We recently connected with Destiny Alexander and have shared our conversation below.

Destiny, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

The biggest risk I’ve taken is the one I’m taking now. Almost a year ago I started working as a Customer Service Rep part time from home. I got that job because we needed a little bit more money coming in and the evening schedule was perfect for me since I still wanted to be available during the day to take care of my daughter. Although I knew I wasn’t going to be there forever, I didn’t have a concrete plan on when I was going to leave. I’m notorious for quitting dead end jobs as soon as they start feeling dead, but that started to get old to me because all jobs felt dead. I knew I wasn’t meant to be working for someone else’s business but instead working for myself, but for some reason I always jumped from job to job. I was afraid to take the leap of faith, so when I was interviewing for the job I told God that if he blessed me with this job I would stay there no matter how much I would start to hate it. I made a “deal” with God that I would work on my business behind the scenes while working this job and the only way I would leave is if they fired me. That would be my sign that it’s time for me to go and jump full fledged into my own business. Well, I was just fired this week and am now going full force into entrepreneurship. So far it has been amazing, a little nerve wrecking but still so fulfilling.

Destiny, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a portrait and editorial photographer and private photo editor based in Dallas, Texas ( but willing to travel). My specialty is authenticity. I capture moments that tell a story, celebrate a milestone, document an experience/event. I like to focus on the innate intimacy of humanity and hope that my work makes people feel proud to be in their skin and less estranged from each other (because we’re not all really strangers). I’ve been surrounded by photography my entire life. My dad is a big hobbyist photographer and was always taking pictures and documenting whenever we went on vacations. I always loved flipping through photo albums and looking at photos from before I was born. It inspired and still inspires me to document life through photography. I offer my photography clients that same experience by providing them with beautiful portraits that document life’s big, small, and random moments or that help to promote/sell whatever product they sell. For my private photo editing clients, I offer to solve the problem of them being too bogged down by editing to scale their businesses. I am contracted to edit their galleries for them in their desired editing style which gives them valuable time back to reach more clients or spend more time with their families. I am the most proud of being able to connect and serve my clients in a way that is streamlined and seamless but still tailored to their individual needs.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist and creative is the creative expression. I love that I’m able to connect with people through my creative work and also I’m able to express myself freely.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

The most effective strategy I would say is the most old school. I use Google or Instagram to find potential clients that I feel align synergistically with the type of work that I do and just send them an email introducing myself, my work, and what I can offer them. The game changer though I will say is sending not only a link to my portfolio but samples of my work as attachments to the email. Sometimes people have the intention to click the link but just forget or don’t have time, but the attachments are visible once they open the email so I can ensure that they see my work.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.themanifestdestiny.com
• Instagram: @themanifestdestiny

Image Credits
Maggie Bowen, Alisha Acquaye, Akhir, Atiya, Kelsey Daniels, and Chef Kheyana