Sandhi (san-dee) is a Sanskrit word that means:

Joining, connection, friendship & collaboration. Social media channels allow us to connect locally & globally!

I’m a natural connector and teacher.

I love to learn, I love to teach, and I love helping people connect! It motivates me and brings me great joy. I believe social media is here to stay (though platforms may change), and that strong digital communication skills are essential to professional success. Don’t let a lack of technology skills hold you back from sharing your wisdom and experience with the world!

“The world needs your empathy and leadership now more than ever.”

—Rohit Bhargava, Author & Trend Curator

Even though social media marketing is not new, many are still struggling to use it effectively to support their business and professional goals. I believe you need to SLOW DOWN and GET STRATEGIC with your approach, so you’re not wasting valuable time. I want to reduce stress and anxiety by helping you gain clarity, so you can spend time on the right platforms and activities, and feel more confident about how to build relationships with the right people to support your business goals. Let’s make social media marketing less painful, and more fun! I enjoy serving others with my knowledge and experience, and I want to help you do the same for your audience.

I value “quality over quantity”, “less is more”, and “being present and supporting others”. I believe that time and attention is a precious gift. If you’re asking for someone’s attention on social media (with your video, article, or social media post), you should be thoughtful about it. If you’re looking to ‘growth hack’ by automating your social media, or you don’t want to talk to people, or be involved in your social media marketing, then I’m not the right social media marketing trainer for you.

I understand that most business owners don’t want to do their own social media (though you may have to do it yourself until you have the budget to hire help). I want to educate and inform you, so you understand how much time and energy is required to do it well, and how to be intentional and effective with the time you spend.

I can help you create a plan, set up your social program, and guide you on how to hire and work with a social media assistant who will use best practices, and spend time on the right activities to help you get results for your business in the long term.

Learn About Training

“In the fast-paced world of digital marketing and social media I found myself feeling overwhelmed by all of the options and platforms I was inundated by as I set up my coaching business. I struggled with creating a coherent plan that would maximize my exposure in the places where I would be most likely to convert “window shoppers” into ideal clients. I spent a lot of time “spinning my wheels” and praying for traction! Juhli took all of the guesswork out of social media and helped me create a plan that honored my brand and helped me hone in on the platforms where my ideal clients hang out! Juhli is a heart-centered expert who cares deeply about the success of her clients! She is genuine and meticulous and helped me create and implement a social media plan that will take my business to the next level! I have taken her courses and worked with her one on one and highly recommend both experiences. Her knowledge and experience, combined with her warmth and humour, create a superior customer experience!”

– Shelley W.

Toronto, ON

Join the Sandhi Social Community to get access to my free social media planning resources including: 🎧 ‘The Top 10 Social Media Marketing Mistakes’ audio 🎧

About Juhli Selby

Founder of Sandhi Social Marketing Training

Humble Beginnings

I was raised by a single Mom in Victoria, BC, Canada. We didn’t have resources, but she was always there for me and my sister. She told me every day how amazing and talented I was – and I believed her! I was a natural leader and connector in my youth – taking on roles such as the Editor of my high school yearbook, President of the student council, and organizing charity events. After graduating from high school I told my Mom I wanted to take a year off. I dreamed of travelling and wanted to explore the world. She insisted I continue my education. I studied business in my hometown at the University of Victoria (UVic). During this time I found ways to take breaks and travel. I worked as a server in restaurants and hotels to save money.

Continue Reading

Living the Dream in Mexico

At 21, I had the opportunity to do ‘work experience’ as a part of my Bachelor of Commerce program at UVic. I told my career counsellor that I wanted to go south, where there was sunshine and palm trees – and thankfully he encouraged me. I had some friends who were living in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico at the time, so I applied for tourism internships there. I worked at a hotel in Cabo San Lucas as the ‘Activities Director’ – offering a tourist orientation for guests, teaching a cooking class, doing a cocktail class serving drinks at the poolside bar, and teaching aqua fitness. Ask me about the time I met a famous fitness icon… I had a blast during my time there, and my friends and I met many people from San Diego, CA. I returned to university in Victoria to finish my business degree.

Selling the invisible swimming pool cover in California

My friends left Mexico to spend time in San Diego, CA. I visited and eventually lived in San Diego for many years, where I worked as a sales rep in the swimming pool industry. I represented a Canadian company that manufactured an invisible swimming pool cover. I would visit the engineering & maintenance offices of big hotels like the Marriott & Four Seasons in my tailored women’s business suit and say, “Hello, I’m Juhli from Canada. I’m here to tell you about an invisible pool cover that saves you money on heating costs for your pool.” They laughed and kicked me out. I thought it would be an easy sale! I learned the hard way that it was a challenging product to sell, but I eventually had success and established it as a credible product in that market.

