We recently connected with Robert Mitchel Owenby and have shared our conversation below.

Robert Mitchel , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How do you think about vacations as a business owner? Do you take them and if so, how? If you don’t, why not?

Yes! I absolutely do! I’m a huge travel enthusiast and I absolutely LOVE budget travel! In fact, by the time you read this, I’ll have probably just gotten back from the trip that I’m currently planning: 18 Days in Greece! Almost every time I travel, my goal is to do, see, and experience as much as possible while spending the least amount of money that I can. Earlier this year, I backpacked Nicaragua for two weeks and spent well under $2000, including my flight, accommodations, food, etc. I hiked volcanos, I partied like a college student during Sunday Funday in San Juan de Sur, and I got “lost” exploring Ometepe Island by ATV. It was a wonderful trip that I will remember forever, not to mention it cultivated my love for delicious beer cocktail, the Michelada. On a related note, on my way back home, TSA took my bottle of Salsa Lizano, which absolutely broke my heart; but that’s a story for another day.

While, Greece will definitely be more expensive than Nicaragua and many of the other places I’ve visited in the past, it’s still absolutely possible to travel on a budget and for me at least, doing the research to figure out how to do everything cheaply is all part of the fun. If I’ve done my planning as thoroughly as I think I have, I’ll be able to explore ancient Athens, visit tons of museums and historical sites, check out the impressive monasteries of Meteora, do some island hopping, and more all for under or right around $2000, everything included. (Feel free to check in with me after October 14th, and I’ll tell you if I was able to stay on budget!)

As you might can tell, I’m super passionate about traveling and I really want to encourage other people who might think that they can’t afford it to give it a shot. International travel doesn’t have to force you into a second mortgage! It just takes a little flexibility and a lot of planning!

Robert Mitchel , 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?

In addition to running my small business, my background has always been in performing. I’ve been a working actor here in Atlanta for nearly a decade, and I’ve been fortunate enough to work with nearly every major theatre in the metro area as an actor and even as an arts administrator with several theatres.

My love for photography started relatively early on as well, but it’s been winding journey to where I am today. I got my first semi-professional camera when I was a freshman or sophomore in college. I was going on a trip to Italy and France with the Gainesville Theatre Alliance and I wanted to be able to take some nice photos while I was there. After the trip, people would occasionally ask me to take headshots for them for upcoming auditions. And in the beginning, (especially looking back now), I honestly wasn’t very good at taking headshots. But I enjoyed it and it was a fun thing to do from time to time.

Over time, and especially in the last 3-5 years, I would go on to hone my photography skills and BEGIN to think about things in terms of how this might function as a business. But it wasn’t until the very beginning of the pandemic (when everything changed for all of us) that I decided to go all-in. I upgraded my gear, invested in education and mentoring groups, and committed myself to becoming the best headshot photographer in Atlanta. I’ve been very fortunate to have some really incredible coaches who have helped me to continue my journey as well as an amazing network of family and friends who have encouraged me and graciously allowed me to practice on them!

Today, I own and operate Robert Mitchel Owenby Photography and specialize in high quality headshots for business professionals and creatives. My style is very modern and clean with a huge focus on giving people a high-end experience from start to finish and paying specific attention to producing photos that make my clients look like the most confident, professional, and approachable version of themselves.

Professional headshots are an important investment for anyone living in today’s increasingly digital world, so it’s vitally important to me that when someone chooses me as their photographer, they know that will come away with incredible photos and a memorable experience that makes them feel empowered, confident, and seen. Very few of us actually enjoy getting our photos taken, so it’s also a priority of mine to make sure that my clients feel relaxed and never feel any pressure to perform. They’ve got a million other things to worry about, so therefore it is MY responsibility as their photographer to make it an easy and fun process for them from the beginning.

I’m VERY proud of my all 5-star reviews on Google, but the thing I’m consistently most proud of is seeing people’s faces light up when they see their photos for the first time when we sit down to review their images. Watching people transform from “I’m not photogenic” and “I hate having my picture taken” to “Wow, I’ve never seen a photo of me that actually LOOKS like ME” and “I feel so attractive”, is something really special and precious to me.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

For me, and I’d wager most other photographers, a huge part of my business comes from word of mouth. And honestly, I take it as a great honor every time someone recommends me to a family member, friend, or colleague because it means that they enjoyed their experience and images so much that they want someone else to have the same experience!

I’ve always been pretty active on social media, but especially now as a business owner, it has become an invaluable asset. I’ve always loved that Facebook allows us to stay connected and share our lives with the people we choose, so it’s been a natural transition for me to share my photography journey there as well. I will often share my client headshots on Facebook, especially if it’s someone that I’m already friends with. This does two things. Number one and most importantly, it gives me an opportunity to brag on how wonderful and talented my clients are, and number two, it generates that all important word of mouth and let’s people know that I’m here and they too can get some great new photos when they’re ready. I use LinkedIn similarly, but always through a more professional and curated lens. It has been an awesome way for me to connect with other business professionals that I otherwise wouldn’t have any contact with.

In addition to social media and word of mouth, I’ve also found success utilizing Google Ads. Headshot Hot Sauce, one of the mentoring coaching groups that I’m a part of, has been incredible in helping me to fine tune my website and dial in my ads. All of the Google algorithms can definitely be daunting and complicated to figure out, and it always seems like the goal post is moving, but I would highly encourage any business owner to prioritize having an awesome website as well as a great Google Ads campaign.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

For the LONGEST time, photography was a hobby and an occasional side hustle for me. I have always been an actor, but along the way, I’ve also been an arts administrator, I’ve worked in the service industry, I’ve been a production manager, I’ve traveled with cirque-style entertainment companies, etc. etc. And through it all, from time to time, I’d take some headshots when a friend or a friend of a friend needed some new shots. But it was never my primary focus. However, there were a few key moments that changed everything for me. The biggest of such moments was, of course, the pandemic.

COVID-19 created a seismic shift in our lives. Many of us were abruptly out of a job and had to figure things out. For me, this meant that I was home with nothing to do and no real idea of what I was going to do when things got back to normal (whenever that might be). So, after a month or two of staying up way too late and sleeping in way too long, I finally decided that there would never be a better time to start treating my photography as a business. So I converted my garage into a home studio, and I got to work. But even then, I wasn’t convinced that I could support myself solely on photography, so clung to any safety net that I could grab a hold of. I did that for a quite a while until I was abruptly let go from my last “safety net job”. And from that moment on, I’ve never looked back; and I don’t think I ever will.

Running a business and scaling a business is hard work, but it is also so very rewarding. And as a person who loves learning, it’s always exciting as well. There’s always a new marketing challenge to figure out and new photography techniques to try, and I love that! Running a small business that is (right now at least) just me, also gives me a lot of flexibility and freedom to devote time to other things that bring me joy like traveling, pursuing my private pilot’s license, and spending quality time with family and friends. I feel very lucky, indeed.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.RobertMitchelOwenby.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/rmophotography
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/RobertMitchelOwenbyPhotography
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/robert-mitchel-owenby/
• Other: Personal Facebook Account: www.facebook.com/robbyowe Google Business Profile: https://g.page/RMOPhotography