Episode 2 Marlies Ledbetter

JMM: 0:01

Welcome to Brand Transformations, the podcast where we dive deep into the real stories behind rebranding. I'm Jess Mercier, a brand strategist and designer, and I've had the privilege of guiding incredible entrepreneurs through the journey of stepping into a brand that truly reflects their vision. In this series, we'll explore the struggles, breakthroughs, and unexpected wins that come with rebranding, because a brand transformation is about so much more than just a logo. Let's get started. Okay. Hello, everybody, and welcome to the Brand Transformations podcast. I am so excited today. We have Marlies Ledbetter. She is a mom, business strategist, activist. She's a national coach, an educator, and a Christian healer. And she is a past client of mine, and I'm so happy to have you here today, Marlies. Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Marlies: 1:26

Well, I am a sort of native Houstonian. Came down here when I was six. My family's from New York. And I am an extremely creative person. I've always been creative. I've always had a passion for helping people. I didn't really know what I was doing most of my life. As we go through life, we're like, what am I supposed to be doing with myself? And things really started clicking in about, I would say, five years ago. was the big transformation for me. It had been started about 10 years ago, but really started kicking in about five years ago and realized what I had to do on this earth, what I needed to do, what my potentials were. I was recognizing all the gifts that had led me to this and all of the things that I'd gone through in my life that were the stories that I was going to share. Like my tests were my testimony. I was taking all this pain that I had my whole life and turning it really into my passion. And it, It took this kind of unwinding over several years and then kind of cohesively coming back together. And I focus mostly on helping people push past their old programming. So many people live in lies that society tells them, that faith tells them, that their trauma tells them. And it's really, really important for me to help people find their freedom, but also not find it in falseness or lies or confusion. We always want to feel like we have to do so many things to be healed. And really, the body just knows what to do. So we have to find out how to go back to that, like use OG medicines, use OG techniques, learn from our ancient ancestors. And so this has kind of been a culmination of so many things that I do. And then on top of my warrior heart to break through things that our society is doing that is unfair, create laws, help protect people. And ultimately, my goal is to lead people to Jesus. And so coming to that understanding several years ago led me to also a full rebrand. And that's where you came in. It was how do I reestablish who I am on social media, on my website, to the world, to other businesses, right? I do business to business and business to consumer. And being someone who wants to lead a global organization, I had to find something that was going to speak amongst all of the things that I do and wrap them up into a bow, which is difficult because I am all over the place. And so- As

JMM: 4:09

many of us creatives are.

Marlies: 4:12

Yeah. Yeah. And how do you take music and ministry and motivational speaking and all of these things, how do you tie them together under one brand? And I was racking my mind with that. And I really went through life for the past 10 years before this, you know, recognizing what I needed to do, living through other things, right? Like being a brand of something else or not really being true to myself and my wholeness. Because it's really difficult when you go through life and you're told that you need to be this or that. And all I felt was like, I kept hitting a wall. Like I need to break through this wall. I need to break through the ceiling. I need something more. And when I realized that that was working with someone who could help me identify what that looks like When you came into my life, it was literally a prayer immediately answered. Like I had asked God, like, how do you want me to show up in the world? And then you walked into my life. And so I don't want to give like so many props to you, but like a lot of props to you, Jess, for helping me understand that. To me, creativity and soul matter. giftings is really important. So I wanted to also work with someone who understood the greater purpose of life and not just being a business or just not being something that's a pretty image on a screen, but that could tell the whole story. And my story is really vast and it changes constantly. So how do I have a brand to walk through that? And three years ago, I lost my mom and that was a huge turning point for my life. I had already been writing a book on trauma and understanding things? Why do we go through things in life? And how do we overcome them? And how do we reprogram ourselves? And then she died. And it was a really extraordinary experience, both very traumatic, but also a beautiful blessing in disguise that pushed me into even stronger advocacy for medical freedom, for rights for people, for knowing your voice, for your medical needs. And so, again, another thing came into the mix that I didn't realize that I needed to do. And then also make it pretty and make it exciting. And I'm a mom. I have a 16-year-old amazing daughter. I've been married for 18 years. We are all walking in our path. And I want this to kick off into my next season, which is being a mom of a college age student and being a mom of a babble of dogs and then how to show up in the community and how to help make a difference. It's a complicated thing that can be so much more easy once you find yourself. And so the past five years have been finding myself. And then on October 2021 is when I realized what I needed to do. And then I had to figure how do I show the world that? So I have a lot of information on my social medias about my stories and my bio on my website, I think is pretty comprehensive, but it's always more complicated than that, right? But I want to make sure that people recognize their potential in life. Never allow people to convince you otherwise. We are gifted and worthy. And how do you do that with so much pain in the world? I just hope to be that light for somebody else.

