Corner Spotlight: Sophie @sophiejames.online
Welcome to the next Corner Spotlight. Today we are featuring a powerful and inspiring woman by the name of Sophie James from England. Sophie is a brand designer and strategist. She specializes in branding knowledge and cultivating aesthetics for brands around the world.
Sophie is truly a unique creator, designer, and strategist with her iconic pink branding that many have come to know her by. Along with Sophie’s beautiful personality and motivational content for female entrepreneurs, she has built a community of individuals with like-minded views and desires on social media.
I got a chance to sit down with Sophie and pick her brain on how she stays so inspired in motivated in this industry.
Discussions with inspiring women like Sophie are so valuable. I hope there are people out there taking time to look for women like Sophie for information, assistance, and so much more.
Let’s take a look at Sophie’s Instagram before hearing some of the amazing words Sophie had to share with The Serene Corner.
Sophie has become known for her gorgeous pink aesthetic. The elegant backgrounds, textures, and more capture the brand identity that allows her audience to remember her.
There is so much knowledge packed simply on Sophie’s Instagram page and she has numerous references to services and platforms that can assist you in making your online experience a breeze.
Sophie also includes transparent storytelling and motivational advice for women seeking to get into her field of work. I believe Sophie has a way with words that truly emulates the amazing work she creates.
Let’s take a look further at her feed aesthetic to admire the pink branding she has perfected for her brand identity.
As you can see, Sophie loves pink personally and decided to embrace that for her page aesthetic and I love that due to the amount of personality that shines through from her ability to stay so on brand.
Even when displaying her client work, Sophie can mold things into her aesthetic flawlessly.
Be sure to take a look at all of the amazing content, knowledge, and inspiration Sophie has to offer on her Instagram @sophiejame.online.
Getting a chance to talk to Sophie was so inspiring. She truly enjoyed discussing her experiences in her business journey thus far and how her experiences have impacted how she runs the business now.
Let’s hear from Sophie as I went and sat down with her for a Zoom call to ask her some questions I felt would inspire and motivate anyone in The Serene Corner with a passion for social media in some way.
How do you describe yourself to people when they ask what you do for a living?
“I am a brand specialist moving into a brand strategist and designer. I feel like I’ve shifted in my services, and branding has become my focus as of late. I am focusing on academics as a priority, and I want to move into a space where I offer other female brand owners a new service like a full brand design and strategy package.”
Anyone that looks simply at the work Sophie has already completed can tell her branding abilities from a mile away. Finding your specialty in any you do is so important to stand out and find yourself.
On social media, you not only need to have a niche but you need to have an understanding of how you can position yourself as a specialist within the said niche. That may take some time to figure out in the beginning, but can be a valuable investment of time on your part as a business owner.
What are some of the things you wish someone told you before entering your industry?
“I wish I had taken strategy more seriously at the start. Ironically, I had done it for clients and work experiences, but for myself, I did not know that this online community existed, and I wish I took it more seriously since it is a day in and day out thing.”
When you first begin creating a brand image on social media it can be overwhelming. Finding where to begin in the realm of social media for a beginner can be a mental toll if not done with intentional behaviors. Sophie continues by stating:
“Taking time to do the research and put together a strategy within the first month. You need to take that time to see what's going on in the communities you want to create in. You learn a lot as you go. I wish I was more intentional, to begin with. I began in August of 2020, but I did not have branding.”
In terms of social media platforms, Instagram reigns supreme in the importance of business and personal branding nowadays. Taking that time to research and put forward the effort to know where your content could lie within the algorithm can assist in your social media experiences.
What are some things you are grateful for in your business?
"Sounds sappy but having opportunities to work with so many variations of businesses and solopreneurs and across industries. I know that is not ideal, but I think it offers so much opportunity to see where you gravitate and how interactions go within different work cultures. It is like a chocolate box that you never know which kind of chocolate or client you're going to get. The opportunities are what I’m truly grateful for even if they inquire and ghost me or whatever people say now. To have people invested and have some sort of exchange at all for your expertise is amazing!"
There are so many benefits to developing a genuine brand on social media. As you gain experience on a platform, it learns more about you and cultivates a better experience for you on said platform.
Remembering that social media is a tool to assist you based on your social media needs is essential. There are many opportunities online that pass people by due to a lack of awareness or comfortability.
The opportunities are endless on social media. Taking time to invest in the potential of your idea on social media can create beautiful things just like Sophie’s business.
How do you stay inspired in your field of work?
“I am a content freak a little bit, and I do live and breathe it. I listen to podcasts, magazines, reading books, lots of dynamic types of content. I like to find inspiration away from the content because it can be very noisy. Different things can spark a different idea. Some things can become robotic and create a cycle that lacks inspiration. I was raised in the outdoors, so I like walking and being outdoors and being around the scenery and the simple things.”
Consuming mass forms of content comes with any social media work. Understanding the platform is one thing, but getting inspired to mold your brand on those platforms can be a roller coaster of highs and lows.
Taking time regularly to inspire more ideas and creative stimulation is important when creating for social media.
How much time would you say you spend investing into your business?
“This is one of the engaging voices in my mind, and the exchange between creators and labor extensive work we put in is not always reciprocated. You have to accept it is a slow burner and that you have to be in it for the long haul. We do not technically own these spaces, so this is something that becomes an everyday commitment.
People that say I’ve grown from ten minutes of work and unrealistic results are probably a scam. What keeps us going is when we see those opportunities for ourselves and the success stories of others in our field. You have to go into Instagram accepting that."
If you are looking to start your own business, you need to be realistic with the amount of hard work it is going to take and investments will be necessary in order to succeed.
Sophie offers many transparent conversations about the business world and how to stay positive on your journey.
Supporting and following individuals that educate, uplift, and inspire you is so important in growing a healthy relationship with the platforms you utilize.
What are the essentials to growing on Instagram in 2021?
"You cannot get personally invested and begin embracing failure on social media. Having specific expectations and believing it is not meant for you when things do not work out as planned is not the truth. If I had given up on failed expectations I experienced, then I would have never gotten where I am today.”
Sophie is so right, there should never be high expectations set during your social media journey. Setting goals is great and offers guidance. Being realistic about those goals and expectations is crucial in pushing forward during hard times in your journey.
If you guys would like to hear more from Sophie I will link some of her recent work below! It was an honor to get some words of encouragement from this intelligent women.
Instagram Post: What is Brand Strategy?
Some of Sophie’s recent work!
Check out the last Corner Spotlight of Rondelle and meet another wonderful woman in the corner.
