The Molo Group

Transcript:

Narrator
Welcome to The Best of LKN, a podcast featuring the best small businesses and the most influential professionals around Lake Norman, North Carolina. Each week, we spotlight those businesses and individuals that are making a positive impact here in the Lake Norman area. Thanks for joining us, enjoy the show.

Jeff
Welcome back to The Best of LKN. This is Lake Norman’s number one small business podcast where we work each and every day to elevate the Lake Norman small business community and introduce you to the best and brightest small business owners, entrepreneurs, freelancers, and leaders of local nonprofit organizations. This episode is brought to you by Sodoma Law North and Blumengärten Florist. In this episode, we’re talking all things design, branding, and digital marketing with the team at The Molo Group, a web design and digital marketing agency based right here in the Lake Norman area, I want to first give a shout out to our sponsors who make the work we do here at The Best of LKN possible. We appreciate the support of our sponsors and brand partners more than I can possibly say, I encourage you to get to know these exceptional local companies and small businesses by going to our homepage at thebestoflkn.com. There you’ll find a list of all of our platform sponsors with links to follow to learn more about their businesses. While you’re on our homepage, go ahead and sign up for our weekly email newsletter. It’s packed with links to all of our latest podcast episodes, blog articles, and coming soon our newest YouTube videos. We’re also including local upcoming events that we think might interest you. So, hop on over to thebestoflkn.com after you listen to this episode and sign up for our weekly email newsletter. It’s free, easy to sign up, and a great way to show some support for The Best of LKN platform.

Jeff
Now about this episode, Katelyn Stromolo and Kelley Tovias sit down with me to share the design and marketing philosophies that are the driving forces behind their company, the Molo Group. Regular listeners of this podcast will recognize several of the names we bring up during our conversation. Names like Simon Sinek, Seth Godin, and Jenna Kutcher. Katelyn and Kelley share the story of the Molo Group as well as some advice for founders to consider when developing their brand strategies. This advice revolves around one question and one word, ‘why’. It’s a very introspective and insightful Episode 107 of Lake Norman’s number one small business podcast. Enjoy getting to know Katelyn Stromolo and Kelley Tovias with the Molo Group.

Jeff
Joining me is Katelyn Stromolo, the CEO and Managing Director at the Molo Group, a design agency based here in the Lake Norman area. Katelyn, welcome to the podcast.

Katelyn
Thanks for having us.

Jeff
Great to have you. Great to be with you in person. I’m glad that you were able to join me here in Davidson to record this. Also joining us is Kelley Tovias, the Digital Marketing Director at the Molo Group. Kelley, welcome to the podcast.

Kelley
Hi, thank you for having us. Excited to be here.

Jeff
Katelyn, did I pronounce your last name right? I, and we went over before I hit record to. It’s Stromolo. Stromolo, I’m sorry, there we go. Gosh, third time’s a charm. Katelyn, listeners of this podcast know that I just love to talk all things marketing and design and, you know, digital, anything in the digital space. So, I’m really looking forward to this conversation and sharing what the team at the Molo Group, the work that you do for your clients. But before we get into the nuts and bolts of what the Molo Group does, share with the listeners a little bit of your background, a little bio on yourself, career education, and what inspired starting your own agency?

Katelyn
Absolutely. So, I grew up between New Orleans and Houston, and studied graphic design and marketing at Sam Houston. After college, I moved out to Wilmington, where I had my first graphic design job and met my husband who was in the Marine Corps. And from there, we moved out to California, and I studied under this amazing user experience designer and was just wrapped around that world. Not really knowing anything about it before then and really fell in love with just the play between strategy and design. Then I ended up studying at Cornell for user experience and decided I really wanted to take it on my own. So, yeah, so I decided to start The Molo Group as really a decision that being a military spouse and the challenges of moving every two to three years. So, after my husband got out of the Marine Corps, we decided to settle out here in Cornelius and it’s just been growing. And it’s been wonderful, and we love it.

Jeff
How long ago did you form The Molo Group? What year was that?

Katelyn
We started it in 2016.

Jeff
2016. So, going on six years, I wasn’t a math major. It took me a second to do the math. Yeah. That’s awesome. Really cool. And you didn’t start it here in the Lake Norman area. You started it

Katelyn
I started it in California.

Jeff
Okay. Excellent. Not the first guest I’ve had from California. And welcome back to North Carolina. And how long, when did you guys move here?

