Today we’d like to introduce you to Heidi Oliver.
Hi Heidi, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
In March 2020, when the pandemic hit, I was let go from my job. I was the Director of Experience for a well know restaurant & bar with several locations in Ohio. I had just had a baby and as a single mom was panicked about how I was going to make ends meet. It took me just a few days to decide to go all-in on myself. My background had been in marketing and I was always a ‘creative’ doing photography and arts. I knew I could do something with those skills and began working on my own branding for Have Heart Media. I posted that I was looking for freelance jobs and a friend in the food industry reached out because her business needed help and solutions to stay afloat during the pandemic. After meeting with them, I booked my first marketing gig. The owner of this food truck modeled business was owned by award-winning chef, James Anderson, who was a professional photographer. He really extended his knowledge to me of food photography and I am forever grateful for his mentorship that propelled me into photographing food for chefs all over the area. That work was recognized and I began to pick up more clients. I applied for an LLC to make my media business legitimate and I was officially operating in the state of Ohio. Because of the condition of the world in 2020, social media became the best tool for marketing small businesses. I choose to capitalize on that. By 2021 I was managing up to eleven different accounts for businesses from breweries to churches.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has been anything but a smooth road. I am blessed with the freedom of my own schedule which was a priority with a baby (now toddler), but it comes with its challenges of its own. There was no daycare available due to the pandemic so my son started riding along with me to all my prospect meetings and even creating content sessions. This wasn’t too difficult when I could strap him in a stroller but as he grew and became more mobile and vocal, it’s been quite hard. Daycare is still a tough pill to swallow with costs so he still joins me most of the time. One of my values is that I work with small businesses which are often family-run, so my clients typically don’t mind. His name is Atticus, named after Atticus Finch when I was inspired by a quote, he said in To Kill a Mocking Bird about being ‘licked’ from the beginning but seeing the situation through no matter what. I found that quote quite relevant to starting my business too. Most of the people I work with are referrals which is also a blessing but that leaves me with little room to negotiate rates. One business owner will tell another, ‘Heidi does our socials for this amount every month’ and the referrals expect to get the same deal. Also, the business has been increasing as we exit the covid era (as well as increased traffic from having such great social accounts), so the workload has been on the up and up. I’m currently in the process of increasing my rates or switching to package pricing and it’s intimidating. Social media is hard to track ROI on, so it’s easily the first thing to cut. Hindsight people realize how important it is and then I have to nearly start all over for them.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a mix between a business and a creative. I own Have Heart Media and primarily manage social media accounts for small businesses. Within this role, I also am a professional photographer creating content for the accounts. I find that quality imagery will always get more engagement and success than ads and graphics. I still do freelance marketing though which entails everything from event planning to web design and every oddball marketing task you can think of. I am most proud of my food photography. I help my clients set themselves apart because they are sharing photos that look delicious but also tell a story. I always incorporate something about the brand in my photos such as the atmosphere it served in or having the setup curated with the brand colors. I like to share the stories of the people behind the photos such as the chef or bartender. One specific account I run is Wario’s Beef and Pork, a small sandwich shop that is getting nationally recognized. The owner, Chef Stephan Madias, has given me complete creative freedom with his brand and we really turned it into something cool. People are in line daily before his shop opens to get their hands on his sandwiches. People constantly comment that their marketing and photos are on point. I don’t like to take the spotlight so most have no idea that I am behind it all but it shows that when I have no restrictions, I excel and still keep the integrity of the business a priority.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
I would have to say my favorite childhood memory is going camping with my family. We started out in tents when I was just a baby until my grandparents upgraded to a camper. We would go for a whole week at a time, sometimes two or three times a summer. I didn’t know it at the time but it was teaching me the importance of disconnecting, which is so important now that I am in social media and consumed by it every day. Camping and being out in nature with just my grandparents surely shaped my creative mind, imagination, and social skills too. I was either playing on my own and imagining some wonderland I was in deep in the woods or encouraged to make friends with strangers who were camping next to us.
Pricing:
- Total Social Media Management: $650/mo
- Basic Social Management: $450/mo
- Content Creation: $250 per session
- Photography: $150 per session
Contact Info:
- Website: haveheartmedia.com
- Instagram: @haveheartmedia
