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

Erica , appreciate you joining us today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

To be successful you have to be consistent. Sometimes it may take longer than you would like but consistency in your work habits to educate yourself, market your business, develop relationships etc. , all take a lot of time. Consistency in these areas is really what got my business off the ground and eventually made it successful.

“The secret of success is consistency of purpose” – Benjamin Disraeli

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Erica DiFruscio and I am a Lifestyle Photographer out of Northern Virginia. My business, Erica D. Photography specializes in Lifestyle family , newborn and branding photography. I have been in business full time for almost eight years. I first picked up a camera when I was pregnant with my oldest 11 years ago. Like many, it’s started out as a hobby and quickly ignited a creative outlet for me that I became very passionate about. I became fully invested in learning everything I could possibly learn about photography and light and understanding my subjects. I started to have friends ask me to shoot their families and before I knew it was a part time job for me on the weekends. I continued to take classes and shoot as much as possible and by the time I had my second daughter the business has grown quite a bit. I was working full time for a large consulting firm during the week. After some time it became obvious that my heart was really in photography and that it was something I wanted to dive into full time. At the time my husband was traveling quite a bit for work, I was juggling two jobs, two kids and killer commute on my own. I realized I was surviving and not living. So after a lot of discussion with my husband and support from family and friends I decided to leave my full time, well paying job in corporate America and dive head first into entrepreneurship. I officially launched Erica D. Photography that year and worked consistently to market myself and continue to learn and grow my craft.

As an extrovert, I have always loved people. My goal at every session was for my clients to feel comfortable and have fun. I began to find ways to bring out natural excitement and joy and really focus on capturing that in my imagery. It has been a constant priority for me to make the sessions an experience. From the time you inquire about the session until you have received your gallery, I want it all to be memorable. Because of this I have worked tirelessly to set up processes that help me achieve a top notch experience for every client. From a phone call for me to touch base and see what exactly you’re looking for, to questionnaires to help me get to know your kids better, styling program set up to help you get fully styled for your session, check ins before the session, gifts for the kids following the session, emails thank you post session, even what I call check ins at 3,6,9 months post session. All of these details create a memorable experience and one that I am very proud of. I believe this is what has set me apart from other talented artists in my area.

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

I bought my first SLR when I was pregnant with my first daughter. Like most photographers when they start out the goal was to capture the fleeting memories as she grew. I was always a creative kid growing up and once I got the hang of shooting in manual a serious creative fire was lit. I started posting pics of my girls and friends began to take notice and started asking me to capture their families. I was working full time in corporate America now with two young kids and before long photography became an overwhelming passion of mine. I dug into online classes and read blogs to learn as much as I could. I started my LLC when I began shooting regularly on weekends, photography has officially become my side hustle. My husband at the time was traveling most weeks for work and I was holding down life with two small kids at home, working a full time job and a floating a side business. I was overwhelmed. I dug into my photography business more and began posting regularly to social media to grow a presence. I started to learn quickly that if I gave my clients a top notch EXPERIENCE more than just a photo session that they would share the photos with friends. My business grew significantly in the first year through word of mouth. I started to market more strategically to bring in more young families I loved to shoot so much. Before long I felt like I was drowning between trying to keep up with two jobs and be a single mother during the week while my husband was away for work. I was surviving, not living. My husband and I sat down and had some real conversation about me leaving corporate America and taking on photography full time. It was a giant leap leaving a very secure well paying job, but I became obsessed with the idea of making it work. Creating a life where I was in charge of my schedule and building business I could be proud of. Nearly eight years later I’m proud to say my business is thriving and I have never looked back.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

Over nearly the last eight years, I learned how to continue to foster my relationships with my clients in order to keep them loyal. To me this includes several facets. The first is making my clients feel like working with me was an experience rather than just paying for a service. From the first email to receiving their gallery I want them to feel like they received a five star experience. I put a lot of time and effort into making a workflow that stays in touch with client from beginning to end making sure they feel seen and valued. This includes at least one phone, hands on stying assistance and a FUN and memorable session. The second park of brand loyalty for me is what I call touch points which occur after I’ve already photographed your family. After clients have had a session with me I create touch points at three, six and nine months typically. They differ from client to client but typically start with a hand written note post session, a gift card to Starbucks or a little gift for their children like stickers of their favorite characters or something fun. Just something to surprise them and stay top of mind. At around 6-9 months or most definitely around the holidays I will send a print from their session with a handwritten note, or for repeat clients I have ornaments printed. This one is to thank them for their loyalty specifically. Lastly I make sure to ask clients to tag me in posts when they share images online, or share my name with friends through word of mouth. This has helped me grow my business through referrals, but also helps build a sense of a community around my business. Over the years it has been fun to see the network that I have built through following this strategy and building genuine relationships and a strong brand loyalty.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ericadphoto.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.erica.d
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ericadphoto

Image Credits

All images are by me, Erica D. Photography