Meet Mary Carley | Health and Wellbeing Professional, Digital Creator, Blogger and Influencer

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

Hi Mary, what do you attribute your success to?
I think the most important factor to my success is that I am a lifelong learner. Because of my curiosity and desire to learn something new every day, I have been able to break into new career paths and creative endeavors. I built my webpage myself by learning WordPress. I started posting on Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) for my first client about ten years ago. This client, The Heathers Club Of Bloomfield Hills has now increased membership, sells out all of their special events and has eliminated their paper mailings resulting in several thousand dollars of savings annually. .

Through watching what others are doing in the social media world, I discovered schedulers like Hootsuite and Tailwind. And because of my love of writing, I post regularly to my blog and create my own newsletters which I distribute to hundreds of subscribers monthly. And my brand thrives because of my regular, down to earth posting on multiple platforms.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My career in health and human services spans thirty years. I am a dedicated and highly insightful population health leader with multi-industry experience. What sets me apart from others is that I have seen healthcare from a variety of organizations having designed and implemented medical, dental, vision, pharmacy, behavioral health benefits, and wellness programs in public health organizations, hospitals, health
plans, and corporations. I have seen healthcare from the patient, employer or purchaser, provider and insurer perspectives. Was it easy? No it was never easy. I started by getting my education –
I have a BA in Biology and Human Services from Albion College and an MPH in Health Behavior and Health Education from the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor. I worked my way through graduate school holding multiple jobs such as a telemarketer and a health educator at a health department,

In 2016, I started my company, Carley Creative Concepts as a creative outlet. I have been writing content and posting to social media ever since. And I have multiple clients who are featured on my webpage.

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.
If my best friend came to Michigan to visit me, I would plan a week’s worth of amazing outings. This question got me thinking about how much there is to do in Detroit. So often, we forget to experience our own cities as a tourist. With the rise in staycations, I think it might be fun to treat my friend’s visit as a staycation. Here are some of the fun activities we would do during her visit.

Ferndale
Plan a trip to Ferndale on a Friday for a just a few hours weather permitting. Start at the Rust Belt Market, which is only open Friday through Sunday. Walk through the marketplace and do some shopping. One of my favorite vendors is Big Mitten Linocuts. I buy notecards and other gifts here. The original block prints are signed and numbered, and they make a wonderful gift.

For lunch, stop at Anita’s Kitchen, fresh, authentic Lebanese food served fast. Anita’s has been around for forty years and is well known in the Detroit community.

Bloomfield Hills
My friend enjoys the outdoors and photography. So I would take her to Cranbrook for a walk through the gardens. The gardens are tucked away off Woodward in Bloomfield Hills and there is no fee to walk there. From the sunken garden to the Japanese garden, there is so much to see and enjoy at Cranbrook. Of course, there are many remarkable health benefits related to being outdoors.

Detroit
One of our favorite things to do in Detroit is to walk around the Riverfront and Greektown. We like to start our trip with a meal at Pegasus in Greektown. Then we hop on the People Mover which has a station right up the stairs and ride over to the Renaissance Center. We walk up and down the Riverfront and take tons of pictures of the scenic views of Canada and the Detroit River. You can rent a scooter and ride around downtown.

I also love to take in a show at the Fox Theatre in Detroit. Whether it is the Nutcracker, Cirque Du Soleil or a Broadway Play, the Fox is a Detroit icon and a must see.

Troy
A shopping trip is an absolute must in Troy. The Somerset Collection has 180 specialty retailers and a skywalk over Big Beaver Road that connects the North and South malls. After the mall, have dinner at one of the many restaurants located nearby. Depending on your budget, there are several spots with great happy hour menus and also some higher end restaurants perfect for celebrations.

Birmingham
Some of the best things to do in Birmingham are outdoors so I would plan our visit when the sun was shining. I like to grab a lunch or snacks at nearby Plum Market and then walk around Quarton Lake and the park. I never get tired of the views of both the park and houses surrounding it. It’s easy to see why so many people choose this park for graduation photo shoots because it is truly beautiful. And pets are welcome too!

Next I would go to downtown Birmingham. I like the Starbucks Reserve for their amazing drinks and good people watching. The Starbucks Reserve is located right on the corner of Old Woodward and Maple and features reserve store only drinks and light bites.

We would do some more shopping and wrap up our day by walking through Shain Park. The park has a beautiful green space as well as a fountain, sculptures and playground. In the summer, there are free concerts with a variety of artists performing each week.

In summary, our week would be fantastic and fun. We definitely would log well over 10,000 steps per day by walking and touring the city. I can’t wait for my next staycation.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I dedicate my shoutout to all of the people who said I was too old and inexperienced to recreate myself. And also to my family who gives me extremely candid feedback and keeps me humble.

Website: https://carleycreativeconcepts.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carleycreativeconcepts/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maryaglescarley/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CarleyConcepts

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carleycreativeconcepts

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/carley-creative-concepts-troy

Other: LinkedIn Company Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/28132770/admin/feed/posts/ LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/macarley October Newsletter: https://gem.godaddy.com/s/12a6871 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@carleycreativeconcepts