We were lucky to catch up with Samantha Southerland recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Samantha, thanks for joining us today. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard

At FYR and through my photography brand, we do business differently because we start with who you are before we ever touch what you do. That’s not the norm in consulting or photography. The industry standard is: fix the surface. Create the logo. Shoot the smiling photo. Build the campaign. But what if you don’t know what story you’re telling? What if the photo looks good but doesn’t feel like you? What if the marketing works, but it’s building a business you don’t even like?

We reject the cookie cutter approach. Everything we do starts with your Onlyness: the thing only you can do, the space only you are called to take up. We ask hard questions. We dig underneath the services you offer to find the fire that built them. Then we build your visuals, your strategy, your messaging, and your growth from that place.

That shows up in FYR when we walk into a boardroom and instead of a slide deck, we bring sharpies, big paper, and a challenge: Tell us why it matters. Not what you sell. It shows up in photography when I show up at your house, move the furniture around, shift the lighting, and help you create a professional image that doesn’t just look good, it says something. It says who you are and how you want to show up in the world. That’s not a headshot. That’s a message.

One of my favorite examples is a client who came in saying she needed help launching vocal lessons. But what she really wanted was to to build something of her own that gave other people the confidence to use their voice. She didn’t need a few polished photos or a business plan template. She needed someone to see what she was building underneath. A year later, she’s running her studio full-time, with a waitlist.

That’s why I believe you have to niche your niche. It’s not about narrowing down. It’s about anchoring deep. When you build a business from your Onlyness, you’re not worried about standing out. You just do.

Samantha, 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?

I’m Samantha Southerland—mom of three, multi-business owner, executive leader, consultant, and someone who got tired of pretending I had to be just one thing. I started out owning a business that didn’t make it. After closing the doors, I picked up a camera to pay the bills while I figured out what came next. That side hustle became a full photography brand before I ever planned it.

From there, I got my foot in the door at a financial institution and worked my way up to VP of Strategic Operations. Now, I lead strategy, innovation, PR, and marketing—work that challenges me every day and has made me sharper in every part of my career. Photography taught me how to see people. Executive leadership taught me how to lead them. Consulting became the place where I bring it all together.

Through FYR Business Consulting, I help small business owners and nonprofit leaders clarify what they do, why it matters, and how to build real momentum. And through my photography brand, I create images that capture who you are—not just what you look like.

What makes me different? I’ve lived the mess of building while working full-time, raising kids, and rebuilding from failure. I’ve led teams, written million-dollar strategies, coached clients through pivots, and taken branding photos in living rooms and cow pastures. Every piece of my work—consulting, photography, leadership—is about one thing: helping people own their Onlyness. Because when you stop trying to fit in, and start building from who you really are, everything else starts to make sense.

That’s the work I do. That’s the work I love. And that’s what I want for everyone I work with.

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

When my first business failed, I felt like I’d lost more than a company. I’d poured everything into it, my identity, my time, my money, my belief that I was built for more. Closing the doors felt like admitting I wasn’t cut out for any of it.

But I still had bills. I had babies. So I picked up a borrowed camera from a friend and started taking photos, originally as an escape and then as a way to bring in extra income. What I didn’t know at the time was that photography would become the bridge between failure and reinvention. I started in parking lots and backyards, learning how to light a face and draw out someone’s real self at the same time. That work reminded me of how good my God is and that the gifts he gives you, for me its seeing people clearly, helping them show up with confidence, can grow into something bigger than you can imagine.

Eventually I got a job at a financial institution, starting over in a new field I hadn’t planned for. I worked hard, learned fast, and proved myself again and again, until I was named Vice President of Strategic Operations, leading innovation, marketing, and organizational strategy. And through it all, I kept growing the photography business on weekends, and then, just 1.5 years ago FYR Business Consulting was born.

My resilience doesn’t come from never falling. It comes from knowing how to rebuild. I’ve built businesses in the margins of nap times, failed and started again, and turned side hustles into a business with full-time employees. I’ve learned that your Onlyness isn’t found in the highlight reel. It’s forged in the pivot. In the “now what?” moments.

That’s the version of success I’m proud of. Not that it was smooth, but that I didn’t stop.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

My biggest piece of advice? Lead better than you were led.

Most of us have worked under someone who made us feel small, replaceable, or invisible. I’ve been in rooms where I was talked over, passed up, or made to prove my worth twice as hard. I decided early on that when I had the chance to lead, I would do it differently.

Managing a team isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about seeing people, really seeing them, and creating space for them to do their best work. That means being clear. Being consistent. Giving credit where it’s due. Checking in on their life, not just their deliverables. Setting high standards, but leading with empathy. You can be direct and still be kind.

One thing I focus on is giving people ownership. If someone on my team is responsible for a project, they don’t just execute, they lead it. I want them to see how their work connects to the bigger picture. That builds pride, not just productivity.

I also believe in celebrating the little wins. When you’re in a season of growth or change, it’s easy to blow past what’s working because you’re so focused on what’s next. But people need to know they’re making progress. That their work matters. That they matter.

At the end of the day, morale doesn’t come from pizza parties. It comes from purpose, clarity, and respect. If your team knows you’ve got their back, and that you’ll go to bat for them just like you expect them to show up for the work—you’ll build something stronger than a team. You’ll build trust.

That’s how I lead. That’s what I didn’t always get. And that’s what I’m committed to doing better.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.fyrbusinessconsulting.com and www.samanthasoutherlandphotography.com
• Instagram: fyr.consulting and ssoutherlandphotography
• Facebook: Fyr Business Consulting
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samanthasoutherland/

Image Credits

Amber Lamb with Samantha Southerland Photography

Heather Adams with Oak and Fable