Recently, I got an opportunity to be hosted at Prague Fotoskoda Fest, which is one of the biggest Prague photography festivals. Let me tell you – I’m beyond deeply grateful for all my fellow photographers and audience members who took the time to listen to my thoughts and ideas, and who were open to finding inspiration and supporting me on this journey of sharing. Although everyone who attended the festival greatly enjoyed the presentation, I would like to take it a step further and share some of these special thoughts here, so that those who couldn’t attend in person but may still benefit from them have the chance to hear them too.
Why you need your why
If you have ever heard about Ray Dalio’s principles,
you might be familiar with what I want to explain to you in the next words, but shortly – The journey of your creative business will not be straight to success. It might be more like a telephone cord – round and round, down and up, stuck and jump… there might be many issues to move on and If you do what you love, If you do what makes sense to you, you will grow successfully.
You need to know your personal philosophy of what makes you happy and what is worth doing.
Why? Because…
Consistently improving your beloved creation leads to success.
Remember that business is about making dreams come true for you and your client. You should do what makes you and your client happy.
Thanks to that, you’ll be able to achieve:
The difference in the market.
Effectively reach the right client.
Authenticity – The client will trust you.
Success with your goals in the long term.
Finding your WHY is a deeply personal journey… I’d love to tell you how to find it, but we all live different lives and that’s why you need to focus on your own journey.
How to stand out
For this segment of the presentation, I collaborated with Veronika Adamcova, the owner of Brand Stylist company, known for crafting highly intentional and creative brands. With our longstanding partnership, I am delighted to have her address the photographers in the audience about the significance of developing their unique voice in the industry. In fact, she has graciously prepared a wonderful blog post on this topic, which I encourage all of you to read.
OPEN POST ABOUT HOW TO STAND OUT
Find your client
It is essential to emphasize the significance of understanding your target audience. When you genuinely know and appreciate your craft, you naturally attract a specific group of users. Acknowledging this fact is crucial for achieving success and ensuring the satisfaction of both you and your clients. At its core, knowing who you serve is a fundamental principle.
Consider various aspects about your clients: How old are they? Where do they reside? What are their occupations? What are their beliefs? What do they enjoy reading or watching? Where do they typically vacation? Which brands do they adore? What are their desires? Why are they preparing for this wedding? How do they plan to utilize the photos after the wedding? What are they seeking in their pictures? What kind of photographer’s personality are they searching for?
Rather than chasing after clients, focus on attracting them by sharing your values.
Marketing is simply sharing your message so that it reaches the right people.
Create a value
Since Pavel and I met, whatever comes our way, he always says:
“Impossible immediately, miracles within three days.”
…this simple phrase has become my guiding principle when serving my clients, creating products, and engaging in the act of creation itself.
Our value is way more important than the price.
Being a photographer means having technical knowledge and tremendous artistic creativity.
Being a quality photographer means having experience, empathy, working hard, always being professional, approaching individually, telling a better story, knowing your purpose – that’s what differentiates high value from standard and that’s what convinces the client to pay.
The overall satisfaction of our clients holds long-term significance for our business. Therefore, it is vital to pour our utmost dedication into our craft. By doing so, we foster stronger trust between ourselves and both our current and future clients.
TIPS HOW TO?
Listen to them. Give them a space to consult their problems with you.
Be adaptable. Offer the client what he needs.
Personal approach. Simply BE there for your client.
Overdeliver. Promise a lot and deliver even more.
Educate your client. Learn them what they need to know.
Find a community
Engaging in a community provides an opportunity for collaboration and the exchange of experiences, ideas, and techniques. By participating, you gain valuable insights, share helpful tips and tricks, and remain informed about the industry’s latest trends and innovations. This continuous learning process empowers you to enhance your skills and deliver exceptional service to your clients. Ultimately, every accomplished project becomes a testament to the collective support, respect, and concerted efforts invested in creating a thriving market.
Participate in some vendors’ events, collaborate on inspiration, be online and get connected, share kind words and write a reference, stay in touch and build a strong relationship.
(Avoid) Burn out
In my personal perspective, burnout leads us to suppress our human nature for extended periods of time. The pursuit of capturing irreplaceable moments and achieving their flawless presentation, coupled with long working hours, frequent travel, sacrificing weekends, managing emotions, striving for self-fulfillment, embracing perfectionism, idealizing outcomes, dealing with seasonal demands, and coping with business-related stress, all collectively take a significant toll on our physical well-being.
Winston Churchill once said: “If You’re Going Through Hell, Keep Going.” and I find this quote particularly relevant to the experience of burnout. However, it’s important to note that simply “keep going” is not enough. Alongside it is crucial to analyze, learn from your mistakes, and, most importantly, strive for continual improvement.
TIPS HOW TO?
As creators, we have the power of making the world a more beautiful place. However, it is more than important to prioritize our own well-being by embracing a sense of realism.
Know your boundaries.
Find help and delegate.
Give yourself some “me-time” and heal your wounds.
Optimize. The same flow more efficiently.
(only) DO whatever makes you happy
Simply be whoever you want to be, do and have whatever makes you shine instead of acting like a victim of your circumstances. – amazingly inspiring words by Jen Sincero.
Being your true identity, having a clear vision of where you’re going and what you’re going to do and, ultimately, executing it – this strengthens you as a creator, offers unique service, makes clients happy, leaves people better and creates a better world.
Be active in what you’re doing happily.
Wherever your journey leads…
