IAM1546 – Brand Strategist Helps Consultants Create More Impact through Photography

Melissa Henry, Founder of Personal Brandtography Tm and Melissa Demple Photography, helps female coaches and consultants strategically clarify and showcase their personal brands online, making their marketing WAY more effective, creating a bigger impact, AND growing their business to multiple six and seven figures. With 13 years in the photography industry and over 4 years studying brand strategy while building her own personal brand, Melissa's uniqueness is in combining personal brand strategy with photography to create images that capture your personal brand AND powerfully connect you with your target audience. Unlike other brand photographers out there, with Melissa, you get BOTH brand strategy and professional brand imagery!

• CEO Story: Melissa, is a CPA, who once did a full-time job while doing her passion for photography as a side hustle. There came to a point in her job that she was in a very toxic environment that made her make a firm decision to go full-time on her passion for photography. From that moment as a business owner, she also switched her niche from Maternity and newborn clients to personal branding. Five years later she’s happy doing what she loves!
• Business Service: Coaching strategy program – walks the clients through the elements of their brand. Giving them a blueprint/framework.
• Secret Sauce: Capturing clients on who they really are, the feeling is there. In coaching, listening to the client and finding the center of the wheel for the brand.
• CEO Hack: Being a steward to the business, structuring in gearing towards clients. Investing in what you do best.
• CEO Nugget: Micro-niching – targeting who you want to work with the best.
• CEO Defined: Someone who is standing as the face of your business, and as the steward of your business.

Website: www.melissademple.com

LinkedIn: melissa-henry

Instagram: hmelissademplephotography

Visibility Masterclass: https://www.subscribepage.com/visibility_plan_masterclass

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Transcription

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00:21 – Intro

Do you want to learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and grow your business from successful entrepreneurs, startups, and CEOs without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you've come to the right place. Gresham Harkless values your time and is ready to share with you precisely the information you're in search of. This is the I AM CEO Podcast.

00:48 – Gresham Harkless

Hello. Hello. Hello. This is Gresham from the I AM CEO podcast. I have a very special guest on the show today. I have Melissa Henry of Personal Brandtography, which also houses Melissa Demple Photography. Melissa, Excited to have you on the show.

01:01 – Melissa Henry

Thank you, excited to be here.

01:03 – Gresham Harkless

Yes, super excited about all the awesome things that you're doing. And of course, before we jump in, I want to read a little bit more about Melissa so you can hear about some of those awesome things. And Melissa is the founder of Personal Brandtography in Melissa Dipple Photography. She helps female coaches and consultants strategically clarify and showcase their personal brands online, making their marketing way more effective, creating a bigger impact, and growing their business to multiple 6 and 7 figures.

With 13 years in the photography industry and over 4 years studying brand strategy while building her own personal brand. Melissa's uniqueness is in combining personal brand strategy with photography to create images that capture your personal brand and powerfully connect you with the target market you're looking for. Unlike other brand photographers out there, Melissa is here. You get both the brand strategy and personal brand imagery. Melissa, excited again to have you on the show, my friend. Are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO community?

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01:56 – Melissa Henry

Yes, I so am. I'm excited.

01:59 – Gresham Harkless

This is great. Let's get it started then. Yes, absolutely. So let's kick it off by rewinding the clock here a little bit more on how you got started when I call your CEO story.

02:07 – Melissa Henry

Oh my gosh. All right. So in like 5 seconds or less now I know what I'm doing here is when I started off, I was actually a CPA, I still am actually, but I was in a completely different industry for a very long time. About 13 years ago, I started my photography business photographing maternity and newborn clients. And I did that while I was holding down a full-time job. And I'd always had this thing where I'm like, I'm gonna quit and I'm gonna do this full-time. But you know how we make all those mistakes, those like, we make all of those excuses rather. And it's like, okay, well, when there's enough money, when I have, you know when my daughter is after she's born, you know, after we like, you know, finish our house renovations, etc.

And I like to think that the universe had like gotten to a point where I was tired of hearing me say this. And then they basically got put on a job where it was a really toxic work environment. It was the client site. The clients were the issue, not my company, but the clients, it was in government contracting. So I'm sure that anyone who's familiar with government contracting understands that relationship. So I was on the site and I was there until sometime 3 in the morning. I had an incident where the client came over to us and was like yelling at me in the middle like this like 1030 at night and I'm like, oh my God.

And I had that moment where I was like, I'm either going to just quit and race out the door right then and there or turn around and punch this person in the face. And I was like, and this is not me, right? Like I don't, people don't take me there. So that was kind of that moment where I said, all right, you know what like you've been saying this forever, just like do this thing already. And so I did and it wasn't right at that moment exactly but it was fairly soon after that. And so when I got into being a full-time business owner I also at that very moment decided to switch my niche.