JMM: 7:43

It's so funny. I'm going to have a little vulnerable moment here. But when I met you the first time, I remember like the feeling of energy when you walked into the room is incredible. was intense. And I'm obviously a very energy-driven person. And when I saw you, I knew that you were somebody that I wanted to be near. And so... when the mess, when the, I remember the day that the message came across you, I think you sent me a message on social and you were like, Hey, like, I really want to talk to you about working together. Um, I was so excited because I knew that you were somebody that I like very much energetically aligned with. And I knew, um, the power of what a collaboration between the two of us could bring. Um, and I think going into work, Yeah, absolutely. Thank you so much.

Marlies: 9:37

The, yeah, so thank you. I really always hope to walk into a room and have an energy about me that will ask, will create questions. Who is she? Why is she like this? And right, I just want to be a light to the world. I had to get through a lot of stuff to be like that, obviously. I'm always thinking about like how I show up. And so it's a very intentional thing. And I actually do feel other people's energy very like intensely. And I also can feel people's hurt. And I don't take it upon myself to but I'm reflective of it. And so typically I do ask for God to draw me into someone if that's meant to be. And so obviously it was. And so the turning point for me was that I did have a very established brand at the time. I had racked up a good amount of following and I had created this simple, light-hued brand pink and green kind of femininity. I had been very masculine for a very long time. I'd operated in black and white. My whole Indie HempCo brand was very cannabis focused. I work in plant medicine. And so it was very important for me to come out as a subject matter expert, as someone who has helped thousands of people. But I also knew that wasn't all I was. And I had really pinpointed myself, which was good into being a niche, But I also felt called to doing more and I was offering more. And so I had one year my friend had said, you know, you look so beautiful in like a mauve pink. And I was like, no, pink, pink is bad. I hate pink. I was just not about being feminine at that time. But I felt drawn to the color and I created this, you know, like sage green and pink kind of ambiance. And it was beautiful. It got the point across. It was very generic. I used all the graphics in Canva like I had not really established And I called myself the cannabis. At the time, I was one of the more forefront people in the industry. I was talking about consumer use and questioning people's preconceived notions on it. And that really grew a following. But all of a sudden, I realized I had put myself in too much of a tight box. And also as a Christian and somebody who does transformative work, if I'm only focusing on one part of what I do, then how are they possibly going to see the other things and the things that are more important really. Like that's just a tool. And so I'd pinpointed myself into using a tool as my identity, which a lot of people do and they do very well on social media. But I was drawn to the fact like could I still stand out by just being Marlise? And so I prayed about it. I talked to other people and they were like, I don't know anybody like you. And the fact that your name is so unique. My name is my mom's nickname. Her given name is Marie Louisa. And when they came to America, they changed it to Mary Lou to be more American. And they'd always call her Marlise for short. And Marlise is a very popular nickname in Germany and like Polish, Austrian areas. And it's also seen in South America. So I was like, okay, well, I have a very unique name. What would it look like for me to stand behind my own name. And then I was talking to my husband and he goes, oh, you know, your last name is even better than your first name. And I was like, what? And he goes, and I was like, Fitch? And he goes, no, stupid, your Mary name. And I'm like, oh, my Mary name, Ledbetter. And he goes, Led... Better. And I was like, wait, how have I not seen this? I've had this name for 15 years. And he goes, yeah, you lead people to a better life. And it was almost like I got hit by a wall of awareness. Like, oh my gosh, I literally got married into a name that was going to be my brand, that was going to be my vision. But I didn't totally recognize it yet. And I think we had even talked on a call and I had been like, my husband just figured out the tagline. And I think you did too. You were like better, like the whole idea of being better because being the best is never necessarily attainable, right? It's always like an idea of like social constructs and, you know, what is the best, but we always want to be better. We always want to be better than we are right now. And so that just turned into a whole thing. And after a lot of prayer, I was like, I have got to figure out how I can show up in the world as like my whole self. And a lot of people were like, Marliesh, you're so colorful. You're so like bohemian and you just go with the flow and you're this like very spiritual creature. And I was like, oh my gosh, my social media and like my brand does not at all equate to that. And then also I didn't even have a Marlies website. Like, right, it was only Indy Hemp Company. I was hiding behind this like cannabis advisor hat that I was wearing. And I was like, okay, God's giving me all these other tools that I need to be using and sharing. How do you do that? How do you create a cohesive brand? And when I met you, You were already so creative, and I love that you wore hats like I did, and you were super into spiritualness. I wanted to work with someone who could get me on a level that wasn't surface. I had talked to a lot of other brand managers, and they just weren't getting it. I had even actually spent money with someone, and it was so charcoal. I don't know. It was just so like, it did not say me at all. And I was almost like kicking myself for even taking the time to go through it because what I was seeing on the page wasn't me. And I almost needed somebody that could see me. what i couldn't see right because like when you're yourself and you're going through life and you're doing all the things i mean like i get sick of my own self so how do you you know like seeing someone else's perspective of you and how you could how much you could be and what that could look like was why i was very much attracted to you because i was like you were saying things that like i needed to hear for myself like when you said you're so much more colorful than this And you might see yourself black and white, but the world sees you colorful. And that was like one of the biggest, I think that, that just statement alone was like, okay, she sees me outside of how I see myself. And I need to recognize like how the world could see me also. I

