We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Carrie Shepeard. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Carrie below.

Carrie, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you tell us the backstory behind how you came up with the idea?

Once I turned 40, I started to examine my life and career. I began to examine what uplifted me and gave me purpose. I began to wonder if I really wanted to spend the next half of my life amid the fury and unpredictability of the corporate world. Shortly thereafter, a global pandemic hit affording me, and the rest of the world, the opportunity to slow down, look inward and reflect on what truly matters. Because the world was “shutdown” for awhile, I went outside ALOT. And during those moments, I brought my camera with me. Photography had always been a lifelong passion of mine (since the age of 8), but in recent years I hadn’t been taking many photos. But as the pandemic dragged on, I kept clicking away and my photo library was growing significantly. It was at that point I got to thinking….what if? What if I could turn this lifelong passion that has brought me so much joy into an actual career? What if I could take all the knowledge and experience I had in sales and marketing and apply it to my own business? What if I could have a business that focused on uplifting others? What if I could focus my business on women, showcasing their beauty, their talents, their worth at any age? What if I could take it a step further and help female entrepreneurs and women-owned small business owners build their visibility through sound marketing and sales development? After a few deep conversations with my husband, a few confidants and a business coach, I decided to take the leap to entrepreneurship and Women in Bloom Photography & Branding was born! Now my life’s work is to help women shine. I am a firm believer that women bloom through all stages of life and this needs to be celebrated. My aim to help them show up as their best selves both through my camera lens and through the support of my branding services.

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

Corporate leader turned entrepreneur, my passion is elevating people’s brands through my camera lens and branding services. My suite of photography services include; basic individual headshots, professional branding, corporate headshots and lifestyle (family) photography. My suite of branding services include; social media profile and business page building, social media management services and general sales development and support. Outside of my work, I enjoy spending time with my husband, my son and two golden retrievers. You can also find me traveling the world, listening to live music or reading the latest New York Times Best Seller.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Two things that I truly believe have helped me build my reputation within my market are staying true to my brand and being visible in the community. My brand is all about uplifting women. Therefore, the primary focus of my photography is women and the primary focus of my branding services is helping women entrepreneurs and women-owned small businesses grow. If you look at any of my social pages or my website, this is extremely evident. There is no question what my mission is. Regarding being visible in the community, getting out and meeting people face-to-face and getting involved is key in establishing your brand and elevating your reputation. Social media is a great way to connect and to market yourself, but who is the person behind the post? Meet people, tell them your story, tell them why you do what you do and do it in person. Volunteering is a great way to do this. Attending networking events is another. I donate my time and talents by volunteering for women-focused charities and organizations and I also attend a number of women’s professional networking events each month. So not only am I showing my face in the community, but I am doing it in a way that also supports my brand!

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Building an audience on social media comes down to two things in my opinion; consistency and your ideal client profile. To be truly consistent on social media you need to post often, connect with others often, like and comment often. If you are not active each day in one of these fashions, you are behind and run the risk of not showing up as often in others’ newsfeeds. Your ideal client profile is WHO you are are targeting in your business. With that said, you should only be active on the social platforms that cater to this ideal client. Are they mostly on Facebook? Instagram? LinkedIn? Find out where they spend the majority of their time and make those the platforms you use day in and day out. You cannot be all things to all people and trying to be on all social platforms and keep your activity up is not realistic and will burn you out.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.womeninbloomllc.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/womeninbloomphotography?igsh=azRuNDcwNnR4NjA%3D&utm_source=qr
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/womeninbloomphotography
• Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/carrie-shepeard-45084a19

Image Credits
All images were taken by Women in Bloom Photography & Branding