We were lucky to catch up with Tyshawn Miles recently and have shared our conversation below.

Tyshawn, appreciate you joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

So when I decided to start on this venture it was as a result of being unsatisfied with the traditional workforce. After getting out of the military where I served for 10 years and going into the local workforce, I really wanted to do something that I was passionate about and could see myself doing longterm. I started off in videography working in the churches media department and sort of stumbled over into photography where I quickly fell in love with the various methods in capturing photos. From there I really put time into perfecting my craft absorbing as much information as I could and constantly challenging myself to become better. Ultimately it was my wife who pushed for me to move into photography full time.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

So as I previously stated my wife was the one who talked me into going into business full time as I started out doing this on weekends as time allowed for it. The interesting thing about that move was that I made the move during a layoff period of my job which happened right at the beginning of 2020. Talk about stress to make everything come together! It was taking take in constant prayer and showcasing my work on different platforms that caused my business to start to gain traction by the summer of 2020, and it has only gained in momentum from there.

The way I approach photography is that I adapt as much as possible to my clients. What I mean is I ask my clients (if they know) how do they picture the portraits, graduation photos wedding day. From there I make sure I work to make their vision into reality. I feel that by getting to know my clients I can capture them in a manner that shows them in a light that is true to who they are. The business slogan/motto is what I am working to give back to them, “Every Moment is a Milestone to Treasure!”

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

So it’s 2020 I’m now a business owner and quite happy about but only with one problem NO CLIENTS! I had a few people that I knew that decided to bring their business to me and was sharing how happy they were with the photos I provided but I had no ideal how to consistently generate new clients while just starting out. Enter Thumbtack which allowed me to market myself to potential clients for a small fee once they requested a quote or responded to a message I sent. Everything from weddings to real estate photography was available for me and Thumbtack became one of the best tools that I use even to this day when I’m trying to fill up my calendar.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

As I dove into being business owner I had no idea how to go about getting organic clients interested in my work and so I recall initially trying to get all of my friends to like my page so that it would look like it was popular but I quickly found out that wasn’t working. What really “worked” was allowing my work to speak for itself. Posting pictures with short hashtags and info about what was going on caused people to take notice as I shared work to my timeline and groups that I was a part of on Facebook and Instagram. As people started seeing my work and sharing I started to quickly move into what is known as a “cold market” meaning people who I didn’t know began to reach out to me for my services. I also reached out to friends that were in marketing to pick their mind about what was most effective which helped me to make sure my posts did not get lost in the “noise” of online posts and advertisements. So if you are just starting out learn this as fast as possible!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.milestonemediaphoto.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/milestone_media_photography/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/milestonemediaphoto

Image Credits
All photos property of Milestone Media & Photography LLC