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

Alright, Kelly thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

Every business owner has taken a risk, and every person working 9-5 for someone else has probably imagined taking that risk. But it’s easy to be held back by fear and uncertainty. That risk? Leaving your “safe job” and starting your own business or side-hustle.

And I want to share this fairly cliché perspective, because I think there are a lot of talented people doing less than they can… wishing they could have more. More freedom. More income. More fun. But they are maybe unsupported by the family and friends they share their dream with, frozen in place, either unmotivated or too scared to take the leap.

I went the safe route.

I went to a pricey private art college to study Photography. And after I graduated, I took a “safe” office job. For 8 years I worked in that job. I made enough money to be OK. I had benefits and health insurance. And while I benefited from that job (what I learned and the building blocks I put in place), I waited. I waited because it was comfortable, and I was content. That can be a dangerous place to be, when you are capable of more.

For 8 years, I worked for someone else, instead of working on myself.

And then opportunity presented itself. The business was on the verge of splitting up. So I went with the flow. I went my own way as the company split to take their own paths.

I think things worked out perfectly for me. I had spent 8 years learning marketing, web design, and meeting a community of crazy supportive business people. When I stepped out on my own, I already had clients. The risk was well reduced. But I lost 8 years.

I also made more in that 1st year on my own, than I ever made working a full-time 9-5 job.

I want this to be your eye-opener. Working for yourself is so rewarding in so many ways. I worked HARD, let’s not ignore that fact. But now that I’ve set the foundation, and a little over 10 years later, I have so much freedom. I’m sure I will share more about what my freedom looks like in coming questions.

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 background and context?

I am an artist at heart. I grew up loving fine art, but fell hard and fast in love with the camera in my early teens. I found my way into a photo company at age 15 or 16, working with their studio for several years. I moved on to college, pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography. And slowly I began the side hustle while working the “safe” day job. Eventually I made photography a part of their offerings, getting into corporate headshots and other commercial photo services. As 8 years passed, I built a circle of supporting business owners who would continue to support me when I left my full-time position to work 100% for myself. Because I made photography part of the company’s service offerings, I also unintentionally but very happily shifted my work focuses from consumer to commercial. All good, happy accidents!

One big thing that I feel sets me apart is that I focus primarily on corporate and commercial photo services. The bulk of photographers in your area are likely serving families, offering portrait and wedding services. 90% of my work focuses on Staff Headshots, Custom Stock Photography / Personal Banding Photography / Product Photography / Corporate Events.

Another big thing that sets me apart is how nice and easy I am to work with. If you read only a few testimonials from my customers (at https://www.kellyheckphotography.com/happiness/), I hear constantly how nice I am. It makes me wonder, how stuffy and grumpy are other photographers they have worked with?!! Being nice is pretty easy, especially when you consider each and every customer is your boss as well as your path to income. (Being nice is much easier too when you love what you do for a living!) And being photographed can be very uncomfortable for people, so being nice, friendly, and comfortable helps everyone relax and allows my subjects to ease into more genuine and approachable portraits to share with their audiences.

If I could share one more thing that makes me unique is my knowledge of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). (“Search Engine Optimization” is the process of maximizing the number of visitors to a particular website by ensuring that the site appears high on the list of results returned by a search engine.) So not only can I get both my website and my photo files to rank well… I can teach my commercial clients how to do the same thing. I set up clients for marketing success as part of my workflow with each individual customer.

A problem clients my have is not knowing the breadth of uses for their final photo files. So again, I try to make that easier on them by sharing the knowledge that I have picked up over the years. Not just SEO knowledge, but little marketing hints and tips that others may not know or just need reminders about. The most important thing is ROI for commercial clients. And if they see the ROI, they will return for round 2, round 3, and hopefully become loyal customers. Plus, I want my clients to benefits from our photo shoots just as much if not more than I have.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Very recently, I became a Mom! In March of 2022, I had my little guy, Charlie.

Boy, has that changed things!

I am a full-time stay at home mom, and still working my photo business. And I will continue to do both.

It makes me really grateful that I have had many years of groundwork laid. Almost 10 years working for myself… and maybe upwards of 5 years hustling my photo business on the side… has set me up for success in these first years as a Mom. Some areas I felt empowerment include…

I funded 5 months of maternity leave on my own.

I paid my hospital bills immediately, in full.

I bought us a new, safer, family vehicle, in cash.

New and return clients continue to inquire for photo sessions.

I can take on less work, to ensure that my clients each still feel my attentiveness.

And I did it all because this photo business has supported me from day one. I can take care of my little guy. I can get chores done around the house. And I work when I can. And life has never been sweeter. Mamahood is hard. Working on top of that is exhausting. But I love it. And you can do it too.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

There is a mindset that I think is very important when building your business, and it’s this:

“It is much easier to retain existing customers, than to onboard new customers.”

As a business owner, both existing and new customer are critical. HOWEVER, I treat every customer with the utmost respect, kindness, and genuine connection as possible. I do the best I can to make customers feel cared for. I genuinely want the to like me, to like their photos, and to enjoy their experience. And I want us to have fun!

Your reputation is everything. Your first impression is everything. People’s memory of their time with you is EVERYTHING.

I think this one concept is a huge factor in how I have grown my clientele base.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.kellyheckphotography.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kellyheckphotography/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kellyheckphotography
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellyheck
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0J-n3tCu86H-1TR547PlTg
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/kelly-heck-photography-taneytown?osq=Kelly+Heck+photography
• Other: Google reviews: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Kelly+Heck+Photography/@39.6549261,-77.1696626,17z/data=!4m7!3m6!1s0x89c838085b5a82e7:0x9c60c29e7fceb3b5!8m2!3d39.6549275!4d-77.1696615!9m1!1b1

Image Credits
Kelly Heck Photography