Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Luis Almeida. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Luis thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. If you’re open to it, can you talk to us about the best (or worst) investment you’ve made. What’s the backstory and the relevant context behind why you made the investment
One of the best investments that I made for Dr. A Photo LLC was to to buy a 24-70mm f2.8 Nikon F mount lens, despite of the rise of mirror less Sony technologies. When I work with clients, which are almost exclusively small businesses or non-profit organizations, quality matters and quality is often defined as clarity and beautiful colors. This lens has been helping me with completing important photojournalistic assignments that continue to pay off.
I wanted to take better photos for the Rotary Club, as a means to gain exposure for the business. Before shooting with a 24-70 2.8f lens, I shot with a 35mm 1.8f in events.
The versatile of this lens made my job easier and as a caveat, made me into the official photographer for the club which has paid off over and over again.
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’m Luis Camillo Almeida, an award winning college professor and photographer, Principal at Dr. A Photo LLC.
We got to where we are today because we decided to appreciate the process of developing a business from scratch. No successful and sustainable business becomes profitable overnight. It takes time, effort, money, and a lot of patience.
I got to where I’m today because I chose to put in the long hours that is required to build a successful business, plain and simple.
Let me illustrate.
In the beginning, we were strictly a landscape photo business. Now, we offer photo training, portrait photoshoots, photo consulting, some video and website design.
We now offer more services for one single reason. It sells. We learned, from experience, that landscape photography doesn’t sell much despite the many hours and funds we spent trying to make the business profitable.
If you want to have a successful business, you need to appreciate the process of creating one. There will be wins and losses. If you have the goal of building a successful enterprise, be aware: It will take longer and cost you more than you planned.
Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?
Without a doubt word of mouth. I’m a typical extroverted person who speaks with everyone. My personality assists our business with getting clients. In my opinion, any business that isn’t communicating with its clients won’t be a business for long. I’m not saying that all photo business owners need to be extroverts but it helps.
Go to places where your clientele is. Bring your best camera body with the biggest zoom lens you own. You will be noticed.
Can you talk to us about your experience with selling businesses?
Sure. We sold our business with a $30 ad in the local paper, in about a day. The town wanted us out.
Here is the back story.
When we sold I Do Therapy for a profit in 2015, we had 300 clients on the books. The business, despite of being located in a post-industrial rust belt area in western Pennsylvania was quite profitable. In fact, many people in that town wanted to know our secret of success since most local businesses were failing.
We were rejected by the local community, for the most part. We were outsiders.
Maybe we were lucky to sell the business so fast. We learned how to deal with adversity, how to sell, and advertise especially to the surrounding communities since most of our clientele were not from Indiana, PA.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.draphoto.biz/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/draphotobiz