Portia & Cleo Studio (2026)

03/06/2026

The Main Character Series — Prompt 03:

The Behind-the-Scenes Truth.

We’ve been taught to market the highlight reel. The launches. The wins. The before-and-after.

But audiences don’t fall in love with the highlight reel. They fall in love with the realness underneath it.

The middle of the story — the part where you’re tired, figuring it out, problem-solving in real time — is where trust gets built.

It is the part of your story that turns followers into clients.

Here’s your prompt: What’s the unglamorous, behind-the-scenes part of your business that no one sees — but that you wish they did?

Here’s how to turn it into a post:

Name the part of your work people don’t see.

Give one specific, sensory detail.

Name what it really takes — emotionally, physically, logistically.

Connect it to why your work is worth what it costs.

A main character isn’t defined by their best scene. She’s defined by the scenes no one was supposed to see.

Show your audience what it takes. They’ll trust you for it.

01/06/2026

Every brand begins with a narrative.

Not a logo. Not a color palette.

Not a perfectly curated feed.

A story.

The most powerful brands are built at the intersection of two things: the founder’s journey and the audience’s needs. When those two meet with clarity and intention — that’s where strategy becomes something people actually believe in.

That’s the work we do at Portia & Cleo.
If your brand is working hard but not quite landing, it might be time to start at the beginning — with the story.

→ Link in bio to start the conversation.

28/05/2026

Apparently business cards are controversial now. 👀

I recently had someone tell me that if you make a strong enough first impression, people will remember you — and you don’t need a card.

And honestly? Sure. Maybe they’ll remember me.

But will they remember my website? My Instagram handle? My email?

Why would I ask someone to do that work when I can just... hand them everything they need? I’m here to solve problems, not create them. Making it easy for people to find me is part of how I show up.

As a designer, my business cards have always been a statement. They’re the first physical experience someone has with my brand — and I don’t take that lightly.

My brand new cards just arrived from and they are showstoppers. (More on that soon.)

Tell me — what team are you on?

And if you’ve been thinking about designing a new showstopper of your own, this is your sign. I offer business card design services, and I get 20% off all products — savings I pass directly onto you. DM me today to chat about how we can get you into the hands of more clients.

27/05/2026

The Main Character Series — Prompt 02: The Belief You Defend.

Every main character has a stance. A line they won’t cross. A truth they are willing to stand alone on.

For founders, that’s your conviction. The belief you would defend in any room — even when it makes someone uncomfortable.

It’s also the thing most of us quietly water down in our marketing. We soften our edges to stay likable. We blend in so we don’t risk losing anyone. And we lose the very thing that would have drawn the right people closer.

Here’s your prompt: What do you believe about your industry, your work, or your audience that you would defend in any room?

Here’s how to turn it into a post:

Open with the belief itself. One sentence.
Name the common wisdom you’re pushing back against.

Share a short story or example that shaped it.

Tie it to how that belief shows up in your work.

Your audience isn’t looking for a brand that agrees with everyone. They are looking for a brand they can believe in.

Main characters don’t blend in. They take a side.
BrandStorytelling

26/05/2026

In the last two weeks, I have had the privilege of sitting across from some of the most talented, driven, visionary female founders I have ever met.
And I have to call something out.

In nearly every conversation — unprompted, almost reflexively — the figure came up. Six figures. Seven. The number spoken like a credential, like proof of belonging, like the answer to a question no one had asked.

And I kept thinking: why do we do this to ourselves?

Because not one of those women lit up when she said the number. But every single one of them lit up when she talked about her clients. The transformation she witnessed. The problem she solved that no one else had thought to solve quite that way.

That is the story. That is the legacy.

We have inherited a model of success that was never built for us — one that measures worth in revenue multiples and growth percentages, that asks us to perform ambition in a language that has always felt slightly borrowed.

We’ve been taught to count our worth in commas. What if we started counting it in the people who are different because of what we built?

I am not suggesting revenue doesn’t matter. Of course it does. But I am suggesting it is among the least interesting things about the work you are doing — and perhaps the least useful thing to lead with when you introduce yourself to another woman who is building something meaningful.

You are not your figure. You are the founder who solved the problem, changed the trajectory, told the truth no one else was telling.

That is what I want to hear about. That is what endures.

20/05/2026

The Main Character Series — Prompt 01: The Moment Before.

Every main character has an inciting incident. The moment that sets the entire story in motion.