Katelyn
We moved here about two and a half years ago.

Jeff
Okay. The Molo Group is pretty unique in the digital agency space, compared to some of the other companies that I’ve talked to. And that is that your focus is really in the design space. And we’re going to get some more into that. But we talked a little bit before I hit record, and I wanted to make sure that I definitely described the agency correctly. So UX/UI is something that really hits home right now. Because thebestoflkn.com, we’re going through a process of redesigning our online digital platform. And something that I can relate to the challenges of that process and how much I could probably really use the expertise of someone who does it for a living. So, looking forward to talking some more about that. Kelley, share with the listeners a little bit of your background, little bio on you.

Kelley
Yeah, absolutely. So, I actually grew up in Denver, North Carolina, which is often confused with Denver, Colorado. I know when I mentioned Denver, and people get really excited. They think I’m talking about Colorado, but I grew up in Denver, North Carolina, which was a very small town at the time, but is now, is growing a ton. Back in the day, it used to just be the Food Lion and the Arby’s. But now it is, it has so many more options. It has Walmart, Lowe’s, it’s got all the options now. But I grew up in Denver, I loved growing up there on Lake Norman. And then I actually went to school at NC State. I studied zoology and genetics, I have a love for animals, a love for research, and initially went out to go into vet school. However, with different internships and different research opportunities, I found a love for data analysis and research in different capacities. And I’ve always loved the creative space. I actually grew up with a camera in hand, most all my life. So, there was that creative outlet in the photography realm. And I think just once I graduated college, I realized how awesome it would be to partner art with technology. And really just, yeah, partner that data analysis with the research and help brands discover their vision and help them go off of research and data and help propel that vision forward. So, that has brought me to The Molo Group, where I met Katelyn just last year. And now I am the digital marketing director. And I help lead the team, help meet with the different clients that we have and help them define their brand and just help them set that off in the digital space.

Jeff
Denver, North Carolina has come a long way, hasn’t it? Yeah, I mean, the whole area has really grown and exploded around Lake Norman it’s been a growth market for sure. But Denver is really kind of a really well-kept secret right now because there is so much going on in Denver. A lot of development, a lot of new brands and concepts opening up in the Denver area. So yeah, and forgive me, did you say you still live in Denver?

Kelley
No, I actually live here locally in Davidson, North Carolina.

Jeff
You’re in Davidson now. Okay, cool. We talked a little bit this morning when we met. My youngest son is a sophomore at NC State, and he’s also majoring in Paleomicrobiology. So yeah, we can, our family can kind of relate to the, well that’s a different subject. The oldest two kids are graduated, and they are not in fields that they majored in, so we can relate to that. Yeah, the third one, there’s, who knows? We’ll see.

Kelley
No, too fun. I love it.

Jeff
Well, I do love to talk about digital marketing and digital design. And I think that it’s really so relevant as we kind of, we’ve discussed a lot on this podcast, the importance of experience. How a brand’s differentiator is so experiential now, and it kind of starts with your, you know, what people see when they come to your brand. I’d really be, you know, let’s talk a little bit about what The Molo Group offers its clients. And Katelyn, what types of businesses, what types of companies does The Molo Group generally work with? Small, medium, large, a little bit of everything?

Katelyn
Yeah, so, we started actually working with some larger companies, which is really interesting. And that really derived from word of mouth actually. And so, starting with larger and now we’ve actually started working with some more smaller companies. So, a little bit of everything I would say. I think more derives from the inspiration. So, we like to work with companies that really want to reclaim their ‘why’ is what we like to say. And that is really what we harness about it. So, whether they’re large or small, it’s really about what inspires them. And what are they wanting, how can we help them with that.

Jeff
I’m gonna do my best not to deviate and get off on my Simon Sinek tangents, but big fan of Simon Sinek and his, that seminal TED Talk from I think, 2008/2009, somewhere in that area, and the book Start With Why. You also recommended another title when we talked last week, and I was actually able to knock it out over the weekend. It was in my Audible library. I didn’t know it, I already had it. So really, really good. I actually have to go back through that, that title again, and like take notes. But I listened to it while I was working.

Kelley
Was it Building a Story brand?

Jeff
Yes. Building a Story Brand. Yeah. Yeah. Amazing title. Katelyn, so take listeners through just a basic 40,000-foot view of the services that you and your team offer. Or Kelley, who would rather tackle that?

