Raphaela Zaruha

Raphaela Zaruha What started out as a hobby, turned into a lifestyle. Let's get social.

I transformed my passion for social media marketing and photography into a unique and creative way of helping small businesses reach their potential and grow tremendously.

Always.
11/14/2020

Always.

https://socialraph.com/hi-im-raphaela/ my heart skips a beat every time I read the "about me" section. It's been almost...
11/14/2020

https://socialraph.com/hi-im-raphaela/

my heart skips a beat every time I read the "about me" section. It's been almost 3 years now since I last wrote this when I was in a dark place. The light at the end of the tunnel is almost there.

Touched this section up just a little bit.

Grateful for all your support - thank you so much

Hello! My name is Raphaela, otherwise known as Social Raph. Welcome! In 2018, I decided to build my own website as a way to express and share things about my life: my dreams and aspirations, though…

Working a full-time job and pursuing your side hustle/business is chaotic. I’m exhausted in every way possible. 💤 mental...
06/05/2020

Working a full-time job and pursuing your side hustle/business is chaotic. I’m exhausted in every way possible. 💤 mentally burnt out and emotionally drained, but this is not a pity post. ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
This lifestyle is a lonely path. It’s frustrating and will drive you crazy, but it’s so rewarding. ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
Maybe some of you share the same story. ⁣
⁣⁣
I’ve come across too many people who ask about what books/podcasts will help bring motivation. They might inspire you, but they will not motivate you. At the end of the day, 𝐘𝐎𝐔 have to do that yourself. ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
Inspiration is one thing, but actually sitting down and doing the work is another thing. 𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 and 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 are two things I’ve learned that you have to master first. The two will always be interconnected.⁣⁣ They are crucial.
⁣⁣
When I started Social Raph last year, I was working 50-60 hours a week during the day and stayed up all night. There wasn’t a book or a quote to motivate me. If you choose this life, you have to be willing to do the work knowing that you’ll sacrifice a lot. ⁣
⁣
If you’re passionate about something or want to master a new skill, be your own motivation. Don’t rely on anything or anyone else. You owe it to yourself to be better and live a happy and fulfilled life *in your own terms* ⁣
⁣
Dig a little deeper and you’ll find that something is there. Just keep constantly igniting that flame and don’t you dare let anyone dim it. 🔥 ⁣
⁣

starting to really appreciate and cherish the simple, yet beautiful things in life. ☺️🌞🌳💛 @ Yale University
05/26/2020

starting to really appreciate and cherish the simple, yet beautiful things in life. ☺️🌞🌳💛 @ Yale University

It’s 3AM and I can’t stop reading. I just can’t put the book down. This story consumed me. It’s as if nothing in the wor...
05/23/2020

It’s 3AM and I can’t stop reading. I just can’t put the book down. This story consumed me. It’s as if nothing in the world mattered but this story. You forget about your life and open the door to an alternate life. A very* good book will do that to you. If you love bone-chilling thrillers with a weird love story twist, this book has your name on it. Finished it in one day. Yes, it’s that good. 📚💛 @ Massachusetts

To be this happy and carefree on an island in the middle of the Aegean sea 🥺😫😭
04/13/2020

To be this happy and carefree on an island in the middle of the Aegean sea 🥺😫😭

two things I’m grateful for: ⁣⁣the morning light that shines through my front door at 7AM. 🌈☀️⁣⁣and this beautiful, big ...
03/31/2020

two things I’m grateful for: ⁣
⁣
the morning light that shines through my front door at 7AM. 🌈☀️⁣
⁣
and this beautiful, big statue of Julius Caesar!! I learned Latin in school for 8 years, so he’s absolutely necessity in my home

Trying to focus on the good as it feels like the rest of the world is at war. ⁣⁣⁣⁣Truly enjoying more quality time with ...
03/26/2020

Trying to focus on the good as it feels like the rest of the world is at war. ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
Truly enjoying more quality time with my family, as well as having more time dedicated to creative passion projects. ⁣⁣🙇🏻‍♀️🌱
⁣⁣
You’ll also never see me without a book in my hand. 📚 I’m currently reading: A Gentleman in Moscow. Has anyone else read it? ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
I’d love any recommendations to Netflix/HBO and of course, books. 💁🏻‍♀️ ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
sending you all my love. 🤍⁣
⁣

benefits of being an early riser: watching the sunrise on the beach with my morning brew ☕️⛅️💕
02/16/2020

benefits of being an early riser: watching the sunrise on the beach with my morning brew
☕️⛅️💕

your Sunday evening reminder: 💕👑💓
02/10/2020

your Sunday evening reminder: 💕👑💓

The only reminders I need going into the start of a new decade 💫✨ Little Words Project ~ I hope that this new year bring...
12/31/2019

The only reminders I need going into the start of a new decade 💫✨ Little Words Project ~ I hope that this new year brings you nothing but true happiness, love, health, and success in whatever you love doing. Thank you for being a part of my journey this year. Cannot wait to bring Social Raph to a new level next year!!!

Cheers to 2020, let us truly live our best lives 🥂💛..

Address

New Haven, CT
06520

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Raphaela Zaruha posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Raphaela Zaruha:

Shortcuts

Share

The Birth of Social Raph

What started out as a hobby, turned into a lifestyle. I’ve been passionate about social media marketing my entire life, and it all started with a quaint bagel store. In 2014, I was the first in my family to attend college. For some odd reason, I pursued business right from the start; my concentration being marketing (weird, right?) Through my studies and phenomenal business professors, I slowly began to fall in love with the art of marketing. Cue the bagels. I used our bagel store as an experiment, a way to use my knowledge and resources and see what could happen. So, I created a website using WordPress, social media pages, and an email account. You know, extremely important necessities that every single business in the world should have...but it was 2014 and I was testing the waters. I started taking photos of bagels + cream cheese, breakfast and lunch sandwiches, homemade soups and pastries, etc. To be honest, I had no end goal. I had no idea what it would lead or turn out to become. To my surprise, that cute, small bagel store completely blew up. Bagel Time has turned into a crazed frenzy for bagel lovers in central Massachusetts. Our revenue tripled, production of bagels quadrupled, and the love intensified by a million. In 2019, our website page views were at 25,000. (!!!) This all stems from marketing, and not just any kind of marketing; good marketing.

When I transformed my passion for social media marketing and photography, beautiful things started happening. More and more people were recognizing my “talents”. I didn’t understand this. What was my talent? I didn’t understand what was happening, but soon enough social media started to take over the world rapidly and then I knew exactly what was happening.

Social media has turned into a ginormous monster that you must tame every day. It became a commodity for businesses to have, which was something unheard of. Because of this, I started to recognize the power and potential behind social media. I took those talents and quite literally applied them directly into this crazy world of social media. My part-time gig posting bagel photos suddenly turned into a full-time job?! Madness.

And that my friends, is where the fun began. Marketing on social media suddenly became strategic, creative, and insanely powerful. It was more than just posting pictures of bagels. It became a way to help small businesses, just like Bagel Time, grow into something incredibly beautiful. A small, family business that started out as the American Dream, turned into something that my parents and I never thought would happen in our wildest dreams.