Episode 237 – From $700 to $30,000 in One Month: How Claudia Transformed Her Equine Photography Business

Sarah Petty: Making money with photography can feel like it would be too good to be true. My student, Claudia Powell thought so. After 12 years of photographing everything, Claudia had never had a client order more than $700. She was well-known in her area for her work, but everyone was satisfied with the digital files until Claudia did something drastic. Now she's had orders of multiple orders OVER $1,000. Welcome, Claudia. Tell a little bit about your background. Claudia Powell: I am in Mebane, North Carolina, which is the middle of absolute nowhere. I have been in business for 12 years. Started off photographing maternity, did some family, but my heart was always with horses. I was part-time while working a full-time job. I always gave digital files and my packages were sad. Sarah Petty: You are doing this part-time and you're a horse person yourself, right? Claudia Powell: Yes, I have six at home. Sarah Petty: So you were going to these horse shows and you're like, "I might as well make a little money because this is my passion." But then you were having all these digital files to edit. How was that? Claudia Powell: I have at least 2000 photos to edit every single time I photographed at a horse show and I was only bringing in $300, working a nine-hour day in the sun. It wasn't worth it. I tried to rely on my portrait sessions, but I was averaging out $400/week. I wasn't making much and I was just surviving. Sarah Petty: Then you found me and my course, Boutique Breakthrough. Were you ready for a new system for your business? Claudia Powell: Took me a little while to convince myself that I am worth the investment. The money was the biggest part because I wasn't making much up until this point. It was also the beginning of horse show season here and I was busy. But because I wanted this so bad, I bracketed hours throughout the day. I made the time for it. Sarah Petty: Love it. In Boutique Breakthrough, we go through nine steps. We start with creating your brand and style. You were clear on your style of photography being equine. What about your brand? Claudia Powell: I've had my name for 12 years. I just needed a little bit of help to fix up a few branding things. Sarah Petty: Awesome! Then we dig into pricing and products. Was this scary for you? Claudia Powell: That was the scariest part. That is what always made me walk away from really investing in this because big numbers are scary. It's hard to really wrap your mind around saying those words out loud, not even just looking at them. Sarah Petty: Now that you've gotten some orders, what's the perspective on that? Claudia Powell: They're not frightening anymore. And people are willing to pay. Sarah Petty: I love that. So you put your prices on the pricing sheet, we critiqued it, you got feedback. How did it feel to have eyes on your work? Claudia Powell: I love it. I love being critiqued on my work because it helps me improve. Sarah Petty: When you learned the seven B's that teach you how to have the first conversation with a client, how did that feel for you? Claudia Powell: I thought it was going to be hard, but it wasn't. That first phone call was incredible. I printed out the PDF and I keep it with me through every phone call. It keeps me grounded in conversations. Sarah Petty: One of the things that we teach is to not do a session without the planning appointment before. We do it in person as a consultation. There are seven things that have to happen in that. What's opened up for you since you started doing that? Claudia Powell: The opportunities. So when I first started, it was literally just an email. This is what I offer, book me or not. With the phone call and consultation, I'm able to learn about my clients and what they want. They also learn about what I offer, how I work, and what the experience is going to be because it's not just a session. Sarah Petty: What we teach you in Boutique Breakthrough, is how to photograph in a way where your clients are going to buy. What opened up for you about creating that sales plan? Claudia Powell: It helps you as a photographer as well as them because now you know what you're shooting for. You have a goal as to what shots you actually want to achieve. So you're preparing you for what you want to sell and giving them an idea of what they're going to want. Sarah Petty: Then we talk about the ordering appointment. Just like you're sitting with a friend helping them. This is my favorite part. Was this scary when you found out you were going to sit down with them and show them their portraits? Claudia Powell: This was one of the steps where I wanted to walk away because I've never done that. I always hated the idea of me being salesy. Sarah Petty: The first time you did it, were you so scared? What did you say to yourself? Claudia Powell: I was really nervous. I didn’t know if I was going to make a sale. Sarah Petty: So you go through their portraits and are adding up what they picked out to buy. Did it feel salesy? Claudia Powell: No. I think the thing that helped me the most was having room views and putting different images on a wall because I was showing them what their art will look like and it got them excited. It was easy in that sense. Sarah Petty: So you added up that first order. Was that the one that came to about $2,600? Claudia Powell: That was the first one. Yep. Sarah Petty: You told them the price and what did they say? Claudia Powell: “Here's my credit card. Let's do it." Sarah Petty: That is so crazy. So then you got a second order pretty quickly for $1,600. And we'd set up this time to talk because you recently just finished Boutique Breakthrough and in the last two weeks, talk about what sales you've gotten. Claudia Powell: I just did a calculation of my June sales, June only, and I have made over $30,000. Sarah Petty: Are you kidding me? I am so proud of you, Claudia. Thank you so much for being here. I'm so excited for you. Download the Episode Transcript Here