We recently connected with Hazel Imogen and have shared our conversation below.
Hazel , thank you so much for joining us. You are such a positive person and it’s something we really admire and so we wanted to start by asking you where you think your optimism comes from?
I’ve always been told that I’m an optimistic person, especially in work environments, but I’ve noticed that this mindset has increasingly seeped into my everyday life over the last few years. I practice self reflection quite frequently and through experience, have noticed when things are going the best in my life, it’s because I’m putting out the right vibes and seeing the universe work for me. In contrast, when I’ve fallen into a pessimistic attitude, it has done absolutely nothing for me except put me on edge and continue to make the rest of the day negative. Positive energy attracts positive outcomes. This isn’t to say that I don’t encounter negative experiences or have days when it’s challenging to stay optimistic. However, when I consciously choose to maintain optimism and uncover the lessons in those experiences, it feels like I’m moving forward with less friction. I so highly value my time and energy that when something goes “wrong”, I resist the idea of giving that incident more energy or more power than it already has. I acknowledge it, take my lesson, figure out what lies within my capabilities to find a solution, and make moves on it without letting it ruin my day.
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?
I’ve been working in the creative industry for 11+ years both in large and small agencies, touching everything from advertising, packaging, illustration, print, web design, marketing and branding. Through these experiences I found my sweet spot and passion in branding, helping businesses bring their ideas to life in a way that will meaningfully connect with their audience and create a lasting impact on their business.
During my time at other agencies I learned a lot about what works and what doesn’t work when it comes to client/business relationships. At the larger ones, there seemed to be a disconnect between the client and creatives that became muddied and overshadowed by the corporate politics on the agency side of things. I began to resent corporate culture and how they tried to stifle creativity, set unrealistic scopes, and treat the team as a chop shop just to get another few bucks in their pockets. It felt as though the focus had shifted from helping business owners with their projects to chasing deadlines and profits, neglecting the quality of work or the happiness of the creatives.
I started my studio in 2021 to bring expert level creative and solutions to smaller/mid sized businesses. I got excited again, working with clients who I aligned with, and who were passionate about getting their business into the world. I found so much inspiration in the people I was working with that I felt energized to be creating and strategizing everyday. The studio grew organically, we were consistently getting clients just through word of mouth and I was able to hire contractors to help, as well as partner with some of my closest friends and their photo, SEO, and development studios. It’s been a ton of hard work but so rewarding and gave me the first chance in my career to be able to find balance between my personal and professional life.
An unexpected twist in this journey started during COVID where, like any other late 20-something-year-old, I downloaded Tiktok. I started recording quick videos designed to help creatives in their careers, offering tips and insights from the perspective of a creative director—things I wished I had known earlier in my career. Shockingly, it got a bit of traction and I found a new audience in fellow creatives starting out their career. This aspect of my work has been incredibly rewarding and I hope to continue expanding my role as a teacher and mentor in business.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
It’s tough to pick just three, but if I had to narrow it down, I’d say three important skills are thinking critically, effective communication, and confidence.
Thinking critically- When I talk about ‘thinking critically,’ I mean actively questioning and examining information rather than accepting it at face value. Ask the tricky questions, digest information, write about it. Read as much as you can about a topic from different perspectives and synthesize the info into your own personal thoughts. Critical thinkers are open-minded, they reflect on their own processes, and are great problem solvers. Thinking critically has helped me make better business decisions, solve problems creatively, and engage in better discussions both at work and in my personal life.
Communication- Being able to effectively communicate thoughts, point of views and ideas is one of the most important superpowers someone could learn. As a business owner you’ll need to be able to communicate your expertise and the value you can bring to clients convincingly. You will need to effectively discuss your work and show them how you arrived at your ideas. Occasionally, you’ll face challenging conversations with clients or team members and need to find resolutions respectfully. There is an art to communicating which has allowed me to convey my ideas, relate to others and share myself openly and honestly (again, both with work and personally).
Confidence- When I say confidence, I don’t want you to picture that dude who thinks the sun shines out their back side. You can be confident with humility, and that’s the balance we’re striving for. Effective confidence is built on a foundation of your knowledge, past experience, and a level of self-awareness. Having confidence has positioned me to be an expert in my field, a better mentor, and a successful business owner. When I speak confidently about what I do and the creative decisions I make for my clients, team and audience they trust that I am the expert.
When it comes to confidence in myself and my business, I know I need to fully believe in my abilities or judgment to make choices that align with my vision and goals. When I can confidently say “I’m going to make more money this month” then I’m going to make damn sure it happens. Making business decisions with confidence eliminates any room for excuses allowing me to take risks, discover innovations and adapt to the industry as it evolves.
Tell us what your ideal client would be like?
Most of our current clients lean into a focus on health, wellness, travel or positive change. When I was fired unexpectedly from a previous employer, I found that these were the areas I turned towards to find happiness and rebuild myself. Now, when I collaborate with clients in these industries I feel a kinship to the founders who often share a similar come up story or mindset to mine. We work with a lot of startups who are beginning their funding phases which I find is a great time to get involved as they’re really needing to learn how to articulate their product and sell it to investors through top-tier branding and messaging. We can quickly see the impact we’ve had on their business and their success through funding and launching. This is typically when the energy is at its highest and we’re moving at a quick pace and I just love that feeling. That being said, for us, we don’t want to deter any clients away if they don’t fall into any of those industries. We aren’t big on “niche-ing” down and believe it’s more about a client vibe than their product or service. If they are hyped about what they’re doing, we’re going to get hyped about it too.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.twoparts.studio
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/hello.hazie
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hazelimogen/
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@hello.hazie