Kelley
Yeah, I would love to. Yeah, so we actually, it we have a process that we call the communication journey. And we primarily focus on branding. And then from there, of course, comes the website design. So, we focus on this communication journey that kind of stems from the Simon Sinek, Start With Your Why. So, it all is focused on helping find that inspiration, find that passion that is behind your business and what you love, and building that out to what we call finding your ‘why’ or reclaiming your ‘why’. So, for those brands, who may already have their ‘why’ it all has started from somewhere. So just rediscovering that and helping them repurpose that throughout their digital brand, throughout their website. But then we also dive into SEO, social media management, content creation, and advertising.

Jeff
Sounds like a one-stop shop.

Kelley
Yes.

Jeff
You have a lot of capability there. And on your website, I did kind of look at the team’s bios, you have a great, you’ve really assembled an amazing team. You’ve got quite a staff.

Katelyn
Oh, yeah, our team was great. I mean, sorry, we love our team.

Kelley
Yeah, and we all mesh really well, too. So, it’s been a really cool experience to be a part of, and we’re growing. Even over the past couple of months, we’ve added a couple of people to our team. And yeah, we all mesh just really great. We all have a passion for the creative space. But we also, yeah, we love working remotely, but it feels way closer than how far our distance may be

Jeff
Yeah, one teammate is in Norway. Is that correct?

Katelyn
Yes. She’s actually from Elon North Carolina.

Jeff
Yeah, I noticed that too. Yeah. Which is funny.

Katelyn
But, actually about half of our staff lives in the Lake Norman area. So, we’ll like go to the hot coffee shops and work, you know, and yeah. We call them Molo Meetups, so we’ll go do like, you know, like escape rooms and like, do really fun events like that too.

Jeff
Yeah. Yeah, get some work done and teambuilding too. Yeah. I love it. I love it. So, one thing I wanted to cover is, I’ve had quite a few digital agencies on the podcast. Everyone kind of has a different approach and their own, like, flavor for their brand. What would you say is a differentiating factor that sets The Molo Group apart from other design agencies?

Katelyn
Yeah. So, I think, you know, like Kelley said, we’re so much about, so we say reclaim your ‘why’. And for us, our passion and our inspiration really started with user experience. And that left and right brain struggle with design versus strategy, and how that can inspire users. And then taking that idea and how that can relate to the clients and their ‘why’. Right? You can’t just strategize and how you want your users to experience organizations. You also have to understand your own brand and the inspiration behind it to really connect with your users. There’s a Simon Sinek quote that we kind of talked about earlier, which is like people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it. And we really, we, that’s at the core of everything that we do. And the reason that matters is because then your organization is no longer a commodity, it becomes a trusted brand, that your clients or customers will just continuously come back to. So, I think with us, the reason that we’re different is because we do put that at the center of everything that we do. And it’s not just user experience, it’s really a whole-hearted approach.

Jeff
People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it. It’s one of my favorite quotes of all time and it, it really, to be selfish for just a moment, I want to share an experience that kind of illustrates the point that Simon makes in that quote, and that is, when we began this podcast production and our digital production, our long form written blogs, and our email newsletter. It was not with the intention of creating a company out of this. But as we decided that we wanted to produce more content, and in order to do that, we needed to free up some time. And in order to do that, of course, you need some help with paying the bills. So, we invited several local businesses, all of whom actually were previous guests on the podcast, to join us as a sponsor. And we created this value add, and I have a whole page on our website about ‘why’, how we can bring value to our sponsors. But every one of our sponsors, their response was, that’s great, but we just want to support what you’re doing. And I think that really just kind of speaks to the heart of like that whole point of people don’t buy what you do they buy why you do it. And so, I just wanted to share that quick story. And I think that it really, when a sponsor says that to us, that we just want to, we just love what you’re doing, and we want to support you. And if we get, you know, ROI, great, if not, we’re cool with that too. And it just meant so much to me, you know. So, that’s what, that’s the kind of thing I think of when I think of that Simon Sinek quote. So, I’ll get off my little tangent there.

Kelley
No, but I love that because that’s a great point. Because I feel like when people are thriving and working in their passion and what they love, I think the money, the ROI, everything comes after. And I feel like when someone is working in what they love, it just is a whole different experience than if you were doing it just to pay the bills or just to make ends meet. So, I think that’s something that we really love about our clients and our brands is really helping them dig into that. Because they probably have it even if maybe they lost it in the mix of things. But yeah, just helping them discover that and reclaim it. And I think then there is when their users or their audience find them. And they find that ‘why’ in what they’re doing and want to support that and come alongside them, as you said.

