Four years ago, a missed Zoom call somehow turned into a business friendship – and now, it’s become a proper collaboration (two years in the making). Funny how these things turn out.
How we actually met
Back in 2022, in the thick of everyone trying to claw their way back after Covid, I ran a little initiative called Sunday Shout Out – a free brand photo and a social media shout out for small local businesses who were just trying to get back on their feet. Jo signed up. She was right at the start of her own journey with The Grammar Mamma, and I don’t think either of us had any idea what it would turn into.
Before we’d even got to shoot day, Jo had decided to book a full Spectrum session with me. I like to think that’s a good sign.
I did miss our first Zoom call together – I’ll be honest, I totally forgot! With young twins and a bedtime routine that left me pretty wiped out by 8pm, I realised that evening calls just weren’t working for me, so I stopped doing them after that. Jo forgave me, we rescheduled, and the shoot itself ended up being a rather sweaty one on the hottest day of the year!
How it grew
From there, Jo joined my networking group, Business Brunch Club (now Sussex Business Club, as we alternate brunches with walks), and we’d catch up properly rather than doing the small-talk-and-swap-business-cards thing. She also joined the Uckfield Chamber of Commerce, which meant even more crossover, and came back to book what’s now called Radiant (back then it was a “business booster” session) for a top-up shoot. The support goes both ways, too – I’m a paid-up member of Jo’s Ready Steady Write, her twice-weekly accountability co-working sessions, which keep me on track with the writing side of my business, like this blog post 😉
The more time we spent together, the more we realised how much we had in common. We’ve enjoyed some lovely dinners out with our “matching” husbands (Nic and Nik – same name, different spellings!), and Jo invited me along to her fabulous 40th, seeing Moulin Rouge in the West End – an epic day out. I even dragged her along to a Bunco evening, and she’s now a fully fledged member!
Somewhere along the way, we discovered we’re both completely obsessed with Scamp & Dude. When they opened a store in Brighton, we went along to the launch party together, star-print dresses and all, and ended up at a sushi restaurant afterwards, deep in conversation about business ideas – some of which I’d been mulling over since speaking at a photography conference in autumn 2024.
One of those ideas was a proper collaboration between the two of us. Words and photography, together, for the businesses who need both but can’t yet justify booking either of us separately.
That dinner is the moment I’d point to if you asked me when Voice & Vision really started.
Why it took two years
Good ideas don’t always move fast, and this one didn’t need to. We both had full businesses to run, and it mattered more to us that this was actually right than that it was quick.
So in between shoots, client work and networking mornings, we built it properly: a joint planning session with both of us, a brand photoshoot, your core messaging, social media bios and pinned posts, and website copy for your homepage headline and about page – then a follow-up session together to make sure it all lands. Everything brilliant-but-not-yet-visible businesses need to show up looking and sounding like they mean business.
We launched in September, and our first client has already booked in – which is a lovely feeling when you’ve spent two years making sure something is worth it.
Where we’ve landed
Voice & Vision is the result of a friendship that started with a missed Zoom call and a free photoshoot, and grew through years of genuinely showing up for each other – at brunches and launch parties, over sushi and Bunco, and in each other’s businesses.
It’s not a package we dreamed up in a boardroom. It’s two people who like working together, finally making that official so other people can benefit from it too.
Is it for you?
If you’re just starting out – or you’ve been going it alone for a while and know it’s time for more than a phone snap and copy that doesn’t quite sound like you – this one’s for you.
As a launch offer, the first five businesses to book get £100 off, and there are just four of those spots left. The offer runs until 31st December, or until they’re gone – whichever comes first. We only take on a limited number of Voice & Vision clients each month, so if you’ve been thinking about it, now’s a good time.
Find out more and book Voice & Vision here.
