We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Ashley Wendt. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Ashley below.
Alright, Ashley thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Getting that first client is always an exciting milestone. Can you talk to us about how you got your first customer who wasn’t a friend, family, or acquaintance?
The rush you get when you’ve secured your first client is a feeling you should always strive for. I don’t think we normalize the steps needed to take before securing your first dollar & client. So much of the “before” process is working for FREE. For the first year of Palm Tree Visions, I was reaching out to 20+ musicians a day offering them free photoshoots. I would pay my own money to buy tickets to their shows & shoot their shows for free, meet up & shoot for their upcoming projects, go to the recording studio to take photos during their session, whatever I could do, I would do it. This approach helped me first and foremost, meet a wide range of musicians, but most importantly I was starting to build a client list. This also allowed me to gain experience & show artists that I am passionate about what I was doing. Slowly I started to get paid clients & before I knew it, I was able to quit my day job & be a full time photographer & videographer.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Ashley Wendt, I was born & raised in Orange County, California & 7 years ago I ended up in LA. I got into this industry on accident. I was looking for a change of environment to try and kick start some sort of career & ended up choosing LA, while in LA I enrolled in Physical Therapy trade school. While in school, I bought a camera because I was a big fan of Casey Neistat & I wanted to make YouTube videos. After making a dozen videos, my interest quickly shifted to being behind the camera & not in front; this was the birth of Palm Tree Visions.
Music was always this thread throughout my life, I’ve been a die hard fan of artists since I can remember & I quickly knew I wanted to shoot with artists, that was going to the brand of Palm Tree Visions.
I am most proud of the relationships I have created with these artists, some being my best friends to this day as well as being a place where someone can discover their next favorite artist.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
A big lesson I had to unlearn was being such a perfectionist within creating. I think when you start out, all you’re trying to do is make your work look perfect; best lighting, perfect composition, best coloring, but what you learn as the years go on is, art is cool because its not perfect. There is no such thing as the “right way” & for so long I was searching for that.
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
The Compound Effect. This book was the driving force of helping me create strong habits & approach my life with more structure. Read it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.palmtreevisions.co/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/palmtreevisions/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleyjwendt/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/palmtreevisions