9/14 Shane Shaps, Big Voice Social

9/14 Shane Shaps, Big Voice Social

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to the Chamber Connection on Talk Radio ten eighty,
a program designed for small business owners, aspiring entrepreneurs, and
community members who are eager to learn more about the
intricacies of running a successful business, hosted each week by
the dedicated staff of the Chamber of Saint Matthews. Now
here's your host for this week, Josh Suitor, CEO.

Speaker 2 (00:24):
Good afternoon and welcome to the Chamber Connection. I'm Josh
Suitor and I will be your host today. I'm excited
to welcome Shane Shapps with a Big Voice Social into
the studio. Shane, welcome, Thanks jus So, Shane, We're going
to dive in and we're going to talk a little
bit about your business, a little bit about how you
got there, and who knows what else we'll talk about.
We'll just kind of get there. So let's start here.

(00:45):
Tell me a little bit about your business and about
your background.

Speaker 3 (00:49):
Sure, So, I own Big Voice Social. We are social
media engagement companies. So basically we are an outsourced voice
for the brands we work with. We work with companies
of all shapes. Inside is local, not local. Sometimes we
work just with an individual. We developed the voice that
best represents them. As a true human behind the brand,

(01:09):
and then we implement that on a variety of social
media platforms depending on what makes sense for that business.

Speaker 2 (01:15):
Okay, awesome, So what made you start a business?

Speaker 3 (01:20):
Well, if you go way back in time, I was
raised by an entrepreneur. My father, Chuck o'cuon, owned and
my mother. My father worked their full time. They owned
a company called Cardinal Kitchens. They were manufacturers of countertops.
So I grew up kind of watching this entrepreneurial life.
My dad didn't go to a big, tall building and

(01:43):
I always say the land of triplicate forms and bureaucracy.
He didn't do that. He owned his company. If we
needed him to come home, if there was a a
camping trip or something, he could do that. And so
that's the way that I grew up and I started
my career. Out of college. I went to the University
of Florida Gators, Go Gatos, and then I ended up

(02:04):
in Chicago, and I ended up in New York after that,
and in both of those cities, I was in the
hospitality industry. I worked in meetings and events. I planned
over the top events, I planned corporate meetings. It was
a lot of fun but we moved here about twenty
ish years ago and wanted to start a family. My
husband had a very crazy work schedule and so I

(02:25):
could no longer say I've got a flight to Vegas tomorrow,
because if we want to have family, want to work.
So I decided to take on I'm going to be
an entrepreneur. And I kind of went through several iterations
of this, as many entrepreneurs do. The first one, you know,
lasted a little while and then sort of fizzled out,
and I went through a couple and sort of one

(02:46):
led into the other. And the way this one started,
I was a sales rep. I was representing these cute
little gift items at different boutiques around town. Actually brought
on friends and other cities who were doing it in
their cities. Had a rep in Chicago and a rep
in la and it was a lot of fun. But
one day there was a store at Westport Village and

(03:07):
my client said, this was about two thousand and eight,
and he said, I see you on that Facebook thing
all the time. Can you help me with my business?
And I'm like, all right, sure, So I started doing
that and then from him I got a referral to
someone else, sort of a friend of a friend who
was joining a new company, and she said, we want
to hire you on an outsource basis, and I said

(03:28):
to do what? And from there the sales repping piece
sort of tamped down a little bit and then eventually
went away and I moved into this business and about
four years in I started hiring people to help me.
So that's sort of the story.

Speaker 2 (03:44):
And we've watched you grow quite a bit over the
last couple of years. You have, so what sets you
apart from your competition, because there's quite a bit out there.

