On this episode of The Portrait System Podcast, host Nikki Closser speaks with Central Illinois photographer Heather Wanninger about her portrait enterprise that focuses on seniors, company shoppers, and training. Wanninger shares suggestions for rising your portrait enterprise that, in only one yr, grew her enterprise from $20k to $100k.
Earlier than pursuing pictures as a profession, Wanninger was a stay-at-home mother with three boys and by no means imagined returning to the workforce. With the breakdown of her marriage and the start of divorce proceedings, she knew she was going to wish to make a unique plan. Wanninger had at all times liked pictures and some years prior, she had created a harvest album for a neighborhood farmer. When a pal of a pal noticed the album and requested household pictures from her, Wanninger’s enterprise was born with a $50 all-inclusive shoot.
[Read: How Kara Marie Built Two Thriving Boudoir Portrait Businesses]
Like many photographers, Wanninger started capturing the whole lot she may however quickly found her true ardour in creating empowering pictures for highschool seniors, who’re on the pivotal second in lifetime of transitioning out of childhood into maturity. Since then, she’s been in enterprise for 11 years, with the vital second for her coming when she reached the $20k mark. At the moment, she realized she was successful and had the braveness to take a more in-depth look to see how she may do even higher.
Wanninger says that elevating consciousness was key. She says, “I turned extra conscious of my environment. I turned extra conscious of the alternatives that truthfully had been at all times there.”
For Wanninger, this began with determining her value of doing enterprise in order that she was conscious of how a lot she was truly taking residence from every shoot. From there, she set a aim for a way a lot she needed to make in a yr and broke that down into an attainable quantity for every month. Switching to in-person gross sales gave her prospects the chance to spend extra money together with her, and retaining her lowest bundle priced at her earlier bundle quantity of $500 eased the transition of getting her highest bundle priced at $2,000. Moreover, she turned proactive about reaching out to individuals who expressed curiosity in reserving together with her as a substitute of ready for them to get involved together with her. Alongside together with her rising confidence in her capacity to achieve success in enterprise, Wanninger’s bravery prolonged into trying carefully at what had introduced her up to now and the way she may go even additional.
To be taught extra about Wanninger’s work and how one can go about rising your portrait enterprise, go to Sweet Lemonade Photography.
The Portrait System Podcast helps portrait photographers navigate the world of pictures, enterprise, cash, and far more. Hosted by Nikki Closser, the podcast is powered by The Portrait System, a complete, on-line academic platform that teaches all elements of working a profitable portrait pictures studio.
