Life & Work with Sarah Maxey of Downtown Denver

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Maxey.

Sarah, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Hi! I’m Sarah, a 23-year-old Denver model and entrepreneur. I recently moved to Denver after being in NOCO for the majority of my life! I have been modeling since I was about 17 and signed with my first agency at 18. Other than modeling, I went to school at the University of Northern Colorado and graduated with a degree in Elementary Education. I worked full-time during college thanks to online classes from Covid which ended up leading me to my dream career. While working full-time I was presented with opportunities to explore social media management and content creation, which has always been an interest of mine. I’ve been making content since I was 7 when I asked for a digital camera for Christmas. I’ve always loved being in front and behind the camera and just being creative. I had no idea that I could make a career out of that passion. After I graduated, I knew that I wanted to follow that career path and put my degree in education on the back burner for now.

I started my own business, Slate Social Management, at the beginning of 2022. I help local & national businesses grow their business through creating strategic content and building a community around their brand online. I’ve been able to help handfuls of businesses achieve their goals through my passion for social media and content creation and it’s been the most rewarding journey yet.

Being a business owner is tough, especially at a young age where you have to pave your way and learn from your experiences and mistakes. I never gave myself an option to give up because I knew that this was my passion and I was going to make this my career no matter what. I’ve always loved the idea that you can not fail if you do not give up – which is 100% true.

After recently moving to downtown Denver at the beginning of this year, I signed with a new modeling agency and started working with more local businesses in Denver. I have been loving all the opportunities that Denver has to offer and can’t wait to see how my time here plays out!

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I’d be lying if I said it was an easy, smooth road to where I am now. The saying “Anything worth having is worth working for”, is 100% true. Owning a business is not easy, especially at a young age. Without even touching on any doubt from external sources/other people, my biggest battle was against myself and my own self doubt. Venturing down a career path that was never your initial plan is scary. I didn’t go to college for digital marketing or even anything marketing/business related. So starting my own social media marketing business was definitely a leap of faith. The first year of owning a business is tiring to say the least. There is so much that you have to overcome and so many lessons you are forced to learn. I am grateful for every single one of those lessons and bumps in the road (even though I wasn’t very grateful for them at the time). But now anytime I take a step back and look at where I started and where I am today, I am so proud of myself for facing every fear and taking those steps in the dark even when I didn’t know what the outcome would look like.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a signed model and a business owner. I model for Wolves Management here in Denver and I own a social media management/content creation business called Slate Social Management. Besides modeling, I work full time running my business. Slate is all about growing businesses through strategic, quality content and creating social media presences for brands. I have helped many local and national businesses grow online and offline through having a strong social media presence. I capture content companies can use for their socials, websites, etc. I believe that my background in modeling has a hand in my talent for capturing content. I have spent years in front of the camera, so I understand how to pose subjects and how certain things will be translated into the camera to get the best shot. My passion for social media & marketing goes way back to my childhood. Because of this, my career is not a traditional “job” to me. It is something I look forward to and love doing every day and I think that makes all the difference in the quality of my work & the way I show up.

We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
Social media doesn’t always show who a person truly is, so one thing that I try to prioritize, especially because my whole business revolves around social media, is to really embrace my true, authentic self and show my silliness and realness through my brand. I think that there is a balance between being “professional” and being “real”. And in that balance, your audience can see your value as a business but also relate to you and feel connected to you as a person. We are all human and have those fun, silly sides that most accounts are scared to show because it doesn’t fit in that “perfect”/cookie-cutter expectation.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.instagram.com/slatesocialmgmt/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahemaxey/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahmaxey-slatesocial/

Image Credits
floriiphoto (https://www.instagram.com/floriiphoto/)