Today we’d like to introduce you to Orionna Coleman.
Hi Orionna, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
My love for storytelling really began in college. I always knew I wanted to do something that could impact the world, but I didn’t always know exactly what that would look like.
While attending Hinds Community College in Raymond, Mississippi, I took a speech class and discovered that I had a gift for communicating. I loved researching, writing and presenting, and people would actually come to class excited to hear what I was going to speak about. I remember doing a speech on Oprah Winfrey and becoming fascinated by the way she used storytelling and media to connect with people. As I grew, I also became inspired by creatives like Mara Brock Akil, whose work on Girlfriends showed me the power of creating stories that reflected people and experiences I recognized, and filmmakers like Ava DuVernay, who expanded my vision of what was possible through film. Tyler Perry’s journey and the way he built his own platform also inspired me. I wasn’t necessarily trying to duplicate any one person’s path; I was discovering, through each of them, different possibilities for what a life built around storytelling, creativity and ownership could look like.
I eventually transferred to Jackson State University on a full academic scholarship and majored in Mass Communications. That’s where I really began taking storytelling seriously. I loved writing and reporting, and many people assumed I would pursue a traditional career in news. But toward the latter part of my junior year, I participated in the Legacy Media Institute, a two-week film intensive led by renowned actor Tim Reid. That experience introduced me to another side of storytelling, and I fell in love with documentary-style filmmaking and finding the powerful, naturally occurring stories within our communities.
After graduating, my career became its own education. I worked as a newspaper reporter, moved into sales and marketing, worked on film projects, learned the printing and publishing industry, became a radio host alongside my husband, and later worked in communications for a school district. Even while working traditional jobs, I was always creating. My husband and I produced content together, and I created faith-based content and interviewed people through my own online show. Storytelling never really left me.
There was, however, a season when I thought it had. After getting married and becoming a mother, I stepped away from my career for a while. I remember wondering whether the woman who wanted to make films, tell stories and impact people was still there. For a season, I thought becoming a wife and mother meant that maybe I couldn’t also become the woman I had envisioned professionally.
Looking back now, I can see that God was showing me that the gift had never left. Every time I returned to the workforce, I found myself in another role that added something to what I was ultimately building. Journalism strengthened my writing. Sales taught me business. Film taught me visual storytelling. Printing taught me about publishing and production. Radio strengthened my voice and interviewing skills. School communications taught me how to tell the stories of organizations and communities.
Eventually, while pregnant with our youngest daughter at the time, I began looking back at all of those experiences and asking myself what they were leading toward. I felt God telling me that it was time to bet on what He had placed inside of me.
In January 2023, my husband and I took Stori Studios, LLC full-time.
It wasn’t an overnight success story. It took time to build consistent revenue, develop relationships and learn what full-time entrepreneurship really required. We’ve experienced highs and lows just like any business owners, but more than three years later, we’re still here, still growing and still building.
Today, Stori Studios is almost a culmination of my entire journey. We are a media, communications and storytelling company that helps businesses, schools, organizations and individuals tell their stories through video production, photography, social media, branding, communications and other creative services. At the heart of everything we do is a simple belief that has become our company motto: Your Story Matters.
What once felt like a collection of unrelated experiences now makes perfect sense to me. I didn’t lose the storyteller I was when I became a wife and mother. I was becoming the woman and entrepreneur who would eventually build a company around that gift.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Absolutely not! Being a wife, mother and full-time business owner have been three of the most challenging things I’ve ever done—and I’ve been doing all three simultaneously for the past few years.
One of the biggest lessons I’ve had to learn is how to pivot because life almost never goes exactly the way I plan it. I’m a planner by nature, but entrepreneurship, marriage and motherhood have all taught me that sometimes the plan has to change without the purpose changing.
I’ve also learned how to accept failure as a lesson. There have been ideas that didn’t work, opportunities that didn’t happen the way I expected, financial challenges, seasons of uncertainty and moments when I’ve had to ask myself, “Okay, what do we do now?” I’ve learned that those experiences can either make or break me, and I always choose to allow them to make me. I take the lesson, make the adjustment and keep going.
This year in particular, we’ve experienced a lower workload than usual within our business, which has challenged us in many ways. But instead of viewing this season only through the lens of what slowed down, we’ve used it to refine our vision, adjust our focus and plant new seeds for the future—all while preparing to welcome baby number four!
I actually think it’s beautiful how God has allowed me to grow another child while we’re simultaneously rebranding, refining and growing our business. There are things we’re working toward now that haven’t fully blossomed yet, but I believe the seeds we’re planting will sprout beautifully in due time.
