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Mica: Welcome to the 56th episode of The Savory Shot. Y'all know who I be. I'm your host with the most, Mica McCook. I'm a food and beverage photographer based in Austin, Texas. Y'all before I get this pate started, I've got to thank you first, you, the listeners. Thank you so much for being here. If this is your first time listening, thank you so much for taking a chance on this little podcast of mine.
Welcome to the Hot Mess Express. And if this is your 56th time coming back, thank you for being here again. I appreciate you.
Today's episode is a treat, y'all. As my new website launched last week. I worked with Amanda Schumann from Carrylove Designs for this project, and y'all, it's been a work in progress since the beginning of the year. So I am damn [00:01:00] excited that it's finally out. I've released it. It is a free little baby bird, and I'm excited.
The feedback has been just, it's warmed my heart. When I told my peeps about the rebrand, their first question, of many questions, was, Why? And I chuckled because it's a complicated answer. Plus, I'd ask myself the same thing a hundred bazillion times. Why? The truth is, I'd been considering a rebrand for about a year and a half.
It had been a tug of war of should I, but I love my current brand to finally just acceptance. I'm doing it. This is happening. And although it was really tough decision to make, I realized that I was hiding behind the Austin Food Guide [00:02:00] brand It safe. Comfortable. Like a cozy blanket on a cold night, felt familiar, predictable, and deep down inside, I knew it.
Deep down, I knew that it was time for a change. It felt like I was wearing someone else's clothes. It was a little bit too tight and not quite my style. The facts were this y'all, I evolved. My photography matured, but my brand was stuck in the past. There's a quote by Cynthia Johnson that hits me like a lightning bolt. Your personal brand is a promise to your clients, a promise of quality, consistency, competency, and reliability. Reading that quote, it clicked everything into place y'all. My brand wasn't just a name, it was a promise. [00:03:00] And if I continue to stand by Austin Food Guide, I wouldn't be keeping my promise.
I wouldn't be showing up as my full, authentic self. This in combination with the many conversations I had with my mentors, which I'll go deeper into later when I start the show, helped fuel my decision to rebrand under my name. Austin Food Guide did many things for me. It served its purpose. It helped push me through the door. But today I'm just not Mica McCook, the photographer, I'm Mica McCook, the artist, the storyteller who captures timeless, theatrical and flavorful food. And I needed a website that reflected all of that and more.
So today's episode is all about rebranding, deciding on the would, thinking about the should, and figuring out the could. But before we get into that, grab your favorite [00:04:00] beverage, settle in, and let's start the show.
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Mica: Now the decision to rebrand wasn't a spur of the moment thing, okay? I wrestled with this back and forth for over a year, I poured my heart into Austin Food Guide. It was my baby, y'all, but every time I got feedback on my website, the same thing kept coming up. It's beautiful, but who's the person behind it?
This website feels more like a food magazine, like a content creator, but it doesn't speak. This is a commercial food photographer's website. Ouch. And y'all, I heard that feedback so much, but I was in denial like full on Egyptian, the river denial, swimming in it, soaking in it. I refused to [00:06:00] see and accept the truth.
Deep down. I knew Austin Food Guide wasn't attracting the dream clients I wanted to work with. And the reality is the type of dream clients that I had changed. When I first launched Austin Food Guide, I just wanted work. And it did that. It attracted work. But as I grew and evolved as a photographer, the type of work I wanted grew and evolved with me and Austin Food Guide just wasn't connecting.
So what finally pushed me over the edge? It was a combination of things. Mentorship played a huge role. I was a part of this amazing program through Apostrophe Reps. It's a mentorship program called Amplify. I feel like I've talked about this at length on many episodes. My mentors from Apostrophe Reps echoed the same feedback about my website, about my branding.
And that hit hard. But really, the real turning [00:07:00] point was good old fashioned heart to heart with myself. I had to face some harsh truths. I realized that there were two main reasons why I was hesitant to rebranding myself. One, I was emotionally tethered to Austin Food Guide and part of me felt like I was giving up on this website.
I know this makes zero sense, but. in a way I felt like a failure. It could be that 2023 and this year so far have been slow for your girl. And my self esteem took a swift kick in the heart and therefore I'm extra sensitive about everything. Or it could be that Austin Food Guide served as this layer of protection from the big, bad, scary commercial photography world.
