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

Hi Joe, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Being in a creative industry, I always felt the need to have the freedom and flexibility between business and my personal life. Since I graduated with an AAS in Graphic Design and a BFA in Illustration from the University of Arizona, the rigid constraints of a 9-5 never made sense to the right side of my brain. Instead, I work 24/7 on my own business haha

When I met my wife, Stephanie in 2011, she had recently graduated from Northern Arizona University with a BS in Photography and that’s when we started working together in her photography business, Steph E Photography, which focuses in high school seniors and she was voted Top 100 photographers in the US by Senior Style Guide for 2018-20, then slowed down a bit after we had our baby in 2022. In 2017 I became a licensed Realtor with Keller Williams and saw how much is missing in the ways of branding, marketing, photography, and visual representation in general in the real estate industry. The leader of the market center– shout out to Chase Delperdang– knew my background and asked if I would be the dedicated designer/marketer/photographer/videographer for the Keller Williams Tucson offices and Clique Visual Marketing was born. So it really came full circle. I brought in Stephanie to help do some real estate photography with the goal to help elevate the real estate industry and empower agents with great visuals, social media marketing/marketing plans, and up their professionalism.

Today, my wife and I have recently hired someone to help out as we begin to get more and more contracts with bigger teams to help them fill the gaps and add more value to the agents within their teams.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Growing up, art has always been a part of my life. I’m proud to say that I have had a lot of mentors and even peers who have pushed me and shared their knowledge to help me get onto the road for success. It turns out that that road isn’t straight, it’s pretty windy. I feel like I have barely scratched the surface of where I need to be. My personal life is so rewarding and there is little I would change, however on the business end of things, I’m still ravenous for growth. It’s a tough thing to pull away from the technical side of day to day things, like real estate photography or design, and move into a bigger leadership role to focus on growth as we begin to hire more people and delegate more day to day activities. I’m sure I’m my own pediment to growth, needing to get out of my own way. I have to trust the process and business models that work.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Since I’m in Tucson, we would definitely have to up to Mt. Lemmon Cookie Cabin, which is only about a 45 minute to an hour drive up the Santa Catalina Mountains– they still have a lot of snow up there from recent winter storms. Pima Canyon has a fantastic hiking trail, which isn’t too strenuous and has beautiful views. The Tucson Hop Shop is a great little pub to replenish and drink up some carbs. Their owners and staff are amazing. For Dinner, we’re going to the Mercado San Augustine Annex, which is a market made from old shipping containers filled with rad little shops and restaurants. For a little dessert we’d hit Frost Gelato at the outdoor mall, La Encantada. And finally for a delicious weekend brunch at Charro Vita for some of the tastiest chilaquiles I’ve ever had.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I definitely couldn’t have done this on my own. I’m extremely lucky to have a supportive family who, I’m sure thought it crazy to run my own business and supported me anyway. Of course, my wife, Stephanie, always has encouragement and is an integral part of the business. Whether it’s going to photograph a home or gassing me up when I’m running low, I couldn’t do it without her because we both ultimately do it for our daughter.

The next person who deserves recognition is Chase Delperdang, who was Team Leader at Keller Williams Southern Arizona and now CEO with Team Integrity, who, with his vision for the market center, allowed me the space to grow and organize Clique for the agents.

And finally Tom Krieger with the Tom J Krieger Team, a 45+ year real estate veteran who saw potential in my real estate photography and marketing business and really has pushed me to grow into where we are today.

Website: https://www.cvmre.com/

Instagram: @cvmrephoto

Other: I produce and occasionally star in a real estate podcast called, Nitty Gritty of Real Estate Podcast- here is a recent episode that I was in: https://youtu.be/seuXLUWfIuA

Image Credits
All photos taken by Clique Visual Marketing

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutArizona is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.