Katelyn
And that just shows also that like you have inspired them, right. So, it’s like that is the goal, right? It’s like how can you inspire others? And so, the fact that you inspired the sponsors, I mean, that’s the goal, right? Like, so how can you inspire others to trust you? And I mean, really, it’s like, who are the people behind the brand? Right? I mean, we’re all people.

Kelley
Yeah.

Jeff
Yeah, I totally agree. And, Kelley, you make a really good point. Like, if you’re following your passion, you’re gonna do great work. And when you do great work, the rest of it comes, right, it’ll follow. So, yeah, that’s a great point. So, Katelyn, I do want to ask, I’d love to, we do have a small but very loyal following of small business owners locally that listen to all of our episodes, I know that they’re gonna, like really enjoy getting to know The Molo Group. And I would love to ask if you have a few tips for listeners on discovering the ‘why’ for their business and how they can put it into action.

Katelyn
Absolutely. Actually, I’m going to hand that one over to Kelley.

Jeff
Ok, Kelly, the Digital Marketing Director, the Marketing Director. Take over.

Kelley
Yeah, absolutely. So, we, kind of after going through this whole process of Start With Why, with Simon Sinek, we were inspired ourselves. So, we started asking ourselves and all of our clients a couple questions. Starting with, why do you do this work? Why are you motivated to do it? And why did you get into the industry? Okay, so overall, these questions revolve around why are you inspired by the work? What we do at The Molo Group and our tagline that we use here at The Molo Group is to inspire others by what inspires them. So, we use three steps to help go through this process. And it is Discover, Define, Design. And that’s to help push the limits of strategy and to communicate the organization’s authentic ‘why’. So, going back behind what I just said about finding their purpose and helping them thrive in that, so then it naturally just brings and attracts clients organically. So, we’ll start with the Discover. So, we start by saying, start where it matters. And what that means is, there’s all these different business tactics that are out there, and these five-step processes that you can follow, but something that separates you from every other business is you, and why you do what you do. So, helping to discover that and then jump into the Define process, where it’s leading with your words. So, from there, you’re going to figure out how to convey that to others through words, on your social media, on your website, in your marketing, all throughout. And making that authentic to you so that your audience can see you for who you are and that ‘why’. And then from there, we go into the Design process, which is the capture your story. So, as we all know, we love photos, people are captivated by photos and the often saying is, a picture’s worth a thousand words. But that is often seen through social media, through website design, all the things, but that last step is actually showcasing that ‘why’. Through photos or even illustrations, there’s different ways that you can do it in the digital space. But wanting to make sure that those visuals or those illustrations communicate that ‘why’. And I’ll use one of our clients, for example, is Velocity Electronics. And the process that we kind of went through with them is starting with the Discover phase is start where it matters is they are so much different than other electronics companies. And one of those defining roles is that they are huge on business partnerships. So, creating lasting relationships rather than transactional relationships with their clients. But also, has stemmed from having just a strong company culture. So, that was kind of their ‘why’, that’s what sets them apart and being unique to who they are. But then we helped put that out there on their website and through their social media, the importance of not only having that strong company culture to build those lasting relationships, but to continue to nurture and just have that level of respect for those partnerships that they have. And then lastly, like in that Design process is utilizing the images that they have, because of their large company culture, they have a lot of meetings. So, they are a global company throughout 27 different locations in the world, but they are very intentional in their spaces to have gatherings with their teams. So, in that we utilize those images to reveal that ‘why’ throughout their social media and their website. Yeah, so those are the three tips that we have. We, like I said, we kind of walk through them from Discover, Define, Design. And just authentically being you is where you start with your ‘why’. And then you will implement that through your words and through imagery on your site.

Jeff
Listeners, I hope you’re taking notes. If not, rewind and go back through it, and write those tips down. You mentioned the word authenticity. Authenticity comes up a lot in all of our conversations and in all the content that I consume online and in the space. Do you read much Seth Godin?

Kelley
No, but he has actually been on my list when researching things to, like different reads, he comes up a lot, so yeah.

