We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Catie Hadro a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Catie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
I more-so want to talk about meaningful projects in general, because in a creative profession it is incredibly important to continue doing passion projects aside from your paid clients. Most everyone who gets into photography does it because they enjoy it and I have personally felt frustrated with myself in the past for getting busy with paid clients that I’m forgetting the creative motivation I had in the first place. It’s easy to become distracted by the routine of delivering your service, but in something that relies heavily on your ability to think creatively or artistically, you must remove the pressure once in a while and work on a passion project for FUN. Totally unpaid, and zero pressure, so you can try new things and restore your drive for the art.
Catie, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I never ever thought I’d start my own business. Not in a million years. I ended up here because after starting my career first in sales, then in higher education, I realized how much I cared about being passionate in my work. I’m not motivated by climbing the corporate ladder, I care the most about enjoying my life on the day to day. I’m motivated by waking up on Monday morning feeling excited about the work I get to do. I’ve always loved being creative, but I never thought I would be able to do something creative in work. I went to school for communication studies, but minored and graphic design. Little did I know the graphic design would be so helpful in photo editing now.
I bought my first camera during my undergrad, just to take photos for fun of me, my friends, and the beautiful landscape of La Crosse WI, where I was living at the time. In the beginning, I was posting these photos for fun, and then some of my friends wanted photos for Christmas cards, some friends needed engagement photos, and slowly it snowballed into more casual shoots. I was doing it really casually for a while, and wasn’t planning on making it anything more. It was quickly after the pandemic started I was handed plenty more time during my week because just like many, I was sent to work from home for the foreseeable future. With all the extra time not commuting to downtown Minneapolis (and when we were all in lock down), I was given the opportunity to dive deep into creating better work, building a portfolio, and found so much joy in it. I started doing tons of free shoots to practice, started listening to hours upon hours of business podcasts, and of course, watched days of youtube videos. It’s because of the free education out there I was able to build as fast I did. 2020 was the year I decided to pursue photography as more than a hobby, and now in 2022 I have 20+ wedding clients I am so thrilled to work with! I am so grateful to have made the progress I have so far, and am pumped for the future clients I get to work
with.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
By far, referrals have been the number 1 strategy for growing my clientele. In 2022, roughly 90% of my wedding clients were referred to me. Referrals can be from past clients, other vendors, or people who I may not have worked with but follow along on social media and more. The most important thing you can do in a business is provide the most exceptional client experience. From start to finish, I’m focusing on serving the client where they’re at and I think that’s the most effective strategy you can have.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?
I love this question, and I kind of laugh about it. Uncle Jim might not like the way I edit, and Grandma Sue might disagree with how I placed my clients in a lighting situation. Being a creative, you have the authority to create how you want to, but that doesn’t mean people aren’t going to have opinions about it. Non-creatives seem to have a “right and wrong” perspective about your product/art, but creatives know there’s no such thing. Just different perspectives and tastes.
Contact Info:
- Website: catiehadrophotography.com
- Instagram: catiehadro
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/catiehadrophotography/