Leading Ladies - Chelsey Veturis Baker
Working as the Chief Operating Officer of Sister Act Media, Chelsey Veturis Baker manages Facebook pages with more than 4.72 million fans and accounts on Twitter with more than 42,000 followers. How does she do it? Well, I know for a fact she does it with her amazing creativity and her unfailing grace. Chelsey puts so much effort into her work and it hasn't gone unnoticed. She's been named a "Top 50 Tweep to Follow," an official Huffington Post "Female Geek," an Elite Member of Yelp, and even a speak and new media correspondent.
Connect with Chelsey on Twitter!
HOW DID YOU GET YOUR START?
I had coached cheer for many years, however, it was really taken to the next level when I became the head coach for a High School cheer program. Instead of having someone else to coach with and talk about decisions with, all of a sudden, all of the decisions were my call. And because of this, all of the responsibility for those decisions landed on me too. It was a huge learning experience, but sometimes you learn the most from your biggest mistakes.
WHAT RISKS DID YOU TAKE?
The decision to start a business with my sister Rochelle Veturis was a huge risk. From deciding what we wanted our business to be, to daily tasks, to how the income would be split if there was income, it was all uncharted territory for us. Also, since it was so new, every process had to be built from the ground up. It was really difficult and continues to challenge us daily I am so grateful for the opportunity, and the ability to work with my sister every day is amazing. God has truly blessed us with the best clients who we feel honored to work with. And the best part is that it doesn’t feel like work because we enjoy what we are doing.
WHAT IS SOMETHING THAT SCARES YOU?
Investing in anything with business money. For example, investing in going to a conference, or software that we may need. Whatever it is, I am a total cheapo! Rochelle is definitely more of the visionary, always looking at the possibilities, and I am always the dollar and cents girl… telling her we don’t need to spend the money. It always works out to be a good balance. Sometimes she convinces me we need to invest and then we are so grateful we did, and other times we keep the money where it is. Either way it scares me every time.
LOOKING BACK ON YOUR CAREER, WHAT WAS A MAJOR TURNING POINT FOR YOU?
Marriage completely changed my life. Yes, it changes everyone’s life but my husband is in the military and I don’t think I fully understood that I was marrying the military too. After I got married I moved from California to Las Vegas where my husband was stationed. Four months after that, he got an email saying that we had three months until a report date in Oklahoma. I quickly realized that unless I wanted to job hop all the time, I was going to have to have an unconventional job. Although scary, it really has been the best choice for our family and I absolutely love getting to stay home with my adorable puppies @StewAndSoph all day.
WHAT ARE THREE PIECES OF ADVICE YOU'VE RECEIVED THAT YOU'VE CARRIED WITH YOU THROUGHOUT YOUR CAREER?
1. God First, Family Second, Business Third.
For me this is huge. If I am not putting God first in my life, it shows in all areas of my life.
If I don’t get in time with God in the morning, my attitude for the entire day is different than when I do. Also, if I am not in a good place with my husband, it really affects my ability to focus on work. Because of this, I find that if I put God first, and my family second, I am able to focus on the business because I am mentally in a good place.
2. In order to be successful in business you need to take care of your body.
It is crazy how much food and exercise can affect your life. Through The Daniel Plan I have really learned that “when your brain works right, you work right.” What you eat and if you exercise or not can really effect your energy levels, your brain, and your overall mood. Owning your own business, you need all the energy you can get and I have found that when I eat better and exercise, I have a lot more energy to put towards my business.
3. Tweet others the way you want to be tweeted.
I had to get my love for social media in here somewhere right? Seriously though, going the extra mile to be nice to everyone you meet can really help in a lot of ways. Asking how you can help the other person instead of always asking for help really makes a difference. When you put others first, normally, they are just flattered you thought of them. You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar right? :)
BIGGEST MISTAKE?
Not embracing the entrepreneurial life sooner was a huge mistake. I don’t think I understood what I would be getting into. I will tell you, you can experience the highest of the highs, followed by the lowest of the lows but it really is worth it. I think about all the time that was wasted when I could have started my business sooner. However, God has a plan for everything and I am so thankful for a supportive family that encouraged me to pursue my dreams.