Jeff
Yeah. Huge Seth Godin fan and read almost all of his books, he’s got 21 or 22. So, bestsellers, and then, but I’ve listened to so many of his keynotes and interviews on podcasts and YouTube videos, and he’s just, what a supreme marketing talent. But he goes off on a rant occasionally about authenticity and how he likes to distinguish that, like, in his mind, sometimes it’s used a little bit too much. He’s like, do I really want an orthopedist that is being authentic and really doesn’t want to work on that ACL today, you know? But there’s definitely different ways of viewing authenticity. Right?

Kelley
Absolutely.

Jeff
But we need to inject that in our brand. I mean, it has to, it really has to come through, and that’s something people shouldn’t be afraid to do. Right?

Kelley
Yeah.

Katelyn
It’s also finding how you’re different with that authenticity.

Jeff
Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Those differentiating factors and what, you know, sets a brand apart and makes it unique. For sure. Speaking of brands, one of my favorite topics for these conversations is when guests have an opportunity to give local Lake Norman small businesses a shout out. And these could be small businesses who are great partners for The Molo Group, or they could just be local small businesses that you and your team love. Do you have a couple that you can share with us?

Katelyn
Absolutely. So, the first one I would like to mention is Lake Norman Metsquerade. Lake Norman Metsquerade is a brand-new research and fundraising opportunity, where 100% of their proceeds for this gala is going to breast cancer research for metastatic breast cancer. So, all of the funds is going to go to research for a grant that will be determined after the gala. And this will become an annual event. So, we’re super excited. It’s going to be hosted at the Peninsula Club this year. So, yeah, and it’s, Adiba Barney who lives in Cornelius, she has stage 4 metastatic breast cancer and has written a book on her journey through this, and she is on the board for METAvivor. She’s a great friend of mine. And every year, The Molo Group does a nonprofit project. And this is ours for this year. So, we are partnering with Lake Norman Metsquerade and helping them with their website and ticketing platform. I’m super excited to be a partner with them. And yes, definitely, and they’re looking for corporate sponsors, and yeah.

Jeff
I appreciate you giving a nonprofit a shout out. We always love that. And that sounds like an amazing initiative. So yeah, we’ll definitely share that. How can listeners learn more about that organization?

Katelyn
Yes. So, you can go to lakenormanmets.org, or you can follow them on Instagram as well.

Jeff
Excellent. All right. Cool. Did you have another one?

Katelyn
I do. So, a company that has really helped us out personally, is Experienced Recruiting Partners. So, this is owned by a woman named Trish, who lives out in Cornelius. And her and her team, they’re just amazing. Like, they’re just on the ball for helping businesses small and large with any recruiting needs that you may have. I mean, she is great. So, if I need somebody, I’ll message her, and she’s like, we’re on it. And she will just follow up. She’s very thorough on, you know, making sure all of our needs are met. And we’ve gotten some really amazing talent.

Kelley
Trish is probably one of the most well-connected people in this area. If you don’t, if you need a connection, I don’t know, even in a random space, she knows that. She’s very well connected. I think her business allows her to meet with different organizations and different companies. So, she’s just a really great person to know as well.

Jeff
Does she specialize in the technology space? Or?

Kelley
Yes.

Jeff
Yeah. And does she work with freelancers and contractors? Or is it mostly full-time?

Katelyn
Everything.

Kelley
She does both.

Jeff
Excellent. She sounds like somebody I might want to connect with for a conversation for the podcast sometime. So, yeah.

Kelley
Absolutely. She’s a lot of fun, too. She’s got a great personality.

Katelyn
And she doesn’t just work with local talent. So, if you’re open to people elsewhere, she’ll help you out also.

Jeff
Yeah, remote. Remote is the norm. Absolutely. Yeah. So, that’s awesome. Very good. I’ll make sure there’s links for that as well. And I look forward to connecting with her, reaching out sometime. Kelley, do you have somebody?

Kelley
Yeah. So, we actually have a new client that we’ve taken on that we’re excited to be working with. And their name is Command Canine. They are a local dog training company. And we have just really enjoyed working with them because they have a different approach where they focus on the dog psychology. So, getting to know more of maybe why your dog is feeling a certain way, or maybe why a behavior is coming out and kind of getting to the root of that, and working between the dog and the owner and figuring out how they can better communicate with one another. So, a tagline that we’ve come up with is, becoming your dog’s best friend, be the best friend that you need. So, yeah, we’ve enjoyed that. They are local here to Cornelius as well. So, if you need any help with your dog, whether it be a large need or a small need, being you know, trouble walking, walking with your dog, they are there to help. And they actually have a unique, a unique training where they actually do it out of their home, which is such a beautiful experience because it allows that dog to get hands-on training and it’s very easy to bring it back to your house because they’re being around the things that you may actually be having those issues with.

