We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Maggie M Gulling a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Maggie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What do you think it takes to be successful?

I think a combination of insane hard work and a great mindset. I have failed many times in my business but I just kept trying and trying and when I finally put all my energy into what I wanted and how I treated my clients it all fell into place!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT MY PHOTOGRAPHY JOURNEY!

LET ME SHARE MY PHOTOGRAPHY JOURNEY WITH YOU! IT ALL STARTED BACK IN HIGH SCHOOL WHEN I ENROLLED IN PHOTOGRAPHY 101, THE ONLY ART CLASS AVAILABLE. AT FIRST, I TOOK BASIC AND UNINSPIRING PHOTOS, BUT WHAT TRULY CAPTIVATED ME WAS THE PROCESS OF DEVELOPING AND WITNESSING THE MAGIC UNFOLD BEFORE MY EYES.

I KNEW I WANTED TO PURSUE ART IN SOME CAPACITY, AND ALTHOUGH I INITIALLY CONSIDERED ATTENDING HAIR SCHOOL, MY PARENTS CONVINCED ME OTHERWISE. INSTEAD, I ENDED UP JOINING THE COMMERCIAL ARTS PROGRAM AT DMACC (DES MOINES AREA COMMUNITY COLLEGE) AND IMMERSED MYSELF IN EVERY PHOTOGRAPHY CLASS THEY OFFERED. WHILE I WASN’T THE MOST EXCEPTIONAL STUDENT OVERALL, PHOTOGRAPHY WAS MY PASSION, AND I DEDICATED MOST OF MY TIME TO IT.

AS GRADUATION APPROACHED, I STARTED SEARCHING FOR GRAPHIC DESIGN JOBS, BUT THE DESCRIPTIONS I CAME ACROSS MADE ME CRINGE. DESPITE HAVING TWO JOB OFFERS, I COULDN’T ACCEPT THEM BECAUSE THEY DIDN’T ALIGN WITH MY ASPIRATIONS. SO, I PLEADED WITH MY PARENTS TO ALLOW ME TO ATTEND THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN SCHOOL OF PHOTOGRAPHY (RMSP) IN MISSOULA, MT.

MY TIME AT RMSP WAS UNLIKE ANYTHING I HAD EVER EXPERIENCED BEFORE. SURROUNDED BY FELLOW PHOTOGRAPHY ENTHUSIASTS, WE ENGAGED IN PASSIONATE DISCUSSIONS AND IMMERSED OURSELVES IN THE ART FORM. THE PROGRAM WAS INTENSIVE, REQUIRING 12-HOUR SCHOOL DAYS, SIX DAYS A WEEK, FOR SIX WEEKS. IT WAS AN INCREDIBLY TRANSFORMATIVE PERIOD IN MY LIFE.

UPON RETURNING HOME, I HAD A CLEAR VISION OF WHAT I WANTED TO DO, ALTHOUGH IT TOOK SEVERAL YEARS TO ACHIEVE MY GOALS. I SECURED A JOB AT MEREDITH CORPORATION, WHERE I EARNED AN UNHEARD-OF HOURLY RATE FOR SOMEONE MY AGE. HOWEVER, I DIDN’T FULLY APPRECIATE THE JOB, AND DUE TO MY IMMATURITY AT THE TIME, I ENDED UP GETTING FIRED. NONETHELESS, DURING MY TENURE, I CREATED AN EDITING AND WORKFLOW GUIDE THAT I WAS PROUD OF, AS IT STREAMLINED PROCESSES WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT.

FOLLOWING THAT SETBACK, I BRIEFLY ATTENDED HAIR SCHOOL, ONLY TO REALIZE THAT PHOTOGRAPHY WAS MY TRUE CALLING. I RETURNED TO THE CORPORATE WORLD AT GANNETT RTC, WORKING OVERNIGHT SHIFTS IN THE CALL CENTER, ASSISTING NEWSPAPERS WITH SOFTWARE PROGRAMS LIKE INDESIGN AND PHOTOSHOP. UNFORTUNATELY, IT WAS AN UNFULFILLING EXPERIENCE THAT DRAINED MY ARTISTIC SPIRIT. I ENCOUNTERED STRICT RULES, SUCH AS BEING REPRIMANDED FOR USING THE RESTROOM TOO FREQUENTLY. THIS PATTERN SUGGESTED THAT I WASN’T CUT OUT FOR TRADITIONAL EMPLOYMENT; MY TRUE PASSION LAY ELSEWHERE.