You know how you really want to accomplish a goal, but to make big moves feels overwhelming and scary, causing you to sabotage yourself unintentionally? I was scared to [00:08:00] take a leap of faith and rebrand under my name. It's a big step. And two, I worried about the cost. Let's be real.
I'm worried about the cost. Am I really ready to make another big investment like this? Don't get me wrong y'all. I believe photographers should always prioritize investing in your education, your branding, and marketing, and your equipment. You know what I mean? Because education teaches you how to do your job.
Branding, marketing helps you get the jobs, and your equipment helps you complete the job. Obviously one should invest in all three each year, but let me tell y'all spending big money is scary. Investing in a rebrand is like taking a big leap of faith. You're putting your money, your time, and your heart on the line, hoping it'll all work out.
A lot of the time, the scariest things are the most rewarding, but they're still scary. And for me, making a big [00:09:00] investment during a slow year felt scary. It had me questioning whether this was the right time for me to do this. Ultimately, the answer was a definitive yes. Looking back now, the answer should have been a yes a year and a half ago when I first started pondering a rebrand, but also I'm actually glad that I waited until this year to do the rebrand.
A year and a half ago, I was still acting and deciding from the mindset and perspective of a newbie photographer. I didn't really know myself as I do now, and I learned a lot during this process. Not gonna lie. It was tough. I dug so deep inside myself. I shed tears. I had moments of frustration, of doubt, and just about every emotion in between.
I learned a lot about me, the person. Me, the photographer. Me, the artist. What fuels me. What inspires me, moves me, and which [00:10:00] brands would benefit from my creative perspective? What felt different about this rebranding experience? Was that I took my sweet Christmas time. I didn't knee jerk react to everything the design team sent my way.
I didn't rush anything. I'd sit on my feedback for a day or two before responding. I asked for feedback from my mentors and I waited patiently for their replies. I just reminded myself that this is a marathon, not a sprint. This is a cruise, not a race. This is a gourmet meal, not McDonald's. I took my time.
Mica: You know that feeling when you're always the nice one? You never want to rock the boat, step on toes, or make anyone uncomfortable. You'd rather swallow your own opinions than [00:11:00] risk a little conflict. That's me in a nutshell, kinda. I can give critical feedback to the stranger at a gas station. I can speak my mind, stand up for myself, speak my heart to anyone who I'm not emotionally or personally connected to.
But when I'm interacting with people I care about, it's hard for me to give critical feedback. I'm a total empath. I feel everything deeply.
And the thought of making someone feel bad makes me feel worse. So I struggled with that. During this process, I realized I couldn't stay stuck in that people pleasing mode. I hired Amanda and her team to do a job for me. And they required my feedback, I had to get over my fear of stepping on toes and speaking up for what I wanted, what I needed.[00:12:00]
So this is a huge lesson for me. Sometimes you have to be a little uncomfortable to create something truly great. Plus, my husband Aaron helped me see things differently as he usually does. He reminded me that this rebrand was a major investment in my future. This is going to be my calling card.
The first impression I'd make to my dream clients. If I didn't feel proud of my website, how could I expect potential clients to be wowed? He's right y'all. the only way that I was going to get everything out of this experience, out of this rebranding was to speak up and say what I like and what I don't like.
I learned that clear communication and self advocacy are crucial during a rebrand or any branding. It's okay to say, I don't like this, or can we try something different? As long as you're respectful and focused on the goal and you're not being difficult. And that is a trigger for me. I don't like [00:13:00] being a difficult person.
it's my own shit. Like working in toxic office environments, not wanting to be the angry black woman, like all of that was on me, but I hired Amanda and her team to do a job for me and they need my feedback. They require my feedback. They want my feedback because they want to know that I am absolutely ecstatic and happy with what they're delivering.
If you're like me, a key thing to ask yourself is, what will happen if I don't speak up? What will the ripple effect be? In my case, if I stayed silent, I might end up with a website that I'm not proud of. A brand that doesn't represent me, which then could lead to missed opportunities. That's a big deal.
