Persistence and Grit in Running a Portrait Business
Lesson 41 from: Building Your Family Portrait BusinessTamara Lackey
Persistence and Grit in Running a Portrait Business
Lesson 41 from: Building Your Family Portrait BusinessTamara Lackey
Lesson Info
41. Persistence and Grit in Running a Portrait Business
Lessons
I LOVE Photography and I Want to Make Money
11:34 2From Photographer to Business Owner
21:15 3Building Your Business To Fit The Life You Want
07:01 4Business Is Business
08:03 5Creating a Simple Business Plan - What To Know And What To Skip
14:29 6Branding And Identity
11:24 7Significance Of Constantly Marketing
11:37 8Social Media Marketing
08:05Internet Marketing
14:04 10Q&A
49:40 11Building Your Own Portrait Space
09:03 12Starting From Scratch - What Matters And What Doesn't
26:26 13Creating a Dedicated Shooting Space
18:00 14Studio Spaces Q&A
15:51 15Money Is A Good Thing
08:27 16Spending Your Money Strategically And Tactically
23:31 17Cash Flow
10:00 18Track Your Margins
07:50 19Understanding Loans
04:41 20Legal, Insurance, Tax
13:02 21Raising Your Prices
12:17 22Investing In This Business
05:22 23Money Q&A With Audience
34:02 24Intro To Websites
01:48 25Building And Launching A Website
11:20 26How To Use Your Website For Marketing
20:19 27Converting Viewers Into Customers
09:56 28How To Showcase Your Portfolio
10:21 29Website And Portfolio Critiques
35:01 30Getting Control Over Feeling Overwhelmed
09:35 31Developing A Workflow For Laser Sharp Focus
23:55 32Maximizing Productivity With Software And Applications
34:47 33The Benefits Of Mono Tasking
05:15 34Setting Expectations For The Shoot
08:09 35Live Shoot: Interacting with the Client During the Shoot
33:44 36A Sales Walkthrough
20:38 37Obstacles To Selling
16:15 38Common Challenges Q&A And Hot Seat
33:32 39The Most Common Challenges In Running A Portrait Business
09:41 40Handling Criticism
17:16 41Persistence and Grit in Running a Portrait Business
07:11Lesson Info
Persistence and Grit in Running a Portrait Business
Let's talk about what it means to be persistent. And what it means to practice grit. You guys all have heard, right, just stick with it, you've gotta be persistent. What do you think the difference is between grit and persistence? Intentionality. Intentionality. Pushing through no matter what. So persistence is, I'm gonna do it no matter what. I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna do it. And in so many ways that's great. We talk about persistence with sales, right? Trying again a second time, a third time, and a fourth time. But grit. Many people will tell you that grit is the magic formula. 'Cause grit means I'm gonna try, I'm gonna try, but I'm also gonna take a break now. I need to take care of myself. I need to rest. I need to give it a minute. I need to actually stop going down this path, 'cause it's not really working for me. This revenue isn't worth my effort. Then I'm gonna try again, I'm gonna try again, I'm gonna try again. Grit means I'm always...
