We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Seth Woolsey. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Seth below.
Seth, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?
The process of going from idea to execution requires action. Which in reality, taking action in any area of life is difficult. I had already invested in a midlevel camera and some basic gear. So, the next big step was to put myself out there for the first time and offer my services to the public. “Don’t start big, work your way up to it I thought.” Little victories are still victories and they expound upon one another. I started by offering friends and family free shoots, portraits, engagement, weddings. I didn’t get my first real photography job until months after I registered my LLC. After building a small portfolio, I felt comfortable enough to put myself out there to the world, and so the jobs started to flow in. There are certainly things you don’t think about when starting your own business. What happens if my camera gear gets stolen for instance, or what happens if I drop my gear and break it? I immediately realized on my first job, “I need to make sure I have coverage for this stuff”. What happens if my card becomes corrupted in my camera and I lose all the footage from a wedding? That lead me to realize I had to upgrade the gear I had even further to ensure I had a 2 slot SD card in my Camera or an immediate way to back up my footage etc. What happens if a customer doesn’t have clear expectations regarding the product they’re going to receive? Well, they tend to get angry. They’re expecting me as a professional to outline that information prior to them receiving the product. Contracts had to be made and structured around my ability to create and my customer’s desire for a product for instance. These are the nitty gritty realities of business ownership that aren’t necessarily fun, but are necessary to work through if you want to be successful and provide good work/ products.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
For sure, my name is Seth Woolsey and the first thing you need to know is that regardless of whether or not I had this business, I would still pour myself into photography daily. It’s something I love and something that I am extremely passionate about. I got into the industry by watching some of my artistic creative heroes online. Artists like Peter McKinnon and film makers like the Corridor Crew gang pushed me into the world of artistic expression/creation. Regarding my business, I offer portrait photography, wedding videography, short film production, and business advertisement services to name a few. I know there are so many different photographers and videographers out there, it’s hard to stand out amongst the crowd of never-ending options. I’m going to give one reason why I stand out. I view each and every person I interact with as if they’re a special creation that has been put on this Earth for a specific purpose. This is going to get pretty heady for an interview, but bear with me. I believe each and every person is a special creation from God that’s been put on this Earth to do amazing things. Thats why I want to ensure my clients and heck, even if you’re not my client, I want to ensure each and every person I come into contact with feels as though they’re of extreme value and they feel cared for. When a person feels cared for and understands their true worth, I believe they’re able to do amazing things. Ultimately, I believe more than ever, we need people to realize their full potential and do amazing things. Thats enough soap box Seth for one interview, my point is, I deeply care for my clients
I’m most proud of my wildlife and nature photography. It’s my original passion, I’ve loved going out and taking photos of animals/ landscapes ever since I was a kid. It truly refuels my batteries to get outside and be with nature/ capture moments within nature, I love it!
Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?
I funded my business and still fund my business by working as a fraud investigator during the weekdays. I tend to book clients for my photography business on the weekends primarily. I wanted to grow my business as responsibly as possible and I believe a slow growth mindset is more beneficial at this time than going into high amounts of debt and struggling as a new business owner. Granted, having two careers is very time intensive, but having the income readily available to invest into my business has been extremely helpful.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
I believe a big lesson I had to unlearn is that society defines whether or not I’m a success. The truth of the matter is, if you set goals for yourself and you accomplish those goals, you’re succeeding! I do believe it’s important to set realistic goals, but also goals that challenge you creatively/professionally. It’s a fine balance between the two.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.woolseyphotoandfilm.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/woolseyphotoandfilm/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seth.woolsey.12
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCV_Ps8Iw4i81mBPhncZm9eQ
Image Credits
Seth Woolsey