We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Curtis Adams a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Curtis, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. So, what do you think about family businesses? Would you want your children or other family members to one day join your business?

Our company was built behind our family. I was a digital media teacher in 2017 and I was looking for a second source of income during the summer months. My wife had just received her real estate license and she asked me to take photos of her upcoming listings. She mentioned making it a business for summer income so I reached out to my father. We went to a local photography store and purchased used equipment to make my wife’s vision a reality. I had no experience taking professional photos. I was a videographer with years in the news industry so it was a big change for me. I went on Youtube and began researching and practicing the craft of photography. We built our business one client at a time until 2020 when I was able to leave my teaching job and work full time for my family’s company.

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 found an interest in videography in middle school. I would take two VCRs and a television and do tape-to-tape editing with my parent’s home videos. In high school, I found out that we had broadcasting classes but I didn’t mesh well in the classroom because they were learning what I already knew how to do. In the beginner class for broadcasting, I landed a C. I ended up focusing on business after that because I began to create highlight tapes for students in the area from my computers at home. I thought I needed to learn business so I could build my own company. Once I went to college, I had about 50-60 highlight reels per sports quarter (fall, winter, spring) and I had clients from Virginia to Georgia reaching out to me to make their highlights. My biggest client to date was NBA Champion Montrelz Harrell. I worked with a few NFL players who have now retired as well. After doing a horrible job in college majoring in Business, I changed my major to Mass Communication with a concentration in Broadcasting. It led to an internship with the Carolina Panthers and a few years working with major news stations in the Charlotte and Raleigh/Durham areas. Leaving the news industry in 2016 was one of the toughest things I have done because I found momentum in shooting content but that is one of the reasons Creative Impressions Media was built. Not only was I helping my wife grow her business but I’m doing something I’ve been interested in since middle school.

Is there a mission driving your creative journey?

Our goal is to show value to each of our clients. When a client comes to us, they are trying to sell a product or service. We must show their value through our lens while showing our value as well. It is a lot of fun but we want to make sure we meet the client where they want to be met.

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

COVID-19 was our biggest pivot. It introduced us to the world of virtual tours. We kept our rate low for our clients as many potential buyers and renters couldn’t physically walk into the home. We offered our Zillow tours for $50 and if a client purchased measurements, to this day, the virtual tour is free. We now give our clients the ability to show their listings to anyone around the country because of the virtual tours we offer. Since 2020, we have created over 2,000 virtual tours.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.creativeimpressionsmedia.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/creativeimpressionsmedia_corp/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/photographywithcreativeimpressionsmedia