What advice would you give this photography business?

I wanted to share this with you … I talked to a mum today who has set up her own business, inspired by what she heard and learned during The Confident Mother. Amazing in itself, right?

Anyway, her business has been running for 4 or 5 months … she’s a photographer, and she’s brilliant. She’ll be there at my book launch.

She wanted to talked today because she’s feeling overwhelmed. She’s trying to balance expanding her network of “mummy” contacts (toddler groups, pre-schools etc) to get more family portrait photography to bring in income while really wanting to do what for her is more creatively satisfying i.e. commercial product photography. However to get those jobs you need to demonstrate experience, build an impressive portfolio, nurture a different set of contacts. She was struggling to know how to market her services to two different audiences.

We talked about her photography style … she doesn’t do ‘ordinary’ portrait photography. She enjoys photography which is more creative, more arty – family photos outside or in black & white. She recognises that she needs to stand out when she talks to people. To tell more people what she does. To have a ‘sticky’ story so that she is remembered more easily. To become known for a type of photography.

It is hard at the beginning of any business journey. She is absolutely passionate about photography. She didn’t consider herself ambitious when she had a corporate career but as a photographer, she wants to stand out. She wants to be noticed. She wants to be the best she can be. And that’s her passion talking, and I love it!

We discussed her business goals – being very clear on your goals, on what you want to achieve and why can make all the difference. Focussing on one thing at a time – at this stage in your business career, it almost doesn’t matter which thing, as long as it is one thing. And of course, I shared with her my favourite action sheet on dealing with overwhelm.

Towards the end of the conversation, she said to me “It’s been so helpful to talk this through. I’m feeling so much more control already.”

So I’d love to hear from you? What advice would you give this fledgling photography business so that she feels less overwhelm and more confidence?