Today we’d like to introduce you to Michaela Hollis and Emmaleigh Cates. They and their team shared their story with us below:
Michaela Hollis & Emmaleigh Cates started FTG Columbia this past August 2023. How it came about was that Michaela moved to Columbia back in March from California, where she used to attend female-hosted events in the LA area. When she and her husband moved to Columbia, the only people they knew beforehand were her best friend Emmaleigh Cates and her husband. Michaela came to Emmie with the idea of starting a similar driven community with more drive behind hosting consistent events month to month in the local area specific to females in the area so they could come together and form new relationships with other women while enjoying some fun events! It also gives people a chance to try out new restaurants and bars, shop at different clothing stores than they are used to, try out a new workout class, etc. – we try to give the girls an opportunity to see the heart of Columbia and what there is to love about this city. Hence, we partner with many businesses here to host ticketed and free events throughout the year. Even though we have only been around for two months now, we have a little over 1,000 followers on our Instagram page (@forthegirls.columbia), and based on the insights from our social media platforms, we have continued to reach over 15,000 people in the Columbia, Cayce, Lexington and Irmo areas in 30 days. Our community is growing rapidly, but we are continuing to try our best to keep up with the growth and find new fun events to host throughout the end of this year. We have a massive launch with rebranding, clothing merch, new events, and even getaways outside of Columbia for 2024! We are so grateful to lead this community here in the Columbia area. We hope it does nothing but allow women a space to come and truly just be themselves and hopefully find new friendships in the process.
Has it been a smooth road? If not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced?
So far, our most complex challenge has been deciding which events to pursue and which to drop. We have many ideas and desires to bring to life regarding FTG Columbia, but we need more funds, resources, and even time to pursue all of them at this stage in the game.
Thanks for sharing that. So, you could tell us a bit more about your work.
Here at For The Girls Columbia, we are here to have FUN! We are a new community that’s focused on hosting female-based events to encourage building & nurturing relationships with other like-minded and genuine women around Columbia, South Carolina. We collaborate with many local businesses such as breweries, restaurants, bars, fitness studios, salons, venues, boutiques, etc.
We also host our own events without collaborations involved for a more intimate setting so we can give a variety of style with every event we throw. From wine nights, studio workout classes, river walks, intimate dinners, yoga flows, content shoots and more — there is always something happening during the month that will appeal to anyone’s personality.
Michaela is more hands-on with the social media side of things = filming and editing Reels / TikToks, launching the promotions for upcoming events, recapping the events on stories, producing content, sharing the results after every event, etc. Emmie is more hands-on with the behind-the-scenes = emails, collab requests, event reservations, communication back and forth with the businesses they collaborate with, checking in guests for events, etc. Both of us play to each other’s strengths and weaknesses to allow FTG Columbia to be what it has become so quickly! We are business partners in For The Girls Columbia but best friends first, which makes it fun to work together day in and day out.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting?
- Know your “why” behind starting a group like this in your local community. Why are you pursuing this? What do you want the girls/ guys in your area to get out of being a part of your group? What type of events do you want to lead, and how often throughout the month?
- Create your own name and unique brand to the best of your ability. There are many “clubs” focused on the community in many big cities that are popping up all over the place – don’t compare yourself to anyone else, but try to have fun with the process of starting and running a community in your local area. Share about it and be yourself; it will become exactly what it meant to become in the long run
Contact Info:
- Website: https://bio.site/forthegirls.columbia
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/forthegirls.columbia
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@forthegirls.columbia
Image Credits
@michaelasshton7 @theartezacollective @meghafilms
