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

Nichole, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

Do you enjoy your job? Do you feel like you are waking up and just repeating the same things every day? This was me approximately 10 years ago. I was almost 40, my twins were in their senior years preparing for college. I was successful, working at a prestige law firm making a nice salary and great benefits. I had been in the legal field for approximately 20 years. I chose this career with much thought and obtained my degrees thinking this was my career path.

While I felt successful, and was fortunate to have the career I had; I didn’t feel joy with what I did every day. I had told myself many times, quit feeling bad for yourself you have so much to be thankful for. I felt guilty for not being happy and wanting more. Even though, I didn’t know what that “more” was that I was seeking.

Around this same time, I gave birth to my miracle baby Knox. After many years of fertility issues and miscarriages, we were blessed with him. Later than we had hoped, yet completely understand now why we had to wait. It’s what was meant to be. God had a better plan than I could have ever imagined for myself.

Photography was always something I was interested in yet was also intimidating to me. Now that I had this brand new I amazing subject, Knox, I began picking up my camera. I quickly became obsessed and took one class after another. There is sooooo much to learn when it comes to photography, I honestly had no idea until I jumped in with both feet.

Within a couple years, I was dreaming about how amazing it would be to be a. photographer. The thought of photographing maternity and newborns was especially interesting to me. I could relate, and thought how rewarding it would be to share this amazing time with clients and provide imagery for them to cherish and hold onto for a lifetime.

Quickly, I would bring myself back to reality and think that was just crazy…how could I give up my career and everything that I had worked for. I had worked so hard to accomplish what I had and my family depended on my income and benefits. I had began sharing my thoughts with my husband. He was completely supportive and thought I should quit my job and began studying full time. I thought he was out of his mind and he clearly didn’t realize our financial situation.

I also began sharing my thoughts with my co-worker, Kim (best friend who I shared five days a week with for 10 years). She was also very supportive, almost even pushy telling me I should do it. Again, I thought she was crazy. Over 3 months time I was gaining a little more courage and beginning to be swayed by their positive thoughts and energy. Kim would tell me everyday “it’s now or never, if you don’t do it now you never will”. Went on to say “you will be doing this forever”. To be honest, these two statements really jolted my thinking. Hearing that said outloud resonated with me, it didn’t sound appealing. Now my thoughts had changed, I was no longer thinking about how scary it would be to take this risk but instead was thinking how scary it would be if this is what I continued to do for the rest of my life.

Again, I had a great career something many would be proud of and satisfied with in their life. But what was missing was PASSION. After much fear and debate, I left my job to pursue photography. I have to admit I was quite clueless about how much I really had to learn. I mean I had learned all these amazing things and felt so knowledgeable. However, I soon figured out with photography there is ALWAYS more to learn.

Over the next three years, I worked out of my finished basement where I had made a little studio area for me to work. I would feel so much anxiety beforehand, always would think about cancelling on my client. What if they don’t like my work? What if I embarrass myself? What do I charge? So much anxiety!!

Fortunately, I was determined and I pushed through. It wasn’t easy, I definitely had some nightmare situations. I had a hard drive go bad with several sessions on it and I didn’t have a backup. I really considered giving up everything thing. So humiliating having to go to my clients and express this huge mistake I had made. Yet, I still pushed through. Dealt with the embarrassment and set up 3 different backup systems. Some mistakes only have to happen once to learn your lesson. This was one of those!

I would dream of having a studio one day, but how could that ever be possible. I really wasn’t making much as it was and I was working out of my home with little to no overhead. I would consider raising prices, but I feared the rejection. Could people tell I was still learning my way? I’m sure.

After 3 years or so, I was driving home from a hair appointment and there set a sign “Available for lease”. The space was exactly as I had manifested in my mind. Amazing store front windows, historic district in a great town, one full brick wall with so much character. Immediately, I thought no way could I afford it…get back to reality. Yet, I couldn’t quit dreaming about it over the next several days. My mind was racing trying to think of ways I could make it work.

I reached out to another local photographer, Danielle, who I really didn’t know at all. We did have mutual friends which made me feel a little better. At first, she was not interested at all. Commented about how she currently has no overhead expense with her current business setup. This immediately put doubt into my mind, was I thinking crazy?

Within 48 hours of reaching out to her, she reached out back to me. Now her wheels were spinning, we started to chat more in depth. After much talk, we decided to go into a partnership. Share the overhead expense. This helped us both feel better about making such a big step. Also, it didn’t hurt that Danielle was an extrovert. I loved the idea of being able to hide behind her a bit. Being an introvert and dealing with the anxiety I had throughout sessions and client dealings had taken a toll. Not to mention having someone to work with, bounce ideas of, share the excitement (and hard times with)…it truly was what I needed to take the next level.

Fortunately, over the next three years we had grown to be a successful photography studio. We both had a great client base and were very proud of what we accomplished. While we weren’t charging our worth at that time, we had been working our way up and gradually recognizing our talent and services. This can be so hard to do!

