We were lucky to catch up with Dee Bartee recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Dee thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

I think that it takes a few qualities to become successful. Starting with a strong work ethic, self discipline, and a good business plan. Work ethic is the basis of all success. It is grounding and something you can always do to keep going. Self discipline is the hardest part of success. As someone who runs their own business the discipline of one’s self is important because you’re the one running every part of it. Without you success would not happen. A good business plan allows you to track progress, stay in check, and look ahead at your future goals leading to growth and success.

Dee, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

It all started when my kids were young. I always spend hundreds of dollars every holiday getting family pictures done. After a few years my husband bought me a camera and told me to learn how to use it so our thousands of dollars a year could be spend on vacations instead of pictures. Little did I know that would be the start of my passion. Working with children and families has always been my focus. One of the biggest challenges with that is making the pictures look genuine and natural. After many years of practice almost every client says that I capture the families true selves. I have worked hard to make my clients happy and have even been told I that they finally see themselves as beautiful. I would love my clients to know that I have been in your shoes. I understand what it is like to not like pictures of yourself and to be anxious about getting the perfect family picture. I have worked hard at perfecting my skills and am observant to people’s feelings and ideas of their ideal pictures.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I thought I was done having children at 31 years old. I had 3 girls at the time, 15, 11, and 7. We thought we were finished with our family, but God had other plans. We found out we were pregnant! We had another beautiful baby girl, then 2 years later, a boy! We finally got our boy! So I made the exceutive decsion to take a break from my career for a few years to focus on raising my new babies! But I missed photography! My passion never subsided, and ultimately made me a better photographer.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

Really it has been word of mouth! I live in a small town, and I have alot of referrals. I love my clients and I have been their “personal photographer ” from marriage until babies to graduation in a few cases! I love what I do! It’s not just about taking pictures for my clients. It’s about the long term relationships I have with them. Getting little things like Christmas cards from them every year are what keeps me going.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.deebarteephoto.com
• Instagram: Deebarteephoto
• Facebook: Dee Bartee Photography
• Linkedin: Dee Bartee
• Twitter: Dee Bartee

Image Credits
Dee Bartee