EP #42 Building a Brand That Feels Like Family

The entrepreneurial spirit runs deep in Anne Flythe's veins. As the daughter of two Fredericksburg small business owners, she witnessed firsthand the challenges of building and maintaining a local brand. Now, as the founder of Elevate Creative, Anne is transforming how small businesses approach their digital presence—with authenticity, accessibility, and genuine care.

Fresh from graduating magna cum laude with a marketing degree from Christopher Newport University, Anne brings both academic knowledge and practical insight to her work. Her approach is refreshingly straightforward: social media success isn't about going viral or posting constantly. Instead, she advocates for consistency, clarity, and thoughtful strategy. "You don't need a massive budget," Anne explains, "you need a strong brand, the right message, and perhaps a little bit of strategy behind it."

What makes Elevate Creative stand out is Anne's deeply personal approach. Having grown up watching her parents manage their businesses—her mother's Native American jewelry enterprise and her father's Virginia-style barbecue sauce company—she understands the unique pressures facing small business owners. This perspective shapes her client relationships: "When you work with me, it's like I'm working with family," she shares. Through services including social media management, branding, campaign creation, and website design, Anne helps business owners feel proud of their brand while alleviating the overwhelm that often comes with digital marketing.

Anne's journey hasn't been without challenges. Launching a business straight out of college meant pushing back against expectations to follow traditional career paths. But she's found that building something meaningful in a community she cares about has been profoundly rewarding. Her advice to aspiring entrepreneurs? "You don't have to have everything figured out to start." Sometimes, the perfect time is simply now.

Ready to refresh your brand's digital presence or just need some quick marketing tips? Connect with Anne through her website at elevatecreativeva.com or follow her on Instagram or TikTok @elevatecreativeva to see how she's helping local businesses thrive online.

Anne Flythe

Elevate Creative

elevatecreativeva.com

[e-mail]

[phone]

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast
, the place where localbusinesses and neighbors come
together.
Here's your host, Dori Stewart.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Welcome back to another episode of the
Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast, where we share the stories of
our favorite local brands.
Today I'm excited to introduceyou to a fantastic neighbor.
Anne Fleth of Elevate Creativeis here with us, Anne, welcome
to the podcast, Hi thank you somuch for having me.

Speaker 3 (00:32):
I appreciate it.

Speaker 2 (00:33):
Yeah well, I'm excited to dive in and learn all
about you and your business.
So let's start there.
Share with us a little bitabout Elevate Creative.

Speaker 3 (00:42):
So, as you all know, I have a marketing and design
agency, elevate Creative, andit's where I help small
businesses kind of establish andmaintain a very clean and
confident online presence.
My services include socialmedia management, branding,
campaign creation and websitedesign, and I kind of just work

(01:04):
one-on-one with business ownersand kind of create designs and
visuals that match what theirpassions are and who they are as
a person.

Speaker 2 (01:12):
Amazing, what a great service.
So tell us, how did you getinto this?
Tell us your backstory.

Speaker 3 (01:18):
Okay, so I am the daughter of two local small
business owners.
My mom owns a Native Americanjewelry business, Abby Can Fly
Fine Art.
She has a booth in the Antiqueand Clock Shop in downtown
Fredericksburg, and my fatherowns Uncle June's Virginia Style
Barbecue Sauce, which you canfind at the Made in Virginia
store and the Butcher and justlots of places around here.

(01:41):
So after kind of watching themmanage a small business, I
started Elevate Creative becauseI noticed that a lot of
business owners in the area werespending so much time and often
too much money just trying tofigure out how to manage their
online presence and their socialmedia without having personal

(02:01):
or meaningful guidance.
And that's kind of where I camein.
I wanted to be somebody who theycould trust to lead their brand
and support.
That actually made sense forsomebody with a small business.
So I've done projects for avariety of different industries
like fine art, counseling, thefood and beverage industry,
nonprofits and so so much more,and I also just graduated this

(02:24):
past May magna cum laude fromChristopher Newport University
and I majored in marketing andminored in leadership studies.
So that kind of gives me a wayto merge what I love with what
I'm kind of able to produce andwhat to do.

Speaker 2 (02:38):
Amazing Well congratulations.
First of all, that's amazing,graduating and starting a
business.
That's so exciting, so happyfor you.
So, as you're entering intothis industry, are you finding
that there are any myths ormisconceptions?

Speaker 3 (02:56):
I would say that one of the biggest myths that I've
heard so far is that socialmedia is kind of strictly about
going viral or constantly havingto be on your phone or just be
online.
I think it's more about beingconsistent and clear, and just
showing up for your audience isthe biggest way that you could

(03:16):
build trust.
So you don't need a massivebudget, you don't need to post
every single day, you don't needto be glued to your phone.
I just think that you need astrong brand, the right message
and perhaps a little bit ofstrategy behind it, and you'll
be great out there.

Speaker 2 (03:31):
Amazing.
That's great advice.
You don't need to go viral,especially if you're a local
business, because those peopleare not necessarily the people
that are meant to connect withyou and will be your customers.
So that's really good advice,thank you.
So tell me clearly you'reworking hard building your
business.

