Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Alexxis Grant. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alexxis, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s start with education – we’d love to hear your thoughts about how we can better prepare students for a more fulfilling life and career

Education is a highly valuable to achievement in life. The current education system does leave students a bit under prepared for the real world expectations and fulfillment, however. I was lucky enough to not have a clue what I wanted to do after high school and I would encourage people to enter the workplace with an experimental approach like the one I had.

I was the hard working advanced placement student in high school, but unlike my peers I didn’t have a career path picked out. My friends were going to be doctors, lawyers, teachers, marketing directors, etc. the choice to go to college was easy for them and the next steps were clear. College wasn’t something I could pay for and jumping right into an expensive loan as an 18 years old when I didn’t know what degree I even wanted seemed like a poor choice. I instead I sought out internships in a few different fields that interested me and found mentors that would teach me. That lead me to a marketing internship with a small business where I worked closely with the CEO of the company who gave me the space to explore many aspects of what it takes to run a business. This educated me with the skills I needed to turn my photography hobby into a business at 18 years old. Fast forward, and instead of a 4 year degree at 22 years old and student loans, I had work experience in marketing and a 3 year old photography business that I had transitioned to full time.

Based on my experience, if I could change anything about the education system it would be to shift the focus of higher (college) education from a high cost classroom experience that leaves students in debt, to a workplace training system that encourages innovation through direct engagement with onsite mentors.

This shift towards experimental, disciplined hands on learning would give people the chance to experiment with different career paths, ideas, and learning where they can discover what they truly enjoy doing, leading them towards a life path of their own creation.

Alexxis, 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 am a photographer, creative director, and personal hype woman. I offer photography services that cover events, headshots, and product branding. My goal as a business owner and photographer is to make you look and feel good. As cliché as that sounds it’s the truth. You have something unique to offer and together we are going to show the world what your true genius can do for them.

In photography anyone can take a good photo, but my goal is to give you a fabulous experience. Let’s skip the awkward feeling of standing in front of the camera like a potato ( I’m that person 100% when anyone takes my photo, so you’re not alone.) and instead find your flow. From event hype for the guests, to telling the story of your brand, no matter the project together we can bring your vision to life.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

Start with where you are at.

Growth is simple. Find one customer -> Over deliver with excellence -> Ask them to share thier experience

No matter if you are selling a product or a service, the experience your client has with your brand is what they will remember.

If you find that one client and they love the experience you provided they will share their experience with everyone they know and that is where you will find a snowball effect in growing your clientele.

Has your business ever had a near-death moment? Would you mind sharing the story?

Every business and business creator has at least one oh crap moment that feels like the death of the business is coming.

My experience with this feeling is that it was 90% a feeling rather then a reality. Let me explain.

I had 2-3 clients early on that were very unhappy with the product I delivered to them. There was a lack of skill on my end that resulted in my not being able to deliver at the level of the clients’ expectations. They gave me some pretty harsh words via email and over the phone. As a new business owner, I gave them a full refund that at the time felt like the end of the world. The payments were need to keep the business going and issuing the refund in my mind meant 2 thing; 1. No cash flow 2. Unhappy clients that would tell others how bad of an experience they had with me, therefore loss of the opportunity for new clients

At the end of the day, we survived and came out the other side no real disaster, but I wanted to share this because as someone starting out in business any error feels like a disaster and can mean the death of the business. Having two clients so angry at me at such an early part of my journey, I took the mistakes personally and very easily could have quit at that moment.

When starting out, you will make mistakes and you have two choices as you run into those mistakes. You have the option to quit or to learn. My advice is to take the path of learning and keep going after your dreams.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.timelesspresentphotos.com
• Instagram: @Timelesspresent
• Facebook: @timelesspresentphotos