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This time of the year, we usually reflect on what we’re thankful for – and for most, including myself, that mostly centers around health and family. But as the years  progress, I realize more and more that many of those that we love so well have no legal claim to the word “family”. I spend 40+ hours per week with some amazing people with whom I share no blood ties. I have friends that I think about or talk to daily. And some friends, I may not see as regularly, but know at the drop of a hat would stop and help me or I for them, at any point along the way. Also, my blood family supports my business in so many ways that you couldn’t see from a distance. Just this past weekend, my entire family stuffed, sealed, and stamped invitations for an upcoming event (thanks Mom and Dad!).

I frequently get asked the question “how much does a website cost?” I typically respond by asking “how much does a car cost?” With a car, you can find a rundown jalopy with a bad engine for $100, you can buy an ultra-premium luxury car for hundreds of thousands with all sorts of bells, whistles, and added functionality – or anywhere in between. The other option of course is to spend countless hours learning the art of car building and make it yourself. Websites are no different. It depends on what kind you get. Why are websites so expensive? I’ve also heard this question. It’s a loaded question. Let’s put it like this: if you had a frontline employee at your company tell you that they could make you a website if you gave them 4 weeks on the clock to do it, would that sound affordable? Let’s say they

Don’t just wish for it. Work for it. My bumpy path that lead to my dream of starting my own marketing agency. When I graduated from college with my Marketing degree, I, unfortunately faced the problem than many in my shoes can relate to. It is really hard to break into the marketing field. Most jobs available out there require 7+ years of experience — or that was my impression at least. I was fortunate enough to land a great job with an amazing company, but it was a far stretch from a marketing job. It was a sales job for an industrial supplies company. Looking back, I can see that I needed the sales and customer service experience. At the time, I just felt lost.   Knowing that I wasn’t where I was supposed to be, I went back to school at nights. I felt defeated with my search

Wednesday morning of this week I took a tumble. Which is an understatement. I slipped on my driveway in the rain and completely face-planted; landing hard on one side of my body – and ached from my ankle up to my head. I’m ok – and fortunate; it could have been a lot worse. What struck me as particularly ironic is, in the heat of the moment, laying on the ground splayed out in pain, I was more concerned about the well-meaning neighbor that witnessed the event than I was my own injuries. Doesn’t it seem like the only thing worse than a mistake is a mistake made with an audience? In business, mistakes are inevitable – even though we all try our best to prevent them. And the nature of business means that they are often witnessed by others – sometimes internally, sometimes externally. What I’ve found in my

My name is Emily Durham and I am the new Content Creation Specialist at Vitality South. My primary job functions are to help create web copy, write blog posts, monitor and create social media content, and write press releases.    I am a 2020 graduate of the University of Mississippi, where I earned my B.S. in integrated marketing communications with a minor in general business and a specialization in public relations. I learned a great deal in my years at Ole Miss and hope to return for my master’s in the future. Throughout college, I worked for various companies gaining experience in both public relations and journalism, including the Oxford School District and HottyToddy.com.   I have been passionate about writing for as long as I can remember. Growing up, I always loved English class the most because that was where I got to do what came easiest to me.

If any of you follow me on my personal social media accounts, you may have noticed that I post fairly regularly about mental health. I love many people that battle anxiety and depression. And while this is a business blog, it’s important to constantly keep in mind that a business is a group of people; each with his or her own challenges and strengths. As a business owner, I try to foster a healthy environment for my team that encourages them to be their best self- personally and professionally. Although this is obvious – working with mentally healthy people is both beneficial to my own mental health, and a more enjoyable way to spend a majority of my waking hours. I found this self care check several months ago and shared it with my team. I can’t for the life of me remember where I found it or I’d give the

  In business, the word “outsourcing” is often thought of as an ugly word. And by all means, when I hear of a company sending their business overseas to cut costs, I’m disappointed. But I believe that outsourcing services that are not your core functions can often be the most practical way to get things done expertly and cost efficiently. If you’re a regular follower of our blogs, you’re likely very well aware that we moved last week. We physically got everything out of our old location and into our new location Friday and Saturday. But as Saturday progressed and I looked at the mounds of furniture in our office, I had no idea what to put where. I could physically arrange everything in our new space – but to arrange it where you can easily walk thru, where you can utilize the space to its fullest potential without waste,

As we are packing our boxes at our current business office, (literally as I type this) it’s amazing the onslaught of mixed emotions I feel. Excitement, dread, hope, and worry. Excitement comes from my idea of what the new space will allow us. (Growth, privacy, etc.) Dread comes from realizing the physical work involved with moving along with all the paper work involved in changing addresses and online business listings. Hope comes from my vision of the new levels we can grow to in our new space. Worry comes from the new obligations that it entails. (Warning: Only nerds will appreciate this next paragraph) When I was thinking this thru, it reminded me of a formula we were taught when I was in business school. Change = DxVxF>R. I fully realize half of you probably know this already, and the other half think I’ve lost my mind at this point,

If it’s both terrifying and amazing, then you should definitely pursue it. Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex I’m a digital girl. We make websites and social media, for crying out loud! I have a Google Calendar and set reminders on my phone. But at the end of the day, I can’t get away from a great physical paper planner. I like taking handwritten notes from my meetings and having them all in one central place. I like adding stickers to it when I’ve accomplished some of my goals. I like check marks beside appointments as they happen. I don’t see this changing soon.  One of my favorite features I look for in a planner for the year is inspirational messages or quotes or challenges each month. This month’s quote in my calendar is from Meghan Markle. I don’t pretend to know if she kept her title of Duchess of Sussex

If your website is not making you money, I believe it is broken. Ashley Elkins During a “previous life”, I was in sales for W.W. Grainger – an industrial supplies company. I helped businesses with their inventory and helped them find creative solutions to improve their business. Among the many, many items we kept in stock, safety products was one of the categories. And in helping businesses find safety solutions to best secure their workforce, there was an optional service that we could sometimes call upon – a free, voluntary OSHA audit.  In case you aren’t in the manufacturing world, OSHA (Occupational Safey & Health Administration) is the company that inspects businesses to ensure they are using the proper safety practices to protect their workers. They often make visits after an accident to see if the company had taken proper precautions, and may even fine the business for not doing

Am I the only one that finds when things get tough, my personal development is the first thing to go? I don’t even mean tough in a bad way. When I get busy, I often find myself pouring out all of my time and energy to make sure everyone else’s lives have smooth sailing. I’m super hectic at work and find myself skipping days at the gym. I’m on deadline with customers’ projects and don’t get around to my own projects. It’s easy to fall into the trap of “sacrificing” your own wants and needs to make sure you don’t fall short elsewhere – and then you are so drained you don’t prioritize making yourself your best self. The past couple of months at Vitality South, we’ve found ourselves burning on all four cylinders. We’re working on some really, really cool projects that we can’t wait to show you when

Today marks the one year anniversary of deciding to open Vitality South. At this point, I hadn’t settled on the name or location or exact services, I simply made the decision to act on a dream that was years in the making. I will admit that it was a terrifying decision for me. To leave a job with a paycheck to start something with only a hope of one day being paid is scary. To stick your neck out on your own and hope customers and future employees will trust you enough to take this ride with you is double scary. Being a business owner means you have to make hard decisions. It means the buck stops with you. It means you are responsible for the actions of others that are on your team. It means you owe your employees a paycheck whether or not it is convenient to you.