JMM: 16:04

I love that so much. I think it's one of the things that I love about the way that I work and the intuitive, you know, um, creativity that I bring is definitely being able to kind of hyper focus into the brain of others. And it's that, okay, what are other people seeing and what do we want them to see? Plus, like, who is this person? And

how am I going to reflect them and everything that they feel and reflect their soul in the things that the viewers are going to find? And one of the ways that I do that is definitely focusing not on trends or on things that are like what everybody else is doing. It's really just... honing in on how does this feel and how is this reflecting the person that the, that the brand is for.

Marlies: 17:05

Well, and your intake, when we first decided to like work together and I was like, all right, I'm willing to explore this, even if I do like just the basic package just to create some logos or something. And when I got your intake form, I remember opening it and going, okay, well, I need to sit on the couch for this because he's asking me stuff that I ask people. So I was like, all right, like I have to really think about this. And I don't even think I like put my whole soul into the intake form, but I was ready for it. And you were asking me questions that I could see where you were going with it, which was so cool because I even adopted a couple of those questions into my own intake forms because it's so important for us to understand what people have been and where they're going and where they want to be, but also what makes you unique. How do you see yourself in the world and how would you like other people to see you? And I think that was the biggest thing is because I've always put myself in a box. And nobody has ever– it's like I feel like people don't usually put me in a box. They're always like– and everyone sees me as something different, which is really cool. And I get to be different people, different– a different persona sometimes to different people as they need it because I don't see it as being fake or anything like that. We sometimes have to mimic or mirror people so that they can feel safe and vulnerable. And that's like what I feel like I really, really am good at. But like how do I also portray to the world that I want someone to go– based on colors and branding alone, I want to work with her. I want to talk to her. She sounds really fun. She sounds like someone I can cry to. And– That was like in your intake form, I saw you developing that and saying, okay, who is your like True, true. If you could like put her on a page, what is your ideal customer look like? And no one had ever really asked me that before, even though I knew it and I think about it all the time. Like her name is Michelle. She's a mom. She's gone through a lot of stuff. She doesn't know which way is up sometimes. She needs like a sister. And I created this kind of like awareness. And then when you asked it, I was like, oh, this could be magical. Like if we can create the brand to say, hey, Michelle, I think I think I've got a solution for you then that would that and that that alone became magical and then when we first started working together and you started moving into a brand package that was like I mean I remember when you first sent it to me and we were like looking at colors and we were exploring like the rainbow but like Bohemian and then you sent me a record player and I was like Okay. She sees like my old soulness. She sees my like vintage persona. And that was shocking because I don't think anybody had really seen that about me outside of like really, really close friends. And it was shocking. And I was like, okay, I'm willing to pay for this now. Like I want all of this. I want like not just the general package. I want the whole thing because– I also saw you as someone who could move with me as I transfer and transform in the future too. Because I don't want to ever be married to a brand and say this is all I am because I understand that things are temporary. And so I saw you as someone who could take this now and continue to transform it as my brand changes. I'm not always going to be the same person and I'm okay with that. And I think the evolution that you were able to bring me through just in this creation was something that I could see for like an entire lifetime, which was bigger than just paying someone a few thousand dollars to like make something. You know what I mean? It was bigger than that. It was a whole exploration of self. And I felt like it was therapy for me in a sense. Like who am I? Who do I want to be in this world? And

