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

Hi Chris, thanks for joining us today. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard.

When I was stuck in my 9-5, I wanted out. It’s funny actually. My goal wasn’t to become a professional photographer. It was to build a business that would replace my 9-5. Photography just happened to be the thing I was good at.

I spent years getting good behind the camera. Friends and family loved my work. I’d get likes on social media. But I hadn’t cracked the client acquisition formula yet.

I saw other photographers and videographers succeeding with the same creative skillset as me, so I knew that my camera was the answer to quitting my corporate job.

I didn’t look at the traditional ways photographers and videographers operated their businesses.

It all seemed so backwards and outdated to me… Build a portfolio, hope clients see it, get your name out there in networking events… this wasn’t 2004 anymore. The alternative people were saying to do back then was to post on social media and eventually clients would come. I spent 2019 posting on IG every single day. I didn’t land any clients from that so I decided to find my own way.

There were those that said I had to do it for multiple years, hoping brands reach out. I didn’t want to wait years. I wanted to escape the rat race ASAP.

I went to college for chemistry. Little did I know, being a math and science nerd was the perfect background for the photo and video biz I was building. “Chris, we don’t need a darkroom anymore for photography… what does chemistry have to do with building a photo and video biz?”

I’m glad you asked. See, I had a problem solving approach to everything. I didn’t subscribe to traditional thinking. I used a first principle approach. I took some online courses, watched YouTube videos, and started building a system. Systems just make sense in my head (my friends tell me I act like a robot… but that’s another story).

I built the system out, tested it, broke it, fixed it, and repeated this process from January 2020 to July 2020. And that’s when I landed my first client. A whopping $500.

It was great to get paid, but even better, I had proof that the system worked. If I could land 1 client, I could land 50. I called my boss up and put in my 2 weeks notice.

Over the next 2 years I would go on to work with 50+ brands and scale my company rapidly to a team of 4.

During this time, I saw my creative friends struggling to land clients… some of them quit their jobs and had to go back to full-time work, because they weren’t landing deals. Most were barely scraping by.

But somehow I was landing multiple high-paying clients a month and renewing existing client retainers.

Why were my peers struggling while I was able to land clients so easily? I developed a systematic approach. I wasn’t just shooting in the dark. I was following a proven framework that would produce results over and over again. These days I teach this same system to creatives all over the world.

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 at a wedding this past weekend and got asked “What do you do?” I always struggle to come up for a good answer but here’s what I told him. “I run a photography business and an education company.”

My main focus from 2019-2022 was my product photography business, Pieta Productions. We work with food and beverage brands to create photos/videos that drive sales and increase their brand awareness.

During this time I learned a lot about landing clients, charging high rates, and ways to keep clients coming back for more. I started posting about my methods online. Youtube, Instagram, anywhere where I could reach creatives. I wanted to give back to this community that gave me so much.

A year into posting, I started getting feedback from other creatives. People saying they’re landing clients with my advice. A few even messaged me saying my content helped them quit their jobs.

I never expected to get this type of feedback. It made me feel so good that creatives were building their dreams using the tools and strategies I put out. I spent the end of 2022 building out an online program teaching my business systems to creatives. I launched my Creative Biz Launch System at the end of 2022, and that’s where I’ve been spending most of my time since.

It’s been incredibly fulfilling watching other photographers and videographers grow their businesses using the same system that has worked for me. My mission has become to provide more accessible creative business education. Whether that’s for free on social media, my free resources, or through my paid system that accelerates creative businesses.

Today I’m humbled to have an audience of over 100,000 learning from my content. These days I take on the role of a coach and online educator 90% of the time. The remaining 10% I’m still in my photography business, taking photos, talking with clients, and learning the best methods.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

My mission is to provide more accessible creative business education. I want to share as much content for free so that more photographers, videographers, and designers can start and grow their businesses.

I do this through social platforms as well as free resources I’ve made. For creatives that want to move faster and avoid the mistakes along the way, I have a paid system that lets them skyrocket their growth.

Nothing lights me up more than seeing creatives who used to be in my shoes now living their dream lives.

Any advice for managing a team?

I have a team of 4 and this is something I’ve been really learning over the past year. The number one thing is to ensure that your team’s values align with your own. I want my team to be in a place that they can not only help me grow, but also achieve their own goals.

Candid communication and feedback is at the core of how I work with my team. I want there to be a two way street for feedback. I know I’m far from perfect, so if there’s a better way to do something, I’ve made it so that my team feels comfortable communicating that with me.

I know everyone has their own goals and journey. I want to create an environment where my team can feel fulfilled being part of this team. They should feel like they’re growing and progressing, not just doing tasks I tell them to. We’re building something special together.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://creativebizlaunch.com/workshop
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chrispieta/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chrispietaphoto
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-pieta-532157105/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/chris_pieta
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/chrispieta