From Agriculture to Agency: Chandra Spangler’s Marketing Journey

Natalie Borowska: Welcome to Founders Future, a podcast powered by Closers IO, where we explore the journeys of uh, innovative entrepreneurs and the road ahead for their companies. I'm your host, Natalie Borowska and in each episode we uncover the stories behind impactful ventures, the challenges faced, the lessons learned, and the strategies fueling today. I'm thrilled to be joined by Chandra Spang, who is the founder and creative lead of Bright Meadows Market, a social media strategy and management student studio where she helps businesses turn their goals into clear, effective content across platforms. Rooted in her uh, agricultural upbringing, agricultural and environmental sciences community, she blends storytelling, design and data to build social media strategies, write high converting copy and produce visuals that action. I'm so happy to have you on the podcast today.

Chandra Spangler: Thank you, thank you for the introduction, Natalie. I'm happy to be here.

Natalie Borowska: So I'm super excited for the conversation that we're going to have today. What I like to do at the start of episode is I like to journey back in time. So take us back to before you started Bright Meadows Marketing. What were you doing at the time? What motivated you to start your business?

Chandra Spangler: Yeah, so, um, as you kind of discussed in my intro, um, I, uh, in high school I was a part of the Futures Farmers of America, also called the um, FFA organization, um, where I was involved in a lot of projects that um, specifically got me involved in the communication space, um, getting some hands on learning, um, with that, um, which kind of led me to go into university and major uh, in agricultural and environmental sciences communication. Um, and then while I was there it was, it was time to get a job and I wanted to get uh, something that was related to my major and where I wanted to be, uh, in the future. And so I got a job as a communications student worker at the institute, Institute of Ag and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska Lincoln. Um, I worked that job for two years doing pretty much anything and everything in marketing that I could get my hands on, um, that they gave me, whether that was e, newsletters, um, editing of ah, podcasts or videos, um, doing social media. M. And I kind of found while I was doing social media there that I, that I, um, had a knack for it and I enjoyed it. Um, and then about halfway into my university journey, I joined the Angler entrepreneurship program there at the university, um, where I really had that support and network that encouraged me to actually jump off the cliff, um, and dig into um, my idea of social media strategy and content, um, um, creation.

Natalie Borowska: Yeah, I love that. So a super like heavy marketing background and you Just found that you had a real passion and knack for it. So let's dive into the business today. So who would you say is your ideal customer?

Chandra Spangler: Um, I'd say um, it's really interesting. I majored uh, in agriculture and I still have a deep passion for agriculture industry and um, all that's comprised of uh. But when I graduated college I actually ended up going in marketing for a construction company. Um and um, started to really enjoy that as well. And so I'd say currently my two targets that I love to work with are construction companies, uh and agricultural uh, businesses. Um, were those tied to the agricultural industry? Um. However right now I have a wide variety of clients, um, including a fraternity, a uh, sorority, a construction client, um, and then some insurance, um, and financial advisory, uh, association. So I kind of have a wide um, net right now of industries. Uh, but in my heart uh, when it comes down to it it's really the agriculture and construction industries.

Natalie Borowska: I see. So a wide range of client. But is it that you're like looking to niche down or is it that you just have more of a passion for those businesses?

Chandra Spangler: Um, I'd say I have more of a passion uh starting in agriculture. It's obviously very technical whether we're talking about crops or um, livestock, um, or technology or anything like that. Um and um, when we're communicating agriculture it's really about taking those uh, really complex ideas that are often truly misunderstood by the general public and breaking them down into something um, that the general public does understand. Um, because it is such an important industry. Um, and I found that with construction it's really kind of the same thing. You know, breaking down those complex um, top complex processes and strategies, um into something more simple to understand its value and importance. Um, agriculture is super important. It keeps the world fed, um and gives us everything we need, um and construction is um, gives us places to live, work and play. Um, so they're both pretty important.

Natalie Borowska: I love that so much. And so like with, with the, like with the business. So would you. What would you say is like your core offering? Do you very like much focus on like the social media side of things? Do you do some like paid advertisement? Like what does it look like to work with you specifically?

Chandra Spangler: Yeah, so I'd say I kind of have three primary services at the moment. Um, two that I'm really heavily on um right now. The first one is that social media management, um and strategy side. So um, I'm fully managing clients accounts that's writing the captions, um, putting the graphics together. Taking the photos or telling them what content that I will need and they'll take it themselves and send it to me. Um, so that's kind of the first um service I provide. Um, the second one would really be the education um portion of it. Um, I'm just wrapped up um a four week course at the university, uh teaching young entrepreneurs how social media, ah social media goals and strategies relate directly to their business goals um, and how we can use social media as a driver um, for more success in business. Um, so I say that's kind of the second one. Is that the educational piece, um and then something I'm hoping to lean more into uh especially this year is um coaching and consulting for more corporate groups or businesses that maybe already have marketing teams or um, their leadership team is kind of looking for ways to level up their social media strategy um as it relates to their business. Um, but they don't really need management, they don't really want that mainstream educational course piece of um, they want something that's really one on one um, and they'll take the information and do it themselves. And so that's um, something I'm hoping to lean more into in 2026 and that's super exciting.

Natalie Borowska: So um, on top of like the marketing side of things you're looking to like really branch out into corporate and making sure like that they have like the education, seeing like what you can provide in that sense. So I love that so much. And then so with the business yourself, I'm assuming you're probably going to say that you do social media marketing for your. So I'm curious what you do when it comes to client acquisition. Like what are you doing in terms of lead generation?