JMM: 20:56

it's so funny because I definitely– on a– a call with a client yesterday. I got a little bit sort of like coachy with her and I apologized and I was like, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that. I am not a coach. I am a strategist. I'm a, but I, but I found, I was, I was really pushing her to open her eyes to some things that I knew she could do better. And it was only because I care so much about all of my, like, I care so much about my clients and, and being able to use my creative gifts to help somebody else grow the thing that they're most passionate about is probably my favorite thing in the whole world of what I get to do.

Marlies: 21:40

Well, you do a great job of it. I watch everything that you do and I'm just like, dang, she did it again. She is so good at this. And I know that's a highlight reel of our lives, but I see... your branding work and think that I would want to hire that person, right? Like even if it's a plumber, like I wanna hire them based on what their graphic says. That's how I receive the world is visually. I'm a very visual person. And if I can't hear the song, I make it up in my head based on what I see. And you were able to see something that I couldn't see in myself, which was huge because I feel like that's all I do all day is exploration of self. Let's think about who we are in the world. And here I am looking at myself going, I think I need to be more colorful. I think I need to be... This bigger brand than I, and I honestly needed you to see what the potential was 10 years from now too, what kind of person am I going to be in the world? If I become a bestselling author, if I do have a show, if I'm on TV or whatever it is that God places me, am I ready for that? And does my brand speak to it? Because I don't want to have to do a quick rebrand in the middle of talking to a publisher. I want to walk in and go, this is who I am. Like it or leave it. This is how I show up. And I feel like that process was, in and of itself, helping me create my brand. I think you even helped me develop my website. And by you creating this brand package, I was able to explore what that looked like in words, too. How does she show up? How does she speak? I've always been a really colorful writer, but I was able to even be more of myself and really give some boldness into my website and my copy. And you were even like, hey, I'm reading your website. You should probably look at this. And it was such a fun collaboration for me to, and it's still happening, right? Like we're still working together and there's more to come. But it was such a cool experience, like really emotional for me to explore what it looked like to become my own solo brand, which was scary. Everyone wants to sit behind, you know, I still have Leadbetter Consulting that I sit behind slightly. But really, I'm just out in the world as Marlise. And that's really cool.

JMM: 24:00

It's so amazing. And I think that one of the things that I loved best about like watching you kind of step into yourself, because you are such a strong and powerful, like, beautiful person, you don't think that when you're an outside person looking in at somebody that you respect so much and admire, you're like, oh, well, she's the most confident person in the whole wide world. But every single person has that place where they're holding back a little bit. And I think that that is a reason why we need other people in our lives or somebody to collaborate with or somebody to work with. I mean, I worked with a photographer recently who really just pulled some of the most amazing things out of me. And that's not something that I can get with a selfie. You know, we all need mirrors kind of to bounce ourselves off of and having that collaboration with you. I mean, working with you grew me as a creative. I loved the fact that that you were also there to share your total truth. Like if I did something that you were like, no, I was like, okay, all right. We tried it, you know, try something else. Like I really felt like, I really felt like we 100% molded this together. And so like, thankful for that.

