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

Michelle, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?

I started from a place of not actually knowing what I wanted, but knew that I wanted something different. My journey began when I was several years deep into my professional engineering career. There was a point where I began waking up every morning with the feeling that something was missing in my life and that I really needed a change – but I was not sure what that was exactly. I kept an open mind and decided to be curious about what other career options were possible.

At the time, the company I worked for did not have a dedicated person to do marketing, so I toyed with the idea of bringing this conversation up with my boss (while also being terrified). At my review, I mentioned to him that I was not happy with being an engineer and really wanted to explore another avenue, and he agreed to let me take the lead on marketing for the firm. After a few months, I was asked to take headshots of employees for marketing material with a point-and-shoot camera that the company purchased. Not knowing anything about photography but very willing to learn, I quickly realized that I loved it.

A year later, I left that job and purchased my own professional camera with no plan. I vividly remember sitting on the beach after I had quit my job, thinking to myself “Okay, what do I do now? Let’s maybe come up with a business name and go from there.” And that’s where Vision Balm was born – with the mission to capture the client’s vision in a way that felt joyful & calming to the eye – like a lip balm does for your lips. I began photographing everything from sunsets, to families, to portraits, and discovered that I most enjoyed photographing for businesses & brands. It took a period of around another year to build up my brand and get clients in that niche. I remember going to several networking events a week, constantly promoting myself on social media to friends and family, adding to my portfolio with various jobs, and building up my website SEO & google business profile – all while working another job to fund it.

After working really hard to establish myself in the Charleston area, I realized that all of my hard work was starting to pay off. I began getting inquiries without having to constantly market my services – and that was when I felt like a real business. It took a while to get to that point, and now I can say with confidence that I am a proud business owner & skilled photographer!

Michelle, 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?

Sure! My name is Michelle Fiorello, and my business’s name is Vision Balm. We are a branding and product photography company based in Charleston, South Carolina. Our superpower is turning your vision into joyful, clean, and vibrant images that speak to your ideal clients and customers. With that being said, we are very passionate about helping your business stand out in this super competitive world. We serve both small businesses and larger brands – including both service and product-based businesses.

After building my own brand, I have realized how important it is to visually present yourself online to potential customers. Professional photography is vital if you want to be seen as a legit & professional business. How many times have you been to a business’s website to see photos that look like they were taken on a cell phone, being dark, messy, and just straight-up unprofessional? You probably went in a different direction because your first impression just felt off. This is where I am able to help my clients and create beautiful, professional images that really showcase what their business is about. With professional images, they are able to attract their ideal clients and grow.

When it comes to branding photo shoots, I pride myself in becoming your hype woman and biggest advocate on your photo shoot day. Not only are you paying me for beautiful, professional images, but you’re also paying for the Vision Balm photo shoot experience. Photo shoot day is like hanging out with your best friend – we chit chat about life while I’m fixing your hair, I make stupid jokes while taking your photo to crack a smile on your face, we contemplate on whether or not you want to include that special outfit in some photos, and sometimes you come out of the portable changing tent wishing it wasn’t a windy day. All of that to say – it is a delightful day. If there’s one thing I know I’m good at – it’s making sure you’re in good company when we are together. Because being a photographer really is so much more than being a good artist – it’s being a people person too.

When it comes to product photo shoots, I provide top-notch communication to establish image needs and set expectations. You will receive images that go above and beyond what you were hoping for to use on your website, e-commerce pages, and more. We know how to take what you describe verbally with words and turn it into something visually appealing for your customers.

If professional photography is something you have been considering for your business but aren’t sure what to expect, we welcome you to reach out to us! We are happy to chat and answer any questions you may have about the process & results.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I have two lessons. The first one: coming from a corporate career, I really had to unlearn the idea of a constant, consistent stream of income. When it comes to owning your own businesses, there is no such thing as income being consistent (or at least, in my experience). I would compare it to being more like the weather in New England – it is sunny one day, and then cloudy/raining the next, with the occasional snow storms mixed in there. Basically, it can be unpredictable. I have had months where things were going extremely well with incoming revenue, and then a few months following wondering if I was doing something wrong and contemplating updating my resume to find a corporate job. It is funny how your mind craves safety, panics, and works to protect you in that way. I think this is why they say that owning your own business is not for everyone – it can be unpredictable at times and very challenging.

The second one is unlearning the idea that you cannot make a good living as a creative. Even though I went to school for engineering and chose that as my first career, I have always been a very artistic and creative person from day one. However, I grew up being told by peers & family that it is almost impossible to find success and make a decent living as a creative of any sort. While I don’t regret going to engineering school, I do wish that I had pursued my artistic passion on the side to make some extra money and supplement my main career. I think that by doing this, I would have realized earlier that it is possible to find success as a creative, and that I am a multi-faceted being with many different talents and interests. For the longest time, I thought that I had to stick with engineering for the rest of my life, even though I wasn’t happy with it. This made me feel stuck and to be honest, depressed.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Social media has changed so much since I started my business four years ago! But I know one thing to be true still – and that is consistency. Being consistent is key for building a social media following. Consistency in all aspects – posting, branding, and messaging. I think the key factor in helping me grow my audience was that I have always been consistent with my messaging. I try to stay on the topic of branding and product photography with every post and have really honed in on that niche. If you are constantly jumping from one thing to another, people will be confused and not know what to expect from you. For example, if you are a photographer like me and post about how you made this delicious lava cake one day and it goes viral, you will gain followers that are interested in lava cakes and are hoping that you will keep posting about things related to that topic. However, the next day you decide to post about a really fun photo shoot you had, and your followers who just followed you because of the lava cake content are really confused and decide to unfollow you because they want different content. Jumping from one thing to another is a really common thing that people do when they don’t truly understand their brand and who they are speaking to. So make sure to be consistent in those regards, and I think eventually you will find your people.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.visionbalm.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/visionbalm
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/visionbalm
• Other: www.pinterest.com/visionbalm Tik Tok: @visionbalm

Image Credits
Emerson Grace