When Julielyn Gibbons was 14, she was diagnosed with a severe case of Crohn’s disease. At the time, she couldn’t imagine anything worse. Today, as the president of i3 Strategies, LLC in East Lansing, she says that dark day “really kind of spurred the journey that I’m on now.

For ten years, I was sidelined. The Internet was the only way I had of doing anything.” As a result, she continually challenged herself to think, “How can we do this better and get the message out?” in terms of patient advocacy.

“Little did I know that would become a marketable skill,” she says with a grin. She put those skills to use when the Michigan Democratic Party hired her to be its first Internet outreach director. Then, “I ran all of the online outreach and marketing for Proposal 2 in 2008,” she says. “It was really great because it was your classic David vs. Goliath,” with David (the yes vote) coming out on top.

In 2009, she decided to start her own business, because she realized that very few people could do what she could; and because instead of getting pigeonholed into being a politico, she wanted to make the biggest impact possible working with the biggest number of people possible. Therefore, even though the economy seemed to be screaming “NO,” after she met “a great group of people in the area, that emboldened [her] to become entrepreneurial,” as well as Jeff Smith, who runs the Technology Innovation Center (TIC) in East Lansing. Total capital required? “Less than $1,000,” she answers with a smile.

“I’ve been incredibly lucky because since I’ve started, all of my business has been word of mouth,” she says. Her most notable recent work has been for Capital Area Michigan Works! for whom she coordinates and presents monthly workshops for job seekers on how to use social media to find a new job. She said the work “hits home on a multitude of levels,” because at one time or another in the past two years, both of her parents and siblings have lost their jobs.

A good portion of her work is done in the form of workshops and presentations on social media. “I’ve gone all over the country: Boston, Pittsburgh, Grand Rapids, Detroit. It’s really something.” Specifically, Gibbons says, “I’m able to help clients really figure out what their goals are, and then put together an online strategy that complements and integrates into what their already existing marketing or communications plan is.” Sometimes that means social media, or revamping their website so that it’s more user-friendly. It could also mean designing an e-mail newsletter, or introducing one to their customers.

Along the way, she’s worked with professors at Michigan State University who track social marketing trends, and says she has “a wide resource group on a national level that I stay in touch with, following what’s working in certain areas and what isn’t.” Because the field is still in its infancy, it’s a constant learning process.

Gibbons suggested the first step individuals or organizations of any size should take in the world of social media is simply Googling their name to find out what people are saying about them. Half the issue, she says, is “knowing what’s being said about you, [because] oftentimes what we think is being said about us, or what we want to be said, isn’t always the reality.” Where Gibbons comes in is helping her client “craft the conversation so that you’re saying what people want to hear and they’re hearing what you want them to hear.”

Most calls she receives from potential clients go like this: “Well, I know I have to do this Internet-thing, or I know I should be doing social media, but I have no idea how or why, other than everybody else is doing it.” At that point, Gibbons prepares a presentation that says, “Here’s why, from a business standpoint, you should care about the Internet. And here are the best ways to reach people. Here’s what people want to hear, and here’s how you can engage people.”

Gibbons says that social media is about ownership –owning your brand. “But also, it’s letting consumers own your brand. People want to do that. What we’re seeing is that from a marketing perspective people trust more about what their peers say about a product, than what a product says.” A local company that has embodied that philosophy is TechSmith. “They were an early adapter in social media, and they truly understand the importance of letting consumers talk about their products. And it’s worked out very well for them.”

Although it seems to run counter to most business models, Gibbons says, “I don’t want clients to need me forever. I realize that from a business perspective, that’s probably not the best strategy, but I’m more interested in giving business organizations the tools [they need].” She’s eager to grow her business, and would like to bring in people with similar skills, but knows that a big part of i3’s success to date is the personal attention she gives to each client.

Although she’s been in business for only a little over seven months, Gibbons has demonstrated that even in a soft economy, success is possible when you excel in your field, love what you do and earn your clients’ respect by exceeding their expectations.