Wauwatosa Business Spotlight: Alicia Haugen, mom and designer, got into social media early

When Alicia Haugen got into social media marketing nearly six years ago, few people even knew what that was.

"That's when Facebook and Twitter for business were really kicking off. I got in it at the right time and learned a lot very quickly," Haugen said.

In fact, her online expertise evolved much like the rest of her marketing career.

"It kind of just happened," Haugen admitted.

After a high school internship sparked an interest in design, Haugen took her skills to a local hair salon, which hired her to develop their social media presence in 2009. By 2010, a Milwaukee print marketing firm recruited Haugen, who spent two semesters in college and never formally studied social media strategy, to teach area municipalities and small businesses about social media and marketing.

"I've been very lucky with the opportunities I've been given. And I think I've taken advantage of the opportunities that have come my way," Haugen said.

Last year, at the age of 22, she went to work for herself, starting her home-based A. Haugen Design in anticipation of the birth of her first child.

"I wanted to set my own hours, work when I wanted to work. I wanted a family," said Haugen, whose daughter was born in February.

Just weeks into her new life as a mompreneur, Haugen said her work has remained much the same: designing everything from social media strategies to full print and online marketing plans for small business.

But she's definitely still sorting out her schedule.

"I'm up at all hours, so I'm working at all hours," Haugen said.

Actually, that's not so different from her pre-baby professional life, when she worked early mornings and late nights to avoid website interruptions for out-of-state clients.

But, now, "it's about completely shutting everything else out and sitting down and carving out that hour of the day and saying, 'I'm not doing anything else, unless my baby cries.'"

Haugen laughed as she gently bounced her baby girl.

If anything has really changed her work, it's how clients have come to understand it.

"It's changed dramatically," Haugen said. "In the past, I approached clients more assuming they had zero knowledge. There definitely was a learning curve for some of the older mom and pop businesses I worked with; they took a little more convincing: How am I going to do this? How is this feasible for my business? And how does it work?

"That was definitely a challenge, because, at that time, there were no numbers for if you post this many times a day, you'll see X increase. It was kind of selling them on, 'I can really help your business.' I was selling them on me and not the social media aspect."

Now, Haugen said, business owners have done a bit of that work for her, approaching her almost as partners with ideas about not only the sizes of their campaigns, but also what they think might work best for them.

She doesn't even have to explain Facebook and Twitter.

JUST THE FACTS

BUSINESS:A. Haugen Design

WEB: Facebook

PHONE:(262) 682-3174

OWNER: Alicia Haugen

INCORPORATED: 2014

TYPE OF BUSINESS: graphic design, marketing