We recently connected with Filippo Nenna and have shared our conversation below.

Filippo, appreciate you joining us today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your business sooner or later?

If you are thinking about starting your business, then you’ll be interested in this…

I was wrong about a lot of things, and it set my business back about 5 years. I assumed my peers and managers at my corporate job would not like it if I had a side-hustle. The reality was that few people would have noticed, fewer would have cared. And those that did know about it were actually quite supportive. Over time I found that many people had side hustles of their own. Once I got going, the only rule I made for myself was that the side hustle wouldn’t interfere with my day job.

Here are the three reasons why starting sooner matters – 1) business experience, 2) your website SEO and 3) word of mouth referrals. All require TIME, so the sooner you start, the more traction and momentum you get before you choose (or are forced) to do it full time.

Starting sooner, especially as a side hustle means that you can slowly learn about the technical aspects of your business. Things like finances, budgeting, taxes, payment methods, writing marketing copy, making email templates and all the rest. You can do this at your own pace, with almost no stress because you still have your day-job pay cheque.

Start yesterday or start now.

Filippo, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I make photographic portraits for individuals and businesses so that they can stand out from the crowd. I serve Boston’s North Shore from the historic seaside town of Marblehead, in Massachusetts.

More than 90% of local businesses have low quality headshots on their websites, if they have one at all. Close-up portraits of the owner and their staff help potential clients choose to buy from them because they feel like they know you and your message before they even meet you. Same goes for individuals wanting to stand out on social media like LinkedIn.

I am what I call “low faff”. It’s fun making images with me and I make sure there is minimal disruption and the high quality portraits are delivered quickly.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

My side hustle gained natural traction over a few years. Most clients returned or referred me to new people. I found it interesting that lots of clients would leave a portrait session delighted, promising to tell their friends about me, even when they hadn’t seen the final images yet! This let me know that the experience was working and true connections were being made.

I set up my website early on, and by the time I went full time, it was on its third (and very much improved) iteration. My contracts had been improved over time, and I had financial data in QuickBooks so I knew things like my running costs and where I should spend or save money. I’m glad I tested and failed some ideas back when I had a steady pay cheque coming in. I tried selling prints online for a while, but that didn’t go anywhere and I pulled it from my offerings.

I also set up the FilNenna YouTube channel so people could see my face and how I worked. It is more for public awareness than an income stream, though it’s nice that I can turn it up when I have quiet periods in photography.

With a lot of business skills gained in the side hustle phase, I could concentrate on marketing and tailoring my services to specific industries once I went full time. I’m glad I’m not working on building a website, researching contracts or learning accounting now, because that would be a burden when I need to get clients through the door.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

I’ve never met a non-creative. I’ve worked with scientists, artists, warehouse workers, lawyers, bar staff… the list goes on. All of them creatively produce a result with the resources available to them.

Creativity is part of everyone’s skill set, and it is possible to be creative in one area and not in others. If a creative photographer can’t think of a new way to market themselves, then that’s a lack of creativity in that aspect of their business. If an engineer finds a new way to recycle EV batteries, wouldn’t that be monumentally creative?

So my journey as a creative is exactly the same as a journey by a non-creative; Thinking of a product that serves people, marketing so they are aware of what I can provide, delivering the product to delight them and being rewarded with payment. Artwork, software, music, making coffee tables, investment advice, portrait photography, fixing leaky plumbing. All use creativity to get the job done.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.filnenna.com?utm_source=canvasrebel&utm_medium=onlinemag
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/filnenna/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/filnenna
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/filnenna/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@FilNenna

Image Credits
Fil Nenna