The Story of Ascension Socials

When life hands you lemons, you could make lemonade, or you could create a whole new recipe.
That's the kind of ambitious mindset that would soon shake my world up.

Hi! I’m Kelly and I’m usually the face behind the scenes on socials. I love working with local brands who are focused on bringing their expertise to our community.

I have such an appreciation for what it takes to make a successful business. I admire small business owners and commend them for giving it everything they have and just going for it! Having the chance to work with entrepreneurs has inspired me. So here's the story of how Ascension Socials was created.

I guess you could say it’s in my blood; I grew up surrounded by family who set their own paths, created businesses of their own, and stuck with it. Then I married a great man who continues to do the same. It’s been inspiring and eye opening to see what really goes into it.

The truth is that I always pushed away any inclinations for wanting to start my own business. I just brushed it off because I didn’t feel like I had any skills that stood out or talents that I could make a business out of. Besides, I would tell myself, I’ve got a good thing going working in the corporate world. It means vacation days, benefits, a pension and therefore security for my family. There’s honour in that. I had a routine which allowed me to do my job, keep up with the household, take care of my son, and have a little side hustle too. I had a boss who was trusting and gave me the freedom to explore ways to incorporate my creative side into the world of finance. It wasn’t until recently when a drastic shift happened that made me realize I have a choice to make.

While I was at a client's office getting some video content, I got a call from my corporate job. It was my boss and something in my gut told me this wasn't going to be a good call. I was informed that due to budget cuts, I had to move to another team. That meant I wouldn’t be doing the part of the job I loved the most- maintaining the team's social media account. Okay, don't panic...

The bright side: I still have a job, and better yet, the new position is full time versus the part time position I had up to this point.

The down side: instant dread at the idea of being immersed back into the corporate procedures and mundane tasks that didn’t provide me with a feeling of purpose. So, I had a choice to make; I can either stick to the corporate world, lose my creative role but maintain and even grow my position in a safe and secure environment, or, I use this opportunity to take a big risk and realize I have been already doing what I love, what I’m good at it, and what I CAN turn into a full-time career.

Let’s pause for a second. I have to be honest - I most definitely did not come to this conclusion on my own. Actually, I wallowed in self-pity for a few days first. I felt sorry for myself and tried to come to terms with the fact that everything I had been doing for two years was all for nothing. It was time to start working a 9-5, filling out forms and sending emails. I’ve never been one that thrives in that environment.

I can make it work though - I’ve done it before, I can do it again.

But I’ll be miserable in no time and then every other aspect of my life gets affected.

Cue the spiraling.

That’s when my supportive and entrepreneurial-spirited husband gently nudged me to snap out of it and see the opportunity this presented.

Yes, of course I could go and work my corporate job and make ends meet; OR I could realize that I’ve already been doing what I love for years but just haven’t seen the full potential in it. Again - thankful for my hubby for pointing that out!

Writing this now, the decision I needed to make seems so clear. Amazing what a little support, clarity and hindsight can do for you, am I right?

So here I am, scared but excited. Nervous but relieved. Overwhelmed but highly motivated. There’s so much that goes into every decision and although I’ve always seen from the sidelines the sacrifices and hard work that is involved in making a business thrive, it’s now time to launch myself fully into the deep end. I’m going to continue doing what I've been doing for years. I'm just going to do it more. I'm going to provide other small businesses the opportunity to grow their online presence, all the while building my own too!

How do you like them lemons?