We were lucky to catch up with Kristen Kidd recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Kristen thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s been the best thing you’ve ever seen (or done yourself) to show a customer that you appreciate them?

One of the most fundamental truths is that everyone wants to be seen, everyone wants to be heard and everyone wants to be loved. At the heart of our photography studio are our clients – people who are celebrating or honoring some seminal part of their lives. It’s an privilege to be ushered into that sacred space of the story of how they arrived at this moment.

We show our customers that we appreciate them, buy ensuring that we understand why and how this photo experience is so important to them before we even allow ourselves to pick up the camera. We create space for each client to be fully and authentically themselves. We create a platform in which they feel safe to fully express themselves, their values and their passions in life. In this way, we radically let them know that they are seen, heard and loved as they are.

It begins with taking the time to ask questions and actively listening. The best experiences begin with discovering together what is most important to every human that crosses the threshold of our studio doors.

Clients have shared many stories about what that has meant to them. Recently one client shared with us (following their military promotion ceremony that was shared with friends and family and photographed by our studio), “I don’t think you understand what you did. This is something that will transcend generations down to the people who aren’t even born yet.” Another client recently said (following a session that honored the life and loss of a beloved pet), “You have given our family healing and a sense of closure. We will always look upon these images with full hearts and joy.”

Theres’ no doubt the impact it can make in someone’s life when we take the time to see, hear and love.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I picked up my dad’s camera when I was 15 and haven’t looked back. Though, I didn’t begin photographing professionally until later in my 20s. At that time I nurtured a full time career as a social worker in tandem with a part time career as a photographer. Both careers grew and I couldn’t imagine my life without either. However, in 2016 I met some people who showed me how to take everything I love about social work and integrate it into a successful photography studio.

I know I’d regret it if I didn’t throw myself fully into the possibility of creating a space for clients to honor and celebrate every aspect of their lives. Here, we provide a way to help our clients connect as deeply as possible to this one precious life through unique and fun photo experiences. We’re not here to simply take a great photo. Lots of people can do that. We’re here to get to the heart of every person’s “why” and create beautiful, timeless art that connects them to that purpose and feeling every time they see it.

Our studio has now grown to include my husband, David Weir as co-owner and fellow photographer and our studio manager, Vic Berends. Together we tirelessly aim to help every client remember why they work so hard and what really matters in their life.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

By far the most effective strategy for growing clientele is relationship building. People will not do business with you without some level of trust. The most important component of trust building is establishing rapport. Rapport says, “I understand you.” Rapport can only exist through relationship building. Of course, we don’t always have the opportunity to build long standing rapport when someone finds us on google and gives a call, but even on a quick call, we can establish rapport to create enough trust to lead to booking a great client. It takes active listening and deep genuine caring for that person’s needs.

However, the very best clients will always come from rapport built over time. This truth is often forgotten and abandoned for quick fixes like social media posts and ads which often render less qualified and colder leads. Rapport building for client development is a slow burn that requires a lot of patience, embracing relationships whether they ever work with you or not and a lot of genuine care for others. The emphasis cannot be that every person you’re developing rapport with will utilize your services or buy your product. It must be that you’re here to care and solve their problems and share your own passion and values with the world. The result is that many of those people will – your true avatars, will want to be a part of what you’re creating and work with you.

So, how do we build these relationships? In person networking is revolutionary for business. Google your local networking groups. Visit various chapters. See what resonates, where your people are and then commit to consistently participating in the top one or two that are in line with your goals and mission. Secondly, get involved with your community. I started a facebook group called “Lansdale Meet Your Neighbors” in which locals get together and patronize one business while getting to know one another. I’ve never once advertised my business outright through that group, but I’ve received a lot of business from it because I built relationships with the people who have participated. You could volunteer for a local organization or participate in your community in other ways.

Regardless of where and how, show up and talk to people. Listen to them. Ask questions. Care deeply. You’ll be rewarded accordingly.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

So many money stories were unlearned in the past five years of my life. When I started the journey of building a photography studio I had so many stories in my mind about what it meant to make money, who had money, who was willing to spend that money, my worthiness of receiving that money. I’ve worked intensively for years to create a new story about money and in doing so have opened my eyes to wealth way beyond dollars and cents.

As time has gone on, I’ve come to see that money is simply a resource like any other and the energy that we give to it is what we get back. If we go through life resenting it, cursing it because it hasn’t been there for us in the way we want, then that’s what we’ll always be receiving. If we’re obsessed with it and hyper-focused on its location in proximity to our lives and bank account, then we’ll never have peace. It’s when we let go of our attachment to our desired expectations of money and bring a heart of gratitude to what is that we can open to more of this helpful resource showing up in our lives. This doesn’t mean we let go of our financial goals or take a back seat to taking a good look at what the data around our finances. We can still do this from a place of clarity and trust that the universe has our back when we’re showing up, open and doing the best we can as we know how with what we have. The rest will come in time.

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Image Credits
Photos Courtesy of Lux Summit Studio