Meet Rebecca Borough | Founder

We had the good fortune of connecting with Rebecca Borough and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Rebecca, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
Having a kid changes everything. It completely rocks your world. But it can also force you to realign, get organized, and just do better at life. 

Over four years ago, I started my company, Knit Marketing, and over three years ago, I left my full-time job to dedicate all my time to Knit. I’ve gone through ups and downs in regards to organization, handling stress and balancing life in general. But not having a boss expecting you to clock in at a certain time and having the freedom to create your own roadmap can be both exhilarating and exhausting. 

In search of balance, I’ve tried meditating, running, journaling, pen and paper, calendar apps, and the list goes on. All of these things have worked for short periods of time, but if a friend were to stop by to go to lunch, I’d easily drop my commitments. If I had a bout of imposter syndrome or any other founder-related, stress-induced “illness” or ambivalence, I’d give myself a day off and then end up feeling guilty at my lack of productivity. Being consistently productive, and moreover having any sort of work-life balance is a challenge that all of the founders I know struggle with. 

Surprisingly, nothing has forced me more to have a better work-life-balance than a nap and a bedtime schedule. It’s literally a balance (or juggling act) of work and life all day, every day. Little Leo is one year old, and I used to get stressed out by any baby interruption. But now, I see it as a welcome break from Zoom overload. I’ve been able to learn from Leo’s natural rhythms and have worked out a repeatable nap schedule for him, which has forced me to have my own very regimented routine. I always imagined “work-life balance” as being able to work from anywhere in the world with a margarita in hand on a Zoom call, but that’s not it. Work-life balance is being able to really focus on work and really focus on life. 

A few things I’ve implemented to feel more balanced: 

• I took email apps off my phone, so I can only check my email during work time. 
• I wake up at least one hour earlier than Leo, so I have my own quiet time to get ready for the day. 
• I try to take advantage of every moment of the day – when I’m working, I’m working (not swiping through Instagram), and when I’m with Leo, we’re playing or eating and enjoying life.
• I take a weekend day off.
• My next “me” purchase will be a watch, so I’m not dependent on my phone to check the time (and then be bombarded with notifications).

It’s funny how freeing setting a structure can be. As crazy as life is right now, I have felt more grounded, grateful, and more capable of handling everything on my plate with a super boringly consistent schedule. 

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Knit Marketing is an education digital marketing agency that employs and trains high school students to run digital marketing campaigns. The company was founded in 2016 in order to provide quality job opportunities to young people and has since grown into a full-service digital marketing agency. 

The growth process has been challenging, but fun. It took a couple years for us to figure out what our niche was, but once we discovered that our teen team was exceptional at running social accounts for schools (go figure), we have been on a great growth trajectory. 

What I want the world to know about us is that we care. We care about our team, we care about our clients, and we care about the social injustices the world sees every day. In everything we do, we strive to make work and life easier for our team and our clients and try in any small way we can to make the world a better and more equitable place. 

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
When people come to visit, we usually do pretty stereotypical touristy things, because it’s LA and why not? We hit the Hollywood Sign, Hollywood Blvd, Beverly Hills, Venice Beach, and a hike in Malibu. If I had someone visit right now, in the middle of the pandemic, we’d most likely just grab In-N-Out and have a picnic! 

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My shoutout goes to my boo 🙂 Israel Rodriguez has stood by me through all the ups and downs of launching, running and growing a business (while he was also growing his own business), and is now a wonderful partner in our newest journey of parenthood. A few years ago, I sort of whispered the idea of building a tiny house, and Israel got to work right away designing and building the tiny home of my dreams. 

An entrepreneur after my own heart, Israel won’t do anything unless there’s the possibility of a business behind it, so what started as a fun project for our small family, quickly grew into an international business, Tiny Topanga (instagram.com/tinytopanga). He is a hardworking, creative, perfectionistic and visionary, and absolutely loves helping people upgrade their lives by downsizing their space. It’s been fun to work alongside him on Tiny Topanga, and I’m excited to continue growing our businesses and our family together.

Website: knitmarketing.com
Instagram: instagram.com/knitmarketing
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebeccaborough/
Twitter: twitter.com/knitmarketing
Facebook: facebook.com/knitmarketing
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqx4HAClmNJyhdYPmkuBElQ

Image Credits
Photographer Ahlyzik Monroe