We were lucky to catch up with Claire Ryser recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Claire thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?

From a young age, I knew I wanted to make a full-time living from my own creative work. While I’m currently a success story and have been since 2010, making profitability a reality was initially grueling, and still requires constant focus.

The first two years in business for myself were the most difficult. I was 22 years old, fresh out of college, and my fear of failure kept me from taking out a business loan – “What if I fail and can’t pay it back?”- going into debt terrified me. So I worked another full time day job and used a portion of those wages to purchase all of my own business and photography equipment gradually. So. Very. Gradually. Two years later, my self-employed income eventually overtook the day job’s income and I was able to quit. And sleep.

Knowing what I know now and having the confidence I have now, it’s obvious that taking out a business loan or finding an investor may have helped the official “day 1” of profitability to have arrived more expediently and with better sleeping habits. Instead of working two full time jobs, I could have spent 100% of my energy and focus on scaling my business. Overcoming a fear of failure is easier said than done, especially for creatives I think.

My journey really began when I was 8 years old, sitting at the breakfast table, when I suddenly became conscious of the illustrations and photography on the packaging of every product in front of my little face. I remember thinking, “Someone took the photos for this cereal box cover, and someone designed the cartoons on this milk carton. Is that a job? It must be, and I want that job!”.

It may be an odd thing for a child to become conscious of, but from that point on, I was always intrigued by advertising, packaging design, and especially the edgy and glamorous photography in fashion magazines.

When it came time to enroll in college, instead of selecting an arts degree, I opted for a B.S. in Business Administration with a major in Marketing. It was one of the best decisions I made and certainly a major milestone for the foundation of my career.

I firmly believe education is always a good investment. It doesn’t have to be a 4 year degree, but I urge anyone with a dream of owning a business to require oneself to have an excellent understanding of C.O.D.B. as well as the ins and outs of setting S.M.A.R.T Goals – a method developed by George Doran, Arthur Miller and James Cunningham in 1981.

Creatives should acquire education related to leadership, time management, logistics, marketing, consumer behavior, and business writing for customer service. These were critical steps in obtaining profitability in my business and I don’t think I would be seeing the success I’m seeing without investing in business education.

One other factor is outsourcing the tax side to a trustworthy CPA. I’d have saved a thousands of dollars by registering as an S-corp instead of Self Employed those first few years. Finding someone who can explain and then manage your taxes and bookkeeping should be a top priority. I recommend outsourcing these elements so creatives can focus on what they love- Creating.

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 back background and context?

My journey really began when I was 8 years old, sitting at the breakfast table, when I suddenly became conscious of the illustrations and photography on the packaging of every product in front of my little face. I remember thinking, “Someone took the photos for this cereal box cover, and someone designed the cartoons on this milk carton. Is that a job? It must be, and I want that job!”.

It may be an odd thing for a child to become conscious of, but from that point on, I was always intrigued by advertising, packaging design, and especially the edgy and glamorous photography in fashion magazines.

My first paid job as a photographer was actually for a wedding for a friend in 2007. I’d never considered making a living as a wedding photographer and had always envisioned going into the fashion or commercial photography industry. But the fast pace, managed chaos, fashion, glamor, sentiment, emotion, and collaboration of the day absolutely gripped me and has honestly consumed me ever since.

I currently offer wedding and portrait photography for a select number of clients who value a fine art approach to posing and composition, attention to detail, and someone who will listen to understand and incorporate their core values and vision. I’m also a very friendly, encouraging, and outgoing person, and I excel at putting people at ease and bringing out their best attributes.

While I work mostly with digital photography equipment and not film, I’ve honed my digital editing style to emulate Fuji400 film, which has been discontinued. I’ve always felt this style gives a classic, timeless, and vibrant look to the photos. My editing and shooting style is known for being very romantic, classic, elegant, joyful, and authentic. I’m a perfectionist to the core and many in the wedding industry will tell you I am merciless when critiquing my own work and that I strive for perfection and attention to detail for every project. I want to make beautiful photographs that will stand the test of time and immortalize meaningful moments for my clients.
I think it’s truly incredible that I am creating something that will likely outlive me or my career. These photographs will mean something to generations of people that may not even be born yet. Just knowing that I’m creating something bigger than me, an heirloom that will outlast me, thrills me. It’s humbling, it’s powerfully invigorating.

One thing I’m exceptionally proud of is understanding and loving the fact that weddings are a collaborative work. Many sectors of the industry come together -catering, fashion, stationery, venues, event managers, designers, bakeries, floral designers, performers, entertainment, and more- and we all must work together to bring a client’s vision to life. This means being a team player and also finding “your people” – none of us can successfully do this alone. Treating my team of professionals as a second client has been a major factor in my success.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

The best source of new clients for me has been industry-peer referrals. I initially wasted so much time attempting to reach new clients by mass advertising to virtual strangers, but the most quality leads actually came from venue owners, other photographers, wedding planners and industry vendors. Building relationships with “the competition” and attending networking events where I could meet other photographers actually brought in more work for me than any other medium. For example, I got to know a photographers that specialized in a different editing styles than mine. They referred clients to me that weren’t a good fit for their own style, but were a good fit for my editing style. And getting to know photographers with similar styles also helped, because if they were booked for a client’s date, they could send that client to me, knowing I’d provide a similar service. Treating other industry vendors and partners as if they were my client, having integrity, being generous with my attention, being a team player at the event, and replying in a timely manner to their emails seem like simple tasks, but it makes a big impact in building trust and good relationships.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

There are many books that have helped me along the way, but these are the top 5: 1. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – Stephen R. Covey
2. How to Win Friends and Influence People – Dale Carnegie
3. Profit First – Mike Michalowicz
4. Love is the Killer App – Tim Sanders
5. Eat that Frog – Brian Tracy

Listening to understand people solves so many problems from the start. Time management avoids burn out. Knowing your numbers is key for profitability. Love and generosity build relationships and grow businesses. These books were such a great and important foundation on knowing my “why” and building a lasting business that I love owning.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.claireryser.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/claireryser
• Facebook: facebook.com/claireryserspage
• Other: https://goo.gl/maps/mnPQte7BuC4eixmXA

Image Credits
Claire Ryser