Today we’d like to introduce you to Maddie Smith.
Hi Maddie, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My story as an entrepreneur starts in March 2020, when I was sent home from college during Spring Break during my senior year – never to return to campus due to covid. I moved in with my parents that March, but after about 6 months I got my place in downtown DC.
In November 2020, the same week I moved in, I also started a food Instagram account – @dmvfoodfinds. Intended to be a covid hobby to show my friends fun places to go during the pandemic (outdoor venues, take-out options, etc), the page started taking off. After about a year, I had grown it to 6,000+ followers and gained enough interest from local businesses for me to provide social media management services that I was able to leave my full-time job at a commercial real estate group and start my social media agency – Optionality DC.
For the past year and a half, I’ve been my own boss, taking on social media management clients throughout the DMV area (mainly DC and Annapolis) and helping brands with content creation. Simultaneously, I’ve grown my @dmvfoodfinds Instagram page exponentially – from hitting 10K followers in January 2022 to 50K followers in November 2022, and now at 90K+ followers in June 2023.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The biggest struggle with leaving the corporate world is ensuring that I always have enough of a safety net to fall back on. I have no salary, benefits, PTO, or 401k to rely on, meaning my income ebbs and flows and is entirely dependent on the opportunities I am creating for myself.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Optionality DC?
Optionality DC is a digital consulting agency designed to elevate your company’s digital presence.
Headquartered in Washington, DC, the agency capitalizes on local market intelligence to represent clients based in the Mid-Atlantic region. Traditionally, my clients are companies who play key roles in shaping the urban landscape, including members of the restaurant, real estate, and retail industries. Most of my work is focused on Instagram, the social media platform that has evolved into a very significant marketing tool for businesses.
Whether you’re an established brand working to refresh your digital presence or a new company looking to build roots from the ground up, Optionality DC is prepared to bring extensive experience and professionalism to every client and customizes our support to individual needs and concerns.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you.
The presence of the “Instagram algorithm” consistently has a role in contributing to “good” or “bad” luck in the lives of content creators.
Many times the algorithm is blamed when Instagram posts flop, or attributed when a post “pops off” or receives abnormally high engagement. The algorithm can be both a blessing and a curse to creators, and it is constantly playing a role in the performance of posts for both my brand @dmvfoodfinds and my client’s pages.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.optionalitydc.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dmvfoodfinds/
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/optionalitydc/
