We recently connected with Leo and Brittany Trevino and have shared our conversation below.

Leo and Brittany, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

Being a small business owner is all about risks. Probably the biggest one of all is starting that small business. In 2012, Leo and I both had great jobs at an Apple store. Excellent benefits, great hourly pay, great hours. But we both knew we wanted to jump into the world of Weddings. At the time, Apple was a great company to work for, and they gave us flexibility and occasional weekends off to pursue this side hustle. And as the side hustle grew, we needed more and more time off. So Apple gave us an ultimatum. Follow our dream, which they fully supported, or stop asking for so many weekends off. After all, weekends were prime shopping days.

We understood and respected this wish but knew deep down that we needed to follow our dream. If we didn’t do it then, we probably never would. We were both young with few bills and no kids, so it was now or never. We leaped and put in our two weeks…

Over the next couple of months, we barely made ends meet. Lots of Instant Ramen nights! Using the income, we did have for rent and building up our gear for our business. No insurance and no extras! But all that risk and sacrifice paid off because we were doing great within a year! Breaking even and being able to support ourselves financially. Within three years, we grew even more, and here we are, almost ten years in, owning a home and running a 6-figure photography company. As cliche as it might sound, the bigger the risk – the better the reward!

Leo and Brittany, 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?

We are Rad Red Creative, wedding, portrait, and commercial photographers for the non-traditional. We specialize in natural, colorful, and true-to-life exposure. We strive to give every client and seamless and rewarding experience. Together, we have been in business for ten years and love every minute! Our professional knowledge of lighting has allowed us to excel in every scenario.

We started back in 2012 with a passion for storytelling and couples. Weddings are the bread and butter of our business, and we are thankful for the 100s of couples who have given us the honor of capturing their special days.

One thing that sets us apart is that we are a Husband and Wife team. Leo’s creative mind to my (Brittany) organized mindset creates the perfect ying and yang.

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

The COVID-19 pandemic created a significant shift for several months of our business in 2020. We rely primarily on weddings and events, which were canceled for the majority of 2020. Everyone was socially distanced and quarantined at home, so how were we supposed to make income?

We thought about the idea of doing “front porch sessions.” Photoshoot where we could show up for a few minutes and take family portraits on the client’s front porches. It commemorated our time and allowed families to have a few images at a discounted rate. But it also gave us a little income until things started opening up again.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Being in the Wedding and Event industry, the number one thing we have built our reputation on is our relationship with fellow vendors and clients. We do our best to treat every person we work with as respectfully as possible, whether that person is our client or another vendor working with us on a wedding day.

Because of this, we have multiple event venues and fellow vendors that continue to send referrals our way, allowing our word-of-mouth marketing to soar. Being kind and respecting someone can earn much more than paying for marketing. This may not be true in every industry, but for ours, reputation precedes itself.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.radredcreative.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/radredcreative
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/radredcreative
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/radredcreative
• Other: www.vimeo.com/radredcreative www.pinterest.com/radredcreative

Image Credits
Portrait of Leo & Brittany: Jake Ford Photography All other images by Rad Red Creative