Chandra Spangler: Yeah, so I think that's honestly um, kind of where I uh have a bottleneck at the moment. Um, I'm not the most consistent with my own marketing efforts as it relates to my own social media um, which is probably not the greatest for a social media manager. Um but as it sits today my marketing is mostly uh, referrals, word of mouth, relationships I have in industries and professional networks, um, and then my LinkedIn presence. Um, LinkedIn really is a research tool and so um, I find that that has been a value add. Um, and then for the sales side that's really kind of intimate, um, discovery calls and then moving into a proposal with them. Um, but that is something I need to work on is that lead generation, um, in a more intentional pipeline for that corporate coaching and consulting service um, that would really create a lot of uh, growth Opportunities, but as one woman agency, um, it's finding that balance of, uh, focusing on my clients, but also focusing on, uh, Bright Meadows marketing strategy, partnerships, um, and Growth 100.

Natalie Borowska: And LinkedIn will definitely be the best place for when you're looking to grow that corporate side of things. I feel like with that you can't do traditional like social media marketing. You can't, I mean even like email marketing, it's just gonna stay in the inbox. So just really making sure that you're building those intentional relationships on LinkedIn. I think that's going to be the best way to really break into that space. Space. And then so with that, uh, have you done like paid ads in the past for your business or is that something that you're looking to break into in the future?

Chandra Spangler: Um, not currently. That's something, um, that I look into in the future. Um, actually with all of my clients right now it's just organic social media. Uh, so they're paying me to, you know, do the work and put the post up, but they're not actually putting any spend into boosting posts. Uh, more ad spend and same for myself.

Natalie Borowska: I see. Awesome. And then so we're at the start of 2026. So when you think about your vision for the next 12 months, like what are your goals, what are your targets? What milestones are you really looking to achieve in the coming year?

Chandra Spangler: Yeah, so my revenue target, um, this is like year two actually full time in my business where there's no side gigs or anything. Um, and so after my last full year in 2025, kind of being full time, um, I have my revenue Target set at 125,000 um, dollars, American dollars. Um, and so, um, kind of the priorities to reach that would really just be, um, as I talked about building that better lead generation system, particularly through my own social media channels, um, getting better about that. Um, and I also have a podcast that is in the works. Um, so hopefully we'll be launching that, um, very soon. Also um, packaging my coaching and consulting services in a way that businesses can understand how Bright Meadows Marketing can help their marketing or leadership teams connect those social media efforts with their overall business strategy, uh, to grow their business and be more successful and see how they're reaching their business goals through social media, um, and then really just improving my time management, um, for growth and client work, while also investing time into, um, the business itself. Um, so Bright Meadows Marketing, uh, marketing and growth, um, too. So I think like really just expanding my corporate coaching, hosting, um, workshop and workshops and educational Opportunities, um, and then repositioning myself as a strategic partner, not just a social media manager.

Natalie Borowska: Yeah, awesome. Super exciting stuff. And I want to touch upon what you said with like the time management. I think it's so important as a business owner to really make sure that you're utilizing your time as efficiently as possible. Really making sure you have that fine balance, as you said, focusing on growing the business and also working on the business. So. And I think also as a solopreneur, I think that is so prevalen as well because yeah, you really are like a uh, one man, one woman show. So you really need to make sure that your time is being utilized the best and potentially you could even delegate some of the tasks potentially in the future. Because I personally love that topic and I think that that's the best thing, really like moving forward, driving growth. And then what do you feel like are going to be the biggest challenges to making your goals happen in the coming year?

Chandra Spangler: Um, I really think, uh, the biggest thing really is just balancing working on the business and working in the business. Um, so just working on my systems and improving time management and structuring week after week to build kind of a steady machine, um, for business, um, but also as I kind of talked about just that lead generation, um, finding the right clients, um, that kind of, trust me, um, to break into that space, um, and be able to uh, do coaching and consulting for them.

Natalie Borowska: Some. Perfect. And then final question before we log out. If you could say one thing to your younger self, what would that one thing?

Chandra Spangler: Oh, gosh, um, I would say no matter. I think the biggest piece of advice for myself would be, you know, no matter how big or small the efforts are day to day, um, you really are like improving and um, creating something worthwhile for yourself. Um, it doesn't seem like it, like I said in the day to day processes, but um, if you just keep chipping away day by day, um, by the end of the year you'll have ah, a plethora of accomplishments, no matter how big or small, that you can look back on and really be proud of. You know, be even being on this podcast would be, um, something that we could cash into, um, an accomplishment, um, which feels, you know, bigger. For me just being in year two of business and um, being invited, it's

Natalie Borowska: just all about showing up for yourself every single day. And then you showing up is gonna show up in the future. So I love that so much. And then if our listeners want to find out more about what you where would be the best place place to find out. Yes.

Chandra Spangler: Uh, you can go to my website@www.brightmeadowsmarketing.com. um, and you can find me at Bright Meadows Marketing on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Um, and then if you want to personally connect with me on LinkedIn, um, my username there is just Shandra Spangler.

Natalie Borowska: Um, thank you so much for coming on the podcast today. It's been such a pleasure.

Chandra Spangler: Thank you, Rose.

Natalie Borowska: And if you are a business owner and you're looking to scale your business and you really want to enhance your sales and marketing efforts, visit Closers IO to hop on a call with our team and discover how we went from 0 to 30 million per year in less than. Until then, keep on climbing.