Danielle’s lifestyle situation had changed and she wasn’t able to pursue photography full-time as she had planned. She would be returning to a full time career outside of photography. Our lease was up at 3 years and now I was faced with a decision of what to do, do I carry on by myself, find another partner, throw in the towel, go back to the basement?

Again, I liked the idea of a partner. I still loved the idea of sharing the experience with another. I gave it a lot of thought considered reaching out to other photographers, but really didn’t know any of them. The photography industry can be very competitive and cut throat so I pretty much kept to myself. There was another local photographer, Heather, that I knew of and had admired her work. I reached out to her for coffee and we met to discuss. Her interest was peeked.

We began brainstorming about how the partnership would work, where our studio would be located, what our budget would be, business plan, brand, etc. It was both fun and scary. In February of 2020, we decided to partnership rebrand as Willow & Moss Photography. We had found an amazing space in a new upcoming development in Edwardsville, Illinois.

We were so excited and, of course, nervous. We began designing our floor plan, creating a website, meeting with attorneys, accountants…there truly is so much work that goes into developing a business plan and putting it into motion. Yet, we had both dreamed of having a studio like this one in Trace Parkway. To be able to design it from gravel up, what a dream!

Our excitement was short lived unfortunately. Only 2 short months later, we had entered into a world pandemic. This was unprecedented and absolutely a terrible time to take on such a huge risk. We had began to doubt our decision and question things extensively. But things had already been set in motion. Then, the mandatory shutdown came. Now we weren’t making money with our own businesses and were still taking on so much new risk with the new business adventure.

Willow & Moss Photography was not able to open it’s doors until August 1st of 2020. As you can imagine, there was still so much uncertainty and question about what we were doing. But we pushed through. Kept our eye on the prize and worked hard! Between the both of us, we have so many wonderful loyal clients who followed us. We are so thankful to have had so many existing customers support our new partnership.

Now after 2 full years of being in the studio, I can say I made the right decision. I thank God everyday that I took the risk. Fought the insecurity, the naiveness, and doubt. I went for it and wake up every morning loving what I’m doing. I work very hard in all aspects. Being a business owner entails so much more than I could have ever imagined. But to be a successful photographer, it is a must! Not only have I learned so much with photography, but I started from scratch learning about being a business owner.

When I look back, I know I am successful because of my determination but mostly because of my passion and love for what I’m doing. Sharing in the excitement of pregnancy and welcoming a newborn into the world, it really doesn’t get any better than that for me. My clients have become lifelong friends. I’ve watched their families go from 2 to 5. Getting to watch their children grow through those early years is truly amazing.

Where I will be in 3 years, I’m not sure but I definitely feel I am on the right path. When I think of where I would be if I didn’t take the risk, that is what scares me now! Trust yourself, give yourself grace to learn, put yourself out there and follow your passion. One thing is for certain if you follow your passion, you won’t dread waking up for work anymore!

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

Willow & Moss Photography specializes in maternity, newborn and family photography. Recently we have expanded our services to include portraiture, seniors, headshots, products and weddings. A luxury experience is provided to our clients to from the beginning of the booking process. In person consultations, wardrobe consultant, full studio wardrobe accessibility, makeup/hair artist services all in preparation for the session. After the session, a reveal/order appointment takes place where we show a slideshow of the images from the session. At that time, we assist our clients with the order processing and offer wall design for those interested.

A variety of both traditional and unique products are available to our clients. One of our most loved products are the Almafi Panels from GraphiStudio in Italy. In addition, we design heirloom albums for our clients and offer folio boxes with a variety of finishing materials and colors.

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

In my experience the best strategy for growing clientele has been through repeat clients. They are your best clients! Providing the best service for your clients while loving what you are doing almost guarantees a loyal client. In return they share their experiences with their family and friends. Asking your clients to share their experience on social media, review on Google or Yelp, provide a testimonial to share on your website are all very helpful. When shopping for a service, there is a lot of value giving to the reviews of others who have used that service.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

Non-creative vs. creative. I find this particularly interesting, I never considered myself as a creative. It wasn’t until probably this past year that I began to believe I am a creative. People complimenting my work, will say “you are so creative” and I never felt this was true. Often we are too hard on ourselves and have envy of other creatives. After a few years of being a photographer, I chose not to look at other photographer’s work except in one of my favorite FB support groups. Before this, I would find myself hopping from one artists website and social media to another. By the end all I could believe were negative things about my work, why wasn’t I as good as them, etc. By using that time for positive tasks through practicing my craft, finding new resources to study, working on specific skills, or creating a growth project for myself (365 project). This was a far better use of my time. Not only did I grow creatively, my confidence grew and I quit comparing myself to other artists.

I still have a handful of artists who truly inspire me. I enjoy following their work and if given the opportunity I will take advantage of mentoring or learning from them.

I believe regardless of the industry photography or another, this logic applies. It’s so easy to look at what another artists or entrepreneur has accomplished and be envious. What we don’t see is how hard that person had to work to reach success or what their personal journey endured. To get the end result we desire, we must endure the journey.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.willowandmossphotography.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Nicholekolbatwillowandmoss
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/willowandmossphotgraphy/

Image Credits
All images taken by myself, Nichole Kolb.