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

Alysa, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. So, let’s imagine that you were advising someone who wanted to start something similar to you and they asked you what you would do differently in the startup-process knowing what you know now. How would you respond?

Start small and grow big! The first thing I would do differently would be to start out on a smaller scale. I tend to dream big, have lots of ideas and probably get a little too excited. All of this is not bad, but it can get to be a little overwhelming and you can easily lose focus. SVDM was started as a digital media and marketing agency with my husband. We decided to combine our talents and skills to provide these services to local nonprofits and small businesses. However, as his career has taken him in a different direction, SVDM became more of just me and the services I could provide. If I could go back, I would start with focusing on just photography, videography and flying my drone instead of trying to encompass everything at once.

The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing! This timeless advice from Stephen Covey can apply to so many areas of our lives, but especially to entrepreneurs. At times I have definitely lost my focus on the main goals during this process. From the beginning I should have focused more on becoming the best I could be at flying the drone, framing the shot and editing. I would immerse myself in the learning process instead of learning on the “fly.” I think growing these skills and building my portfolio from the beginning would have been a game changer. I spent too much time focusing on things I didn’t necessarily reap any rewards from, such as learning how and building my website. Again, a website presence is important, but not necessarily the main thing.

Spend less! Whether a hobby or a business, photography, videography, and drones are not cheap. There is always the latest and greatest you think you need. And yes, I allowed myself to get sucked into needing the “shiny” new gadget that would make my footage look “smooth and buttery” and become the next great cinematic blockbuster. Thankfully, I did not go crazy in this area, but focusing on what I thought I needed instead of using what I had and perfecting my skills with this would definitely allow me to get to where I am today with less capital. The best gear to have is the one in your bag. Start with what you have and grow from there. The key is to start!

Alysa, 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?

My name is Alysa Chapman and have been traveling a long and winding road to get to where I am today. For as long as I can remember, I have been drawn to photography and capturing those moments to remember. I think it just took me a while to realize this was my passion. When drones started becoming more popular, I became fascinated with getting pictures from a different perspective. I love flying around and capturing photos from different angles and perspectives. The views we do not normally see or would ever see in our everyday lives. I am always on the lookout to capture the perfect shot.

I provide photography, including aerial photography and videography. I also want to assist in helping communities/cities promote themselves with photos accompanied with written content.

I want to help organizations, builders, realtors get the images or video they need to tell their story, promote services or sell properties. I have also recently incorporated writing into my portfolio and am working on sharpening those skills as well. I have enjoyed using my photos along with content as a way to help communities promote themselves.

I am probably most proud that even though this journey I have been on hasn’t been easy and I am not quite where I want to be, I still here working every day enjoying what I do. I have learned so much and continue to keep working towards the goal.

Have you ever had to pivot?

My entire life has been about pivoting. In fact, SVDM was started as a digital media and marketing agency with my husband. We decided to combine our talents and skills to provide these services to local nonprofits and small businesses. However, as his career has taken him in a different direction, SVDM became more of just me and the services I could provide.

Now I am in one of those pivot moments again. I have been splitting my time between Indianapolis and Phoenix for some time now. Now my family finally has an opportunity to make the Phoenix area our permanent home and we could not be more excited. Over the course of the next couple of months as we transition to Arizona, I will also be transitioning my business and new ideas I have to expand and grow. I think you need to be flexible and open in today’s world especially if you want to be an entrepreneur. There are so many opportunities available and you need to be open minded if you want to be successful and enjoy the journey!

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

For me it is what it actually means to be an entrepreneur. Growing up there were two types of entrepreneurs and generally they had one source of income. Of course, there were rare individuals who came from challenging situations and built amazing companies from nothing. However, for the most part, they were individuals who invested their entire life, working numerous hours, and rarely spent time just enjoying life. They poured their heart and soul into a business hoping to leave a legacy and make a difference for their family. The other type of entrepreneur was someone who had a lot of money, owned a big business and made even more by buying the smaller businesses. Either way, they sold a specific product or service.

Now with the technology we have, entrepreneurs can be creatives such as myself with multiple streams of income who can easily pivot when necessary. Entrepreneurs can be a parent who has chosen to stay at home with their young children running a business out of their home or even a recent retiree who has turned their hobby and passion into a business. There has never been a better time and opportunity than now to start something new and you don’t have to quit your full time job to do it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.skyviewdigitalmedia.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skyviewdigitalmedia/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/skyviewdigitalmedia
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alysa-chapman/

Image Credits
The professional photo of Alysa Chapman is credited to Paul D’Andrea Photography and all aerial drone pictures are credited to myself. These are some more of my favorite photos I’ve taken recently.