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

Derek, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What were some of the most unexpected problems you’ve faced in your business and how did you resolve those issues?

As a photographer one of the most common “unexpected problems” we face is equipment malfunctions in the middle of photo shoots. I have so many examples in my 17 years of shooting, but one of the most notable was a dropped and damage lens while shooting formal portraits at a wedding. Thankfully I had a spare right there in my bag. The key salvaging the experience was to act that it was no big thing, make a quick lens change and keep shooting. I had to wait until later to grief the loss of my lens…there was a job to do! LOL! On the business side of photography one notable example of an unexpected problems was with a client who booked me with about 24 hour’s notice. I normally don’t book with that little notice, but I felt compelled to do so to meet this client’s tight timeline before a relative left town. Unfortunately, expectations and needs weren’t clearly communicated, and the client was not pleased with the outcome of the shoot. It was the only time in 17 years of business that I had to issue a refund for services rendered because there was nothing I could do to resolve their dissatisfaction. Lesson learned – stick to my polices no matter what.

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.

Derek Johnson, better known as Derek Grown Man Style is a Charlotte, NC based menswear content creator and photographer. He’s a man of many hats that range from creative to ministerial to highly technical and he balances them well.

Derek didn’t necessarily grow up knowing style or craving a spotlight as an influencer. He’s actually what some may consider a “nerd” – lover of all things science and technology. Derek majored in Chemical Engineering and earned Bachelor’s Degree in the late 90’s.

Over many years Derek navigated his career through the ranks of process Engineer, R&D Engineer and eventually pivoted to a more Marketing Role. This pivot set him on a path that he is currently on as he now works full-time as a Product Manager for an advanced textiles company. As a Product Director Derek works closely with retail partners, Sales and Engineering to bring product concepts from idea to final product. It’s this Sales and Marketing driven that allowed Derek to hone his creative skills and develop a love for presenting.

So what does this all have to do with style? As Derek progressed through his career and found himself more in front of customers and VIPs he began to think more about and care more about what he selected in the morning for work. He began to crave more “pops” in the color of his socks and was more accepting of trying new color pieces at the urging of his wife. Derek will frequently say that it was his wife’s proficient gift giving that really set Derek on his style journey.
He began to study men’s style and slowly accumulate better curated outfits. In his early 40’s his evolution turned to quality and fit. He’s currently laser focused on presenting a more tailor fit silhouette and pays close attention to the detail of every piece in his daily looks.

He officially started the Derek Grown Man Style in September of 2018 and has grown a modest but expanding following. More importantly he’s flowed full force into creating engaging video and photographic content using his skills as a professional photographer to help him create content that has gotten the attention of many brands.

Derek is currently nurturing several partnerships with small and local Brands with aspirations to work with some larger, national Brands in the future.

Besides working full-time and being a photographer and budding content creator, Derek is married to Kenya, his wife of 22 years and happily raises his three children Kamille (21), Kimora (18) and DJ (11).

Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?

I started a Senior Model Program back in 2017 that was very successful. I had a small crew of 4 young ladies who had worked with me in years past as I had photographed most of them several times over the years as they grew up. This program was very much center around this very popular and energetic group of young women, and they helped me create photo shoot experiences that were well received in their own friend circles and led up to additional referral business from their friends. This marketing activity wasn’t necessarily difficult or risky, but time-consuming over many years to build strong relationships with these ladies and their families. The power of this particular program was the process of seeing these young ladies grow and mature from pre-teens to accomplished young women. This process developed very strong testimonials from the ladies that I was able to use in my ongoing Senior marketing.
The program went away during COVID and I have not renewed it yet. The challenge is cultivating a new team of diehard “Senior Models” who could generate the same level of success as the “Dream Team of 2017”.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

My side hustle(s) actually have not turned into a full-time business, and I’d like to share my perspective on that. I know the going trend since forever is the push to “leave the 9-5” and be your own boss, and for many years I dreamt of that day. There were two realities in MY life that were ever present: 1) My family situation at those critical times was in a major growth cycle. We were having children, juggling two careers and racking up debt. Those days were not ideal for us to walk away from the stability of income, insurance and other benefits that a traditional career offered.
2) I actually loved my career. I’ve been in Product Management for over 17 years, and unlike many “9-5 to entrepreneur” stories, I was not in a dead end or toxic position that I needed an escape from. In fact, the experiences and connections I was making in corporate America helped feed new opportunities for my photography business and now my content creation business.

While many may say I’ve missed out on massive opportunities for freedom and earning, I’m currently content to balance the benefits of stability with the limited earning potential. We all make these decisions and those decisions have consequences for both the business owner and their families. Each person’s set up and situation is unique so I encourage those considering this kind of move to look carefully at their own situation and not become too fixated on the popular trends of “jumping ship”.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.derekjphotography.com | www.derekgrownmanstyle.blog
• Instagram: @derekjohnsonphotos | @derekgrownmanstyle
• Other: TikTok: @derekgrownmanstyle