Have you ever caught yourself scrolling through Instagram and marvelling at the number of women who have carved out their own career to become their own boss? Well, you aren’t alone. Hashtags such as #girlboss and #bossbabe have over 20 million hits, and it's becoming more common for women to take control of their career by setting up for themselves. If you’re wondering how, we have the answer.

Maggie Colette, the founder of Think Like a Boss and a social media coach, has made it possible to help women grow through the use of social media to become their own boss. Within minutes of talking to the Wilmslow local, it's clear how she’s become so successful at encouraging women to follow their passions and create a career they love.

‘I love showing women all the things they can accomplish,’ she says. ‘When they tell me about their achievements, I’m so proud of how far they’ve come.

‘What this past year has taught us is that no job is secure. Since the pandemic struck, it's shown that certain jobs people thought were secure, actually aren’t. Women have the power to create something, which they have full control over, and get to dictate when they work, what hours they work, who to work with, and effectively how much money they want to bring in.’

Great British Life: Having founded a luxury travel blog, Maggie can't wait until she can travel once againHaving founded a luxury travel blog, Maggie can't wait until she can travel once again (Image: thinklikeaboss.co)

Maggie now helps women use social media platforms such as Instagram to grow their audience, go viral, earn money, and with the likes of Khloe Kardashian being a fan, her skill is clear to see, but it wasn’t easy getting to this point. Having spent 10 years in a high-pressure career in private banking, she was at risk of a heart attack, if she didn't change her way of life.

‘It was so scary being told that,’ Maggie says. ‘I was so close to burnout; I was passing out, suffered from anxiety and heart palpitations. The doctor gave me an ultimatum and told me my lifestyle was killing me. I either choose another way of life, or I’m on the fast track to having a heart attack by my mid-30s.’

After taking some time out to travel around Asia, Maggie set up an online luxury travel blog when she returned to the UK. ‘It was a bit like a hobby at first, a space to document my travels. But I started getting more readers, and PR companies began to reach out,’ she says. ‘I suddenly saw that I had another option. To begin with, I began coaching other bloggers and influencers on how to monetise their blog, then that evolved into business and mindset coaching. I love Instagram as a social media platform, so I chose to focus on that area.’

Great British Life: 9-5 is no longer Maggie's way of life9-5 is no longer Maggie's way of life (Image: thinklikeaboss.co)

Maggie, with a platform of over 63,000 followers, teaches women who have an online presence or business how to use Instagram to their advantage: ‘It doesn’t matter whether they just started, or if they’ve got a few years of experience. I’m coaching women who have quite literally just started in the last couple of months, and some who previously outsourced Instagram work.’

Maggie does one-to-one coaching, group coaching, expert panels and is currently working on the relaunch of her podcast, Think Like a Boss. As well as teaching women on how to boss their careers, she also advocates for a balanced lifestyle, which is often forgotten when you're working for yourself.

Great British Life: Maggie teaches women how to be successful using InstagramMaggie teaches women how to be successful using Instagram (Image: thinklikeaboss.co/)

‘Wednesday is what I call my recovery day. After two full days of calls, it’s the perfect midweek break. Life is all about balance, and it’s important to recharge. There is a pressure to be working non-stop, but I always say: you can't be everything to everyone, and do everything all of the time. I want women to know that they can change their lives through the power of social media, and they can create the freedom and the lifestyle that they're looking for, but it shouldn't come at a cost of burnout.’

It might appear that Instagram is overly saturated with influencers, celebrities and bloggers, but with just under two billion people on the app every day, there’s room to grow within the platform.

‘The world is getting bigger and bigger,’ Maggie argues. ‘People shouldn’t worry about being like everyone else, because that’s not what’s going to stand out. You have to showcase your personality, and what makes you special, because that’s the difference. Your followers want to see your charm and spirit, and that's how you build an engaged audience.’

Great British Life: Khloe Kardashian is even a fan of Maggie's workKhloe Kardashian is even a fan of Maggie's work (Image: thinklikeaboss.co)

Wonder what the future of Instagram is? According to Maggie, it’s all about video content, and the reels that have been taking over our feed.

‘All of a sudden, Instagram saw Tik Tok exploding, and so many videos going viral, so they opted to do something similar and brought out reels,’ Maggie explains. ‘I’ve noticed a massive shift in the last few months and it doesn’t matter what size your audience is, you might have 50 followers, 500 followers or even 50,000 followers. If you’re making time to create a fun reel and posting it, Instagram is going to help you go viral, and boost you on the explore page and drive traffic to your video. 2021 is the year of the video on Instagram.’

For those unsure of making the move, Maggie has some advice: ‘If the last 12 months have taught us anything, it's that nothing is guaranteed. If you’ve got this feeling, that you're destined for more, you have to listen to yourself. If not, you’re always going to be wondering what if, and life’s too short for that.’

thinklikeaboss.co

Maggie’s top tips for using Instagram

Get a clear idea of what you want to offer through your social media.

Build an engaged community; you have to connect with your audience every single day, through DMs, comments and likes.

Be consistent and keep showing up every single day.