Most of us start out as pet photographers because we love animals, and we love taking photos. We combine these two passions into a hobby, and at some point, that hobby becomes a source of income. Accepting payment for something that you truly enjoy is a strange concept in this modern world. Even once we start doing business orientated tasks, it can be hard to forget that this all started as a hobby. 

If that sounds familiar, tune in to this weeks episode as Kirstie shares her top 5 tips to help you evolve from a hobbyist to a professional pet photographer!

1. Surround yourself with a great support network

2. Start using the phrase “I’m going to work” and “I’m at work” instead of “I need to do some editing”, or, “I have a photoshoot tonight”.

3. Stop doing work for works sake! Try these productive options instead:
a.) Visit your local dog-friendly parks, beaches, trails and cafes- photograph dogs and chat with their owners. 
b.) Simplify your booking system
c.) Revisit your numbers to find areas of improvement - leads, booking rate, average sales, etc
d.) Contact your local media with a press release
e.) Launch a local petpreneaurs coffee group 
f.) Check your bank account for recurring expenses, and cancel the subscriptions you don’t use!

4. Proudly introduce yourself as a pet photographer and show examples of what you do when people ask!

5. IMPLEMENT, IMPLEMENT, IMPLEMENT! Ideas and education are great, but they don’t have any impacted until they’re implemented!

S12E09 | Top 5 tips for evolving from hobbyist to professional pet photographer

The FREE podcast for the global community of pet photographers. Join your host, Kirstie McConnell as she interviews professional pet photographers and other expert guests to help grow your business.

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This week’s guest found herself with a quiet start to the year after her biggest lead generator, a local event was cancelled right before she was taking time off for an overseas trip. I’m talking about a returning guest to the show, Ina Jalil who instead of allowing herself to mellow in stress, invested in more coaching and took action. Fast forward four months, she’s had a 5 figure sale, her highest to date, and is almost fully booked until Australian winter.  Tune in to today’s episode to learn how she turned business around and before that, the perhaps surprising impact of her rebrand- which has helped her business mindset! We covered:Ina’s journey from side hustle to professional The reason Ina specialises in pets Digging into your why and the impactWhy Ina uses her name as her business name What happens when you rely on one lead sourceHow Ina smashed marketing in a rush 
IN THE MEMBERS-ONLY EXTENDED EPISODE:The questions Ina asks to help with big sales 10k sale - what they bought and why they booked now Repeating a 5 figure sale SEO, blogging and backlinks Sony advocate Personal projects for creativity and more bookings 
Mentioned links in the show notes

Knowing your why and taking action leads to a high reward for Ina Jalil

I initially asked today’s guest on the show when I learned about his super successful truck studio and we did talk about it, but he also shared so much else including what gave him the confidence to take out a loan to build this business.  I’m talking about Ryan Erickson who last year, in his first year of full time business turned over more than $200,000 from 150 clients spending an average of $1500 each. There’s tonnes of really great insights and learnings in the first part of this episode, but if you want to know how he found those clients, and here the benefits of his business plan and what that included, be sure to listen to the members-only half. If you’re not yet a member to hear that second half, use the link in the show notes to sign up today with a 14 day free trial. We covered:Ryan’s journey from weddings to pet photographyWhy open a truck studio Fundraisers and charitable work Growing a portfolio What gave Ryan the confidence to go all inRyan’s backup plan
IN THE MEMBERS-ONLY EXTENDED EPISODE:Market Research and data, business plans and how that’s helped Ryan reach success Photo Truck total set up costRyan’s TurnoverHow in person events act as passive marketing for RyanWhy farmers markets In Person Sales and the client process
Links in the shownotes: https://thepetphotographersclub.com/podcast/1602

