If you don’t know Anna, you’ve seen her work on Facebook and Instagram! Anna is the driving force behind Fort Mill Now – the go-to for Fort Millers and York County residents looking to eat and do the best things the town has to offer. In a way, you could say Anna and her husband Sam are the unofficial champions of Fort Mill’s entrepreneurs.
We’re certainly big fans and love to see the awesome content Fort Mill Now puts out every day, so we thought it was time to highlight the person who’s doing so much for so many! Meet one of the great people of Fort Mill, Anna Culver!
Background
I was born and raised in Madison, Mississippi and come from a family of four; my parents and my sister. I attended the University of Mississippi and then with heavy influence from my sister, moved to Washington, D.C., where I took my first job at a marketing firm. Both my parents are hard workers and enjoy working. My mom is a realtor and broker, and is always willing to take it a step further to succeed; whatever she wants, she goes after it. She and my dad have that entrepreneurial spirit and seemed to have instilled it in me as well. My dad has worked for the largest ad agency in the world, as well as Coke and McDonalds. Once he finished with the corporate world he decided to create a successful home building business. I remember one time in high school, I came home and told my parents I got a job as a barista because I really just wanted to work. Working (and enjoying it) is something that seems to run in the family. So when I realized the need for Fort Mill Now, knowing it would take a lot of work but that I would enjoy it, I jumped on the opportunity.
Beginnings of Fort Mill Now
When we moved to Fort Mill, we didn’t know many people. My husband and I were always looking for things to do, and while there’s plenty to do in Fort Mill, there wasn’t a place to find that information. D.C. and now Charlotte has multiple information hubs, blogs, and influencers. We quickly realized that’s what Fort Mill was lacking, so Fort Mill Now was born. We wanted people to have a commonplace to connect and find out what’s going on with local businesses and events in the area and honestly, it’s how we’ve met a lot of our friends. Fort Mill Now has helped us immerse ourselves in the community, and it has allowed other businesses, new and old, immerse themselves in the community as well and feel that sense of connection with the town and its people.
When starting Fort Mill Now, I didn’t know what to expect, if there would be engagement, if it would be welcomed by the community, or if it could even thrive. It just started with a simple Instagram post of some fall trees taken from the apartment complex where we resided for a few months. I never imagined it would grow as big as it has, especially as I’m not able to take it full time yet. I’m thankful for our amazing community that has welcomed it with open arms and want more! Receiving appreciative messages on how well FMN represents the town and how it’s opened their eyes to the community around them, makes it all worth it.
Future of Fort Mill Now
I see Fort Mill Now going from side hustle to full time, because as the community continues to expand, so will we. We have some exciting plans to grow and give back to the community and can’t wait to share them with everyone. FMN isn’t immediate news or traffic; it’s more of a professional, event-goer, socialite, foodie hub. And the businesses and people we stand behind are those that we truly believe in or have experienced and enjoyed. If we don’t like it, you won’t see our name on it.
Inspirations
The community itself has been an inspiration. I love this town so much and want to do anything I can to be a part of it and help businesses and people connect. People thrive off of human connection, businesses thrive off of the community, and the community thrives off of its people. My husband also inspires me always supports my endeavors. He’s my everything man – my husband and father to our new baby, but he’s also my IT expert, brainstormer, finance guy, and editor. He truly believes in the company and what Fort Mill Now has the potential to be. This is my baby but it’s been really fun to create something together and watch it grow.
Balance
The biggest challenge is that there is so much to do in Fort Mill and surrounding areas, and people don’t know that so we’re trying to fix that. However, that means there’s something I could be doing every hour of the day to whether it’s talking to businesses, writing an article, updating the website, creating social media content, generating campaign ideas, attending events – the list goes on. There’s so much to be done and knowing the potential for growth exists, I’m working towards dedicating more time to creating content on fortmillnow.com so it truly is Fort Mill’s information hub for local businesses and events.
Rewards
Being the creator of Fort Mill Now has been a positive experience. Hearing a business’s story, giving them a voice, and seeing the outcome is rewarding. In addition, hearing from the community about how much they love said business or didn’t know about it, how much fun they had at an event, or how it was an excuse to bring their family or friends together – these are the things that fuel Fort Mill Now.
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