We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Ashleigh Coelho. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Ashleigh below.

Ashleigh, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you take vacations? How do you keep things going – any advice for entrepreneurs who feel like they can’t step away from their business for a short vacation?

Absolutely! Why work if you can’t enjoy the fun things in life? I feel like if we don’t completely turn off work and relax every so often we can get totally burnt out. I think a balance of work and having time off is very important to your mental health and you will become a better business owner in the end with some R&R every so often!

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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

Ashleigh Coelho Photography specializes in studio posed newborn as well as maternity and milestone photography. I capture priceless moments in time that families can look back on for a lifetime. Specifically, I capture mostly the newborn stage – at about 1-2 weeks old. It is a privilege and I am honored to be able to photograph so many babies and I do not take lightly the trust that clients have in me to handle and take care of their babies during their newborn session.

I started learning about photography back in 2016 while taking weekend classes to learn how to use my camera. I started my business capturing families mostly, then honed in on newborn photography. Seeking a photographer that specializes in certain genres is the way to go and since I have focused more on the maternity to 1 year old genre, my business has taken off. As far as training, I have taken in-person newborn training classes that taught me some tricks of the trade – including newborn safety – and I am constantly finding resources online to grow as a business owner as well as the creative aspects this job involves.

What I am most proud of is what I’ve learned to keep a successful business running. I have learned that some moments you need to look at a situation as a business owner and other moments I need to approach moments as a mom with compassion and sympathy for everything that goes into taking care of a child.

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

I often get clients through referrals and the reviews people see online. People want a great experience and to work with someone they know they can trust. I treat every client with respect, make their experience memorable, and stay in touch so they don’t forget about me via e-mail at least once a year. When people have a great experience – they tell others and the clients I get through referrals are usually my best ones!

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

One of the main things that helped me turn my “side hustle” into more of a full-time business is to be seen! I currently have young kids so I am already around lots of pregnant moms and people that know other families expecting. I am a social person so this has been easy for me – I was already involved with mommy groups, church groups, etc when I started photography. If I ever need extra motivation to get out of the house, I remind myself that you never know who you may met that may be your next client. I did not flash my business card to every person I see, but often people ask what you do for a living in conversation then it goes from there. When people get to know you and see what kind of person you are, they’re more comfortable hiring you and referring their friends and family to you.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.AshleighCoelho.com
• Instagram: @AshleighCoelhoPhotography
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AshleighCoelhoPhotography