So instead of working with maternity and newborn clients, suddenly I was like, oh, personal branding. Yes, where have you been all my life? You know, something that I had actually done years prior that could have been considered that suddenly was coming up as the thing that everybody was starting to do. And I was like, wait a minute, this is it. So I started off my new business without any clients, without messaging, without a website that spoke to that. It was crazy, but here I am, you know, 5 minutes, 5 minutes, 5 years later, feels like 5 minutes, but 5 years later, and yeah, I'm doing what I love and it's, I mean, that's kind of the short and sweet of it.

04:57 – Gresham Harkless

Nice, so I definitely appreciate you sharing that And I think that, you know, I too have had, you know, when you feel like you're not in the right spot and you're like, I really want to do this X, Y, and Z thing. And then the kind of the, it's like the burner on the, on the oven, it gets hotter and hotter and harder that makes you leap out. And you're almost like, I don't want to do it. I want to do it, but I don't want to do it. And then you feel like you can't, but not do it. And sometimes it's not done the prettiest way, the perfect way. But I think as I find most people that are the most successful, there is no perfect or sometimes pretty way. It's just a way and you just try to make it work as best as you can.

05:35 – Melissa Henry

Yes, exactly, exactly that. And I think it is about that. And even now, like whenever there's the hard days, I just think to myself, yeah, but I remember how hard that was And I will never put myself back in this situation like that again. So that just gives me that motivation to just keep going.

05:53 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah, absolutely. And it sounds like it's very empowering as well too, because you start to realize that you do have that opportunity to kind of redirect your life, your mission, your gifts on a deeper level to, you know, things that can really kind of help support yourself, but also the community and world around.

06:11 – Melissa Henry

Yeah. And, you know, it's interesting too, and we're probably going to get a little bit into this, I suppose. But I found during these past 5 years that what I was doing was deeper than just photos. Like it was like, I started working with clients and realizing that, oh my God, like I can't separate the like the brand strategy side of things from the photos. And I was finding that I would see other photographers go on groups and things and they'd be like, well, I don't have a session tomorrow, but I don't even know what to photograph.

And I'm like, oh my god, like, how can you show up to someone's site and just treat it like it's a portrait session it's not This is really like this is someone's brand and you need to represent it the right way so that they grow their influence in the way that they want to. It's got to be an alignment. So that's kind of why that sort of strategy piece started creeping in. And now it's like, this is all part of the whole process for me. And, you know, I'm helping people build those, the strategic side as well as then subsequently representing it from a visual perspective.

07:20 – Gresham Harkless

Absolutely. Absolutely. So I wanted to drill down a little bit more. I know we touched on it a little bit already, but here is a little bit more on how you're serving your clients, how you're making their impact, and how you're helping them to show their brands and to be found.

07:32 – Melissa Henry

So yeah, the process that I use now is a coaching strategy program and it walks people through these elements of their brand. And something I wanna kind of back up a little bit and explain to people if they're not really sure what brand means because a lot of people will say, well, the brand is your logo and your graphics and your website, et cetera. That's a, I always tell people, it's a visual representation of your brand, but the brand itself is the foundation underneath all of that. And it's comprised of a lot of things, namely, I'll go through everything, but basically, you need to know your vision, you got to be connected to that vision.

You need to know your mission, where are you headed? Like, how are you getting there? You have to and everybody's heard ICA, you know, ideal client avatar, or audience, wherever you want to call the A. But that part is important, but it's also important from the perspective of just understanding their pain points. And there's there's more to it. There are more like components to it, but those are kind of the, I would say the initial things that we walk through. And then when we're, as we're working through this, we're creating a framework for them.

It's a blueprint is what I call it. My god, if you hand this like blueprint over to your web design person or your graphic design person, they're just going to go, oh my god, this is exactly what I need. And they may have a few additional questions, but literally, they're getting this feeling about you from that blueprint. And so then you're able to do the other things, go out and get your photos taken, go out and get a video if that's the right thing for you. But that's really where that all comes from and that's how that whole, that bow gets tied together.

09:15 – Gresham Harkless

Nice, I love that visual with the bow and tying it together. And I find and I'm sure you have found the same thing, whether it be websites or photos. I just need my photo done. And you ask for that framework, you ask those questions that you ask about your mission, your vision, your ICA, and all those things. And people probably don't have the answers. And it makes it, I imagine, so much more difficult to not necessarily to do the work, but to really, I think, excel and go to an entirely different level with that, you know, client or person that you're working with if those things aren't kind of like in line. So that kind of brings me to what I like to ask for, which is your secret sauce. This could be for yourself, the brands, the businesses, or a combination of both, but what do you feel kind of sets you apart and makes you unique?

09:58 – Melissa Henry

From the perspective of the photography side, when I'm with clients, what they've told me is that, I don't know how you do this, but you just you've got me like it's you know capture me and really who I am and It's that comes super easy to me, too It's just in the way that I work with them and it's kind of some of the things I do on set where it pulls that out of them. Setting a scene up where let's say they're working with a client and getting that sort of emotional interaction, we might, I might even say to them, well, act as if you really are working with them, like walk them through your process and talk.

