We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Stephen Proctor a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Stephen, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Almost all entrepreneurs have had to decide whether to start now or later? There are always pros and cons for waiting and so we’d love to hear what you think about your decision in retrospect. If you could go back in time, would you have started your business sooner, later or at the exact time you started?

I wanted to start doing what I’m doing a few times, but I’d keep taking the “safe route,” only to end up at a fork again a decade later.

I never had a good answer to “what do you want to be when you grow up?” At 42, I still don’t, but I’m enjoying the journey more than ever.

I went to college for broadcasting, but fell in love with photography and visual design along the way. In the process, I got my (then) 13-year-old sister interested in photography (this is important later). When I graduated, I wanted to be a nomad. I wanted to wander the world and imbibe all of the experiences and cultures and landscapes that I’d only been able to dream of. I wanted to document the world in all of its glory and tell everyone else about it with photos of sweeping landscapes and videos of cultural celebrations and everyday life.

I had no idea how to make any of that happen. So, I tried to find a way to do it with the stability and predictability that I thought I was supposed to find. I joined the Army as a Public Affairs Specialist. I got to travel to some places I wouldn’t have otherwise gone, like Mongolia, Thailand, The Philippines, Kosovo, Bosnia, and live in places like Honolulu and Seattle.

During those years, I took a lot of photos, wrote a lot of stories, designed all kinds of publications, websites, flyers, posters, brochures, and more, and even worked on a few video and audio projects. I covered American doctors running medical clinics with local doctors in rural Mongolia, a massive multi-country, multi-service exercise in the Philippines, a base decommissioning in Bosnia, everyday life of Soldiers and locals during a year-long deployment to Kosovo, a skate park opening at a local military housing complex near Pearl Harbor, Seattle Seahawks players training with Soldiers in Tacoma, and so much more.

Overall, I had an incredible experience telling the everyday and extraordinary stories of Soldiers and everyone else around the world. I learned a lot and grew a lot. I got to see the world and experience other cultures in a very real way. But it was on someone else’s terms, which I was kind of over. Also, I was tired of shaving. So, after five years I decided to move on.

It was early 2010. I was out of the Army and living in Tacoma, Washington. My then-wife was pregnant with our first child. I was looking for jobs and doing a little side-work with visual design. I decided I would use my GI Bill to go back to school, but wasn’t sure what to study. I was building the framework for a visual design agency while looking for jobs and debating between going back to study marketing, entrepreneurship, or education.

Everything in me wanted to start that design agency and start working for myself on my own terms… but I was far from home (my family was all in Michigan), my savings were limited, the Seattle-Tacoma area is an incredibly expensive place to live, and we had a baby on the way and minimal support or connections.

I was at another crossroads. Growing up, my dad ran a small business for most of my childhood, and he had to work A LOT, which meant he was gone A LOT. I wanted to follow my dream, but I know how much work goes into starting and maintaining a small business and I also wanted to be present for my kids.

Teaching seemed like a great way to have a stable career and it would put me on the same schedule as the kids, so I could be the active and present dad and keep honing my other skills on the side and during the summer.

We ended up moving back to Michigan where I enrolled in an expedited teaching program that took about three years. I was a certified social studies teacher with a focus on high school. I really enjoyed it for a while and was able to keep using my design skills to be a better teacher.

I taught for three years in a fairly typical rural/suburban high school in Southeast Michigan. It was basically what I’d imagined teaching to be like from my own experience in school and pop culture from the 90s. Then, between school budgets making my take-home pay go down every year and a mental-health induced breakdown in my marriage, I moved back to West Michigan looking for another teaching position.

I begrudgingly applied for a position at an alternative, inner city high school in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It was not what I’d ever envisioned for myself (I wanted to be Mr. Feeny, not Mr. Kotter), but it was an incredible experience and taught me a lot about the different experiences that people have in communities that are only a few blocks away from everything I know, but also worlds away in how people experience life. I was able to see firsthand the level of inequity that permeates our society, which has done a lot to inform how I think in general.

I mentioned my sister earlier. While I was off doing Army stuff and teaching, my little sister was building a wedding photography business back home. When I moved back, a couple of things happened. First, she introduced me to her friend Bethany, who is now my wife. Second, she hired me to second shoot weddings with her and eventually I became the primary videographer for her wedding business.

I used the money from weddings to buy more gear and slowly build my photo/video/design arsenal with more and better cameras, computers, lighting, audio, etc… then, I started using those skills at my school. I became the multimedia guy. I made a lot of videos, posters, flyers, websites, and more for internal and external communication efforts. By the time I moved on, I was probably doing more multimedia work than teaching.

