We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Abby Cole a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Abby, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about a time you helped a customer really get an amazing result through their work with you.

Most businesses understand professional photography is important, but many don’t understand the true value and impact it has on building a brand. How it enables effective communication and relationship building with clients, customers, and community, allowing a business to influence the actions of its consumers. And how it has a direct impact on a businesses revenue and growth.

I work with businesses of all sizes – personal brands, small to mid size businesses, as well as corporate 100 businesses when it comes to creating visual assets. I watch the impact photography has on these businesses, but there is one I am particularly excited about.

I specialize in branding photography for all industries, as well as interior design and architectural photography. The combination of these niches allowed me to transform one of my interior design clients businesses. Over the course of a year, we had 7 interiors photoshoots to capture her design skills at some of her best completed projects. We also had 2 branding photoshoots to create imagery and content that reflects the heart and spirit of her business. Throughout the year, we had several planning calls to discuss the strategy of what type of photos to create for her business, photos that would build a cohesive brand, showcase her unique skillset, and ultimately drive her ideal clients to inquire and work with her.

The result of our work together is amazing and is the reason why I love being a branding and interiors photographer. Making a positive impact and having a role in a small businesses success is what inspires and drives me. My client launched a full website showcasing her interior design projects portfolio, the website also includes all of her branding photos – headshots, images of her process, engaging with clients, behind the scenes, and even her recommended materials such as paint colors, fabrics, hardware. She was also able to update all of her client facing documents, walking them through her process with visuals and texts to make it a seamless and comprehensive experience. Her photos are being published in accredited media outlets and used on social media. Her business is busier than it has ever been!

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 am the owner of Abby Cole Photography, a small business based in Connecticut. My path to owning and running a boutique photography business is a surprise to most. While I have enjoyed photography as a hobby my entire life, I spent most of my life pushing that passion aside while I worked in corporate. I got my undergrad at Temple University, my masters at Sacred Heart Business School, and then worked at fortune 100 companies for over a decade.

I always had this itch inside of me that I was meant to combined my business background with my creative passions. Finally, about five years ago I got the courage to start making that dream a reality. I worked tirelessly to grow my passion from hobby, to side hustle, to a full-time business. Within a short amount of time I had built my dream business, doing what I love, and was able to take the leap into photography full time, leaving my corporate career behind.

My mission is to create professional, timeless, and authentic imagery for businesses to elevate their branding, create brand awareness, and inspire their ideal customer to take action. I specialize in branding, interior design, products, and food photography and videography.

Some businesses know exactly what they need and call me to execute that vision. Other businesses will work with me on creating their vision to ensure the photos and videos align with their business goals and branding. I welcome and have worked with businesses of all sizes, from personal brands with just one employee to executive branding photography at Goldman Sachs. Whether a business is just starting out or has been established for decades, having fresh, professional, intentional photography is crucial.

I work throughout New England and the Tri-State area, but I am based in Southern Connecticut. I get my inspiration from my clients. The work that I do supports the success and growth of local and small businesses, who are the core of our community. My clients range from service-based businesses or product-businesses, of all sizes, to Interior designers and architects who create incredible homes and spaces for their clients. I get to capture the outcome of all of that hard work. The opportunity to serve them in capturing their creations in a way that truly values the work and skill that they put into it.

One common thread amongst my clients is that they are business owners who put their whole world and passion into building and growing their business. Who get out of their comfort zone and in-front of the camera because nothing will stand in their way of following their passion. Working and surrounding myself with community like this is what drives me.

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

Five years ago my business did not exist and I was working full time in a corporate job that I was not fulfilled with. Fast forward to now, I have a successful business where I get to do what I love day in and day out.

The journey from side hustle to full time is not easy and has many milestones along the way. I am sure any business owner or entrepreneur will tell you, there is also a lot of un-learning and mindset work you have to do to position yourself as a business leader and be willing to take risks that are necessary to grow the business.

The key for me, was that I never treated my business as a side hustle, even from day one. I never had people give me cash or did things through my personal accounts (social media, finances, etc.). From the day I decided I was going to make this a business, I treated it like a full time business. I invested in the right softwares and systems, even if I didn’t need them at full capacity yet. I got setup with a CRM system so that all of my client facing documents, invoices, and contracts were professional. Even in the very beginning when clients worked with me, they did not have the experience of working with someone who does this as a hobby or for fun, I was committed to giving them the best client experience as well as high quality results. Because of this I was able to build my business rather quickly, through word of mouth, people wanting to leave google reviews for their pleasant experience, and networking.

I do think a hard truth of growing a side hustle to a full time business is that it is all consuming. When you aren’t working your full time job, you are spending every waking minute building the side hustle. And you also have to make room for learning and education. Because as a new business owner, there is so much to learn. Not only your craft and building your skill set, but also how to market, how to manage finances, understanding accounting and the legalities of your industry and business.

But if you can stay passionate and work through all of that, it is truly a rewarding experience. There are many milestones along the journey of building a side hustle into a full time job. Public recognition is of course a big one, seeing your community recognize and acknowledge you as an expert in your field. The other big milestones are hitting your financial goals, understanding the balance of revenue and expenses and where you need to be in order to grow it to a full time business.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I manage my own social media and have since the beginning of my business. Social media was the number one way I would reach new clients in the beginning of my business, and to this day it still plays a big role in my marketing strategy.

I grew my audience organically, trying to learn techniques and trends and implementing them for my business, clientele, and industry. Trends constantly change but there are several aspects of social media that have always been consistent and effective for me that I am happy to share!

The first is to have a strategy, and this strategy should completely revolve around what your business goals are, why you are using social media, and who you are trying to reach/engage with. For example, are you using social media to get new clients, what type of clients are you looking for and how do you want to work with them. I specialize in branding and interiors, so I have always created and shared content that would resonate with other business owners. However, someone who is a family or wedding photographer, would be sharing very different information to speak to a bride or a parent.

Once you have a strategy of what you are using social media for and who you are trying to connect with, you can start to create content. Think about types of content are you plan to share (educational, inspiring) and how much to share (strictly business or adding in personal). Try not to waste time on anything else that is not driving you towards your goals. I also listen to my clients at photoshoots and during conversations. I listen to what they are going through, challenges, what they like about my process in particular, and I think about ways that I can share this with others via social media.

The last thing I will share is, don’t overthink it and don’t aim for perfection. I do believe it is really important for most business owners (depending on the business) to share their faces, talk to the camera, and be personable. I think it is a great way to connect with others. People feel comfortable when they know someone or are invested in their business/life and it can break down barriers. I do not think you need to overshare, personally I do not share much of my personal life on social media. But I do post photos of myself, or reels of my behind the scenes, and I do talk in stories about my business and what I am doing. Many of my clients tell me they felt like they already knew me by the time we worked together because I do this.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.abbycolephotography.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abbycolephotography/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Abbycolephoto
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/abby-cole-photography/
• Twitter: n/a
• Youtube: n/a
• Yelp: n/a
• SoundCloud: n/a
• Other: Pinterest: https://www.linkedin.com/company/abby-cole-photography/

Image Credits
47 Moments Photography
Abby Cole Photography