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

Hi Brittany, thanks for joining us today. So, folks often look at a successful business and think it became a success overnight – but that often obscures all the nitty, gritty details of everything that went into the growth phase of your business. We’d love to hear about your scaling story and how you scaled up?

I think it’s a common misconception that there’s one specific tactic that helps a business scale up. I knew that I didn’t want to spend all of my energy on just one thing because I wanted my business structure to be a funnel. All of my marketing efforts would pull in leads, which would be narrowed down to ideal clients, which I would then be able to serve to the best of my ability.

The best tactic I can recommend for any business starting out is to focus on your client experience. That’s the one thing I have put all of my heart and effort into over the last 2 years of doing this. I even go so far as to reach out to past clients at the end of each year and ask how I could improve or what they would’ve changed while working with me. Everything that I do is thought of through the eyes of my clients. Once I was able to step into that mindset, everything changed.

Initially I spent a lot of time figuring out what I wanted to provide for my clients and not about what they needed from me. You see, once I took the time to learn about my clients and figure out what their pain points were/are, I was able to create an experience that’s tailored to those pain points. My clients biggest pain point is that they don’t want to feel awkward DURING the photos. They want to feel comfortable, relaxed, and joyful during their time with me. So every part of my experience with my clients is based around those three feelings.

Learning how to serve your clients/customers is your quickest way to grow. One of my mentors once told me, “Most people cannot tell the difference between a good and a great photograph. But most people can tell the difference between a good and a great experience.”

Brittany, 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?

I’m Brittany & I’m a Texan-turned-Minnesotan. I am also a wedding photographer who focuses on capturing real, joy-filled moments in a natural way. I am real with my clients and provide support for them from the time that they book to the time that their wedding album is designed. I am most proud of my business style with my clients; I have an open-door policy with my clients that helps me build relationships with them in an honest, meaningful way. There is not a single client that I’ve booked that I haven’t formed a bond with and I pride myself on my people skills + my ability to make anyone laugh.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I follow a lot of photographers and they’re all so talented. I’ve been basing who I want to be off their images for a long time and I never realized that I was doing that. I thought if I did the same thing as them, I would get where they are. I tried doing the “trending” photos, I tried editing the same way most of them edit, I tried mimicking their business practices. None of it seemed like it got me anywhere.

Finally, I just decided that enough was enough and I unfollowed a lot of people. Not because they’re not good or inspiring, but because I was stacking myself against them and it just got to be toxic for my mental health. I have a horrible habit of comparing myself to others and wondering when my turn is coming. I’ve come to realize, after my busy wedding season has progressed, that it’s not my photos that sell my clients. It’s not my website or my perfectly-curated instagram either. It’s me. I just had a wedding where I got to wear my Spider-Man shirt. Not only does this go against the unspoken photographers code of only wearing black to a wedding, but it goes against every grain of “professionalism” that I’ve been taught over the years.

The thing about photography is that it’s art. And art is subjective. Not everyone will like me or my images, but those that do are providing my life with joy and purpose. The lesson? Be yourself and stop comparing yourself to others. You are exactly where you’re meant to be right now.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Actually, it’s funny you ask. My husband recently quit his job to stay home and prepare for his first semester of college next year and I couldn’t be more proud of him. But with that meant that I had to make the sacrifice to go back to work. You know, for the health insurance.

Thankfully, I’ve found a company that fully supports my endeavors and I’m about a month into this new job. It’s been so great. It does limit the time I’ve gotten to work on business-related things, but I’ve made it work and all of my clients are completely understanding. Most of them are actually pushing me to take more breaks and slow down because they know how hard I work behind the scenes.

Going into 2023, I’m focusing on slowing down with weddings to continue exploring myself and the things I love about photography. I am so excited for this phase of business and I can’t wait to see what kind of growth I have over the course of the next few years.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.bluearthcreative.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/bluearthcreative
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/bluearthcreative