Meet Kelby Green of Common Cents Creatives

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kelby Green.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
My business actually started as a “side hustle”. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a bit of a personal finance nerd and a decent writer, so I decided to combine the two and create a small personal finance blog (The Frugalennials) to talk about managing money from a frugal, millennial perspective. The idea was more of a creative outlet than anything — and a way to answer some of the questions that I’d received from friends and family about saving money, paying down debt, etc., in a public forum.

One day, I received an email from a financial advisor who wanted to see if I would be interested in writing for his company blog and he would pay me for it. His audience was primarily millennial families, so he thought it would be a natural fit. I said yes, and one advisor led to 3, 7, 12… and eventually I was earning more from my freelance writing side hustle than my day job.

I enjoyed the work I was doing with the financial planning firms I was working with and knew I was earning enough to cover my basic needs (even if I lost a client or two), so I quit my corporate job and started Common Cents. That was a little over two years ago.

Initially, it was just creating blog posts and email campaigns for financial services companies but now it has grown to include website development and digital marketing services for that same audience.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I like to think of my entrepreneurial journey as a mountain range with both peaks and valleys — some moments are wonderful and take your breath away, others are dark and lonely. Naturally, I tend to view things with a glass half full approach, so even in those valleys, I realize that it’s only temporary and believe that something good is waiting just on the other side.

Has the road been smooth? Absolutely not… but I wouldn’t change a thing! In these last few years, I’ve dealt with nightmare clients, extremely late or no-payment-at-all on completed projects, late nights/early mornings, and more.

But, I’ve learned that those rough spots are opportunities to learn and grow in ways that aren’t possible by reading a book or hearing someone else’s story. Some things you have to go through yourself in order to grow.

Common Cents Creatives – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Common Cents Creatives is a digital marketing agency that works primarily with financial services companies (banks, credit unions, financial advising firms, etc.). Our goal is simple: we help financial services companies attract and engage with their ideal client and we do this through website design, creative content (blog posts), and digital marketing (FB, LinkedIn, IG, email).

I think what sets us apart from other digital marketing agencies is the fact that we’re so familiar with the financial services industry. Prior to starting this company, I worked in various positions throughout the financial services industry for over 15 years. Over that time, I’ve come to understand what clients are looking for from their banks, financial advisors, etc. and we aim to articulate that in every project and/or digital marketing campaign that we work on.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
From a client relationship standpoint, I define success as a design project or marketing campaign that a client can’t stop talking about. If I’m getting multiple emails about how excited they are to launch a site or the positive feedback they’ve received post-launch, I know we’ve done something right.

Personally, I believe success is found at the intersection of doing something you love and finding people that are willing to pay you for it. That’s not to say that getting paid to do what you love won’t come without its share of frustration. But, if more often than not, you wake up excited about the work that you get to do that day — I’d say that was a success.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.commoncentscreatives.com
• Phone: 713-965-6724
• Email: kelby@commoncentscreatives.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/common_cents_creatives/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/commoncentscreatives/

Image Credit:
Bryan Nwami

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