We were lucky to catch up with Simone Roy recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Simone thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

Through my own experiences with operating a business and doing my own marketing, I discovered that traditional marketing approaches were completely disconnected from how women actually work and live, and had this deep feeling that there had to be a better way. So after freelancing as a graphic designer and learning my local market for a few years, I decided to open my doors as Brass and Honey, a holistic marketing and branding agency in 2021.

For early business owners, it’s easy to get roped into the side of social media where you get totally inundated with info on how to ‘blow up’ your business – post every day, post this specific content, constantly come up with new offers and push them on your customers, email your list, use this exact script – the list literally goes on and on. It is exhausting and unsustainable, and frankly, it’s unnatural.

In my early experience as a freelancer, by following the standard advice, I felt like I was essentially throwing myself to the wolves. I was going through the steps, and sure, it was working, but at what cost? I’m typically a pretty private person and what I didn’t initially understand about business ownership is that it means becoming a public person (sounds naive, but this rarely gets talked about). My mental health was suffering because my body had not caught up to my external reality. I was in fight, flight, and freeze.

The typical frameworks were not working for my clients either – many of them being even newer to business themselves. I could put a beautiful brand deck and detailed marketing plan together for them but if they didn’t have the inner resilience to suddenly go public, it didn’t matter. All this inner work was just begging to be done, for myself and my clients.

Around this time I discovered authors like Maisie Hill <i>(Period Power)</i> and Kate Northrup <i>(Do Less)</i> and my whole world shifted. I learned about how our biology fundamentally affects our energy levels, our communication skills, planning abilities, executive skills – and how for women and people with female biology, all of that shifts throughout the month.

The prevailing message I was seeing online was always just to push through your discomfort, but that discomfort really should inform us on where we need to do deeper work to actually overcome challenges in a healthy way, rather than repressing and ignoring our emotional bodies. With this new understanding, I started incorporating mindset practices specifically designed around my business – journaling, meditation, therapy, working WITH my cycle, intentionally challenging myself to grow.

Once I started seeing results for myself – improved mental health, more confidence, more energy – which translated to more income and better client relationships, then my mission became how to integrate all of this understanding into business practices, both for myself and my clients.

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

I’m Simone, founder of Brass and Honey. What makes my approach different is that I combine traditional marketing and brand strategy with mindset work and cyclical productivity.

I offer hybrid coaching and design packages that include brand design, tailored marketing strategies, and mindset support. I also do standalone design work and marketing strategy sessions that blend business planning with mindfulness practices. But what really sets me apart is how I work with my clients – I visit their businesses, I become a customer, and we build strategies together based on their actual community, where they physically are, not just their online community.

I work primarily with ambitious women entrepreneurs who recognize their potential and value but are tired of typical marketing advice that feels overwhelming and unnatural. The companies I work with value genuine connection over growth hacking.

What I’m most proud of is seeing my clients transform their businesses into community hubs, places where their customers feel safe and wanted and become loyal advocates. I love helping my clients understand their unique positioning and become more confident business owners who are well-versed in their offer, their value, and their brand story. They end up running their businesses with pride and ease because they’ve built something sustainable that truly reflects who they are and the community they want to build.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

What really helped build my reputation was embracing the small-town approach to business – and I mean that in the best way possible. Building a business in a town just shy of 1000, you learn that relationships come first. I visit my clients’ businesses, I’m their customer too, and we build strategies together. It’s the opposite of the typical online marketing approach where everything is scaled and impersonal.

I bring that same mentality to all my clients, even the ones I work with remotely. I really try to get to know them and help them find community directly around them. One of the hardest things for new business owners is trying to grow online from nothing. When you’re working really hard on your content and it’s not getting any traction- it’s easy to start believing nobody gives a sh*t about what you have to offer.

Yes, have an online marketing strategy early on, but you’re going to get a lot more direct feedback and grow faster when you’re seeking people out in your community first. In-person is just a better way for people to genuinely get to know you and become better advocates – it’s more personal, you can show that you care, and it’s all about growing those relationships and growing your network.

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

The biggest lesson I had to unlearn was that by underpricing my services, I was somehow benefiting my customers. I thought I was being accessible and fair, but the truth is your customers don’t need or want the version of you that’s struggling – they need you to have your needs met so that you can better serve them.

I had to ask myself some hard questions and challenge myself on my pricing a lot before I got to a place where I was actually charging what I deserved. And honestly, it’s probably something I’m still working on. My fears around pricing were 100% tied to my own sense of self-worth.

I think this is a major journey for all entrepreneurs, but what really altered my perception was when I realized that my clients – the ones that are really for me – don’t want a cheap service, they want GOOD service. And realistically, what is the cost of that good service?

Now I understand that fair pricing isn’t just about me – it’s about being able to give the full depth of my service and letting clients decide if they can afford it or not. When I finally started doing that, the right clients said yes, and I could show up as the strategist and designer I actually am.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.brassandhoney.co
• Instagram: @brassandhoney

Image Credits
Photography: Glory Aulik, Western Moon Co.