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

Haley, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. It’s easy to look at a business or industry as an outsider and assume it’s super profitable – but we’ve seen over and over again in our conversation with folks that most industries have factors that make profitability a challenge. What’s biggest challenge to profitability in your industry?

One of the biggest challenges to profitability in my photography business has been navigating social media. Instagram and tik tok are a nearly vital asset to growing and making your business profitable. I find it difficult to keep up with the constant pressure to post content—photos, videos, reels, stories, and to engage regularly online.
I appreciate the amazing tool that social media is, but the older I get, the more I’m drawn to spending less time on my phone and more time connecting with people in real life. I would love to take a social media break for my own mental health, but doing so would hurt my chances of growth.

Haley, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a queer photographer specializing in weddings and families. I’ve spent a lot of time listening to podcasts, attending virtual workshops, and so much of these preach the same thing: “This is how to get your dream clients who are willing to pay 10 times the amount you’re currently charging”. This never sat well with me because my dream clients are people like me. People who feel awkward in front of the camera and “don’t know what to do with their hands”. People who see the value in preserving memories and moments in time, but can’t afford to drop a grand on a family photoshoot. I was a social worker turned secretary, and I will never fault a bargain hunter! My goal is to walk you through the photo experience so you know what to expect every step of the way, and to make the photo taking process easy and fun.

Joy is not only my middle name and part of my business name, it’s also the thing that keeps me going. I am always finding the joy in situations and trying to preserve the joy in your photos.

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

Word of mouth has been my biggest source of new business. I photograph a wedding one year and the next year, the cousin from that wedding inquires with me for her wedding. Because of this, I always try and make time to talk to the wedding party, take photos of young couples at weddings, and always tell my photography clients how grateful I am that they found me via word of mouth. Even just telling people how much of an impact it has made, seems to motivate them to tell THEIR friends about me.
I also carry my business cards with me. It comes in handy when you meet cool new people and want to connect but don’t know exactly how.

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?

My two favorite marketing tactics are these:
1. Simple but effective – put a business card magnet on the back of your business cards so people can stick theirs on their fridge. Cheap, makes the business card more fun, and less likely to be thrown away

2. My neighborhood has a lot of families, so I decided to print off 1,000 flyers and attach 1,000 business card magnets to them to stick in people’s doors. It was. a lot of effort, a lot of walking, but I booked a photoshoot on the first day when I had only passed out 50 flyers. Either way, I am getting my name out and putting myself out there and it felt really good!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.haleyjoyphotos.com
• Instagram: haleyjoy_photos
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063142186033

Image Credits

Photos taken by myself