Forbes-published multi-award-winning social media entrepreneur and influencer Sophie Bowman continues to rise to the top of the digital marketing game. Named one of 9 ‘inspirational women to watch’ by Yahoo finance and best influencer for local businesses, Sophie received notoriety in 2020 for her efforts helping small business owners in America adapt, survive, and thrive during the pandemic.
A self-confessed social media nerd, Sophie regularly contributes educational editorial features to Forbes about all things digital marketing, branding, and entrepreneur life.
Sophie’s latest brainchild, Convert Your Followers, demonstrates to business owners, entrepreneurs, and brands how to convert social media followers to customers on an ongoing basis; a vital conversion most brands are failing to take advantage of in a moment where social media is essential for brands to prosper.
You’ll find Sophie in SUCCESS Magazine, Lifestyle Magazine, Business Insider, Business.com, Authority Magazine, Medium, Entrepreneur.com & more, and discover a giant portrait of her hanging in Times Sq. NYC, and Miami soon as an example of an inspirational immigrant as part of a Fashion Week project with Conde Nast.
Please tell us a little bit about your company – what is Convert Your Followers all about?
Convert Your Followers is an innovative service for brands, entrepreneurs, and business owners that demonstrates how anyone can convert social media followers to customers in a few easy, inexpensive steps. You can have 1000 or 1 million followers, but if you’re not converting them to customers, what’s the point? They’re simply voyeurs watching your story unfold without adding any value other than an occasional like or comment (if you’re lucky).
Tell us a little bit about your background and how you started your company?
Fueled by an early midlife crisis at turning thirty, engaged, and having never lived abroad, Sophie decided to convert her social media side hustle to an online business so that she could travel the world and work from anywhere without pants – and so the story begins… I lived in Marrakech for two years, before touring Australia and relocating to Miami four years ago. The freedom has allowed me to work from so many beautiful locations from Tulum and La Paz to LA and Chicago.
During quarantine, I co-founded Business Owner Society with Jackie Nepola to bring our passion for helping young people and launched Convert Your Followers. Building brands is my passion and purpose in life. And it keeps me out of mischief. What a lot of people don’t know is that BusinessownerSociety.com is run by an army of next gen entrepreneurs. Our content creator, Mia, is only seventeen while our designer , Ava, is just thirteen years old. Next gen is where the creativity for innovation and change can be found.
What would you say are the top 3 skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur, and why?
Perseverance, communication skills, and a positive, opportunist mindset. You’re going to have to dodge relentless curveballs the universe will throw at you during your journey to greatness, so perseverance plays an essential role in fueling the ongoing faith in yourself and your business model. Mastering the sacred art of strong communication skills is crucial to customer, client, and employee retention. A passive leader will get walked all over by employees, so you have to be direct and give constructive criticism while also praising where recognition is due. Our mindset is everything in life. A positive, opportunist mindset will allow you to see the opportunity in everything – even when things go ‘wrong.’ The best advice someone ever gave me when I found myself stranded in Morocco is ‘panic leads to brain blockage, so you have to address every problem knowing that there is always a solution.
What are your plans for the future, how do you plan to grow this company?
I’m excited to help hundreds of luxury brands, entrepreneurs, and small business owners reap the benefits of learning how to start monetizing their social media accounts in 2021. The majority of brands don’t realize that they’re hiring social media ‘experts’ purely to post content and engage – something anyone can do. Yes, engagement and brand awareness is cool and all, but they’re missing the most important point; your efforts are futile if you’re not converting these fans to customers. I teach brands my simple inexpensive proven process, which they can go on to manage themselves if they so choose. The campaign I did with one of my favorite fashion brands BALMAIN saw a 17% increase in sales within the first month.
How do you separate yourself from your competitors?
There is no one else offering my specific proven process to the commercial market. The experts who use similar processes are the media giants charging brands upwards of $10,000 per month, cutting out those who need the knowledge most – small business owners. I’m making this potential goldmine marketing process accessible to everyone, especially small businesses, who need the most support after months of lockdowns and hesitation among consumers about spending on non-essentials.
