We were lucky to catch up with Yolanda “Poetic Flow” Jackson recently and have shared our conversation below.

Yolanda “Poetic Flow”, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. One of the most important things we can do as business owners is ensure that our customers feel appreciated. What’s something you’ve done or seen a business owner do to help a customer feel valued?

I always say that I am a vibe & experience. My clientele doesn’t just get a photo shoot, video or photos from me, I always go above and beyond and give them extra or bonus things (creative photos/videos) from their bookings with me. Poetic Flow Photography & Poetic Flow Productions always make sure that clients feel appreciated, happy and have smiles on their faces and hearts. Clients love that they receive all photos (unedited) and select photos of clients choosing are edited. As a mobile photographer, clients also enjoy the luxury and comfort of not having to leave their homes for photos. During event photography, clients are always thrilled that photos are uploaded to social media within a 12-24 hour time frame. When it comes to creating promo videos, flyers, logos, intro/outro videos, clients are overly excited about the quick turnaround time with Poetic Flow Productions. I pride myself on timeliness of the client, but also professionalism as well as great service & content.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I started Poetic Flow Photography & Poetic Flow Productions in 2016. After having been co-owner of a television & film studio, I wanted to continue to hone in on my creativity. I have always loved photography, so that was an easy love of mine to craft from hobby to profession. As a natural creative, it was also easy to begin creating video content (digital promo videos, flyers, etc.) for entrepreneurs. As a 3x published poet, I have always been a very creative person. My growing love for photography & visual artistry seemed almost a natural ease for me. I was also creative director for a woman owned shoe brand (Indigoz Shoes), I primarily handled the marketing aspect of social media post, created video content, did photography and some videography for the brand.

When it comes to my Photography, I provide photo shoots, head shots, event photography, product photography, weddings, creative/artistic digital photos and more.

When it comes to my Production company, I provide digital promo videos, basic logos, intro/outros for youtube, podcasts, etc., flyers (still & motion), announcements, etc. All production work is all digital (mp4, sva, png, jpg).

My hope is all new readers with whom I’ve never done business with and are learning of me and my businesses for the first time, understand that I take pride in all I do, my work, my communication, my ability to bring their visions to life and my dedication to my creativeness to give clients what they simply imagined and turn it into a reality.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Funny, my main audience followed over from MySpace to Facebook to Twitter to Instagram. I built my initial and main audience from my poetry and that includes celebrities. Once on Instagram I built a new audience (inclusive of many I already followed and followed me on other social media platforms), via my Photography and Production pages. Also some followers I actually met in person for the purpose of photography jobs, which led to more connections and a continuation of building my social media to share my work.

Advice re newbies on social media: Be selective with who you follow and who follows you. If you have multiple businesses, create separate pages for each unless there is ALWAYS an overlap of the business, product, service, etc. Try not to inundate one page with everything you do or offer because it will convoluted and confusing to your consumers. Enjoy social media, be intentional with your business(es) and those who you follow.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I am a legalese (lol) by profession, going on 25 years in the legal field as a Sr. Paralegal. Obviously, I am also a creative, so I am that rare breed that uses both sides of my brain (analytical/logical and creative), as such there have been times when my creative has taken over and I was in full blown entrepreneur mode and not working in the legal. I did it for a few years, but hit a point when business was not as hot, so I went back to what I knew would be more consistent and steady….the law. So as of now, my creative business is more part-time during my spare time off the 9-5 clock. Entrepreneurship is not for faint or weary, it is tireless hours, sleepless nights, long days, being steadfast in your craft and believing in YOU even when others don’t. It is a journey of ups and downs, frustrations, irritations, feeling like no one supports your dreams, but NEVER let that stop you from continuing your hard work, be it full time or part time, never give up on yourself because just surely as you put in all that time, all that work, all the creative ideas, all the let downs or denials you get, one day you’ll get the YES and you’ll know that it was not in vain. So pivot if you must because we all need a roof over our head, food on the table, clothes on our back, etc., but never stop being that creative person working towards your vision of that success story of which you are.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: poeticflowphotography & poeticflowproductions

Image Credits
Poetic Flow Photography