Speaker 3 (03:53):
There is, and there wasn't when I started. When I started,
it was really just me. I met Kenny from three
to Oho one Interactive, and he was doing websites and
SEO and I was doing social and we were sharing
clients and it was great. We still share a lot
of clients. But yeah, there is a lot of competition.
And I will say the biggest difference between me and
my competition is we do what we tell you we're
going to do. If I tell you we're going to

(04:15):
come out and we're going to shoot footage and we're
going to make videos, and we're going to create graphics
and We're going to be your voice. We do that.
There are a lot of companies out there that what
the content that they create for their their clients are
cookie cutter. I mean, you could be a florist, let's say,
and the same a florist down the street has the
same content as you. That's not what we do. We

(04:35):
create our we create, we use our voice to create
your voice, and there is nothing ai about this. This
is human connection and that's really what we work to
be and we do that. There are a lot of
companies that know how the technology works and they know
how to create graphics on Canva. Well they should, that's

(04:55):
their business. But for me, it all goes back to
customer service, and like so many members of the Chamber,
customer service is what's going to win every time. And
so we stand by that.

Speaker 2 (05:06):
And I'm sure storytelling plays a little bit into what
you do, yes.

Speaker 3 (05:10):
Indeed, I mean you can't start a social media campaign
with just buy our product, use our coupon. Sure, that's
about twenty percent of what needs to be put out there,
but otherwise it's about telling stories. We're working with another
Chamber member right now. They're a medical center and there
are great stories there. I can't share them because there's

(05:30):
a lot of stuff we have to take into consideration
when we're creating content about them, but we do tell
those stories of before and after and how people are
getting healthier. We've worked with people in all different industries
and there's always stories to tell, so we work with
our clients to really pull that onto them.

Speaker 2 (05:48):
Absolutely. So, I know because I work with business owners
every day that being an entrepreneur comes with some challenges.
At least that's what they tell me. So what would
you say has been some of your great challenges as
a small business owner?

Speaker 3 (06:02):
I would say I have two number one, and I
think all small business owners have this. If you could
give me more time in the day, that would be great.
I prioritize sleep and that really takes up a chunk
at time, so I could really use more time. I
think one thing that I have learned through the years
is learning to say I don't know. You know, when
you own the business and you're the lead contact to

(06:24):
the client, the client asks you a question and for
years I thought, well I better have the answer they're
looking to me. Sometimes I just don't have the answer.
So it took me a minute to learn to say,
I don't know, but I'll find out.

Speaker 2 (06:36):
Sure. Absolutely so. On the flip side of that, what
has been some of the most satisfying moments of your
time as a business owner so far?

Speaker 3 (06:45):
I think the best moment is when I get a
testimonial from a client, when they go out of their
way to write down and they put it on Facebook
or they just email it to me, or they put
it on my LinkedIn profile and they let me know
they appreciate what we do and they like what we're doing.
There's just nothing like it.

Speaker 2 (07:03):
Absolutely, you know. We love to hear the positive feedback, right,
That's always a good thing. Now, on a totally different topic,
but very relative to what you do, how do you
market your business out there?

Speaker 3 (07:14):
I get social media? I hope so, but you know,
we've even had to adjust that. For a long time,
I sort of had a system of what I was
sharing and how I was sharing it. As you know,
I went through a rebrand earlier this year. Several chamber
members helped me do that, and once we rebranded, the
voice needed to change. Sometimes that happens with brands, and

(07:35):
so we kind of went through what kind of stories
do we want to tell as a social brand, and
so we've really been working on that this year and
changing things up as we go. So we definitely use that.
But you know, I'm fifty one years old, so it's
not all social, it's not all digital. There is a
lot of face to face networking that still matters. So

(07:58):
you know, I'm a member of the Leads Group and
I am a member of the Business Owners Roundtable through
the Chamber, and these have really benefited my business me professionally,
but also my networking and meeting other people, and I've
gotten clients from it and I've been able to hire
people from it.

Speaker 2 (08:13):
Absolutely all right, We've alluded to this a little bit.
But you're a workaholic like I am, So how do
you balance that work and home life so that you're
not working twenty four hours a day, seven days a week.

Speaker 3 (08:26):
I think it's something everybody is challenged with. You know,
my husband is not an entrepreneur. He works for a company,
but he also works from home. And I think when
you work from home, especially in this post COVID world,
you've got to learn how to set those boundaries. And
I always say, no one's going to set this boundary
for you. No one is going to block your calendar.

