Today we’d like to introduce you to Stacy Barnes.
Stacy, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I’m a marketing strategist for personal brands, coaches and consultants. I help brands get clear on confident on their marketing strategy. I host a weekly podcast that helps entrepreneurs move one step closer to their marketing goals.
I started my entrepreneurial journey as a wedding photographer. My first clients saw my hobby portfolio (which was mostly plants and zoo animals at the time) and asked me to shoot their wedding. I was hooked. Not just with the photography side, but the business and marketing side as well. The business grew and I was eventually featured in popular wedding blogs and magazines.
Then, when I had my daughter, I switched gears. I no longer wanted the long hours and stress that came with weddings. I scaled back and worked as a freelance graphic designer. It wasn’t as glamorous as weddings, but it wasn’t as stressful as weddings.
Many of the clientele I received as a graphic designer were new businesses, people who were just starting out and wanted to grow. With each new client, I asked them about their target audience, who the website is for, and what they want to achieve with it. I found that several of them lacked fundamental marketing skills. They were creatives who had passion for their talent, but not the business acumen for marketing. It was then I realized my calling.
My purpose was no longer weddings or websites. It was marketing. It was always marketing. It’s how I attracted clients as a photographer and as a designer.
Today, I teach marketing strategy. I host a podcast, Brand and Blossom, that aims to build brands and empower entrepreneurs.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It took me a while to land where I am now. One of my biggest struggles was defining my ideal client.
Because I didn’t know *who* I wanted to work with, I was unclear about *what* I should offer. I know I wanted to teach marketing. Originally it was marketing for wedding professionals. Then, it was marketing for makers of handmade goods. Then it was creatives in general. Finally, I landed on teaching marketing to online coaches and consultants.
You’re going to have to rely on your intuition. You can read all the business books, apply all the marketing strategies, but at the end of the day, your intuition will be the one to guide you.
If you find you’re bouncing from one thing to another, just take a moment to stop what you’re doing. Ask yourself what you *really* want. “Do I feel like I’m doing it because I *should* be doing it or because I want to?”
We’d love to hear more about Stacy Barnes.
I’m a marketing strategist for personal brands, coaches and consultants. I help brands get clear on confident in their marketing strategy.
I approach marketing in a very holistic way. While most people are fretting over what kind of Instagram photos they should post or what font they should use for their logo, I take a step back – usually several steps back.
I go all the way back to their purpose. Why are they in business? What lights them up? Who do they enjoy working with more than anyone else?
While most marketers are focused on the sales level, I go much deeper. While most marketers are tweaking different surface-level things (fonts, colors, photography, ads, etc.), I find that the root of the problem is much deeper. The surface-level things do matter eventually, but if a new website isn’t working, there’s something much deeper going on.
We’re interested to hear your thoughts on female leadership – in particular, what do you feel are the biggest barriers or obstacles?
I think masculine energy lends itself to loud personalities that dominate a room simply by the sheer volume of their voice. It’s intimidating to anyone.
In the marketing world, most males tend to be flashy and loud.
This is not to say that females are shy or quiet. Females sell with stories and emotion.
There are female marketers who are killing it – Marie Forleo and Amy Porterfield are two top business women. They are not flashy or loud. They are relatable.
I think the days of flashy and loud are waning. People want relatability.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://brandandblossom.com
- Email: hello@stacybarnes.com
- Instagram: http://instagram.com/stacyabarnes
- Facebook: http://facebook.com/stacyabarnes
- Other: http://brandandblossom.com/roadmap/
Image Credit:
Esther Sun Photography
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