We were lucky to catch up with Ember Berg recently and have shared our conversation below.
Ember, appreciate you joining us today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.
Starting my business was definitely a risk, but it was also something that wasn’t really an option for me.
I’m the kind of person that can’t go back on my internal compass. Once I know I need to do something, it doesn’t work for me to stay still or hold back. The path to reaching your goals isn’t always straight, but I’ve learned to trust and surrender to the process of realizing a vision.
I started my video production company with $500 in my bank account and an old camera that I’d bought in grade school.
What got me into production in the first place was my experience being an exchange student. After living in Italy in high school and then working for a summer in Milan, I woke up in the middle of the night one night with the urge to do this project… I wanted to tell stories that would relay my experience with the cuisine and slow food culture – more than anything, I wanted to share a FEELING – something that I knew words alone would not be able to express.
I was living in D.C. attending Georgetown University, and I got a small grant with a friend who was studying in Bologna at the time. My school granted me a summer of free rental on their film equipment, and I was off – back to Italy for the adventure of a lifetime. It was my first experience managing a production, and from then on I knew I had to make this my career.
I moved back to my home state of Minnesota and began working with the entrepreneurial community – this is when I created Dragonfly Visions.
I was mesmerized by the power of the camera and how the art of listening and recording a person could impact them in positive ways. I wanted to make my video work about more than lights and a camera, but about self-discovery and connection (although I hadn’t found the words for this yet).
Very few people around me really understood what I was doing, but I was able to find some clients and work as a barista on the side to keep things going.
There have been many ups and downs since then, but I’ve never felt like this isn’t the thing I should be doing. If I keep my head above water and my eyes open, there are paths and solutions everywhere. For me, it’s all about being open.
I think it’s always a risk to go after your dream – but if you have a vision that you know is your purpose, you have to take the leap and trust that you and the world around you will rise to the occasion.
Today we’ve been in business for five years, I have a growing team, and have learned so much along the way. For me, the best part of entrepreneurship is the challenges it presents you with to evolve as an individual and a leader.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I wear many hats – for my clients I’m a director, producer, communications consultant, brand and content strategist, authentic marketing enthusiast, but my main job is to see people.
After my background in documentary filmmaking, I created Dragonfly Visions to serve the inspiring entrepreneur community I was surrounded by while remaining connected to my love for authentic storytelling.
Purpose-driven leaders are who motivate me. I see myself as the aid to all the change makers who come in my path, making sure that their missions are seen and understood – and that they themselves are clear, confident, and fully unleashed to lead and share their vision with the world.
At Dragonfly Visions we offer brand, content, and communications consulting, while being a full-service video production agency—delivering video strategies from creative concept to channel distribution. We also produce digital courses, and work with a lot of thought leaders who wish to expand their impact via their expertise and experiences.
In addition to being a video production agency, we are a growth consulting firm—focusing on delivering a high-end client experience that catalyzes business and leadership growth from the inside-out.
I believe that marketing can be reimagined as a process of self-discovery and connection –
That is why at Dragonfly Visions we focus on leveraging the creative process to spark transformation for the leaders and brands that we serve.
What moves me about our work is
1. the reaction we get from clients and
2. when we follow-up with our clients months after their strategy has been implemented, they speak not only of the results it has brought them, but the way it has changed the way they do business as a whole
Every client we believe in their mission fully – and it’s my job to see the fullness of the vision, the greatness within the visionary, and to help them bring those elements to life.
Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?
I’ve grown our clientele at Dragonfly primarily by showing up in rooms and connecting with people. We are all so busy in our lives, especially people who are leading non-profits, leading communities, leading businesses… sometimes the individuals I work with are leaders within their entire industry! It can be hard to get the genuine connection that we need to remain true to ourselves and continue the course.
Showing and connecting in a way that leaves people feeling seen and supported is what has my clients gravitate toward me.
I want to be that connection for others, because as much as entrepreneurs may garner a lot of attention, it can be rare to feel truly seen – that’s who I want to be for them.
When I show up in spaces open and ready to connect, I trust the individuals who I’m meant to work with will naturally find that synergy.
What’s really amazing to me is how every client I work with has something to teach me that I absolutely needed as well – every time it feels like we were meant for each-other. It really does feel like a miraculous process.
I know I’m not meant to work with everyone, so pushing my methods or perspective onto people is not of interest to me. I don’t want Dragonfly to become a massive production machine. I just want to work with people who have strong visions who are making a significant impact. I’m grateful I’ve designed the business in this way, because it allows me to focus on authentic connection and discovery, which to me is the whole point.
Any fun sales or marketing stories?
It wasn’t until a few year in business that I finally produced a brand video for Dragonfly – we’d made so many for our clients, but never took the time to produce our own!
And I finally had to experience the vulnerability of being in front of the camera.
It was very impactful for me – and definitely caused a state change for myself and for the business. – That was when I was finally able to start articulating the work that we do, because I had taken the leap to be vulnerable myself.
So many awesome connections happened after sharing that first brand video. I was asked to come teach workshops, a got acknowledgement from my peers, some of which became clients, and my confidence in sharing my brand message increased – which led to more sales and growth as well.
This work really works!
I’m excited because as we grow our team, we grow our capacity to produce content internally to share more of our vision with the world. We have a new series coming up bringing together key thought leaders – it’s called “Table for Two: Seasoned Perspectives from Seasoned Leaders.”
Table for Two captures a private dinner party with featured interviews dispersed throughout the evening. The purpose of the program is to showcase conversations with leaders of various perspectives who all care about a similar topic but come to the topic in different ways. We are so often in our work with our heads-down, and it is rare that we give ourselves the opportunity to have conversations with each-other that expand beyond our original perspectives. Table for Two is an evening of discovery for the leaders who attend, and the first season focusing on Transformational Leadership will be released in three episodes starting in the month of May!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://dragonflyvisions.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dragonfly.visions/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dragonflyeyeprods
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ember-berg/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@dragonflyvisions
Image Credits
No credits needed