Exploring Life & Business with Stephanie Wagner

Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephanie Wagner.

Stephanie, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Hi, I’m Stephanie Wagner and I am the Founder and Operator of Country Swag, country music’s only NYC-based media outlet. I grew up in NYC where country music was not very prevalent in my life. We did not have a local country music radio station and it wasn’t until after high school that I really discovered what country music was and what it was all about.

Upon discovering the genre and finding artists that I loved, I realized that there were many fans similar to myself in the NY area hungry for more country music. I began hosting country music-inspired events and officially launched ‘Country Swag’ in December 2015.

Since our launch, we have established ourselves as the go-to source for country music news, events, and merchandise in the New York area and beyond. In addition to hosting and producing our own unique events, we also partner with local establishments to promote shows coming through the area.

Furthermore, in an effort to help support the culture, we created a country music clothing brand. Inspired by the common thread in country music: American pride, we developed our ‘Hero Collection’. The Hero Collection honors our First Responders and Military.

Since the launch, we have raised funds for various organizations that support our heroes nationwide, including our ‘Kindness Isn’t Canceled’ campaign in which we partnered with Walker Hayes to raise funds to enable us to donate meals to frontline workers during the pandemic.

Our goal at Country Swag is to keep country music alive in New York City while also promoting the genre and lifestyle nationwide.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Like any small business, there have been many obstacles and challenges along the way. Our company was truly built from the ground up, so from our launch, our biggest challenge was really learning as we grow. I didn’t have any experience in the music industry, so every single thing I was doing was brand new to me.

I constantly was reaching out to introduce myself to new people, set up meetings, learn from them, to ask questions. I think that is the most important thing in any business – don’t be afraid to ask questions.

Fortunately, the country music industry truly is like one big family and it’s hard for me to look back now knowing just a few years ago I didn’t know anyone in this space, and now I have so many incredible friendships, mentors, and supporters around me. I am most grateful for that every single day.

I think with each new challenge we have faced through the years, the most important thing has always been to power through, learn, be honest, be kind, and trust the process. I think when you do something you truly believe in and are passionate about it, that passion will shine and others will believe in it too.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
As the operator, each of my days always looks extremely different.

On any given day I can be found interviewing artists, proofreading articles for the website, creating new merchandise, packing up orders, curating events, and the list goes on.

I think in most small businesses, each employee wears many hats and that is certainly the case for Country Swag, but that is truly what makes each day fun, exciting, and always learning something new.

I’m extremely grateful for how far this company has come, the incredible team I have, and the amazing support around me. I am looking forward to what’s to come next.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.countryswag.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/countryswag/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nycountryswag/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/countryswag
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/CountrySwag
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@countryswag.com