Her Story
About Shontaye
I started my career in social media marketing right after graduating from Full Sail University in 2024, where I earned my degree in social media marketing. I've been in this field for almost 5 years now, beginning as a freelancer before deciding to start my own business because I wanted to be over my own and really have my own name. What I love most about what I do is being able to manage people who don't have the time or who have busy schedules. I love taking care of the booking, scheduling, and making sure they have a clean, color-coded, organized schedule that looks professional. I feel like once everything like that is taken care of, everybody can move and flow very smoothly together. My education focused on social media and management, but after graduation I didn't stop learning. I constantly researched and deep dived into journalism, editing, audio, travel, and everything more than just social media. With AI now, there are so many different AI-generated apps and platforms that help with research and understanding, and I use those to continuously add to my skill set. I just really learned from reading every day, doing research, and trying to expand my abilities. The biggest challenge I've faced has always been getting clients. When I first got out there after graduation, it was hard - I didn't get my first client until about 8 months after graduation. But I put in all the work behind the scenes, building up my contracts, PDFs, website, and platforms. I also had to push myself out of my comfort zone because I used to be kind of an introvert who didn't really get out that much. But I realized I needed to network to reach and meet other people. Now I love going out and networking, meeting so many different people, especially different other females in my field. I live in North Florida, very close to Tallahassee and Florida State University, and also near the Georgia-Florida line close to VSU University. I attend different meetups, free meetups, and coffee meetups that happen every different day and month, and I've met so many great people through these events.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Shontaye
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to not giving up, even when things were hard. When I first got out there after graduation trying to find clients and be a freelancer, it was really difficult. I didn't get my first client until about 8 months after graduation, and I almost gave up. But what made the difference was putting in all the work behind the scenes - building up my contracts, building up my PDFs, building up my website and platforms. I also had to push myself to go out and network, even though I used to be kind of an introvert who didn't really get out that much. I realized I needed to get out there to reach and meet other people. Now I love going out and networking, meeting so many different people, especially other females in my field. I also never stopped learning. After graduation, I constantly researched my degree and different skills, deep diving into journalism, editing, audio, travel, and everything beyond just social media. I read every day, do research, and use AI-generated apps and platforms to help me understand what I'm looking for and add to my skill set. That continuous learning and persistence is what got me where I am today.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would tell anyone just don't give up on it, because I almost did. When you first get out there trying to find clients, it's hard - I didn't get my first client until about 8 months after graduation. But you have to put in all the work behind the scenes. Build up your contracts, build up your PDFs, build up your website and your platforms. You also have to go out and network. I used to be kind of an introvert person who didn't really get out that much, but I had to realize I needed to in order to reach and meet other people. That's what kind of got me out there networking, and I love it now. I love going out and networking, meeting so many different people, especially different other females in my field.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenge will always be getting the clients. Getting the clients has always been the biggest challenge because you just don't really know how when you first get out there. When I first got out there after graduation trying to find clients and be a freelancer, it was hard. I didn't get my first client until about 8 months after my graduation. That's the hardest thing, but I'll tell anyone, just don't give up on it because I almost did. What helped me was putting in all the work behind the scenes - building up my contracts, building up my PDFs, building up my website and platforms. You also have to go out and network. I had to realize I needed to get out there to reach and meet other people, and that's what kind of got me out there networking.
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