We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Brandi Thomas. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Brandi below.
Hi Brandi, so happy to have you on the platform with us today and excited to chat about your lessons and insights. Our ability to make good decisions can massively impact our lives, careers and relationships and so it would be very helpful to hear about how you built your decision-making skills.
Decision making skills are a never ending aspect of business that I keep learning. As creatives, we have to use emotion to LITERALLY create our art, emotion is what we try to convey in our art. When we make our art ‘THE BUSINESS’ then emotion has to be eliminated from business decisions. We come to love our clients, some even become close friends or business associates. I allowed emotion to dictate how I operated business for a while. Everything I did was in response to how I FELT and not how it affected the business. I had to lose SO much to realize my emotion was getting in the way of how I made decisions. When you realize that and start to make decisions that benefit your business and not satisfy emotions, you start to see people fall off who have not reached that capacity or mind set yet. My decision making skills are still impulsive which is something I am working on everyday, but I now know how to keep emotion out of the mix and only ask myself “Is this good for my business”. It is such a hard thing to do, but is necessary.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
My brand was one that I created with others in mind. I wanted to be a photographer so I could help people see their true beauty the way I saw it, the way the world saw it. As I leaped into the business, I dabbled in all sorts of niches and finally found my place as a fashion photographer and senior photographer. This past year has been one of great trials and failures which I think is important to talk about in business just as much as the success. I tried to expand my business and in my own words I think I just became too greedy and wanted to achieve EVERYTHING all at once and therefore leaving projects unfinished and not launched properly. As I expanded, I let my emotions lead me into business with “friends” and “associates” and I made some VITAL mistakes that unfortunately taught me a few hard lessons. As my business crumbled I just wanted to hurt the people I “thought” were responsible for the failure, but at the end of the day the business was MINE and I could have made some better decisions and accept that failure as my own. This past year I really had an opportunity to sit with ME and find that calm, still and level head I was missing when the business was expanding. Since that failure I have had to humble myself. It is so funny seeing how people “shift” once they realize you can’t give them what they want or when you no longer have a fancy building to hide in. My eyes were opened when I went through that. I am now focused on bringing the INDUSTRY to the Lou. St. Louis is full of so many talented models and photographers but so many just don’t understand the industry or business they are trying to dive into. Through my photography I am able to help models build a professional portfolio, give them resources for casting calls and agencies in the area that are accepting submissions and just convey my overall expertise on set with them thru posing instruction and etiquette. Through my podcast Model Mania ‘The Talk Show’, I am able to channel all the info I have learned and experienced over the last 7 years into episodes where we break it all down. I used to believe in gate keeping, but who does that really help? I just want to see my city succeed and whether I build this business back to what it was or not, I will share my knowledge and resources with those who want to work to achieve a career in the industry. I will be rolling out several new projects and announcements over the next 6 months and this time I am doing so with such ease. I am focused on making sure I am not overwhelmed and acknowledging when I am (which was a big mistake I made in the past).
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
1. Communication: This is most important in all areas of business. Make sure you are communicating with clients, business associates and partners. Not communicating makes things worse and always leads to problems. No matter what, just keep communication open 2. Never stop learning your craft. So many times I would think “I got this, I am such a pro” and then come across something and seem like an amateur. Go to conferences, attend workshops, watch you tube even. Always be willing to evolve with the times and learn as much as you can within your field.
3. Marketing. No one knows your business is even a business unless you tell them. Use social media to your advantage and always be promoting what you do. Marketing is taken too lightly when you should invest so much time and energy into this area. Keep a marketing budget always
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
I am currently looking to partner with amateur models who are building portfolios as well as high school seniors and student athletes.
As I start to launch my new business model, I am looking for fresh faces and those who are serious about the industry but more importantly serious about putting in work to achieve their goals. As far as models on the photography side, I want to work with individuals who are building their following and who are learning the business. Pushing the you tube channel and podcast will be a big part of this journey with me.
I am looking to partner with one professional model or model coach who would be interested in teaming up to endorse Model Bootcamp the 10 week series of “How to become a model”. This information is endless and could change lives if endorsed by the right person, someone who is sincere and wants to be a part of seeing this city be considered in the fashion and modeling industry.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://soulfulillusionsstudios.mypixieset.com/
- Instagram: Soulful Illusions Studios
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/soulfulillusionsstudios
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLHipufPBJ-Ey60_3ofZhug
- Other: Tik Tok: Model Mania/S.I. Studios
Image Credits
1. Grace Grant 2. Chanel Brezz 3. Aviana Naree 4. Desirae Fernandez 5. Ace23 6. Jalyn Dean 7. Nylin Webb 8. Avery Karolczak