moving forward, but not relentlessly, at the point where I'm not actually stopping and taking account and taking stock of where I am. I have not been super persistent in my work, but I have practiced grit. I've stopped, slowed down, reevaluated, made sure it made sense, moved forward some things, dropped other things. Practice grit, conserve your energy. Minimize the friction of those you work with around you. Find the most effective and efficient ways to do it. Make sure you're working on the right things. And treat your energy like the precious commodity it is. Keep moving forward, but do it with a lot more of intentionality. A lot more care for yourself. And better focus and direction that you can keep evaluating as you move forward. And oh my goodness. Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness! Just get started. Let me tell you something, if you haven't started yet, or you haven't done the next wave, let me tell you something that's gonna make you feel significantly better. No one's gonna notice you anyway. When you first start. When I logged the domain name tamaralackey.com, and I uploaded my first picture, guess how many people noticed that I was now in business? I had to ask my mom, "Can you just take a look at this?" Nobody. Nobody noticed. And they didn't notice for a while. They didn't notice for a long while. Get started. CreativeLive. Seven years since I've been here. Do you know how different CreativeLive is since November of 2010? To what it is now? Completely different operation, different sets, different building, different structure. CreativeLive when it first went out, it was great. CreativeLive now is great. It's changed. It's progressed. It's changed tactics, it's expanded, it's been more specific about things. It's not like it sucked back in, but it's different and it's change, and they went out right away, before they had it all figured out. Because they didn't need to have it all figured out just to start. And they adapted and changed along the way. Do you remember when Amazon went out? It was just books. Remember? Amazon.com, we sell books. And then they said, we think we're gonna get into a bunch of other things. Like, you're a bookstore. What else could you get into, Amazon? Just get started. Figure out the rest as you go. One of my favorite quotes from Reid Hoffman, who started LinkedIn, he's a venture capital guy, with Greylock. Reid Hoffman said, "If you're not embarrassed by the first product, you waited too long to launch." If you're not embarrassed by how you started, you waited too long to start. My first website is humiliating. But I started. Because here's the other part of that. Some people will say, gosh, I don't even know how to get started. How many people here feel that way? Like I wanna get started, I don't even know how to get started. You actually do know, you just took two pages of notes. You do know. You know what the first step is. The first step is gonna be the one thing that you feel like you should have to work on the most. Maybe it's launching a website, maybe it's narrowing down your portfolio, maybe it's defining your identity and your brand. Maybe it's managing your own self doubt. You know what the first step is. You're just confused about the one after that. That's the part that you haven't figured out. But you know what the first step is. Does anybody here not know a first step to take? You all know how to get started. You're just not completely clear on what to do next. And by the time you start, clarity sets in. You then know what to do next, because you find the direction and the focus, 'cause you started. You figure out what the second step is. And because I know all of you are gonna be very clear headed, you're all going to start, you're gonna make decisions and committed. Committed to the process and committed to the final product, and committed to your brand. You're also gonna practice grit. You're gonna give a crap about what trolls think, and what the background noise is, 'cause you're gonna keep focused on what you know you can do. And you're all gonna become consummate professionals. I wanna remind you of one other thing. You wanna remain an amateur. You know what's great about an amateur? They love what they do. They're so passionate about this, they're only doing it 'cause they love what they do. You're only a photographer because you love taking photographs. You're an amateur, not saying you guys are, but you're an amateur 'cause you love taking photographs. As you progress and you get the structure in place, you're gonna be professional, and you are turning it into something you exchange for money. Congratulations! You got money, you're in business. So you're gonna be a professional. Great. There's a lot of good reasons to become a professional, we've gone through a ton of them in the last two days, and you can build an entire life turning something you love into a profession. But the most successful photographers out there are professionals who remain amateurs. 'Cause the second you're just doing it for the money is the second you get a lot worse at it than you think you are. 'Cause it's a commodity trade, and it's not you being so passionate, because you love doing this. Which brings us to our final point. Do not forget who you are in the thick of all this. Who you are, what you're worth, what you're capable of. Who's the engine in your business? (Audience member murmurs) Yeah, just you. (laughs) You're the engine in all of their businesses. (Audience murmurs) Tying back to brand, identity, focus, everything we've gone through for the last couple days, you cannot forget who you are in the thick of all this, because who you are is the key to making all of this happen.
Class Materials
Bonus Materials with Purchase
Ratings and Reviews
a Creativelive Student
This course was fantastic. I learned more on what I need to improve and change in my business. I especially liked learning how she balances all the things in her life. She is a fantastic teacher who keeps you engaged throughout the course. Thank you creativelive and Tamara for producing such a great course!
user-5731db
I thoroughly enjoyed this class, Tamara Lackey is an amazing individual and trainer! I loved what she said about not letting ourselves be diminished by someone else's narrow view... This class touches on many business related topics, I had many "aha" moments and feel excited and committed to tackle various aspects of my business in small steps!! Thanks for sharing so much of you!!!
Heidi Mikulecky
Tamara Lackey is engaging, energetic, knowledgeable and humorous. This two day class is perfect for artists who have creative skills but need development with business skills. I expected this class to be all business, but I was pleasantly surprised that she delved into the physical (studio space), mental and emotional barriers (confidence) that hinder photographers from reaching their goals. Some of my biggest takeaways from this course are not only the business tips but also life lessons. Such a great class!!