We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kelly Peterson Frazier a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Kelly, appreciate you joining us today. Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?
The short answer is yes because I’m someone that is both good at coming up with my own structure, plus thriving in change. I think it’s the perfect combination of freedom and diverse hard work. What I mean is that it takes a ton of different skills, especially when you’re starting out, to be a successful business owner in the creative world: the photography skill in this case, finances, logistics, organization, marketing, sales, copy writing, client rapport, networking, graphic design, you name it.
In a regular job for me, I feel boxed in to the everyday demand of the same thing. I like to have different projects to work on each day and if needed, in different places. I feel more holistically productive because I can work on home necessities if I’m caught up in my business tasks. Or I can move my calendar around (for the most part) to fit in an important social event.
The negative part is that you are often on-call 24-7 all 7 days of the week. This can be looser as you build your business with employees and repertoire, but when I was starting out, every lead counted. And as you know, the quicker you respond to a lead, the more likely you are to win it, so it’s crucial to be on top of your emails. I don’t like to keep my clients waiting. Serve the customers you already have in front of you. It’s fruitful for both your brain space and their satisfaction.
The consistency and steady benefits of a “regular” job is a mighty force in my doubts sometimes because the rollercoaster of owning a business is not for the short-term planner. You have to be ready for the long game and have your ducks in a row before taking the leap in my opinion. I did both my “regular” job and started my business at the same time so that we weren’t counting on profit for our bills yet.
Overall, I like the challenge of being a business owner. I like competing against myself to see if I can get a little bit better for the next client. It’s a game of chase because you have to be careful to know it’s never going to be “enough” so stop and smell the roses along the way. I’m still learning this.
Kelly, 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?
Photography chose me as a little kid and I have been riding that wave ever since. I thought I wanted to be an English teacher so that is what I pursued in college and afterwards, but throughout the entire time, I would bring my camera with me. It started with snapping pictures of landscapes, then I took pictures of people for free for various things, then my first client gave me $30 for their graduation pictures. From there, I just kept upping my session fee little by little as I grew more experienced. If you had told me that I’d be charging what I do now for weddings, I probably wouldn’t have believed you. Little college Kelly 1) didn’t know how much was needed to make a living in Colorado and 2) didn’t understand how businesses worked.
I now believe in the magic of photography, both through its experience and its results. It makes me look at the world more beautifully and carefully. It helps others boost their self-confidence when they see themselves the way I see them. And once I got into the wedding industry, I felt honored to capture such a special day for people. I’ve learned that I’m someone who reads emotions really well (the teacher part of me) and knows how to acknowledge those memories intentionally.
I am proud of the art that makes people pause, whether that’s a niece hugging the bride, or a grandma gazing at the groom during his first dance, or it’s a forever heirloom photo of their rings when someone loses it one day. The whole process of wedding planning is a vulnerable one and it can show the underbelly of relationships sometimes, so an official middle-daughter peacekeeper, I thrive in this. That’s what my clients pick up on when they choose me as a photographer: I not only have an expert eye, but also an expert ear.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
I’m still getting over my pride. My ego sometimes gets in the way of my goals because I want people in my life to see me as “making it,” whatever that means. Onlookers might not understand all that goes into owning a photography business and might assume that I chose it for the flexible family schedule. That might end being true for my husband and I one day, but it has never felt like the driving force behind my decisions. I love doing this work and it fills my cup up. Choosing your full cup is easier said than done. It means being present with your current goals versus letting your eyes wander to the far-away goals on the horizon. Keep doing what feels right.
I’ll add a caveat here because nothing EVER feels right every day. I always ask myself: Does it feel right for the majority of the week? Four out of the seven days? Then, I know I’m on the right track. If it starts to only feel right one or two times a week, then reflect on what you could do to change that.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
Connecting with the world. I love how big this world is. When I focus on the business side of things, the world can get smaller, but when I embark on artistry, the world expands again. I see the similarities and differences of people, places, and things. I feel the energy of the sun connect to the same concepts in totally different places. For example, I recently travelled to Morocco to add more landscape options to my print store and I was enamored with all the different colors, smells, textures of this African country, but I saw the same smiles, twinkling eyes, and work ethic of what I see in the United States. The sunset casts a golden hue in Colorado just like it casts a golden hue in the Agafay desert.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kellyphotoanddesign.com
- Instagram: @kellyphotoanddesign
Image Credits
Kelly Photo & Design LLC