Ep 71. IT Girl Energy, with Olivia Bossert
Nourish Your Brand · Episode 71
Today I'm joined by Olivia Bossert, a photographer and artist who spent around 15 years in the fashion industry before pivoting into personal brand photography. She's the woman behind the IT girl concept, and I promise it's not the version you're picturing. She's redefined it into something far warmer and more grounded.
We get into how she made the pivot, the inner work that came with it, what an IT girl actually looks like in real life, and how that energy plays out in her shoots. Olivia and I have already worked together indirectly (I rebranded Rachel Emma Waring, Olivia shot her), so I've seen the magic up close. Let's get into it.
Redefining the IT girl (the words come before the visuals)
When Olivia pivoted, she needed an identifier for her ideal client, and a messaging coach gave her "IT girl". She hated it at first, all old-Hollywood, celebrity connotations. So she sat with her journal and redefined it for herself: an IT girl is someone kind, fully embodied, going after what she wants, not afraid to be herself.
The moment she shared that definition, everyone lost their minds, and the accidental personal-development side of her brand was born. This is branding 101, by the way: a word everyone thinks they know means nothing until you define it on your own terms.
It's exactly the words-before-visuals work I start every project with, the strategy in Episode 11 and the kind of clarity a Brand Recipe session is built to pull out of you.
The pivot: doing the inner work first
Olivia knew she wanted out of fashion long before she leapt, and was in denial about it because she'd done the job so long. The shift only came when friends like Rachel started asking her to shoot their brand photos, and she had the "oh my God, I'm good at this" realisation. Her method once she decides something: sit with it for about a month, then go all in. O
vernight her content changed, but it was terrifying because nobody in her new world knew who she was. That brought up everything about visibility and feeling comfortable being seen, which she worked through with journaling and hired coaches. Nobody does the brave version of their brand entirely alone, and that's not a weakness.
Show before you tell
Before she went after personal-brand clients, Olivia did a shoot of herself, and realised she'd never had intentional photos taken in 15 years. It was so fun and so confidence-building that it became the proof of concept: she had to be the example. You have to show before you tell. She still uses those images a year on to lead by example. The lesson for any service business: be your own best case study.
Your brand is the most visible proof of what you can do for someone, which is the whole reason I tell people to brand their signature offer properly in the Offer Oven. Olivia's "IT girl experience" is itself a beautifully branded signature offer, and that's no accident.
Leading clients out of the fear zone
Most of Olivia's clients aren't models, so insecurity comes up hard: the fear of being seen, of looking silly, of not knowing how to pose. Her answer is to take all the pressure away. You don't need to know how to pose, that's her job.
On the day there's a warm-up, she demonstrates and gently moves people into position, and they shoot straight to a computer so the client sees it working in real time and instantly relaxes. Music, a carefully chosen kind and empathetic team, and removing decision fatigue (they'll always ask what you want, but make confident suggestions when you don't know) all do the heavy lifting. People arrive as one person and leave as the elevated version of themselves they already were but hadn't let themselves feel.
A strategy session, but for photos
I loved how similar Olivia's process is to branding. Before any shoot she runs an "IT girl vision session", asking where you're going, whose imagery you love, which magazines you adore, and the visuals just start arriving in her head. She'll pull up Pinterest live on the call, then turn it into a beautifully designed proposal, books the team, location, stylist (the brilliant Sophia Bailey, who's also been on the podcast) and even the food, so the client just turns up and gets pampered.
That preparation is exactly why the results land. It's the same reason I never skip strategy: get everything out of someone's head first, and the output practically designs itself. If you want that done for your whole brand, that's the Brand Kitchen.
Nourish yourself first
This one hit home. As business owners we make endless ambitious plans and forget the joy, and forget to fill our own cup. Olivia's whole message right now is looking after yourself so you can be a better business owner, put your own mask on first. Self-care can be tiny: a deep breath, getting dressed in an outfit you love even though you work from home. She also made a "manifesto for joy" (now a free mini-class) about deciding how you want to feel every day.
er single biggest nugget: understand how you want to feel above all else, before what you want to look like or earn. Anchor everything in that feeling and the rest works itself out. I felt this last year when I went into ostrich mode, and bringing back the small things (matcha in a nice mug, doing my nails) genuinely changed how I showed up.
Ask yourself this week
What word or label about your brand could you redefine on your own terms?
Are you being your own best case study, showing before you tell?
How do you want to feel in your business every day, and what tiny thing would get you there?
About the guest
Olivia Bossert is a photographer and artist who brings 15 years of fashion-industry experience to high-production personal brand photography, helping women create imagery with a fashion edge. She's the creator of the IT girl concept and the IT girl experience shoot, and is launching her first art collection. Find her on Instagram @oliviabossert and at oliviabossert.com.
Related episodes
Ep 45: How to style yourself for your brand, with Sophia Bailey
Ep 2: Why your brand feels bland (and the ingredient that fixes it)
Ep 11: Brand strategy: how to build the foundation of your brand (Branding Pie Part 1)
Resources mentioned
Olivia Bossert: oliviabossert.com and @oliviabossert
Brand Recipe – my 90-minute session to get your brand strategy clear before the visuals
Come say hi on Instagram: @studiocoya
About the host
I'm Aiza, the brand chef behind Studio Coya, a branding studio with a food-themed twist. I help established coaches, creators and service providers brand their signature offers so their best work looks as good as it actually is, and sells like hotcakes.
