My Story
How I built a million dollar photography studio from scratch
Here's my story of how...
I got started in photography
I got interested in boudoir
I grew my business from ground zero to a million dollars a year
I’m telling you my story because I believe that it is really hard to BE what you can't SEE.
This might sound obvious - but In my experience, it’s really hard to run a successful business if you don't have an example of someone who is running a successful business.
When I was young, I didn't know anyone who was running a business. I didn't have any business mentors. I didn’t know any boss babe girls who were crushing it. I knew lots of doctors and lawyers and people with corporate jobs, but I didn’t know anyone who was running their own thing.
It was really hard for me to imagine myself running a business. It was really hard for me to BE what I couldn't SEE.
I hope that hearing my story will give you the encouragement to reach your dreams and run your own profitable business.
How I got started in photography...
I started off in photography when I had two little kids.
Like a lot of young moms, I really loved taking pictures of my babies. I bought a kit DSLR camera from Costco and started taking pictures of my children non-stop. After I put them to bed, I would go on YouTube and watch photography tutorials. I posted a few of my photos online. And then, as often happens, friends and family started asking me to take family photos for them. Soon enough, I started to run a small photo business taking outdoor family photos. I loved working with people and I loved photography. I took a few sessions a month and charged $100-200 per session. I was very part-time and I was not bringing in very much money. I spent most of the money I earned on camera gear and education (does any of this sound familiar??).
One time I was taking family photos and the mom and dad swung the baby and dropped the baby in the sand and the photo went viral. The photo still pops up on the internet from time to time (and don’t worry, the baby didn’t get hurt!).
How I went from dropping babies at the beach to boudoir…
For a couple of years, I was an outdoor family photographer charging about $200 per session.
I loved working with families! At a certain point, I realized that I wasn’t making much money and I probably needed to get a “real job."
I went started applying for jobs on the internet and got really lucky. I landed a part-time job answering the phones at a boudoir studio. When I started the job, I knew nothing about boudoir. I'm not sure I even know how to pronounce the word boudoir (hint: it's BOOD-wahr).
After just a few weeks working there, I really started to love the boudoir world! I realized how much women benefited from a boudoir photoshoot and the amazing confidence boost that it could bring.
As one of the perks of working there, the owner offered me a boudoir photoshoot of my own. I had never done a boudoir photoshoot before. I was beyond nervous. I did not feel confident in my mom bod. I remember being in the dressing room before my shoot and my hands were shaking so badly that I couldn’t get my bra clasps closed. But I knew that my husband would love a boudoir album and I was really curious to experience boudoir for myself.
The photoshoot experience turned out to be super fun and also transformative. I had seen boudoir photoshoots be empowering and confidence-building for other women, but I had no idea how life-changing it would be for me. My first boudoir photoshoot experience changed my view of myself and gave me a new sense of confidence in my body. My husband’s jaw was on the floor when I gave him the album.
My boudoir photoshoot made me realize that this was a confidence-building experience that i wanted every woman to have!
Opening up my own studio…
A few years after I started working at that boudoir studio, the owner relocated her business, and I was out of a job.
It had been super fun working there, but now it was over.
At that moment, I had a choice to make.
I decided to take a big leap and open up my own boudoir boutique.
This was a giant risk for me because I had never run a business before. I really had no idea what I was doing.
The first thing I did was to rent a small commercial space. The space is only 412 square feet and it's still the same studio space that I'm in today. It's still a really tight space, but I make it work.
The studio space needed some pretty major updates including walls, new floors, updated plumbing and furnishings.
After getting set up in the studio space, I had to start figuring out how to run a business. I had zero people on an email list, zero pictures in a boudoir portfolio, and zero previous business experience. I had no website and very little experience using studio lights. I didn’t even own a laptop.
All of this meant that I made a lot of mistakes at first. I tried a lot of things. Some things worked and some things didn’t! There were a lot of sleepless nights, a lot of figuring things out, a lot of Googling and some very expensive mistakes. It was a lot of trial and error.
From $0 to $1 million dollars per year…
It was a lot of work to getting my boudoir photography business off the ground.
But now 5+ years later, I have photographed more than 1000 women in my studio. I bring in $1 million in revenue per year (that's on average $83K per month). I have 7 people working for me. I’ve paid off all of my debt. Last year, we bought a new car and our dream home.
I'm not sharing my story to brag, but to show you that it can be done.
It's hard to BE what you can't SEE.
I hope that by seeing how I grew my business, you can have the motivation to grow yours!
I've put all of my business systems and methods into the Million Dollar Studio Program so that you can grow your photography business. I want you to reach your dreams!
Let me show you what the numbers looked like as I grew my business:
REVENUE
Year 1- I lost money
Year 2 - $170K
Year 3 - $650K
Year 4 - $1 Million
Year 5 - $1 Million
Year 6 - $1 Million+ (current year)
My first year in business, I had only a few clients. I was collecting some money, but I spent more money running the studio than I took in. I spent a lot of time setting things up and spinning my wheels.
The second year, I grew the business and started implementing systems and automations to earn $170K.
Year three, I was able to earn 650K and by years four, five and six, I have been running at a million dollars a year.
I'm not showing you my revenue numbers to toot my own horn but to show you that this is absolutely possible for you. This is achievable for you. You can do this.
