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Life and Work with Brandy Lawson

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Brandy Lawson.

Brandy, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
February 2012, I was walked out of my big-name internet business corporate job due to the company being acquired. A week later, I sent out my first proposal because a former colleague reached out, unaware I didn’t have a day job anymore and asked for help with his website. My business started, but I wouldn’t actually understand that until many months later.

I fully expected to be employed again in short-order, so free-lancing kept some money coming in while I was job hunting. I had a lot of experience as a product director – I’ve managed products from laptop chargers to website building software, it should be a slam-dunk to get another position.

Then, we found out we were expecting our son. And I told my husband, it was still no big deal, I’d have a job soon enough. Through a series of odd events, each “perfect” job I found didn’t end up with me actually being hired. Everything from the hiring manager submitting the paperwork to hire me and having the company re-org to the job I showed up to be interviewed for, and then was offered, being moved to another state on the day I flew in to be interviewed – the universe clearly had different plans for us than a corporate job.

When I turned down a job with Microsoft because of location, it finally dawned on me that I was actually going to have to turn this freelancing thing into my full-time business. 6 years later, my company has been through 3 “phases” and a re-brand, and I’m grateful every day to be in a position to help other business owners make the right digital decisions to grow and market their companies.

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?
Is it ever a smooth road? No… definitely not. I figured out pretty early on that despite my being raised in a business my parents started the year I was born, having a marketing degree, a masters degree, experience in marketing and selling other people’s products, that I could NOT do this by myself. So, I hired my first coach who forced me to do all the basic things I didn’t want to do… like track my time, set a default calendar, get a bookkeeper and have a sales forecast.

I also then came to understand that my business couldn’t grow unless I grew. That the person I was then wasn’t the person capable of building a 6 figure or 7 figures business. I would need to evolve into that person, and that required something much more terrifying than marketing myself, closing customers or sending out proposals. That required me being willing to see my weaknesses and shortcomings as clearly as I saw my strengths. To be brutally honest with myself and be open to doing all the things I didn’t want to do in order to improve not just my skills, but who I am as a person. That is not the kind of thing they teach in business school. But at this point, I think every class on entrepreneurship should introduce this concept.

My advice for those just starting the journey is to seek out and find the support you need at each phase of your path. If I had understood earlier how important community is to accelerating towards a goal, I would be much further along at this point. Community can look different, depending on where you are and what you need. I’ve found that support in a coach, in a coaching program, in our local WordPress community, in a “business” BFF, and in an online community of other digital agency owners.

Also, you will need “skills” that are not typically taught in traditional learning. The skill of courage, the skill of communication, the skill of mindfulness, and the skill of self-awareness have all been critical new “skills” I have needed and am continuing to build on my journey. Other people call this personal development, but for me, when I can think of these things as skills, that allows me to really suck at them the first time I try them. Because I know that the more I try and learn, the better I can get at them. Just like any skill.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with FieryFX – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
When I re-branded the company 2 years ago, I chose FieryFX because our work “ignites” businesses by helping them with digital decisions and marketing. We specialize in strategy and metrics because we know that actual return on investment in business and marketing needs a plan and has to be measured. Formidable female change-makers hire us to help them affect change faster and on a greater scale by using the reach of digital marketing.

What sets us apart is our focus on connecting marketing efforts to business goals. Every aspect of the business is changing at an extremely rapid rate and chasing the latest & greatest doesn’t necessarily mean moving the needle for the business. That is why we chose to specialize in strategy & metrics as that is where the foundations of success are laid and the effectiveness of efforts understood.

What advice would you give to someone at the start of her career?
You will come to understand that your goals will change. It’s important to set them, to track them, but also to change them when you want to. Also, find your support & community. Maybe, it’s a mentor. Maybe, it’s a meetup. Maybe it’s a professional association. But find that support and use it.

Contact Info:


Image Credit:
Julie McLain, http://juliemclainphotography.com

Getting in touch: VoyagePhoenix is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.

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