Marlies:25:26

It was so collaborative, especially when we were going through type font and we were exploring like I, how you took a very simple body font and a bold font and a script font, and we married it together and we actually created it into the logo. It, I have so many compliments and I've obviously referred you to people that are like, I've never even met in person. They like, just love my logo and my design. But I always think, you know, what draws me to read something on, on Instagram or, or a post or like, why would I want to explore this person a little bit more? And a lot of it was the boldness of type font. Like, could I even show my personality through a font? And no one had ever talked to me about that. But I looked at it as when we were exploring that, I was like, oh, yeah, like, I think my personality could be in three fonts. And, like, not to be too specific, but Gilmer, I feel like, is my analytical self. It is slightly rounded. It was just wild how you, like, got me in a font package.

It is like Rogles is still everything, I mean, people ask me about that font all the time and they're like, I love, and I've even gotten bolder with it. Like, right. I used to mix the three fonts together a lot more, but I've been using Rogles more and people are like, they're seeing my post, they're reading it. And even though you have to kind of like, you have to take a second to read it because it is such a bold font. Um, and then the script just kind of highlights it. Like it allows you to see, you know, extra things or, um, and I love it as like a question or a prompt to use the script. It's been really fun for me to play with it. And I've changed the iterations of how I use the fonts over time. Like I've done, I'm probably on my fourth iteration of how I use the fonts. And I think Rogles was always the one that I really wanted to focus on anyways. Um, and then when you, when you put Gilmer and, and the other, I can't remember what the name is... Don't steal my fonts, people!

I want people to feel... creative in the sense that there could be something out there that does speak your personality. And I do have multiple personalities. That is who I am. I was diagnosed bipolar as a young kid. But what I recognize is that it wasn't even black and white. It was so colorful of who I am and how I show up and how I handle the world that I wasn't bipolar. I was just extraordinary. And I needed the fonts to show that. And you honestly gave me the boldness behind the brand that I didn't see for myself because when you were like, how do you feel about rainbow? And I'm like, I don't like color that much. And you were like, but hear me out. I was like, well, I mean, I think I want something bohemian because that's really my house and my vibe. And I love a lot of like greens and blues and pinks and things. And you were like– and the fact that you were just able to pull that out and go, okay– show me some ideas that you like. And then I showed you and you were like, okay, what about this? And I was like, no, I hate it. But what about, but then we toned it down and we went more earth. It was just so cool. And, and I have so many colors of my brand, but it's so much fun to play with because when they all sit next to each other, they compliment each other. But when they're on their own, they stand so firm in their own colors too. And it, and it, and it works with the website. It works with the vibe. Um, And then just the fact that you were able to pull out the pillars of my business by playing on the better. Like that was you, really. What you started us going, well, what about making all these better pillars? You know, you help people feel better. You help people live better. You help people vibe better. You help people do better. And that literally created the entire structure of the brand inside of what you were able to play on. Just highlighting the word better in my name. That was like, and then we focused on lead. And leading people to a better life became the full tagline. And it literally played on the name. But you helped me make it concise and make it showcase on a page where people could go, who is she? And then within one graphic, go, I think I know who she is. And not even see my face. Like that was what was wild about it is like, I look at my posts and go, I'm really happy with that. And before I'd be like, it's so lukewarm, you know? And now I look at my posts and I'm like, hell yeah, Marlise, you tell them.

JMM: 30:05

And I, um, I love to, I like creep on all of like a lot of my past clients. Like I go in there and I'm like, Oh, what are they up to? You know, I just like want to want to see what everybody's doing. And you have by far been one of the most consistent with your brand. And I think that it's because, um, it really helped give you that clarity. And you, once you had this toolkit, you really could, you just ran with it. Um, and still, you know, two years later to this day, you're still creating really beautiful things with it. And that makes me so like I'm like a proud mama bear.

Marlies: 30:40

And I still haven't even used like all of it. Like I have to give like the biggest props because can we like go a little bit left field?

JMM: 30:48

Yeah!

