I’ve been there as a new headshot and branding photographer in Boise, ID. However, I want to challenge you to see that starting over can be an opportunity to pivot and do new things, take on new challenges and use this time to research and fine-tune your products and services in your business.
In 2021, I relocated with my family from Dallas, Texas, to Boise, Idaho. We decided to move across the country for both my husband’s job and an opportunity for my twin boys to attend a smaller high school. This pivotal decision meant walking away from my business, my life in Texas, and everything I’d ever known. I had spent seven-plus years building a highly sought-after headshot and brand photography business. I had invested a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into developing what was then a thriving business in Dallas. I honestly didn’t know how I would start over again or if it was even possible. But I had to try!
Starting Over as a New-to-Boise Branding Photographer
I arrived in Boise on May 25th, 2021, with a plan to share my knowledge as a branding photographer and not know anyone in the city. As I began rebuilding a business from the ground up, I encountered many others who were struggling and in the same situation. Men and women who had left everything they had known to start over personally and professionally. I soon realized that we were all in this together.
Today I want to share with you some of the valuable lessons and insight I have gathered along the way. I hope sharing the lessons I’ve learned will help others shift to a new market or start over in the second phase of life after leaving the corporate world. Over the next few weeks, I am starting a four-part blog series to help those new Boise business owners navigate the process of creating and building a business from scratch. It’s kind of my “Starting Over In Boise” playbook.
Starting Over to be a Branding Photographer: The New Business Playbook!
Before moving to Boise, I had been a headshot and branding photographer for years. I had the honor of working with numerous medical professionals, real estate agents, and legal professionals, helping them develop their brand strategy and tell their brand’s story through high-quality imagery. I helped them create strong business photography that accurately portrayed their marketing message online. Dallas is a fast-paced market where businesses move at lightning speed, and everyone is always looking to level up on their marketing by emulating the influencers in their industry.
Boise, in contrast, is a smaller market with a laid-back, individualist lifestyle. And that mindset carries over into the local businesses. Many companies take a more traditional approach to their marketing and business photography, and many still rely on in-person networking and less on digital marketing. I realized that doing business here in Boise as a headshot and branding photographer would look different, and I needed to adapt my entire marketing strategy. To do this, I needed to double down my market research and find my niche, wherein they looked for both a photographer and a brand strategist.
When developing a playbook of how to restart your business in a new market, there are three things you need to keep in mind especially when you’re a branding photographer
1. Your Ideal Client or Audience.
Who is your ideal client, and who are you marketing to? How do you speak to them in a way that will grab their attention? These are super important things to consider as you are thinking about who your audience will be in your new market.
2. Your Message.
Your message is your marketing materials, and you need to have a clear and concise message of how people can come to you for help and what your zone of genius is. Your message must also be clear, connected with your audience, and aligned to the offer you are leading them to.
3. Your offer.
The offer is the product or services that you provide. This is the problem that you solve for your audience. How can they come to you for help? What’s your zone of genius, and what type of transformation will they experience working with you?
Align these three key tips and you will have an effective strategy that will help your clients more. My goal is to help you think through these in the following post. As someone who works as a branding photographer I will share what I did for my business in Boise and the process I worked through to develop my new audience, message, and offer.
In the following weeks, I will dive deeply into the three parts of my “Starting Over as a Boise Business Coach” Playbook. We are going to look at how to find your audience, how to do market research and develop offers that are attractive to a new market, and how to bridge your unique audience to your new offer with the proper messaging.
Stay tuned in the coming weeks for our three-part series and steps you can take now to start growing your business in a new market.
I look forward to learning and growing with you in the coming weeks!
BRANDING | HEADSHOTS| BUSINESS COACHING
Shelly Niehaus Photography is a Boise, ID-based branding and headshot photographer. Shelly specializes in professional headshot photography, personal branding photography, and lifestyle photography. Shelly serves the greater Treasure Valley area including Boise, Meridian, Eagle, and Nampa.
