We were lucky to catch up with Alyssa Brady recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alyssa, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. If you’re open to it, can you talk to us about the best (or worst) investment you’ve made. What’s the backstory and the relevant context behind why you made the investment

What’s our most valuable resource? Money? No. Connections? No. Time – yes. It’s the only resource that isn’t renewable. We can never get it back, so it’s crucial for life, and business, to spend every minute with intention.

When I first started my business, I tried to wear all of the hats: marketing, social media, emails, design, etc. It felt like I was always running around, trying to catch up even though I was working 12 hours a day. I thought “there has to be a better way.”

That’s when I invested in my first business coach, and she taught me how to effectively run an online business. Without that first investment in my business, I wouldn’t be where I am today. Without that first investment in my business, I would’ve still been working 12 hours a day and barely seeing any progress.

After that first investment in my business, I quickly learned that investing in yourself and your business was the best way to grow. After all – if you don’t invest in your business, why would anyone else?

Alyssa, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My story doesn’t begin like the traditional entrepreneur’s. I was not the little girl hustling at the lemonade stand. I liked to play it safe. Stability was the name of the game for me. We’ve been raised to stay in school, get the degree, find the job, clock in and out every day, so that’s what I did.

I found a 9-5 that I ended up loving. (Didn’t see that one coming, did you?) The work I did, the people at the office—it was great. I felt content. Until something changed. I distinctly remember sitting at my desk in my tiny office, looking out the window, and wondering… “is this it?”

I’d achieved my goal of finding a job I liked and I was climbing the corporate ladder, but it started to feel off. I’ll be honest, it wasn’t a feeling I particularly enjoyed. I just felt like something in my life was missing – I know this is a feeling a lot of us can relate with. I couldn’t put my finger on the exact uncomfortable feeling, but I know I didn’t want to feel that way anymore.

We all know those picture-perfect travel bloggers and design influencers on Instagram. There were parts of that life that appealed to me (and a lot of it that didn’t). But I realized I could do that too. Or something like it, anyway.
I needed to find something in between the idealistic #laptoplifestyle posts from Bali and the repetitive days under my office’s fluorescent lighting.

So I went for it. Brand & Bloom became my new side hustle, my night-and-weekend focus, and my passion.

After less than a year, I took the biggest risk of my life thus far and quit that 9-5. I hit six-figures in my first year in business and almost tripled my salary from my 9-5. Now, as the founder of my own company, I help women like you and me grow their businesses, their finances, their freedom and their confidence through branding and web design.

What sets Brand & Bloom apart from other design agencies is that we are our clients biggest cheerleader, and we do everything in our power to contribute to their success. We do so much more than just brand and web design. With our background in marketing, we also give our clients a strategy on how to reach their dream clients and become a powerhouse in their niche.

We are most proud of our client’s success stories. When a woman comes to us with the dream of starting her own brand, but having no idea where to start, and then us helping her launch her brand and surpass her income goal in only 10 months… that is why I started Brand & Bloom. So other women can crush their goals, and improve their life.

How did you build your audience on social media?

When I first started Brand & Bloom, I knew I wanted to keep our marketing and social media as real, raw and authentic as possible. I made a vow to show up on our stories every day, even when I have 300 followers, and focus on building real connections, instead of focusing on followers.

I also told myself I would never follow the trends or contribute to the eco-chamber that social media has come today. I make it my mission for my brand’s voice to always sound different, bold, witty and fun. Never bland or gatekeeping.

This strategy has grown our community to 10K Instagram followers and over 6K Tik Tok followers. Even though those may not be the biggest numbers, we have built a community we love and that is most important to Brand & Bloom.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

The best sales strategy is making your current clients happy. When you have an incredible client experience and focus on making your current clients happy, they will refer you to their friends in the future. A referral is the best type of client you can get because there’s already trust. And when they know you and trust you, a client is much more likely to want to work with you.

Focus on creating an impeccable client experience, from start to finish, and watch your referrals or repeat customers sky rocket.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://brandandbloomdesigns.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandandbloomdesigns/
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/alyssa-brady
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@brandandbloom https://www.pinterest.com/brandandbloomdesigns/

Image Credits
Images by Drew Elaine Photography