Today we’d like to introduce you to Shawn Sundsvold.
Hi Shawn, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
GoldBear Media was actually started by my wife, Kelly, in 2020 to help begin to pay back medical bills that had stacked up in 2019. See, in January of 2019, I was admitted into the hospital for an abscess in my spine that left me paralyzed from the waist down for over 12 hours. The staph infection was systemic, and they weren’t even sure if I would survive, much less walk again. 2019 was a year spent relearning to do some of the most basic things, like walking, exercising, rebuilding strength, having a hip surgery, and more.
Fast forward to January of 2020, I was cleared to go back to work, and Kelly started picking up some freelance graphic design work. Then, covid came and the phone kept ringing. So many people needed help digitally. So, for the next two years, we kept the business growing while we were both working other jobs. Kelly went full-time for GoldBear Media in August of 2022.
I joined GoldBear Media full-time in October of 2022. With a background in sales and operations, it really created a fantastic opportunity for Kelly and I to work together and grow a business using our specific background and skills. Three years later, in 2025 we’ve grown our small two-person marketing agency to 5 staff members and we work with amazing clients in Baltimore, Pennsylvania, Austin, Texas, and more.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
There absolutely were challenges! There are always challenges. What individual or growing business doesn’t have them?
Has the road to a successful business been easy? No. Has it been a rewarding journey I’d do again in a heartbeat? Absolutely!
When Kelly left her job and started full-time with GoldBear in August of 2022, we had planned for me to join in 2-3 years while she continued to build the business. However, I was laid off in September of 2022, and after a month splitting my time between helping Kelly get the business organized further and applying for jobs, we came to the decision that we would both put our heart and souls into growing GoldBear Media.
Our first major challenge was getting GoldBear to where it supported our family completely. That took 9 months and a lot of early mornings, late nights, and a constant bank account that barely hovered above zero. Each month we took steps forward and it got better.
The next challenge was building better communication between Kelly and I. While we had been married for almost 20 years and had really good communication skills, learning to communicate and separate the business topics from the personal topics also took us some time.
We’ve also faced the challenges of hiring people who weren’t the right fit for the business. We’ve gone through seasons of not signing clients and then having more work than we can handle.
Often times, the biggest challenge comes from battling my own thoughts and expectations, and not comparing myself to others.
All of this has taught me that challenges are just things I don’t have an answer for yet. I do have to admit that since surgery, I look at challenges a bit differently than most. I’m actually thankful for challenges because it means I get to figure them out and face them. I get to solve that issue. There will ALWAYS be struggles and challenges you face both personally and professionally.
We’ve been impressed with GoldBear Media, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Our organization focuses on the 4 core elements of “owned media,” specifically Social Media content and engagement, Web design, email marketing, and SEO. While we have clients that work with us in all 4 areas, we are most well known for our social media work. We’re unique in that our focus is on engagement first. Our social media work focuses on connecting to your community through engaging content and creating two-way conversations through social media platforms that grow your following and generate real conversations and interest.
Our social media services are a complete done-for-you program that simply requires an hour a week (or less!) of your time vs the 4-6 hours per week that most small business owners spend. When we combine this with other services we offer, we’re often saving small business leaders 20-24 hours per month. That’s significant time to put back into working on the vision and goals of a business instead of being trapped in the day-to-day elements.
Our organic first focus is all about setting businesses and brands up for long term success through content strategies that create real connections and consistent growth. We’ve even had a few things go viral, including a recent client reel that hit 500,000 views on TikTok in just 24 hours. Along with the massive number of views, they got over 50,000 likes, 2000 new followers, and 4 orders. All from 1 reel. Results will vary from client to client, but we’ve got quite a few stories of changing businesses through our strategies. We’re firm believers that organic marketing is still the best thing you can do for your business.
We’re also unique in that between Kelly’s past experience and mine, we’re able to look at all the all the layers of a business to help it grow vs simply being focused on marketing. We get how all the parts of sales, marketing, and delivery work together to make things happen. Not everyone can bring that to the conversation.
What matters most to you? Why?
Since surgery, it’s really been about making the most of every day. Whether it’s extra time with my wife or kids, or doing bucket list items I thought I might never be able to do. It’s really about making the most of every moment. One of those things for me was going skydiving. I’d had it on my bucket list since I was 21, and after surgery, the thought of not being able to do it really bothered me. So two and a half years after surgery, skydiving made the list of activities! One of my daughters even came with me!
I guess the other piece of what matters is helping others see that their goals can be reached, whatever they are.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.goldbear.media/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goldbear.media/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/goldbear.media
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/goldbear-media/posts/?feedView=all
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@GoldBearMedia
