Meet Stacy A. Gonzalez | Digital Agency Owner & Senior PreLaw Student

We had the good fortune of connecting with Stacy A. Gonzalez and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Stacy A., is there something you can share with us that those outside of the industry might not be aware of?
How important your online presence is on social media, or on technological platform. How involved, time consuming, analytical and timely expense of creative brain juices it takes to bring a brand or business in their best life, so they can look professional, attract clients and stand the test of time. A digital marketing agency helps businesses take their products to the next level by bringing them online. Our goal is to optimize your brand no matter what you’re offering, selling, or creating. Everyone has a niche market, and there’s an audience out there who deserves to know about you. We’ll help you build brand awareness around your product and discover your audience so you don’t have to. How we do that comes down to how we decide to deliver you to the consumer. In short, a digital agency or digital strategist simply wants to be a long-term partner for a companies brand success. Partnering with a digital agency takes trust, surrender, courage and an awareness in leadership and management skills from a business, without these in place, there is little to no room to develop a meaningful relationship and the partnership and business suffers.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
January 8th, 2018, I was involved in a very bad rear end. Yes, I began the new year with an accident and a mangled neck and spine. That was a wake-up call and a hard hit to me. It was both positive and negative. Positive, because I realized I didn’t have to restrict myself to the career path I had been pursuing and that I could and should use all of the talents and skills I have. Negative, because I had become depressed and almost disabled from the accident. I remember a skull cracking pain in my head, and my entire body throbbing; everything felt like it was on fire. I was bed ridden for 3 full weeks due to a bad rear-end car accident that was of no fault of my own. I had herniated one of my spinal discs to a large 4.6mm which caused moderate to severe stenosis, any larger and I would have needed surgery; the left side of my body and face had gone numb and it was so weak, I could not lift my left arm, or left leg without excruciating pain. I then had therapy for 5 months and was advised to continue it at home for the end of the year. During that time, I was mostly in bed, or doing low impact activities as I was healing. Being unemployed, depressed that I had lost a lot of time, I lost all the hard work I had put in the gym, all my muscle was gone, I gained weight, and I was unemployed due my recovery. I thought: “I need to do something, something that doesn’t require me to drive or be on my feet for several hours a day” (At that time I couldn’t, even if I wanted to). I then started listing everything that I was good at, then social media came to mind. I had been very active on social media before my accident, landing company deals with brands like Patricia Nash, JORD, Earth Botanics and using strategies and tactics to land clients when I had my photography business. During this time, the only support I had was my family; more specifically my brother (who is younger than me) encouraged me to pursue the new path I was pushed on, because he saw that I had a natural talent for it. I only needed to become an expert on the subject, get a few certifications, do internships and continue staying on top of it. He knew that I needed to keep myself active to avoid the depression I was in due to my accident. I have him to thank for telling me that I was going in the right direction at that time and place. From the comfort of my bed and home, I was taking online courses to learn and get certified in the field and researching top digital agency marketers. Then in October 2019 I decided to launch my DBA, Social Bloom and landed 3 clients in my first month, I then landed a full-time job moved to Houston, lost my full-time job in April 2020, then re-launched and re-branded my digital agency in August 2020 and became Social Bloom Media, LLC. Since then, we have had steady growth and I have all the thanks to give to my brother. Thank you, Jesse! I love you! There was a lot of time put into deciding, researching, creating, tearing down and recreating the brand, parents and former friends being unsupportive, but when I finally got to a comfortable point, I finally took the leap and launched. In the beginning it was a smooth road, because from the beginning, I made decisions that were right for me. My eyes strayed a bit to gather inspiration from others, but 9 times out of 10 I kept my eyes on my own paper to build a business that was in alignment with my strengths, goals and purpose. My advice for any woman who is starting their journey is to get clear and concise on who you are, what you do, who you serve, and why you do it. It is important to define and create standard operating procedures for every area of your business from the start, otherwise you will be left to pick up the pieces down the line which will make it difficult to carry your business. You should also create and build out systems and a framework for your business and suite of services and products. If you are overwhelmed with all of the information that is being thrown at you just know that there are ONLY three things you should focus on daily to sustain and grow your business: strategy, systems, and sales. It is not enough to be great at what you do. You need a system to create predictable results for your business and for your clients! A system is a collective body of rules your business follows to proactively respond to daily and high-level scenarios your business might encounter so that growth isn’t disrupted. A system is an interactive, Responsive Plan to protect your business from inconsistent practices! Systems offer you an honest report of what’s working and what is not. It creates an opportunity for you to focus on efficiency, accuracy, and predictable, measurable results. It allows you