Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Marcia Ward. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Marcia, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?
I admire people who do what they say they are going to do. Too many people take language and commitments as things that can be easily changed. Language shapes our reality and commitments make us strong individuals.
I try to build trust with every one of my clients. I want them to like me as both a person and a professional. I meet deadlines, I show up on time and I don’t cancel even if I get a better offer. My business may not be exceptionally profitable, but I want to represent what I do with exceptional integrety.
Marcia, 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?
In many ways I have had a charmed career. Even as a youthful and rebellious teenager I knew I wanted a career, but that I wanted it to be both creative and different from a 9-5 work day. While in college I began learning the artistic, technical and business aspects of photography. I was lucky to have an impressive, unforgettable and inspiring teacher. Later after I married and had two children my husband and I had the opportunity to buy an exsisting photography studio from a man who was retiring. I cannot emphasize enough how this decision is truly the center of the success of my commercial photography studio, The Image Maker.
Since the early 1990’s the business has changed quite a bit. I started out in the world of 4″x5″ film and in the early 2000’s the digital revolution was in full swing. The transition to digital was difficult but oh what a world it opened up in terms of photography. The down side was commercial photography was no longer as specialized as it was at one time. So I diversified. I became more involved with many of my artist clients and began writing proposals for public art, managing their exhibitions and helping them keep their imagery organized and accesible. Wearing a number of different hats seems to suit me.
Let’s move on to buying businesses – can you talk to us about your experience with business acquisitions?
Marriage and motherhood drove my early twenties, but when my second child started first grade I envisioned photography as part of my daily life. I wanted to open a studio but didn’t know where to begin. Somewhere, probably the classifieds, I saw there would be an estate sale at a photographer’s studio in my neighborhood. I insisted my husband accompany me as he intended to be a partner in my endeavor. We arrived on a Saturday morning and spoke to Warren Blanc, the owner of one of Denver’s longest standing commercial photography studios. He let us know he was retiring and that he had a plan for the succession of the studio all in place. However, his business partner, and the man who was intended to take over, Bob Ashe, had been killed in a helicopter crash over Horsetooth Reservoir. Bob was like a son to Warren he explained, and Warren was still grieving the loss. Warren had mentored Bob since he was a teenager in the neighborhood. We expressed our condolences and then asked if we could come back another day and talk about the possibility of us taking over the studio.
I returned a few days later with my portfolio and talked business in the front room of what was a dream of a photography studio. The space was massive: a gallery, greeting area, office, room with light tables for viewing and projection, a dressing room with mirrors and lights for make up, a kitchen, a downstairs with a darkroom and four enlargers, a drying area, a room to load sheet film, and a workshop. Then Warren told me what the financial deal would be and I didn’t see how I could possibly make it work. But Ed saw the possibe potential for us to work together and insisted we give it a try. That was 1993 and 32 years later I’m still working at The Image Maker.
Do you have any stories of times when you almost missed payroll or any other near death experiences for your business?
There certainly has been a trade off to owning my own business. I’ve had a great deal of freedom but ss I mentioned earlier, the business has never been very profitable. I have always just scraped by, but somehow I have been tenacious and been able to adapt and keep the business going by offering a variety of services. I keep my purchases reasonable. I don’t have to have the most expensive, newest and greatest gear. I have to have gear that will get the job done.
There have been three physical places The Image Maker has resided. The “dream of a photographic studio’ was about 3600 square feet. Fifteen years later we bought a warehouse that was half that size and gave up the darkroom as digital was the predominate tool. Then in 2017 we built a studio in our backyard, converted a room in our home to an office, and that is where the business resides today. I haved loved each place.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.theimagemaker.qwestoffice.net
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ImageMakerWeddings
Image Credits
All Photos by Marcia Ward/The Image Maker Denver