A Client Acquisition Workshop: A Chance to Get Started The Right Way
I am doing this free; no charge for photographers who need a roadmap for getting started.
I recently watched a YouTube video and sat slack-jawed by the terrible information and business ideas for creatives spewed forth by so-called professionals who probably didn’t know better.
It started me looking for more of these terrible actors poisoning the well of creativity, and I found too many. Way too many.
Listen.
If you think photography, the art and business of photography, is about gear, stop reading now - and definitely do not waste time with my free workshop.
It isn’t right for you.
There are plenty of skateboarding coffee connoiseurs, married Karens, and strangely dressed camera dudes to keep you distracted. And scrolling.
I am not wasting your time.
I have been a professional photographer for over 50 years, taught it very successfully online for 12 years, and have helped hundreds of photographers expand their skills and their businesses.
I love helping people find themselves in the business of photography and a life of creativity.
And I am not interested in making “content”.
I am interested in photography as an art, and as a way to build a career.
I think it is a wonderful life and lifestyle.
Is it the most lucrative?
Probably not, but it can be quite lucrative if you do it well, do it smart, and do it consistently.
The Client Acquisition Sprint is a distillation of my 5 decades of building businesses around creativity.
I was a photographer in Phoenix, then moved to LA for a brief, but enlightening time where I shot actors, fashion, beauty, and a little bit of lifestyle.
Back to Phoenix where I worked as a director at a trade school - one of the first ever created for commercial photography. I was tasked with developing curriculum, student retention, and post graduate placement. I had the best numbers of all the emerging schools. And I am proud of that.
I left teaching and went back to shooting where I spent another eight years before a couple of art directors tagged me as their third partner in what was the beginning of the Web area. We built websites and advertising for large and small clients all over the country, eventually becoming the third largest Advertising Agency in Arizona with billing in the millions.
And a staff of 17.
I left to go back to boutique work as both a designer and a photographer, and built back up to a 3400 Sq Ft studio that served me well for years.
I know what I am doing, and I know what works.
It isn’t some social media bullshit, or how many podcasts you do.
It isn’t making cool photos and sharing them on IG or FB.
It isn’t running up high credit card bills for the latest and greatest new mirrorless hottie.
It is three things:
A killer portfolio that is appropriate for what you want to do and who you want to do it for.
The ability to get those photographs in front of the right people, the people who hire photographers who do what you do - and keep them engaged.
The right mindset that allows you to forge ahead without worrying about what someone else is doing, or fearing that success will ruin you, or a hundred other stupid things we think when doing this crazy job.
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Photographers: There Are Only Three Basic Things Keeping You From Business Success
Hi, and welcome to my little Substack corner. I write about photo…
I work with photographers one-on-one. I have dealt with every issue that can get between a photographer and the ability to turn that artistic endeavor into a career or even a part-time career.
In the first three weeks of the workshop we will discuss these challenges, wrapping them all up in the fourth with a holistic system designed to take what you know into a cohesive strategy and system to implement.
It is a do this, measure that, modify, repeat plan that will show you where clients are, how to get in front of them, how to get the gig, and how to keep them coming back.
NO SECRETS.
NO PRECIOUS AND WEIRD FAKE INSIGHTS.
NO BULLSHIT.
Some of you are ready for this, so let’s do this.
NOTE: I will hold nothing back, I will not hold any material hostage for an upsell.
I will give it to you straight, you then take the material and work it, measure it, and find out what you need to massage to make it perfect for you.
Is any of this some sort of brilliant, well-kept secrets of the trade only privvy for a few?
Nope. It’s just hard fucking work with a structured plan.
Many have done it, this is my way.
And I want you to try it out.
Some of you are not right for this.
If you believe that AI is going to take your creativity from you, chew it up, and spit it back, you should not waste your time. You have already drunk the Techbro Koolaid.
If you have tried this three or four times already, failed or quit without getting anywhere, think hard about wasting your time. Maybe it’s you. Prove me wrong.
If you are a wedding, family portrait, kids photographer, this is not your jam.
A life built on one’s own creativity is not an easy choice, mi amigos. It has a price, it demands a lot, and the sacrifices can add up to more than you may be willing to give. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Photography can always be something you are very close to.
Who may be right for this?
You have a portfolio, but are not sure how to get it to resonate. In fact, you are a bit uneasy about the quality of your portfolio.
You have done a few little jobs but can’t keep the momentum up to develop something more steady.
You are unsure of the steps needed to get from making photos to making photos for someone else and being paid for it.
You have no marketing system in place.
You need to bring in at least some money from this endeavor, but are not sure how.
If you have thought that maybe you want to try something that comes from deep inside you as a basis for making a living, then four weeks is certainly not too long a time for you to check it out.
We start on October 1, with meetings on October 8, 15, and 22. They are on Tuesday evenings at 4 PM, Pacific and will run up to two hours if we have a lot of interest.
I hope we do.
This is a FREE workshop.
All I need is your attention and commitment.
Please go to this page and use the form. It will send you back the links and ZOOM info.
I hope to see you in the workshop.
When you are ready, here is how I can help you succeed.
Group Mentorship: a small group of photographers who meet to show images, work on their portfolio, and build their businesses with help from a wonderful group. Lifetime membership for one fee.
One-on-one Mentorship: You and me - working together in an intense 6-month push to get you on the way to over $30K in additional revenue. The work we lay down will help you increase and scale your business for years ahead.
Build a Website Landing Page in a Weekend.
A website for photographers who want to expand both their own business, and help clients get more business as well.
I’ve been getting your emails for a few years and your approach and ideas resonate. I’m very interested in your Client Acquisition Workshop. I hope there’s enough interest for it to happen.
I’m very interested in this!