Meet Amber Modena

Today we’d like to introduce you to Amber Modena. 

Hi Amber, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Hello! I am Michigan-born and raised, love people, love adventure, love to travel, and most importantly, love God. I launched Amber Modena Creative in February 2022 but the idea was instilled long before. I have always loved design and used to have ideas for videos playing in my mind as a little girl. In college, I studied International Relations, despite my mother telling me to go into something creative like architecture or- believe it or not- marketing. Working as an administrative assistant in college, I wound up creating many of the professors’ flyers for upcoming events and classes, largely due to my boss’ encouragement. I used Publisher, a Word program I’m not sure still exists. It was far more interesting to me than making copies and they must have liked them because they kept coming back.

I interned at my church one summer upon coming home from a semester in Spain and began managing the social media, creating graphics for events, filming and editing videos, and designing print material. I loved it. I graduated the following year with a completely different degree and a dream to teach English abroad. But when my pastor asked to hire me, my “yes” turned into a much longer commitment. At the same time, I got hired at a cosmetology school that my friends own (The Salon Professional Academy of Holland). What began as assisting with accreditation turned into designing yet again, even winning a few awards for social media and a video.

Four years went by and I felt a calling and desire to use the experience I was rapidly gaining in a greater capacity. Freelance offered me that opportunity and paired well with my unyielding desire to move abroad.

After encouragement from my closest family and friends and a strong backing of prayer, I quit the salon to launch my business. I can happily say that Amber Modena Creative has been a joy, adventure, and a huge blessing. I am looking forward to the year ahead!

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Being fairly green in this thing, I can’t say I’ve hit the ups and downs many business owners have, especially since I do not have employees of my own (yet). Getting off your feet has its unique difficulties, however. For example, I have always been one to enjoy cold calling, but offering someone else’s product is much easier than offering your own. Getting over the fear of letting a client down or feeling not good enough is hard but thanks to my faith, I can be tenacious and relentless, knowing if God gave me this business, He must think I have what it takes.

Learning to plan as someone who enjoys living unplanned is new, too, but the structure is much more exciting than I would have anticipated. All of a sudden, I am in charge of the accounting, client management, sales, goals, and deadlines, and I have no one to blame but myself.

It’s an adventure, to say the least!

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I do a little bit of everything (photography, graphic design, website building, print collateral, videography, etc.) but my favorites are videos and graphic design.

I believe what I love most about creating videos is the storytelling. I love marrying beautiful content with an amazing story.

In the future, I see myself creating the videos I imagined as a little girl; kinds I have never seen created before. These would require making ‘something’ from ‘nothing’, meaning it would take a lot of animation and graphic design to convey one special message.

What I am currently most proud of is a wedding video I made this summer, which you can watch on YouTube or Facebook. It was my first-ever and it was shot entirely on an iPhone, which was a fun and creative challenge.

What I believe sets me apart from other creators is my appreciation for uniqueness. When I take photos, design graphics, or create a video, I want it to display that individual’s style and story. I enjoy getting to know the client a bit and creating what they wouldn’t be able to create for themselves. Yes, I will always have my own flare, but my favorite thing to hear is, “That is exactly what I imagined!”

Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc.?
The One-Page Business Plan was really helpful for getting me started. I’ve currently been into a podcast called “Simple SEO and Marketing” by Faith Hanan. For creating videos, I enjoy watching Wayward North and Fulltime Filmaker (@ParkerWalbeck) on YouTube. I try not to scroll through other people’s designs very often in order to keep mine unique, but the creators I follow include JollyHonsonArt, Maddysgraphics, Abiconnick, A Girl & Her Phone, and MargheritaVox on TikTok.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ambermocreative.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ambermocreative/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ambermocreative/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ambermocreative
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@ambermocreative

Image Credits
Amber Modena