Today we’d like to introduce you to Haley Guidry.
Hi Haley, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I was living in a small town and was working as a Chief Financial Officer for the local government. I was extremely unfulfilled and knew that I wanted something more and that I wanted to see the world.
I moved to Knoxville in 2015 to go back to school to get my bachelor’s in Communications with an emphasis in Journalism and Electronic Media. During this time, I decided to do something I had wanted to do for quite a long time, and that was to start a travel blog.
I had only been to the US states and Canada at the time, but I loved everything about traveling so I just started writing about my experiences. To my surprise, my blog started to gain traction and it helped to fund my first ever trip to Europe.
Over the next few years, I would learn the ways to leverage my blog and my travel knowledge to grow my following on social media and to partner with brands and hotels across the US and Europe. A few things that my blog has helped me do include photo and press pass with my favorite bands, a 10,000-mile road trip to Alaska and back to Tennessee, free and paid hotel stays, and most importantly my first true taste of freedom.
In 2020, what I had been doing evolved into something I didn’t fully expect. Not only did I have a travel blog, but with no desire to work a typical 9-5, I started freelancing. Fast forward to today and I am lucky and proud to say that I have a multiple six-figure and virtual Social Media Marketing agency called Mercury Media and Design. I can now work from anywhere and can travel as often as I would like.
While I obviously went to school and got my degree, I attribute my success largely to the fact that I followed my dreams and started a travel blog.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
While I was in school, there were times that I couldn’t work during the school year due to my large course load. At one point I was living off of virtually no money, but even with that stress I was still happy and had a sense of freedom because I was following my passion. I’m thankful for that rough time in my life because I truly feel like it shaped me into the person that I am today.
Since Mercury Media and Design has started I have been very fortunate. I generally have clients come to me, and I’m very grateful that I was able to keep doing my job during the pandemic.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Mercury Media and Design / Voyages of Mine?
I have two businesses, my social media marketing agency Mercury Media and Design, and my blog Voyages of Mine.
Mercury Media and Design – I am the managing partner of a social media marketing agency along with my husband, Mason. We do everything from graphic design, to social media management, to running ads, and more. Since I am the managing partner, we are a woman-owned business. At any given time we have 7-10 freelancers working for us, largely women. I love the way our business is set up because our freelancers can have the same freedom that I desired and can work when and where they want to.
This also allows us to get talented people from the US and Canada since we don’t have a physical location. I’m extremely proud of how much we have grown in just over a year of business. We have serviced clients from a wide variety of industries and are proud to give them the results they want! We help brand owners stay in their zone of genius instead of trying to figure out the ins and outs of social media. I thrive when I know that I am helping others do that they’re good and while I’m able to do what I’m good at in order to assist them and their business. We are still growing and are actively taking on more clients.
Voyages of Mine – I write travel blogs to inform people about places they have never been, or places they are planning trips to. I use my photography skills to try to capture what it’s like and to help people plan their trips with ease. I’m also getting ready to launch a course where I help others learn how to leverage their skills to start a brand, start freelancing, and work for themselves to achieve the freedom I so desired.
Who else deserves credit in your story?
My biggest supporter has always been my husband, Mason. He’s the one who didn’t think I was crazy when I wanted to pursue this untraditional path of a career. Not only did he support me, but he also joined me! He is the other half of both Mercury Media and Design and Voyages of Mine.
My former business coach Evelyn Huynh played a large part in both my confidence and my business success early on. My income nearly doubled while working with her!
Contact Info:
- Email: haley@mercurymediaanddesign.com / voyagesofmine@gmail.com
- Website: mercurymediaanddesign.com / voyagesofmine.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/voyagesofmine
