We recently connected with Vanessa Joy and have shared our conversation below.

Vanessa, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

I’ve been a photographer since the late 90’s, where I absolutely adored my high school photography classes, taught by a legendary photographer, Jim Roetzel.

I never really considered making it a profession, though I did extensive photography work when I ran my family’s manufacturing company, handling all of the product photography and other marketing.

After I left my family’s business, I eventually got my real estate license. I… wasn’t exactly good at that career, as sales are not my forte in any way.

However, it gave me an idea: Real Estate Photography!

I had established relationships with a lot of real estate agents nearby and decided to try my hand at taking photos of houses.

Initially, I wasn’t that great. While I’ve always been a great photographer, real estate photography requires additional skills that I had to learn as I went.

I found that I loved the work, and was making a good $4000-$5000 per month doing it. I had an established client base, and stayed pretty busy. It wasn’t amazing money, but it was more than enough to get by!

In November of 2021, I came out publicly as a transgender woman. With that one social media post, my business died instantly. Past clients wouldn’t take my calls. I had to start a fundraiser just to cover my bills that December, as I had absolutely no work, and doing food delivery locally was both dangerous and not very lucrative due to competition.

I’ve since had to slowly rebuild my client base. It has been a slow process, but I have gained some amazing clients from my dedication. I only make around $2000 per month now, but I am steadily growing.

Bigotry is a pretty big thing in the real estate industry in my area. I’ve been advertising as much as my tiny budget will allow. I’ve had to fire a few clients due to some hateful comments they have made, either about me or about the trans community.

But, I’ve been persevering. This May was my best month of sales since before I came out, and I’ve branched out into other photography services, such as portraits, headshots, events, etc. That, too, has been slow going, but I’m sticking with it to gain new clients!

Vanessa, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Oddly, my love for photography also got me into podcasting. I love being creative and learning new software. I started the Transcending Humanity podcast in March of 2023 with some friends from LinkedIn and learned a lot about video and sound editing by teaching myself how to use Adobe Premiere Pro.

Running the podcast has made me a LOT more confident in my own journey as a trans person. I’ve met many amazing people (including Taryn Talley, who you have also featured!) and learned a lot about myself.

It has also helped me gain a lot of resilience in the face of animosity. I’ve become a more confident businesswoman as a result, and am very open with my thoughts on my online presence.

The main thing I want followers to learn is that even an autistic, ADHD, cPTSD, major depressive disorder having trans woman like me can carve her little niche in the world. I want to show others that if I can do it, they can too.

Has your business ever had a near-death moment? Would you mind sharing the story?

I’ve had to develop a policy where I will not photograph tenant-occupied rentals unless the agent is with me.

Very frequently, the owners of the homes that are being sold do NOT tell the tenants that it is for sale. I have been chased off properties by dogs and weapons from rightfully upset tenants.

I once also had a guy try to shoot my drone out of the sky right next to Nelson Ledges Raceway in Northeast Ohio. That is actually a federal offense if anyone actually does it, as it is considered an aircraft.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Growing on social media is not an easy thing to do. I was focusing my efforts to grow multiple pages in their reach: my own (Vanesstradiol), my photography business, and Transcending Humanity.

I now concentrate my activity on my personal branded accounts and either tag, collaborate or share with the other accounts.

It is very important to make sure that anyone you tag in posts on any platform reacts and comments on your posts, otherwise the algorithm will squash them.

External links can also stymie reach. You’re looking for as much organic reach as possible.

LinkedIn is a case where company pages hardly get any organic reach at all, so focusing on growing your own network and sharing from there is key.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/vanesstradiol
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vanesstradiol/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Vanesstradiol/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanessa-joy-adams/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@vanesstradiol
• Other: www.transcendinghumanity.com
  www.vanesstradiol.com

Image Credits

Vanessa Joy