Meet Hazel Imogen | Founder | Creative Director | Brand Consultant | Mentor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Hazel Imogen and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Hazel, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
This is a big one for me and something I feel like is a huge part of my story. I used to be a big-time workaholic. I hung my hat on how hard I worked, my job title, and my salary. It felt like an addiction- once I reached a new level, I didn’t stay to enjoy it and was already planning how to level-up once again. While this did accelerate my growth in my career as I continued to climb, I lost my weekends, wasn’t showing up in my relationships, and was told by multiple doctors I needed to be better at managing my stress. To be honest, while I was in it, I didn’t see a problem and I was proud of my success and where I was in my career. What the doctor called “stress” I believed was better deemed my “blessed” internal motivation. It took getting fired for me to really take a step back and notice this lifestyle was not sustainable.

Getting fired, at the time, absolutely crumbled me. It was genuinely a moment where I felt so lost and questioned everything I was worth – I realize how dramatic that sounds. In those first few months, I was forced to take things slow. Working on a few freelance projects, getting back into the gym, traveling, cooking, and seeing friends again, I was re-discovering a part of life I didn’t realize I was missing. I physically felt a weight off my shoulders and no longer woke up in sheer panic. It was uncomfortable to feel so comfortable and moving at this slower pace. I had to rewire my brain and habits to figure out this new day-to-day balance.

Balance is now a core pillar in life and running my business. Working from home can create a blurry line between work and play, but I try hard to make sure there is a defined separation. I carve out uninterrupted time for myself, shut the computers down at the end of the day and find ways to wrap work around my life schedule. When I’m working, I’m giving it all I’ve got putting in the effort that helped me climb the ladder earlier in my career. Running a business is a ton of work and energy- easily something that could consume your life. There are certainly weekends that I still work, or evenings that I have to put in a few extra hours but I make sure to find counterbalances to that. The perspective I gained through what I experienced really taught me the importance and showed me the necessity of balance.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Two Parts Studio is a branding and creative-strategy studio invested in rad creative, inspiring people, and driving business growth for venture-backed startups. We focus on brands in health, wellness, travel, and positive change. I have worked for over 10 years in big agencies, gaining substantial experience leading teams and working with ‘corporate’ and mid-sized clients. I found that with these larger scale clients, creative briefs were tight, and the creatives weren’t able to flex their abilities. However, when working with clients in the start-up world, they were much more receptive to pushing creativity and letting the experts do what they know best. That’s the energy I wanted to bring when I opened my own studio. I work with a network of trusted creative experts to build a customized team for each client we work with.

Business-wise, I am learning more and more every day. I think if we as entrepreneurs knew just how much we’d need to know before starting, it would be too intimidating to take the leap. The point is, you deal with things as they happen, you learn, you apply, and you grow. I won’t lie and say it’s easy, but the alternative is what…going back to work for someone else? Nah. My biggest advice is to invest in hiring people you can trust to do the tasks that allow you to focus on what you do best. Always reinvest in yourself. If you’re confident enough, it’s a sure shot.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Love this question, there’s so much I would need to pack into the week! There are endless things to see and do in LA, which is part of the reason I wanted to move out here. I’m a big brekkie burrito fan; I’ve compiled a whole list and ranking system of my favorites in LA, so most friend visits start off in a similar way: Head over to the Arts District, grab a cream top from Maru, then head to Guerilla cafecito for the GTLA burrito (currently my #1 ranked).

The rest of the week, we’d likey do most of the following: pack a picnic for a beach and sunset in Malibu, hit a hot yoga class at Kinship in Highland, take my dog to Dog PPL in Santa Monica, check out a comedy show, hike in the Los Angeles mountains, drive around the different neighborhoods of LA, and hopefully find some shows or events to pop into.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
A lot of growth comes from overcoming hurdles or challenges. I became a stronger, more resilient person, entrepreneur and creative through them. I know I wouldn’t be as successful as I am now without going through those experiences. I do feel lucky to have had additional support throughout my career in my family, friends and co-workers who have continued to help shape my success. I recognize what a privilege this is. I am privileged to have access to a good education, to have a supportive family and network, and to be white. Recognizing privilege is important, unfortunately it’s not always the case that hard work, talent and drive will get you ahead in life.

My family, to start, have always encouraged me in my creative endeavors from a young age. When I said I wanted to leave highschool to go to design vocational school they helped make it happen, when I said I wanted to go to art college it was a “hell yeah”, every move I’ve made has been met with support and enthusiasm.

My friends and co-workers have been the ones who continue to keep me motivated and inspired. I surround myself with other successful and stimulating people, we have conversations that fire me up and keep me excited with what I’m doing. I think it’s crucial to have a knit of close friends that keep you charged and are doing things that amaze you and call you to higher. There have been co-workers throughout my years in the industry who saw something in me and made sure that I was included in opportunities to keep accelerating forward. I’m still very close to a lot of these ex coworkers, some of whom I knew from my first job out of college and we collaborate on projects still to this day.

Website: www.twoparts.studio

Instagram: www.instagram.com/hello.hazie

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hazelimogen/

Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@hello.hazie