We were lucky to catch up with Melissa Marshall recently and have shared our conversation below.

Melissa, appreciate you joining us today. Your ability to build a team is often a key determinant of your success as a business owner and so we’d love to get a conversation going with successful entrepreneurs like yourself around what your recruiting process was like -especially early on. How did you build your team?

In 2012 I started with just a camera and my name in East Tennessee. I was 5 years in to my banking career working at a large corporate bank.

I never imagined starting a photography career at that point, if ever. Once I started it kind of just exploded. The more sessions I did the more I would get booked. Early on, I had not imagined it becoming a place where multiple people worked because honestly it was my “side hustle.” As the years went by I would work random weddings with some acquaintances and realized that I would love to build a community in the photography industry but I was not quite sure how to do it, after all, it is a very competitive business to get in to. I worked both in full time banking, sales and the photography business from 2012-2016 and after I had my first child I was able to quit the corporate world and was able to focus on my family and building my career in photography.

2016-2018 was a busy time growing my family with another child and continuing wedding and family photography but still had a glimmer of hope that I would be able to build a team. However, as said before, the photography business is very competitive and having the trust to work with people has to be built before anyone ever meets any of my clients. Kind of look at it like I’m handing you over to someone who is the same if not better than me and they will be able to tell the same story through pictures as I would. That is the community that I had in mind to build.

In 2018 we announced we were moving from Tennessee to Houston and two weeks before moving I met someone who could take over the sessions in Tennessee while I try to build a life in Houston. Talk about a divine interaction! And that is where it began, the of the process on how to build a team. From that point I was able to bring on three more people to work with in Tennessee all while living in Houston and making connections down here; in which, I have found more people to work with in Houston!

I will never say they are “my employees” or “my associates.” If you’re working under the Simply Stated name we are all equal and we all have our own goals; essentially our end goal is that we take some real amazing pictures and have fun while doing it!

What I would say is unique with my approach of building a team is if I have to work extra hard to bring someone on and it isn’t easy to communicate – then we are probably not a good match. Communication is huge for us. I want to know if they’re having rough time or an amazing time. I want to make sure they’re being treated properly while working at an event. I keep all communications open and if there is any type of feeling we will talk it through. I give advice and coach when needed and I always make sure they feel comfortable before walking in to an event or session. For me, treating people the same way I want to be treated has worked for me in the process of all the hustle and bustle of what is called the photography industry.

I am glad I was able to grow with more people under the Simply Stated name and I am glad when, how and where it started. I was able to gain knowledge the first 6 years of doing photography that I was able to fine tune what Simply Stated would look like with more than just myself running it. You can not lead if you do not have anything to back up that leadership with. For photography it’s making those mistakes, learning from those mistakes and going through the grit and coming up from those things to be able to give advice based on all of that of which was learned.

Melissa, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a banker turned photographer and have been a photographer for over 10 years. Photography started as a side job to raise money for a friend who was adopting a child. Then it exploded from there- over 10 years later we have done more than 150 weddings, met hundreds of families and got to work with some really cool people and businesses.

When people hire us as a photographer, we do more than just show up with a camera. We bring knowledge on light, posing, weather, psychology, coordinating, comedy and sewing kits. You always have to be ready especially in the wedding industry! We are able to think on our feet and make things run smoothly even when it is all burning down in the background all without the client knowing. We build our relationships with our clients first and foremost with trust. We want to be your friend by the end of the event or session.

We focus on weddings, families, seniors, real estate, architecture and business branding. What I am most proud with the Simply Stated brand and team is that we are able to be very flexible in whatever we do. If a curve ball is thrown to us, we take our best shot and give it our all every single time because we want to essentially tell your story; whatever it may be.

Any advice for managing a team?

Always keep communication open. Understand where someone is coming from and meet them where they are. Encourage and give advice whenever possible. If you are able to relate to someone in any way, let them know you have been there and how you overcame. For us, we are all able to call or text each other and just check in. That is how you keep the morale- treating them as if you care but the key is you actually have to care in the first place!

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

I am going to go against all the rules and say word of mouth. Word of mouth has been plenty for us to be able to stay busy and doing what we love to do. We treat everyone the same and give the same each time we go out to an event or a session. From working at a venue to family sessions to working a charity event- keeping up high standards of respect and trust to every person we come in contact with. People will always remember how you treat them.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://simplystated.smugmug.com/?fbclid=IwAR0VvT_oFTLsV4FREBCggwrMA98yYDJNPKijgZJEBoHm9BiUrl008emFtoE
• Instagram: instagram.com/simplystated.tn
• Facebook: Facebook.com/simplystated.tn
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-marshall-3967b9157/