Meet Caitlin Rutten | Founder & Owner of Comma By Caitlin

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

Hi Caitlin, is there something you can share with us that those outside of the industry might not be aware of?
When it comes to social media management, branding, and marketing in general, a lot of people think they should save money by doing it themselves. While you don’t necessarily have to have a degree to do the job, I’ve dedicated years of my life, in school and out, to learning this craft and that’s why my clients see success in the projects they hire me for.

Marketing is usually the “fun” topic professionals want to brainstorm and talk about in the beginning or when they’re ready for a reset, but once business is in full swing, it’s the first thing to get placed on the back burner and forgotten until business slows down again. Marketing should not be an afterthought for your business, it should be in the big three: Your Product or Service, Your Foundational Processes, and How Your Business Works With People (Marketing).

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?
I started Comma in 2022, full send, with no back up plan. I was exhausted from corporate America and knew that I could provide so much value to small businesses and that I had the passion to go for it, so I did! I began offering social media management packages, branding creation and implementation, and small website design options and before I knew it, I had a handful of clients. Most were in the real estate realm since that’s the field I had been working in for the past five years, but then referrals started happening and I expanded to food and beverage, healthcare, wellness, and more. I have a great balance of clients now, but am always looking to add more hungry, small businesses who are interested in growing their brands organically and authentically.

It definitely hasn’t been easy to juggle huge life changes on top of owning Comma completely on my own. I thought I’d have a lot more free time than I do, but I truly love my work and go above and beyond for my clients, so sometimes I get in the zone and the next thing I know it’s dark outside and I should’ve drank a lot more water that day. However I have an amazing support system and my clients usually become great friends and are understanding when I need to take some time away for family or a mental health day! Ultimately, I’ve learned that making lists and prioritizing those lists are a great way for me to work and that the work hard, play hard mentality is what I was meant for. I earn my ski days, weekday hikes, and remote work from a brewery (or bookstore) in a mountain town.

My brand is ever changing, just like me, hence Comma! I created it knowing that my taste shifts quite often and I liked the idea of playing with the idea of change as a constant. Comma is also a great play on story-telling, which is, in my opinion, the best way to market any business. My tagline is, “Comma, because your story never ends,” and if you’re reading this…you can probably tell that my english teachers really got on me for run on sentences and overuse of commas. I see marketing as a way to tell consumers all the things you want them to know about your good or service as if you were one of them. Get on their level, tell them the truth, be authentically your brand, entertain them, and sell good stuff; if you do that, how can you not win?

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.
Buckle up and I hope you didn’t pack too lightly…

Day one: we’re heading to Golden. I moved here in 2018 from North Carolina and I know this altitude is no joke, so I won’t take you to high elevations on day one, but we’re definitely going for a little walk in nature. After our walk in Golden Gate Canyon State Park, we’re heading to Bridgewater Grill in The Golden Hotel for lunch. After that we’ll walk around town, gawk over some Icelantic skis, shoot pool at Ace Hi, then be the first people at the bar when Alchemy opens. After a drink or two, we’ll head back to my place in Arvada and have a chill night in with my cat, Hopps, and order Kokopelli pizza for dinner – Buffalo Chicken please.

Now that you know the vibes, I won’t break down each day, but I can guarantee that if money were no object and we could control the weather we would:
• Go skiing for a day at Copper Mountain with a lively aprés at Downhill Dukes
• Soak at Strawberry Hot Springs in Steamboat Springs
• Stay the night at the Ritz Carlton in Aspen, listen to live music in the lobby, and explore town
• Camp in Crested Butte during peak wildflower season and take a new profile picture for your social media
• Paddle board on Evergreen Lake
• Go spend a Sunday afternoon getting coffee at East Simpson Coffee Co. and browse The Lafayette Flea
• Find any loop hike around water – I loathe an out and back
• Eat at CD’s Wings, School House Kitchen & Libations, Canteen Breckenridge, The Rock Inn Estes Park, The Cow Eatery, and anywhere else that looks good to you!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are so many folks who have helped me on my journey in one way or another. My first big “aha” moment when I realized I wanted to own my own business was when I was reading Erin Falconer’s book, “How to Get Shit Done.” It’s basically a self-help book that has you journal along to see what you really want, what’s holding you back, and how to get past those things to achieve your goals and live the life you dream of. I’ve read this book several times over the years whenever I feel lost and it always helps me look at the big picture and remind me of what’s important.

As far as real life people, I value every single person I have ever worked on a team with. I learn by doing, and have learned so much from my peers that it has proven to me that everything happens for a reason and I was supposed to be in each of those positions at that time to have those experiences. I also learned a lot of things that I don’t necessarily want to replicate, but that’s the beauty of life!

Also, special shoutout to my family for supporting me and my amazing fiancé, Adam Hothersall, who constantly gives me the most amazing pep talks when I need them and has taken my professional advice seriously to the point he has grown his business to amazing heights.

Website: https://www.commabycaitlin.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/comma.bycaitlin/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caitlin-rutten-a7b67a108/