(08:47):
Make sure you've got time to get the work done,
make sure you can take time off. And I am
absolutely adamant. I am protective of my time. We're taking
a vacation in December out of the country for two
and a half weeks, and I'm taking it. I'm going
to be in an area of the world where I
can't get internet, so we're gonna have to put some
plans someplace. But yeah, you know, I am very protected

(09:11):
of my time, and I'm very respectful of my team's time.
We are all not quite middle aged. Some people are
middle aged on our team, but I'm very respectful of
the fact that we've got family obligations, we have pet obligations,
we've got parents, we've got children, and sometimes life has
to come first, and so we jump in and save
each other when we need to.

Speaker 2 (09:31):
Absolutely I agree. It's tough being a father of two
who's also married to a teacher, and so I have
to balance that time all the time. So I always
like to hear that perspective of how you do it.
All Right, I'm gona throw a curveball at you because
you weren't prepared for this one. And I think you
can handle it. So let's say I have a small
business owner who's not quite ready to take the leap

(09:52):
to hire you all yet. Yeah, but as struggling with
social media, what would be some advice you would throw
their way to to make sure they're doing what they
should be doing until they're ready to take the leap
and hire you.

Speaker 3 (10:04):
This is a great question. I think there's a few
things I would say, so hopefully i'll remember them all
as i'm talking. Number one, get your website in order.
Your website is home based. That's just like having your
brick and mortar. So if you have a brick and mortar,
you still need a website. Start there. Don't start on
Facebook or Instagram or TikTok or anywhere before you've got
that website and you know, you get your keyword set

(10:27):
and you're working toward SEO. That's really really important. The
other thing I would say is we do offer some
packages that are a low budget for solopreneurs or new
businesses starting out. Three hour course, it's less than a
thousand dollars. You can call me, we can schedule it
and we'll teach you how to use either Instagram or
a LinkedIn. You can do it either way, and we

(10:49):
have a package put together for that for that purpose.

Speaker 2 (10:52):
Awesome. I would say that's some pretty solid advice. All right.
I'm on throw a one fun one, atch you real quick?

Speaker 3 (10:57):
Oh boy?

Speaker 2 (10:57):
All right, So, as someone who works with small business
every day, what has been one of your favorite types
of clients to work with and why?

Speaker 3 (11:09):
Okay, so I can get specific, or I can go big.

Speaker 2 (11:12):
You can go whatever you want to do. We got
about two minutes to.

Speaker 3 (11:14):
Do it, okay. So I would say the ones that
we really love working with are people of content every day.
So like the medical Center, they're great. Restaurants are fantastic.
They always have something coming out of the oven, so
there's always fresh content. We love that. But I will say,
as a general rule, people always ask me, what's your
best kind of client? My best kind of client is

(11:36):
the client that knows they need us. The worst kind
of client is when you know, I have a friend
that works there and they're like, I'm so close to
getting my boss to hire you. Your boss does not
want to hire me. They don't see the value in it.
They're not interested, so let's just stay friends and no thanks.
So you know. I would rather have a client who
understands the value of what they don't know how to do,
but they know they need it. And of course a

(11:57):
client who has a budget, because I also tell people
hiring us is great, we'll take your business, but you
need the other pieces in place. You need pr you
need a paid ad campaign, you need a web developer,
SEO manager. So we love working with clients who have
all those people in place and understand the value of
each of us. Then we're all working toward the best

(12:19):
interest of that client together.

Speaker 2 (12:20):
Absolutely. All right, We're going to take a quick break,
so stay with us. We'll be right back with Shane
Chaps with Big Voice Social on Talk Radio ten eighty.

Speaker 4 (12:36):
Does your business need health insurance? The Benefits Firm is
here to help with a Saint Matthew's Chamber insurance plan.
We can help your small business with health insurance. Our
plants to the Saint Matthew's Chamber cover between two and
two and fifty employees. We offer high quality anthem health
insurance with the best statewide and national networks.

Speaker 3 (12:53):
You do not need to wait for your annewal.

Speaker 4 (12:55):
If you're interested, please contact me. Billy Fowler, President of
the Benefits Firm at five zero two four six A
one six nine four or email me at Billy at
the Benefits Firm dot com.

