Young Entrepreneurs Taking the Leap
Three young entrepreneurs offer an inside look at marketing your talents
(Photos provided by Kyle Gelo)
The idea of self-marketing and potentially starting a business at a young age is inarguably a daunting thought for many. First, you have to trust your skill and ability enough to invest your time into your medium. Second, you must make the formidable decision, more often than not, to give up your financial security. While your early twenties are an exciting time to get started on your career, your early twenties can also be the most perilous time to have faith in yourself. The Argus spoke to three young, brilliant entrepreneurs from the Barrie-Orillia area who have already taken that seemingly petrifying leap about the ins and outs of starting your own business.
The Social Butterfly Agency
Owned by: Kyle Gelo
Instagram: @thesocialbutterflyagency
Kyle Gelo made the leap of quitting his job and starting a business at the age of twenty-one in January of 2019. Gelo grew up in Barrie, Ontario and always had a talent for photography. He quickly noticed that there was space in the market for a youthful entrepreneur that was knowledgeable about imaging as well as the importance of one’s online persona in the twenty-first century. Gelo’s business, The Social Butterfly Agency, is an innovative online marketing agency that specializes in content creation for local businesses.
Gelo’s story is that of quickly gaining success in an area where his perceived downfall, inexperience, was his greatest strength. He told The Argus: “when you’re in your early twenties people look at you as if you’re inexperienced and have no idea what you’re doing. I know my strengths and youth is one of them. I offer a fresh set of eyes to the marketing world wherein I am breaking cyclical measures and it is benefiting the clients.”
However, his success was not met without struggle. Gelo spoke of days where he feared he would have to give up due to lack of clients or fear of unstable income -- fears that one can assume all young entrepreneurs face. The most vital thing was to further invest in his talents in order to increase his credibility; only one year later, Gelo’s business is off to a fantastic start.
“This is a new and emerging thing,” said Gelo, “or maybe it isn’t. For all of human history, one’s connection with the world around them was based on their perceived persona before anything else. It used to be word of mouth and maybe that would determine whether you were hired, married off, or really any other big life-changing moment. Today, we can control what other people see or think of us for the first time ever. Anyone can look you up and get the truth, your truth, that you determine.”
This is a simple truth. Have you ever gone to a new restaurant without looking up the menu first? Have you booked a hotel without reading any reviews or seeing any pictures? Have you gone on a first date without doing a bit of online stalking first? Gelo’s business allows local businesses to make the real first impression that encourages others to go and try new things.
In the next ten years, Gelo hopes to expand The Social Butterfly Agency as a production company for commercial businesses. He intends to stay true to his roots in maintaining personal relationships with clients for the best possible outcome. Additionally, Gelo intends to hire more youth as the company expands.
Self-Epiphany
Author: Grace Micallef
Instagram: @graces_epiphany
Grace Micallef is a young entrepreneur who took the leap by trusting herself as an author. Growing up in Barrie, Ontario, Micallef is now a fourth-year Lakehead Orillia student majoring in English in the Concurrent Education program. Micallef had never intended to become a published author until her professor, Melinda Vandenbeld-Giles, encouraged her to look into publishing her work.
She told The Argus: “I self-published through Amazon’s program called KDP, which allows you to create your own manuscript to submit to them. They ensure everything meets their standards, they look at the format, and they check the spelling and grammar, and then within 48-72 hours they answer whether or not you can go live on Amazon.” The young author, like many others, struggled with having confidence in her work: “That’s one of the scariest things about putting your work out there. I felt my whole heart was exposed to the world, but looking back, I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Self-Epiphany ultimately ended up reaching #2 on Amazon’s “Hottest Buys” list and stayed in the top 10 for almost two full weeks after its initial release. Micallef’s work has also expanded globally, reaching Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Malta, and India. Micallef’s new life as an unplanned entrepreneur feels hectic: “My initial response is to say crazy! I never thought I would be where I am right now. I really am truly shocked that I’ve made it this far. It’s also very rewarding. Being a young entrepreneur makes me feel proud of myself for achieving what I wanted to accomplish,” she said.
Micallef is now working on a new collection of poetry, as well as dabbling in short-story writing. In addition to writing, the author is continuing her education at Lakehead and looks forward to teaching as a career with writing in her life as well. Micallef also advises others to never give up on their dreams: “I promise you when you reach your goals and others know about it, they’ll wish they never doubted you. At the end of the day, do what makes you happy. Don’t change your work because others tell you to or because you’re afraid. I think everyone needs a little fear as motivation. If you aren’t scared to share something you’ve created, I don’t think that’s normal.”
Self-Epiphany is available for international sale on Amazon as well as through Kindle. The book is also being sold at the Lakehead Orillia Campus bookstore.
Heather’s Canvas
Artist: Heather Morrison
Instagram: @heathers.canvas
Heather Morrison is a local artist from Barrie, Ontario. Morrison graduated from Georgian College last year for accounting yet still manages to find time for her art commissions. Her pursuit of professional artistry has been persistent throughout her life; however, Morrison’s accounting degree was strategic: “To be taught by someone else, it morphs your creativity. There are seven billion people and seven billion people can all perceive your art in seven billion different ways, no one can teach you how to appeal to all of them, plus, why would you want to let others affect how you create?”
Morrison’s art predominantly consists of graphite, charcoal, and oil paintings but she also enjoys blending mediums in order to best enhance her work. Her commission pricings are highly variant based on the time it will take to complete, the cost of materials, and the size of the artwork: “I find pricing to be the hardest part. I want original, beautiful art to be affordable while I also feel like it is so priceless.”
In a world where popularity and talent are so often measured by likes, comments, and followers, Morrison is also able to acknowledge its advantage: “I think it’s a lot easier to start as a young entrepreneur now. The time is yours, it’s all a click away. It’s super easy to self-promote if you have the commitment and time.”
To Morrison, one of the most important things to remember when it comes to being a young entrepreneur is that “success is only deemed by your own perception of yourself.” Truthfully, when pursuing an art or innovative new business, people seldom hold back their doubts or negative comments. The vitality lies within having faith in yourself. Morrison’s confidence grew over a series of successes: her art was displayed at Gravenfeather on Queens St, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, as well as the McLaren Art Centre. Despite these fantastic highs, Morrison maintains that the greatest feeling is the excitement of getting a new commission piece. In the future, Morrison hopes to delve into art full-time, saying: “sooner than later is best. I don’t want to just do it on the side. I want to wake up and just live and breathe art.”
Morrison takes commissions via “[Direct message], comment, or text” and says, “let’s have a casual conversation about art. Ask me if I can do something and we’ll create your vision, all super super simple.”
