bucket all the way back up.
On a normal week… find me at the cutest shop in Savannah two days a week, drinking LOTS of coffee, working with my private clients, grabbing a lox bagel in downtown, trying to find time for my own blog and Instagram, wandering the aisles of Goodwill with my bestie, and enjoying taking up new hobbies (like tennis!) with my hubby! Life is crazy, but crazy GOOD. Cheers to chasing your dreams and never settling.
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?
So many!
Students loans have tried to take me down many times! College was expensive! Even at a public university, with a job, and helpful parents. No one told me I’d be paying the monthly rate of a Ferrari.
Bless my husband. It’s not easy being the partner to a creative entrepreneur. He has stood by me for all eight years and I am lucky. But, that’s not the say it hasn’t been rocky a time or ten.
Client trust and experience. These days, people are incredibly protective of their business accounts and online presence. No one understands this more than me. It’s taken years to build up credibility.
COVID. ‘Nuff said.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I do social media management for small businesses. I work with my clients in, typically, one of three ways. I am either fully managing, producing, and executing all the content, just executing the content, or just helping to produce the content.
Every client is different and has a custom level of involvement.
I specialize in the creative side of content creation. I have ideas for days and love to keep my client’s pages fresh and up-to-date. I would say my other superpower is creating incredibly clean, crisp, professional, and on-brand profiles/overall feeds for my clients. After all, what your Instagram looks like is the social media equivalent to a first impression!
I’m very proud of my self-taught video skills. Social media is constantly changing and with video becoming more and more necessary, I have adapted and learned along the way. I joke that I’m 50% social media manager, 50% videographer these days. And I love it! Task me with making you a REEL and I’m on it!
What sets me apart… Hmm. This is a blessing and a curse. I look at social media from more of an overall “how is this making our ideal customers feel” perspective rather than relying solely on analytics. I think it’s the public relations side of me that wants my clients to get more than just a sale out of their pages. Social media is the best way for you to communicate with your current and potential customers, in my opinion. The “personality” of your page can build you lifetime customers and just as easily turn customers off for good. To me, the relationship comes first, then (hopefully!) the sale.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
I’ve been so blessed with many supporters and friends in the industry.
Neilie Dunn from Neilie Dunn PR connected me to my first internship which later turned into my connection to nannying and everything I now know about Savannah. I really attribute some of my biggest and most influential connections to her! Shannan Hunt and the whole Seabolt Brokers team have supported me since I was just a young college intern with no idea what I was doing.
To my nanny family, you all filled my empty cup all the way back up and I will treasure those years forever! To my best friend, Christi, you always encouraged me to chase the dream. Even when pretty much no one else believed I should. My success was your success and still is.
My dad supported me even when he knew chasing the dream may mean not being able to pay my own bills. He has been my biggest cheerleader since day one. I attribute my drive and work ethic to him.
My current shop-boss and entrepreneur icon, Emily McCarthy, shows me daily what it means to build a successful business and the hard work and dedication required day-in and day-out to do it right.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: nikiblackwell.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/thenikiblackwell