Speaker 1 (13:06):
Thanks for listening to Real News, Real Talk Talk Radio
ten eighty.

Speaker 2 (13:14):
Welcome back to the Chamber Connection on Talk Radio ten eighty.
I'm Josh Souter here with Shane Chaps with Big Voice Socials. So, Shane,
we're gonna talk a little bit now about a couple
of different things, but we're gonna start with how do
you stay on top of the industry trends in your
own industry?

Speaker 3 (13:31):
Well, that's my job. You know, my clients are hiring
us to know that we know what we're doing. You know,
people like to throw around the word algorithm and you know,
winning against the algorithm. Yeah, that's important, But I mean,
come on, let's stop using jargon. There are tips and
tricks that we know and we know they change. You know,
a few years ago, we might put twenty hashtags on

(13:53):
an Instagram post because that's what Instagram was prioritizing.

Speaker 4 (13:56):
You do that.

Speaker 3 (13:57):
Now you're not getting anything that's not benefiting you. So
we follow the people that work at these companies and
they tell us what's going on and We don't expect
our clients to do that, we do it for them.

Speaker 2 (14:08):
That's awesome. So let's shift gears a little bit and
let's talk about your connection in the community. So how
are you all involved in the community and why do
you do that?

Speaker 3 (14:20):
So as a team, we actually have not done anything
as a team for the community, but each of us
have very important things that we are active in. My
passion is the Norton Children's Hospital. My son, who is
now eighteen, got very sick as a nineteen day day
old and was in the picew on a ventilator. They
saved his life, and so that's where I choose to

(14:42):
give my time back. But everybody on my team, Meredith, Melissa,
Lindsay and Candace, everybody has something that is they are
passionate about and we support each other through that.

Speaker 2 (14:53):
That's awesome. And let's talk about your connection to the chamber.
You've been a member now, I mean I've been there
eight years. You're probably at least five or six years in.

Speaker 3 (15:03):
It's definitely pre COVID, I know that absolutely.

Speaker 2 (15:06):
So can you tell me what has the chamber done
for your business?

Speaker 3 (15:09):
Well, so, speaking of COVID, I don't know how I
would have stayed sane through those two years without the Chamber.
My calendar was filled meeting meeting, meeting, meeting, meeting, and
they were all Chamber events. And then one to ones
came out of those and I remember, I'm sure remember
we did. We did Friday coffee Chat. I'd show up
in my pajamas because I don't like to get dressed

(15:30):
on Fridays. And the one time everybody dressed in their
pajamas on Friday, that was really fun. And then I
remember at some point you said we're going to get
together in person COVID's ending, and I was like, I'm out,
I'm doing that, So, you know, but I do think
that that it really did allow for those networking opportunities

(15:51):
through COVID, and those have stock. You know, I'm still
doing what sometimes. I still do one to ones on
Zoom because they're just efficient and easy. But I also
do one to one with a lot of people that
I've met through the Chamber. Even if there's somebody's guest
at an event, they don't have to be a Chamber member.
But the Chamber has brought all of that together. And
the other thing that I really like about what you
all do at the chambers. There's lots of options. You know,

(16:13):
I'm a mom first, and when I was first in
the chamber, I had two kids who can't drive. So
anything after three o'clock, forget it. We've got practice, we've
got theater, we've got things to do, and I'm the chauffeur.
I'm no longer the chauffeur. I've ben eighteen and a
twenty year old, so they're on their own. But you know,
I don't really do the five o fives because I
like to be home and I cooked dinner. I like
the lunches, I like the breakfast. I like the networking meetings,

(16:36):
So there's something for everyone. I guarantee there are people
that come to the evening events I've never met, and
I really appreciate that because there's a lot of flexibility.
There are networking groups out there that are only seven
thirty in the morning that don't work for me. So
I appreciate the flexibility and the lots of options.

Speaker 2 (16:51):
All right, I'm gonna drop down to one of our
backup questions because I'm saving one of these for last.
What's your favorite social media platform?

