Meet Brand Artist and Content Strategist Chelsea Mae

Meet Brand Artist and Content Strategist Chelsea Mae. Hey everyone, I hope you are well. I want to introduce you to brand artist and Content Strategist Chelsea Mae in today’s post. I was very excited when Chelsea responded to my interview request. Chelsea is a 3rd year marketing student with a passion for design and growth. She recently received her Diploma in Business Administration with a focus in Marketing. With over 15 years of experience in customer service and five years of professional sales, and her recent education, she decided to launch Chelsea Mae Brand Studio to help other multi-passionate entrepreneurs.

Meet Brand Artist and Content Strategist Chelsea Mae

Hello Chelsea, it is a pleasure to interview you. Tell me something important about you.

I’m not sure where to start! I am never good at these things, talking about myself, I mean. It is easy to say I am a mom of two children, and I have two dogs and five cats. I own three businesses; my brand studio, my handmade jewellery boutique and my pet behaviour business. But really, the important stuff is so much deeper than that. I value honesty, integrity and truth, and I desire to learn and grow through life. And I am a firm believer that we are never done learning. I hate and love to be the centre of attention, and I often choose the “more difficult path” and I am here to provide my experience, knowledge, and expertise so that others may grow along their path.

What inspired you to start a business as a Brand Artist and Content Strategist?

I love building the face of companies. I love building a brand that allows entrepreneurs, coaches and businesses to be noticed. Through meditation, I discovered that part of the reason I love building other women up and helping them be seen is that I didn’t feel like a child. I didn’t speak loud enough to be heard, and my opinions were often disregarded. My parents provided me with the best know-how. I know that, and I love them. But discovering this inner-child wound allowed me to understand why I love branding and marketing, why I love helping others stand out! In my previous years before opening my own company, I was often the point of the first contact where I worked and knowing that I was building the reputation of the company made me proud.

What other services do you have within the Chelsea Mae Brand Studio?

As a brand artist and strategist, my focus is on helping multi-passionate entrepreneurs create unifying and seamless branding. The primary service I offer is exploring and designing personal brands, business brands, and branding for services – like courses or programs. I also provide strategy sessions for those looking to do it independently but are looking for little extra guidance.

As a content strategist, I offer strategy sessions to support my clients who create their content and do their social media marketing. In a typical call, we will discuss working, what isn’t working and what could be changed. We talk strategies around defining target markets, using persuasive language, implementing the branding, building the like, know, & trust factors, providing value, etc.

I am in the works of developing a program that teaches entrepreneurs and coaches how to explore their brand identity, really aligning it to who they are, what their company (or offer) stands for and for their ideal clients. It will also include designing their logo and other brand elements, and perhaps most importantly, how to use their branding!! I see so many people who pay hundreds or thousands of dollars for a logo/brand and don’t even use it! – Because they don’t know-how. I want to change that. I am developing it as one extensive program and will also be offering mini-courses based on the course’s specific sections.

When do you think it is the right time to hire a Brand and Content Strategist?

Before you launch!! The absolute best time to hire or consult a brand strategist (and content strategist too, really) is before you launch your business or course/program. But if you didn’t, and you are struggling in sales, it could be that your brand doesn’t speak to your audience correctly. It could be that you don’t have the right audience because your brand isn’t perfectly aligned with you and your offer(s). It could be that your messaging needs to be tweaked to showcase your proposals better. This is all part of your brand, and sometimes brands need to be adjusted to reflect the offer(business) better and serve their audience.

So, in short, if you are struggling in sales, but your provider and strategy are solid, it could be your branding and marketing, which is when I would recommend consulting and hiring a brand strategist. A content strategist can be hired at any time. We are here to advise you in designing your content to make it more receivable by your desired audience. This includes copy, visuals, graphics, design, scheduling, branding usage, etc.  I am here to give you the tools to implement your personalised strategy to showcase your brand, business, and offers.

Congratulations on your qualifications. What are the challenges you have as a Mom, Student, and running a successful business?

First, I have to say that I am a single mom. Thankfully my kids’ dad is terrific at co-parenting, which has allowed us to stay a family, even though we are no longer together. I have been able to rely on him to take our kids when I have the need. I am also very blessed that my 11 years old helps to entertain his two-year-old sister.

Even with the help and support, there certainly comes challenges with juggling so many plates. My biggest challenge was finding a job, school, life balance, especially with having three businesses, two dogs and five cats in the mix. I would go through cycles of intensely focusing on one of my companies or school while “ignoring” everything else (i.e. my messy house). I was constantly feeling overwhelmed. All the overwhelms resulted in emotional mood swings and not showing up for myself, my family, or my clients.