to pivot and shift in real-time and saves you from going down a rabbit hole of never ending work. In January 2018, right after my accident, I made the mental decision that there has to be a better way and that landing a 9-5 could not be the only option for me to be able to make a living or gain experience for myself. That year I left the traditional 9-5 to pursue my online business. I love working with clients from all over the world, making connections, building relationships and developing a synchronicity with them. I always say “S” is for “Stacy” but actually it’s for Social Media. Being a non-traditional student and business owner, my life is 100% a balancing act, so I understand the challenges that women today face as entrepreneurs. Over the past years, I’ve incubated startups, in the beginning did pro-bono digital marketing services, to then landing paying clients. I’ve helped business owners redefine how they streamlined their day to day business operations so they could safeguard their business from inconsistent and disruptive practices that would stop them from working in their zone of genius 24-7. I’ve helped business owners establish a clearly defined brand, increase profits, increase the time on their schedule, minimize stress and put them in front of the correct audience. What sets my business apart from others is the attention to detail that myself and my team brings along with unmatched customer service. Along with a step-by-step framework that walks my clients through the onboarding process with us. My brand is sleek but fresh and modern. I am a rule breaker and a risk taker, a teamplayer, innovative creative, and a consultant for my clients. My clients appreciate my frankness and I attract people who are ready and willing work with us, so they can achieve their goals.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
First, for breakfast we’ll make a stop to “Sweet Paris” known for having delicious sweet and non-sweet crepes. Oh la la! Then we’ll to the 64 ft waterwall at Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Park. This waterwall re-circulates 11,000 gallons of water per minute! The water turns on at 8 AM everyday and shuts off at 9 PM. We’ll then go over to EaDo (East Downtown), rent some electric scooter and explore the area which is full of which is full of breweries, murals, and downtown views. For lunch, we’ll head to La Guitarra con Sazon (Peruvian-American Restaurant): Here we will try the authentic and diverse flavors of Peru, where you’ll be able to dig into poultry, beef, duck, sea food, with tons of herbs, fresh veggies, delicious carb dishes, drinks and desserts. To get rid of the food baby, we’ll go explore Buffalo Bayou Park, on rental bikes. The view of the skyline is beautiful here, with a lot of room to walk and you can even rent kayaks starting at $30/hr. After riding our bikes around and kayaking, we’ll go on the Cistern Tour. By this time we are tired, we go home to wash up, then head out to dinner, we have 3 options to choose from: Steak 48 or Perry’s Steakhouse : Fancy it up and put on your best slinky little black dress with your boyfriend/girlfriend and dig into some steaks. Peli Peli: This South African spot has a a very interesting interior and delicious food! We will then wine it down at Vinoteca Poscol to mellow out And our last stop right after sunset, visit the James Turrell Skyspace, a cool looking pyramid structure on the Rice University campus that looks like you’re walking in the future of year 2050.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I remember a skull cracking pain in my head, and my entire body throbbing; everything felt like it was on fire. I was bed ridden for 3 full weeks due to a bad rear-end car accident that was of no fault of my own. I had herniated one of my spinal discs to a large 4.6mm which caused moderate to severe stenosis, any larger and I would have needed surgery; the left side of my body and face had gone numb and it was so weak, I could not lift my left arm, or left leg without excruciating pain. I then had therapy for 5 months and was advised to continue it at home for the end of the year. During that time, I was mostly in bed, or doing low impact activities as I was healing. Being unemployed, depressed that I had lost a lot of time, I lost all the hard work I had put in the gym, all my muscle was gone, I gained weight, and I was unemployed due my recovery. I thought: “I need to do something, something that doesn’t require me to drive or be on my feet for several hours a day” (At that time I couldn’t, even if I wanted to). I then started listing everything that I was good at, then social media came to mind. I had been very active on social media before my accident, landing company deals with brands like Patricia Nash, JORD, Earth Botanics and using strategies and tactics to land clients when I had my photography business. During this time, the only support I had was my family; my brother (who is younger than me) encouraged me to pursue it, because he saw that I had a natural talent for it, that I only needed to become an expert, get a few certifications, do internships and continue staying on top of it. He knew that I needed to keep myself active to avoid the depression I was in due to my accident. I have him to thank for telling me that I was going in the right direction at that time and place. From the comfort of my bed and home, I was taking online courses to learn and get certified in the field and researching top digital agency marketers. Then in October 2019 I decided to launch my DBA, Social Bloom and landed 3 clients in my first month, I then landed a full-time job moved to Houston, lost my full-time job in April 2020, then re-launched and re-branded my digital agency in August 2020 and became Social Bloom Media, LLC. Since then, we have had steady growth and I have all the thanks to give to my brother. Thank you, Jesse! I love you!

Website: www.socialbloommedia.net

Instagram: @s.ann.go, @socialbloommediallc @myheliolight

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stacyagonzalez/

Twitter: @StacyAnnetteG

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stacyag5/

Image Credits
Reuben Cruz Tamez