Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in photography but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Adam Goldberg, Founder of AGoldPhoto Pet Photography, located in Tampa, FL, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
We are a Luxury Pet Photo Studio in Tampa, Florida. Our customers are more than just pet owners. Our customers are families with pets who are their entire world. Our customers often don't have children of their own and want to celebrate their relationship with their furry family.
Tell us about yourself
I originally started my pet photography journey when I worked for an animal shelter in South Florida from 2013-2015. I was hired to handle the website and social media but knew nothing about photography at the time. After a few months, I was asked to take over the photography program. I trained myself by watching YouTube videos and practicing on all the shelter animals for multiple hours a day. I fell in love with helping shelter animals find their forever home with a better adoption photo. After working at the animal shelter for two years, I left for a corporate marketing role and didn't enjoy it. I missed working with and photographing animals, so I volunteered at the Humane Society of Tampa Bay to take adoption photos on the weekends. After a few months, they asked me to host a fundraising event where dog owners could bring in their dogs for a photo session as fundraising. The fundraising events were so popular that I reached out to other shelters in Florida and, soon, shelters all over the country. What started as a volunteer position taking photos of shelter animals turned into a business taking pictures of pets and raising money for animal shelters all over the US. To this day, I still take adoption photos at the Humane Society of Tampa Bay. I'm motivated to have our business run smoothly, so I can still do that every month.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
My biggest accomplishment as a business owner has been switching business models from 10-minute mini-sessions that includes digital photos all over the US to a brick-and-mortar studio in Tampa that offers full experiences and custom artwork and design services. COVID greatly affected us because we couldn't travel anymore, which was the entire structure of our business. We pivoted away from the mini session and traveling for our business to survive, and we're so glad we did. We would have gone out of business if it wasn't for that pivot. We just celebrated two years of being open at our studio and have 2 full-time employees. It was just my wife Mary and me before.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
When I originally started, I was focused on just taking photos of pets, but as the business grew, photography became about 25%, and running the business took up 75% of my time. Once I decided to hire employees, I was able to focus more of my time back on photography. If having employees seems like an added cost, you can ask yourself, what is the cost of not having employees. That reverse mindset opened my eyes.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Learn marketing - Luckily, I have a background in marketing, and I love doing it. I know other photographers who have to hire their marketing, and I find they don't have a handle on it as much as they should. You should ABM, Always Be Marketing.
- Really know who your ideal customer(s) are - who they are, their age, what they do for a living, where they tend to shop, what their family makes up, what their likes and dislikes are, and more. The more you know about your customers, the better.
- Make sure you're having fun!
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://agoldphoto.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/agoldphotos
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/agoldphoto/
LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3yVmuda
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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