We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Graham + Ashley Scobey. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Graham + Ashley below.

Graham + Ashley, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love for you to start by sharing your thoughts about the pros and cons of family businesses

One of the most common responses we get when people find out we are a Husband + Wife team that runs multiple businesses together and homeschools our two kiddos is: “I could NEVER do that.”

And I get it. I really do. It’s a lot of togetherness. And family can be messy. Fourteen years into doing life this way and I can tell you that, for us, it has been messy – it has been a lot – and it has been really, really beautiful. Running a family business means we are a team, in the truest sense of the word. Our kids always know when we need additional support, be it physical (helping us load our gear into the cars before a big day) or emotional (knowing when it’s a good time for a joke to lighten the mood), and in turn, we’ve learned a lot about ourselves and each other.

We’ve seen family business done in a lot of different ways; some healthier than others. For us, it’s the ultimate collaboration. With clear communication, mutual respect, and shared goals we always know when the “work” that needs to be done is at the computer or at the kitchen sink, and it’s always important. These values have allowed us to grow our family businesses without losing sight of what matters most to us – that our family is supported in every way, and always put first on the list of priorities.

Graham + Ashley, 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?

Ashley taught Graham that, when you really like someone, you intertwine your fingers. We’ve been holding hands that way ever since. Between then and now, we have dreamed our way from Los Angeles to Connecticut to Atlanta to Colorado. We started The Scobeys in 2009, and have been growing and adding businesses ever since. It’s a journey we have loved and feel infinitely grateful for.

We’ve had the opportunity to work on Oscar-nominated films, we’ve had the privilege of building an internationally recognized photography studio, and we have been honored by being named one of the 30 Rising Stars of Wedding Photography by Rangefinder Magazine. We have shot weddings all over the world, we have a crazy passion for people and photojournalism and stupid big dreams, and our work has received awards such as Junebug’s Best of the Best, PDN Top Knots, and Showit’s Image of the Year.

More importantly, though, we are in constant search of ridiculous places to have dance parties and tickle fights with our two kids. Because, for us, our success will always be measured by the joy we exhibit and how well we love others.

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

Good gracious, yes. One of the things we are most proud of is being able to see our events business through a Global pandemic. We not only made it through one of the most challenging seasons of our business, but we were able to maintain a level of care and support for our clients that we are truly proud of. Every canceled and rescheduled event was a significant hit to our bottom line as a business, but we stayed true to our foundational value that People matter in our business. We offered flexibility and empathy each and every time, working hard to take the emotional burden off our clients and ensuring that when the pandemic was over, we would know that we didn’t lose our True North even when the World seemed to be falling apart.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

People want to be seen, heard, and understood. In a business as personal as Weddings and Events, those things are even more important. Our clients are trusting us with the moments and memories from an incredibly special, important day. We make sure to let them know that we don’t take that responsibility lightly. We are open, available, and communicative so that expectations are set correctly and our clients always know how much they matter to us – both personally and professionally.

Having connection points along the journey where we make sure to check in, as well as little moments of unexcepted delight where we deliver galleries early or send champagne gummies bears to say “we’re thinking of you!” all foster lasting brand loyalty and positivity along the way.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thescobeys.com
• Instagram: @thescobeys

Image Credits
The Scobeys