Today we’d like to introduce you to Xanthe Appleyard.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Oh Sierra was co-founded by myself (Xanthe) and my husband Frank back in 2018. Now married for more than five years (to both each other and the business), we had only been dating for a few short months before we decided to build this brand together. We came up with the idea while we were sitting at a hotel bar on New Year’s Eve, scheming and dreaming of a world where we could expand, explore, create, and connect – on our own terms.
When we first started our business back then, we were a catchall creative studio in our hometown of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, saying *yes* to any-and-every creative project that came our way, eager to hone our skills and grow our network. Both hailing from multi-passionate creative backgrounds and deeply rooted in our local entrepreneurship scene, whatever we lacked in direction, we made up for in purpose: to create in, with, and for the community.
Social media was still on the sidelines, with many businesses (including our own) growing without much more than a handful of their local supporters online. As our business continued to thrive on word of mouth, we earned a reputation as collaborators + connectors – no matter the scope – and this sparked the idea to take that same ethos into the online space, cultivating our network on a wider scale and translating that cozy feeling of local love onto a global stage.
In 2020, with a healthy client base and the itch to access that freedom + expansion, we’d started this business to build, we put our vision to the test: we purchased a property in Tulum, Mexico, and moved our life abroad to create what would become our first hospitality space – a hub for community, creativity, and collaboration – The Oh Sierra Swim Club. For two years, we ran our agency out of that space while sharing it with our community as an Airbnb, solidifying our brand as a hub for community + collaboration, leveraging the global reach found in the social media space to nurture relationships that transitioned into in-person collaborations, events, and connections, all over the world.
While we were formally operating as a brand design agency up until early 2022, when we transitioned into content marketing + community-building strategy, what we were really doing was establishing proof of concept. Along the way, we had been experiencing first-hand the power of showing up online as a thought leader to create a felt sense of community culture, leading with value + vulnerability to cultivate a system of global support.
Since then, our business has seen many shapes and seasons – from formally relaunching our agency into an intimate education platform and online community to selling our Mexico property and pursuing our U.S. visa to follow our dreams to LA – making our mission stand out, even more:
Genuine relationships are the key to long-term, enduring success. When we hone our skills as online leaders, we can establish a loyal community that provides a sense of security and longevity seldom found in the age of online entrepreneurship.
Over the last five years, we’ve learned that our brand (and yours!) isn’t about the services we sell but the company we keep. That our success hinges on the network we’ve built and the community – online and off – we’ve cultivated through it.
Today, through content coaching + education, collaborative events, and creative spaces, we place equal value on “community” at both a local and global level and teach creative leaders + brands how to bring their people together over a shared community culture – in Los Angeles and beyond.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
We wouldn’t describe the road as “bumpy” so much as twisty.
We’ve always been guided by a very clear North Star (helping entrepreneurs harness the potent power of community) but it took several years of trying different paths on to find true alignment + fulfillment in our work. At the same time, we attribute these course corrections as such a massive contributor to what we’ve come home to in our business today.
Exercising the freedom to identify and pursue the pivots and possibilities that we have, we’ve been able to lead by example: following what feels good, trusting that our community will show up for us in the way that we’ve always shown up for them. What could have been an obstacle – landing in California with no existing connections or community – was actually an opportunity to call upon our online network to quickly foster a local community here in LA.
Now, we know that it’s exactly THAT experience that we’re supporting other business owners to create – a felt sense of community culture that gives their brand freedom to shapeshift, knowing it’s safe to lean into their evolution wherever it may take them rather than staying stuck.
We’ve been impressed with Oh Sierra, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Now that we’re rooted in Los Angeles, our focus is on using social media as a tool to call in community online while creating opportunities to nurture that community offline. We continue to support creative thought-leaders and brands with not just online growth but also collaborative events + spaces that allow them to connect with their communities IRL, too.
On the online front, we focus on helping business owners and brands to become strong community leaders, leveraging social media to build brand loyalty through authentic connection — with a unique method that’s rooted in GIVING without expectation. By prioritizing this sense of connection, first, we remind business owners that it’s possible to feel GOOD about showing up online and that our platforms can be places we look forward to engaging with, to share our unique perspectives and experiences in order to support the people who support us.
While so often the social media space is peppered with quick fixes, growth hacks, and formulas to follow, we specialize in organic content marketing through the lens of relationship-building, viewing online leadership as a community strategy rather than a sales strategy, leading with value and creating a dialogue before pushing a product.
In that same vein, it’s a misconception that every business owner needs to become a full-time content creator in order to grow their brand. We encourage unplugging and maintaining healthy digital boundaries and know that as creative leaders and digitally-based business owners, the way we interact with the world outside of our phones actually informs the quality – and longevity – with which we can show up to our platforms and our people.
We help entrepreneurs and teams establish a realistic capacity for content ideation, creation, and community growth so that they can build momentum online and deepen their customer relationships offline.
Without a doubt, the thing we are most proud of continues to be the relationships we’ve fostered all over the world – not just for ourselves, but with and for our community. We often hear about folks who have connected through our content and have gone on to collaborate on workshops, meet for coffee, set up co-working dates, and travel together. This serves as a reminder that all brands can cultivate a shared community culture, building bonds *and* brand loyalty in cities + spaces where we may otherwise have been strangers.
In Los Angeles, we are eager to connect, partner, and collaborate with creatives + brands who value community and are seeking to bridge the gap between online support and offline connection.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
When it comes to mentorship, we value expansion above all. Look for someone who has accomplished what you seek to accomplish, and let their experience expand your belief of what’s possible.
Networking, on the other hand, is really just creating a system of trust. So often, we envision a “network” as being sort of a cold, business-y thing, but ultimately, it’s just a fancy word for relationship-building.
We’re deeply connected to the “network before you need it” mentality, prioritizing relationships of ALL shapes and sizes at every step of your business journey. While it can be tempting to take a tit-for-tat approach, we believe that the relationship, first and foremost, should be the only intended outcome.
As career community cultivators, building a network, for us, has simply meant making a conscious, consistent effort to form and foster relationships, to develop that system of trust.
Every relationship holds value, even if you can’t immediately identify what that looks like, and the mere act of making the connection, or sharing a moment of camaraderie, can be purpose enough.
Contact Info:
- Website: ohsierra.ca
- Instagram: ohsierracreative
Image Credits
Anna Elizabeth Photography
