Today we’d like to introduce you to Marlee Archer.
Marlee, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
The path I’ve traveled to where I am today has been anything but straight and narrow. I originally wanted to be a middle school English teacher, and matriculated through college and got accepted into graduate school, all while being led by that initial ambition. It wasn’t until I interned for a marketing department back in 2011–fresh out of college and ready to move to San Diego to start grad school in the fall at UCSD–that I realized I had a love for something totally different: marketing, branding and digital storytelling. Fast track through the next several years: I had lived in San Diego for a spell while never beginning my studies at UCSD; moved back to Georgia, enrolled in and completed my master’s degree of Communication at Georgia State University; traveled internationally to Germany, Jamaica and Hong Kong (twice); developed a deeper love of storytelling via photography and videography; and caught the widespread and swiftly growing entrepreneurial bug. Out of a haze of seemingly unrelated experiences, I eventually learned how to marry all of my interests, skills and overall professional journey into one unifying concept: Digital Reveries Media (DRM).
Has it been a smooth road?
Learning how to combine all of my varied interests was one of the hardest parts of starting my own business. But I’ve found that when I let my passion lead, good things follow. As a beginner entrepreneur, the biggest hurdle I overcame, is remembering that success and happiness for each business owner and creative is different. There is no defining road map to entrepreneurship, but if approached with bravery and open-mindedness, this freedom can be very empowering.
Encouragement from my close friends and family is what really pushed me through some of the rougher patches of owning a business. And by focusing a large part of my creative work towards empowering the black community– with an emphasis on women and female entrepreneurship– I’ve been able to reciprocate and positively mirror the energy, love and black excellence that has engulfed me from birth.
My original power source has always been the women in my family–their examples of womanhood and determination in spite of adversity have been and continue to be a driving catalyst. My forever “shero,” my mother, went from working by day and finishing school by night while raising me, to her current role as director of Marketing Services for a Fortune 500 company. She has also been in the fight against breast cancer since 2018 and still has the determination and strength of a true warrior to continue working, keeping her faith, helping the community, celebrating life, and smiling even on her hardest days. Her journey continues to inspire me daily and reminds me that with courage, focus, and compassion, I can achieve my dreams, spread positivity and maintain a heart for service and helping others.
Tell us about your company. What do you do, what do you specialize in, what are you known for, etc. What are you most proud of as a company? What sets you apart from others?
What I think differentiates us is our interest in the people behind the brands we assist through our branding services. My company is like many digital branding companies in that we offer standard branding services to small business owners and other entrepreneurs: web design, photography, videography, content writing, etc. But, because we are a group of curious storytellers by nature, our love of telling people’s stories shines through our branding and media work–and also informs the leg of our company that crafts documentaries and artistic short films. We are enthralled by not only our dream of working for ourselves as successful entrepreneurs but in truly embodying in our visual storytelling the collective, creative spirit of entrepreneurs–and are genuinely inspired by the captivating people we feature in our creative work as well.
What has been the proudest moment of your career so far?
Every day that I am blessed with the opportunity to make a living doing what I love is a proud and humbling moment for me. Building something that serves as a positive reflection of the black community at large, my family, and my hometown of Cartersville, GA is a continuous source of pride.
Another monumental moment for me as a creative was embarking on the journey of creating “Can I Askew A Question,” a documentary film about healing, self-discovery, and child abandonment amongst Black men. Set for completion and release later this year, this documentary is co-written and produced by myself and fellow DRM cinematographer and consultant James Durrah–who was adopted at just three days old, and is also the focal point of the story. To learn more about this film or to support through donation, visit www.digitalrevmedia.com/askewdoc.
Additionally, continuing to enlarge our territory and client list has also made me quite proud–we work with entrepreneurs in various fields including tax and finance, health and beauty, mental health and wellness, music and art, professional consulting, fitness and sports, religious and spiritual groups, and the list goes on. I’m eternally grateful that so many amazing and successful people trust me with their brands and visual stories.
Lastly– in 2019, I also opened a brick and mortar location for my business, which I am immensely proud of. Along with Safiya Warren– my business partner and founder/owner of Expressive Fire Arts Coalition–we opened a collaborative studio space in Marietta, GA where we both offer services from our respective businesses. For more information on our in-studio services, visit www.digitalrevmedia.com.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.digitalrevmedia.com
- Phone: (678) 487-9729
- Email: m.archer@digitalrevmedia.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/digital.reveries
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/digitalreveriesmedia
Image Credit:
Marlee Archer
Safiya Warren
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