Marlies: 30:50

So if you guys didn't know this, Jess, I asked Jess to create a picture of like If someone looked at something that was abstract, would it tell the story of who I am? And when my mom died, her favorite flower was sunflowers. And she hated tattoos, but in memory of her, I did a whole entire sleeve. I was like, she's not here anymore. It doesn't matter. But sunflowers, they make me so happy and they remind me of my mom. And so I tattooed this whole sleeve after she died. And then I had been stepping into my feminine. I had realized that my masculine was just a protective part of me but my feminine was so much more powerful and she was even stronger than what I perceived to be the masculine power like and I felt like the spirit of me was this like glorious warrior I was just stepping into this so you created this we found some pictures some stock photography and then you added to it and you added all these layers and it had so much depth and then I was like how cool would it be if we made this my like my business card. Like right when you come to the website, you're like hit with like, beautifulness. And it just makes you feel like, That's why I want my soul to look like is just like color and beauty. And then there's like cannabis leaves and mushrooms hidden in there that you can go, okay, she has these tools that she uses. But I really wanted to almost showcase like maybe what my soul looks like or like maybe what my personality looks like, which is kind of all over the place and very combobulated. But like when you see it together, it's so beautiful. And people get my card and they're like, yeah. And there's nothing much on there, right? It's just are you ready to transform your life on the back? And then this beautiful graphic on the front with my name. And whether or not people go to my website and check it out is like not the point. It's for them to see the card and go, this is interesting. It's not like anything I've seen. I'm like, where is my card? I'm like, I want to show it.

JMM: 32:54

So I love your card. They'll just have to go to your website.

Marlies: 32:58

Yeah, they'll have to go.

So what I love about the little intricacies, like one side of your business card with your name on it, and A, the things that you do get to the root. And so here are all of these flowers, florals. They're a production of a root. And you get all the way down into the root, like way deep down. And you help people transform and heal so that they can blossom and so that they can reach their higher self. I'm like literally going to cry. Flowers and those florals, they grow to the sky. They grow to the higher power and they grow to the light. And that's what you do. And we intertwined your name into the florals. So

beautiful. Deep in there, like in there. And, and that's because you have so many different aspects of yourself and you are, you intertwine yourself where it needs to be. You need to be intertwined, and you are intuitive in your ways of going in the direction that you're that the person needs help with. It literally tells a story if you really think about it. Like if you are artistically minded and you can almost see, like you said, what I do in a picture, like who puts an abstract floral, you know, something behind their name, but it works. And people figure it out later. They're like, oh my gosh, your website literally is a graphic Demonstration of what you do. this beautiful artwork and you're just kind of like, I don't even know what she does. Like that was kind of the point too. It's like, I don't even know what she does. I don't know what I do either sometimes. But when you look at it, you're like, I kind of want to explore this. And it's meant to capture the people that are supposed to be captured, right? Like the people that are clinical or want a doctor to tell them what to do or aren't ready to explore their soul. That's not my client. Yeah. It's just not. People that come to me are the people that are like, I'm tired of hitting a wall. I'm tired of banging my head. I need something more. I want to explore it with someone who lives kind of off the grid and not necessarily actually off the grid, but out of the grid of what we see as normal healing. And I'm always questioning people like, why aren't you pushing back with your doctors? Why aren't you pushing back with your therapist? Why aren't you asking for more? Why aren't you exploring the world of ancient remedies? Like, why are we not doing this? And what's keeping you from that? And then let's look at the blocks that you've been taught or that society has told you. Because more than anything, I'm a disruptor. And I feel like that just that picture alone is a disruption for someone who feels off and then they see this beauty of like what the world could be. And I think that even just on a business card can be a disruption. So the way that you saw that was like wild because I've never had someone see into my soul that way, honestly. You even describe it better than I could describe it. Like the way that you put that together. And then on top of that, people are asking for it made into bags and asking for it to be made into wall. I mean, one lady was like, I literally want somebody to make it into a larger format for wallpaper. Like I want it in my bathroom. And I was just thinking, this is so wild. Like this just concept that we came up with turned into Angie's bestselling bag concept. I know. I give it away to people and they're like, oh my God, this pattern is so beautiful. Where'd you get it? I'm like, it's mine. It's literally Jess made it for me and it's the coolest thing. I actually do wish I could fill a whole entire room with it because it's so beautiful. And to have my soul out there like that in a picture or a graphic is so cool. I did not expect that from this experience. I didn't walk away going, I'm going to have artwork that's me, your know?

