6 Tools to Build Your Photography Business | Education

Whether you are a new photographer or you have been in business for 10+ years, it is important to have tools that help you run your business smoothly! From a CRM (client relationship management) to your marketing tools and website, there are various options to choose from and these tools have helped me run my business from early on.

17Hats

I invested in a CRM in the first year or two of my business and it is life changing. From tracking business income and expenses including taxes to contracts and invoices. Your CRM allows you to track your client from inquiry through gallery delivery. 17Hats creates a lead capture form that is submitted through my website and once a client is booked creates a workflow to track every step along the way. I can run a Profit and Loss report as well as Sales Tax report to help with business finances. They also have added a booking feature to ease client booking and photographer availability.

There are several CRM options to choose from, but 17Hats continues to help me streamline my business! If you are interested in trying 17Hats, click the link below to receive a one-time 50% off.

Referral code: 17Hats Referral

Squarespace

A website host is one of the first places to start as you begin your photography business. I invested in SquareSpace and gave myself time to learn how to build out a website. It can be as simple as a small portfolio, about me page and contact form to begin with, but you want to eventually include copy and words to help with your SEO. This allows clients to find you on google and other search platforms. I invested in Ashlyn Writes: Copy Writing for Creatives to learn how to create copy for myself, and expand my website to drive my ideal client. There are many creatives that offer copy and website design services, but I wanted to be able to update my website easily when needed.

Pic-Time

1. I have used several gallery hosts and Pic-time provides a clean client facing presentation. They offer print products through a variety of vendor and a simple set up to begin selling products to your clients. Pic-time offer automated sales workflows and great customer support. I also love that I can archive past galleries and they do not automatically get deleted.

   Referral code: U2AHDH

Flodesk

Simple, clean and easy to use. Flodesk is the perfect newsletter provider for photographers. A newsletter is a must! This is one thing we own and where you can provide updates to your clients or potential clients. If social media crashes, you own your newsletter list and website.

Referral code: Join Flodesk

Later

Later is the tool I used to schedule out all of my social media posts. As times change so does social media. It can be overwhelming to keep up with all the things. Each week I set aside time to create my posts for the week or month and schedule them out strategically. You can create both static posts and stories all from your computer or phone app. Have 5 minutes while in the carpool line? This app allows me write captions, move posts and select the date and time. Later allows you to either automatically post or send me a reminder to post at my convenience.

CANVA

Canva is the best tool for all things marketing! Canva allows me to create pdfs, instagram marketing tools or what to wear guides for clients. You can use Canva to create just about anything for your business. There are templates that can be utilized or you can choose to start from scratch to create your own document for your business! Canva has thousands of graphics, templates, photos and more to help you create professional looking marketing tools for your business!

Legal Disclaimer: This post includes affiliate links, and I will earn a commission if you purchase through these links. Please note that I’ve linked to these products purely because I recommend them and they are from companies I trust. There is no additional cost to you.

Make the Investment on Education | Education

How often do you invest in your business? Year after year I am constantly looking for new educational opportunities. Where I can expand my knowledge to grow personally and professionally. I have participated in 1-on-1 mentor sessions, conferences, in-person workshops, online courses and masterminds. Each type of education has helped me grow my business in various ways.

1-on-1 Mentorships: Over the past 9 years, I have mentored with several local photographers as well as others throughout the US. Depending on my personal and professional needs from just beginning and trying to navigate starting a photography business to more specifics like mentoring with an interior photographer. 1-on-1 mentoring can give you an opportunity to shadow a photographer during a session or just discuss specific business topics.

Conferences: I went to my first photography conference in September 2021, The Reset Conference in Waco, TX. Ya’ll this was amazing! It was so fun to connect to new photography friends. Meet online friends in person and just have time to listen to so many wonderful speakers!

Workshops: Over the years I have done several in-person workshops from wedding and lifestyle family focused to business specific. It is wonderful to meet in-person and hear how other creatives run their businesses. It also allows you to take away ideas and best practices for your own business.

Online Courses: There are more online courses than you can possibly imagine. I always invest in more than I can focus on, but some of my favorite ones have been topics on organization, business tactics, posing and editing, or marketing.

Masterminds: I am in my second mastermind with Sabrina Gebhardt and I can’t speak highly enough about this Mastermind. I have met some of my best friends through Sabrina’s courses including the Mastermind and The Round Table. Sabrina has challenged me to stretch myself, and set goals for my business that I might not have otherwise done. She is a constant encourager, friend and cheerleader. 

Another Mastermind I am wrapping up, is specifically geared toward branding with Maddie Peschong, Rebrand. Maddie has taught me how to set myself up for success with branding photography. How to price myself for success, create a workflow for specifically for branding clients as I look to expand this portion of my business, and what I can best offer to my clients.

While education has played a huge role in how I run my business, how my business has grown, and what I am able to offer to my clients, I am looking forward to giving back by offering more opportunities in my Business Mentor Sessions in 2023! I love being able to give back my knowledge and the steps I took to get me from full-time corporate job to successfully becoming a full-time photographer, all while being a wife and mama.

If you are interested in learning more about my Business Mentor opportunities, you can reach out to me here or read more about it on my website.

Business Mentoring | Education

Education is such an important part of continued learning, growth and community. I have learned and mentored with some wonderful photographers over the years who have helped me on business aspects; as well as, photography techniques, workflows and editing. It has been a dream for me to give back to other entrepreneurs and photographers who are looking to take their business to the next level.

As you may or may not know, I worked in commercial real estate for 13 years while doing photography on the side for the last 7 of those 13 years. I grew my business slow and steady. I always knew I wanted to be a full time photographer while having the flexibility to be home with our children.

In November 2020, I stepped away from my corporate role and begin my full time photography business.

Was it scary? Yes. Did I work hard to make sure I felt like I was set up for success? Yes.

I took time to make sure I had all my business systems in place, and felt confident in taking the next steps to go full time with photography. As I begin to offer Business Mentoring to photographers, my hope is to work with other professionals who are looking to make the switch from a corporate or other full-time 9-5 career to a growing photography business.

I want to help YOU feel confident in your transition. Know you have yourself set up for success. Be a mentor and cheerleader while you say YES to big goals and dreams! I am excited to offer a limited number of mentor sessions each year!

If you or someone you know would benefit from a Business Mentor you can read about my new offering here.