The young people’s eco-system of Indianapolis has never been so well-fed, entertained, and knowledgeable about what their city has to offer, thanks to Shay McCoy, the creator of City of Shay. Over the past five years, Shay has worked hard to be a loyal guide to the 20 and 30-somethings of Indy who want to have fun in their city while also doing it within their means of affordability. Just this past year, she also launched her sister business, Socials of Shay, which offers social media management to local businesses and organizations in Indianapolis.
For young people, getting started is a big, scary part of running their own business and tapping into new opportunities. Did you have a support system when you started City of Shay, and what were some things you remember telling yourself or them telling you that stuck with you?
“I moved to Indiana for a master’s in museum studies. I thought it was going to be a stop along the way to Chicago or D.C., and then I graduated and applied for 300 jobs, but that didn’t work out. I remember my friends at the time were like, ‘You don’t shut up in person. Why don’t you not shut up on the Internet?’ And I thought I could do that.”
That’s so cool, was the concept of City of Shay easy to come by?
“I love exploring. I had so much fun with my friends in grad school. We were always at trivia every Wednesday at The Tap, but we constantly heard Indy was boring, and we just weren’t experiencing that. I couldn’t find someone who was talking about that and people told me that if I can’t find it, just be it. That’s kind of how City of Shay became City of Shay. So it’s been a lot of people pushing me to think bigger and look at a different perspective.”
You announced this year that you are going full-time with Socials of Shay—congratulations! How do you manage your time while running multiple businesses?
“By having time-blocking and structure in my schedule. Mondays are batching days, Tuesdays I’ll do e-mail and newsletter stuff, or I’ll have a Canva day where I make all the graphics. Doing that has helped a ton.”
What has been the biggest challenge to overcome when launching Socials of Shay?
“At the end of April, my first full month, I was like, ‘How do I pay myself?’ It’s wild, since I was 16 I was used to somebody plopping in a certain amount of money and then knew I could go out to eat. And now I’ve had to put a payday in my calendar every two weeks, so that’s been interesting to figure out.”
Socials of Shay is meant to help bring attention to the local businesses in Indianapolis. How rewarding has it been for you so far to be working with these businesses and organizations?
“It’s been fun. I mean, that’s Socials of Shay. I’ve had a lot of time in the city and communicating with business owners. And then the big thing I always hear from them is they thought they could start this business and then start social media and do it themselves, but most people hate it or don’t know what to post or when to post it. And I’m addicted to it. I find joy in being on Instagram all day and it’s so fun to take that burden off of them. I felt like I’ve helped empower them so they’re not tackling this on their own.”
What does your work-life balance look like right now?
“I’m working on it… it’s in progress. Figuring out how to take all those five-to-nine activities and move them up into a nine-to-five space. That’s been kind of interesting, especially taking on more client work. I didn’t have enough clients to quit my job, but I didn’t have as many as I have now. So that’s been interesting to balance and then City of Shay is the reason all this started. I don’t want that to fall through the cracks, so making sure I have time and prioritize my page first along with the client page almost in tandem. But yeah, it’s interesting.”
You are very well connected in the Indianapolis area. Are you always saying hi to people everywhere you go?
“Yes, it’s fun! Being an extrovert helps.”
What would make the perfect summer day for you in Indianapolis?
“We’re very much biking right now. We just got bikes, so probably biking to a coffee shop. I just went to the farmers market last week, which was fun. So that’s a great little morning summer activity. Just trying to be outside as much as possible.”
For more information on Shay McCoy, visit her Blog — City of Shay
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