Michele LeBlanc
Brand Strategist / Designer / Social Media Specialist
Philadelphia, PA
Q What do you do?
“I help mission driven business owners create their brand story and authentically grow their online presence!”
Launching a business is incredibly difficult, which is why I'm here to help relieve the stress in designing your visual brand and showing up on social media.
Q What steps did you take to get to where you are now?
Lots of steps! I graduated with my BA in 2017 and took a job working for a small nonprofit as their Director of Marketing and Development. This was where I gained a lot of hands-on experience with building a brand strategy and implementing systems in marketing. A couple years later I got into freelancing and started to explore the creative side of branding more, and finally I started Collective Waves with my co-founder! We are an agency of female freelancers here to help give entrepreneurs the breathing room to focus on the big picture for their business.
I believe you should never stop learning and have invested in courses along the way to expand my skill and knowledge in social media management and brand design.
Q How do you stand out in your field?
At Collective Waves we believe in collaboration over competition. Meaning when our clients succeed, we succeed. Our number one goal is to help you achieve yours. We’re small. But we’re smart, and we’re passionate, and we achieve incredible results for the businesses that we work with.
Q What are you working on right now?
I’m currently working with some incredible female entrepreneurs on designing their brand and growing their community strategically! I’m SO inspired by the clients I work with.
Q What’s your style?
I would say my style is still developing and changing as I work with more brands. I love a minimalistic design with strong typography, but am also drawn to unique color palettes. I feel like my style leans towards timeless over trendy since I strongly believe longevity is so important in a brand.
Q Out of all your slashies, which one do you wish you could do more often?
I have been loving the trend towards video content on social with tiktok and reels. I want to focus more on helping busy business owners show up intentionally on video.
Q What is frustrating you right now?
Building a consistent funnel of client leads who understand the value of strategic branding and having an online presence.
Q If you could hire someone for $20/hour, what would you have them do to make your day easier?
I’m ALL about delegating tasks to stay focused in your area of genius! Right now, I would hire someone to take care of onboarding and help with project management.
Q What do you wish you could have told yourself, when, and why?
When I was just graduating school and starting my career I wish I could tell myself, “Be the CEO your parents always wanted you to marry.” I never imagined I could own my own business supporting fellow fempreneurs.
Q If you could talk to an expert to gain more insight on something, what would it be about?
I would love to learn more about money management and investing to reach my long term savings goals.
Q What kind of opportunities/projects are you looking for?
Branding projects and social media management for solopreneurs or small biz owners with small teams in the service industry (think coaches, photographers, interior designers, therapists, etc.)
Q Describe your ideal job/client/collaboration.
A dream client for me is someone who is passionate about their brand and wholeheartedly embodies the mission behind it. I am open to working with all different sorts of businesses. For me, the important thing is that the founder behind the brand is open to collaborating and values strategic design + content.
Q How should someone approach you about working together?
If I sound like a good fit for your project, please email me at michele@collectivewaves.biz or fill out the inquiry form our website. Let me know more about the scope of work, your budget, and why you started your business!
Q Who is a creative you admire?
Wayfarer Designs are goals but also her resources for fellow designers have been a huge help.
Q Oh! and… how do you stay creative?
Time in nature + scrolling pinterest
This member profile was originally published in November 2021.