Jeff
Yeah, we’ve got a four-year-old English Bulldog that I could probably use some help with. Yeah, she’s super sweet but typical bully, right? Super stubborn and listens when she feels like it.

Kelley
Oh my gosh, I love English Bulldogs.

Jeff
Yeah. She is, that’s part of the problem is she’s so adorable.

Kelley
Hard to say no, sometimes

Jeff
I think I follow Command Canine on Instagram. Yeah, that’d be another cool business for me to connect with. So, I will reach out to them for sure.

Kelley
Yeah. And then the last one we recommend is, as Katelyn said, we love to get out of the house. You know, working in a digital space, and in your own home sometimes can be, you can be extremely efficient and get a ton of work done. But sometimes you just need to collaborate and connect with people in person. So, we love our, a Davidson local called Good Drip Coffee. And yeah, we love to get out there. We have about five team members that are local to the Davidson area. So, we will connect and meet there and get some work done together. So that is a great spot to do so.

Jeff
That is a great spot. And I mean, listeners to this podcast will know what a fan I am of downtown Davidson. I’m learning more about downtown Mooresville, which is another beautiful place, and of course downtown Huntersville we’ve covered as well, and Cornelius. The downtown areas around Lake Norman are just so cool. It’s just they have so much character and charm and a lot of revitalization going on. The owner of Good Drip, Zack Witt is one of the owners, or the owner, I can’t recall off hand. He was one of my guests on the podcast early on in 2020, sometime in 2020. So, I’ll have a link to that episode as well. And yeah, I really recommend Good Drip Coffee. It’s a great shop.

Katelyn
Oh, yeah. I love, they make all their syrups in house. And so, they’re just all delicious.

Kelley
Yeah, yeah.

Jeff
One other thing I wanted to talk to you about. I don’t bring it up in every episode. But I wanted to in this one, because we have talked offline about reading recommendations. And I mentioned Creating a Story Brand and what a great book that is. And that’s one that I really, I powered through it over the weekend through Audible, I need to go back and slow down and take notes, and you know, really follow along. So, amazing book. Do you have a couple of other recommendations? Reading recommendations or podcasts for listeners to check out.

Katelyn
Yes. So yes, Building a Story Brand by Donald Miller, definitely. He also has a podcast called Business Made Simple, which is one that we follow. And we talk about quite a bit whenever a new episode comes out that’s relevant. We also love, as you mentioned earlier, Start With Why. And we Audible that and go back to it quite a bit. Another one just for design nerds like me out there. I’m obsessed with Jessica Hische. And she has this great book called Process that really talks about starting from the beginning to the end. It’s more lettering oriented, but it’s really great for anyone that really wants to harness on their process.

Jeff
Jessica Hische?

Katelyn
Yes, she’s so good.

Jeff
Okay, I will check out Process, that sounds like a really interesting read. I’m not familiar with it, but I will check it out and have links in the show notes, of course. Start with Why, Simon Sinek, absolutely, like highly recommended reading for sure. And the TED Talk and really, YouTube any of his keynotes they’re all really like super, just super insightful. Creating a Story Brand, we talked about. Business Made Simple, the podcast, with Donald Miller too, I’ve been able to check out a couple episodes, really, really good. So, I highly recommend that as well. Kelley, how about you?

Kelley
Yeah, I have one more that I’d love to recommend. She’s been like a personal inspiration to me, but her name is Jenna Kutcher. She actually has her own podcast as well. It’s called the Goal Digger. And she, her tagline is just awesome because she basically started her whole brand off of a $300 Craigslist camera, and she became a nationally known wedding photographer, but since then, she has blown up into a massive organization where she does a lot, of she shares a lot of marketing tips, podcast tips, like how to grow your business through Pinterest. I mean, she has a lot of different marketing. Honestly, just, she shares a lot of brilliant things. For the most part free. I know she does have different platforms that you can buy out of, but there’s a lot of free resources that you can find on her website that can help encourage you, whether you’re wanting to start a new business, a podcast, or even just have some marketing help.