(03:51):
When you're not busy, what areyou doing for fun?

Speaker 3 (03:55):
So I'm really romanticizing my time back here
in Fredericksburg after college.
I love going on walks downtownbut who doesn't?
I love to visit art museums andI'm a big thrifter and antique,
so I love to go to all thoselocal spots.
And I'm also a total foodie, soI'm always trying new

(04:17):
restaurants in the area andgoing to the farmer's market on
weekends.
That's where you can meet a lotof good people and just connect
and enjoy.

Speaker 2 (04:24):
It's great I love that you said that you are
romanticizing your time infredericksburg.
I love that.
It's so fun.
So tell me, when you startedyour business, I imagine you got
plenty of advice from yourparents.
You're a family ofentrepreneurs.
What is some advice that theygave you or that you would give

(04:49):
someone who is thinking aboutstarting their own business?

Speaker 3 (04:54):
So this is advice that I didn't initially take,
but it's something that I justwish I could spread out.
There is that you don't have tohave everything figured out to
start.
Oftentimes, when you have abusiness in mind, you're kind of
all over the place wearing allthe different hats, so you could
just kind of have to stopwaiting for the right time and
just kind of go for what you'vebeen dreaming about and, you

(05:16):
know, also surrounding yourselfwith people that believe in you
and that support you can makeeven your most outlandish
business ideas or dreamspossible.
So just having that networkthere that supports you and just
starting when you can, it's thebest advice I could give.

Speaker 2 (05:33):
The perfect time is now right.
Yes, exactly.
There's no time like thepresent.
Exactly, and you'll figure itout along the way, yep.
So what is a challenge or ahardship that you have faced
that you now feel like, now thatyou're on the other side of it,
you're better off for it?

Speaker 3 (05:53):
Well, I'm kind of in the midst of a challenge, but
I'm getting over to the otherside.
I mean graduating college andstarting a business at the same
time, as you said, is definitelyquite the challenge.
I mean especially with mygeneration and the job market
right now there's a lot ofpressure to kind of fit into
those traditional career pathslike the traditional nine to

(06:14):
five corporate job, because youknow, everybody wants to make
money.
But I think that buildingsomething of my own in a
community that I know well andthat I care about, I think it's
kind of pushed me beyond what ifI had taken a corporate role.
It pushes me beyond what Iwould have done there.
So it's kind of given me theresilience to keep showing up

(06:46):
and, even when things areuncertain, just being a friendly
face and making meaningfulconnections and just be there
for people.
So that's something that I'vekind of overcome.
I've overcome the judgment fromthat.
Oftentimes when you tellsomebody I started my own
business, you get a mix ofdifferent reactions.
But being confident and justcontinuing to show up is
something that I've done toovercome that and just
continuing to show up issomething that I've done to
overcome that, and it's beengreat ever since.

Speaker 2 (07:06):
Yes, what a great message.
Just keep showing up.
I love it, I love it.
So what is something that youwish the listeners knew about
your business?

Speaker 3 (07:16):
So I think oftentimes it's kind of hard with
marketing agencies, like I feellike.
Feel like the overall vibearound it is that you're selling
services that people don'tnecessarily want or need or
you're asking too much money forsomething, and that's kind of
why I'm here is that I'm nothere to sell people services
that they don't need.

(07:37):
I really want to help businessowners feel proud of their brand
and less overwhelmed about allthe other things that they have
to worry about on the digitalside of things.
So you know, regardless of whathappens between one of my
interactions with the client, Ijust want to be able to give a
few tips or perhaps just cheersomebody on.
I just want somebody to feellike they have somebody in their

(07:58):
corner that's able to help themout without it feeling too much
like a business transactioncorner, that's able to help them
out without it feeling too muchlike a business transaction.
That's where I come in andthat's where my strengths are is
creating those meaningfulconnections and making it
personal.
I often say that when you workwith me, it's like I'm working
with family, because I have twosmall business owner parents and
I know how hard it is.
So when you're working with me.

(08:20):
I put my all into it, like I'mworking for my family.

Speaker 2 (08:24):
That's a great message.
Thank you for sharing that.
Relationships are everything.
Yes, for sure, awesome.
Well, thank you so much forjoining me, anne, on the podcast
today and sharing ElevateCreative with us.
If the listeners are interestedin connecting with you and
learning more about you, wherecan they find you are interested
?

Speaker 3 (08:44):
in connecting with you and learning more about you.
Where can they find you?
So you can check out my workand contact me.
See my services by reachingthrough my website,
elevatecreativeva.
com, or you can follow along onInstagram or TikTok at
elevatecreativeva.
So whether you need a fullbrand refresh or just want a few
quick tips to kind ofstrengthen your online presence,

(09:04):
I would love to connect withany of you.
I really appreciate it.

Speaker 2 (09:08):
Amazing and thank you so much for joining me, of
course, thank you.

Speaker 1 (09:13):
Thank you for listening to the Fredericksburg
Neighbors Podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, go tofxbgneighborspodcast.
com.
That's fxbgneighborspodcast.
com, or call 540-534-4618.