Today we’d like to introduce you to Christina Diya-Bernhard.
Hi Christina, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Business has always been ingrained in me, as I was born into it. Growing up my father was a small business owner in my hometown. He started his business when I was 10 years old and I grew up having exposure to what it took to build a business, sustain a business and grow one. Our nights and weekends were filled with side jobs, filing papers and working on the storefront. It was no surprise I’d end up starting my own.
I was a marketing director at a law firm and I just knew I was meant to be on my own. With marketing and advertising skills, I set out to help other businesses grow with an understanding of their whole picture of business and not just the advertising aspect of it. We started in 2019 and have been helping businesses ever since!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Certainly not the smoothest! I felt like I had a great handle on things until I became a mother. Becoming a mother changed so many things in my life and my business. It absolutely rocked me, and it affected my agency greatly as I had to pretty much shut sales down. I couldn’t keep up and without my team I don’t know how I would have survived if I didn’t have them. I knew I had to find a more stable client base, find my new rhythm and get some sleep!
Fortunately, I pulled us out of that time and my agency and and myself is 100% stronger for it.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
We specialize in digital advertising. I am so proud of the work that we do. With my business background ingrained in me, we make every decision from a business perspective. This means not having advertising be an isolated function, but to integrate into the business. It’s vital that we understand staffing and operations constraints, cash flow, seasonality, profit margins and so much more to be able to help grow the company in a sustainable way.
We focus on collecting accurate data and make sure our clients are not only getting a return on their ad spend, but their advertising budget is being well-managed and the company is growing sustainably.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
For me, it’s that I’m living in peace. I’m a hyper-organized person who hates chaos. I’m committed to having my agency (and my life) run as smoothly as possible. I don’t want any team members to feel like they can’t keep up or stressed. We strive to never be understaffed and systems run seamlessly so we can do our work and do it well. I operate in my personal life this way. All the money or fun adventures mean nothing to me if I’m living in constant fight or flight.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://3elevenadvertising.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinabernhard/
Image Credits
Images by Alicia Leigh Photography