How a structured business plan lead to a $200k first year in business

How does an $8500 average sale sound to you with a cost of goods of just 5%. That is reality for today’s guest who deliberately moved their studio location to be in a town that aligns with their studio brand. I’m talking about Kim of Kimberly Sarah Photography. She joined us back in season five to share all things client experience and I’ve got her back today to share her insights into achieving consistently high sales. They’ve also just launched a new business, Hey Winston and if you’ve ever dreamed of outsourcing your sales- then it is for you! We covered:What is a luxury studio these days Low volume, high price point  What is a Dog Art Gallery How to choose a town for your studio spaceKimberly Sarah Photography average sale, and how they reach itWhy they have a studio if they could make the same money without itKim’s biggest tips for getting high sales What is Hey Winston! And how can you help photographers and what will it cost 
IN THE MEMBERS-ONLY EXTENDED EPISODE:Kim’s studio sales process Pricing and product options at Kimberley Sarah PhotographyThe key questions Kim asks that lead to higher sales
Blogging challenge: https://thepetphotographersclub.com/blogging-challenge  Other links in the show notes: https://www.thepetphotographersclub.com/podcast/1601 

High sales start with a flawless processes, and a great location helps with Kim Buccheri

For most of us pet photographers, we have to have a strong, layered marketing plan in order to get consistent bookings. But what if your website did all the heavy lifting for you? For today’s guest, Angie Rose, that’s exactly the case. Her marketing budget is almost exclusively spent on a her content creator who does all her blogging, which she admits wouldn’t get done otherwise. That blogging, combined with the main website is her biggest lead source and then it’s through her booking process that those leads are converted into dream clients. If ditching expo’s, affiliate programs and Facebook marketing sounds like a dream to you- tune into this episode to hear how Angie runs her business without all that! We covered:What clients book Angie for Angie’s booking rate and the process to booking Working with professionals to establish a high converting website How the website helps attract enquiries and convert them to bookings
IN THE MEMBERS-ONLY EXTENDED EPISODE:The benefits of using your name as a business name How people find Angie’s website The positive impact of bloggingOutsourcing content creation for newsletters and bloggingHow Angie customises her sessions Why pets with their people?
MENTIONED LINKS www.angierose.com www.facebook.com/AngieRosePetPhotography www.instagram.com/angieprose www.thepetphotographersclub.com/blogging-challenge 

The power of a strong website for organic bookings with Angie Rose

Today’s guest has over 25 years of experience as a pet photographer. Back when she started, pet photography basically didn’t exist. A lot has changed in the photography world since then, but as you’ll hear, a lot of things haven’t really either. I’m talking about Margaret Bryant of Bryant Dog Photography who started out shooting dog sports on film but quickly realised that wasn’t sustainable (for the time) and moved into studio portraits. Since then she’s photographed thousands of dogs in her home studio in Texas and even published a couple of books. One of which is helpful for us as fellow pet photographers as it’s full of posing tips and other advice. It’s called Dog Photography: How to Capture the Love, Fun and Whimsy of Man’s Best Friend We covered a lot in this episode, from Margaret’s experiences in the early days of her business, to who our biggest competitor is and how we can book clients anyway. And if you’ve been thinking about offering puppy packages, definitely tune into the second half to hear exactly what Margaret is offering. We covered:What did pet photography look like in the 90’sPhotographing dog sports, on film! Why Margaret changed business modelsThe reason Margaret opened a home studio What’s changed in terms of sales over the last 20 yearsWhere do Margaret’s clients come fromMargaret’s golden rule to survive unexpected difficult times after making it through the GFC and Covid
IN THE MEMBERS-ONLY EXTENDED EPISODE:How to make it easy to book through your websiteHow audience can get to know you and like you for a better client experience The reason a client should choose you (and not their iPhone or AI)What are “in but not in” photosHow being observant can help your client and your bottom lineManaging expectations for a good client experience Puppy first year - what it looks like, pricing, structure and why the client can own the responsibilityDog birthday parties as a pet photographerBiggest tips for someone wanting to do puppy first year The impact of AI for us as pet photographers in business 


S12E09 | Top 5 tips for evolving from hobbyist to professional pet photographer

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