How Navigating Childcare Has Made Me a Better Business Owner

Since starting MLD in 2017, and bringing two kids into the world since then, I’ve had to learn how to put on two hats and be present as a business owner and leader, and also as a mother. 

As my two littles have gotten older, childcare has been a big part of my life and my learning journey, and it’s greatly impacted my perspective on owning a business.

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Casey Nifong
Ringing in Year 7 Officially B Corp Certified!

In 2022, we started our journey to become a B Corp, and two years later, here we are! It all started with wanting to be better — to be the kind of business people admire, respect, and believe in.

The journey began with a connection to purpose. Our company is driven by wanting to make a difference with how we build our team, the kinds of clients we work with, and how we operate day-to-day. 

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Casey Nifong
Evolving SEO Strategies in the Ever Changing Landscape of AI

To respond to the tides of change in the SEO world, we have an action plan in place. We have already started by focusing on blog optimizations from an on-site perspective, but we will be strengthening our clients’ websites’ foundations in the following ways: Natural Language Optimization: By leveraging rich snippets and structured data, we're zeroing in on enhancing natural language strategies. This approach aims to prioritize rankings in Q&A boxes and top-featured resources. Learn about Rich Snippets.

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Casey Nifong
Leading with Intention: Seeing the Unseen

At times, there’s a push, an inner necessity, to work tirelessly to be seen for doing more, being more, just to get some kind of validation that what we’re doing matters. And at the end of the day, it’s gut-wrenching to work so hard and still feel like no one cares.  To see this work matters. The harm of not seeing the unseen is detrimental to relationships, to people, and to the community. BUT the good news is, you can see the unseen. 

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Graceful Transitions from Universal Analytics to Google Analytics 4

Our team is curious by nature, and we like to confront things before they confront us, so we started getting our hands dirty early on, reading blogs, attending workshops, and poking around the tool. We have transitioned all of our clients to Google Analytics 4, websites of various scopes and complexities, and we feel very comfortable navigating the whole process.

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The Working Mom: A Day In the Life

There’s no Asana task list that could encapsulate the complexities of the energy and the mental load it’ll take to make it through a day of working mom life. It can feel never-ending when one day you conquer all the to-do’s along the way, and the next day you spend face down on the battlefield…it is exhausting and beautiful and defeating and empowering all in one. And I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

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CommunityYumi Shill
The Great Unlearning

Because of Casey and the rest of the team here at Mountain Laurel Digital, my former belief that “pressure is the only way to make diamonds” has been flipped on its head and taken for a ride. This team teaches me that beautiful things can grow from empowerment — that diamonds can form by support and teamwork, and that empathy is a key component to sustainable quality.

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Yumi Shill
5 Years: A Milestone We Will Cherish

We’re feeling that way now as we celebrate five glorious years of Mountain Laurel Digital. And what a truly beautiful journey it has been to arrive at this place. Five years of growing together, building relationships, and as our lovely, native mountain laurel has taught us, five years of persevering.

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Jenny Baker
All The Feels for 2021

All of a sudden, we’re at the end of yet another year, and we’re wondering, “where has the time gone!” Are you feeling like 2021 was a whirlwind too? We’re reflecting on the past 12 months, some of the lessons we’ve learned, and the many, many fun times we’ve had — as a team, with friends and family, and as individuals. There’s been exciting travel, special team get-togethers, a lot of laughs, (maybe even a little crying at times), but most of all, a lot of joy.

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Casey Nifong
Reducing Plastic Use With Sustainable Alternatives and Learning to Recycle Right

Our MLD team took on the Plastic Free July challenge this summer to consider these questions. We learned a lot, and also reached out to two of our favorite sustainability experts to help round out our experience to share with you. In this post you’ll see our personal recap, plus: Recommendations from local sustainability expert Gillie Roberts, owner of Asheville’s sustainable lifestyle shop, Ware and Advice on recycling from Finn Digman, Waste Reduction Education Coordinator for local environmental nonprofit Asheville Greenworks

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Casey Nifong
3 Things SEO Doesn’t Do—And What It Definitely Does

This article dives into what SEO can’t do. Why would we want to tell you what it doesn’t have the power to accomplish, when SEO is something we think you absolutely need to implement? Because whether you work with us, or tackle it yourself, your success with SEO depends upon your understanding of it—all aspects of it. What’s more, success happens when expectations are realistic and goals are reachable. And we really want you to be successful. Really, really successful. So, while can’t sounds negative, knowing what SEO won’t do for you is actually a positive.

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Casey Nifong
Introducing Karolina, Our First Full-Time Hire

The major thing that I have felt since I started has been empowerment. It never really meant much to me until I felt it and realized I had never really had it at a workplace before. I was wondering why, if this had been my fault, or if there had never been a fertile ground for it to develop because of the corporate cultures of places I worked at. Empowerment implies opportunity to grow, support in that growth, and it can only exist in a culture built on respect and trust.

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Karolina Drozdz
How to Get Through Busy Season with a Smile

Feeling like busy season is going to overtake you? We are right there with you….We’ve all experienced the message: “urgent” (no context), “need this by EOD please”, “hey just circling back here”, and the dreaded “are we pushing the deadline back? because we have to.”  It is easy to get sucked into the whirlwind of client facing activity. It’s what makes you great - an ever present commitment to maintaining great relationships and delivering the highest level of quality in your products and services… but it doesn’t make it easy! 

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Casey Nifong
Pregnancy & Postpartum Digital Content: Modern Motherhood

During my pregnancy, I definitely struggled with letting go of control. I was plagued with every mom’s typical fears: that I wouldn’t have a healthy birth, that as my body changed, I was less beautiful, that I was often overly emotional... and oh so much more. I reached out to the beautiful mamas in my network and was recommended countless resources. They’ve been wise, encouraging, and loving.

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Casey Nifong
Who Runs the World? Women.

We want to highlight some local women’s successes & struggles to learn how we can grow within, and beyond, the Western NC entrepreneurial community. We talked with 3 Asheville area women from a variety of industries & asked them to reflect on their experiences of imagining, building, and growing their initiatives. These are the common inspirations & wisdoms we found throughout our conversations!

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Casey Nifong