Covid
makes us
all
much crisper.
Lisa Keogh, Social Native
Working
from home
is NOT
for everyone!!
David Shadpour, founder Social Native
David Shadpour (founder) and Lisa Keogh run Social Native, a social influencer advertising network, which has an army of over 10,000 freelancers ready to create social media images and videos on behalf of Social Native’s big name clients. The freelancers work independently (like Uber drivers). Each has their own identity and personal style. Each is ready to pitch, create and post social media messages based on the guidelines put out by Lisa and David. This army of independents offers their services on demand, ready to be deployed as they are needed.
REMOTE WORK FORCE HAS TWO BIG BENEFITS AND TWO COSTS
NO NEED FOR BIG EXPENSIVE OFFICE SPACE— When the Corona virus hit they had a huge space in Beverly Hills with huge monthly rental fees. David says that once things shut down they immediately gave up that space. They saved hundreds of thousands of dollars. That doesn’t mean they won’t need any office space but they learned that they can operate very well with much less.
WORKING FROM HOME DOESN’T WORK FOR EVERYONE— With small children, dogs, roommates, and spouses coming and going in the background, Lisa says they have all learned a little too much about each other’s private life. One person was forced to take his calls from his closet because his roommates were making too much noise. These things can be embarrassing, awkward, isolating and unsurprisingly the team morale has taken a hit as a result.
GREATER CLARITY & EFFICIENCY — ‘We don’t waste so much time shooting the sh#t every morning. People would rather get right to it. And when they finish a meeting, people find themselves double checking who’s responsible for what. With people so separated, they all want to be clear about who owns what.
NICE SURPRISE!
David and Lisa claim to be ahead of the curve by relying on freelance labor. Thanks to the pandemic, they say their clients have now become more comfortable using this army of creative freelancers rather than the more conventional staff creatives.
As far as the full-time staff, Social Native took the PPP (Payroll Protection Project) loans and this so far has helped keep the team together.
David says the clients didn’t leave, but most have put their long term projects on hold for the 3rd Quarter. This has forced David and Lisa to find new ways to be smarter about how they use their funds.