October 2019. I told myself I was going to start a photography business and make it work. A lot has happened in 4 years. Today, I’m breaking down my 4 biggest lessons from running a creative business for 4 years.
Over these years, I've stumbled, pivoted, and learned immensely....
I
’ve been told countless times that when I start making money from photography, I’ll start to slowly hate it.
This scared me.
When I was starting my photography business 4 years ago, I loved walking around and taking photos in the streets of Chicago. This was my favorite hobby and I...
Let’s start with a reality check: There’s no secret to success. No hidden formulas or shortcuts. Successful people often lay out their game plan in books, courses, coaching, or speaking on stage. It's all out there.
Many people say that can’t be true because if it were, everyone...
Do you ever feel like you're drowning in client requests, project specifications, and email threads that seem never-ending?
Trust me, I've been there.
I’ve had clients tell me they want to work with me in the future, and because I was disorganized, I forgot to follow up.
I dropped the ball....
As someone who's deeply ingrained in the world of creative freelancing, there's been one game-changer that I've been itching to discuss with you: the iPhone 15 Pro.
For years, phone cameras (iPhone and Android) have been getting really good.
But this year it feels like everything has culminated...
Have you ever avoided reaching out to a client because of a fear of rejection?
This is something that I struggled with every day early on in my freelance career. I would be scared to reach out to a potential lead, and the next thing I knew, they were working with a different photographer.
I...
How I Make Tough Decisions
They say the quality of your decisions shows you the quality of life you’ll live. The older I get, the more and more I agree with this.
Each day, we face hundreds of decisions.
Do I hit the snooze or get out of bed?
Do I order takeout or make something at home?
Do...
100 newsletters in 100 weeks. It's kind of crazy to think of how far we've come since the first one.
The goal of this newsletter was simple.
Share the creative business knowledge that allowed me to grow my business.
My mission is to make creative biz education more accessible. There's a...
First, we need to understand the value behind our rates. Now pricing is its own beast and beyond the scope of this newsletter, but let’s scratch the surface.
When you set your rates, it’s not a random number you pull out of the sky (well, sometimes it is).
At its basic level,...
“How do I find my niche?” is one of the most common questions I get in my Instagram DMs.
The truth is, this doesn’t have to be complicated.
But there is a difference between just finding a niche and finding a profitable niche.
Luckily there’s an easy formula to...
Have you ever had the client end the partnership seemingly out of nowhere?
You deliver great work, and they're getting great results, but they want to stop working with you.
I've been there.
After this happened for the third time, I dug into it and actually managed to re-sign the client for...
Let me be real with you. I used to struggle to stand out in the crowded space of photography and videography. I felt like I wasn't attracting enough clients. And the clients I was attracting had low budgets and were a nightmare to work with. Then a mentor showed me this strategy. Something...