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

Renee, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard.

When I started my company it was important for me to provide a solution inclusive to the everyday family. Photography can be incredibly expensive – and rightfully so – but that doesn’t mean the average family shouldn’t be able to have quality photos taken. I did not grow up in a family that ever had their photos taken, that just was not an option for us financially and now being a mom myself, I feel called to make sure other families are not missing out. It’s crazy taboo, and you get all kinds of hate when you say you’re affordability focused in this industry but for me, its that single mama whose working two jobs and has $100 for pictures whose more important. It’s that dad who was just laid off or the family living paycheck to paycheck – kids will only be kids once and I truly believe all families deserve to have their memories captured. Ive structured my packages in a way that span from $75-$2000 and keep flexibility in the forefront of my mind at all times. I dont get caught up in a lot of rules, or differentiating types of sessions. For me it’s about filling the need of my clients with the time we have booked. Several times a week I tell folks that what we do with their time is 100% up to them – they can have whoever they want there, or change their clothes, or drive to different locations. My goal is to serve folks in a unique way – I am more focused on building around my clients needs, than putting folks into predetermined buckets.

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?

2020 was a very interesting year for me personally. I was a brand new mom trying to figure that out, while also living in the midst of a pandemic and no longer being able to go out and see my family, friends or just folks at the store. Over the course of that year my life (like so many others) changed pretty dramatically and instead of being focused on the daily grind and the routine that I had been in for years at that point, everything came to a sudden halt. While being isolated with my husband and newborn, I quickly realized that puzzles were only going to get me so far and that I needed a way to connect to others outside my home. I had always done photos for those close to me and had been told over and over I needed to make a career out of it. One wild day I decided to just do it but wanted to do it in a way that I could serve others. I had no way of knowing how it would turn out or if folks would support me at all but with lessons learned I’ve been incredibly fortunate. I think the notion of having this company to serve others has been a real differentiator for me. I’ve been blessed enough to work with the most amazing clients these past couple of years and build a brand thats focused on affordability, flexibility, understanding and grace. I strive to be as laid back and fun as possible, someone that adults connect to and someone that kids think is silly and they have fun with. I think when you strip away all the rules that you are supposed to have, rules set by the industry, or just the peer group in general (thank you social media), it gives you the freedom to create a company with intentions and values that make sense to you. It gives you the power to identify what is important, who are you serving and how can you create a plan that is not only going to change your life as a business owner, but also change your community through things like affordability, flexibility, understanding and grace.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I believe that consistency is king in building your reputation. My brand has grown so much in the last couple of years from something that didn’t exist at all into what it is today and when I think about why, it’s consistency. I dont mean consistency in work product, although that is helpful. I mean consistency in things like how you communicate, how you grow, or how you handle conflict resolution. My social media is full of different photography groups with folks asking questions and several times a day there are posts asking for advice on how someone would respond to an upset client. My response is always the same, is the battle your fighting worth loosing this customer and the next 10, over? Sometimes it is, and thats okay, but way more often it’s not. I totally understand you cant please everyone and I don’t want to sound disconnected in that manner. What I mean is that the power of your reputation is the most important tool in your belt. The experience that your clients have will propel your business forward leaps and bounds, or make it one hell of a walk up hill. As business owners we know that happy folks share our company with their friends, family, coworkers, etc. but we also know that unhappy folks share their experience with the entire universe three times over. It is so important to own the experience that your clients have from the first moment together until that experience is over. Choosing to put grace, understanding and flexibility as three of my four core values is strategically designed around understanding the customer experience and because it’s focused on serving them, Ive been lucky enough to build the reputation I have.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Resilience will get you, at least for me its something that you don’t even understand you’re doing until you look back at it. When I first started this company I was blessed with a ton of support right off the bat, Friends, family, coworkers – so many people came out of the woods to cheer me on and help me grow. As the newness wore off however and we started getting some traction with clients that I didn’t have a connection to, things changed. I was so excited, and so proud and was pretty quickly met with the realization that not everyone around you, is happy for your success. The first year of business was hard, I didn’t understand how or why we were growing, I didn’t understand why some people were initially happy for me and then not, I didn’t understand a lot of the battles that I was facing and how to deal with it. I struggled with trying to edit in style that was like everyone else because thats what’s trendy, I struggled with trying to research and learn CRM’s and SEO’s and things that had meant literally nothing to me. I very clearly remember at one point having a complete melt down. I didn’t want to learn anymore about business, I didn’t want to take another photo that just was not great from a technical standpoint, I didn’t want to learn more about technology and I really just wanted some of my friends back. I remember thinking that I could shut it down, stop it all, no one would ever miss the girl who did an experiement for a year. But I chose resilience. I took it day by day, sometimes hour by hour – and progressed. I decided that if this was going to work, if I was going to change my life, it was going to work by my rules, and not the rules that I had felt were thrust upon me. Little by little I learned, I practiced, I made decisions (and mistakes) and I started leading by my gut. I made core values that aligned with who I wanted to be and who I wanted to serve and ever so slowly we have turned into who we are today. I think resilience in yourself, your brand, and your community are are ongoing things and I cant wait see what I look back on again in a few more years.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.fractionfoto.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @fractionfoto
• Facebook: Fraction Foto