We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Brianna Nam a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Brianna, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s jump right into how you came up with the idea?
Let me preface this by saying I am a proud Libra and a curious being who loves to create. This business was inspired by my love for Greek mythology, my values, my desire to try a new art medium, my passion for building community, and my interest in astrology.
Haus of Venusian is a photography company focused on helping underrepresented small business owners, low income professionals and college students. Haus is the German word for House. In astrology, there is this concept called profection years, which are yearly themes that everyone experiences. There are 12 houses for the 12 zodiac signs and your age determines what will be highlighted for the year. Of course each individual’s experience is different based on the planet and zodiac sign occupying the profection houses, but the common themes remain the same. Venus is the ruling planet for Libra/Taurus. Venus is associated with love, romance, beauty, money, values, and most importantly art. When Haus of Venusian was created I was in my 2nd house profection year (Age 25!). My highlights for age 25 were my values- what I place value on, my self-worth, my finances, income, and possessions. I wanted my photography company to be based off my values, my interests, my passions and my community. Venusian to its core!
I’ve always been an artistic individual who is constantly on the prowl for a new medium of self expression. Whether it is poetry, songwriting, makeup, pottery or even cooking I just like to use my mind and hands to create. During my college years I I didn’t create as much as I did in my younger years because I was focused on finishing school and graduating. After graduating, I stopped creating completely, but my desire never died. Photography came to me at the darkest season of my life. I was grieving. I was suffering from burnout. I was sick and I was in the process of healing from a toxic work environment (and I still am). During this dark period, I transmuted my sadness, pain and suffering and created some of my best artwork so far. It felt good to create again. After sixteen months of practice, my new hobby became a business that would help me grow out of my shell and meet some incredible people. The lessons, the rejections, the mistakes and the redirection are leading me to a purpose I feel I was destined for.
Brianna, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
During spring of 2021, I had left a toxic workplace after working there for almost 5 years. I didn’t know what my next move was and I didn’t have a backup plan. I became extremely sick due to the stress that I had harbored in my body for so long. I was so sick and depressed that I had to remain unemployed until I felt like I could work again without feeling any pain. During that season of waiting and healing photography found me.
In July of that same year, my boyfriend and I visited B&H to buy a camera. We agreed to share it and create content for any future projects we had in mind. However, that plan didn’t go as expected. The camera ended up in my possession (sorry babe!) and I used it to build my portfolio and gain experience. For sixteen months, I took pictures, watched multiple videos, took classes on marketing, attended workshops, sought advice from various photographers and looked to Pinterest for inspiration.
By January of 2022, I was working a new job as a part-time mobile chef and I had figured out my niche, food photography. I accepted the job hoping that I could learn more about plating and making food look “pretty”. During my seven months there I met some amazing entrepreneurs who had a problem that I could solve. Most of my colleagues had catering businesses that they operated from their homes and their biggest issues was photographing food and getting professional headshots. At the time, I was only a food and product photographer. I decided from that day add portrait & headshot photography to my skillset. Thus, Haus of Venusian’s mission was born. Investing in small business owners was worth the risk. Photography brings people together. Who doesn’t want to create a memory that will last a lifetime? For me this wasn’t about only creating memories, but bonds that would last a lifetime. It was about building a network for those who were underrepresented and helping them achieve their goals. The investment was worth it.
October 21, 2022 at 10:10am I officially launched as a photography business. Haus of Venusian’s photography services include: student photography, headshots, portraits, and food/product photography. I offer discounted coupons to first time clients and clients who are in a financial bind. As mentioned before, I started out as a food and product photographer that catered to small business owners and I haven’t met any other Black female photographers who are in this specific niche. I hope as I continue on this journey I can meet them and work with them some day. I came to this country as an immigrant from Jamaica. I’m just grateful that I’ve forged so many connections and that I’m able to continue learning. My philosophy is that I’m a student of life. There’s always a lesson to be learned.
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
I’m currently reading Get Good with Money by Tiffany Aliche. Before I started my photography journey, I didn’t care about budgeting and avoided financial conversations like they were the plague…and then I turned 25. Life showed me why I needed this skill and this information for my personal goals and the success of my business. Financial planning, financial discipline and financial wholeness are extremely important for a thriving business. Without it you will find yourself struggling to keep your head above water. In the book, Tiffany has a way of educating people on finance that I find easy to understand and apply to life. She doesn’t offer quick “get rich” tips. She offers tips and tools that help people eliminate debt and experience financial freedom/financial wholeness. Reading this book is helping to make smarter financial decisions. When you have a business you need to know where your money goes. You need to have a budget. You may need a business credit card and sometimes even a loan. You need to have financial records of purchases for audits and so much more. It’s a difficult discipline to learn because we’ve been conditioned to purchase items to satisfy our emotional and sometimes impulsive needs. However, with time, accountability, honesty, discipline, determination and a little kindness being financially responsible can be achieved. GGWM was gifted to me last Christmas by my older sister. Her gift to me has been the biggest blessing in disguise. I’m forever grateful.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
The birth. I always heard that term used with musicians and applied it to my business. I feel like every creative/artist looks at their projects as their baby. I was pregnant with this business idea for sixteen months before I officially launched it. Everyone has a pregnancy period that they go through whether they are creative or not. In that season of pregnancy, one finds themselves waiting and preparing for the birth of whatever it is they’re working towards. You can’t skip or rush the pregnancy to get to the birth. It’s best to appreciate the waiting season and be present in the moment. During “my pregnancy” period, I studied, I drafted, I researched, I budgeted, I revised, I networked, I planned and I practiced. I focused on posting content so that I would have something to show prospect clients. I created my mission and found my “why”. When I felt like I had enough content on my Instagram page and enough interested followers I finally birthed Haus of Venusian as a business. It was the most rewarding thing to introduce myself as a small business owner.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: hausofvenusian
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100094614825878
Image Credits
All pictures were taken by Haus of Venusian Photography.