Amplifying Community Voices, One Image at a Time with Angela Hollowell

Angela is an amazing woman, storyteller and founder of Ang H. Studio. She aims to connect her audience to resources and culture, one visual at a time. Here’s her story.

Q. I wanna hear your story, what has been the journey for you leading up to you starting Ang H. Studio and the incredible work that you’re doing throughout the community? What’s that journey been like?

It started as a way for me to document my travels, document what I was doing in life, but then around graduation time, a couple of friends wanted me to take their graduation pictures, and I had a friend that pushed me and was like, “You need to start getting paid”. I was super hesitant, but I tried it. 

I had a friend who was a DJ and they told me about this couple who was getting married and they were looking for someone like me, someone who was in photography because they love it. Turns out, they were the director and cinematographer for the film Woodlawn. That was my first dip into it and that’s when Ang H Studio was born in September of 2016 and we’ve been going strong ever since.

Q. At what point, even before shooting the wedding, did you start to realize, “Ok, I’ve got a camera for my own enjoyment, but I actually enjoy the production side and doing this for other people? What was the transition like?

If we’re being honest, I was like, “This is an expensive hobby. I need to offset the cost of this somehow because I wanna grow and I wanna invest in myself, but doing it for free isn’t gonna allow me to do that.” It was also me just having fun with friends. I think it helps when you start working with people that you’re super comfortable with, people who have confidence in you, trust you, and want to create something with you. That was the start of me feeling that I could make this soft transition to doing this for money on occasion. 

Q. Can you give a bit more of the practical game of how you built from this to this to now running a production company?

For one, it’s really understanding that business is a process and not just an event. I had to learn that it’s less about showing up for the photoshoot or the product you create, but more about everything in between, which is the experience you create for clients. 

Second, from the moment someone finds you on social media you have to consider how you’re fostering a relationship with them. I had to figure out how to make that process consistent. This meant that I had to get comfortable with diversifying my marketing streams and understanding how I can create more channels of organic outbound marketing. 

And third, networking is a must. I got my pitch together from all the networking events I’ve attended since moving to the Triangle.

Q. Tell me about the process of getting the referrals to come in. How was that?

Social media and word of mouth are the first ways to get referrals, and they’re great, but they’re not the end game. I had to create a framework around how I use social media to intentionally connect with people and how to reach them outside of those platforms. 

Second, when networking in person events, I handed out business cards and I followed-up with people the following day with a little script that I had. I would also connect with people through email, which I feel is much more personal than sending someone to your website. You’re able to do warm introductions through email that leave lasting impressions on people. 

Q. What are you the most excited about now?

I’m currently filming season 3 of Honey & Hustle and guests get a coffee mug for being on the show. The audience is gonna get gem after gem, quality production, and access to some of the resources I use on a regular basis throughout my business. I want it to be a platform that give people access to resources. 

I also have a YouTube channel, Angela Hollowell, which also has free resources and a newsletter as well for creators and creative entrepreneurs. 

 Q. Breakdown the practical uses of the podcast to reach a wider audience. How could another service provider benefit from putting that type of content out? 

The podcast was a natural extension of me as a storyteller. I started in March 2020, right on the cusp of people making storytelling and marketing synonymous where people are now  “Marketing coordinators with a storyteller focus”. As a business owner, you may want to connect with your audience in a visual or auditory way and social media platforms, being free as they are today, gives you multiple platforms to create and post content to. Youtube, Clubhouse, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook have so many ways for you to connect organically that there’s no excuse. 

Clubhouse and Twitter are great places to collect audio content because you can download the audio files when the chat is over and repurpose the content any way you like.

Q. How do you get your message out there as a small business owner? How do you use social media?

One, find out what social media platform you’re functional on, and two, find out what platform your desired audience is on and try to meet in the middle. Get two platforms that you can learn and engage and have conversations on and stick with it.

Bulk creating, batch editing, and post scheduling are great ways to do this and remain consistent. If you set up your equipment once a week or month and create a bulk of content that in turn gets edited all at once and scheduled on one of the many social media post scheduling platforms like Later, then there’s no excuse to not create and engage with your audience.

Q. Practically, what does it look like for businesses to transition from just creating random things, to telling a story that connects with people?

People want to connect with people, not a brand. They want to know pieces of your story that could somehow benefit them. If you made a business out of something you did as a hobby, they want to know the nitty gritty and the exact steps that you took. 

To demystify that for people who are a bit less comfortable with sharing their story, they should begin by building a framework for how they share it, one that caters to the impact and resonance of the story being told because the story they have is important to tell. 

Q. What is something you wish you knew a year ago?

The best way for me to be productive is to set boundaries and stick to them. I had to learn how to say no to things that didn’t line up with what I ultimately wanted, regardless of the money and opportunities that came my way. You have to be firm and say no to not only the big things, but the small as well, like meetings that can wait. Everything doesn’t have to be achieved right now. It’s ok to say no. 

Q. What type of work aligns? 

I’ve been really honing in on outdoor storytelling type of work through photography and filmmaking. I am contracting with East Coast Greenway Alliance, which is an outdoor nonprofit focused on advocating for safe access to  trails and greenways and separated bike lanes. I was also on contract for the National Farm worker Ministry and I’m a member of E2 (Environmental Entrepreneurs). So in short, I am heavily involved in Environmental justice projects and connective storytelling that aids communication between communities and Environmental justice groups. 

Q. What do you want to leave people with?

Get outside today, go for a walk or run, move about and see what organically comes to mind regarding building a better story for your business. 

Thanks for joining us! You can follow Angela on Instagram at @angeladhollowell

Check out the full interview with Angela below!