Today we’d like to introduce you to Kaitlynn Sparby.
Hi Kaitlynn, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My business owner journey began when I started a press-on nail business when I was 18 years old. I created a website, designed and printed packaging, painted press on nails, and marketing myself on social media. Within the first 2 weeks, I was working 40 hour weeks (on top of my part-time job, which was a barista at Starbucks, at the time) and it was all because of social media marketing.
While my nail business was successful, I began to realize that I just wasn’t passionate about nails, and took some time off, especially as I entered my freshman year of college. At that time, I was a full-time student and worked as a daycare teacher part-time after classes.
Yet, I couldn’t help but feel that my days as a business owner were over. So, I reflected on my time as a nail artist and thought about the things I liked, and didn’t like. I realized that my passions lied with the branding and social media aspects of the business, and I started doing some research on what some careers with those interests would look like.
That’s when I began “Rebranded by Kaitlynn”, doing social media management and branding for businesses. Again, I designed my logo, website, did hours of research on how to price my services and how to operate a freelancing business, set up onboarding forms and documents, and got my first meetings scheduled within a few weeks of promoting my work on social media. My graphic design and content creation skills came mostly from a lot of my hobbies from my childhood — I’ve always liked to draw, paint, film and edit YouTube videos, create fake brands, etc., so all of those skills that I picked up, both digitally and on paper, helped me immensely.
Most of my clients came primarily from TikTok, and my most successful videos were rebranding popular brands’ Instagram feeds. I was still a full-time student and working at the daycare, but after about 2 months of juggling it all, I took a leap of faith to quit my part-time job to focus on my business.
When the summer after my freshman year came, I knew I had to make a decision: devote all of my time, energy (and sometimes, finances) on Rebranded by Kaitlynn, or find balance a part-time job again to save up for the following school year.
I made the decision to prioritize my business that summer, and am incredibly thankful that I did. I was honored to meet such inspiring business owners from around the country, and even some internationally, in all industries, both service and business-based.
Now, I am in my sophomore year of college, still working to find that balance between school, business, friends, and family. I feel incredibly blessed to have the opportunity to share my passion for graphic design, branding, and content creation with the world, and work with incredible business owners who have taught me so much. I’m currently expanding my business to help teach other aspiring social media managers, and am in the process of developing courses and resources for SMMs and business owners alike.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Because I’m a young, full-time college student, I have definitely had my struggles when it comes to balancing my responsibilities and finances. While I have been blessed with social media bringing most of my clients, and I’ve had nothing but support from friends and family, it’s been a challenge to juggle schoolwork, classes, a social life, and clients, as well as my other hobbies, as I enjoy reading, writing, and art.
There are times when I have had to prioritize my business over school, for example, and some of my grades have suffered because of it. There are other times when it’s hard to coordinate with clients because of a full class schedule.
So, it’s definitely been trial and error of finding the right balance for me, but it’s also equally rewarding. I feel incredibly fortunate to have the support from my loved ones, my online community, and my professors, and I try to focus on the opportunities that being in college while doing this offers me.
Another aspect that I’ve been struggling with is support from my peers. Of course, my friends and family are encouraging and celebrate my success with me. But, my priorities definitely look different than most people’s priorities at this stage in life, and I find myself constantly comparing what my life looks like to, for example, my roommates or my friends. Over time, it’s become somewhat isolating, and I have been really trying to find a community of business owners like me in my area who might share the same experience. I’ve had to sacrifice a lot of time and opportunities with my friends in order to work on my business, but again, that’s just something I’m learning to balance as I go.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
As I mentioned, I am a social media manager and brand designer for businesses. I meet with clients from all around the country in all types of industries, both business and service-based. I’ve worked with business owners in the beauty, health, fitness, coaching, and self care industries.
For social media management, I plan, prepare, and execute social media strategies and content, focusing primarily on Instagram and TikTok.
I also do brand design, so I work with clients who are in the process of starting their business, and create logos, brand identities, and even websites. A lot of that work differs from client to client — I’ve had experience with package design, ecommerce platform design, video editing, etc.
I believe my biggest strength is the fact that the services I offer are so versatile, and I do my best to make every service customized to every business owner I work with. I’m definitely known for my rebrands on social media, where I take a popular brand and revamp their website or social media accounts. My proudest accomplishment was getting recognized by E.L.F. Cosmetics on TikTok for redesigning their social media. But I truly find so much enjoyment in bringing businesses back to life online, so that they can get the recognition and professionalism they deserve.
I also pride myself in the relationships I’ve built with clients; a lot of my clients have even become mentors to me, and I have so much to learn from them.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I definitely believe that good luck has played a role in my success. Even as a social media manager, I can say that there is no “right” way to “do social media”, and success is never guaranteed. There are factors, of course, but in reality, you truly never know when a video can “blow up” and truly change your life overnight.
I found that both with my previous press-on nail business and Rebranded by Kaitlynn — I was extremely fortunate in getting thousands of views within just the first few weeks of posting, let alone those videos reaching the right eyes. When I post on social media about my business, I truly have no control over who sees the video, how many people see the video, etc., so when people inquire or reach out, I do think that it has a lot to do with luck.
Luck, however, isn’t the only factor of my business, and this goes for every business: It takes a lot of consistency, motivation, and discipline to push through the overwhelming responsibilities (and sometimes chaos) of being a business owner, no matter the industry or stage of life. I’m incredibly thankful for the support I’ve gotten, but it is very rewarding to know that I will push through any obstacle for my business and to pursue my passion.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://rebrandedbykaitlynn.com
- Instagram: rebranded_bykaitlynn
- Other: TikTok: @rebrandedbykaitlynn