JMM: 37:45

This definitely speaks to the power of intentionality behind branding and not just making things because they look professional or because they look pretty or because they look, you know, a certain way. You know, it's... Yes, those things are important. It's important for your brand to be attractive. It's important for your brand to be professional and polished. But I really do think that branding is art with a purpose. And in that art needs to be intentionality and soul. And when you build things from the root to the top, If you start with the soul, if you start with the root of the business and the root of the person, then you can get a brand that people can feel. It's electric.

Marlies: 38:37

Yeah. And I would encourage anybody listening to this, like, obviously, Jess was branding a company. Yes. Ledbetter Consulting is a company. And it'll probably grow from that. But for someone to brand a person is very difficult. Yeah. And you might still even just be exploring yourself and have no idea where it's going to go. But I've seen you brand other people. And I mean, I have to be proud to say, like, I love my brand the most. Like, I look at it and go, that's a damn good brand. Like, man, that's pretty. So but yeah. Also, you have to be willing to go through the work with you. Like, you have to be willing to be vulnerable and look at different aspects because, you know, what do you want to tell the world? And for me, it was way bigger than that. I mean, it was like a very long novel that we had to get through, but it turned into something beautiful. And it's something that can continuously transform. Like, it's not– I'm not stuck with anything. I don't feel like it can't be switched out with something else. But– it follows who I am. And that's what was most important because I wasn't authentic. And I teach authenticity and confidence with people. And here I am like hiding behind this like boring thing. And as soon as my authenticity was on the page, it was like, It changed my business. I mean, it's been very successful. The branding has– I'm doing six figures. I have multimillion-dollar clients. Most of them are private. But people are– are witnessing something online that they're not seeing from other people and they're being drawn to me for specific reasons. And that's exactly what I wanted. And it's producing, I mean, a lot of people don't even get off the floor in two months, two years. And I feel like since I, and we even like made it really big, like I'm doing something new and a new website's coming and everyone was excited. I mean, the fact that people were excited about it, like made me feel so special because they had already followed my journey so far. And then all of a the handle. I went back to just using myself, my name. And I was like, who am I? Can I stand behind myself and be this complicated person but show up in such a beautiful way? And that was able to be achieved. And every person that comes to my website that when I bring them on as a client and they hire me, they always say something. Like, Something on your website or the graphics or the pictures or how things– it's a feeling that they get. It's definitely a vibe, right? And like we talked about it, the center of the whole branding was like it had to be a vibe.

JMM: 41:24

Yes.

