My photo business, Jennings Photo, launched way back in 2010. Back then, there really weren't as many resources at all, compared to what's available now. Facebook didn't even have groups!
So, I connecting with other people in a group on Flickr, because they had the best forum. When I look back on that, it was still pretty clunky to use. Nowadays, there's almost too much stuff. That's where my blogs and podcast episodes come in: I do my best to try to synthesize stuff into bite sized pieces for you and give you information that you can actually use.
So, how did I go from zero to six figures in Jennings Photo? The main way that I did it was by having one offer.
The idea of limiting your offerings to a single thing freaks people out a little bit. But, not to fear. Limiting your offer can help you, especially if you're in one of two boats. 1: You're just starting and you don't really have an audience yet, OR 2: if you've been at this for a while and you feel like you're being pulled in a ton of different directions and you still aren't getting the clients that you would like to book.
I think the reason having one offer is hard for photographers is because we are capable of doing so much more. Someone might ask you to shoot a fashion show, and then someone else might ask you to shoot some food for their magazine. Next think you know, two families get in touch saying, will you do a birthday party and a graduation party? All of these things might be within our reach as photographers. But if you are trying to build a brand, if you're trying to build an experience for people that they keep coming back to, if you're trying to build a name for yourself in a very saturated industry, having one offer is going to help you so much.
When I started Jennings photo, I started with weddings. I did some portraits for my students on the side, but I didn't really share much of that. I was really into the wedding thing. I went to wedding fairs, I connected with other wedding photographers. I joined something called the Independent Wedding Association. I was shooting other stuff to better my skills, and to also learn what I did and didn't want to shoot, but I didn't show all of it publicly.
When I say have one offer, I mean show up in one specific way in front of the people that you want to work with.
By focusing obsessively on weddings, I was able to grow my business really quickly. Every time I sat down to work, I knew what I was doing. I got pretty great at selling wedding packages to people and helping clients prepare for their wedding day.
Narrowing down my offer helped eliminate a lot of confusion. It helped me be better at my job.
As most of you know, I'm not doing weddings after 2021 anymore. That's because there's no rulebook that that says “now you can't do anything else.” You can always change up your offerings later! If you go all in on family photography and realize, “Oh my God, I love shooting food,” there's nothing saying you can't evolve.
Narrowing down to one offer in the beginning will help you with clarity, and I believe clarity is the foundational piece of growing a successful business.
Staying focused on one niche will help you get to know your ideal client better. It'll help you get to know your process better. And from there, I guarantee you you'll get more referrals.
By the way, the waitlist is currently open for the Photo Business Help Greenhou$e. I'm going to be talking more about that in upcoming episodes, but if you are looking for community and education and a great experience, all wrapped up in one, including the accountability that comes with being coached every week, check it out.
🌿 JOIN THE GREENHOUSE WAITLIST🌿