What were the top three mistakes you made starting your business, and what did you learn from them?
My first company was an online entertainment network and I had no idea what I was doing. I paid a web developer $7000 for a customized platform that never really worked. I learned to start all future business ideas small, and grow and invest slowly by adapting your business model to the feedback and challenges you receive along the way.
Another mistake was hiring the wrong person. I got catfished by a candidate’s resume, paying to relocate her to the USA and set her up in an apartment. Turns out, she had very little social media knowledge and an almost non-existent work ethic. It was a nightmare. She sucked up all of my time for 2 months, so in the end, I took her position over and took a portion of the salary myself seeing as I was doing it all anyway. I learned to set exercises for applicants to demonstrate their level of knowledge for the role – it’s a lot harder for applicants to fake projects, so it saved a lot of time by not interviewing people who lacked the required skills or were not a good culture fit.
I further learned from this mistake that it’s self-destructive to try and manage multiple roles yourself. I got so burned out after two years. Emergencies pop up and life happens, so the ball inevitably gets dropped in one or more areas of your business which negatively affects cash flow eventually. Plus, you’re no good to anyone when you burn yourself out.
What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?
My biggest challenge is probably delegating work. It’s both a blessing and an occasional curse that I have a wealth of experience in multiple industries. It means I can smell bullsh*t a mile off based on my multi-level experience, making it difficult to delegate tasks because most of the time I know I have a higher level of knowledge in most areas. Saying that out loud makes me sound like a control freak, maybe I am, but I don’t mess around when it comes to my businesses. I’ve overcome these issues by hiring freelancers as and when I need their specific expertise for projects – a great way to find freelance unicorns to build your dream team.
What is the one thing you wish you knew before starting your business?
The importance of being part of an entrepreneur community to have access to like-minded people. Sometimes you just need people to bounce ideas off, and being a solopreneur can be especially lonely.
What are the top 3 online tools and resources you’re currently using to grow your company?
Social media, podcasts, and influencer marketing are king when it comes to nailing major low-cost brand awareness. TV appearances on shows like The Simonetta Lein TV Show entrepreneur’s panel edition are a literal lifeline when it comes to reaching millions for less than a tenth of the price you’d have to invest in digital marketing ads every month to receive anywhere near the same stats. Insider Tip: mentioning Business Owner Society if you apply to appear on the show will score you an additional discount. Email me for more info.
What are three books or courses would you recommend to entrepreneurs?
The Four Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss and Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki are two of my favorite books on entrepreneurship. Miami Ad School is the go-to for aspiring creatives, while The Digital Marketing Institute’s Certified Digital Marketing Expert course is a power play for those who want their resume to stand out over the social media job competition.
If you had the chance to start your career over again what would you do differently?
I would start small and invest money and grow at each level of business Jumanji as you beta test a small group of early adopters to mold the business into an organization that delivers what the target consumer wants and needs.
If you only had $1000 dollars to start a new business, knowing everything you know now, how would you spend it?
It would depend on the business, but you can’t go wrong by starting with a simple landing page designed ($150) or website ($300) so that you can start testing the waters. I would spend the rest on strategic influencer marketing collaborations because you can’t beat the reach influencers can help you achieve unless you have tens of thousands of dollars to invest every month.
What’s your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?
Join an entrepreneur community so that you have a network of experienced and supportive mentors. Our NEXTGEN BOS Facebook group is free and connects businesses with interns while acting as a personal advisory committee for solopreneurs; a literal lifeline. Trying to do everything alone and make all the decisions is overwhelming, and a lack of mentorship can lead to expensive, avoidable mistakes.
Who should we interview next and why?
James Kinney – he’s the go-to for all things diversity and offers uplifting, inspirational business coaching sessions too.
With the game on the line and 5 seconds on the clock, who takes the last shot? Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, or Lebron James?
It would be Lebron James motivated by the spirit of Kobe Bryant.
How can we get in touch with you?
My main platform is Instagram @sophiecbowman or you can email me at sophie@convertyourfollowers.com or my website Convert Your Followers
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