And that leads me to my final point. Don't be afraid to own your vision. [00:14:00] With my first website, I was just so excited to be branding, and on top of that, I was still figuring out my photography style. I know I said earlier that I had an emotional attachment to Austin Food Guide's website, and I stand by that, 100%.
But I didn't question anything, and let me just say this. Amanda and her team, they encouraged me to constantly question. They constantly asked for feedback. They did their due diligence, which is why we're working together again.
I think I was so eager to please that I didn't provide enough feedback and truth be told, I didn't really have enough feedback to provide. I didn't know enough about the industry that I would find myself in, eventually. And I rushed with providing feedback without really absorbing the materials sent to me, Again really, really, really, I didn't know myself enough to truly and effectively [00:15:00] communicate my needs. And this time around, I really took ownership of the process. I gave specific feedback, I asked questions, and I made sure that the final design reflected me and my personality and the work that I created. A big part of this whole rebranding was overcoming my ingrained habits of serving others. I'm so used to asking what can I do for you that it throws me off when someone turns the tables and asks me, how can I serve you? I don't know what to do with that. I'm like I don't want to cause any problems. So I just freak out a little, but I had to get over that.
And also, Amanda and her team, they really just provided such a safe space for me to openly express myself. So I really thank them for that. But what's the [00:16:00] takeaway from this for you? Like how can you apply my experience to your experience? I'd say own your shit. When you outsource, when you hire a designer, let's say, or anytime you contract out some work, own your shit.
Own the process. Don't be afraid to speak up. Even if it feels a little uncomfortable, especially if it feels uncomfortable. Your voice matters. Your vision matters. You're paying this company, whoever you're hiring to create a space for you. And remember, nobody's going to advocate for you better than you. So if you're not good at that, then you better start practicing, start pushing yourself out there. You need to guide them. You are their map. You are their compass. If you are someone who struggles with advocating for yourself, don't feel shame.
Here's some [00:17:00] tips for self advocacy. Ask yourself what will happen if I don't provide this feedback?
What's the ripple effect? In my case, it was walking away with a website that I wasn't completely satisfied and in love with. I wouldn't feel proud to send cold leads there. That would have been the ripple effect and that's the whole point of hiring Amanda and her team to create a website that I would be proud of and want to send people to.
Yeah. What will the ripple effect be in this case if you don't speak up? Two, be an active participant. What's the saying? Be proactive, not reactive. Don't just sit back and let things happen. Take charge and express your needs clearly. If you don't know what your needs are, then sit down and ask yourself some questions and just work it out.
Sometimes what I like to do is I like to record myself and I just ramble about what I'm looking for, what I need, and then I'll go back and I'll listen to it. [00:18:00] And I'll just, transcribe it and then ask ChatGPT to like summarize this for me to help me like work out my thoughts and then again if there is something that I just absolutely don't understand ask questions.
Oh my god. That's like the hardest thing for me to do is ask questions. I have so many memories of me being in school not wanting to raise my hand because I didn't understand the material being taught and just thinking to myself well, I'll figure it out later. And the whole time, if I just raised my hand and asked a question or just said, I don't understand, the teacher could have helped me work it out right then and there.
Maybe people struggle with it and I struggled with it too. And if you do too, don't be afraid to ask a question. There's no such thing as a stupid question, especially to the company that you're paying to do something for you. So ask questions and keep asking questions until you completely understand.
Know what you want and say it with your chest. Once you do understand, know what you [00:19:00] want and say it with your chest. And yes, I'm envisioning Kevin Hart saying that. I'll leave y'all with this quote from a TED Talk video, which I'll link in the show notes titled The Art of Giving Feedback.
Specificity is also important when it comes to positive feedback. And the reason for that is that we want to be able to specify exactly what we want the other person to increase or diminish. So next time you're giving feedback, be clear, be specific. Say it with your chest. Instead of saying, Oh, I love it, or, Oh, it's amazing.
Be specific. Let's get specific. Specific. Yeah, no, that didn't work. I'll come back with another tune to close this one out. But for now, let's turn, let's get physical into. Let's get specific. Nope, It's not [00:20:00] working.
