I firmly believe in mixing business with pleasure, politics, and personal life — and I've built a successful business doing just this. In my experience, building a value-forward brand is one of the strongest strategies for a successful, sustainable, impactful business. By this, I mean one that:
provides you with equal parts income and fulfillment; you grow with rather than grow out of; and contributes to the change you care about.
how to build a brand that advocates and impacts—and is all the more successful for it.
(psst: here for classic photography mentoring? scroll down!)
My first few years in business were slow and steady—
I accepted every inquiry and worked with whomever would have me. This method allowed me to build a portfolio and earn a small income, but it ultimately kept me camouflaged within my industry. It wasn’t until I started infusing my personal values into my work that this changed.
Full of rage (privileged, belated rage) in 2015 and with nowhere else to put it, I used my business platform to get vocal. In doing so, I unintentionally transitioned from a product-driven brand to a purpose-driven brand. It was this loud vocalization of my personal values that became my brand voice and allowed me to stand out and find my people—and with them, create impactful work.
I wrote this series for the creative entrepreneur seeking out their corner of the world where they can make an impact with their platform.
Consider this a collaborative effort at understanding what it is you really want to say with your work, figuring out how to get that message to the people who will pay you to hear it, and using your brand to forward your values.
a value-forward
brand in four parts:
1. identifying your aligned client
2. crafting your mission statement
+ brand language
3. understanding how a value-forward brand functions + interacts with their market
4. putting it all into practice
how it works
01
02
03
04
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You'll reach out through the form below and I'll send you a PDF guide with more details about the pricing, structure, and content of the series.
If you decide you're ready to transition to a value-forward brand, you'll reserve your spot with a deposit and we'll schedule your intro session.
At your intro session, we'll go over your specific goals, you'll receive materials to work through, and we'll schedule the remaining three sessions.
During the remaining sessions, we'll work through content such as your aligned audience, brand language, mission statement, a to-do list for putting it all into practice, and a whole bunch of content in between.
By the end of the series, you'll leave with all the material, motivation, and encouragement you'll need to transition your brand. After this point, I am always available to you for future questions and support.
free download: four questions to consider when crafting your mission statement
it's personal
is for you if:
you feel the need to stay neutral and keep the peace within your space of business;
you want clients who book you for your values rather than in spite of them;
"social impact" feels like an abstract concept within your line of work;
you feel forced by the algorithm to create constant, unaligned content;
you want to dig deeper into the "why” behind your business.
faq
DO MY VIEWS HAVE TO ALIGN WITH YOURS TO ENGAGE WITH THIS SERIES?
No! I don't expect everyone to share my ideals and perspective. This series is open to just about anyone who wants to use their work to speak their truth, so long as their truth is respectful of our shared humanity. That said, this series will not be used to promote ideals that are racist, anti-LGBTQIA+, xenophobic, or hateful. We'll talk a lot about boundaries in this series, and these are mine.
faq
Reach out below to receive a detailed guide including information about pricing, series structure, and what to expect. I'm happy to schedule a consultation so you can decide if you're ready to make this transition for your brand. (If you've gotten this far, I'm thinking you are!)
let's chat!
are you ready?
i got you.
looking for a classic mentor session?
1:1 education for photographers on understanding their camera; starting their business; photographing people; and/or photographing weddings.
