We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jill Liebhaber. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jill below.
Jill , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s been the best thing you’ve ever seen (or done yourself) to show a customer that you appreciate them?
One of my love languages is gift giving so I really enjoy thinking of a meaningful gift for each client that I am privileged to work with to show my appreciation of them choosing me as their family photographer.
A recent favorite present was for a lovely family who had come to me after learning their sweet dog, Harden, had cancer and only had a few weeks left to live. They reached out to me as they live in the same neighborhood as my studio, and they wanted to have wall portraits made, which is what what I specialize in.
We met for a consultation very quickly so that we could have the session quickly as well. I had such a fun time with them, but it was also bittersweet as we knew it would be their last family portraits with their beloved pet of 11 years.
For their gift I gave them a soft, snuggly photo blanket with Harden printed almost to life size. I added the quote, “My little dog, a heartbeat at my feet,” by Edith Wharton. Their dear Harden would continue to keep them warm with this beautiful blanket. The family loved it, and that is the icing on the cake for me to show families how much I appreciate having them choose me as their family photographer.
Jill , love having you share your insights with us. Tell us about your photo studio and how it’s been so successful so long.
As mentioned above, I specialize in creating artwork for families’ homes. Often, I am designing specific sizes for specific spaces in their houses or condos. We talk ahead of time about where the parents would like to see their family portraits and what sort of medium they want to have it printed on, which can be photographs or canvas or even wood and metal.
We also chat ahead of time about each family member and what their family’s hobbies are, movies they enjoy, etc., so that I can customize each session to a unique, fun experience based on their interests.
Overall, coming to jookie is a hassle-free experience for my clients as I help them figure out ALL the details and help them to stay on top of things like clothing decisions. I make the session fun and enjoyable for everyone. In fact, sometimes kids are having so much fun that they don’t want to leave which is such a great compliment.
Parents return to the studio a week or two after their session where they get to view their best images (edited down to the top 20-30) projected large on my screen. They send me photos of their walls in their home and are able to see accurate mock-ups of how their favorite images will look in different ways on their walls.
They love that, being able to see exactly how the art will look before they even get it. It makes the decisions easy and stress-free. I always have ideas and solutions for them based on over 20 years of doing this creative work.
Families come a lot when the kids are little and then as they get bigger, they might come every 3-4 years. Sometimes they have moved to a new house, and I help them figure out where their jookie art will go in their next home as well as come up with suggestions of what to do for their next set of jookie portraits.
With jookie, it’s quality over quantity, and I really get to know a family over the years. It’s sincerely such an honor when they keep returning to jookie as well as when they refer their friends here.
Coming up on 20 years soon, I am really proud to have built a sustainable business over time and to have kept it evolving as I have grown as an artist and business person.
Over the pandemic, when we couldn’t photograph indoor for a good 6 months, I invested some of my SBA business loan into getting certified as a life coach, which enables me to coach people on anything, really, as it’s truly about mindset. Adding coaching to my skill set has been a fun way to break up my usual photography work with something fairly different that gives me another way to serve people.
I feel very lucky to have another source of revenue and something that I can do with minimal equipment with people around the world. It’s a welcome contrast to working in-person, very physically, with lots of photography equipment. Helps bring a nice balance to my overall week.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
Pivot was one of the words that defined the pandemic for many of us. As I mentioned earlier, there was a good 6 months or more that we couldn’t photograph inside before we had vaccines. There were two pivots that occurred for me.
The first was that in the summer of 2020, I became a location photographer whereas I had been mostly a studio photographer before that. Sure, I had done some outdoor work but it would be like 3-5 sessions a summer. In June 2020, I rented a car and began having mini-adventures around Chicago and the Midwest to people’s yards, nearby parks, and sometimes even their second homes in nearby states.
While the world seemed closed off for some people, I felt like it opened up for me, and we were so blessed with great weather that summer and fall. Though I wouldn’t want to be a location photographer all the time, I’m grateful that I was able to keep working even if it meant having to deal with a whole new set of logistics like weather, traffic, and schlepping gear all over.
The other important pivot I made I also mentioned earlier, which was also to become a certified life coach. It feels like a gift to have gotten that opportunity, and the return on my investment in that education will keep coming for years, even when I get too old to crawl around on the floor with small children anymore.
How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?
Eighteen years ago when I first had the idea to open my own studio, I picked up some books on writing a business plan. They talked about how you have to figure out how much things will cost, of course, so you have to look into things like what will rent cost, how much loan money might you need, what will your products be, what price will you need to sell them at, etc.
In checking out buildings for rent and going to the bank to apply for a loan, everything really came together very quickly. Suddenly, I had found a perfect space for my studio and the bank was giving me a good sum to get things going. I also had a decent savings which I lived off of May through November of the first year I opened up jookie.
There wasn’t anyone to borrow money from in my family, nor do I come from a wealthy background, so the loan was the only way I would have been able to get the studio started. That and a 0% interest credit card which I paid off fully before the promo rate ended. I also successfully paid the business loan back a whole year ahead of schedule.
Shortly after that, I was also able to pay off my student loans.
I’m a firm believer in taking on debt when it will help you make more money in the long run and give you the means to make your dreams come true. You truly have to believe in yourself and have the discipline to learn how to handle money.
Another important thing I did at one point was to ask my bank for a line of credit which I have used at times when needed. In the pandemic, I also took on another small business loan so that I could further my education in coaching and other photography related education.
There is great value in debt, and I see money as a tool to learn how to make more money. It can be scary in some ways, especially as many of us are taught that debt is bad. While some types of debt are not so smart (paying for a vacation on your credit card that you can’t pay off for a long while), there is “good” debt like investing in yourself for education and starting a business.
I suggest having a great accountant that you like and trust to help guide you in your financial decisions and to check in with on the bigger expenses. It’s good to have an objective opinion on your finances, and sometimes you don’t have someone else to talk to in your business about those things.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://jookiekids.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jookiekids/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jill.liebhaber
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jookiekids/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/jookie-chicago-2
Image Credits
Jill Liebhaber / jookie, a portrait boutique, inc.