Speaker 3 (16:58):
You were going to ask this one, and you know what.
I know you hate the answer, but it depends. I
like to lurk on TikTok. I very rarely post anything
on TikTok, but you know, there's a lot of tailor
swift content on there, and there's a lot of dog content.
I'm very into sorority Rush. So I really enjoy lurking
on TikTok. And as soon as politics starts showing up,

(17:20):
I just close TikTok. That's not why I'm there. I
really enjoy for our clients. I really enjoy what we're
doing on Instagram. And Candice is on my team. She
has really perfected the art of creating reels. She goes
out and shoots them with her camera and her equipment,
and then the content that she's creating is I mean,

(17:41):
it's fantastic. Lindsay then is able to repurpose that content
and put it on Facebook and LinkedIn for these clients,
and so we're getting a lot of variety in the
communities online. But the Instagram content is kind of where
we start for a lot of these clients, and I
really like it. But I'm not going to discount Lincoln.
I really joy being on LinkedIn. I have been connected

(18:02):
with a lot of these people for a long time.
There's great guidance and advice, and there's great networking on there.
So I think it kind of depends on the day,
of the time and the reason.

Speaker 2 (18:13):
And it's always fun for me when I bring somebody
in and have this discussion and their answers are all different.

Speaker 3 (18:19):
Oh really, Oh yeah, that's funny.

Speaker 2 (18:20):
Some social media people are like TikTok Instagram, Some are like,
I love them all, and then some are like, Eh,
can't say Facebook because it's for an older crowd and
we're not trying to reach that audience. So everybody's different.

Speaker 3 (18:32):
I think it depends. And you know, I used to
love Twitter. Twitter. I used to spend five or six
hours a day.

Speaker 2 (18:37):
I remember that was that.

Speaker 3 (18:39):
I mean I was popping in and out of client
voices all day long. I loved it. And then there
was a change, and now I don't necessarily trust who
I'm talking to on Twitter. How do I know you're
really Taylor Swift? You're probably not, so, you know, I
that kind of went by the wayside.

Speaker 2 (18:56):
Totally fair. All right, let's talk about books, because I'm
a big read I spent a lot of time reading books.
What is a good professional development book you've read lately?

Speaker 3 (19:06):
Okay, So I'm going to be honest. I don't read
a ton of professional development. My brother, who's a child psychologist,
will tell you I probably have a reading comprehension. He
tells me, I do. He's diagnosed me anyway. But I
do a lot of listening. So I will tell you
I did read a book recently called on Brand by
Alisa Licht. I actually follow her on Instagram and she's

(19:26):
got great marketing advice and it's all about branding. And
so I did read that book and I actually took
notes in the margin. My high school teachers would be
so proud. But I do a lot of listening to
podcasts and that kind of consumes my day when i'm
in the car. One that I kind of tune into
regularly when a new guest drops is called Deer found Her.
My friend Lindsay Pinchuk out of Chicago. She hosts this

(19:49):
podcast and she has on great female founders and I
just love to hear their stories. Some of them are
small entrepreneurs, but she's even had like Bobby Brown on there.
So it's a great one. The other podcast, it is
not business related, but is inspirational to me as a woman.
It's called Wiser than Me, and it's Julia Louis Dreyfus.
I'm a big Seinfeld fan. But she has on great

(20:09):
guests like she's had on Isabella Ende and Jane Fonda
and just she interviews women who are older than she is,
and she's about ten years older than I am. So
I find that it's just really inspirational about what women
have done and what women say at their age. It's fantastic.

Speaker 2 (20:25):
I love it all. Right, here we go, this one.
You're going to buy into here. So what advice would
you give someone who's looking to start a business, any business,
any business?

Speaker 3 (20:37):
Well, I think the best advice I can give is
get good advice. Put your advisors in place. Make sure
that you've got a small business attorney or also a
small business accountant. We have both of those in our
leads group. I use both of them. Getting good advice
from people who know what you don't know is the
best thing. Don't start a business and think I'll just

(20:59):
figure out out some things. You'll figure out. I figured
out social media. I'm not going to figure out accounting.
It's not going to happen. So, you know, having those
people who know their business really well and giving you
good advice, and then of course have a mentor, someone
who has already been there and done it. I had
several mentors that kind of ground me. I also have

(21:20):
a therapist, which I also recommend. So I do think
that it's most important to go back to what we
talked about in the beginning, understanding that it's okay to
say I don't know and know who you can ask
as a resource.

