We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Michael Betzner a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Michael, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today So, let’s imagine that you were advising someone who wanted to start something similar to you and they asked you what you would do differently in the startup-process knowing what you know now. How would you respond?

If I was to start over today I would prioritize outsourcing tasks and time management. I used to feel like, as a business owner, it was important for me to have my hands in everything. I felt like I had to run every aspect of my business and it was really hard for me to let tasks go. But that will 100% burn you out and make you resent the career you’ve worked so hard to create. It’s not only ok to let go and take some time away. It’s essential.

Michael, 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 creative portrait and wedding photographer. I also create content and work for brands on social media. I started in 2019 and went full time in 2020. I create content that is educational and beautiful. I share stories about my life and experiences as well as my clients stories. I open up about queer struggles and body image in America. I fight for change and growth in media and continue working to help open up the conversation surrounding queer representation.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

In 2020 I had been working as a server in restaurants and was part time doing photography.. I was more doing photography as a hobby and only ever dreamed of going full time. But when Covid hit, my restaurant shut down and I had no choice but to push for more in the photography space. I started creating content and showing everything I did. I was basically just hoping for a miracle. Which came shortly after I started TikTok. My videos started going viral and I started being booked 3-4 months in advance. I continued to grow and up my rates and now I’m going on 4 years of full time content creating, photography, and styling.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I built my audience on social media by posting on TikTok and Instagram every day. I basically knew that if social media didn’t work I wouldn’t be able to pay my bills so I poured my heart and soul into creating content. It was my everything for about a year. I always filmed everything I did. And spent most of my time just editing videos or photos. And whenever you put that much energy into something you’ll become great at it. My advice to anyone trying to get into content creating is to take your time. You don’t have to grow as fast as I did or fast at all. You can grow slowly and organically. Don’t kill yourself for social media. You deserve time off, alone time, space, and a healthy work/life balance. And create art that resonates with you! If you’re not truly passionate about what you’re creating it will show and it won’t feel authentic.

Contact Info:

• Website: [email protected]
• Instagram: Instagram.com/michael_betznerphotography

Image Credits
Images by Michael Betzner Photography