We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Alicia Skiver-Palmer. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Alicia below.

Alicia, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s the best or worst investment you’ve made (either in terms of time or money)? (Note, these responses are only intended as entertainment and shouldn’t be construed as investment advice)

I started my photography business back in 2013. I was young, I just had my first child and I HATED having to leave him every day for work. I was always taking pictures of our dogs or of nature and after I had my first child, my husband bought me my first DSLR camera. I knew then, that I wanted to open a photography studio. Not just any photography studio, but one where I focused most of my attention on new babies and families. That was where my passion lies. Fast forward several years, I am pregnant with my 3rd child (3rd boy) and I am WORKING MY BOOTY OFF! I had become sooo popular and was always busy. That is good new right?? Wrong!! Here I was, 7 months pregnant and taking on over 40 sessions in one month! I had to cancel vacation plans, I never saw my kiddos, and even if I was home, I was on my computer editing and sending out galleries. All of this work and I was barely bringing in what my husband was bringing in, and he had a 40 hour work week while I was working over 80 hours. I just wasn’t happy with my work life balance. The BEST investment I ever made was enrolling in a business course specifically geared towards photographers who were in the same situation as I was…working too much, getting burnt out, and starting to hate what used to be my passion. In this course we discussed how often do we want to work? How many clients do we want? What expenses did we have? and How much do we want to make in a year? Being able to sit down and write all of my wants down made me feel like I had gained total control of my business again, but it went even further! After we figured all that out, we then plugged our numbers into a nifty calculator. This calculator then popped out THE NUMBER. The number I had to make from each client to satisfy my wants. And let me tell you…this number was scary! How was I going to accomplish charging 4+ times what I was charging. Thats another thing this course taught me…how. It taught me how to run a sustainable business and provide a service that was worth the luxury price point. It wasn’t ALL about the images I took, but more about the service I provide to each client. Fortunately (sort of) Covid hit and shut my business down which gave me 6 months to restructure my business, study the process and the method, and give me hope for the future my business was going to provide for my family and me. The first year applying everything I had learned from this course, I DOUBLED my revenue AND only had a fraction of the clients. I went from over 300+ clients a year to about 150 or so, but made double! And each year I learn a little more, perfect the process, and grow. Taking less clients does not mean I don’t love photography, it just means that I have a stronger hold of my work life balance. Do I wish I would have taken this course sooner? Absolutely, because I just can’t imagine where I would be now if I had. Am I glad I took this step, even after 7 years? Yes! It is never too late to learn, perfect and grow! I am so excited to see where my business goes in the next 1, 5 and even 10 years from now. Most people think about taking all the “how to photograph” courses in the world, but never think about the business aspects of it! I now take 2 vacations a year, I am able to attend my son’s basketball games, I am able to be home to cook dinner, help my middle child with his homework, and my passion for photography has only grown! That is the best investment I have made as a business owner. Investing in a course that helped me discover how I wanted to run my business and how to achieve success!

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?

Hi! I am Alicia. I have 3 little boys and an amazing husband. Without my husband’s support, I would not be where I am today. I opened a photography studio about 9 years ago and have only improved since! My studio is a full service boutique studio, where I specialize in newborn and family portraits, as well as providing my clients with high end heirloom products, ranging from framed artwork to gorgeous leather albums that are hand made in Italy. I would say I am different than a lot of photographers because, although I think digital images are important as we are in a digital age, I still find the strongest value are those that can be held and touched: Physical prints. I find joy in every client’s print order and LOVE seeing my creations up on my clients walls, or in an album that sits on their coffee table to be looked at by all their family members. Most of my clients value the same thing, physical products. I usually don’t book those looking for just digital files and THAT’S OK! Everyone values different things. You won’t find me spending hunderds or thousands of dollars on a purse, but some will! Because that is what they value. My ideal clients are those who value the portraits hanging up in their home, or the one on one all inclusive service I provide. Nothing makes me happier than getting a gorgeous client order in of their brand new baby, or beach family session, or senior session! My studio is all about the luxury service and I strive to uphold a luxury brand.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

The best source for me would be word of mouth and google. Having a luxury brand, pulling inquiries from facebook usually doesn’t work for me. Those looking for specific services for a specific event on google, who have browsed my website and become familiar with my business, are the ones I have a lot of success with. Also, word of mouth. Clients who have used my service and value you my service, will recommend me to those they feel would best fit. I worked a lot on SEO and participating in community events. It is all about getting in front of the people searching for your particular service.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I wish I had known about the courses and workshops that are available to the photography community today. I am not sure if they were available 10 years ago, but I am grateful to have taken a handful of them in the passed 5 years. From learning the perfect lighting and posing, to learning all about the different types of photography businesses there are, and deciding on what type of business I want to be. I love targeting the luxury market and those that see the value of photography. Learning about how to target or how to even determine your ideal client is something I wish I would have known about earlier in my career.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.asp-photography.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/asp.__.photography
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aspphotographyllc
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alicia-skiver-palmer-138419203