We recently connected with Karen Bagley and have shared our conversation below.

Karen , 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 have owned my business, Significant Moments Photography, for eight years this summer and have successfully made a wonderful full-time living from my career as an artist. Like many businesses the first couple of years my income went right back into my business. However, my business became profitable right around year two of being in business. I realized very quickly the need for the portraiture I was capturing and just how many people were looking for the art work I was creating. While I never fully look at myself as an “expert” because the beautiful world of photography will always allow room for improvement and change, I did focus on specializing in very specific fields, all focused around women, like underwater portraiture, . I decided fairly early on that I wanted to be known more for being one of the top artists in a specific field than being known as the artist who can photograph everything “okay”… but not great. I focused intensely on learning everything I could about the fields I specialize in which allowed me to offer something unique to the photography world. Things like posing, understanding safety for my different clientele, lighting techniques, my demographic and marketing… among so many other subjects. I would absolutely have focused a little more on the business aspect of running a business SOONER than I did after I started my company. Creatives as a whole do tend to focus more on the art aspect and less on the business side, our brains just work differently. But the ability to understand the business side, numbers, marketing, building a brand that is recognizable, is a very crucial part in any business owners success. Especially anyone in a creative field. I am not exempt here. It took time and a LOT of learning to understand my success is only as great as my knowledge of how to run a company. Knowing what I know now I would have started taking business and marketing courses as a teen to help me prepare for when I opened my company at 25. Having amazing art pieces is one small piece to the puzzle. Being a good business owner is an entirely separate but large piece to the puzzle that cannot be ignored.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Karen Bagley and I am the owner of Significant Moments Photography. I started my business, as many photographers do, wanting to create art pieces for my clients that they could look back on and treasure forever. While I did start my company, by societies standards, at a young age; I felt I was already behind. I focused too much on other artists around me and let that influence the start of my business and what I photographed. My husband encouraged me to focus on a field that I was just SURE was not going to resonate with people. Me; being the strong headed person I am fought him on the subject for a solid day and a half! Once I calmed down I went back to him and said “you know you may be right…” and I shifted my focus. No longer was I looking at what everyone around me was doing but instead how I wanted to document for my clients. When I did that everything took off at lightening speed. I realized the key to any creators success is to be unapologetically you. Make a splash. Do something that has never been seen. Listen to your heart and create what is truly inside you.

While my business was taking off; I was at the same time learning everything I could about my craft, running a business, marketing; both free forms and paid and creating a client experience that was unique. There were MANY all-nighters when I begin my company. As a wife and mom to two beautiful girls, I will not lie, it was extremely difficult. Trying to juggle so many hats and do it with the pressure, that you may be dong all of this for nothing, was hard. There is no guarantee in success. Fortunately, I have the support of my husband who is my rock and is a large part of my business. This learning period after opening may company was crucial. It required very hard looks in the mirror to see where I could improve and what direction I truly wanted to head in. Those formidable years are what lead me to where I am now. A full-service, custom studio, high end products and overall a company that offers an experience to my clients unlike any other.

Every detail of our process with each individual client is unique and customized to them. We take care of everything for our clients, the planning, wardrobes, the communication between makeup artists, hairstylists; even delivery and hanging our wall art pieces. Everything is taken care of by us. We want our clients to truly be able to sit back, relax and just enjoy documenting this time of their life. That full service client experience is absolutely what sets Significant Moments apart from many other companies.

I am most proud of developing a brand that is well known for the portraits we create. It took me a couple of years to fully understand what full-service meant and understand that my client demographic wants and deserves a more personal touch. Because I was able to keep an open mind and take criticism towards my workflow, my art, really anything… That allowed me to build my brand and reach a level of clientele that not just appreciates my art work but allows me to do exactly what I was hired to do. Create what is in my mind. Over the last few years I have seen that many of my clients are connected either through their business or personal life without knowing I was a common denominator. That was just further proof that I have done due diligence to create a brand that is easily recognized by the clients I want to work for.

I am also proud of the art I have been able to capture that has resonated with millions of people. Having a work of art that I have captured resonate with anyone, let alone thousands or millions, is so humbling and inspiring. I am thankful to have been able to capture people and help people through my art work. There is so much detail that goes into every single session with my clients and it is extremely empowering to see others appreciate that detail. Gives me that feeling of “I know this is why I am here.” And that reassuring feeling that anyone can be successful pursuing a dream. IT IS POSSIBLE. I want every business owner out there to know that.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

I am so glad this is a question I can answer because this is a subject that is stigmatized. I would love to tell everyone to there AVOID DEBT!!! USE CASH!!! But the honest truth is: when you come from nothing, you have no cash, no savings, no anything. For me this is 100% the case. So, I was at a crossroads. Do I try to use the very little amount of money I was making from the retail job I had to build my business? Or do I use my credit card or try to get a personal loan? The very thought of having debt with no guarantee of income was enough to make me throw up. But was I going to continue working a retail job I HATED for $360 every two weeks? It was a gamble. My husband however, gave me the best advice anyone has ever given me. He said “Bet on yourself.” So I did. I used credit cards and got a small personal loan to get myself started. I payed not only that debt and my car payment OFF within a matter of months. But after my second year of business I was able to be the only financial support for my whole family so my husband could quit his job (Barely making 30,000 a year) and pursue his dreams WHILE starting an actual savings account!

The reality is: there is no way of knowing the right road that will lead you to your success. But you certainly will never find out if you play it safe. While of course avoiding debt is an ideal way to go… It simply is not realistic. Owning your own business is always a gamble. We cannot predict the future or what may impact our business. Honestly even if you have a corporate job it is a gamble. People are let go from jobs they have been at for years. So when it is all said and done I have never been more grateful that I bet on myself.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

The ability to get over the sheer anxiety of telling others my career because I was worried I would not be taken seriously. A huge part of growing any business is just making it known what you do as a career. Not just to people that ask but to everyone. Nothing will ever beat good old fashioned networking. Simply put; you telling everyone in the world what you do with no shame. Marketing in any form all boils down to the same thing. The more eyes that see you THE BETTER! Speaking to anyone whether you are out shopping, getting the oil changed in your car or even getting a checkup at your doctor. ANY opportunity to communicate about what you do as your profession is another set of eyes that you have made a personal impression on. You never know when that will lead to an opening for you to grow and expand your clientele.

It took me a while to be confident enough to speak about myself and my business without worry if people took me seriously or not. Artists as a whole, but even more specifically photographers, tend to get a bad wrap because “everyone is a photographer” meaning you must not make that much money from this career. So, saying you own a photography business can make you feel inferior. DO NOT LET IT! Do not let how others view your career impact your own view of your journey. Be proud and tell the world!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://significantmomentsphotography.com
• Instagram: @significant_moments
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/significantmomentsphotography
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karen-bagley-489968117
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCh7SHl9hkbD-zp-KpQM8-w
• Other: TIKTOK handle: @significant_moments