We were lucky to catch up with Megan Decker recently and have shared our conversation below.
Megan, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What do you think it takes to be successful?
What does it take to be successful? I think you first have to define success because it can look different to everyone. For me success has evolved as my business has evolved. I had went to school for photography and was a second shooter for numerous years before I had the confidence to make the leap to start my own business. My first year I was looking for a flexible career to be a stay-at-home mom to my brand new baby boy and bring in some extra income. so I got excited by booking any client, investing in new gear, and frankly praying that I filed my taxes correctly. Today success at its core is still about my family and being a present parent. But I am laser focused on improving my client’s experience with me. I do that by connecting with clients that truly value my work and are excited about the experience I can offer them. I had to learn that it is ok to tell a potential client that you may not be the perfect fit. After I finally identified my ideal client I could better serve those couples. Because if someone doesn’t like your editing style or how you pose, no matter how hard you try to make them happy you won’t be successful. You will just be trying to replicate someone’s else’s work and not being true to yourself.
So don’t be scared to grow, take risks and always have your ideal clients in mind. Even after all these years I still find myself getting better at taking pictures, posing my clients and honing my editing skills. When I started my business it was totally self serving but when I changed my focus to my clients and wanting to better serve them is when I noticed my success truly took off.
Megan, 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 born and raised Arizona based photographer particularly focused on weddings and elopements. I love what I do whether I am capturing images locally, in the valley of the sun or traveling to some other breath taking locations in our beautifully diverse state. I feel so blessed that my work has taken me on some pretty incredible adventures. I have climbed, quite literally, to the vortex on top of Cathedral Rock in Sedona. I have stood at the edge of the awe-inspiring vistas of the Grand Canyon and I have ventured to Joshua Tree for a bohemian dream elopement. I have explored the golden windswept sand dunes of Glamis to capture a sunset engagement session. Where ever you want to say “I do” my lens and I will follow. There really isn’t anywhere I wouldn’t consider going. While traveling to beautiful locations is amazing, the most gratifying thing about what I get to do is witness this legacy moments of people that are deeply in love!!
In my free time I love spending as much time as possible with my son and husband. We have annual tickets to Odysea and the Phoenix Zoo so we spend a lot of time there. When I get some rare down time I love watching a scary movie or reading a good book. I even helped organize a book club around my favorite genre horror and mysteries. I have found that the most challenging part of being a self employed photographer is that it can easily take over your life. Working from home can blur the line of work and personal time. It was so important to me to keep a dedicated work schedule so that I can make time for family and friends too. Not to say that I don’t find myself answering emails long after my son has gone to bed or editing galleries while on vacation but as a small business owner you wear many hats. When you are the official photographer, marketing director, accountant, social media manager and so much more, there is never a dull moment or a lack of work. It’s a balancing act I am still perfecting but as a wife and a mother my family is the most important thing to me.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
Can you believe I thought I could grow my business through word of mouth? Yup, I thought people would magically find my work and the clients would just come pouring in! I was terrified to put myself out there! Then I worried, what if someone didn’t like me or my work or the rejection of someone deciding to go with another photographer? These were the questions that kept me from growing but the truth is, with no risk comes no reward. I was letting my fear of failing decide the future of my business. As I started to branch out from family photoshoots to engagements to weddings. I had to ask myself if wedding photography was really something I was passionate about and ready to do. I had worked as a second shooter for many weddings but working as the lead photographer seemed scary and uncharted territory. So what was the most effective strategy for growing my clientele? It was doing the things that scared me. I always loved the creative and artistic part of photography but I felt lost when it came to the business side. First thing I learned was that I needed to create a marketing funnel. As a photographer it was creating lots of ways that potential clients could find me. I started by creating a social media presence, making a website and a Google business page. Of course that was the easy stuff. It was a little intimidating thinking about reaching out to other wedding vendors in the industry but I knew how important those relationships would be to growing my business. Where we could refer clients to each other and promote each other’s work. . I didn’t know how to start but I knew I wanted to support these other small businesses so I always approach new vendor friends from a place of service and giving. I ask myself, how can I make their business shine and how can I make their job easier? Building strong relationships and being able to refer my clients to other amazing small businesses is what it’s all about!
My final tip would be to simply ask for more! I tell my clients that a large part of my success is attributed to them recommending me to family, friends, and others. I have learned to not be shy about asking them to take a few minutes to write a review. I know how busy our lives can be so I make it easy for my clients by sending the link for their convenience.
It’s always smart to have multiple revenue streams and I relish the opportunity for a second sale. The continued engagement with my clients helps me build stronger relationships. But as a photographer my priority is to always look for new ways to enhance my clients experience. The biggest problem I saw in my industry was that clients will invest hundreds if not thousands of dollars in professional photography but often those images will never leave their computer. That makes me so incredibly sad so I decided to do something about it. Because images have a way of transporting us back in time and preserving life’s most precious moments. Those images should be displayed in your home and those memories should be shared over and over again. I am proud to offer my clients access to a world renowned Italian digital printing company, that combines the latest technology and utilizes the finest materials to create impeccable products. I offer printing credit with all my photo packages to encourage my clients to really showcase their images how I feel they were meant to be enjoyed!
Do you have multiple revenue streams – if so, can you talk to us about those streams and how your developed them?
It’s always smart to have multiple revenue streams and I relish the opportunity for a second sale. The continued engagement with my clients helps me build stronger relationships. But as a photographer my priority is to always look for new ways to enhance my clients experience. The biggest problem I saw in my industry was that clients will invest hundreds if not thousands of dollars in professional photography but often those images will never leave their computer. That makes me so incredibly sad so I decided to do something about it because images have a way of transporting us back in time and preserving life’s most precious moments. And those images should be displayed in your home and those moments should be shared over and over again. I am proud to offer my clients access to a world renowned Italian digital printer, they combine the latest technology and utilizing the finest materials to create impeccable products. I offer printing credit with all my photo packages. I offer that in hopes to encourage my clients to really showcase their images how I feel they were meant to be enjoyed!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.MeganRaePhotography.com
- Instagram: @meganraedeckerphotos
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MeganRaeDeckerPhotos
- Other: Google https://g.page/MeganRaeDeckerPhotos?share