I’m Val Creager, a lifelong entrepreneur, creative, teacher and founder. For 25 years, I’ve built and run small businesses while learning firsthand what it takes to do the work you love, while somehow managing everything else that comes with it.

A defining part of my professional journey for more than the past two decades has been building my portrait and branding photography studio. But along the way I’ve also been an educator, designer, multi-business founder, nonprofit board chair and community builder. I have degrees in Psychology from NC State (Go Pack!) and Education from Meredith College, which shaped the way I understand people, communication and connection far beyond the classroom.

Decades of building businesses have given me firsthand experience with branding, marketing, imagery, websites, systems, technology, client experience, communication, and all the other pieces small business owners are somehow expected to know. I’m still learning, too.

That’s exactly why I built Brandthology: because we shouldn’t all have to figure everything out from scratch. We’ve created a community where purpose-driven business owners have the tools, resources and support to simplify how they work and create brands and businesses that connect, grow and thrive in a way that feels aligned and sustainable.