Season Media is a brand and business now but in 2016, it was nowhere near it. 

 

While sitting in a media room on the campus of Morgan State in 2016, one of Stephen-Michael’s mentors was joking and said that it’s “StephenSZN”. That joke was funny but it stuck. With an upcoming SGA Election coming up, Stephen-Michael changed his social media handles and even used it as a hashtag. During these few months, he was indirectly introduced to the power of the brand name and social media branding.

 

During the summer of 2017, Stephen-Michael used some of the internship money to get a few logos made. But here’s the thing, he had no clue of how or why to use them. So he got shirts made to wear around campus and used the logos on stationery and in emails. With this moment, Stephen-Michael learned the importance of making one’s brand visible through physical branding components.

 

Around this time, Stephen-Michael’s brand “StephenSZN” started to stick across the campus of Morgan State and other places as well. Through social media posts, networking, and being active when needed; the impact as being made.

 

But as 2018 came around, Stephen-Michael had to figure out the purpose of his brand. And once again, things aligned in Stephen-Michael’s favor. Stephen-Michael used his internship money again, but this time to buy a camera. Around this same time, Stephen-Michael started to write for two nationally known sports websites. And to top it off, he took on two major social media roles for his local church at the time and Morgan State’s Student Government Association. 

 

For nearly a year, Stephen-Michael juggled many creative gifts. This includes: social media management, branding, photography, sports writing, and his true love of graphic design. Although the momentum was great, Stephen-Michael wanted to fully take advantage of what he brought to the creative table. 

 

So on July 1st, 2019; Stephen-Michael rebranded to “StephenSZN Media” and officially started his creative business. During this time, Stephen-Michael faced the true difficulties of running a creative business. This season of his life was a learning stage for sure. It was tough but forced Stephen-Michael to improve across the board. As 2020 started, a change was needed. After praying to God in March of 2020 about increased business and direction during a trip to New Orleans, Stephen-Michael knew what he needed to do: Revamp and Pivot

 

Stuck in his Baltimore apartment due to the pandemic, Stephen-Michael got to work. He revamped his business name to “SZN Media”. He took his first name out to fully represent the purpose of this business, to bring people’s seasons to life. With this pivot, Stephen-Michael had much success in 2020, even in a pandemic. 

 

As time moves on, Stephen-Michael understands that the timeline between StephenSZN to SZN Media, LLC was a time when creative seeds were planted and they grew into major aspects of his business.

 

As SZN Media shifted its location to Northern New Jersey and New York City; Stephen-Michael added a new layer to the brand.

 

In March of 2021, Stephen-Michael announced the “Season Foundation”, a community organization that would run in parallel to SZN Media. In Stephen’s mind, it is SZN Media but in a community-oriented format. Its basis is to teach digital and media skills to minorities; as well as collaborate with community leaders. It is Stephen’s goal to make sure that SZN Media, LLC is beneficial to his clients, as well as his community. 

 

Currently, SZN Media offers Branding, Graphic Design, Photography, and Marketing Strategies.