Meet Katie Garwood of One Eleven Group

Today we’d like to introduce you to Katie Garwood.

Hi Katie, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My entire life I watched my parents struggle to provide for myself and my 2 sisters. My dad spent his entire career climbing the corporate ladder to nowhere – only to retire in 2022 when he was diagnosed with cancer, and my mom (despite all her academic achievements) spent her career teaching (and let’s face it, no one gets into teaching for the money). I think we are all products of our environment in one way or another – for me, I knew I wanted more. I am a first generation entrepreneur – and have always been a bit of a rule breaker/black sheep. I met my husband when I was 16 years old, and 2 years later we got married. I have been married for 12 years this year and together we own and operate NC’s #1 Creative Marketing Agency – One Eleven Group. I have always wanted more out of life – I quite literally don’t know how to sit still. My first business was a failure, my second business was a failure, and now, nearly a decade of entrepreneurship later, i’ve found my passion and my purpose. For years, I carried a lot of shame around “failing” in business – but as I got myself into rooms full of successful, high earning entrepreneurs – I realized that “failure” was something to be incredibly proud of. I wouldn’t be the person or professional i am today had I not walked through those storms and learned all those lessons. One of my favorite quotes is “If you went back in time and made different decisions, you would erase yourself” – I remember the first time I read it and how hard it hit me. I grew up in a VERY traditional southern baptist household, went to a very religious school (that my mom taught at, which was the whole reason my parents were able to “afford” a private education for my sisters and I), and for basically my entire life I lived for the approval/acceptance of others. We were taught to talk the talk and walk the walk – and if you didn’t, well you were going straight to hell. The past few years i’ve spent a lot of time and money on my own personal growth and development. I’ve had to un-learn age old belief systems and quite literally re-wire my brain to think differently. It’s been a difficult, but incredibly profound journey getting to know myself. I attribute my success solely to my innate inability to slow down . Once I set my mind to something – it’s happening, come hell or high water. It’s one of the reasons our clients love doing business with us – we make things happen in a big, bold, beautiful way. There is no dream too big or vision too grand that we can’t turn into a reality for our clients. In addition to One Eleven Group, I recently launched my coaching academy – Academy 222. Coaching other entrepreneurs and visionaries has become my absolute favorite thing to do. I have several pinch me moments each week that this is my JOB – It’s literally insane. I am living proof that there is no limit to what you can accomplish when you set your mind to something.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The best part of business, and the most difficult part of business is the PEOPLE. Who you have on your team, and what seats you sit them in, will make or break you. It took me YEARS to learn the lesson of the proper leverage of people. The best decision you’ll ever make in business is to hire people smarter than you to do the things you don’t enjoy doing. LEVERAGING their strengths, to combat your weaknesses. Learning to listen to people and place them in positions they find JOY in is the real key. Now, on the flip side of that, with people – comes emotions. Learning the art of removing emotions from the decisions you make in your business is one of the most difficult things we have to learn as business owners. I have personally held on to people for far too long because I allowed my emotions around those people (friendship, empathy, sympathy, etc.) to cloud my judgement. I have a heart for people, and sometimes that heart causes me to have rose colored glasses. And as a result, my business has suffered in the past. It’s all part of it though – the triumphs, the struggles, and everything in between that comes with owning a business. Juggling the people and emotions is hard – but it’s a hard I choose day in and day out because although it’s difficult, it’s more difficult (in my opinion) to not bet on myself and everything I’ve worked so hard to build and overcome.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about One Eleven Group?
At One Eleven Group – we’re more than your marketing team, we’re your partners. We believe every business, brand, and individual is unique, and your marketing strategy should be too! Our mission is to help you achieve success – whatever success may mean to you! Your vision is the driving force behind every decision we make. From our initial meeting and beyond, we strive to capture and embody your unique vision and cascade it out to the world in an intentionally thoughtful way to attract your ideal customer.

Our promise? We’ll never put you in a box.

Authenticity is MAGNETIC. Our entire brand is built on the premise that when you are clear about who you are, who your brand speaks to, and what success means to you – everything that is meant for you will find you. Through intentional, creative marketing strategies, we bring our clients a unique marketing partnership that showcases their business in ways they never thought possible.

One Eleven Group – The Name: 111 is an angel number. It’s an angel number i’ve seen repeatedly my entire life, and even had tattooed on my forearm nearly 5 years ago. By definition, 111 represents new beginnings, opportunities, and good fortune. Our brand name is incredibly representative of what we bring to our clients!

We offer a variety of creative marketing services – our most popular services include social media management, content creation (videography & photography), web development, brand development, consulting & coaching, digital ads creation and management, SEO optimization, and more!

Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
I don’t think anyone has ever asked me this, to be honest. I wouldn’t necessarily say I have a “favorite” childhood memory. I think I have a lot of fond ones, but not a favorite. My best memories are of time spent with my Grandma, Ruth. Her passing in 2017 was the single most difficult storm I’ve ever had to walk through. I miss her every single day.

Pricing:

• All of our pricing is custom.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://oneelevengroup.net/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oneeleven.group