Finding Creative Success

Janet E Johnson started her online career selling products on eBay in 1998. Her company website is www.JanetEJohnson.com. She runs an agency and has online courses in the areas of strategy and content, Facebook marketing and advertising, Pinterest marketing and video marketing. In her career, she has worked with both large brands and smaller businesses. Her success in social media and background in education helped her launch her 2-year old podcast, Business Growth Time, which was recently featured as one of the Top 25 Social Media Podcasts by Report Garden. Janet is the creator of the online social media training course, Social Strategies 101, hosts the Business Growth Time podcast, and has been featured on Social Media Today, CNN, Entrepreneur, Smartbrief, Inbound.org, and National Institute of Social Media.

Your first impression for people can make or break a potential sale. There are multiple fronts that you need to think about when you are perfecting your First Impression. 1) You business card - The art of Designing a business card is lost. People think that you need a ton of information and cheesy graphics to have an effective card when actually the opposite is true. Your goal should be to have an amazing quality card that succinctly tells people what you do, shows your brand, and tells people how to get in touch with you or learn more. My card is a thick white card with my logo and services on one side, My simple contact info on the other (email, phone number, website), and a nice photo of me. Why? The logo and main services offered on one side shows my brands style and what we do clearly with no noise. The back side tells people how to get in touch with me or learn more about my services. Having the Picture ads character to the card so people can put a face with the name on the card. I once heard cards with personal pictures on them are more likely to be held on to because of the connection the person can make. "If people see your business card and they don't make a positive comment about it, throw it in the garbage can where it belongs." - Steve Sisler in "The Sweet Spot" I went to a chamber meeting last week where I won a drawing for a gift card by putting my business card in a bucket. I was happy because I had won. The real victory came the next day when the chamber rep (who is a graphic design professor at a college as well) emailed me just to say "...Going through business cards from last night. LOVE your new card, Matt!" No other comment or prior email chain. My card stood out so much to her that she emailed me to tell me how much she loved it! Make cards that give people THAT reaction! 2) Your Website - If you are going to have a website then do it right. Yes, there are free websites where you can get started but I suggest budgeting at least a little to put toward a website to remove any branding from the hosting company. This is YOUR virtual storefront so only have your logo on it. It's like setting up a store but letting someone else put their logo all over it. Also, own your URL. None of that Blogspot.yourname.comGo spend the $20 on the domain and domain privacy to look more professional. My favorite comment that we have had from a potential bride was when she put in our contact form that "finding your website was like a breath of fresh air!" We actually went to dinner with that couple and they said that they loved how professional our website was and that it showed our personality and not just our videos and technological jargon about how high quality our cameras are. They were able to connect with us on our site and because of that they wanted to hire us. In that instance, my website sold our services before we even had to talk to the couple. It makes selling so much easier when clients like you before they even talk to you. 3) Your social media - your social media is your living connection to your clients and future clients. All of your social accounts should have the same style and voice as your website. I've seen photographers promote engagement photos on Instagram, Headshot/corporate photos on their website, and nothing on Facebook. Find out what your brands style and voice is first so that can be communicated across all platforms. We only have 289 followers on our business Instagram account and have seriously slacked off on posting lately and we STILL get leads because our style and voice is clear across our First Impression Points. 4) Above and Beyond - The first three things are basics and a great starting point but there are many other places that you can have a first impression that needs to be controlled in the same way. You need to have a clear brand, style, and voice in order to make a great first impression. Maybe you are going to wrap your car for branding, put up a billboard, or sponsor an event where you will have a booth set up. I spent $2000 on Merch & design for my booth at Southeast Photo Convention and I could have easily spent another $2000 to get it where I wanted it. Where ever your brand is going to be in front of potential new clients, it needs to represent it well. Bonus - How to achieve "Done is better than perfect" while having success with your first impressions. You have heard me say before that Done is BETTER than perfect. I love that saying and I live by it so much so that my wife would say it's to a fault sometimes. You can't spend days working on every little thing that you are going to put out there to promote your business. The best thing you can do is to create a clear brand for your business so you know exactly what meets your standards quickly. Know what fonts represent your brand, what colors are on brand, what lingo you use, what your photo style is for social media and the website, what is your business niche? These things should come across with your posts. If you are a photographer who is known for your light filled pictures with bright primary colors then don't post a dark/moody photo with muted colors. Yes, it might look stunning but it is going to confuse your brand. Get that picture printed and hang it in your house if it makes you feel better but don't let it confuse your brand. I know photographers that have won major awards (still trying to talk them into being on the show) and when I see a photo on social, I can tell if it's theirs without even looking at who posted it. Their style is that engrained in their brand so much that it stands out to everyone!

