The Client Who Taught Me About Visibility
In a previous post, I wrote about how I landed my first client without a website.
The takeaway?
Visibility matters.
I learned that to grow, you have to be everywhere, all the time.
During the pandemic, I showed up daily on every platform I could — posting, connecting, and reaching out directly on Instagram and LinkedIn.
I took Zoom calls, met in person when possible, and stayed consistent. That persistence led me to my first client: Middleburg Life magazine — a relationship that continues today.
That single opportunity opened doors I never expected. It introduced me to a world of local creatives: business owners, artists, and thought leaders who were doing incredible things right in my own backyard.
Persistence paid off.
It also gave me something else: hope during the darkest days of the COVID pandemic.
One of the people I had the privilege of meeting through this work was Linda Jane Holden — the author of The Gardens of Bunny Mellon, and a woman who completely shifted my perspective.
Before our interview, I had never heard of Bunny Mellon. I had no idea how significant her contributions were to American landscape design, or how her quiet elegance left its mark on history, Bunny Mellon’s redesign of the Rose Garden was a key part of Jacqueline Kennedy’s vision for a more elegant and inviting White House.
A former Reagan administration staffer and a White House Garden historian, Linda met Mellon several years ago and was inspired to write not just one, but several books about her life, her gardens, and her style.
I was lucky enough to interview Linda about these books — first for The Gardens of Bunny Mellon and later for Bunny Mellon Style, a stunning coffee table book that captures the understated brilliance behind Mellon’s designs, from landscape to art, horticulture to home decor.
As Tory Burch, wrote in Bunny Mellon Style:
“Restraint brings attention to the integrity of design, just as it does to any creative expression, whether it’s how you decorate, entertain, or how you dress. With a symmetry to everything she did, Bunny Mellon’s perfectly imperfect approach to her houses, and gardens, is a triumph of restraint.”
I had an opportunity to work with Linda multiple times because I had genuine interest to be present and connect.
The lesson?
You never know who you’ll meet, or how your first “yes” might change everything.