We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Victoria Inman. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Victoria below.

Victoria, appreciate you joining us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

I’ve been a photographer for more than 20 years, both as a hobbyist and professional. During the same timeframe, I have also followed the calling to give back to my community.

I wanted to find ways to align my love of photography with giving back locally. I had volunteered my photography through a non-profit offering remembrance photography for families experiencing infant loss.

After some time doing that, I had to step away and focus more on my family. My family was navigating the road that led us to learning about my daughter’s autism diagnosis. We had redirected all our focus on identifying the right care team of professionals to support our daughter.

About 4 years after receiving her diagnosis, an idea came to me. An idea that allowed me to use photography to raise awareness of the experiences of those with diversibilities. The idea for my book, “Spark Acceptance”, was born.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I began pursuing photography as a high school student. I even wanted to go to art school but pursued a journalism degree instead. After graduating from UGA, I found myself drawn back into photography. I was seeking a creative outlet that photography filled.

There is something so special about photographing people and milestone events in their lives. I’m so proud of being able to capture moments for my clients and giving them the gift to relive those moments.

I think what sets me apart is that I’m both right- and left-brained. I am both a creative artist as well as a strategic and organized thinker. I have many years of experience in management consulting. That experience helps me optimize the way I run the business and approach my client engagement from an outside in point of view.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

My business financial philosophy was adopted from my personal finance philosophy… which is being debt free. Given my photography business is a “side hustle”, I was able to leverage steady income from my full-time management consulting career. I saved up money for my initial gear and as I realized revenue, I would set aside money to upgrade my gear, invest in better systems to run the business and communicate with clients. I also recommend having an emergency fund of 2-3 months of expenses in savings in case hard times hit (and we all experienced 2020 together).

I also set aside a “slush fund” to do something big. While I didn’t know what it would be or look like, I knew I wanted to save up for “something big”.

Eventually I decided to use my “slush fund” as startup capital for publishing my photography book, Spark Acceptance. Without any stress, I was able to comfortably pay for hard book costs (professional graphic design, copy editing, manufacturing the first run) and costs to stand up a separate business (LLC, website, ecommerce, etc.).

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is imagining something in my head and turning that idea into a tangible product for my clients to experience. I explain my photography style as experiential. It’s more than just pointing and clicking, rather finding making a meaningful connection with my subjects.

Being able to pivot my love for photography and share the faces and stories of the 54 individuals featured in Spark Acceptance is by far my biggest point of pride in my professional photography career. Inspired by my daughter, I turned my pain into purpose with the publication of my book. I shared my experience as a mother navigating my daughter’s autism journey, while creating a platform for others to share their journeys as well. The publication of by book offers a new perspective on the special needs community through photographic art, complimented by their written stories.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sparkacceptance.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sparkacceptance/
• Youtube: https://youtu.be/YjZRagLWoiY
• Other: I also have a photography Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/viphotography11/