Jeff
She is a great, great recommendation. She’s been recommended a few times on the podcast, and I’ve tuned into quite a few of her podcast episodes, and I’ve checked out a lot of her content. She’s a prolific content marketer for sure. And she does have courses that you can purchase, digital courses that you can purchase. But she is really a great example of like, what a brand that she’s built. Really, really amazing. Yeah, I’ll have all the links for Jenna and the Goal Digger platform in the show notes as well.

Kelley
And something that I do love about her is like how big she is, again, just going back to like your ‘why’ and like who you are and your inspiration. Like, she’s still, as many followers, I think she has over a million followers, pretty often on her podcast, but she records her podcasts in her closet. And I just think that is so cool. Because no matter how big you are, she just brings it back to home. She’s so relatable, so down to earth. And it really it is, it’s like you can do your work from anywhere, and you can make it happen. So, I just think that’s really encouraging and inspiring.

Katelyn
Yeah, and I would also encourage any of your listeners that want to learn more about the ‘why’ and our process, we just posted a really thorough and great downloadable on our site. So, on our Instagram and stuff we do a lot of blogs and downloadables that are super helpful as well.

Jeff
I noticed that as well. And there’s a link, not only I think you have links on Instagram, but for sure on the website, themologroup.com. And, yeah, and several of the blog articles, there are downloadables for more information that you offer for free, which is very cool. I love that. I’m all about content marketing. I love that, like share it. Pat Flynn has a t shirt that says, teach everything you know, you know, and it’s just I love that. I love that concept. And I appreciate that very much. Katelyn and Kelley, this has been amazing. I loved having you on the podcast. I love talking about The Molo Group and UX/UI design, and the philosophy behind, you know, nailing your brand’s design. I love that. Thank you so much for sharing that. Kelley, how can listeners learn more about The Molo Group?

Kelley
Yeah, so you can of course, check out our website at themologroup.com. But also follow along. We’re on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram @themologroup. And as Jeff has said, we share a bunch of different tips for how to grow your business, whether it’s from design to SEO to content marketing. So, we’d love for you to follow along and we’d love to interact with you guys.

Jeff
Thank you. I love it. Kelley Tovias, Digital Marketing Director at The Molo Group. Kelley, thank you for joining the podcast.

Kelley
Yeah, thank you for having us.

Jeff
And Katelyn Stromolo, CEO and Managing Director at The Molo Group. Katelyn, thanks for joining the podcast.

Katelyn
Thanks, Jeff. It was fun.

Jeff
People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it. Big thanks to Katelyn Stromolo and Kelley Tovias, for joining the podcast and sharing the story of The Molo Group. Friends, you can learn more about The Molo Group at www.themologroup.com, and follow them on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook. I’ll have that link as well as the links to the other companies Katelyn and Kelley mentioned during our conversation in the show notes for this episode. As always, you can find the complete show notes for all of our episodes at the home for Lake Norman’s number one small business podcast www.thebestoflkn.com. While you’re there, be sure to sign up for our free weekly email newsletter. It’s free, easy to sign up, and a great way to stay up to date on the new content we’re releasing each week. It’s also just a great way to support The Best of LKN podcast. Huge thanks as always to our sponsors for their support of our efforts here at The Best of LKN. We simply couldn’t keep things going without them. And we are so proud to feature their businesses on our platform. You can learn more about our sponsors on our homepage at thebestoflkn.com, and also in the show notes for this episode. If you’re a local Lake Norman business that could benefit from some creative advertising opportunities, I encourage you to have a look at our brand partnership program at thebestoflkn.com/advertise. In addition to our brand partnership and platform sponsor program, we’re also developing some lower-cost and shorter-term marketing programs that make it easier than ever to work with us. For more information on those programs, simply go to the contact form at thebestoflkn.com and drop us a note. Okay, my friends, that’s going to do it for this episode. Thanks so much for listening in and following along on our journey as we connect with the best and brightest small business owners, entrepreneurs, freelancers, and nonprofits in the Lake Norman area. We’ll be back next week with another episode, same time, same place. So, until then, cheers Lake Norman. Bye for now.

Narrator
We hope you’ve enjoyed this episode of The Best of LKN. For more information about this podcast, show notes, video episodes, and links to our featured businesses, please visit www.thebestoflkn.com. We publish episodes weekly so be sure to subscribe and stay up to date. Until next time, cheers Lake Norman.