"Don’t try to be someone you’re not" with Michaela Letendre

Michaela Letendre is the founder of ML Brand Studio based in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. After working in the corporate marketing industry for several years, she started her business in 2017 and has served over 500 women-led businesses since then. ML Brand Studio is a full-service boutique marketing agency that creates beautiful brands and transforms small businesses. As a mother, wife, and marketer, Michaela strives to build a brand that encompasses her values and empowers female business owners.

 How did you get started with creating brands?

I started designing logos for small boutiques back in 2017. At the time, I was working from home with two kids and while I enjoyed my corporate job at the time, I needed something more creative. I’ve always had more of a creative brain, and I’ve always been entrepreneurial-minded. Designing brands just seemed like a great way to combine the two, and I jumped in with both feet. I don’t regret a single thing.

Where is your business based?

I started my business when I lived in Florida, but relocated it to Wolfeboro, New Hampshire when I moved back. Wolfeboro is my hometown and it’s this quaint little town right on Lake Winnipesaukee. In fact, it’s so quaint we don’t even have a stop light! It’s rich with small businesses and it will always be my favorite place in the world.

Can you tell our readers about your background?

I started out in the marketing industry basically straight out of high school. I applied to a job that was a mix of admin and marketing, and the owner took a complete chance on me and I will be forever grateful for that, because that job made me who I am now. I learned so much from that job. I was there for almost five years and grew so much in my roles. I moved to Florida during my time there and worked remotely for some time. Then I branched out on my own a bit before returning to the corporate world, joining the marketing team of a large restaurant chain. Then after COVID, I did a mix of working for myself as well as working as the Director of Marketing Operations for a local business. My roles within the marketing industry have taught me a ton and I’m so thankful for the path that got me here.

As a female business owner, what do you think you do well to help other women-led businesses?

I work primarily with women-led businesses. In fact, out of the over 500 businesses I’ve worked with since starting my company, only a handful have been male led. After the pandemic started, I saw so many of my good friends have to close down their businesses. At that point I had lost my corporate job because of COVID layoffs since I was in the restaurant industry, and I just kept thinking to myself how can I help these people? What can I do to help them continue to run their businesses in a way they never have before? And the MLMS brand fund was started. The fund allows business owners to get a completely new branding package for free if they’ve been financially impacted by COVID. We’re now in the process of expanding the fund to include other natural disasters like the recent tornadoes.

 Did you ever have any stumbles or times when you didn’t think you were going to make it?

Oh, of course. When I launched in 2017, I was doing extremely well. I had started a Facebook group that blew up and I finally felt like this is my moment, I’ve finally done it. I was getting recognized by big brands in the boutique world, because the group was centered around being a community for boutique owners. It was like my little safe space in my corner of the internet. And then I actually had someone approach me about wanting to be partners and help run the group. It was over 2,000 members, I was getting hundreds of posts submitted each day, I really needed help monitoring the group, and I wasn’t in a position to decline a good offer at the time so I accepted. Against my better judgement, I did not have the contract looked over by a lawyer and I signed it with handwritten edits. It was a mess. But I was 20 or 21 at this point and extremely naïve. The partner ended up keeping all of the profits from launching various projects I spent hours on, and after not getting paid and having no recourse due to the contract, I ended up walking away from the group and she kept it. At that moment in my life I really thought I had lost everything I worked for and I struggled for a really long time.

How did you pick yourself back up after that?

t took me months to really pick myself back up. I wrote my second book, Edge of Empowerment, about what that experience taught me. I was so disappointed in myself and even embarrassed of how I lost everything in the blink of an eye over something as stupid as a contract. I ended up going back to a full-time corporate job and just designed a few brands here and there for a while. I got a great job offer from a pretty big company after that and I focused on that for a while, until COVID happened, and I lost my corporate job. That’s when I really decided to hunker down and work on my brand and get back out there.

What do you think was really your turning point for your business?

I think the creation of my planner was the big turning point. I launched the Boutique Planner for the first time in 2017 and completely sold out of them. I brought them back every year after that, even after another company copied the concept. They’ve done extremely well for me and they make me really happy to design. I love picking the prints for the covers and seeing the joy people get when receiving them in the mail. I know the planners help so many boutique owners and that makes all the hard work worth it.

What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your business?

For me, being an engaged community member that just genuinely wants to help others succeed has been the most successful. Just like every other business I run ads, send emails, post on social media, etc. But I truly think the number one thing that has helped me grow is just being available to people. I join groups where my target audience hangs out, but I don’t poach them or try to sell to them. I just help them. People are drawn to kindness.

What's your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?

Don’t be naïve. Get some really good, fool proof contracts. Do what makes you happy. And most importantly, don’t try to be someone you’re not. I tried to be this perfect version of myself, and I fell flat on my face. It took me a long time to be comfortable with where I am and who I am, and I wish I had accepted it long before. People want to connect with someone they can relate to. People want vulnerability.

How do you balance work and life?

This was something that I struggled with for a really long time. I was so concerned with being available 24/7 and answering messages and emails as soon as possible that my work/life balance didn’t exist. I decided to set firm business hours and stick to them. I still get the impulse to immediately write back if I see an email come through late at night, but I’m working really hard to create that separation for not just me but for my family. My kids deserve a mom that is present in the moment with them.

What’s your favorite book and why?

My favorite “fun” book is Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren. The amount of emotions that book makes me feel should be illegal and the writing is just phenomenal. My favorite work-related book is Atomic Habits by James Clear. I’m a very pattern-reliant person, so it’s hard for me to change things up. I struggle to break bad habits and it’s even harder for me to form good habits. This book really changed my life in that aspect and absolutely helped me become a better (and less lazier) person.

What’s next for ML Brand Studio?

We have some really exciting new projects coming up. We’re launching more new products for boutique owners that are similar to our planners and we’re also working on a quarterly magazine geared toward retail businesses. I’m hoping maybe by the end of the year to have an office that is not in my basement, but we’ll see. I’m really looking forward to see what 2022 has in store for the business.

Where can our readers find you?

My website is www.mlbrandstudio.com and my Instagram handle is @mlbrandstudio. I also have a Facebook page, ML Brand Studio.