Marlies: 41:25

It had to be a vibe and we started with vibe. Like what is my vibe? How do I show up? What kind of person am I? I'm this– all these personalities. How do we capture it? It was so cool. And– I look at my website and I'm one of those ADHD people that need to change things all the time. And I go to my website and I'm like, Yeah, it's just really good. I've thought about changing my tagline because we've said, are you ready to be transformed? Maybe we'll switch it to be led to a better life, but it could be interchangeable, right? I could have half my cards say that and half the others. And we say different things throughout the website and somebody reads it and goes, I am ready to change my life. I am ready for transformation. I am ready to be led, right? I'm ready to be coached and I'm ready to not do this on my own anymore because I have done everything through my life on my own. And when I found my community and I found other people that vibed with me, it made it so much easier that I had people I could be vulnerable with, that I had people that could hold me up when I was down. And it made me realize that our healing transformations is something that shouldn't be done alone. And too many people feel very alone in the world. And I think the website even says in so many ways, just through the colors and the graphics, like, I'm here for you. I can hold your hand while you cry. I'll be your strength. I'll be like the great sunflower, right? The sunflower is this like majestic, strong, incredible flower that like, you know, barely gets beat up. I would love to have gone with a palm tree, but they're just not my vibe. Like... Maybe a hurricane analogy is too much to be like whipped around by a hurricane. But yeah, the way it shows up is so cool. And some people get it and some people don't. It doesn't matter. It's what I love. And it's changed who I am as a businesswoman, honestly. And it's made me reflect on like the goals that I made five years ago that I thought were so outrageous that have actually come true. And people that are standing behind me going, if you wrote a book tomorrow, I would buy it in a second. If you had a podcast, I would listen. And so all of those things are about to come. And I'm thinking that's not even the end point, right? Like those were my goals. That's just the starting point now of the bigger goal, which could be a global brand, which could be talking on massive stages. I mean, I don't have anything now that feels like it's holding me back anymore. And that's what that brand did for me, was made me realize my absolute full potential in a spirit way versus just who I am in this body and what I've been told. And that's really beautiful. And I can't wait for you to do the cover of my book. And even tell you like how it's transformed in even the past two months of like we've already changed the name. The story is moving in a different direction again. But that's okay because I'm not in a rush, right? I'm not in a rush to tell the stories. I'm not in the rush to change people's perspectives of the world. And I'm definitely not in a rush with God's plan for me. His timing is bigger than mine. He's outside of space and time. And he or all or she or like whatever you want to say, I feel like that power is– bigger than we can possibly understand, but we're bigger also. And, uh, and now I feel like I have a brand behind me to produce that kind of energy that will make people go. I need to know her. I need to talk to her and I want whatever she has. Um, and that's a good brand. That's what makes a good brand.

JMM: 45:07

I'm so like trying to hold it together here. I just, I want to thank you for your trust, your honesty. I don't have a lot of trust, to be honest. I've been burned. I've been burned so much. But you trusted me. I mean, this is such an incredible, this is just such an incredible story, incredible journey. It's been a blessing and an honor being part of your life and part of your business and part of your the making of your brand. Thank you. And thank you for being here with me today. I hope my brand healed your heart or is helping you. Oh my gosh. Is there anything else that you'd like to add today? Or can you tell everybody that's listening where they can find you and where they can connect with you?

Marlies: 46:15

Absolutely. Well, I've streamlined my access to the world. So I got off TikTok and I got off Twitter X. I just felt like both of those were too much. So I hang out mostly on Instagram. My handle is Marlise Ledbetter. M-A-R-L-I-E-S-L-E-D-B-E-T-T-E-R. Same for Facebook. You can follow me. I post everything public. I really put my heart on my sleeve. So you can kind of follow everything that I'm doing. I'm launching the Be Led Better podcast, which will be coming out very soon. I had a computer crash. So we're just kind of redoing things, which is great because it needed to happen. And then my business is Led Better Consulting, which is all around transformative processes and therapies and utilizing the medicines of So if you're looking for healing, I do offer, I'm mostly virtual, to be honest. A lot of people want to meet me in person, which is extraordinary. It's a great experience. I do make it this whole like retreat, but we can work together virtually. I have clients all over the world. I sometimes have to meet people at 2 a.m. in the morning. And that's just what it is because I want to help transform lives. So I will have a book coming out. I'm not gonna share the title because I keep sharing it and it keeps changing, but Jess will be doing the book cover. And lots of trainings, lots of speaking engagements will be coming in the near future as we build this even more global brand that is all about questioning the world, leaning on your heart, listening to your soul, and connecting to your spirit. we have to understand that our body is many parts. And once you can activate them all together and get them talking to each other and treat yourself with respect and stand into the confidence that you are, you will heal. And it may not be the disease that you want to heal, but you will find spirit healing and soul healing that comes from the process of finding your potential. And you helped me find my potential so that I could help find the potential in others. And who knows what the future is, but I know I'm going to be doing it with you.

JMM: 48:39

I know I'm 100% along for the ride with whatever it is that you will do in the future. Past, present, future, anything. I'm here for it. 100%. Thank you. Thank you for being here with me and spending the time.

Marlies: 48:54

Of course. And I need one of those hats.

JMM: 48:54

Oh, I will. I love a good hat. I'll make you one. I had to make it. Yes. On brand. Yes. All right. Well, that is all for today. And thank you, everybody, for listening and for being here with us and listening to this incredible journey with Marlies. And stay tuned for more transformations.