Are you curious how I grew my brand photography business from $27,000 in sales to over $100,000 in just one year?
Let me start by saying it’s things I already knew to do (and you probably do), but either 1. I didn’t believe it would work, or 2. I didn’t prioritize it.
Before we dive into what I did, here is a quick backstory in case you have no idea who I am.
In 2007, I started off as a wedding photographer. Let me rephrase. A struggling wedding photographer.
On the outside, I looked successful, but the reality was that I struggled to get bookings. In fact, I doubted that I was really cut out to be an entrepreneur.
My clients raved about my photos and the client experience I provided. Even then, I barely received inquiries, and my closing rate was low.
For years, I wanted to leave weddings and pivot to branding.
I got a taste of branding photography in 2010, photographing Indian wedding decor for a luxury company, but I got reeled back into weddings, specifically Indian weddings.
By 2015, I had established a reputation as the go-to Indian wedding photographer in Tampa Bay. I was working my tail off and was feeling burned out…again.
I finally had enough in the spring of 2019 after missing over half of my son’s baseball games. It was time for a change.
A BIG change.
By the fall of 2019, I launched my brand for my branding photography service. I thought I would have to continue booking weddings for at least two years before I could replace my income.
I knew that to stop booking weddings in less than two years, I would need to take a different approach to running this new business.
Growing A Personal Branding Photography Business to 6-Figures
Below, I’m sharing what I did to stop taking on weddings in one year:
No. 1 – Personal Growth
Want to know what the secret sauce for growth is for your business?
Personal growth.
The saying is true—what got you here won’t get you there. To grow to the next level, you must think differently, act differently, and have different beliefs.
Want different results than what you currently have? Now is the time to show up differently.
No. 2 – Create Priorities & Boundaries
Getting caught up in the day-to-day activities and even our to-do lists is easy.
Because of this, we feel overworked and undervalued and wonder if we’re even cut out to be business owners.
Setting boundaries will protect our priorities and give us the ‘permission slip’ to say no to anything and everything that doesn’t keep us on track with our priorities.
Saying no leaves room for the hell yeses.
No. 3 – Understand Time
Knowing how long it takes you to complete any task in your business is vital to obtaining and maintaining a work-life harmony.
Understanding time ensures that you are pricing yourself correctly, delivering your promises, and keeping you only working on tasks that actually move the needle in your business.
Hello, CEO mindset.
No. 4 – Niche Down
I know…you’ve heard this a million times…I did too, but the truth is, when you’re talking to everyone, you’re really talking to nobody. However, there is a huge misconception about HOW to niche down.
When you hear about niching down, you are most likely being told to narrow down to a particular industry or career.
The problem with this approach is that even though they may be in your ideal industry, that doesn’t mean they are your ideal client.
Example: I previously niched my business down to confident, luxury real estate agents. I brought in a ton of really awesome agents that I have loved working with. However, there were some agents with whom we were just not meant to work together.
So, how do you solve this problem to bring in ONLY the people who are a perfect match for you?
Niche down to the energetics of the person you want to work with. More on this topic is coming soon.
Energetic Niching Brings Alignment
No. 5 – Create an Irresistible Offer
Niching down will help you better understand your ideal client’s struggles and goals.
This helps you create an offer that gives them the desired transformation.
When you show them that working with you gets them to their desired destination, it’s a no-brainer to work with you.
Now your offer sells itself instead of you selling the offer
No. 6 – Client Journey
It’s our job to serve the client, and we do this through our clients’ journey from the moment they inquire to delivering a gallery of on-brand images and beyond.
How we show up for our clients determines if they want to work with us again and what they tell others about us.
Your client experience is going to make or break you.
No. 7 – Under-Promise and Over-Deliver
Under-promising and over-delivering stems from your client journey.
It doesn’t take much, but giving a little extra time, energy, or even something physical can make your clients feel like they are more than just a number in your business.
I mean…Who doesn’t love surprises?
No. 8 – Build Out Systems
Are you looking for work-life harmony? – Systems are how you implement it.
Ready to create a show-stopping, referral-driving client journey? – Systems are how you implement it.
Do you want to work less and make more money? – Systems are how you implement it!
But what systems am I talking about? Email templates, workflows, and automation.
No. 9 – Invest In Yourself AND Your Business
You are not alone and don’t have to figure this all out by yourself.
Can you do it alone? If you really want it, you absolutely can. However, working with someone who has already figured out a system will get you there faster.
Combine that with investing in yourself (body, mind, and spirit) – well, now you’re propelling yourself even further.
A rising tide raises all ships.
No. 10 – DO NOT HAVE A PLAN B
Nothing will push you more to figure out how to make something work faster than having no other options.
A Plan B will only give you excuses not to push through the hard times.
Remove the option and put your focus on making it work.
Is this resonating with you? If yes, here’s something you need to know.
There is no one-size-fits-all.
You are unique, and the details of what you create in your business should be unique to you.
I’m not here to give you a cookie-cutter system.
I’m here to show you the foundations you need to build a business that aligns with who you are, what the best way to work looks like, and how to implement it in your business.
So you can adapt no matter what.
Now What?
Option 1 – Take this information and run with it!
Option 2—If you’re open to it, Schedule a call with me to review your business. Click here to schedule your call.
Last but not least…Join other like-minded photographers in my free Facebook group – Scale Your Brand Photography Business, where we talk shop about all things photography business!
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