THE SUBSEQUENT PHASE OF MY JOURNEY GETS A LITTLE CHAOTIC, SO I’LL SPARE YOU THE DETAILS. AFTER ENDING A TOXIC RELATIONSHIP, I MOVED TO KC AND JOINED A COMPANY THAT PRIMARILY FOCUSED ON SENIOR PORTRAITS, OR SO I THOUGHT. IT TURNED OUT TO BE A SCHOOL PHOTOGRAPHY BUSINESS, BUT I GAINED VALUABLE KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS. ALTHOUGH THE PAY WAS LOW, THIS JOB PAVED THE WAY FOR MY NEXT OPPORTUNITY. EVENTUALLY, I FIGURED OUT WHAT I TRULY NEEDED AND RAN MY OWN BUSINESS IN DES MOINES. UNFORTUNATELY, THINGS DIDN’T GO WELL, AND EVEN MY SISTER COULDN’T RECOMMEND ME TO OTHERS. I WAS GOING THROUGH A TOUGH TIME AND STRUGGLING TO MAKE ENDS MEET.

NEXT, I WORKED FOR A COMPANY THAT DOESN’T DESERVE RECOGNITION. I WAS ONE OF NINE PHOTOGRAPHERS UNDER A MANAGER WHO CONSISTENTLY LIED TO CLIENTS ABOUT HIS MODELING AGENCY. THE JOB WAS INCREDIBLY CHALLENGING, WITH LONG HOURS AND LOW PAY. ON AVERAGE, I MADE ONLY $7 PER HOUR. THIS EXPERIENCE TAUGHT ME THAT WORKING FOR SOMEONE ELSE DOESN’T ALWAYS WORK OUT. HOWEVER, THERE WERE POSITIVE ASPECTS TO THE JOB: I MET BRIDGET, WHO NOW WORKS WITH ME, AND I LEARNED THE IMPORTANCE OF OFFERING SNEAK PEEKS AND PROVIDING A QUICK TURNAROUND. I ALSO GAINED VALUABLE INSIGHTS INTO WHAT NOT TO DO WHEN RUNNING A BUSINESS.

WITH THE GUIDANCE AND SUPPORT OF MY BOYFRIEND, JC, I EVENTUALLY MUSTERED THE COURAGE TO QUIT

Have you ever had to pivot?

2020 was scary for all, especially business owners. I am a photographer so it wasn’t something people necessarily needed. It came at a point in my season that wasn’t insanely busy as it was, so I was prepared for a lull like every year.

Instead of saying poor me and this sucks, I invested in a program to help me keep track of things better. I focused on making my business better and improving things since I had the time.

I asked all clients to book in advance and a lot of them did. It actually was the best year I had profit wise and caused me to plan ahead from then on. I am now booked at least 3-4 months in advance which is something I always wanted.

I took something awful and made it work for me and my business, super proud!

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I am actually working on a social media guide for business owners! I am crazy and love social media. Its so much fun to learn what works and what doesn’t. Again in 2020 I started things that I hadn’t done before just to help boost business. One thing was showing up on socials and stories on IG.

I was already scared and hated seeing myself in the camera. I told myself that I would show my face daily for a month and see what happens.

I noticed that posts about myself got more views and attraction than the photos I took. Every Monday is a post about me or advice from me and from there things started rolling. I offer a wide variety of sessions so I use days of the week per type of photos as well as color code my grid! I know I am nuts.

I use Later.com to schedule all the things ensuring I have consistent content and that has helped a ton. Every week I gain a decent amount of followers.

Contact Info:

• Website: maggieGphoto.com
• Instagram: maggieGphoto
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/maggieGphotography/
• Twitter: maggieGphoto
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/maggiegulling

Image Credits
All photos taken by Raelyn Ramey