Meet Sarah Bradford | Social Media Management & Content Creation

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sarah Bradford and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sarah, what is the most important factor behind your success?
When I initially decided to start this business, I started it with 2 goals in mind. The first, to be able to support myself and my son with a job that allowed me to make my own hours. The second, to have a job I am passionate about and proud to work each day. I had my son when I was just shy of 18 and he was diagnosed with moderate to severe autism at just 18 months old. Although I have been extremely fortunate to have a really great support system, it has still always been extremely difficult being a full time young single mom as well as a full time worker. When covid hit, my small baking business just wasn’t cutting it. I ended up getting a full time job as a cake decorator and going back to the service industry being a server. In 2020 I found myself working almost 80 hours a week. I would rarely see my son apart from my long lunch that I would use to take him to therapy. I was depressed and burnt out and felt completely helpless.
I;ve always been a creative, I just never had the confidence to believe that my abilities were good enough to become a career. But all the years I worked in the service industry, paired with my love for creating art lead me to my Media Business.
For me, failing has never been an option. I wake up every day and choose to succeed because my son is counting on me. He is what drives me to success. When I go door to door of businesses and talk with owners and send follow up emails and make phone calls, it’s all done with the utmost determination. I know I can’t fail myself because failing myself would mean failing my son. I am driven by all the voices of people who have doubted me, the people who said being a teen mom would be the end of my life, the people that thought lesser of me. My success is credited to my motiviation to win no matter what it takes.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I had the idea for my media business when I found myself needing to revamp my baking business and realized my media and outreach was really lacking. So I bought a camera, took a class from google on marketing and social media management and got to work. After that, a fellow friend and bar owner allowed me to grow my portfolio using his bar as my first subject. Once I did that, I very quickly realized that I had a true knack for it and could make it into a full time business. The more content I shot, the more confidence I grew within myself. I decided to go all in. I created a website, social media platforms, started learning as much as possible about my field and photography, and started going door to door and business to business giving out my business cards and pitching myself. It hasn’t always been easy. Atlanta is a huge market for media and content creation so you are constantly in competition with other people. At first I was really intimidated by that. I thought that because I didnt have as much classical education or the most high end equipment, that I wouldn’t be good enough. But the more I worked and the more clients I sat down with, the more I realized how little those things mattered. What mattered was the quality of my work, my drive to be the best, and my ability to stand apart. I realized I have an edge over big media companies because I have the ability and desire to be much more personal with each client I have. They are more than just another account and they can tell when I sit down with them that I treat their businesses like they are my own. I take the time to fully understand who they are and what image and message they want to convey and then I pour myself in to making that become a reality.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If my friend from out of town was visiting there are several places I would take them. I am a HUGE karaoke fan and have become a part of a local karaoke network so would probably take them out for karaoke at Chaplins, Pepperoni’s Tavern, The Local, and Tropica. For food we would grab tapas at Eclipse Di Luna and enjoy their live music, then head to Johnnys Hideaway for a night filled with dancing. I would probably find a local festival or market to drop in to as well. I would make a picnic and enjoy the beautiful piedmont park and the beltline. For fine dining I would go to Canoe Atl (one of the best places I have ever eaten) and the Garden Room if I could manage getting a reservation.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are so many people I could credit my success to. First and foremost would be my mother Jennifer Talerico. She has been a true rock and the greatest support I could ever have asked for. From the time I found out I was pregnant at 17 all the way till now being 24 with a 6 year old with special needs, she has been nothing but supportive and encouraging and constantly pushed me to gp after what I want. Some other key people that have played a roll in my success would be my son’s paternal grandparents Alex and Loreen Wright. They have helped in so man ways at some of the hardest and lowest moments of my life. They constantly vocalize their desire to see my succeed because they know if I succeed, their grandchild will succeed as well. Of course my close friends are also a huge factor of my success. They have stepped up to fill a role none of them ever had to but did so happily. Whether that be last minute babysitting so I could go to an interview or meeting or staying a few nights and helping me with my son while I work from home or even when I just needed help. They have shown up to doctors appointments, hospital visits, given my son rides to therapy when my car was having problems, and the list goes on. I know without them I wouldn’t have made it this far. The odds in this society are already so much against young single moms, much less young single mothers to children with special needs. But my support system ad my unwavering faith in Christ are what has kept me from becoming another statistic.

Website: www.sarahbradfordmedia.com

Instagram: sarahbradfordmedia

Facebook: Sarah Bradford Media