We recently connected with Chanda Ounkong and have shared our conversation below.

Chanda, 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.

I got my first client through my old job at McDonald’s. I was working, and I overheard a co-worker talking about senior photos. I gave him the photographer that did mine the year beforehand, but then I joked and said I could take his senior photos. A couple of days later, he reached out to me to take his senior photos; the rest is history. I knew at that moment I wanted to take my photography more seriously. I don’t think I would get my first dollar that fasts if it wasn’t for my current job at the time.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

Hello everyone! My name is Chanda Ounkong. I’m a photographer from Southern Minnesota, and I started my photography career in 2014.

How I got into photography was simple. I took photos of everything and everyone. I started my business by taking senior pictures. It was easy for me to relate to clients around my age and do my best to make them comfortable in front of the lens. Once I got comfortable with senior sessions, I began to expand my business with different types of sessions.

Once I got into college, I started experimenting with different photography techniques. I was able to do darkroom photography, studio photography, and lighting class. I loved that my professors pushed me to my limits to help create artwork I never thought I could do. During college, I realized that I like to create a story with my images. I started playing around with different props for my class assignments and fell even more in love with photography. For a few years, I started experimenting with different types of photo props. Like color smoke bombs, lens filters, playing with gels, and many more things.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Definitely, word of mouth was how I got my business started. I worked for McDonald’s for eight years and always brought up that I did photography. I would offer many times to take company photos to show on the company website. I would go to events that McDonald’s hosted in my hometown to capture the company. I basically killed two birds with one stone; I was also a brand ambassador for my current job at the time and promoted my photography. High school seniors come and go throughout my years at McDonald’s. I always joked that I could take their senior photos and ended up doing them. Then more buzz started for me when the seniors I took pictures for spread the news to their friend group about me. I began creating Facebook and Instagram pages and building my website. I feel like I wouldn’t be as successful today if I didn’t start talking about my photos at work.

Any advice for managing a team?

I haven’t managed a team with my photography, but I have in a work environment. The best advice I can give to anyone is just to do it. Don’t be afraid to be the person in charge. Speak your mind when you have a creative idea. Be clear with your thoughts, have excellent communication, and showcase the skills you have to prove to everyone you can do it. The worst thing that anyone can say “We don’t like your idea.” Which is completely fine if I quit whenever someone tells me, “We don’t like your idea.” I wouldn’t be who I am today. Always be your #1fan.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.chandaounkongphotography.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chanda.o.photography/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChandaOunkongPhotos/?ref=page_internal

Image Credits
Chanda Ounkong Photography