From local podcast to social media takeover: Follow Fondy Famous's journey in celebrating this shop's new owners

FOND DU LAC — Small business owners and enthusiasts celebrate each other in Fond du Lac, inspiring each other through engagement and social media.

Fond du Lac real estate broker and owner of Not Your Average Agent Marketing Kelly Northlee hosts the video podcast Fondy Famous , featuring a business or nonprofit every Friday at 9 a.m. on Spotify, Apple Music and the Kelly NorthLee YouTube channel .

She's from Fond du Lac, but the idea grew while she was in Mississippi, running a brokerage and property management company and growing it through social media. When Northlee took it to Fond du Lac, she started with short-form videos last fall, growing it into the podcast by November with the help of viewer and business feedback.

"I get people telling me I'm bringing business into their business, which is the goal, right?" she said. "As they grow, I grow. And vice versa."

Features ranged from legacy businesses to brand-new openings, including CC's Chocolates Cafe, Sombreros, Haentze Floral, Fond du Lac Cyclery and Arbor Acres, as well as organizations We EmpowHER, Big Brothers Big Sisters and Habitat for Humanity.

What's next? Fondy Famous and friends uplift local businesses like the Bagel Meister.

Combining the growth and expertise of Fondy Famous and Not Your Average Agent Marketing, Northlee will help small local businesses with their branding, working together with photographer Christine Peck of The Sparkle Studio .

With Peck taking product and promotional photos and Northlee handling social media strategies, they show the importance of social media when it comes to marketing a business.

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"Social media is very new to Fond du Lac," she said. "I would say we're a solid five years behind the Mississippi Gulf Coast, which saying out loud sounds wild, but it's true."

For the month of May, they're hosting a "social media takeover" of the Bagel Meister , 110 S. Main St., to promote its legacy in Fond du Lac and the new owners, Stacey and Paul Gellings, who took over the bagel shop in January.

Both have been preparing through April, and Oddball Arts LLC also helped launch the new era with a fresh window painting on the front of the Bagel Meister.

The takeover this month includes branding photos, a Fondy Famous feature, regular social media posts and one video a week. The shop also will host the Fondy's Finest networking group for a meeting of bagels and coffee while participants get to know the Gellingses and share what they think of the business.

At the end of May, the owners will get the tools they'll need to succeed in taking over, including a map and outline.

"We're excited to see where this journey with them takes us over the next month, and those to come," Stacey Gellings wrote on the Facebook page before handing the reins to Northlee.

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In addition to a variety of savory and sweet bagels, schmears and toppings, the Bagel Meister offers paninis and other sandwiches, wraps, soups, baked goods and espresso drinks. Its consistent hours are 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays.

The full menu and more information is available on bagelmeister.net .

For other updates on the May takeover and more information about Fondy Famous, visit the Fondy Famous with Kelly NorthLee Facebook page . To advertise with Northlee, contact her at kelly.northlee@gmail.com .

Daphne Lemke is the Streetwise reporter for the Fond du Lac Reporter. Contact her at dlemke@gannett.com .

This article originally appeared on Fond du Lac Reporter: From local podcast to social media takeover: Follow Fondy Famous's journey in celebrating this shop's new owners