Kaylah Bolender-Heaton is no stranger to the passion and hard work it takes to start a business.

At just 17, prior to graduating from Traders Point Christian Academy, the young entrepreneur opened her brick-and-mortar ice cream shop, The Pink Spoon, in her hometown of Kirklin.

Business was strong and Bolender-Heaton was successful, but after just four years, COVID forced her to close the doors.

Bolender-Heaton didn’t sit idle. While managing her part-time business, The Social Academy, she was also finishing college, taking three years to complete a four-year degree in public relations and communication.

“A month after I closed The Pink Spoon, I felt like I had too much time on my hands and started looking at the aspects of the business that I really liked – content creation, marketing, social media and things like that,” Bolender-Heaton said.

Today, she’s 21, a graduate of Indiana University Kokomo, and is helping others with those parts of small business ownership they may not have time to focus on.

“As a business owner, I didn’t have the time to post on social media every day, but it’s important,” Bolender-Heaton said. “Having a professional and cohesive social media presence increases how many impressions your posts get by the thousands and creating that presence can really grow your business.”

There’s some science behind the process as well.

“If you’re on Facebook, Instagram and have a website, the best thing to do changes every month and we have someone keeping track of that research,” Bolender-Heaton said. “For instance, Facebook picks up on what you like and when you open up your page, the top three posts are what they think you’ll like the most. That’s all based on reactions you’ve made in the past.”

Bolender-Heaton shared an example of a business focusing on mothers.

“If your targeted audience is moms, you’ll want to post at 6 a.m. so when mom gets up in the morning and starts getting the kids ready for school, she’ll see it,” Bolender-Heaton said. “We can do all of that for you.”

The Social Academy offers different packages – everything from public relations management to marketing to website creation.

In addition, Bolender-Heaton said they work within the business budget. Many know they need help with social media management, but simply don’t have the funds to do so. At The Social Academy, the packages allow for short-term set-up assistance or long-term help.

“I have two other people working with me. One does content creation; she knows why you’d pick one color over another for marketing purposes. The other does SEO work and website building,” Bolender-Heaton said. “We have specialized people working on the big projects.”

As a business owner herself, Bolender-Heaton has a unique way of connecting with other small business owners. She understands the struggles and hard work it takes to get a company off the ground.

“Before we post anything, we always check it with you,” Bolender-Heaton said. “It’s really difficult to allow someone else to take something over. It’s scary, because this is your baby. With The Social Academy, we’re giving you time back. If you hit the right postings at the right time, it’s like free advertising. We’re not only giving you time but giving you more business.”

The young business owner also knows what it’s like to want to do everything possible to make your business succeed.

“I think you have to be born with it,” Bolender-Heaton said. “You literally eat, sleep and breathe your business and I wake up thinking about my to-do list and go to sleep thinking about what I’m going to do tomorrow. You have to pick something that you love.”

For more information on The Social Academy, visit the website at https://www.thesocialacad.com.