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

Carlen, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s kick things off with a hypothetical question – if it were up to you, what would you change about the school or education system to better prepare students for a more fulfilling life and career?

Let me start by saying my grandma was an English teacher & my grandpa was an elementary school principal. I am, and always have been, a total NERD. I love learning new things, understanding the way things work & most importantly, reading. When I was a little girl, my mom sent a note excusing me from dodgeball so that I could read… I was that kid. I always had straight A’s and did not struggle with completing assignments or testing (because of neurotypical privilege). However, I did struggle with pretty severe anxiety & drastic temper tantrums. I remember feeling so out of control of my emotions & reactions. If only I had been taught to memorize breath work techniques instead of the pledge of allegiance. If only I had been taught yoga in gym class. If only I had been given a meditation break right after snack break. If only I had been taught something even remotely resembling proper nutrition instead of the pyramid scheme we were sold.
I know that English, math, science & history are important things for us to learn. But I also know that if we learned how to take care of our bodies & our minds from the time we were learning to read, it would change the world. America doesn’t have a great record at protecting its students – and yet, that’s exactly why mental health should be taken extremely seriously in this country.
Students with the knowledge to heal themselves naturally become adults who aren’t just surviving. They’re thriving.
I want to live in a world where everyone is the living as the best version of themselves.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I’m a visual storyteller, a retreat leader, a dreamer, a do-er, a student, a teacher, a Gemini & also sometimes I sing. I graduated from the University of Miami in 2018 with a degree in broadcast journalism, only to realize when I graduated that I REALLY did not want to work in TV news. I didn’t even watch the news. I consumed my media through Instagram. I started applying to digital media jobs and ended up meeting the CEO of LEON Restaurants while I was hawking my resume in the lobby of Buzzfeed. He said the Universe brought us together for a reason – and hired me.
I moved to DC within the month to become the full-time visual storyteller for the restaurant chain’s first foray into America. I filmed behind-the-scenes, interviewed customers, suppliers, employees, managed the social media, shot menu photography and even handed out coffee samples in the rain. I did a few one-off photography & videography projects here and there as a little side-hustle. Meanwhile, I also studied to become a 200-hour yoga instructor and eventually started teaching around four classes a week. It was a hectic schedule in a busy city and on bad days, I would sometimes Google “how to be a yoga retreat leader” or “videographer positions in Bali”. & then, COVID.
I was immediately laid off from my yoga job, but I was extremely fortunate to be kept on with LEON until their permanent closing in 2021. I made life-long friends while working at LEON & living in DC and I’m so incredibly grateful for the path it set me on professionally.
Today, I am the owner of my own business, Carlenography Creative Services (which I just actually filed an LLC for & hired Collective to do all my adult back-of-house work and I highly recommend them – use my referral link: https://share.collective.com/CarlenDickerson). I am a videographer, a photographer, a copywriter & a social media manager specializing in the hospitality industry. I am the voice for a range of businesses from legendary NYC falafel shop, Mamoun’s Falafel, to a talented home-stager based in Sarasota, Homestaging by Alexandra.
I’ve always thought about the question of why my customers should hire me over any other human who owns a fancy camera. The only answer that feels true is that what sets me apart is me. Sure, my work is quality, professional & always efficiently delivered. But more importantly, I show up as uniquely & authentically myself. When you hire me for a project, every conversation & interaction during the creative work will be open-minded, collaborative & positive. I am an easy-going, conversational, inspired, reliable, curious, kind, genuine human. I want everyone in the room to feel comfortable & welcome. I value everyone’s story and truly believe in the goodness of human connection.
I am the most proud of my newest venture, Sun, Moon & Stars Retreats. My partner, Cathy, and I are hosting our first ever yoga retreat in just a couple of weeks – March 4-5. Our mission is to cultivate connection to nature, our community & the power we all have within us. For two days, we’ll be camping on an island, practicing yoga & breath work, receiving massage & acupuncture, meditating, swimming, paddle boarding, kayaking & snorkeling. We’ll perform a Full Moon Ritual & a cacao ceremony. We’ll commune. We’ll heal.
I want potential clients to know that I am constantly evolving and crafting my life to be the best version it can be.
& I would love for them to join me on the journey.
Let’s grow together.

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

I was working full-time on the marketing team for a restaurant brand. My side hustle started off as one-off photography & videography gigs. I was in the restaurants almost all day every weekday and met LOTS of people. Honestly, incredible networking to be had in a fast casual restaurant in downtown DC. I got some of my first projects simply because I would be in the restaurant holding my big, fancy camera. People would see me shooting photos of waffle fries & ask me if I could take photos of X for Y. I always said yes. The abysmally low rates I used to charge people… still haunts me. But, a major milestone is definitely sending my first invoice.
One time, I saw over the shoulder of a guy sitting in the restaurant who was struggle-bussing his way through some sort of video editing. I struck up a conversation out of curiosity. He needed a video for a GoFundMe he was making for his food truck business. I helped him out & they raised $10,000. They’re now a brick-and-mortar restaurant called Swizzler Foods.
My other side hustle (lol) was teaching yoga at a national yoga studio chain. Not recommended if you’re looking to be paid fair wages!
As I continued to work my 9-5, I kept my side hustles pretty passive. I wasn’t actively searching for new clients but I just always said yes when anything came my way. A milestone was definitely creating my logo. I remember feeling so proud and official.
In 2020, an incredible mentor I met through LEON, Stacey Kane, started building her own business as a fractional CMO. As she picked up clients, she started throwing me projects here and there.
It’s the beautiful way life guides you along. I met Stacey at just the right time, right before the shift of the pandemic, and then lost my job & moved home. I was lost and very unsure of what step I should take next. Stacey threw me a lifeline. She was like, “I’m starting this thing, and I want you to be a part of it.” As her client-base grew, so did my projects.
As I continued to work with Stacey, I picked up several of my own clients. Meanwhile, because of the nature of my remote work, I traveled to Hawaii for a month, lived in a jungle in Guatemala for two months, and had a lot of time to focus on my self-growth and the kind of work I wanted to add to the world.
After several years of dreaming, I am now officially turning my other side-hustle of teaching yoga into a scaled-up business as well – Sun, Moon & Stars Retreats. It is currently a baby. I am hosting my first retreat in two weeks… so I’ll have to let you know about my learnings after!

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

COLLECTIVE. They’re an incredible company that offers financial solutions designed for self-employed business owners – company formation, tax, accounting & bookkeeping. All the “adult” things I should have been doing in the past year and a half of business… but have not. I am so grateful to be in a place to be able to hire them and I am not sponsored, but I highly recommend them (here’s my referral link: https://share.collective.com/CarlenDickerson).
I absolutely love being self-employed. I love the freedom of it. The ability to travel wherever in the world I want to & whenever I need to. But, I am entirely lost when it comes to whole tax situation. & now, I don’t even have to worry about it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.carlenography.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carlenography/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sunmoonandstarsretreats
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlen-dickerson/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@carlenographycreativevisua2977/playlists
• Other: https://www.instagram.com/sunmoonandstars_retreats/