Diaries of a Wannabe Entrepreneur

A few tasks I prioritized to restructure my (previously very disorganized) year-old photography business. With very little knowledge of business ownership. And only 4 weeks’ time.

The latter half of 2022 was rough. I was facing various health issues, struggling with several major life changes, and had no idea what I was going to do with my life. I’d been working full-time for a little over a year at the time, I was out of school, and I wasn’t planning to go back. Upon reflecting on the way I spent my time, I realized that I spent very little time challenging myself strictly for fun. I had no hobbies. I had no skills I was mastering. I was stagnant; possibly on the cusp of a quarter-life-crisis.

So, rather than going full-on 2007 Britney Spears, getting an impulsive tattoo, or cutting bangs (as many of us do in pursuit of catharsis amid a turbulent few months) I dropped $1,000 on a camera body and lens.

Since then, the past year or so has proved to be wildly transformative for me. I’ve been forced to restructure the way I operate; reconsidering the places I find security, and the way I manufacture happiness in my life. I’ve invested time and money, launching wholeheartedly into learning all that I possibly could about the photography industry. I had no intent to make a dime. But that thousand dollar purchase has been more profitable, in 12 short months, than I ever could have predicted—not only monetarily, but in proving to myself that:

Enjoyment and career can, indeed, coincide.
Passion is the best backbone for business.
Learning needs not to be permitted by any[thing/one] beyond my own commitment to work hard and pioneer for myself.

Over the past 4 weeks, I’ve committed to building a proper infrastructure for this business (Ani Drew Photo… soon to be LLC). Though ADP was born somewhat unintentionally, and out of uncertainty, I’m writing this today feeling incredibly secure and satisfied in the systems I’ve set in place to sustain both artistry, and efficiency in business.

Let’s jump into what I did. Or more like what I am doing. I do know enough about entrepreneurship to know that business ownership tasks never ever end.

Website: anidrewphoto.com

^ The first and biggest task on my list was to build a new website. My photo work was previously listed on the site you’re reading this from, my personal website, but my mentor and I decided that that was definitely a temporary residence for ADP.

I’m super happy with the new site; I feel that it encompasses my brand well. I stuck with a similar color palette to my personal website, just to keep things cohesive. But instead of the chartreuse color laced throughout this site, I went with a deep, orangey, marigold yellow. I’m not usually a yellow girl, but I love the way it pairs with the rust color I (clearly) love & use so much.

The only thing I’m likely going to add later on is a full portfolio page. I’m just trying to decide what the best format is to present that. I know many photogs blog their weddings, but I’m not sure how that would work if I’m not doing weddings exclusively. So that’s all TBD. If you have ideas, email me.

All of that to say, Squarespace is the best in the game when it comes to website building for dummies. Trust me.

Pricing

Another major task on my list this month was restructuring my pricing and creating new pricing/package guides. I’ve struggled a lot with pricing as a freelancer, just because it’s hard to know how to value time. Assigning a price to services depends so heavily on experience levels and geography, but also just confidence in your quality of service. 6 months ago, I was barely confident charging 150 bucks, because I didn’t feel confident in my skill. Now, I’m just trying to hang in the balance of retaining awareness of my limits, but not allowing impostor syndrome to drive my value. Either way, my mentor took one look at my prices and said they needed to be raised, so that is what I did. Outside perspective is key.

I’ve attached the guides I created below. Photogs: if there is any information I should add to these, let me know!

(An important element I added to my portrait guide is a DEPOSIT. I only had deposits lined up for wedding bookings, and that was a mistake. I lost roughly $500 in shoots this month because people backed out last minute, because they had no skin in the game. Never doing that again.)

Marketing

A significant amount of my work this month has been research. Gauging local pricing, exploring website features, reading about marketing strategies, etc. Lots of articles. I’ve found that the photography industry, specifically, holds lots of contradicting opinions when it comes to sales and marketing strategies. So that’s something I’m still trying to nail down. The one thing I do know, is that my social media presence (often in conjunction with word of mouth) has led to almost all of my 2023 bookings and 2024 weddings.

I’m working on finding a good way to plan my social media content, but currently, I have my next few weeks of Insta posts just listed out on a document. So stay tuned for those posts @anidrewphoto.

Other Tasks & Goals

Additionally, I was able to meet and exceed my revenue goal for November/December, which was exciting. I also was able to budget enough money to purchase the lens I’ve been saving for, so that was also a huge milestone.

Some “honorable mention” tasks I completed this month that I can’t really share on this platform are:

Updating my wedding questionnaires
Revising my wedding contracts
Booking new headshots

The last major element I’d like to share about this month is my LLC application! I’m still working through that, because government apps are the worst ever. I also bought a car this week, so I’m a little burnt out from applications and documents and legal jargon. But I’ll get to it. And I’m excited for this next step with ADP.

In Summary…

The age old response: I wish I had more time. And I wish I had less obligations and circumstances occupying the time I did have. I was sick for nearly 3 weeks, and then car shopping for more days than I even want to think about. But that’s life, you know? Never in history has there been a time when anything goes according to plan. I’m learning to lean into that; to pivot with ease when priorities change and plans disintegrate.

Specifically speaking, though, I would definitely like to take a Photoshop course in the coming months. This was a hopeful addition to my month plan, but it just wasn’t attainable in the time I had left. I think this would be a valuable addition to both my skillset as a photographer and to my marketing/design portfolio.

I’m so thankful for such a fruitful month of growth and discovery. I’m also thrilled that this wasn’t just a project for school, but a genuine time investment into my business! Though it doesn’t take a business program to complete these tasks, having the accountability and structure was an excellent launchpad for me this month. True learning isn’t cultivated from assignments that die upon contact with the submission box. We learn by full immersion; head-first, just getting after it. Praxis curriculum embodies this. And for that, I am grateful.