How to Eliminate Imposter Syndrome Stress With One Simple Phrase, According to These First-Time Founders Mina Park and Ricardo Marquez of Crispy Chicken social media agency discuss the launch and growth of their business.

Who are you and what's your business?

We are Mina Park and Ricardo Marquez of Crispy Chicken. We're a social media agency that specializes in entertainment, media brands, and content creators. Based in Los Angeles, we provide our clients with expertise in digital strategy and brand building, audience development and our bread and butter: content creation!

What inspired you to create this business?

The running joke is that people not in the industry think social media accounts are run by an intern and that this field wasn't taken seriously back when we first started our careers. After almost a decade, we realized social media wasn't going anywhere and that there were plenty of people and brands that could use our help with the experience we've gained. As minorities, we also wanted to be able to show brands how to authentically connect to our communities and noticed that many out there truly were having a difficult time trying to build that bridge. So, we decided to leave our jobs behind and start Crispy Chicken.

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What has been your biggest challenge during the pandemic and how did you pivot to overcome it?

The biggest challenge was we just hired our first employees a month prior to the lockdown and then had to deal with the uncertainty of how the pandemic was going to shape business moving forward. We had just found our stride with our team growing, and then suddenly had to rethink the way we were doing business and the types of projects we could take on. With many industries going through layoffs and budget cuts, we were also concerned with what that meant for our survival.

We were incredibly fortunate with our decision to market ourselves as being able to repurpose content for digital and once brands and entertainment properties heard that we can take existing content libraries and find unique ways to create new social content out of it, our business thrived.

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What does the word "entrepreneur" mean to you?

Someone who doesn't get enough sleep. Jokes aside, "Entrepreneur" means someone who believes in themselves and has a vision and drive of what they want to accomplish.

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What is something many aspiring business owners think they need that they really don't?

Previous experience of being a business owner is something you don't need to be successful. If you have a great idea and a solid roadmap for getting to where you need to be, the experience will come with the journey. We're first-time business owners as well, and we are growing and learning from our mistakes and triumphs every day. So don't let that scare you from making the initial leap!

Is there a particular quote or saying that you use as personal motivation?

"No one knows what they're doing." It eliminates the imposter syndrome we all have and honestly lowers the playing field. Once you realize that everyone else is also trying to figure it out, it releases a lot of anxiety and stress you might run into.