Mica: When I think about my new website, I feel so much more connected and deeply rooted. I'm just bursting with pride. It feels so different from the first branding. I think the reason why I feel so much more deeply attached to my new website is because I did the gut wrenching, heart to heart, soul work of figuring out my shit before booking Amanda.
And really, I owe a lot of that to my mentors at Apostrophe Reps for pushing me and my fellow mentees to go deep and scratch out words and keep exploring our message. I truly think that helped me so much more [00:21:00] in this rebranding process. You gotta do the deep work on yourself before you even start thinking about logos colors and fonts because that's all surface stuff.
I'm talking about figuring out who you are, what you stand for, and what makes your heart sing. What kind of photography do you create? Who will you serve by creating this style of work? Without that solid foundation, your brand is gonna feel like a costume you're just wearing. It's not gonna be something that you're truly living.
When people go to Austin Food Guide, what they're seeing is what I think my client, which back then I really didn't know who I wanted to serve. I just wanted to serve everybody but I was trying to be everything for everyone. In my new website, you really see the kind of work that I love to create and the kind of brands that I want to work with.
There's no confusion [00:22:00] there. And it's truly me. I am living that website. That website is me. I am she. She is me. I am she. I am her. In the previous episode, Amanda Schumann from Carrylove Designs asked me how do I know it's time for a brand or a rebrand?
First, is your website attracting the right people? Are your ideal clients and dream projects knocking on your door?
If not, it might be time for a change. And speaking of change, your dream clients and projects can be so different from three years ago. If your path and circle have changed, that's perfectly fine. But if your website doesn't reflect that change and support it, then that website is actually holding you back.
You're better off with going on to Canva and finding, I don't know, a quick template, a temporary template until you work with a branding [00:23:00] coach than holding on to a website that's not serving you. That's actually detracting the people that you want to work with. The second thing is your elevator pitch.
Can you explain who you are and what you do in a couple of sentences? Do you have a clear and concise elevator pitch? If you're stumbling over your words. Your brand is probably stumbling too. It just, it's all over the place.
And finally, do you feel a connection to your website, to your brand? Does it light you up inside? Does it feel like you? If not, then it's time to hire a designer who can help you bring what's going on in your brain and elevate it into reality. But before you can do that, you've really got to do the work.
Who are you? What do you do? And why do you do it? I'd like to give a special shout out to all the folks over at Apostrophe Reps for really helping me discover my why, my mission statement, my adjectives. [00:24:00] That work I did with them really navigated this experience and made it what it was. I felt so much more confident speaking out about what I wanted.
It also just helped me get over my discomfort with speaking out. So do the work, really sit down, think about who you are.
Mica: All right, y'all. It's about time I head on out. I know y'all got things to do, places to go on this fine Wednesday. I got a little bit of a late start today, so I really got to go, but I want to leave y'all with this. Being yourself is the most rebellious thing you can do in a world that's constantly trying to fit you into a mold.
I think that's a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson. It's something like that, but yeah, [00:25:00] I know. It's such a tired and cliched thing to say, but it's true. Sticking your flag into the ground and making a bold declaration of you and what you stand for is scary. As much of uh, an attention hog as I am.
I do get uncomfortable when the attention is on me because once I make a declarative statement I need to say it with my chest and stand with it and that makes me uncomfortable. But I'm learning that taking a firm stand on things will easily be the best decision you ever made. You are creating a map for yourself and therefore creating a map for the team that you hire. My website launched last week. I think I've said that like a thousand times, but yeah go look at it. It is gorgeous.
My new website launched last week and it's everything I dreamed of and more. I [00:26:00] walked away from this experience, a completely different person. I hope that if and when you brand or rebrand, this episode will come in handy. If you have any questions y'all about the branding process, feel free to email me. Or find me on Instagram and hit me up and DM me. And I'm more than happy to like, really tell you about my experience. If you need a brand designer recommendations besides Carrylove Designs. That's who I worked with for Austin Food Guide and for this rebrand. But if you want a list of others, I'm happy to provide you with that as well.
All right, y'all. Thank you for listening to this episode, for your time. Also, the Savory Shot website also got a facelift. I'll talk about that change in my Instagram stories. Until then, I'll see y'all on the flip side. Bye! [00:27:00]