Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Amy V. Cooper. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Amy V. , thanks for joining us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

Since 2016, my mission has followed a path of supporting female identifying creatives and entrepreneurs. I studied fashion design in college and took photography as an undergraduate elective. I moved to New York City to further study photography at Parsons School of Design. I then started my photo editing career at Elle Décor magazine, and later worked for MTV, where I had the opportunity to build a portfolio and gain experience in production. I eventually moved to Austin, Texas in 2008 to be near family and I started working in advertising, where my photo editing experience translated really well into art-buying and digital asset management.

I was ready to get out of advertising around the time of the big Wendy Davis filibuster in 2013. The filibuster was meant to stop legislation limiting reproductive freedom in Texas. That night was like the Super Bowl for feminists. Davis was filibustering for 11 hours, and in Texas, filibustering is very serious business. You have to stay on topic for the entire time—you can’t take a break, you can’t go to the bathroom, you can’t eat. You have to stand there and talk until the clock runs out. It felt like I was watching something historic happening. The Texas capital was filling with people and protesters, and you could really sense their energy. President Obama was tweeting about it, and Davis did end up running out the clock. Unfortunately, a special session was called later, and they ended up passing the bill.

It had a huge influence on me. It made me question what I was doing to help people, specifically women. I could count on one hand the number of women that I had been able to hire for a really big campaign in the last 20 years of working in advertising and entertainment, and I wanted to change that. I decided to open my own photo agency representing only women photographers—Trove Artist Management. While I was in the process of building that agency, I was also mentoring younger photographers on the side, offering portfolio reviews and consultations, and that’s the part of my work that I really fell in love with. I closed the agency right before COVID and chose to focus on photography consulting.

Since then I’ve gained an understanding that creatives can only show up to the extent that their self-worth will allow them. So, I’ve been studying and adding more mindset tools to my coaching practice to support my clients in building their confidence, as well as creating community and spaces for female-identifying creatives to support one another.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I offer portfolio reviews, business mentoring and mindset coaching to my clients. What sets me apart from other consultants and coaches is the time that I put in to understand the direction that my clients are most passionate about going in, discovering what is suspending their progress, and offering the mindset tools to push them forward.

Each of my clients gets there own unique model for growth, and I make sure that they have a clearly outlined trajectory to follow that is attainable and sustainable for their goals, the amount of time and money they are able to invest, and especially for their preferred way of communicating with their own potential clients.

A lot of us get caught up in thinking that we should want something because it has been modeled for us in the past as what we should want by systems, industries and cultures. My work encourages people to think outside of the “norms” and to reinvent their work in ways that feel good for them. I call it A Divine Rebellion.

What I’m most proud of is the level of trust and vulnerability that my clients allow me. It’s truly rewarding when someone opens up about how they are feeling in their business and work so that we can plan a transformation that will level them up on an emotional level, not just a numbers result.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

When I started my photography agency I strongly identified as an introvert and felt that I would run my marketing mainly on written correspondence and print promotions. I learned very quickly that that model would only grow my business at a snail’s pace.

Face-to-face interactions are so much more powerful, and I had to unlearn my preconceptions of introversion and let go of the parts of that identity that were holding me back. I found ways to connect with others more directly, in person, but in a way that still felt safe and comfortable and didn’t zap all of my energy. This is something that I am now proud to help my more introverted clients unlearn about themselves and manage in their own work.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

About a year into running my photography agency, the pressure unlocked a lot of anxiety. I was working late hours, spending a lot of time on the computer, alone in my office, it was affecting my health. Fortunately I had some incredible business mentors who helped me give myself permission to “fail” at the agency work. I was then able to realign with my passion so that I could continue to do the work that I was meant to do in a way that was healthier for me and even more valuable for my clients. This was my pivot from agent to consultant. I was so much happier and my business grew much faster as a result.

Part of managing my anxiety beyond strong friendships and community was learning tools such as tapping and hypnosis. I am now certified as a practitioner in both of these modalities and use them to help my own clients manage their stress, self-doubt and confidence.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.amyvcooper.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amyvcooper/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amyvcooper/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/amyvcooper
• Other: Insight Timer App: https://insighttimer.com/amyvcooper

Image Credits
Amanda Hoffman