We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Megan Kelly . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Megan below.

Megan , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

What a great question! There are so many ways to achieve success and so many different definitions for success. I believe in the saying that “the way you do one thing, is the way you do everything.” For me success in my business has mostly been about consistency, persistence and believing I can do it. I have had many challenges and set backs along the way. Believing in my self and what I have to offer has allowed me to keep moving forward despite challenges.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Hi! I’m Megan with Sterlingphoto. I specialize in real estate photography. I can help real estate agents and homeowners sell their house more quickly and for top dollar by providing beautiful photos of their homes. The real estate photos are the first impression the buyer will see and it is the most important! I have owned my business and photographed thousands of homes in San Diego over the last 5 years and love what I do. This is not just work for me, it’s my passion and I enjoy it everyday. I have been perfecting my photography skills over time and am always using the most up to date photography gear and creative tools for editing. I photograph everything from mobile homes to mansions! One of my most recent accomplishments was been published in premier magazine Dream homes magazine and Ranch and Coast. I am so lucky I get to work on my passion everyday and to help agents and homeowners be at ease knowing the photography will be taken care of professionally and correctly.

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

I started off working in the restaurant business while attending school at ucsd extension for photography. I had been in the program and was unsure of what area of photography I really wanted to focus on. I then took an architectural photography class and knew, this is what I loved! I really enjoyed taking pictures of dynamic buildings and interiors. It was challenging and I was intrigued. I then started to think about who would need professional photos of buildings? And I realized, real estate agents! My next step was to find agents who needed professional photos and to speak with them. I decided to start going to local real estate caravans, where real estate agents meet once a week to discuss current listings. My schedule would consist of Caravans in the morning, and working day/night in the restaurant business. After some time I started to get more and more clients interested in my business and it became more difficult to have 2 almost full time jobs. After talking with my close friends and family after a period of time I took the leap and quit the restaurant business to become a full time entrepreneur and business owner. It was so scary to be honest, the decision was not an easy one. I knew I had the support of my family and friends and that made all the difference. Looking back I am so happy I did leave my restaurant job, my opportunities have grown immensely since that day. Now five years later I can say it was worth the risk and could not be more happy.

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

I absolutely love social media for building a business. I had a friend who was great at social media when I first began and he gave me great advice to start and maintain a social media presence. My favorite part about social media marketing is the ability to connect with clients any time and also on a personal level not just to sell them my products. Business relationships for me, are also about building connections with people. It’s important to have good relationships with clients as they are a big influence on the overall photography product they receive. For me personally, social media isn’t about making sure everyone likes my posts. It’s a reciprocal relationship. I always try my best to support my friends, family and clients online in all of their posts. Giving a simple like and comment to someone’s post online can make their day! What wouldn’t I do that? I know some people can pay a lot of money and hire a company to make their social media “perfect.” I would prefer to get to know my clients and make it a more personal connection online. Just like in my photography business consistency is key! I try to post regularly and make sure my name is also top of mind, just in case someone is looking for a photographer. Over the last few years of being consistent and getting to know clients on a personal level my social media has grown and stays fun for me as well!

Contact Info:

• Website: Sterlingphoto.net
• Instagram: http://instagram.com/Sterlingphoto1
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/megan.kelly.9404

Image Credits
Megan Kelly