Twenty years ago, I wouldn’t have been able to build this business serving women entrepreneurs that I have now. Not because I wasn’t capable, but because the model didn’t even exist.

Corporate Slog or A Starter Kit

In the early 2000’s, most women had a few clear lanes:

→ Climb the corporate ladder
→ Work in a structured small business
→ Or host MLM parties

If you wanted flexibility or to work from home, your options were usually an MLM. I honestly went to so many Pampered Chef parties I genuinely lost count.

Lia Sophia. Avon. Shaklee. The list goes on…

I don’t bring up these options with judgment. Those rooms were full of smart, ambitious women, who were hungry for something, and not just extra cash.

They were looking for agency, for ownership. For the ability to be in charge of their own lives.

What I Was Doing 20 Years Ago

Twenty years ago, I was just getting started doing the only thing I thought was available to me, which was to work in a corporate environment. I hated the idea of “climbing the ladder,” because I truly didn’t like the competitive environment women had to contort themselves into, to be visible.

Becoming a women-owned business that served other women entrepreneurs was nowhere on my radar. I was a corporate communications writer, and I loved the limited creativity I had in that role. But I hadn’t even picked up a camera yet!

Those of us born before 2000 remember that you didn’t just wake up and decide to monetize your expertise online. For most of us, the only options were to work under what others (usually men) had created for us to do.

So becoming a brand photographer? Using my experience with marketing and strategy — along with creativity — to help women build visible, expert-led businesses? Not even a thought in my mind.

We’re Not Just Starting Businesses, We’re Building a New Economy

What’s happening now is bigger than “side hustles.” Women are:

✨ Launching coaching businesses
✨ Building therapy practices
✨ Creating digital agencies that serve other women entrepreneurs

So many of us are designing service-based businesses from scratch. From home. On our own terms. That’s incredible when I think about it — how amazing are we, that we can start something from nothing?

But here’s the thing no one talks about enough: When you build your own business, you become the brand.

Visibility is No Longer Optional

Twenty years ago, you could hide behind a company logo, or behind the man who worked over you.

But when you build a personal brand, it means your face, your perspective, your expertise…you are the brand.

If you’re a coach, therapist, wedding professional, social media consultant…people are buying *you*. Your experience. Your energy. Your authority.

Which means your visual presence matters.

This is a powerful, exciting time for us to be living in, so let’s show up and own it!

If you’re ready to start aligning your visuals with your expertise, so you can step into charging what you want, I’d love to talk.