We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Rob DeVenuto a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Rob, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love for you to start by sharing your thoughts about the pros and cons of family businesses
Owning a family business could either be a dream or a nightmare depending on the person (and family). For me, I would consider it a dream. I love hanging out with my family. We love to laugh and have a good time. I am fortunate to have quite a number of differing skill sets available in my family as well. As my business grows, I have every intention of offering members of my family the option to join in on the fun.
For instance, as a new business owner, you have to wear a number of different hats. Starting my photography business, I needed to become more proficient with marketing, social media, contracts, business continuity plans, scheduling, IT, communications, company image, accounting, invoicing, pricing…. these are things beyond the creative aspect of the profession which really drove me to start my own business in the first place. And some were not natural to me initially. But you make do. If you think about all these things before starting a business, you may stop dead in your tracks. The hardest part of getting somewhere is simply just to start the journey. As you begin the journey, you learn things along the way and hopefully have some friends and family to lean on for guidance and advice. Don’t be afraid to skin your knees some.. it adds character.
Once you have the business to a spot where you are actually making money, you can look to bringing more family into the business. Look for those folks in your family who have key skill sets that you lack. I once heard that a true leader will hire someone smarter than them. Great leaders know their limitations and where someone can augment and challenge them. You want to be a leader in your business and bringing on those who fill voids. I already have ideas who will be next to ask. Just make sure those on your shortlist are those family members you enjoy being around and want to grow with you.
Rob, 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?
Rob DeVenuto Photography has been a business in the making for years. It started as a hobby where I would shoot family get-togethers and morphed into being the team photographer for my kids’ soccer and baseball teams for over a decade. As these kids got older, I started doing their senior portraits and school dance pictures. This is when I started thinking about turning this hobby into a business. When I first started, I had to think about what type of photography that I wanted to “specialize” in. I just couldn’t decide on one and have numerous genres that I support including portraits, head shots, events, sports, landscape and nature photography.
You need to look at what your differentiators are or value-adds that you bring to the table for your clients in order to be successful. I have working in the technology space for close to 30 years and have always been a people-person. Taking the people skills I have learned over time makes it very easy to work with people. It’s important to instill confidence and respect with someone and I can do that naturally. Beyond building relationships, I have some very good technical skills… I naturally see compositions in the photos and can turn around edits pretty quickly to customers. Let’s face it, a client has hired you for the end result but keeping them informed along the way is vitally important. I will often share a sample within a day or two of the shoot just to get them excited about what’s to come.
Another attribute about me is that I am thirsty for knowledge and always feel like there is more to learn. Having a beginner’s mindset helps keep you fresh and open to new techniques. I’m constantly looking at other photographers’ works to help gain a different perspective. Never think you are too good to learn from someone else. If you do, the universe will have other plans for you.
The last aspect I find that differentiates me are my costs. I like to position myself as middle of the road in terms of costs. Most of my clients are middle class and every penny is getting squeezed these days. If I can provide them quality photography at a price that makes think of me for their next project, then I view that as a win.
Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
In today’s digital world there are no shortage of available resources at your fingertips. The trick is knowing what to invest in and what to hold off on. For years, I had held off on purchasing and learning Lightroom (Adobe’s photo organizing and editing solution and de facto standard in the industry). It was not cheap and looked intimidating. I finally sat down over a two week period and went through as many tutorials as I could find. Remember the hardest part of getting to the destination is just starting. Once I began digging deeper, I became more proficient and developed what would become the”dreamy” style to my photography. I knew it when I felt it… it just felt natural.
The other resource which I wish I had known about were all the photography help/critique groups on Facebook. Early on, I would have used them more to help refine my style sooner. You do have to have a thicker skin tho… in any creative art, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and you most likely will receive critiques that you don’t agree with. Just be gracious they took the time to respond. It’s up to you whether you accept it or not.
If you have multiple revenue streams in your business, would you mind opening up about what those streams are and how they fit together?
As a business owner, you are trying to lay a foundation for growth. And a foundation is going to need roots. Revenue streams are those roots and provide the stability when you face challenges with a market or the economy. I started off with multiple revenue streams and am continually branching out to others to help keep the business profitable and eventually hire more family members! When I first started out, I focused on three revenue streams… client photoshoots, stock photography sites and selling prints online. I did this strategically so that I could have both active and passive sources of income. The more passive income you can obtain, the more opportunities you have to explore other streams, give back into your community, or offer discounted rates to those who can’t afford full rates.
As my business continues to grow, I’m spending more time growing other streams such as event photography and obtaining corporate clients. I like to travel and some of the best locations are where a company or group may travel for a special event or meeting. Event photography is a great way to get to locations you may otherwise not be able to get to or afford. Corporate clients can really help pay the bills when you think about selling multiple prints. Right now, it is on a one-off basis but in the future I forsee having tailored ecommerce sites for each client where they can obtain images at their contracted rates in self service manner.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.robdevenutophotography.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robdevenutophotography/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RobDeVenutoPhotography
Image Credits
Rob DeVenuto Photography