We had the good fortune of connecting with Yumiko Sturdivant Social Media Strategist & Manager and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Yumiko Sturdivant, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
When I worked for a new luxury brokerage boutique as Marketing Director back in 2016, I was in contact with multiple magazines to see what were the options to advertise this new brokerage. I was in disbelief at how much it can cost you for a tiny ad on one page. Not everyone has a big advertisement budget when you start a new company, so I started looking into social media marketing. I got myself educated, I went to multiple conferences, did a lot of A/B testings, and realized that social media was going to be the future for marketing. I’ve built wonderful business relationships through social media, the cost of ads was much lower and you had all the insights to adapt your ad strategies. There are no limits on who you can reach on social media! While I was learning it all at the time, I also realized that business owners don’t have the time for managing their social media channels and they don’t have the time to learn it either. It’s an industry that evolves on a daily basis, it’s truly a full-time job to keep up!

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
FDT which stands for French Dream Team was created in mind to help business owners to stop worrying about their online presence and to let us handle it all. The social media marketing industry has evolved like crazy since then, but back in 2016, I saw the big potential and took the opportunity to start my own business. It wasn’t easy to quit a job, have no savings and just get started… when I think about it, it’s not what I would recommend to anyone (but I was burnt out), prepare yourself first, then quit! I’m thankful that my husband worked 3 jobs to be able to let me work towards my dream, was it easy? Not at all… but was it worth it? Absolutely!!!

What sets apart FDT from all the other social media marketing/management companies is my background. I have a very unique background which today helps me with my business.

My background was a B. A in Sociology and an M.S in Applied Criminology. I interned while going to school and worked with law enforcement agencies afterward, my specialty was crime analysis – studying the criminal patterns which involve a lot of data, and the study of behaviors. Everything I’ve learned with my studies and my work experience helps me today in studying the behaviors of my client’s target audience. Once you know how to connect with a targeted audience and know how to trigger their emotions, then that’s when you will convert your followers into customers. Unfortunately, I couldn’t pursue my career in law enforcement due to being a French citizen, I was required to have sponsorship but law enforcement doesn’t sponsor foreigners for those types of jobs.

A fun fact is that back home in New Caledonia (French island in the South Pacific), Marketing, Management and Communication were my specialties in high school, and I loved it! Look where life brought me back to?

And another fun fact – I was a former junior tennis pro which is what brought me to America – Tennis! I believe that when you were a pro athlete, you have a different mentality. You are disciplined, you practice hard, and you don’t give up! That mentality is FDT’s mentality – My team and I work hard to achieve our clients’ goals.

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.
If my French friend from back home or my family would visit me, we would visit those places below:

– Crystal Cove State Park for a nice walk
– Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner/Brunch at Eat Chow
– Shopping at South Coast Plaza
– Seafood Dinner at Water Grill in Costa Mesa
– Sushi Dinner at Sushi Roku on a Friday night because their DJ is amazing
– If we wanted to go out to a very chic French Restaurant – of course, Marché Moderne.
– If you want some Lebanese Desserts (Yum) – CheeSweet in Anaheim, CA.
– Visiting Lido Marina Village
– Walking in Laguna Beach, CA
– Playing some Tennis at Irvine Great Park (Gorgeous courts!)
– Walking through Corona Del Mar, CA (Dreaming about all the gorgeous homes)

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I believe that you always need a mentor (or mentors) or a support group to be able to achieve your goals and to grow as a person and as a business. I have several friends who are successful entrepreneurs and I’m thankful that I’ve learnt a lot from them. They have guided me through my business journey and I would probably not be where I am at today without their advice because it avoided me from making mistakes that most young entrepreneurs would do. Surrounding yourself with people who want you to succeed is truly amazing!

A special thank you to Amy Frawyley (Owner of Eat Chow Restaurant), Ali Sabet (Talented Iranian/American Artist), Leslie Rae ( Director Financial Planning at The Bahnsen Group), Dominique Anders (Business Coach), and of course my family from New-Caledonia (where I’m from).

Website: www.fdtvision.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fdt_vision/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yumiko-justin-sturdivant-48029382/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fdtvision

Image Credits
Danielle Penn Photography

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