Today we’d like to introduce you to Adi Wolstein Gabay, founder & CEO of Amity Creative: an LA-based boutique social media branding and marketing agency.
Adi, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I started my career as a radio broadcaster and a newspaper journalist in Israel at the age of 22. Back then, my dream was to stay in radio/ television as a main broadcaster and although I majored in marketing, my true passion was reporting and interviewing. I loved current events and had my own weekly column in a local newspaper. Three years later, I followed my heart (Eli, who’s now Adi’s husband and the father of her child) and relocated to Los Angeles. Knowing very little about the local politics and having no connections in the industry, I decided to search for a temporary job in marketing until I get fully acclimated.
I began working for a start-up that later evolved into a pretty big company for social media management for small businesses all over the country. I was quickly promoted to Vice President, where I was basically overlooking everything from sales to production in the entire company. During this time, I discovered my talent and passion for marketing! Being able to help small businesses thrive became my new mission. I was overwhelmed by the positive feedback I received from my clients, and quickly realized that the ability to promote a business lies with the deep understanding of what their goals, objectives, and target audiences are. This led me to see what my other passion is- to become a small business owner myself.
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?
Honestly, nobody opens a business and it’s a smooth road. I don’t believe that “easy” is even an option when you’re starting out. It’s always challenging and my struggles were both professional and personal. When I built Amity, my son Amit was only six months old. Trying to be a good and present mother while running my own business was, is and will always be somewhat of a challenge.
On a strictly professional level, there’s this saying, though I’ve been told it’s not that common here but it goes “the cobbler’s children have no shoes.” Basically, it means that we’re used to doing certain things for other people and often neglect ourselves. I work with small businesses every day. I listen to my clients, and hear about their difficulties and their struggles. I see what their issues are with trying to get their business really started – and of course I help them with that, but when I had to do it myself for myself… I mean, it was easier said than done. It took me about nine months to finish my own website. That is irony.
I tell my clients that you need to have a solid business plan to succeed in the long run. The challenge was to remind myself of that. To remind myself that building a successful and profitable business takes time, money and a lot of patience. On the other hand, though, being able to profoundly understand my clients’ struggles, made me even better at what I do.
So let’s talk business. Tell us about Amity Creative – what should we know?
Amity was created to serve small to medium businesses who understand the value of posting content that is uniquely crafted for their brand and yet, affordable. What I mean by that is that there are a lot of big companies out there that sell social media packages for 200-400 dollars a month but those services are just cookie cutters. They use stock posts and images; branding isn’t even a word that they use. It’s not customized, it’s got nothing to do with their clients’ voices. There are also the bigger companies, the agencies that have those personalized services – but those aren’t affordable at all for small businesses. So, what ends up happening, is that small businesses just give up on social media. I wanted to offer solutions that are still affordable but highly customizable for those small businesses I always worked with.
At Amity, we create successful marketing strategies that are tailored for your brand and goals. We plan, analyze, execute, convert and measure marketing initiatives that increase brand awareness and build loyalty. The success of a digital campaign focuses on the advertising, content and community which we help shape and build. We’re here to provide the opportunity for the underdogs and start-ups to out-think the competition, rather than outspend. We are very proud of our working relationships with our clients, and our ability to listen to our clients and help them find their authentic voice in a way that helps grow their business. That commitment to sincerity and growth in this age of instant gratification is what sets us apart.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential for success?
Patience, confidence and flexibility.
Contact Info:
- Website: amitycreative.com
- Phone:(818) 570-1060
- Email:hello@amitycreative.com
- Instagram:@amitycreative
- Facebook:@amitycreative
- Twitter:@amitycreative
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