Vincent Pugliese is, first and foremost, a husband to his wife Elizabeth and the proud dad of their three boys, Andrew, Nolan and Dylan. Vincent has been a professional photographer for more than twenty two years and has photographed just about every assignment imaginable, having photographed three United States Presidents, and his work has been published in nearly every newspaper throughout the globe, as well as hundreds of magazines and various publications. Vincent and his wife own and run Elizabeth Vincent Photography, which specializes in documentary wedding photography, corporate work and professional sports. Vincent is an international award winning sports photographer, having photographed every major sporting event, including the Super Bowl, the World Series, the NHL Finals, the Kentucky Derby and even Wrestlemania! In 2018, Vincent's first book, Freelance to Freedom, will be released by Morgan James Publishing. It is the story of how he and his wife went from low paying jobs and debilitating debt to a life of financial and time freedom with their children. Elizabeth and Vincent, who live in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, now homeschool their three boys. In the past few years, Vincent has added coaching men "live a life of financial, time and life freedom, specifically through the world of self-employment."

Stacy L. Pearsall got her start as an Air Force photographer at the age of 17. During her time in service, she traveled to over 41 countries, and attended the Military Photojournalism Program at S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. During three combat tours, she earned the Bronze Star Medal and Air Force Commendation with Valor for combat actions in Iraq. Though disabled and retired from military service, Pearsall continues to work worldwide as an independent photographer, and is an author, educator, military consultant, public speaker and founder of the Veterans Portrait Project. Presently, Pearsall's work is featured in a joint exhibition, "The Face of Battle, Americans at War 9/11 to Now," at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. Pearsall was one of only two women to win National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) Military Photographer of the Year competition, and the only woman to have earned it twice. She's been awarded the Carolinas Freedom Foundation Freedom Award, honored with the Daughters of the American Revolution Margaret Cochran Corbin Award, lauded by the White House as a Champion of Change, and holds an honorary doctoral degree from The Citadel. Pearsall has served as a nominating juror for the Pulitzer Prize and held a presidential-appointed board member position for the NPPA. She's held a position on the advisory board of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at The Citadel since 2009. While transitioning out of military service in 2008, Pearsall purchased the Charleston Center for Photography (CCP). She grew the once grass roots photo club into a reputable brand for photography education, studio rentals, fine art print labs and gallery under one roof. As CCP grew, so did her personal endeavors with the Veterans Portrait Project. In order to pursue her personal project full time, Pearsall sold the CCP in the fall of 2013. The PDN "Personal Project" award-winning series Veterans Portrait Project (VPP) began while Pearsall rehabilitated from combat injuries sustained in Iraq. Spending hours in VA waiting rooms surrounded by veterans from every generation and branch of service, Pearsall was compelled to honor and thank them in the only way she knows how, photography. Pearsall has traveled coast to coast documented roughly 6,000 veterans in over 100+ engagements in 27 states, hosted numerous community-based exhibitions showcasing veterans from their respective hometowns, and took part in a USAA sponsored YouTube docu-series of her adventures on the road. In honor of the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War, and those who fought valiantly, several VPP images are displayed on the walls within the Pentagon. Between her photography, teaching and speaking engagements, Pearsall completed her first photography book, Shooter: Combat from Behind the Camera, which received worldwide praise as "A book of the highest levels in the annals of combat journalism." And her second book, A Photojournalist's Field Guide: In the Trenches with Combat Photographer Stacy Pearsall, is "A must have for every aspiring photographer out there, and even pros can pick up a few new tricks to help them become better photographers."