Because I had success selling the commercial version of the invisible pool cover, I was recruited to sell the consumer version of the product – the ‘liquid solar blanket’ fish. I spent several years traveling as a business development rep for a small Canadian company, calling on swimming pool retail stores to build grassroots demand for this new product in the US – including California, Arizona, & Nevada. I was a road warrior, driving from town to town, staying at Motel 6. As a young person I loved every minute of it. On weekends I explored tourist sites like Yosemite National Park, the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, the Las Vegas strip, and one of my favorites places in Arizona – the Out of Africa Wildlife Park near Scottsdale.

My corporate sales gig

With independent swimming pool retailers in three US states now requesting the invisible pool cover, the product was picked up by a large wholesale supplier who became my largest client – and they eventually recruited me! I was an award-winning sales rep for the world’s largest swimming pool products wholesale supplier (now called PoolCorp), based out of their San Diego, CA office. I was proud to be part of a team that took the San Diego branch from one of the worst performing branches in our division, to the most improved, to the best performing branch in the division – gold award-winning! I loved my colleagues and customers in the swimming pool business, but didn’t feel appreciated by the company, and didn’t see any opportunity for advancement. After nearly 6 years, I decided to make a change and go traveling.

What I learned travelling the world

My best girlfriend and I bought ‘around the world’ plane tickets. We travelled to 11 countries, 30 cities total in 100 days. It was a marvelous adventure! Here’s what I learned: People are different, and yet we’re the same. I recorded video of my family and my dogs on my video camera before I left town – this was before smart phones! Even when I couldn’t speak the same language during my travels, I showed people video of my family and it made them smile!

We may live differently, look different, and worship differently, but we all love our families, and we all want to live in peace, with a safe place to live and enough food to eat. We want to be treated with kindness and respect, and we want to feel that we’re connected to a community where we belong and feel accepted just as we are. We’re all human, and we’re all connected on this planet. During my travels I did have some negative experiences, but was surprised over and over again that so many people would treat strangers with kindness. I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to travel and explore. It made me truly appreciate home.

Reinventing myself

I returned to Canada to be closer to my family. My Mom was getting older, and my sister was having babies. Since I was no longer the ‘sales rep’ I had been for years, I struggled with my identity and self worth. I wondered what type of work I could do that would be meaningful. I didn’t want to go into another sales role and sell a product or service that I didn’t believe in. I spent time on my personal development and came to understand that I am not my work – I have value for who I am, and how I can serve others in the world. I know it sounds cliche, but I wanted to do something to help make the world a better place. What I knew for sure was that: I love to learn, I love to teach, and I love helping to connect people. And I have always had a passion for marketing.

Carving your path and pursuing your dreams

In 2009 I became aware of social media, and started studying how it could be used for marketing. During my time in the pool business, I helped small businesses with marketing, and I could see the potential social media could have for helping small businesses connect with their audience. After not feeling appreciated in my corporate sales job, I wanted to create security for myself rather than relying on others to provide it for me. In 2010 I started my own marketing training business called ‘Juhli Selby Social Media’. Since then I have trained hundreds of small business owners on how to effectively use social media marketing to promote their business in a non-spammy way.

For my own business promotion, I combined face-to-face networking with social media networking to successfully build relationships to sell my services, and to build my reputation and my community in Victoria, BC. In 2020, I decided to create a new brand called ‘Sandhi Social Marketing Training’ as I shift from teaching in person, to teaching online, and expanding my community to the US and throughout Canada.

“Juhli, I’m glad we connected. Our training session was rich and full of valuable information. Beyond the information, you provided support not just through the links and connections but most importantly, I felt your care for my business and for me as a person. I left the session with great energy and positivity!”

– Nora B.

VIctoria, BC

The meaning of ‘Sandhi’

India is one of my favorite countries to visit. It’s a fascinating place that stays with you. I had the good fortune to visit India a second time, and during my last trip I met a Brahmin priest in the holy city of Varanasi who recommended that I wear an ‘Om’ symbol necklace for good health, long life and financial success. It has always been a word that I loved – chanting the Sanskrit word Om (‘aum’) in meditation is described as the sound of the universe that connects us all to one another, and connects us to our higher power. It’s the symbol of creation and connection to all living beings, nature and the universe. When I was deciding on a new name for my business I looked for a Sanskrit word…

Sandhi (san-dee) is a Sanskrit word meaning joining, connection, friendship and collaboration. As expand my community online I want to shift the focus from me ‘Juhli Selby’, to being about facilitating connection and community for business owners who share my values – kindness, integrity, humility, equality, freedom, loyalty, gratitude and service to others.

I’m grateful to get to support other business owners. Entrepreneurship is not for the faint of heart. One of my favorite motivational speakers is Les Brown, who says, “You cannot be wimpy out there on the dream-seeking trail. Dare to break through barriers, to find your own path.” I believe it’s a privilege to support other business owners who are carving their own path and pursuing their dreams. If any of the above resonates with you, I invite you to join my free Sandhi Social email community below.

Join the Sandhi Social Community to get access to my free social media planning resources including: 🎧 ‘The Top 10 Social Media Marketing Mistakes’ audio 🎧

Not ready to connect yet? Please enjoy some of my free content…

Visit the Article Library