We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Brandy Riley a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Brandy, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?
I believe part of my God-given purpose is two-fold; 1) break generational cycles and 2) build a legacy for my family. I was adopted into the family I’m in at 2 months old. The name of my company, Riley Design Studio is something that I envision leaving behind for the next generation of creatives in my family to run, and impact the community with.
While walking on this journey called life and paying attention to the rising talent in my family, it was only fitting to have a name that represents that.
Brandy, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I’ve always had a knack for designing things. I remember as a child spending HOURS of time playing around on a program called Paintbrush (Windows95 anyone?). I enjoyed being able to create things from nothing and make them look vibrant and cool.
So this followed me throughout my career. I held a couple of administrative-based jobs from high school through college and without fail I somehow always ended up being involved in a project that needed my creativity. I never ran away from it but I graciously would perform the related tasks and people would start to take notice and remember me from it.
After graduating from college, I spent 10 years working at a law firm but was graphic design was something that I couldn’t part from. Although I performed design tasks at the firm, I would still get approached to participate in a wide range of projects from logo design, book design, web design and everything in between. Little did I know, I was sharpening my craft and expanding my range of services. But it started to get overwhelming managing everything and keeping up with entrepreneur protocol so I started to invest in learning how to turn this “side thing” into a bigger thing. I attended various workshops and began to meet a lot of people who were navigating their paths as creatives. It encouraged me to keep dreaming and to keep building.
So dream and build I did. I officially started (on paper) my business in April 2020 and took the leap into entrepreneurship in 2022. The journey has not been easy at all. When you’re starting out as a entrepreneur, you can receive what may feel like 100 consecutive ‘no’s’ before you start getting a yes. In the process, I had to overcome a lot of mindset barriers related to my value, my worth and most of all my ability to create impressive visuals that resonate with people. At the same time, I had to change my behaviors to match an emerging successful business owner and move away from the things that got in the way. Then I had to appreciate my own journey or in other words, keep my eyes on my own paper. We live in a very fast-paced world, and everybody wants everything fast and it can be very tempting to look over and compare where you are to someone else. The problem with that is it creates a cycle of sabotage and it will literally cripple you from becoming who God has called and created you to be.
Looking back, this year 2023 was probably my hardest year yet both personally and professionally but at the same time, I’ve been able to successfully create and launch brands for some of the best talented business owners around. From accountants to wellness coaches to media production companies, I’ve enjoyed the partnerships I’ve been able to build with these companies. There are many things that I enjoy about what I do, but I believe that the BEST part is being able to create freely and seeing my clients’ reactions to the result. Having the opportunity to create a brand that is not only eye-catching but sustaining as well. I build brands from the ground up which takes a more strategic approach.
Simultaneously, I’ve been able to keep myself encouraged with my membership with NAWBO (National Association of Women Business Owners). There, I’ve been able to build a sisterhood with women who “get” me and understand and correct me when I’m wrong.
It’s great to be in a position where I’m walking the road less traveled but discovering who I’m really meant to be and serve while I’m here.
Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?
Not trying to use every “shiny” object to grow my clientele.
As I heard a business coach say, ‘People buy from people’. You never want to lose the art of having genuine conversations with people and just listening to them and what they are struggling with. When you can get in position by carefully listening to help them solve their problem, the work will speak for itself. That person will tell another person, who will tell another person. It’s not all about you but how you can help someone get ahead or overcome something that they are struggling with.
I utilized LinkedIn a lot to not just connect but foster conversations with people who are in my target market (serviced-based businesses, and established creative entrepreneurs). Between LinkedIn and re-offering services to existing prospects, I’m able to build momentum. In brief, I help people improve how their brand story shows up online and with every marketing touch point. It helps them to dominate and make noise in the marketplace.
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
Start with Why – Simon Sinek B.O.S.S. Moves – Myron Golden
Work the System – Sam Carpenter
Contact Info:
- Website: www.rileydesignstudio.co
- Instagram: _brandyriley
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rileydesignstudio
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/brandyriley
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@brandy.designs3365