I have since begun using a blocking schedule, and it has helped me. I can block time off for the house, family, school, and work all in one day! And when I am focusing on just one thing instead of juggling everything, I am far more productive in every aspect of my life. I get to spend better quality time with my kids, I get to give my undivided attention to putting the best designs forth for my clients, and I get to spend time on myself. Putting myself first and doing self-care has made a significant impact on my moods and energy.

How do you stay motivated in your business?

Motivation isn’t something I struggle with as much. I am easily motivated to learn and grow and share my experiences and knowledge to help others grow and be seen. I love what I do, and I love the results of what I do. There are times where I am feeling low, and I struggle to stay motivated, but I have learned that comes down to not taking care of myself and devoting time to myself. If I am not filling up my cup first, how can I possibly show up in my total capacity? I have struggled with motivation when I have lost a client, had a failed launch, had low interaction, or felt I wasn’t living up to my standards. But for me, these also come down to self-care, which includes positive self-talk and not having unattainable standards.

What do you do for self-care?

My self-care “routine” changes frequently depending on my needs. I typically start withs checking in with myself. How do I feel? What do I need? Sometimes my self-care means 15 minutes of peace in my chaotic household. Other times it’s a 2 hr bath with bath salts, a good movie, and a locked door! Sometimes it’s a good cuddle, taking myself out, playing video games or even just giving myself downtime.

Honestly, I find the best time for my self-care is in the mornings. I have come to love getting up early for my self-care time. I find my most productive days to be ones where I get up and get to spend an hour or so to myself in the morning before beginning my day. Recently I added journaling (almost daily), and I love what it has done to gain clarity in my life and business. I often meditate (usually in the shower), and I try to work out, but that is less frequent since I currently don’t have a comfortable space to work out in. That being said, I can’t wait to move and start consistently working out again because waking up early and working out always leaves me energised for the day!

I am sure some aspiring Brand and Content Strategist are reading this. What advice would you give them?

My most extensive advice is to start!! I am going to school for marketing and have taken advantage of several design courses. Still, I launched my business before receiving my Business Administration with a focus in Marketing diploma. There will never be a perfect time, and you don’t have to have everything (like processes) in place to start. A lot of those things you will learn and implement as you grow. If it’s fear stopping you, the only way to get past it is to start!

My other most extensive advice to show up! Even if it’s messy! Even if it’s imperfect! Brands (much like people) grow and develop over time, especially new brands. Your audience desires authenticity, and they see that in your growth. And P.S. NOBODY is perfect, and no one has everything together. Sharing and owning our imperfections is inspiring to everyone around us. If there are haters, address them & then ignore them—they aren’t your ideal audience or even your kind of people. There are so many differences in culture, upbringing, values, beliefs, etc., that it is impossible to please everyone.

Can you advise the audience on how to support each other during the Global Pandemic?

The global pandemic is new territory for everyone, and some people are navigating it and adapting easier than others. As such, I  feel like everyone needs a little compassion and understanding from their communities right now. And I always advise this, but it is even more so relevant during the pandemic -> Please support your local and small businesses and entrepreneurs. These are just everyday people like you and me, trying to build their livelihood. Unfortunately, small businesses can’t absorb the losses in the same way corporations do. Support doesn’t need to come in the form of a monetary gesture. One can share their experiences and recommendations. They can go online and write reviews and even share related content. They can also like, comment and follow content posted by small businesses in their communities. All of these actions support your small businesses in being seen.

Last but not least, do you have any questions for me?

My only question stems from curiosity, and; why have you chosen to spotlight other entrepreneurs? I love that you do this since I believe in supporting and building up other entrepreneurs. What was your deciding factor? What kind of entrepreneurs are you pulled to feature? I will love to connect you with some of my clients if it is of interest to you and them.

My Response:

Thank you for the questions, Chelsea. During the Lockdown last year, I lost my dream job, and I decided to focus on my blog. Going through some old posts, I realised how much I had inspired women to not give up on themselves and their goals. However, one thing I have learnt in life is if you want to succeed in anything in life, you have to surround yourself with the people who are successful in what you want to do.

For example, doing this interview with you has inspired me to go to university and get it done. I went back to college when my daughter three years old, and I have managed to stay on the course to get accepted into HND Administration and I.T., 2019. However, due to circumstances, I had to drop out and get a job to support my daughter. I have recently been having thoughts about going back to college, and I was having some doubts and trying to come up with excuses, but girl, I have no reasons now.

I decided to use and platform to reach out to women who are in business and thriving. Many people like me have lost their job, and some have no idea what to do next. This is also my way of exploring ideas, and I am open to a wide range of entrepreneurs.

I want to give a huge Shout out to Chelsea Mae for this inspiring interview. I wish her all best.

Contact Chelsea Mae

Website

Chelsea Mae

Instagram

Moon and Tide

Facebook

Chelsea Mae Brand Studio

I hope you enjoyed this interview.

Talk soon