We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Michael Keelen a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Michael, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
I grew up in a household that had strict rules about chores and yard work, so I learned work ethic through parental discipline at a very young age. However, by the age of 11, I was also delivering by foot or by bicycle 50 newspapers every day after school and every Saturday morning–no matter the weather or anything else I had to do that day. At the end of each month I had to go door-to-door to collect cash or checks from customers for their monthly subscriptions, and my only pay for all of this work was the tips my customers gave me. On average, I worked 50 hours per month and made about $200 in tips. I must have been the only 11-year-old in my class with a job, but having so many customers depend on me every day for so long taught me the value of hard work, dedication, dependability, customer service, quality assurance, and so much more.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I am the owner of an agency called Millay Media that manages and represents social media influencers. Most of my clients focus on lifestyle and beauty content, but I would love to connect with hard-working creators of all types! The day-to-day work is a bit tedious, but helping these talented creators grow their communities, connect with excellent clients, and increase their earnings is important work that I’m very proud of!
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
In my current line of work and in my previous careers in mid-level corporate management and as a high-school teacher for a decade, three qualities that have helped me succeed are knowing how to apply a broad range of skills to various lines of work, placing high importance on both big-picture planning and daily minutia, and having the stamina and commitment to get the difficult and boring jobs done well on behalf of my employers or clients.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
Most of my current clients are mostly beauty creators and beauty brands, but I am more than excited to meet and collaborate with anyone who works hard and makes good content. An ideal client will post good content almost every day and will engage with his/her audience in meaningful ways. I like working with creators who add value to ongoing conversations and create safe spaces for others to contribute as well. Regarding brands, we are always very happy to receive any offers and any creative ideas, and we always do our best to accommodate these clients’ needs in any way we can!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.millaymedia.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/millaymedia?igsh=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@millaymedia?_t=8rLis0TEN3q&_r=1
Image Credits
woman in black on stairwell is Madison Ortiz, @madisonortizz on IG, TT, YT
woman in bathtub is Grace Debetaz, @debetaz on IG and @shakespearesidechick on TT
woman in pink shirt/white pants standing against railing is Daria Afshar, @dariaafshar6 on TT, @dariaafshar_ on IG
woman in pink dress in front of Kayali is Ria Lazo @riaxla on all TT, IG, YT
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
