As a small business owner, I get asked if I’m going to scale my photography business.
Shouldn’t I want:
More clients.
More revenue.
More employees.
More automation.
More volume.
More types of photography?
The short answer?
Wait, What?
So, this isn’t because my business hasn’t been successful.
It has.
I steadily grew it through the pandemic, with increasing revenue year over year for five years.
I greatly improved my photography skills.
Invested in high-quality equipment.
Tried different kinds of photography, including newborns, weddings, families, seniors, sports and more.
I’ve learned what I’m good at and, eventually, the type of work I love to do.
And I’ve worked hard to establish great relationships with clients along the way.
Personal Touch Can’t Be Scaled
After seven years in business, I’ve learned something really important:
What means the most when it comes to my photography business is the personal touch.
I focus intently on my clients’ experiences and do everything I can to put them at ease during their sessions.
I provide the highest-quality images I possibly can and spend time (and money) continuing to improve my skill set.
I respond quickly to inquiries, texts, emails, phone calls, DMs, etc.
I deliver my galleries as fast as I can.
If I take on too much volume — i.e., too many photography jobs — the personal touch suffers.
And quite frankly, the energy I need to deliver a superior level of service and art suffers, too.
I’m not willing to sacrifice that.
Energy Management is No Joke
The older I get, and especially after losing both my parents last year, the more I realize I have to manage the finite resource that is my own energy.
It’s been startling to me how keenly aware I am of the way my energy levels affect me.
Because I also work full time (more than 40 hours a week, actually), work out nearly every day, and try to eat well (oh, and sleep well), there’s only so much energy I can devote to my photography business.
So I need to treat that energy as a precious — and limited — resource so my clients receive the high-quality experience and product they deserve.
I can’t do that if I take on work that doesn’t fuel my passion, take on too many jobs, or accept work that takes me too far away from where I live.
Saying No is Counterintuitive, but Necessary
Hey, I realize saying no seems counter to success, but I would contend that it actually drives success and brings the possibility of it into focus.
I had a recent situation where a potential client reached out to me to photograph their new company president. The original location was going to be in Ashburn, where I live.
It was also going to be late afternoon on a Friday, when I know my energy levels are usually low after a full workweek. But since it was going to be close to home, I provided a quote and decided to take time off from my full-time job to do it.
Then the location changed to downtown DC, either in Chinatown or Georgetown.
If you’re even remotely familiar with the Northern Virginia area, there’s almost a planetary difference between Ashburn and downtown DC on a late Friday afternoon.
In the end, I said no.
I knew I wouldn’t have the energy for it.
Yes, I could have raised the price to match the level of effort required to take all my gear downtown on a Friday afternoon, and the client may have paid it.
But I decided the money wasn’t worth what the job would require of me — or the risk that I wouldn’t be able to provide the level of service my clients deserve.
If Scaling Isn’t Success, What is?
I should mention that in this case, I didn’t just say no. I found a DC-based headshot photographer and provided his information to them.
One of the weirdest things I’ve gotten used to when turning down photography work is the feeling I get when the job “slips away.”
It’s relief.
Early in my business, I took on just about every job that came my way because I wasn’t even clear where I wanted to specialize.
That’s normal.
But as my business has evolved, I’ve realized I don’t spend much time focusing on the “ones that got away.”
Even if another job doesn’t take its place, and all I get instead is pizza night with my husband, that can still be the better use of my energy.
Because at the end of the day, our mental and physical energy is every bit as finite a resource as money.
Whatever we’re managing — a part-time job, full-time job, side hustle, or all three — we have to decide where that energy is best spent.
For me, success isn’t about squeezing every possible dollar out of my photography business.
It’s doing work I love.
Providing my clients with an experience I’m proud of.
Making money doing something I’m good at.
And still having enough of myself left for the rest of my life.
Maybe my business could be bigger.
I just don’t think bigger would make it better.
🐝 That’s the buzz for today!