The Small Business Journey
The journey of a small business owner is not for the faint of heart. Anyone who embarks on this journey is a hero in my mind and those that come out on the other side are solid rock stars. Today I want to share with you some thoughts with you all about my own personal journey and the valuable lessons I’ve learned along the way.
Year 1
In year one, I was wide-eyed excited that someone would actually pay me real money to photograph their family. All I cared about was figuring out how to take photos properly, edit them in Photoshop (gasp), please my clients, and deliver a decent product. I say decent because I really didn’t know what I was doing, but everyone has to start somewhere, right? My clients at this time, 100% were my friends, family, and were kind enough to take a chance on me. I was cheap and photographing anything and everything to put in the reps.
Year 2
By year two my business continued to grow and I quickly realized I needed to make more money if this was going to be a sustainable long term business. I had to face the harsh reality that I needed to raise my prices and it was definitely time as my skills and client experience was a hundred times better than when I was a beginner. However, I also knew that my clients would not probably pay my higher rates, so I was going to have to go out and find new clients that wanted my services. I was scared to death.
Year 3 – Present
In year three I knew I needed to market myself, but the whole idea of promoting myself (and my work) seemed daunting and scary. Honestly, the thought of marketing myself made me feel cringe-worthy. It took some time to make the mental mind shift that I was worth charging higher rates because I had a quality product and experience to offer, and I was doing the world a disservice by not putting myself out there. I had to adopt a different mindset. Imagine if your favorite local restaurant decided never to advertise and deprived you of that amazing dining experience? I know I’d definitely miss my favorite chips and salsa and margaritas that brings me so much joy when I experienced that dining experience.
Positioning Yourself in the Market
Once you decide that you are ready to put yourself out there, you have to make some tough decisions. How do you create a brand around your service or work? What do you want to be known for and who do you want to serve? How do you stand out in a saturated market? Those are the questions I had spent at least the last three to four years answering in crafting my message.
Start With Writing Your Story
If I could give you one piece of advice as I enter my seventh season in my business, it would be to begin the process of promoting yourself by writing your story. Writing your story will help you stand out from the crowd because you can highlight what makes you and your business different from everyone else. Writing your story is the first step in learning how to present yourself on and offline. Your story will create connections, allowing people to learn about you and know, like, and trust you. In the end, it’s the building block to nurturing those relationships. Relationships are so powerful both on and offline. Building relationships is honestly what marketing is all about, and that has been the game-changer in my business.
What is your story? If you take the time to sit down and write, I would love to see the results!
SENIOR | FAMILY | TEENS | BRANDING
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.
