We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sam Stephens. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sam below.

Sam, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?

Absolutely, as a business owner, I am much happier. The freedom to dictate my days, prioritize my tasks, and choose my clients is empowering. I’ve always been self-managed, and this autonomy truly suits me. In contrast, my time in traditional jobs—working in cubicles and corporate settings—was soul-draining. Although I didn’t spend many years in corporate America, the experiences were enough to realize it wasn’t for me. Those roles negatively impacted my mental and physical health, lacked challenge, and felt stifling. Disappointing management experiences in various positions only reinforced my desire for independence. Pursuing a master’s degree in creative entrepreneurship was a natural step for me to align with my early realization that I wanted to be my own boss. About two years ago, I committed fully to my business, shedding side jobs and embracing the freedom to focus solely on what matters to me. This independence has been liberating, allowing me to hone my skills as a brand designer and make decisions that propel my business forward.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m Sam, I’m the owner of Brandstorming Agency. I help creators and entrepreneurs with their branding, typically working with businesses in arts & culture, artists, startups, coaches, and thought leaders. I thrive when collaborating with passionate entrepreneurs who are deeply invested in their work.

I love helping brand owners discover the true power of fully owning their story and mission, so that they can attract the exact right audience for them. At the deepest level, I assist with unlocking and unblocking the true identity and voice at the core of the businesses I work with.

My approach is what I call holistic branding, which integrates brand strategy, design, and copywriting. I believe these elements are interconnected, much like the concept of holistic health, which I also follow personally. I often provide full-service website design, catering to business owners and startups by offering a complete package of copywriting and design. This all-inclusive service simplifies the process for my clients. Additionally, I frequently help clients develop or update their visual brand identity, which includes logos, color palettes, typography, and more. My process involves brand archetyping, where I work with clients to identify their brand’s archetypal qualities from about 12 different classic archetypes that resonate with different timeless aspects of the human experience. This helps ensure the brand stays true to its core values while resonating deeply with its target audience.

Another popular service I offer is consulting sessions on a one-off basis, called Brandstorming® Sessions. These are particularly useful for clients in the early stages of their business, for those looking to pivot, or for teasing out potential possibilities with clients who are interested in exploring new ways we can collaborate. These sessions sometimes evolve into ongoing coaching relationships, where clients meet with me regularly to refine their strategies and stay accountable.

I found my way to this field of work through my experience at ASU, where I majored in product design and then went back for my master’s degree in Creative Enterprise and Cultural Leadership (CECL). My master’s studies in particular opened me up to the world of creative entrepreneurship, and allowed me to research and deeply understand the methodology of effectual entrepreneurship. I practice and speak about this style of entrepreneurship in my daily life, and it’s been especially relevant to my other business venture, which is a popular Latin dance event in Phoenix, AZ called Latin Night at the Duce.

This is what I spend my time doing — living my creative passion for dance and event production, while also helping others do the same with their own businesses through Brandstorming Agency. I absolutely love it.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

I love this question. I spent close to zero to start my business ventures! (Well, sort of.)

When I started up Latin Night at the Duce, we used:
– a venue’s space and equipment
– pre-existing DJ equipment that my partner and our DJ already had on hand
– very small amount on social media ads
– lots of free promotion on social media
– very small amount on print flyers

The main expenses for this model are venue rental, paying a hostess, DJ, instructor, and photographer. Luckily, we did not have to front this money since we simply paid everyone after the grand opening event, and we were successful in having enough revenue to still profit after expenses.

When I started up Brandstorming Agency, I used:
– the laptop I already owned
– Adobe Creative Cloud subscription
– lots of free promotion via my own personal network and 1:1 outreach
– referrals from friends I’d already started helping for free
– experience and networking from my Bachelor’s degree, which is definitely NOT free or cheap, but I was personally able to avoid paying for by getting a full-ride academic scholarship
– experience and networking from my Master’s degree, also not free or cheap, this one I took out loans for and am paying myself. You could consider this a startup cost, or not, depending on how you look at it. Since I’m selling my thinking and my skills, it is kind of a critical piece.

The common thread with both is that I used effectual entrepreneurship techniques, which involve creatively utilizing the means you ALREADY have at your disposal, taking advantage of your current position, and imagining various creative businesses you could create based on the specific advantages of your unique position in life. What I had at my disposal (mostly my time, my network, and my skills) is drastically different from what someone else might have at their disposal, so think about your own unique situation instead of copying what I did or what someone else did. It helps to think about who you know, where you live, any financial means at your disposal, unique skills or talents, specific resources you happen to have access to, communities you’re a part of, etc. and leverage what you have to spiral up over time.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

Yes. My mission is to empower creativity. I think human beings are brilliant, and that everyone has something unique to bring to the table. I dream of a future where all humans can engage in their unique gift and passion while being able to also make a great living at it.

I hope that my work can help businesses created by awesome people thrive. I believe that entrepreneurship is an amazing path to greater autonomy, freedom, and fulfillment, and so Brandstorming Agency was created to help accelerate those who are on that path.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.brandstorming.agency
• Instagram: @brandstorming_agency

Image Credits

Photos by IDo Adventure Co and CVC Photography