And they start getting into that instead of there's a camera there. When I'm working with someone from a coaching perspective, what's going on there is a lot of like, I just, it's weird. I can sit there and like listen to somebody and I can go, oh my God, that ties with this part of your brand, do you see it? So we were talking through it and then we realized for her, she going to suddenly be a sleep expert because wh when they're new parents comes from that.

11:19 – Gresham Harkless

Absolutely, So absolutely appreciate things that you're doing. Now with switch gears a l you for what I call a CEO hack. So this could be like an Apple book or a habit that you have, but what's something that makes you more effective and efficient?

11:33 – Melissa Henry

I have to be a steward of my business. If you know that cash flow and revenue and clients are the things that run your business, which they do, that's no.1. If you know that and you structure your day around that concept, then you will be a good steward for your business. The other stuff, hire people that can do that other stuff. That's why that brand strategy is important, by the way, you get to say, what is my next investment? And that could be with a person coming into your business.

It could be automating something and getting the help that you need to do that automation. You're a map, by the way, you are a massive automation machine. I love how you set up your like everything. It's all done. You know, but you know, you invested in that and maybe it was your own time or whatever, but you might have a combination, whatever, but it is an investment that is totally paying off for you now because you can stay in what you do best. Same thing for me. And that's where I'm, that's what I think is the biggest hack.

12:37 – Gresham Harkless

Absolutely. So what would you consider to be what I like to call a CEO nugget? You might've already touched on this as well, but it's a little bit more word of wisdom or a piece of advice. I like to say it might be something you would tell your favorite client or if you have to do a time machine, you might tell your younger business.

12:51 – Melissa Henry

So what that is, is like, what it is, is getting super granular with who it is that you are going to work with the best. And that starting with that, like you're not going to know that right out of the gate by the way if if you're just starting out you need to get your feet wet you need to go through the whole the pain of like working with all different kinds of people and figuring it out, you get it. You gotta go through that. That's what everyone needs to, do when they're in a coaching, consulting kind of business, right? When you start to do that, you start to see who you can help the most. You start to understand that. And then like, let's niche it down. So don't be afraid of committing. It doesn't mean you're not going to have plenty of clients. You will. You absolutely will.

13:39 – Gresham Harkless

I that's that's that's a mountain. I love that. I love that nugget. So I wanted to ask you now my absolute favorite question, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO. We're hoping that different quote-unquote CEOs on this show. So Melissa, what does being a CEO mean to you?

13:51 – Melissa Henry

Someone who is standing in front of their business as the face of their business and as the steward of their business. Would you like me to expand on that?

14:01 – Gresham Harkless

I would love to hear more if you have more.

14:04 – Melissa Henry

We talked a little bit about already about the steward being the steward of your business. So I think we've kind of crushed that one. But with being the face of that business, what I think a lot of people feel like when they first start a business is that they should put the business out there, right? It's not really about me, it's about my business. And what's what's happened in the world over the past approximately 10 years or so is that that shifted and COVID even made it go faster. And that is that it's not like the business is there, that is true.

But if you don't stand out in front of that business, it's so much harder to grow it because people are more and more and more looking to individuals as that authority. That's why I say if you're going to be the CEO, be the face of your company, and don't be afraid of doing that. Like I think I, oh my gosh, I have so many people who will say, well, I'm going to splash myself all over my website. So I'm like, okay, but then how are you different unless you have a brand new thing no one's ever seen before comes from within you?

15:16 – Gresham Harkless

Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. Well, Melissa truly appreciates, of course, I appreciate what I want to do now mic, so to speak, just to add that you can let listeners know. And people get out of you find things that you're working linked in if you like. I think I have a dental H is my maiden name. But mo you find out about all the awesome things that you're working on.

15:32 – Melissa Henry

Connect with me on LinkedIn if you like. It's under Melissa. I think I have it Demple Henry because Demple is my maiden name. But moreover, I do have a free gift for you. I have what I'm calling the visibility plan masterclass. So what that does for people is you get to look out where you are in your brand journey, like what have you identified, right? And where are you in business? And then you get to figure out, okay, what should I do right now to become more visible so I can bring in more clients?

16:05 – Gresham Harkless

Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. Thank you so much again, Melissa. And like you mentioned to make it even easier, we're going to have the links and information in the show notes, LinkedIn, the free gift, all the awesome things that you're doing. And I hope you have a phenomenal rest of the day.

16:16 – Melissa Henry

Oh, it's going.

16:18 – Gresham Harkless

Yes. It's a bumper sticker. There you go.

16:21 – Outro

Thank you for listening to the I AM CEO Podcast powered by Blue 16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at iamceo.co I AM CEO is not just a phrase, it's a community. Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes Google Play and everywhere you listen to podcasts, SUBSCRIBE, and leave us a five-star rating grab CEO gear at www.ceogear.co. This has been the I AM CEO Podcast with Gresham Harkless. Thank you for listening.

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