I was teaching there during the COVID shutdowns, so about a year of that job was online from home. When I went back to working in-person, I restarted my daily commute of 45 minutes each way. When I realized that I was spending an extra work day a week driving, I decided that as much as I loved that school, it was time to find something closer to home.

I found a job at another suburban high school that was only about 15 minutes from my house. I enjoyed it for about six months before it started to become increasingly soul-sucking. Smartphones and the lingering effects of COVID-based remote education did a lot to alter the educational landscape in some profound ways. And while the healthcare was great, school budgets are still tight. The payscales are actually pretty good for someone coming out of college at 22 or 23 with no debt. The payscale was less kind to anyone coming in as a second career or even moving between schools… but, I digress.

Midway through my second year there, it became apparent that there was a disconnect between the administration and myself. I decided it was time to part ways after that school year.

Since then, I’ve been doing freelance and consulting work in the areas of digital media and content marketing, focused on mission-driven businesses and non-profits that are trying to make the world a better place… and I really like what I’m doing.

So, do I wish I’d started earlier? There were certainly times that I thought I did. But with time comes wisdom (hopefully). And if I think back to 10 or 20 years ago, I honestly don’t think I could have done what I’m doing now. I wasn’t ready. I needed to learn a lot of the things I learned and needed the structure I had for a time… and now I’m at a place that I don’t, so I’m really ready to be here.

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

What sets Lakeshore Visuals apart in the very crowded marketing landscape isn’t about technical skills or high-end equipment – it’s about perspective. I view the world through a lens that was shaped by documenting stories in remote Mongolian villages and remote towns Eastern Europe, teaching in urban classrooms, and repeatedly standing at life’s crossroads wondering which path to take.
I’m drawn to the intersection of visual storytelling and social impact. That’s why our current farm-to-table video series with a local chef feels so energizing – it’s highlighting sustainable agriculture practices in our state while telling the human stories behind the food revolution happening in our own backyard.
I’m not interested in marketing that manipulates or pressures. I’ve built my business around the conviction that ethical, authentic storytelling is not just more aligned with my values – it’s genuinely more effective for the mission-driven organizations I serve.
I don’t just make pretty visuals and compelling copy, I bridge the divide between passionate founders and their audiences, translating complex missions into content that resonates emotionally and drives action. Whether it’s a nonprofit struggling to communicate their impact to donors or a sustainable business trying to stand out in a crowded marketplace, I help bring their vision to life in a way that resonates with their audience.
The common thread through my seemingly disconnected career path – from broadcasting student to Army journalist to educator to marketing strategist – has been a commitment to authentic communication that builds bridges between people and ideas. Each role taught me something essential: the military showed me how to tell complex stories under pressure; teaching helped me understand how to adapt messages for different audiences; and my creative side projects taught me the power of visuals to communicate what words alone cannot.
What my clients tell me they appreciate most is that I become genuinely invested in their mission. I’m selective about who I work with because I believe the best results come from authentic alignment. When I partner with an organization, I dive deep into understanding not just their marketing needs, but the core “why” behind their work.
This approach means I function less like a traditional service provider and more like an extension of the team – an on-call creative partner who provides the expertise of a full marketing department without the full-time cost. Whether they need help crafting a complete marketing strategy, creating compelling content, or executing campaigns across multiple channels, I help make that happen.
At the end of the day, what drives me is the belief that the world needs more good ideas – and those ideas need someone who can help them break through the noise. If you’re doing meaningful work that makes the world better – whether through sustainable products, community services, or innovative solutions to social problems – my mission is to make your story impossible to ignore.
You don’t need to be a marketing expert or have a massive budget. You just need clarity about the change you want to create and a partner who understands how to translate that into content that connects. Because in a world full of marketing that manipulates and distracts, there’s nothing more powerful than authentic stories that inspire genuine change.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I want to do my part to make the world a little better place to be. I want to tell the stories of people who are making the world a better place so that they can share their message with the widest audience to have the biggest impact possible.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I get to create. I get to help people bring a vision to life. I get to solve problems and try new things. I get to teach and learn at the same time and bring ideas together in new ways. I have to learn the rules, so that I can know how to properly break them for the most interesting effect. I get to help people see the beauty in humanity and I get to help spread messages that are making the world a better place.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://lakeshorevisuals.com
• Instagram: lakeshore_visuals
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/profile.php?id=61571816345907
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-proctor-0058a8323/
• Youtube: @LakeshoreVisuals