For founders, it’s the moment right before you decided to start your business.
Not the polished origin story you’ve rehearsed. The real one.

Where you were sitting. What you couldn’t say out loud yet. What was no longer working.

Most founders skip past this moment in their marketing because it doesn’t feel “professional.”

But it’s the most magnetic part of your story. Because it’s the part your audience can feel themselves in.

Here’s your prompt: What were you doing — physically, emotionally, professionally — in the moment right before you decided to start your business?

Here’s how to turn it into a post this week.
Write something short that drops your audience straight into that scene. No backstory. No setup. Just the moment.

Use this four-line structure:
    1    Open with one sensory, specific detail. (“It was 11pm on a Tuesday, and I was sitting in my car in the Target parking lot.”)
    2    Name what was happening underneath. (What you were feeling. What you couldn’t say out loud yet.)
    3    Name the shift. (The thought or quiet realization that changed something.)
    4    Tie it forward. (One line connecting that moment to the work you do now.)
This is borrowed from screenwriting.

Open in the middle of the scene. Trust your audience to follow.

Main characters don’t explain themselves. They show up.

One post. One memory. One scene from the story only you can tell.

If you write one this week, tag me. I want to read it.
—

18/05/2026

Here’s my mic drop moment. You might disagree — and I’m completely okay with that.

For the last five years, female founders have been handed the same script.
Buy the course. Follow the formula. Replicate the algorithm. Be like her, and her, and her.

But the women we were trying to copy didn’t build their empires on a formula.

They built them on story.

On the unscripted moments. The behind-the-scenes truths. The parts of themselves that made us feel something real.

What they sold us was a formula. What actually built their brands was their humanity.

And the reason copy-paste makes most of us feel worse?

Because we are not all the same person. Trying to replicate someone else’s personal brand will never build your own.

So I’m starting something new.

Introducing The Main Character Series.
A free series for founders ready to put the script down and step into the lead role of their own brand.

Each post: one prompt to help you uncover the story at the heart of your work, plus one actionable way to bring it to life online.

No gatekeeping. No courses. No “secrets” sold back to you.

Just the quiet, powerful work of building a brand that actually sounds like you.
Follow along. Your story is already enough. Here - every Wednesday 🤍
—

15/05/2026

Building a brand that lasts isn’t born from a moment of inspiration. (Oomph)

It isn’t the rush of securing your handle. It isn’t buying the domain at midnight. (Yep- been there once.)

It’s the work nobody sees.

The deep story work. The emotional work. The late nights asking who am I actually building this for?

The brands that stand the test of time aren’t built on what the founder thinks is cool, what feels right in the moment, or what the algorithm rewards this week. (Timeless not Trending)

They’re built on audience first. Always.

They trademark. They study. They listen before they speak.

They build for the person in the front row — not the mirror.

If you’re serious about playing the long game, ask yourself:
→ What does my audience need to feel?
→ What would make them stop scrolling and say this is for me?
→ What connects — not just converts?

You are one piece of this picture. (Seriously - no vanity metrics here)

Your audience is the whole frame. (Period.)

Build accordingly.
📸 .co

14/05/2026

Behind every successful and vibrant community is a story worth telling.

When the Mercer Island Chamber of Commerce set out to launch Explore Mercer Island — their new tourism initiative timed to the opening of the light rail — they didn’t need more content.

They needed a narrative. A story that would capture the soul of the island, draw visitors in, and give local businesses the spotlight they deserved.

Together, along with Behind Your Scenes Co., we built it.

✦ 21,353 accounts reached ✦ 97,448 views across the campaign ✦ A leading reel that climbed past 13,800 views (.co is a creative genius)✦ 132 new followers for Explore Mercer Island ✦ 120 new followers for the Chamber

But the numbers are only part of the story.

What I’m most proud of is what Jen, the Chamber’s CEO, shared about the process:
“She was a pleasure to work with — organized, responsive, and supported by systems that were intuitive and seamless to use. The entire process felt effortless from start to finish.”

This is the work of Portia & Cleo. Not just content — narrative. Not just campaigns — launches that feel as elevated as the brands behind them.

If your brand is ready for its next chapter, I’d love to talk about your strategy → portiaandcleostudio.com (link in bio)

Portia & Cleo Studio

03/06/2026

01/06/2026

28/05/2026

27/05/2026

26/05/2026

20/05/2026

18/05/2026

15/05/2026

14/05/2026

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