We recently connected with Briea Williams and have shared our conversation below.
Briea, appreciate you joining us today. The first dollar your business earns is always special and we’d love to hear how your brand made its first dollar of revenue.
To be honest my first client was unpaid, I was ready to get my photography career off the ground and knew I needed to create an opportunity for myself. I met a guy named Zane who owned an event planning business and he knew a woman who owned a bridal shop. He ended up taking me there one day to introduce me to her and I was so amazed at how beautiful these dresses were and they were all made by hand. As Zane was talking to the owner of the shop I took the opportunity to present my services to her and let her know that I was a photographer and I would like to shoot her dresses with one of her selected models. To my surprise she was very receptive and allowed me the opportunity to show her my skills. I was beyond excited that I was in the right place at the right time talking to the right person. I believe opportunities present themselves to us in many different ways, but we have to be open to receiving them.
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 was born and raised in Atlanta and I feel that I’ve always had a passion for the arts. When I was 12 years old my mom bought me my first digital camera and ever since then I’ve been hooked. Finally deciding that I wanted to become a full time photographer was a winding road but when I turned 27 I made the decision to open my photography business it has not been easy building my business but every step and every moment has been worth it. I am a self taught portrait photographer based out of Atlanta, photography is a very saturated industry and it can be difficult to set yourself apart, but I really believe my authenticity and how I feel about my subjects makes a difference. So many people shoot for money, but I take photographs for the moment I would honestly do this work if I didn’t get paid that’s how much I love it. I don’t feel the need to come up with these wild marketing schemes I just need to show up and trust that they can see my heart in my work.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
Making the decision to become a photographer was a winding road I didn’t know how I would be able to work full time and build my business at the same time, but I knew it was what I wanted to do. I knew I had to maintain financially, so I realized my regular 9-5 would fund the dream of becoming a full-time photographer. I decided I would work my office job along with building my business at the same time it has been one of the most challenging tasks I’ve taken on in addition to just having my daughter five months ago. It has been a balancing act to say the least, but it has never felt more worth it and I will tell anyone who wants to pursue any dream that nothing is possible especially when your heart and mind are pressed towards the task.
Have you ever had to pivot?
When I was learning to write contracts I had no idea what I was doing, I found contracts on google & would copy & paste. Talk about the worst idea EVER, I will never ever do that again. I had to learn how to be a better businesswoman when it came to my administrative work, all I wanted to do was focus on my art, but I quickly learned that when you’re in business for yourself you have to dot all your i’s and cross every t yourself. I had to pivot, I had to learn that in order to be effective there are times when you have to reach out to others to have done it before and have been successful. There is nothing wrong with asking for help it is only for the betterment of you and your business.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: briea_williams
Image Credits
Briea Williams