We were lucky to catch up with Kendall Paige recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Kendall thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What do you think it takes to be successful?
I truly believe it all comes down to consistency and determination. To all the business owners out there, if I could give one piece of advice it would be consistency. When you are constantly putting your energy into something it will eventually give back to you. However, it can take time. That is where determination is most important. You have to want to reach your goals so bad that nothing will deter you from that objective no matter the obstacles that may arise. There will be highs and lows that I am sure all of my business owners can relate to, but the consistent hard work and determination to grow and evolve will ultimately reward you with success.
Kendall, 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 am a portrait photographer and own a marketing agency offering web design services, social media management, content creation, video editing, and logo design!
Since going full time, things have grown beyond my wildest dreams on the photography side. I now specialize in seniors which are my favorite shoots by far! I first created a senior rep team of five girls from local schools to participate in styled shoots and create a community within my brand. Now after three years of offering a rep team, I currently have a team of 42 girls with seniors from all over the Galveston and Houston area! My senior rep team is hands down my favorite part of my business. I love the relationships that I have been able to make from creating this community along with the challenges that come with creating new concepts for each team!
I also offer branding shoots which have made me so many meaningful relationships with other business owners. When owning a business you can miss out on the community aspect if you do not have other employees who you are able to share knowledge with or bounce ideas off of. Through these branding shoots, I am able to connect with like minded individuals that allows me to build my own community of fellow creatives and business owners. Ultimately, that is what it is all about and means so much to me!
I also have started to step into the educational side of photography. I offer a guide on how to start your own senior rep team as well as welcome packet templates, lightroom presets, and mentoring sessions. I have met so many amazing photographers through my education services and love watching everyone flourish in their business! I am a huge believer in community over competition and although many people preach this, it is not always the reality in a creative industry. I believe there are more than enough clients to go around and ultimately the clients that I want to attract will choose me because of who I am. There are so many talented photographers, especially in the Houston area, but what sets us all apart is our personalities and how we connect with our clients. My biggest goal is to create services that I wish I had when starting photography and using what I learned along the way to make it easier for others. I am so grateful for all of the support and clients that have helped me get to where I am at now so that adds to the excitement I have for what the future has in store.
Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.
I took on clients throughout college while also working full time and would dream of the day that I could take my business full time. After being unhappy with work, I decided to take the leap to quit my full time job in late January of 2020 and hit the ground running. I did not have tons of clients booked so I used my first month or so to create and utilize social media to market my businesses. I took on tons of free projects and shoots to build up my portfolio and get my name out there. By March of 2020 it was already paying off and I was booking clients consistently. After COVID hit, things obviously slowed down but I used this time to push my marketing projects. Adapting to not being able to take shoots on in person was difficult but I made sure to consistently work on other facets that would strengthen my overall business.
As of now, I typically book up two to three months in advance. I am looking into the possibility of adding photographers to the team so I do not have to turn down so many clients. I think consistency, being adaptable, and always focusing on growing each year is what ultimately led to my side hustle becoming my career. It will be tough, there will be ups and downs, and just when you think you’ve got the hang of things something new will come up. You have to be willing to put in the time and push through adversities in order to see results.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?
I think the toughest part for non-creatives to understand is burnout. I love what I do so the work never stops. With having a creative career, you constantly have to make sure that you are taking care of your mental health. We put so much of our energy into our clients/projects and it is tough to continuously keep your head in the best space required to be creative. We are human, we all have good days and bad days, but my clients deserve to have my best always. If I mentally am not there it shows in my work. This is something I still deal with but I have learned that I have to make time for myself. Although I believe non-creatives struggle to understand this, setting time aside for yourself is something everyone can benefit from. Taking a vacation, indulging yourself with a slow morning to relax before a stressful day, or reading a book to unwind at night are some of the simple tasks that can help improve your headspace so you can bring your best self to work.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://kendallpaige.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kendallpaigephotography/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kendallpaigephotography/
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@kendallpaigephoto https://www.pinterest.com/kendallpaigephotography/