We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Josh Boone a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Josh, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s jump to the end – what do you want to be remembered for?
My hope is to build a legacy that not only sustains my family and generations following but to leave a blueprint based on faith, servitude and perseverance. I think people will say he gave it his all when I’m gone. If you ever had the opportunity to experience me or witness me working then you’ve seen how much of my heart and soul gets put into what I do. From start to finish, almost every session or event ends with someone coming up to me saying what they appreciated about me. Whether that’s my calming aura, level of direction, or general passion that is felt through my work ethic. I don’t want to solely be remembered for what I’ve done. I want people to remember how I made them feel and how many I was able to serve. I want the very thought of me to inspire and bring joy to whomever long after I’m gone.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
If this is your first time reading about me my name is Joshua Boone. I am a full time entrepreneur based out of the 757 (VA) area. I specialize in small businesses photo/video needs, weddings, and events. When I think about it I’ve always been around photography and videography. Growing up with a huge family my mother and father stayed behind the videocamera or the old Polaroids when we were at family cookouts. As you can tell the apple didn’t fall too far from the tree but it wasn’t until I went to college that I took photography serious. My best friend Zack Chavis was the photo editor at Old Dominion University and put the first real camera in my hand in 2015. I had to photograph a soccer game, I knew very little about photography and absolutely nothing about soccer but I fell in love with it immediately after the first click. I will always thank him for seeing something in me I truly wouldn’t be where I am today without that moment. I was just returning home from getting kicked out of the military and I was completely lost. After Zack graduated I became the photo editor for the student news paper there I had to cover sports, concerts, and speaking engagements. This really helped me learn the ins and outs of photography and I met some inspiring people along the sidelines. A few of those individuals outside of Zack encouraged me to start doing wedding photography and it just felt right. I loved being able to capture people being genuinely happy and surrounded around love. During that time I also met two brothers Will Hawkins who basically taught me wedding photography and Marcus Williams who taught me videography. I think what sets me apart like anyone else is the experience I provide. The genuineness that is felt, my easy going spirit, my attention to detail and ability to pose and capture authentic love. People just want something and someone that is real and I show up daily as myself. I think that’s what people appreciate the most. I want them to feel my appreciation for supporting me. I’d rather say what I’m most thankful for instead of what I’m most proud of. I’m thankful to live a fulfilling life where my gift opens doors for me and people truly appreciate me. I’m thankful for being able to travel around the world to places I never even dreamed of like Jamaica and Switzerland. I’m the most thankful for being able to make my family proud of the man I am and try to be daily. Lastly I’m thankful to God for giving me chance after chance. The main thing I want anyone to ever know about me and my brand is that it’s possible. If I can do this I promise you can too.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
Word of mouth was and still is the primary element that helped me build and sustain my reputation within my market. When treated correctly people will brag on you in a way that will almost make the other person jealous that they didn’t get a chance to experience you. Outside of word of mouth I would also say education on marketing. Having a marketing background I just took what I learned in college and tried to apply it..
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
A lesson I had to unlearn was to not take everything in business personal and your time is your time. Starting out early in business I would take so much personal and it almost ruined my business. Not knowing how to properly respond because I felt the man was being attacked. I would say learn quick to have thick skin, with every hard business lesson you learn simply update your policies or systems to protect yourself and your peace. I also struggled with being patient on my journey and it created moments of jealousy and envy. Being where I am now I’m here to tell you what I thought I was ready for I wasn’t. I remember specifically being frustrated for not having as many weddings as I thought I should have and this was at a time I was still editing every single photo in photoshop. It was an outdated system and I would been in way over my head. There’s many other moments but I would simply say tread light and enjoy the journey. What God has for you is for you as long as you are being diligently you will get it at the appropriate time.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.joshboonephotography.com
- Instagram: _Joshboone
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joshboonephotography/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-boone-15a2ab182
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@_ptc