Wherever you see Sophia’s marketing assets for her wedding and lifestyle event calligraphy business, SophScript Co., you will notice a delicately drawn lemon sketched in black positioned behind the capital letter S.
Why the lemon? She loves the color yellow. It represents joy, happiness, beauty, innocence and, of course, sunshine to her.
When you meet her and stand in her presence, you will experience all of those through her essence and the way she talks, laughs, and listens. Just be on the receiving end of that bright thousand-watt smile and you will know what I mean.
A lemon also tastes and smells refreshing to her as it lifts the flavor of everything it touches. Yes, lemons are a great metaphor for what Sophia brings to life and her calligraphy clients.
Her core branding message for her business is, “because you deserve to be seen, heard and celebrated without limit.” And so, it is.
Sophia has always known that being creative would be a part of her story. Growing up with Nigerian parents, though, she thought she would have to wait until she retired from a “real job” before pursuing it seriously.
However, in college, Sophia stumbled upon her first art side hustle creating calligraphy – painted graduation caps for seniors. She caught the entrepreneurial bug, and shifted toward weddings — her favorite kind of celebration.
Her first live art gig was also in college while volunteering at Penn Presbyterian Hospital. She live painted on canvas for patients of the hospital where the finished piece was later gifted to one of the staff members.
All this led up to Sophia creating SophScript Co. to expand her artistry while she finished her Master’s degree. And today, she works in education research as she builds her wedding & lifestyle event calligraphy business to add beautiful, meaningful moments to celebrations globally.
In February 2022, Sophia and I met at an industry event where one of my clients introduced us. We talked all evening and a few weeks later began working together to assist her in building structures, systems, and an entrepreneurial mindset.
One of her first immediate successes was collapsing the time frame of her goals when it came to finding a new apartment closer to Los Angeles. What she thought would take a while and hard to find due to her budget, became a lesson in upgrading her wealth consciousness (how she felt, thought and acted around money) and manifesting her desire.
“I recently moved deeper into LA County for work, and, at first, the apartment search was a nightmare. Everything within the budget I set, either had me sharing with a bunch of other people or was sad to look at. I could have settled, unhappily, in any of those options. Depending on the day, if I saw a gorgeous place above my budget, I would either be inspired or frustrated. This went on for weeks.
We talked about it, and I recognized that I was letting worry and stress suck any joy out of the process. It wasn’t until you reminded me to be open to believing the right spot was out there, that I took full stock of what I already had and what I could accomplish. I was able to bump up my budget and find a dream location in less than a week. Out of the 7 other offers the owner had, she picked me,” says Sophia.
What followed was a new job in education research shortly after graduation and the apartment finding. All within one month!
“We broke down some of my wildest dreams into actionable steps. Marla was an accountability partner that wouldn’t let me postpone my goals for a later time,” remarks Sophia.
Creating a new relationship with money is a vital part of all my entrepreneurial programs. If we as entrepreneurs are in business to earn a profit, our relationship with money is best suited to be empowering and that of worthiness. Sophia did remarkably well in transforming her old money story.
“I’m now comfortable charging what I’m worth, and I don’t have to explain them in fear that someone else doesn’t see the same value. Marla helped give me the language to be able to address “price shoppers”. It weeded out those who couldn’t afford my work and made others immediately understand the value of my work.”
I witnessed so many breakthroughs in the six months of coaching with her. Bright. Ambitious. Kind. Highly creative. And so deserving of her success!
Why calligraphy? She wants clients and guests to feel that spark of love, attention, and recognition when they see their names. This is the essence of the hospitality she brings. Although escort cards, place cards and gifts are certainly part of her beautiful services, it is the live art experience she favors.
“Guests get to watch their names being written or engraved with care. That’s why live calligraphy has become my signature offering for weddings, corporate events and brands,” smiles Sophia.
Sophia sets the bar higher for being committed to manifesting desires in a shorter time frame than logically assumed. She beautifully transformed her old mindset of limitation to one of belief, uncertainty with faith, and unlimited possibilities. She is willing to be more loyal to the excitement of manifesting her desires, rather than lean on settling for less.
“Changing your thoughts & beliefs will change your life. Whenever you get discouraged (because it may creep up from time to time) remind yourself of all the ways you are exactly suited for the thing you want to do. Our brains like to find and maintain patterns. Once we tell our brains what to believe, it will keep it going, allowing us to feel confident about it. Relive the mountain top moments in vivid detail. Read clients’ gushing reviews. Recall the reactions to your talent and hard work. Stay connected to the people who encourage you. Your brain will take it from there,” says Sophia.
You can hear Sophia’s interview on my Follow Your Joy podcast from last year. Listen in here or go to Spotify, Apple, Stitcher, Google or YouTube – Episode 5.
