Getting my first customers

As an adrenaline junky, I have never been afraid to jump out of an airplane, base jump off of a tower, snowboard off of a cliff or challenging tall peaks in the backcountry with my snowmobile. I am and always have been the perpetual kid. My motto was Take Risks, Play Hard, Have Fun.

My best friend became very ill and needed someone to stay home with her indefinitely. I wanted to be the one to help. I had to figure out how to be there full time and stay alive financially. During my trips skydiving, my friends and I would experiment mounting video cameras to our helmets to record our jumps and acrobatics in the air. I noticed others doing the same with cameras. We all couldn’t wait to look at the pictures when we were done. I quickly became fascinated with video and photography.

I was thinking about my friend one day while I was plunging to the earth, the skin on my face flapping violently back and forth. (Which makes for a fantastic photo by the way) I was having a spiritual moment with Mother Nature and God when it all just came together. I remembered that my absentee dad had been a school photographer. I now knew what I could do to stay home with my friend and still pay the bills. I put my passion for photography to work. It turns out that my motto was applicable to more than one area in life. I needed to take a risk, which was starting a business that forced me to sell all of my video equipment, snowmobile, dirt bike, mountain bike and anything else I could think of. Of course this broke my heart but I had to pay for the equipment for the new school photo business. I knew it was for a good reason and of course I said a few words to each item before they left my life.

I set up my office in my home so that I could be available to help my friend with her daily needs and for emotional support. This was a good move for me too because she has able to support me in this adventure and give me advice from a different perspective. Playing hard turned into working hard and having fun turned into having fun while working. I love taking pictures of children. It turns out that my child like attitude works wonders to get the kids to smile. The teachers at the schools often tell me that they have fun watching me with the kids. And the parents call to tell me that since my company has started at the school, their children have the best smiles in their photos.

Starting a new business will bring many challenges that must be overcome to find success. My first and biggest challenge in all of this was getting my foot in the door at schools. This was very difficult for me because I didn’t have a large resume and I am a bit shy. Not a great salesman! I was so nervous to go to a school and ask for a meeting with the administration whom had never heard of me. I felt like I had a pace maker in my heart that was going haywire before each meeting. I had been sent away over and over because I didn’t have a large reputation. I needed to give them a way to get to know me without them having to take a risk on choosing an unknown as the school photography company. I decided to offer my services and hold a fundraiser for the school by hosting a family portrait night. This would give them an opportunity to see my work and my commitment. After a handful of these family portrait nights, I was in. And so my business began. I managed to turn my biggest challenge into a success. I have decided to continue to give back to the schools since I know that our schools struggle financially. I give a percentage of my profits to each school at the end of the photo season. I have had another challenge that has proven to be very important to my business. It has been good decision making with my profits. I have had to restrain myself to not turn around and spend the first money I made buying back my beloved toys. I decided that I should reinvest in my business. I needed more equipment and employees to get bigger and better paying contracts. This was one of the smartest things that I have done.

Now I am five years into this and my business is growing in my community. I am even getting word of mouth business now. I feel good about myself for the first time. I was always doing odd and end type of jobs and being selfish with my time. My friend is slowly doing better and has told me that she couldn’t get through this with out me. I know that the schools appreciate the funds that they receive. When they say thank you to me I find myself feeling thankful to them. The saying, you get more back than you give is true. I am the lucky one. And as my business continues to grow, I know that I will soon be able to fill the empty reserved spaces in the garage with new toys ready for new adventures.
 

Advice for others

I would like to give the advice based on what I have learned so far. I definitely don’t know everything but am committed to continue learning throughout this.
 

So hear it goes…
 

Take a Risk on your ideas. We all have ideas for a great product or business and they will come to fruition if you act on them. Something different may develop that you had envisioned but first you must take action. The universe will help you along.

Always reinvest in your business. Keep funds in reserve so that they are available when you must have them to keep your business up and running while you are growing.

Do your homework. Continued education will help you have new ideas and allow you to always come up with new products and services for you clients.

Give excellent customer service. Think: How would I want this handled if I were the customer. This can set you apart from your competition.

Have all of your bases loaded so you can hit a Grand Slam!!!