Social Media and Resilience Expert - Blair Kaplan Venables

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Blair Kaplan Venables, Founder and CEO of Blair Kaplan Communications, located in Kamloops, BC, Canada.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

I am a social media expert and the Founder and CEO of Blair Kaplan Communications. I mentor entrepreneurs and marketing experts who are ready to be seen as thought leaders in their industry. I specialize in social media strategy creation, strategy implementation, and social media education. I am the creator of the Social Media Empowerment Pillars and have helped my customers grow their followers into the tens of thousands in just one month, win integrative marketing awards, and more. I've clocked over 30,000 hours as an entrepreneur and social media expert, and I love to share what I've learned and created with my community.

I am also a resilience expert and the Founder of The Global Resilience Project, which is a community where people share their stories of overcoming life's most difficult challenges. It can be cathartic and healing to share. It can be inspiring and motivational to listen and learn about other people’s journeys. Everyone deserves to tell their story, and that is why we created a safe space for people to share via our website, social media, published books, and the Radical Resilience podcast. This is my philanthropic work, and we invite everyone to share their story.

Tell us about yourself

I became a badass social media marketing expert before the world dubbed social media marketing a “thing.” Before graduating from the University of Winnipeg, I travelled to Europe and spent the summer living in Greece. I was briefly a server at a heavy metal rock club, but I decided my talent was best maximized on the beach. My American friends I met along the way encouraged me to join this thing called “Facebook” to share photos with me. Because I wanted some proof of my shenanigans, I obliged.

While studying Public Relations, I learned to navigate Facebook and quickly became proficient at navigating the social media vortex. Fast forward to 2008, when I decided to leave a three-and-a-half-year career at lululemon athletic to start my own Public Relations company in Vancouver, Canada, and the beginning of a recession at the tender age of 23.

Because I was a serial entrepreneur, I also accidentally started a health and wellness coupon company while in pursuit of attending free or discounted yoga classes. Starting two companies at once was an exciting challenge and was the bridge to meeting many business owners in Vancouver. I frequented the networking circuit and met as many people as I could.

A question that a lot of business owners had was, “do you know how to use social media for marketing?” And, of course, being savvy like MacGyver, I always said yes. At the time, there were no courses or teachers of social media, so I applied what I knew about Public Relations to the world of social media and began offering that as a service. I guess you can say I'm considered a pioneer of social media marketing (my clients would agree).

As new social media platforms made their way into our free time, I would quickly learn how to use the platform for marketing and then teach courses on that subject. I also began offering private and group coaching for those who wanted a more intimate learning experience. Over the years, I managed various social media marketing aspects for companies like Miura Golf, Sunice Golf and Snow, Gibbons Whistler, Alpine Riding, BC Transit, Whistler Transit, WNORTH Conference, The Juice Punk, Peak Ventures Fine Custom Homes, and much more.

I have taught social media and marketing courses at the British Columbia Institute for Technology and various Chambers of Commerce. I've helped my customers grow their followers into the tens of thousands in just one month, win integrative marketing awards, and have been instrumental in the launch of many innovative companies. I've also spoken on national stages, and my expertise has been featured in media outlets, including CBC Radio, CEOWORLD Magazine, She Owns It, and Thrive Global.

In a diary entry from December 21, 1996, I asked, “Do you think I have a chance of publishing a book?” I did it 24 years later and am the #1 best-selling author of Pulsing Through My Veins: Raw and Real Stories from an Entrepreneur. I launched my first book during a global pandemic and leveraged social media to boost me to best-selling status.

You can find me sharing my passion and expertise on stages and Zoom screens worldwide, and yes, I'm also a speaker for hire. When I'm not working, you can find me camping, hiking, stand-up paddle boarding, exploring nature, rocking out a concert, or travelling the world. I also enjoy relaxing with my husband and cats while snacking on Milk Duds and watching reality television. I live in British Columbia, Canada, and although I'm a city girl at heart, I have traded my stilettos for plaid and love life in the mountains.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

My biggest accomplishment is having my business for almost 15 years. I started Blair Kaplan Communications at the age of 23, at the beginning of the recession in 2008, and I had no idea what I was doing. I also lived in one of the most expensive cities in the world. My company started off as a public relations company but quickly evolved to most offering social media services. Because social media marketing was so new, and I was showing up and figuring it out, I became one of the pioneers of social media marketing.

What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?

When so many people depend on you, it can be very hard to step away. Both my mother and father died within the same year, and I took very little time off to grieve. I had obligations and moved what I could. I also found that work was a place where I'm happy, so it was a nice break from the grief. Needless to say, I couldn't take the time I needed to mourn and heal. If I did, I would have had no income coming in. I never thought that I would be dealing with something like this in my thirties, so I wasn't prepared.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

Make sure you are starting a business because you are driven by passion first and not by money first. It's okay to desire to make a lot of money, but passion is what will sustainably fuel you.
Find a mentor or a coach. Find someone who has done what you want and follow their advice. If they can do it, so can you. But know that it will take a lot of work and dedication.
Schedule time for yourself. I block off 3 hours first thing (to work out, have a bath, meditate and journal before work), a lunch break, and weekends and plan vacations and days off. Setting boundaries and having time off are important. In stillness, we create. At rest, we are actually growing. Also, what I wish I had, was a plan for when there is an emergency, and I have to step away from the business. I suggest that you create an action plan for when you urgently need to step away for a short period of time.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://blairkaplan.ca/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BlairKaplanCommunications
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blairfromblairland/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BlairKaplanPR
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/blairdkaplan/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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