Meet Marisa Bean

We recently connected with Marisa Bean and have shared our conversation below.

Marisa , we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
First, I would say I get my resilience from my country, Guatemala. I come from a country that has a lot of creativity and drive. Most Guatemalans are hard working and they learn to find new solutions for old problems. The economy is not that stable, so you have to be creative, hard working, and entrepreneurial to make things work.

Another factor that has helped my resilience is moving to the US and having a big family. Life is ever changing, and with four kids those changes come fast. You need to learn to act, re-group, and keep going. If you have plans and a kid gets hurt or sick, you need to adapt. If you’re going somewhere and you forgot to pack an essential piece of equipment, you learn to solve the problem with the means you have. I think it’s a matter of understanding that things are in constant movement. Things will change even if you don’t want them to change. Life is a constant motion and, in order to grow and move forward, you need to learn to adjust and do your best with the situation you have right in front of you.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I’m originally from Guatemala, and before I got married and moved to the United States, I sold part of my design studio and came here with that entrepreneurial spirit ready to spark something up. With that in mind I founded The Corner Studio in 2013. After 6 years of focusing on Family Portraits, Cake Smash Sessions, and young talent and women entrepreneur Headshots, I dove a little deeper into Brand Management.

In 2020, many people started building new businesses and getting creative with different ways to make money because of the pandemic. After evaluating the market and developing a strategy, I joined forces with my current business partner, Katia, and opened The Corner Studio back in Guatemala. It’s been three years of this wonderful journey where we help small businesses and entrepreneurs build their brand, manage their social media presence, and develop marketing tools to support their business growth or build their websites.

Here in the States, I still focus on photography seasonally and I do corporate design and campaigns, mostly for non-profit organizations like Save the Storks. In Guatemala, we are going strong on social media management, marketing strategy, and web and corporate design.

I’ve seen through the years the importance of aligning your personal values and morality to the clients you support; it’s a very smooth and straight forward process. Also, it is amazing to see how everything aligns once you work hard and focus your efforts. We can’t have all the products for everyone, but we have the right products for the right clients that need them.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
After almost 15 years of being an entrepreneur, I would say the most valuable skills that were and are the most impactful in my journey are my MBA skills, responsibility and creative problem solving. The first one has been a key element to financial growth. If you learn to manage and optimize your resources, while understanding your market value and your audience, the business part becomes natural. Take time to do research, ask what people are willing to pay for the product and/or service you offer, and what margin you want. I spent years undervaluing my work (I sometimes still do) and that led to frustration and exhaustion. The second quality, responsibility, I think is one of the most valuable qualities. It has allowed me to have a very flexible schedule, where I can be present for my family and still keep customers happy. If you commit to a deadline, follow through. Once people know that they can rely on you to deliver on time, they are willing to pay more knowing that whether you’re traveling, on vacation, or sick you will still be committed to deliver. It’s being responsible with your time, your work ethic, and your priorities. Lastly, creative problem solving has helped me not only develop really fun graphic design products, but share unique strategies with our clients depending on their current needs and budget. There are some people that need help starting their new business with small budgets and we help them go a long way little by little.

If you’re starting your business, or side hustle, I would advise three things: never stop the hustle, once you start momentum the wheel will continue moving; think of all the opportunities you can have to network or have exposure, I promise it will pay off in the long run to talk about your business everywhere and with everyone; and separate your personal money from your business money, save to invest, keep your fixed costs to the bare minimum, at least for the first year. The first year is the hardest, but once you survive that year, things will flow better, just remember NEVER STOP THE HUSTLE.

Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?
The most helpful in helping me overcome challenges has been my husband. He helped me get on my feet in the American market, encouraged me to learn things I don’t know about, and pushed me to do research when I’m unsure about subjects. Overall, I can say that I got my Dad’s entrepreneurial spirit and my mom’s work ethic, but my older brothers have been key elements to some of my business decisions. My current business partner has also been a great addition to my peace of mind, everyday operations, and business expansion. Last but not least, God. I’ve seen throughout my career and business how God either inspires me or guides me down new paths. There’s a lot of growth, knowledge, and grit that is needed when you’re an entrepreneur that sometimes feels supernatural when it comes to counting efforts over the years and I’m thankful for all of them.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Personal Photo Marisa Bean: Thomas Williamson Photo Photos families: The Corner Studio Photo Marisa + Business Partner and computer: Kira Whitney Photography

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