Meet Michelle Bast

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Michelle Bast a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Michelle, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?

My purpose was always to create. I’ve always valued creativity above everything else. Growing up, I was curious and inquisitive, and I loved the arts… but I had no talent for them. I couldn’t sing, I had two left feet, I was too shy to act, and my fine motor skills ruled out traditional art. Writing came naturally, and I enjoyed it, but my family worried it wasn’t a practical career path, so I abandoned it early on.

Still, I wanted to create. Then came the internet. Digital art was born, and I discovered I was far more proficient with a keyboard and mouse than I’d ever been in any other medium. Suddenly, I could bring to life the things that had only existed in my head.

I know what it feels like to have a clear vision but lack the ability to express it. That’s the same feeling many business owners have when they come to a marketing agency. They know their product or service is excellent, but they struggle to show it to the world. I can relate to that, and my purpose is to be the one who wields the tools that help them be heard.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

At Pulley Media, we help businesses tell their stories in ways that feel authentic, creative, and impactful. Our work spans social media management, paid ad campaigns, website design, and SEO, but at the heart of everything we do is one idea: giving business owners the tools to be seen and heard.
What I find most exciting is that no two projects are ever the same. Each client brings their own voice, history, and community, and we get to craft strategies and visuals that bring those elements to life. There’s something really special about watching a local business connect with people in a bigger, bolder way because of the work we’ve done together.

Our newest service—AI video and image generation—takes that creativity to another level. It gives us the ability to produce unique, high-quality content faster than ever before, while still tailoring it to the personality of each brand. For many small businesses, this means they can access cutting-edge creative assets that once felt out of reach.

At the end of the day, Pulley Media is about more than marketing. We’re about amplifying the passion behind each business and making sure their story gets the spotlight it deserves.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

My colleagues in the industry are by far my greatest resource. Always find somebody who knows more than you, and give them your ears. Allow them to influence you, and allow yourself to accept that you cannot possibly know everything. Humility allows for growth, and ego limits it. To give a more concrete answer, books like Building a Story Brand are great for learning how to take customers on a journey versus just showing them an ad. Canva is an excellent tool with a low barrier-to-entry. Google’s AI product suite is fantastic.

All the wisdom you’ve shared today is sincerely appreciated. Before we go, can you tell us about the main challenge you are currently facing?

The biggest challenge we face at Pulley Media is time. There are only so many hours in the day. We’d love to train more people and expand our capacity to take on additional clients, but we haven’t yet found that special person who can step into all the different roles we fill for our clients. Marketing today requires a mix of creativity, strategy, tech skills, and a deep understanding of each business we serve, and that combination isn’t easy to find. Maybe one day we’ll meet our unicorn, but until then we’re focused on giving our existing clients the best possible attention and results.

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Michelle Bast

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