Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jessica Alexander. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Jessica, appreciate you joining us today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

I believe that becoming a small business owner (especially around 2012!) was a huge risk! I had very little capital and took the small downpayment I was saving for purchasing a home and put it towards investing in my LLC and new camera gear. I had already been working full time in photography managing a photo studio for nearly two years but wanted the opportunity to manage my own team and choose my own clients on my time.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am a full-time photographer and journalist based here in Austin, TX. I majored in Mass Communications in college and chose to minor in both Music and Photography — no, that’s not a typo! For most of 2010-2019 you could find me playing drums and bass guitar with various bands in downtown Austin. I got into my photography career through exposure to working with various artists in the Music Industry-I photographed my first concert probably around 2006 if I were to guess. I have gone on to do many Music Industry-adjacent photography assignments, from photographing festivals, live music all over the United States, band and artist portraits for magazines you can still find on newsstands, and becoming represented by two different photo agencies in the United States and UK. I am also a busy journalist, having bylines in many magazines including Texas Parks & Wildlife Magazine, Bicycling Magazine, and Terrain Magazine most recently.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I am a Central Texas native and have been living in Austin for 20 years now. My photography business is mostly word of mouth at this point and I tend to focus on writing about the outdoor space so that has limited my focus to a nice niche of outlets. Since I do spend a lot of time outside (including bicycles!) it’s pretty easy for me to meet people from all over that are into various outdoor-adjacent activities. Even if I am not spending time with a potential client, I am always getting ideas for story pitches and listening to what people think is missing from the outdoor media space.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

After college, I imagined my photography would simply stay a fun hobby. I had a college professor that didn’t feel I had a huge vision for the future and I let that sit on me too long. What broke me out of that shell was realizing that I wasn’t just wanting to be part of the Music Industry as a performing musician and Marketing Executive — I wanted to visually capture the live music and artists I was working with everyday. With that in mind, and the mentorship of a former boss in 2010 telling me to ‘take the plunge,’ I photographed my first magazine cover and quickly ramped up my business enough to warrant Incorporating in 2012.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://jealexphoto.com
• Instagram: http://instagram.com/jealexphoto
• Facebook: http://facebook.com/jealexphoto
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/jealex-photo-austin
• Other: Jessica@jealexphoto.com

Image Credits

©JEALEXphoto/Jessica Alexander