3 Ways Branding Photography Gave Me My Life Back

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And how to reclaim yours too!

3 Ways Branding Photography Gave Me My Life Back

While this blog title may seem dramatic or give some the inclination that there is ONE single answer to life balance as an entrepreneur I wanted to first start out by saying this isn’t the case – however, there are certain things that work together amazingly and introducing branding photography as an offering in my business was a BIG move that perpetuated more positive, life-giving changes that I didn’t even know could come from a business shift. Let’s dive in!

Maintain A Stress-Free Booking Calendar Without Sacrificing Weekends!

In South-Central PA, like most places in the US, there is a definite busy season and slow season when it comes to photography. Six years ago, when my work consisted of Weddings, Families and Newborns only, I thought that I “had to” be okay with the hills and valleys of bookings because that was the nature of the beast.

Having solid workflows in place, I could serve my clients well and I welcomed the time off even though I had no idea too far in advance when that would be and rarely (with shooting weddings and families) would I have an entire weekend off unless I blocked it off a year in advance.

After implementing Branding Photography and booking clients on a subscription-based model a whole new world opened up for me. Not only did I “automatically” have clients on the books for 4-12 shoots vs 1 per year, but I also was able to spend less time and energy into marketing efforts constantly finding NEW clients. I could redirect that time and put it into serving the same client more!

And the best part? I could do this ALL during the week while my children were at school and my husband was at work! Weekends aren’t a necessity for business owners schedules, in fact most of them are busiest on the weekends or are closed completely! With our littles getting bigger I desperately wanted to protect my weekends where we could have quality family time and not seemingly only seeing them through the rush of weeknight homework, baths, practices, dinner – you get it.

If I want to work on a Saturday to do a beautiful wedding for the sweetest couple or celebrate a new little life now, it’s a choice, not an obligation to meet a revenue goal. Stress-Free Calendar for me to serve better? Yes, please!

2. Create Consistent Cash Flow And Gain Financial Freedom

Remember those hills and valleys I was talking about? Before becoming a branding photographer I would need to spend extra time budgeting from the busy season to carry my business through the slow season. Everything worked out just fine – but here again, I was having to spend extra unnecessary time triple checking that there was enough revenue to bring me through until the next season began and nobody likes that game.

Now having branding clients on board, cash flow looks quite different! Instead of revenue coming in once per client, it was coming in evenly throughout the year quarterly or monthly! This not only allowed me to serve clients more but has enabled my own business to grow and achieve more BIG PICTURE dreams. I’ve even been able to bring on team members to take care of elements within my business that are their areas of genius so that I can focus on the future of JFC. The entire reason I could feel entrepreneurship racing through my veins as barely a 20 something.

3. Discover Untapped Joy in Raising Up Other Businesses

I started my photography business straight out of college, literally taking every photography course RMU offered PLUS taking more at Pittsburgh Filmmakers downtown to fill absolutely every elective. My internship and independent study included coming up with a 5 year business plan so that the day of graduation I could start immediately with a solid plan for the future.

I was made for this and so are you!

Being a small business owner seemed to be running in my blood and getting to work with other entrepreneurs was an appealing exciting change of pace and spoke to my community over competition soul, but man I had no idea how much it would just blow me away!

After my very first branding session I was PUMPED! I’m pretty sure I didn’t sleep that night.

We weren’t just creating well lit imagery, we were –

Talking about vision casting
I learned who their clients were
Dove in deep to what messages we were trying to portray
I got to hear how they started
See where their business currently is now
Witness what drives them and help them carve out their future!

All from serving a small business – just like mine. WHAT?! Gosh, just reading that again makes my heart beat faster!

When you’re a photographer and all your content consists of professional photography you almost start to see that as normal, but when you open your eyes to the world around you there are SO many business owners who are doing amazing things or have created wonderful products who are lacking one thing that is holding them back from exploding within their industry – professional images portraying how incredible they are. And, I get to serve them.

Wondering if you should give Brand Photography a shot?

(See what I did there?)

Let’s make a quick assessment by being honest with ourselves and see if you have thought or said any of these statements.

I’m bringing in enough revenue and constantly feel like I’m on the hamster wheel.
Branding photography sounds amazing, but I’m not sure where to start.
I’m feeling stuck in my business with no way to move forward while cashflow is at a standstill.
The feeling of constantly finding new clients is exhausting.
I feel like everyone else has it together while I’m riding the struggle bus.
I’m not sure if what I’m shooting is a good fit for me.
I feel like I HAVE to have weddings in my business for me to have the life I want.

I’ve got you!

If any of these statements resonated with you, no worries! I’m right here with you and for you. REALLY! I’m always only an email/voice dm away and have been working tirelessly to help other talented photographers just like you serve the community they love and cultivate a life they deserve.