Today we’d like to introduce you to Kassidy Marie.
Hi Kassidy, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
I grew up in Minerva, Ohio – which is a small country town. I knew I wanted to see the world at a very young age and strived to travel more starting in college. During my college basketball career at Malone University, I worked for a basketball company called PGC basketball, which ran camps across the country. During my time there, I started capturing photos and videos for social media marketing.
After my receiving my bachelor’s degree, I landed a Graduate Assistant job for the Women’s Basketball team at the University of Nevada, Reno. During my time there, I received my Master’s in Business Administration and started my photography and life + business coaching businesses through an entrepreneurship class. As I continued to grow my business, I realized that coaching college basketball was not in the cards for me. So, when I graduated from receiving my MBA, I decided to move from Nevada to Hawaii.
I packed two bags and bought a one-way flight to Maui. I didn’t have a job or an apartment but knew I would figure it out. As I stayed on Airbnb for the first two weeks, I found an apartment and a job as a concierge for one of the hotels that helped me get on my feet. During that time, I would reach out to couples who were visiting Maui through Instagram and offer them a free photo session to build my portfolio. After a couple of weeks of doing that, I built a portfolio that allowed me to promote myself as a Maui photographer.
Four months into being on Maui, my photography business grew so much that I ended up leaving the hotel job to become a full-time photographer. Fast forward a year and a half on the island and then COVID hit, and the island completely shut down. Tourism was gone, which meant so was my business. During that time, I decided to move to a city that was filled with opportunity and a lifestyle that was more upbeat – so Nashville was the answer.
Capturing people in real life was not an option with the pandemic, so I fully focused on growing my business and life coaching programs online. As that grew and Nashville started to open up again, I decided to pursue both of my passions – photography and coaching. During the pandemic, I also started a podcast called Level The Fuck Up, and it is all about helping women level up in their life and their business.
My business partner, Taylor Kern, and I provide tools for others to get outside their comfort zone and grow in many areas of their life. We also have retreats all over the country that allow women to have a life-changing experience. I wholeheartedly love what I do every day and believe I was made to serve others and make a positive impact on this world – & both of these avenues allow for me to fulfill that.
Coming up on two years living in Nashville, this place has become HOME. A place I want to put my roots and settle down. I will always be down to travel, but Music City will stay as my home base.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Life, in general, is not a smooth road, let alone starting a business. There have been many struggles along the way, but the way I see it is:
Every failure is not me losing. It is me learning.
So here is what I learned:
– You can move anywhere you want to and build a life. If there is a will, there is a way.
– Making smart financial decisions is a must and while you grow your business, you must be frugal in certain areas. There were many times I chose to not eat out with friends or buy new clothes to save for camera gear and being financially smart got me here.
– Making friends in a new place is not easy, but nothing worth having in life is easy.
– Just because a place is beautiful, doesn’t mean it is home. I didn’t particularly love living in Hawaii and that surprises people. I am very grateful for the time spent there and will always go back to visit and work, but it never felt like HOME. And it taught me to fight for the feeling of HOME. Nashville is that place for me and I am so happy I took many leaps of faith to get here
– Google can become your best friend and you can learn anything. I am fully self-taught when it comes to photography and at times I struggled, but I never gave up.
– Consistency is key and showing up as you aspire to be will always get you far. My business is fully built on social media, so being authentic and real is not always easy, but it is what has grown my business.
– Saying NO is not easy, but I learned to only say YES to things that align with my purpose.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a traveling Wedding Photographer and Videographer. I love to capture memories that last a lifetime. My goal is to capture moments and how they really FEEL. I am big on candid moments vs. posed unauthentic ones. I am known for bringing the HYPE and creating an overall experience – not just providing photos and a video.
I am most proud of building my business in multiple locations. From Lake Tahoe to Hawaii, to Nashville – I have gotten to live in so many cool places and build a business I love.
I am also a Mindset Coach and specialize in coaching others in their life and their business. My mission is to give others the tools to create a life that makes them their happiest version of themselves. I help others build the business of their dreams. I also assist others in breaking limiting beliefs and creating the confidence they really strive to have in their own personal life.
What sets me apart from others is my experience and my energy. I have gotten to experience so many different places, cultures, and life in general. My goal is to pass along my learnings to others to help them THRIVE. I naturally have a lot of energy and strive to be a light in this world.
My clients can count on me to bring the juice on their big day and give tough love in coaching to help them grow.
Any big plans?
Continue to use my gifts and grow into who I am made to be. I plan to stay in Nashville and continue to travel across the world to do photography and coaching.
I am looking forward to creating more education for photographers online and helping more people build their businesses. I am also looking forward to having online courses that pertain to Mindset Coaching and being able to continue to grow my platform to help others thrive in many areas of their life.
I do not have any big changes coming up, just continue to grow personally and professionally. Oh, and many retreats are coming up in 2022, so be on the lookout for that!
Contact Info:
- Email: kassidymariephoto@gmail.com
- Website: kassidymarie.com
- Instagram: @kassidymarieco