One of those seeds is expanding the ways Stori Studios helps existing business owners tell their stories more effectively. We’ve begun offering one-on-one Social Media Strategy Sessions where we sit down with entrepreneurs and professionals, look at what they’re currently doing, talk through their goals and help them develop practical ways to strengthen their content and online presence. We can travel to our clients for these sessions or work with them virtually.
The road hasn’t been smooth, but I don’t think I would have learned nearly as much about myself, my faith, my family or business if it had been. I’m learning that growth doesn’t always look like everything going according to plan. Sometimes growth looks like having the faith and discipline to keep planting, learning and adjusting while you wait to see what grows.
As you know, we’re big fans of Stori Studios, LLC. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Stori Studios, LLC is a media, communications and storytelling company founded on one simple belief: Your Story Matters.
My husband, Kris, and I work together to help businesses, schools, organizations and individuals identify their stories and communicate them in ways that connect with the people they’re trying to reach. Our work has included promotional and commercial video production, photography, social media management and strategy, podcast production, branding and marketing, communications, event coverage, websites and other forms of creative storytelling.
While we offer a variety of services, I believe what we truly specialize in is finding the story behind the service, business, organization or person. We don’t want to simply create something that looks good. We want to understand who you are, why you do what you do, who needs to know about it and how we can communicate that effectively.
That approach has allowed us to work across several industries. We’ve told stories for school districts and educational institutions, businesses and entrepreneurs, community organizations, churches, events and individuals. One day we may be producing a promotional video for a school, another day interviewing a business owner, and another helping an entrepreneur become more confident and intentional about showing up online. The industries may change, but the foundation remains the same: there is a story worth discovering and communicating.
Something we’re expanding right now is the educational and strategy side of Stori Studios. Through our one-on-one Social Media Strategy Sessions, we help business owners and professionals strengthen the way they communicate their own stories online. These sessions can be done in person—we travel—or virtually. We’re also continuing to expand our work with schools and educational organizations through storytelling, communications and media initiatives.
I think one thing that sets Stori Studios apart is that we genuinely care about the people behind the projects. We build relationships. We listen. We ask questions. Sometimes a client comes to us thinking they need one thing, but after hearing their goals and understanding their audience, we realize there may be a completely different way to tell their story more effectively. I believe my background in journalism, film, marketing, sales, radio and organizational communications allows me to look at a project from several perspectives instead of simply approaching it as content creation.
Brand-wise, I’m most proud that “Your Story Matters” has remained true to who we are. It’s more than a tagline. Whether we’re working with a large organization or sitting across from one entrepreneur trying to figure out how to communicate what they’ve built, we believe their story has value.
And as Stori Studios continues to grow, I want people to know that we’re not interested in putting ourselves into one creative box. We want to continue producing meaningful media, helping organizations communicate more effectively, educating people on how to tell their own stories and developing new ways for stories to be seen and heard.
Ultimately, when someone encounters Stori Studios, I want them to understand that we don’t just create content. We help people recognize the value in their story and determine the best way to share it.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
I would say resilience, grounded in my faith.
I’ve learned that success requires the ability to keep going even when things don’t happen the way you envisioned. There have been seasons when business was thriving and seasons when things slowed down. There have been opportunities I was sure would work out that didn’t, ideas that needed to be adjusted and moments when life required me to completely rearrange my plans.
Through all of it, my faith in God has been my foundation. I believe that if He has given me something to steward, my responsibility is to be faithful with it. That doesn’t mean blindly doing the same thing when it isn’t working. Sometimes resilience means continuing, but sometimes it means being humble enough to learn, pivot, refine the vision or try a different approach.
I also think motherhood has strengthened that quality in me. As a wife, mother of three with our fourth child on the way, and full-time entrepreneur, I’ve had to accept that every day will not look perfectly balanced. Some days I’m primarily CEO. Other days my family needs more of me. I’ve learned to give myself grace while still remaining committed to what God has placed in my hands.
I don’t measure success only by the seasons when everything is going well anymore. I also look at who I’m becoming in the seasons that require patience, discipline and faith.
So if I had to choose one characteristic, it would be resilience—the ability to keep believing, keep learning, keep adjusting and keep showing up.
Pricing:
- One-on-One Social Media Strategy Sessions — starting at $100
- Business Story Features — starting at $350
- Professional Video & Media Production — starting at $500
- Customized Business, School & Organizational Services — contact us for a custom quote
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/storistudios?stkn=Y2tlN3Bjem51ZGg4&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1C68LsFssS/?mibextid=wwXIfr
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@storistudios?si=v_3jAbocvHvL-IfL
