We recently connected with Stephanie Heller and have shared our conversation below.
Stephanie, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
Before RKVIST, I spent years SHARING STORIES in the theater. I began my career working in production for Broadway Producer Manny Azenberg, winner of 80+ Tony Awards, working on the original Broadway productions of “Broadway Bound”, “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” “Dreamgirls” and “La Cage aux Folles.” I worked with Chicago’s Second City, assisted Mike Nichols in filming “The Birdcage”, appeared in more than 50 national theatrical productions and TV commercials, and produced over 350 plays as co-founder of City Theatre’s Summer Shorts Festival.
Yet when I lost my sister, Debbie, to cancer, the night before her funeral I wanted to take all her photos and put together a video to tell the story of her life. I was up all night, as I had absolutely no clue how to do any of this. It was one of the most frustrating moments in my life!
That frustration became my inspiration for RKVIST: My goal was to find a way to share my family’s stories – and if I could do this for my family, I would help other families and organizations to do the same thing.
Through a Google search, I stumbled on what The Atlantic called “The Next New Service Industry” – professional photo organizing – through The Photo Managers (at that time known as the Association of Professional Photo Organizers). I registered for their annual conference to check them out.
Before even departing for the conference, I had my first client. I ran into Barry, a fellow Duke alum and brilliant Goldman Sachs VP, who was moving to a new condo and asked if he could be my first client.
A wave of sheer panic fell over me. How did I get my first customer when I didn’t even have a business yet? What was I supposed to do with Barry’s photos? Why was he trusting me when I didn’t have a lick of knowledge?
Yet after a week of workshops followed by completing a professional certification program, I found out that photo organizing is a huge and growing business. It’s what is known as a “blue water opportunity” because there are more people with great big photo messes than there currently are professional organizers to work with them.
I finally found the owner’s manual for “what to do” with my great big photo mess and the solution to a common pain point for … just about everyone I knew.
I went from sharing people’s stories in the theater to helping countless businesses, museums, nonprofits, and – most certainly families like mine – to digitize and organize their priceless stories FOR them as their professional “Photo Concierge”.
In launching RKVIST (pronounced “archivist”), our business is booming with corporate clients including Mount Sinai Medical Center, the Jewish Museum of Florida, Greenberg Traurig P.A., and the Town of Bay Harbor Islands as well as families nationwide. Best of all, I’m able to provide peace of mind to anyone that the STORIES that mean the most – your photos and films – are preserved, now – and for generations to come.
Stephanie, 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 believe every family and business should have an archive: a digitized, centralized, and organized collection of their photos, albums, and videos to preserve the stories that matter most. That is why I founded RKVIST.
Think about your photos, your films, and the people you love. Imagine 10 years in the future. Would you want all your memories preserved and organized so you and generations to come would be able to always reminisce?
If you answered “yes” but are wondering how to do this, look no more. RKVIST is your one-stop solution for saving, organizing, and sharing your photos. Our goal is to make preserving your stories easy!
Why would you want to use a Professional Photo Organizer like RKVIST v. a Scanning Service?
TIME is the big winner in hiring a Professional Photo Organizer. Why? You have the ultimate DO-IT-FOR-ME service. You have hired a pro who is dedicated to getting your job done exactly as you envision it.
ORGANIZATION: Rather than leave you with a “digital mess” RKVIST organizes and tags your photos how you prefer, so it’s always easy for you to find any image – anytime.
RELATIONSHIPS: You’re not shipping your photos and videos to an impersonal digitization service. You get concierge service: we work directly with families and multinational businesses alike and tailor our work around your needs and goals, not the other way around.
TRUST: Your photos are your moments captured in time. They are personal, emotional, and carry meaning for you and your loved ones. Therefore, it’s especially important for you to know who is digitizing and organizing your priceless memories and that they earn your TRUST. I treat your photos as if they’re my own.
But don’t take my word for it. Hear what a few RKVIST customers had to say:
“I work really hard, and I would never have the time to do this myself. When I can share photos from our trips to Morocco or Egypt or Iceland with Josh – it just brings me so much joy! What you do is really amazing. There is such a need for it, and I am so glad that I did this.” – Barry Schneirov, Goldman Sachs VP
“Have you been asking yourself what to do with your old photo albums and picture files on your computer? When we moved, I knew I had to do something to streamline the content. Thanks to RKVIST – like my smartphone, I now have a smart archive. Please contact RKVIST. You will be SO happy you did! – Rochelle Weinstein, USA Today and Amazon Bestselling Author
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
Working to digitize, centralize, and organize a lifetime of photos means finding the best service provider and having a relationship that may last weeks, months, or even years.
When you work with RKVIST, you get me and my team. Our results depend upon having a professional, trusted, and easygoing relationship with each and every client. Relationships are the key to any successful business. Every single client I’ve ever met through RKVIST came to me by word-of-mouth. Why?
I am infinitely curious about PEOPLE and their STORIES: who they are, where they grew up, their parents and grandparents, where they went to school, married, raised their kids. The list of touchpoints with my clients is endless, because I believe that people are infinitely interesting and consider it the highest honor when anyone entrusts me to preserve their priceless stories.
You can’t fake an authentic, caring relationship with your customers. You have to be YOU – genuine, honest, and ENJOY exceeding your customer’s expectations with every interaction.
Why would anyone choose a particular product of service?
- Gut instinct: Do they “like” that person? Trust them? Want to work with them? Customers let their intuition guide whether they want to work with you – so a positive attitude, energy, and general likeability rings through. If you’re genuinely thrilled to do what you do for a living, it speaks volumes to your customers.
- Skillset for their project: We as organizers pick a lane. My company does digitizing, centralizing, organizing of photos, albums, videos, and digital images. I don’t design photo books, create Bar Mitzvah videos, or clean out your iPhone but I can refer you to someone who does. Know “what” your strengths are and be the best in your lane.
- Quality of work: I encourage any prospect to look at my website for the type of services offered, quality of work, client testimonials, and, most of all, word of mouth.
- Communication: I prioritize clear and consistent communication with my clients to let you know of our progress, to reach out to ask you any questions, and am always available via email, text, or phone for my clients. Any business who wants a loyal clientele should do the same.
- Clarity on pricing and scope of work: I provide every client with my pricelist the very first time they contact me. I want them to know, up front, my fees and provide an estimate for my services so they may decide whether they want to work with me. Nobody likes surprises, and I recommend clients get a clear quote from any service provider.
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
The best advice I ever received is to be CURIOUS – through soaking up any pearls of wisdom, however you find them. I love podcasts, books, videos, whatever is interesting – there are often great nuggets that I jot down on the “notes” section of my iPhone.
Being an entrepreneur means being exquisitely creative: taking an idea, brainstorming, putting yourself in your customer’s shoes, finding your voice, brand, and value proposition and not being afraid to put myself out there.
All of this stems from creative inspiration. One of the best books I’ve read about creativity is Elizabeth Gilbert’s “Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear.”
Favorite quote:
This is the central question upon which all creative living hinges. “Do you have the courage to bring forth the treasures that are hidden within you?” The hunt to uncover those jewels – that’s creative living. The courage to go on that hunt in that first place – that’s what separates a mundane existence from a more enchanted one. The often surprising results of that hunt – that’s what I call Big Magic.”
Contact Info:
- Website: https://rkvist.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephtherkvist/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stephtherkvist
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5MA4MTii9W0XZfOcw5fZVw