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Meet Kayla Fujinaka of Maplewild Marketing & Consulting in Colorado Springs

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Kayla Fujinaka.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Kayla. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Two things that speak to my heart are great communication and a good cup of coffee. My love for both are deeply rooted in the Pacific Northwest, where I grew up. And yes! Since I know you’re going to ask – I was a barista. It’s a rite of passage when you grow up in the greater Seattle area. At the time, my father was a small business owner. From a young age, I have had a deep appreciation for the hard work entrepreneurs are up against. One of my earliest jobs was going in to answer the phones for his company.

Since my husband is in the military, we travel often. As in – if you average out our moves, we “travel” about once a year. We currently live in beautiful Colorado Springs! My formal training and love for people guided me into freelance work while we lived in Upstate, NY, where I taught countless seminars and worked closely with hundreds of small businesses to improve their online presence.

These experiences and the friendships created along the way have only served to grow my passion for small business support and marketing! I knew after working as a freelance marketing specialist for over four years, and working in and around marketing for six, that I wanted to start my own company. I was tired of the endless job search and the tedious nature of the 9-5. As a military wife, I needed something I could bring with me wherever I went, and it led me here. In January of 2019, my husband gave me the push I needed to start this company. He knew exactly what I needed and when.

I’m so thankful for the opportunity to serve others. To work hand in hand with their business. To aid in their daily struggle. To be a sounding board. To offer tough love and advice. I don’t take that trust lightly. This job, this community – means the world to me. A few of my favorite things include coffee, hiking in the mountains, a good rainstorm, digging my toes into sand, the smell of salt air, exploring new places and things, the early morning breeze in the summer, my sweet cocker spaniel/poodle mix: Toby and spending as much time as possible with my incredibly supportive husband.

Great, 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?
I originally thought I would have another year to plan for my business launch. Little did I know that the Army had other plans and moved us a whole year ahead of schedule. I kind of panicked about it, but my husband encouraged me to just go for it.

I stepped into the business in January of last year with six clients, and while that was an amazing problem to have, it was VERY difficult to juggle managing all of my clients in addition to trying to get all of my systems in place. I didn’t have a completed website, I didn’t really know or understand my pricing, and the admin piece of things was definitely something new to contend with.

I’m now in what I like to call “the awkward teenage phase”, where I’m all arms and legs, and now that I know myself better, I’m wondering when is the right time to hire someone else, how big do I really want to get, and other questions that are all growing pains as an entrepreneur.

For any new entrepreneurs out there, I’d love to tell them that it gets easier, but that wouldn’t exactly be the truth. You develop systems that help smooth out those wrinkles, but sometimes by implementing that system, another wrinkle develops. Let’s just say you learn to get really good at ironing, and to invest not only in a quality iron/ironing board but also patience.

Please tell us about Maplewild Marketing & Consulting.
I am most proud of setting people up for success from the very beginning. My emphasis is showing entrepreneurs that marketing can be simple, feel natural and be incredibly effective for their business. I like to start by offering an online presence audit. It’s an all-encompassing view of everywhere they can be seen online. Acting like a client, I look for them everywhere I can online: Google Business, Website, Directory Listings, Social Media, etc. I literally create a roadmap for my clients to follow so they can represent a clean, branded, and consistent look across every channel that they’re on. From there, we can really have a firm foundation to build on for advertising, content creation, and more.

I am incredibly passionate about educating business owners on marketing. I prefer to do a lot of “social listening” in my business so I can talk to my followers and clients about things that really matter or are very difficult for them. We often discuss the finer points of their business – like “how many times should you post on your google business account?” “why reviews are so important”, “why local SEO matters” – and usually the comments I get back are things like: “wow. you are the first person to explain that to me in a way that actually makes sense.”

I specialize in strategy, audits (online presence, and social media), websites, logos and branding and ad campaigns on social media. One of the things I’m known for the most is practical marketing tips people can accomplish on their own. They know that I’m not online to sell to them but to HELP them. To actually be that sounding board of advice and that I genuinely care about them as human beings first, and their business second.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
When I launched my website. Hands down! That was such a labor of love. Every fiber of who I am and what I offer is on that site. I paired with Melissa from Jelly Design Studios (website), Autumn and Iris Photography (images) and Dominique Davis of Chalk Artistry and Design (graphics). Those ladies really helped my vision come to life. I was so excited to show people what I had been working on, and the feedback I’ve received has been amazing!

Pricing:

  • Online Presence Audit $500
  • Platform Optimization (Google, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube) Starts at $170 per platform
  • Marketing Support Calls Starts at $175
  • Logo Design Starts at $150

Contact Info:


Image Credit:
Moments by Kati
Autumn and Iris Photography
Kayla Fujinaka (me)

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