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

Caroline, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

Success to me means doing exactly what you want to do and feeling fulfilled and happy pursuing that. As a business owner, I’m constantly redefining what metrics I’m measuring my growth by, but I feel I’ve been successful ever since I decided to fully pursue my two businesses (social media management at The Polly Agency and photography at Caroline Polly Photography) full-time. My dad is an entrepreneur and over the years, I have seen his business grow one client at a time, culminating in where he is now. He has always been an inspiration to me and his encouragement to start my own business was instrumental in guiding my career path. Since college, I used my skills to create side hustles and I kept those up even as I was pursuing full-time employment. While I loved the variety in my jobs, I felt I owed it to myself to see where I could go if I completely worked for myself. It was scary to take that plunge, but I look back on that decision as one of the best I have ever made. I’m so proud of the work I’ve put into my two businesses and I hope I maintain my definition of success no matter where life takes me next.

Caroline, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Caroline Polly. I am a social media manager and photographer based in Palm Springs, CA. I am originally from Arlington, Virginia, right outside of Washington DC. I moved to California after college and have been living in Palm Springs for four years. I have been a photographer for about seven years and I have been a social media manager for three years.

I started my photography business in college taking senior portraits, covering sorority formals, and providing other organizations on campus with event photography. Once I moved to California, I pivoted my work to suit the colorful and fun nature of the desert. I now focus mainly on bachelorettes, families, friends or solo portraits, weddings, and events. I enjoy meeting new people and showing them around the Coachella Valley. My favorite part of being a photographer is when I capture someone’s essence or love on camera and their reaction to seeing those photos. It is the absolute best job and I’m so lucky my hobby is now my job!

I started out in social media working for the Palm Springs International Film Society. Over the course of my three years there, I rose through the ranks and garnered a deeper understanding of social media and marketing. When the pandemic hit, I decided to take on a social media client of my own and since then I’ve gained multiple clients (both remote and local) for which I create, post, and manage content for. I’m able to use my photography skills and shoot promotions or product photography, and I’m able to have a hands-on approach for my local clients. My services are tailored to the specific client so I can deliver exactly what is needed to make their life as a business-owner easier. As a small business-owner myself, I know how difficult it can be to manage all aspects of a business, event the things you don’t enjoy doing. Whether you are a small brand, a big business, fully online, or have a brick-and-mortar, I want to help make your life easier and help bring you more business and brand awareness along the way.

In both of my businesses, I care about having a good personal relationship with my clients and making them feel heard and taken care of. I’m lucky to be able to showcase Palm Springs, California with my work, so I make it my mission to show the world how special this place is whether it’s with my photography, by supporting local businesses, or creating community (I recently started a women’s social/networking group called Coachella Valley Women’s Collective). I’m passionate about what I do and I value sharing that with others.

I’m a one-woman-business so my days can be chaotic, but I prioritize organization above all. I have good time management skills and am able to balance all that I do on a regular basis. I also love to travel, so I set myself up for success to work remotely when I’m on a trips or visiting family for an extended period of time.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

When I first moved to Palm Springs, it was difficult to move my photography business and gain clients. At college, I was at a small enough school that people on campus knew I was a photographer and knew how to get in touch with me. I never had to seek out clients to make ends meet when I was at school, if anything, I was almost too busy. I’m not sure how I handled grad season photos and finals at the same time! Moving to a totally different state with a completely different photography demand challenged me to pivot my content, the way I marketed myself, and introduced doubt in my skills for the first time. I didn’t know many people there and I only had one friend who offered to model for me for free. I made a list of how I can pivot my business which included things like taking photos with my friend in the desert, scout for locations in Palm Springs, update my Instagram and website, and see if there were local photographers to meet up with. As I was making these efforts, I was expecting clients to find me and shoots to start being scheduled. It was a much slower road than I expected and I was starting to feel uncertain about whether I could be successful here. I had an internship at the time and needed to make more money than I was with photography. I eventually found a photographer site called Flytographer that I got listed on and that helped get me some clients and build up my portfolio. I also met with a local photographer (who ended up becoming one of my best friends) who helped me immensely with adjusting my business here. I learned a couple social media tricks to become more searchable (Instagram is the #1 place I get my clients) and soon enough I had a presence! I was getting clients! It was a journey to get where I am, but I’m proud I didn’t give up when the early months were hard. I’m always focused on doing more and bettering my craft, but I always make sure to acknowledge where I started when I get stuck in my head or compare myself. The only person I should be comparing myself to is myself. And I’ve come a long way from four years ago.

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

While technically both of my businesses started out as side hustles, my most recent pivot in focus was taking my social media management skills from one or two clients to one of my main forms of income. I have had the same couple clients for a few years, and I had my work for them down to a science where I could still perform all my responsibilities for them, and work my part-time to full-time job at the Palm Springs International Film Society. Once I decided to leave that job to become fully self-employed in February of this year, I had to pivot The Polly Agency to become more of a main focus. That included making a website, an Instagram, rate packages, and marketing myself to potential clients. I’m a list-maker, so I made one giant list with everything I could think of that could help me grow and develop this business into what it could be.

Something unexpected that came early on in this process was attending Alt Summit in Palm Springs, CA in March of this year. This is an educational retreat for female entrepreneurs complete with workshops, mixers, speakers, and more. I had never heard of this event before a friend mentioned it to me, and it was so refreshing to be in a room with inspirational and powerful women. I was feeling scared and unconfident at that time, but hearing speakers talking about once being in my shoes and how they propelled forward gave me the gumption to make it, no matter what. I focused on creating content on my business Instagram that reflected what I cared about (promoting Palm Springs businesses) and showing the kind of content I make. I started going to more local networking events and I started my own female social/networking group, Coachella Valley Women’s Collective. I found comfort in connection not only with the goal of gaining clients, but to know I have people to lean on if I need advice or support. In time, I was able to start working with more local clients and building my portfolio for the Polly Agency. I’ve also leveled up my contracts, my file organization, my workflow, office space, and more to allow for optimal productivity and professionalism. I’ve come a long way since February, and I know there’s more to achieve and learn in the future.

As I look back and reflect, I’m proud of the work I put into this business and the grit it takes to be a small business-owner. I know there’s so much more I can accomplish in this business and maybe one day I could have employees, a brick-and-mortar office, and become one of Palm Springs’ premier social media management agencies. I always make a point to keep setting goals once I accomplish them because I could always improve.

Contact Info:

• Website: wwwthepollyagency.com ; www.carolinepollyphotography.com
• Instagram: @thepollyagency ; @carolinepollyphotography ; @cvwomenscollective
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolinepolly13/

Image Credits
Thru Deez Lens