By Lakeem Wilson | NaturalBorns Studios LLC
Lakeem Wilson Founded NaturalBorn Studios LLC in 2009, the top global community brand for designers and creative professionals and an inspiration destination for over a hundred million people every year. I enjoy empowering creatives around the world to make a living using their NaturalBorn gifts. Our mission is to provide support for artist at every stage of a creative's journey; whether that's freelancing, selling their physical and digital goods on our NaturalBornstore.com marketplace, or being hired by some of the world's leading design-forward companies.
As the founder (Lakeem Wilson), when I was a Fine Arts student at The University of Texas in 2010, I had to pick between having a huge impact on the small cultural student organizations, or having a huge impact on the entire campus. Our school’s motto at UT was “What Happens Here Changes The World.”, So I created Beams Worldwide - a social creative brand where I get to do both. As part of a highly collaborative and like minded team, I work hands on with urban and black cultural communities, while also developing one of the world's top visual art brand
At Beams WorldWide, we serve a global community and we empower a diverse team visionaries to do that successfully. We believe that Black Elevation Always Motivate Society, so BEAMS Worldwide provide an accessible cultural experience, and if you need a community of creative and like-minded individuals throughout the networking process and beyond, please let us know. We're dedicated to fostering an inclusive and diverse environment for members from all walks of life.
We’re building a fully remote team WorldWide. We believe that creative collaboration is a global concept, and practice that by combining thoughtful collaboration, frequent communication, and the freedom for people to be their authentic selves, you can do your best work and inspire others to do the same.
My Role As A Brand Director
As the Brand Director for NaturalBorn Studio’s BEAMS Team, I lead some of the most impactful creative, marketing and branding initiatives for our portfolio of art. In this role, I get to grow and lead a team focused on elevating and transforming the strategic direction and positioning of NaturalBorn Studio’s portfolio of art physical and digital art, and I create leading go-to-market campaigns for new product releases.
I work closely with the Beams Team to shape the overall strategic brand and growth narrative of the company, and I help bring new products to market, ensuring we hit our product adoption and revenue goals. Our Beams Team are experts on our product, they know our customers and competitors, and how we articulate NaturalBorn Studio’s value and position in the marketplace. I collaborate with the product, sales and performance marketing teams to integrate our brand marketing strategy and voice into highly thoughtful and refined landing pages and campaigns that tell the stories of Black Culture; elevating our society, community, and preserving stories. We will develop the plan to allocate and align our resources to a strong brand purpose, then manage the execution of the plan.
I help our team excels at managing exceptional mastermind groups, where we gather to dialogue about messaging, marketing strategy and how to capture the culture. I take pride in driving consistently thoughtful strategy, storytelling, and execution workshops, and I can inspire and advocate for marketing excellence across the entire organization. I am a leader who is highly creative, both highly visual and conceptual, yet also highly results driven and analytical, and I have proven cross channel experiences that has elevated results for global brands.
How Will I do it Within 6 months? :
I’ll begin to catalogue and direct the strategic vision for NaturalBorn Studio‘s collection of art and published books, from concept to execution, and will establish and reach my target audience, by setting the quality bar for compelling narratives, stories, and copywriting about Urban Black Culture.
I’ll present workshops about the creative business and share my expertise about market trends, cultural education, design tips, creative advice, and market growth drivers.
I‘ll take ownership of the conceptual development and execution of creative ideas —including producing and communicating story driven concepts, implementing illustrations and motion graphics, and developing thoughtful and innovative design solutions through print and digital mediums.
I'll help build a mentorship team of designers, copywriters music producers and branding experts while collaborating cross-functionally with other community leaders and influencers as needed.
I’ll apply my insight and experience to set the tone for our brand and partners; we believe that Black Elevation Always Motivate Society, from sharing the vision of how we want to shape the future, to communicating and delegating the plan amongst the youth, and solving the work in a deep collective and meaningful way.
My Responsibility + Team Duties:
I Take an Active Role in defining the Customer Experience.
I Inform and Participate in executive decision-making team on marketing, product, and branding strategy.
I Collaborate with professional leaders across several organization in the community including Youth Outreach and Education, Creative Marketing, Book Publishing and Product Branding.
I Lead content strategy masterminds, including the production of videos, landing pages, blog posts, emails, social posts, and partnership outreach materials.
I Partner with Sales Team to ensure we hit our revenue goals; by arming the sales team with beautifully designed sales collateral to developing innovative ad campaigns for new products.
I Act as editor-in-chief of NaturalBorn Studio’s portfolio catalog, developing brand positioning and ensuring consistency across all properties and outgoing communications, websites and digital channels.
I Research and Explore best in class design solutions and relevant cultural touchpoints. You will define and integrate the Dribbble voice, mission, and brand into creative work.
I Focus on evolving and iterating on both visual and narrative brand guidelines ensuring they are innovative, on-brand, on-trend and tone appropriate.
I Draw on your entrepreneurial spirit and drive to continuously innovate to lead the marketing team to creative excellence.
I Hire coaches, leaders and managers, and board members, and encourage collaboration and professional development of your team of designers, branding specialists, copywriters, and contractors.
LakeemWilson.com Tangible Resume Qualities
I have 10+ years of proven experience in marketing and/or branding roles.
I am a compelling storyteller with a strong strategic and analytical mindset.
I‘ll take ownership of outcomes end-to-end, continually refining and delivering the company's narrative.
I have A growth mindset: I seek the best (but sometimes not the easiest) solutions, with an unwavering commitment.
I am proactive in identifying the root cause of issues and developing creative solutions.
I inspire breakthrough thinking and continuous improvement.
I practice a mix of creative and analytical thinking.
I am data-driven, customer-focused and brand-obsessed.
I have an ability to define and simplify scope in a way that helps everyone arrive at a deeper understanding and appreciation of the work.
I have ability to prioritize and execute, based on what will be most impactful to the business.
I have stellar leadership skills.
I can articulate goals and employ outstanding leadership and team building skills.
I help elevate the quality of our team’s work, and evolve the skillsets of those around me.
I communicate with honesty and kindness (and creates the space for others to do the same)
I fosters connection by building trusting relationships.
I have a clear vision, and can align my team around common objectives, and foster commitment to deliver.
I have high integrity, consistency in my work, and a clear and visible set of values.
Benefits
At NaturalBorn Studios LLC, we’re developing a diverse team dedicated to learning, teaching, and growing; as individuals, as a creative group, as a business, and as a community. As a workplace, we pride ourselves on doing right by our partners, and employees and have a benefits package that makes being a part of the NaturalBorn Studios team a dream job and something to be really proud of:
100% remote: so you can work where you feel most comfortable and inspired.
Stay healthy: generous medical and dental for both you and your dependents.
Relax and unwind: with plenty of paid vacation, and paid sick time for when you need it.
Paid volunteer days: for you to spend giving back to non profits/organizations that are important to you.
Celebrate: we observe both US and Canadian holidays - and a whole week of rest in December.
Family leave: Paid time off for when your family grows.
Save up: put pre-tax savings into a 401k/RRSP - we’ll match a portion of your contributions.
Fitness fund: to help you feel your very best.
Equipment fund: so you can deck out your home office.
Monthly coffee budget: Grab that latte - it’s on us.
Learning and development: Keep growing with paid courses, books, and conferences.
Hang out: we get together at least once a year for some in-person face time.
Pro tools: MacBook Pro (or Air) and all the tools you need to do a great job