Speaker 2 (21:35):
All right, you've inspired a question out of me. So
who out there inspires you as a business owner.

Speaker 3 (21:41):
Well, I always have to go back to my dad,
Like I said, you know, my dad, he started a business,
like I said, was countertop manufacturing. When he bought it.
It was five guys in a garage. When he retired,
which I can't remember how many years ago, it was
maybe ten, maybe twelve when he retired to get over
one hundred employees. The company's still in business. He sold
the business, so he really was my inspiration for how

(22:03):
to do this.

Speaker 2 (22:04):
Wow, that's awesome. All right, I'm going to look to
my paper here. I'm going to take some different approaches.
So let's talk about partnerships and collaborations. Because you've referenced
the chamber and a couple of your partners out there.
How important is it to have people that you collaborate
with or partner with in your industry?

Speaker 3 (22:23):
For me, it's my favorite part of what we do
because so my first job out of college, I lived
in Chicago. I worked for a company that managed trade
associations and like professional societies, and I was in the
convention department, So I would plan these conventions, but there
was an administrative department, there was a marketing department, and
there were four or five other departments. And for each client,

(22:47):
for each trade association, I had a different team of people.
So I'd go to a ten o'clock meeting with this team,
and then I'd go to an eleven o'clock meeting with
this team, and we talk about the same things about
their conventions, but all different people, all different objectives, and
so I really love that. And so being on a
client team with lots of other vendors, all working toward

(23:08):
the good of that client really is my favorite thing.

Speaker 2 (23:13):
So awesome, All right, what do you do to recharge yourself?

Speaker 3 (23:20):
Well, you know that I am a peloton abbot, I.

Speaker 2 (23:24):
Wanted to get it out there.

Speaker 3 (23:26):
I will stop anything to take a live class with
Olivia A. Moatto. She's my favorite instructor, but I also
have a lot of instructors I like, and so sometimes
I'm on the bike, sometimes I'm on the tread, sometimes
lifting weight. Sometimes I don't actually have time to get
a workout in, but I will do a five minute meditation.
I'm obsessed with getting my blue dot on my Peloton
calendar every day, so I do do that. But also,

(23:48):
like I said, I protect my me time and so
shut it down at night. I watch very stupid TV
at night the only way I can fall asleep. And
we take vacations and we take breaks.

Speaker 2 (23:59):
Perfect right. One final question, what are your future plans
for Big Voice Social?

Speaker 3 (24:05):
Keep growing and keep going. You know, I don't ever
see me sort of scaling it to a big business.
I like being a small business. I like having an
office off my kitchen. I like being on a conference
call and able to do the laundry and get dinner
preped I like that, and so I don't think that
we would ever scale really really big. But we can
keep on taking clients and if my team doesn't have

(24:27):
the bandwidth. To do that, I'll hire more people. So,
you know, I think that's that's the plan, is to
keep going and keep growing.

Speaker 2 (24:35):
Love it. You know, the thing I love most about you,
Shane is that I can call you at any time
and we can banter and we can carry on back
and forth. And so when the opportunity came to do
this interview today, I was like mine, Nobody else on
the staff gets it. So I'm really glad you were
here today and I appreciate your time. So with that,
I do want to thank Shane for her time today. Again,

(24:56):
if you're looking for somebody to help you with your
social media, give her a call. And if you're interested
in learning more about the Chamber of Saint Matthews, check
us out on our website Saint Matthews Chamber dot com,
or you can find us on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.
See Shane. We even do the social thing.

Speaker 3 (25:11):
Hell diversify and make sure you join us next.

Speaker 2 (25:13):
Week when we will hear from Eric Poehler with Precision
Home Inspection and Shelley Gardner with Keller Williams Louisville East.
Until then, thanks for joining us on Talk Radio ten
eighty The chamber connection