Hidden Gems: Meet Lindley Battle of Cultivé Creative Co.

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lindley Battle

Hi Lindley, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
My journey into social media / marketing started with firsthand experience of what it feels like to *not* have support – I was a business owner in desperate need of marketing, and when I sought out marketing help, I realized there were very few people available that actually met what I needed to grow my businesses. Everyone that I encountered in the digital marketing world soon made it clear that they did not have the team to support any actual strategy or customization (i.e. identical production styles, caption voices, and even concept execution across many different brands.)

So, after getting frustrated with the lack of options – and being faced with the 2020 universal lack of business – I forced myself to make the time to learn strategy, dissect every single facet of social media success, and truly spend an extra 4+ hours a day working to push my business on social media. And, the results paid off, quickly. During the pandemic, my wedding photography business grew from something that was very new and localized into a national (and international) brand, all using organic social media alone. So while it didn’t yet occur to me that I wanted to start a marketing agency, I was entirely impressed with the opportunities afforded to small business owners (like myself) through nothing but social media marketing.

Where the real push to start Cultivé Co. came from was realizing how many small business owners, like myself, didn’t have the resources or time to do what I had done in my business when it comes to digital marketing. I was doing brand photography for so many incredible local business owners, and at the time was referring them to an acquaintance of mine who claimed to be a “social media strategist”… later to find out that she was simply turning their brand photos into posts that lacked any type of strategy or intention. After a few clients came to me, frustrated and hoping for a better solution, I realized that it was time to bridge the gap.

From there, I have been so lucky to build an incredible team, who work tirelessly to provide real solutions and results for small business owners who need help getting their message out! I’m so passionate about the ability that digital marketing has to completely change the landscape for any brand with something real to market, and getting to work with a talented team to bring daily wins to our clients is absolutely what gets me out of bed in the morning.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Ha! Any business owner who says it’s been a smooth road has some secret that I don’t.

Right off the bat, something that was important to me was that we always offer a really deep dive into the businesses that we work with. We don’t just approach on a surface level, but truly aim to get into the brain of the business owners that we work with. I knew that this required building a top-notch team… which is not easy, and is also never truly finished. But, I have been so lucky to create a group of individuals who are all so passionate, driven, and talented within their unique niches – and, even more importantly, we’ve all found a way to work together under one business to deliver impactful results and experiences fro our clients.

Another very real (and brutally honest) struggle was that our business went through a long period of undercharging for our services, because I refused to settle for work that didn’t meet the standards that I held our team to. Over the years, we’ve worked intentionally to make sure that our pricing truly met our efforts- but struggling to find the line between my level of care, and remembering that this is a business, has been my biggest personal struggle.

Ultimately, I’ve found that running a business is like any serious, committed relationship. I have to work daily to make sure that our team and their relationships to one another, and our clients, are healthy, positive, and intentional. When accepting new clients, I have to work to make sure that they are truly the right fit, both in personality and in goals, for our agency – and to make sure that we’re the right fit for them! I never want us to accept a client simply just to add another client. Our retention rate remains one of my biggest points of pride as a business owner, and it’s that way because we truly do put relationships and results above all else – so I always want to make sure I’m bringing us clients that we feel confident in pushing towards those wins for!

We’ve been impressed with Cultivé Creative Co., but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We are a cross-platform digital marketing agency that offers full service social media management, custom website and logo design, and brand photography. Our specialty tends to be social media management, simply because that’s where we bring most of our new clients in – but we really believe in a custom, full-spectrum approach. If we’re managing your social, and notice that you’re getting hundreds of clicks to your website a month but those leads aren’t converting… we’re going to talk to you about a website re-design that prioritizes mobile accessibility and functionality.

Ultimately, my vision for this business was a one-stop-shop for small business owners looking to have a truly impactful, and personal, digital marketing presence with content that uniquely matches their business, brand, and voice. No more getting frustrated trying to work with ten different people to get a message across – our team is here to help it all get solved, and well.

And, while we place a huge emphasis on aesthetics and creative, we are always driven by strategy, client-specific goals, and a solid return on the investment that our clients place in us.

Who else deserves credit in your story?
The first person who deserves the credit for everything is my fiancé, Brian. Having spent years and years as two people under one roof who were both business owners, crafting the concept for Cultivé Co. with him was more helpful than I can put into words. Every time I had a “what about this” he would respond with a “yes, but what if?” – and as a true perfectionist, nothing could have helped me more. Having his lens, as a fellow business owner, to try and help craft a structure that would *truly* take the constant marketing battle off of the plates of the business owner was irreplaceable in the creation of this business. Not to mention, all the company during late work nights, holding down the fort during my frequent work trips, and general encouragement over the last near decade of entrepreneurship… AND, if we need more, the handling of QuickBooks because my creative brain runs from numbers – I would never want to do this without him.

Coming in at a close second is my team – there is absolutely no world where I could do this alone. I’ve always believed in teaming up with people who are *more* talented than I am in their own areas of expertise, and I’ve found that group in the most amazing way. I am proud beyond words of our team at Cultivé Co. – people who aren’t afraid to challenge thoughts, bring their individual creative geniuses, and care about our people with their whole hearts.

And finally, last but certainly not least, the clients who have believed in us. We have a handful of clients currently working with us who have been here since day one (or, in some cases, day -52), which blows my mind each and every day. Whether they signed on when we first started as an agency, or joined us a month ago, I still could not be more unceasingly grateful for each and every client who trusts us with their business. As a fellow small business owner, I know what it means to give someone the reigns to what you’ve given your all to create – and the trust that our clients place in us is what pushes me to create more, work harder, and do better every single day.

Pricing:

• Full service social media management starts at $4,000/month
• Custom brand and website design upon request
• Brand photography starts at $3,000

Contact Info:

• Website: https://cultive-co.com
• Instagram: @cultive.cc