Ina
Kary! Hi! Kary! How are you?

Kary
Oh, Ina, how are you doing today? I am so good and so glad that you are here.

Ina
I'm excited to be here. I’ve been wanting to have you on forever.

Kary
I’m excited to be here too!

Ina
And I’ll get to share a little bit about why in a minute, but first—can you please tell us what you do right now? Who do you serve?

Kary
Yes! Well, I’m a social brand coach. I focus primarily on Instagram, helping women entrepreneurs create profitable and authentic brands in that space.

Ina
And I want to tell you—I found you because your messaging was right on point for me. You had just started a new Instagram account, and I saw you blow up. I started following you when you had maybe, like, 800 followers. Then I checked back, and suddenly you had 3,000 followers! What happened?

Kary
Late bloomer, maybe! But yes, it blew up. We’ll get into that story, but first, I like to go way back. Can you tell us where you grew up and what it was like being you?

Kary
I grew up in Washington, DC. I’m in Atlanta now—that’s where I live with my husband and daughter. But growing up in DC, I had a strong mother who was my role model. I wanted to be just like her when I grew up—she worked hard and had multiple degrees, and I knew I wanted that too.

Ina
Sounds like you were involved in a million things growing up!

Kary
Exactly! Sports, activities, drama club, debate team—anything I could get involved in. My mom supported all of it. I tried everything—played clarinet, trombone, even drums! She wanted me to explore as much as possible, and I took that spirit with me through high school.

Ina
Where do you think that drive came from?

Kary
Honestly, from my mom. She made sure I had opportunities that sparked creativity. Before I was old enough to decide, she signed me up for all sorts of activities. That love for new experiences stuck with me—and she nurtured it as I grew older.

Ina
So where did you decide to go to college? What did you imagine you’d do with your life?

Kary
I knew I wanted to leave DC and experience something new, so I went to Temple University in Philadelphia and studied business. But, funny enough, I majored in risk management and insurance. I knew I wanted to make sure I had a job right out of college.

Ina
Risk management? Why that?

Kary
Well, as a Black woman, I understood the importance of setting myself up for success. My mom made sure I knew that we have to create our own opportunities because the doors aren’t always open for us. So I chose a major that had high job placement rates.

Ina
Your mom sounds incredible. What’s her name?

Kary
Mary Chambers. I’m tearing up just thinking about her—she did everything to ensure I had the best life possible.

Ina
I can feel that. I’m a mom too, and it’s beautiful to hear how much she cared about your future. But at the time, what did you think about her deal—undergrad paid for, but you’d need to get a master’s within two years?

Kary
Honestly, I was all in. I was captain of my track team, in leadership positions in clubs—I was a Type A achiever. The plan made sense to me because I knew I wanted to go as far as possible with my education.

Ina
So, you finished your degree. What came next?

Kary
After graduating from Temple, I got my first job at Marsh McLennan, a risk management company. I moved to Houston and joined their leadership development program. But I knew early on that risk management wasn’t my forever career—it was just a stepping stone.

Ina
When did you start thinking about your master’s?

Kary
About a year in, my mom asked, "What’s next?" I realized I loved business, and I decided to pursue an MBA. That led me to Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati, where I worked for four and a half years.

Ina
Wow. So how did real estate come into the picture?

Kary
While at P&G, I started a consumer insights company with a coworker. Around that time, my husband Dwayne and I got into flipping houses. Real estate was booming in Atlanta, so we jumped in and eventually started a real estate development company.

Ina
That’s amazing! And then HGTV came calling?

Kary
Yep! They wanted us to be their "Atlanta Chip and Joanna Gaines." We filmed a promo, but they pulled the plug last minute. Even so, the experience put us on the map.

Ina
And that’s when you built your strong social media presence?

Kary
Yes. I developed a following for our real estate company and began attracting real estate agents who wanted me to teach them how to do the same. Eventually, I created a course specifically for agents on Instagram.

Ina
And your first course launch was a huge success, right?

Kary
Yes! I made $25,000 on the first launch, and more followed. But despite the success, I felt burned out. I took what was supposed to be a two-week break from social media, which turned into two months, then two years.

Ina
Wow. And during that break, what did you realize?

Kary
I realized I wanted to work with women entrepreneurs. The conversations I had with my female clients were so different from those with my male clients. Women often felt guilty about investing in themselves, while men thought, "I deserve this."

Ina
That must have been eye-opening.

Kary
It was. I decided to come back to Instagram, but this time, my mission was to empower women entrepreneurs. I wanted to take everything I’d learned—strategy, marketing, and psychology—and make it accessible to them.

Ina
And that’s when you launched "Social with Kary"?

Kary
Yes! But starting from scratch was terrifying. I hadn’t been under 10,000 followers in years, so dropping my old account was a big deal.

Ina
What’s one piece of advice you’d give to someone starting with short-form video?

Kary
Be yourself. It’s not about standing out—it’s about showing people who you really are.

Ina
And what’s the biggest misconception people have about you?

Kary
That I went viral without any marketing background. But I have deep expertise in marketing and brand strategy—Instagram is just the platform I chose to apply it to.

Ina
So, Kary, if everyone listening could do one thing in the next 24 hours, what would it be?

Kary
Post a video—live, story, or reel—and share something personal with your audience. It doesn’t have to be deep, just something that humanizes you and builds connection.

Ina
I love that. Thank you so much for being here, Kary. Please tell everyone where they can find you.

Kary
My Instagram is @socialwithkary, and my website is Social from Scratch, where I help women entrepreneurs build authentic brands.

Ina
Perfect! We’ll add those links in the comments. Kary, thank you for being so open with us today.

Kary
Thank you for having me, Ina. This has been a pleasure.

Ina
We’ll see you on the socials!