Instant Businesses

We have entered the era of the instant business. An instant business is someone who has an idea and a Facebook page - so they put the two together and expect the money to pour in. I have started to see more and more of these instant businesses show up in my Facebook feed everyday. "So and So" Photography has invited you to like his/her page. Your friend was tagged by "Point and Shoot" Photography. I have had enough. So I thought I would write to those people out there who have this idea that owning a camera and a Facebook page makes you a "professional photographer". (Side Note : I am using photography as my example because I think it's the most used right now, but this applies to any instant business). It's like saying because I own a baseball glove and a hat I am a professional baseball player. Or, since I like movies and can post a blog, I am a professional movie critic. Or since I have an oven and like sweets, I'm available for hire to make your wedding cake. I know that every business has to start somewhere, but I think so many people out there are starting in the wrong place. People have seen the success of their friends, or family members on the internet and think "They just have a website and a Facebook and they've made a living out of it! That's all I need." That is not all you need to be successful. There are thousands of books and blog posts written on what you need to start a business. I am not saying that my list is the only list you'll need to read, but I want to try and help every potential business owner out there how to start in the right place.

The first thing you should do is perfect your skill or product. If you want to be a photographer that doesn't mean the first photos you take are worthy of posting and telling the world you are now a photographer. It means you should shoot your brains out and figure out what works. Look up tutorials online, research gear, talk to photographers who are actually making a living at it, attend workshops and shoot! A couple of years ago, Brooke and I noticed that our friends younger sister was really passionate, fun and had an interest in photography, so we asked her to be an intern. She followed us, shot with us, saw how we edited, shot some more - and now she is on our team and just shot her own wedding! She didn't start with a Facebook page. Heck, she didn't even blog or post any of her first thousands of images. She started by learning from people who have made a living out of it and now she is getting paid for it. She will be the first to tell you that if it wasn't for that internship, editing and second shooting she wouldn't be the photographer she is today. She didn't just start an instant business because she could have. She trained, honed her craft and it's paying off. Literally.

Don't launch with a Facebook page. Facebook is an amazing tool, but should not be the face of your business (unless your business is Facebook.) Your business should have it's own brand, look and feel which is impossible to do through Facebook because it's not customizable. After you figure out what you want to do or sell, then start to think of what your branding will look like. Find a designer friend of yours that can help or give you advice. Put everything you like into a box or a Pinterest board - it will be obvious what colors and themes you like! Find people who will be honest with you. I see so much terrible branding online because people just ask their friends and family what they think. They are your friends and family, they are going to be very generous with their words. Find people who will tell you that something looks terrible.

Don't copy! Brooke and I have worked hard to create a very successful photography business that is growing both in team size and in reach. We've started to see local photographers try to copy or mirror what we do and it's not going to work because they aren't us. The way our team shoots, blogs, edits and creates is unique to us and copying it wont work. Your business is going to be unique to you, so take pride in that uniqueness. Don't just do what someone else does because they are successful, it won't translate. That doesn't mean you can't be inspired by others! But don't blatantly rip them off. Take that inspiration and use it in your own way.

I think it's easy to see people on Facebook and think, "I can do what they do." So we take our camera, shoot some portraits and start a Facebook page expecting the same results. They aren't going to come. You need to perfect your craft, develop your brand and work hard to get to that point. Don't start an instant business or you'll end up being frustrated, disappointed and probably give up.

*For those of you who have recently started an instant business and realize it's not going super well. - Don't be afraid to start this process now. - Put your Facebook page to the bare minimum while you develop a brand and your skill. - Ask for help. Most small business owners are very generous and want to see others succeed... so ask for help!

What Story Are You Telling?

I love Instagram. It is by far my favorite way to share my story with the world. I love looking at my feed, seeing what friends liked my photos and so on. I think it's the greatest social network out there. It's weird to think that I've been alive for the inventions of all the different social networks that have come and gone. While Myspace will always hold a special place in my heart, there is no doubt that Instagram is and will be my favorite.

This past month I challenged myself to have a plan with my Instagrams. I didn't want to post just because I could. I wanted to tell a story through my Instagrams about who I am and what matters to me. I even wrote down my Instagram mission statement : Through my Instagrams I want people to know that I am a passionate, happy, artistic person who loves life.

With the creation of all these social networks and ways to share parts of our lives we've taken off filters. We share things that we never would have shared or should have shared in person. We've all started telling the story, "THIS IS WHAT I AM DOING RIGHT NOW!!!!!!" We have started living with this idea that because we can post it, we should. And I think we need to stop. We need to think about the story we are telling to others. We need to have a plan for what we share. We need to start asking questions before we hit that send button. I always ask, "What is this adding to the conversation? Is this something worth posting? Does this go along with my mission statement?" If I can't say yes to those three questions then I cancel out of it.

With this idea of "what story are your Instagrams telling" I've been looking at a lot of homepages of people and here is what I have concluded. There are a lot of people out there who are telling stories about themselves in different places. There are people who are telling the story of their kids growing up. There are people telling the story of the sunset every night. There are people telling the story of stupid internet crap. There are people telling the story of what they eat. Beside the kid thing, I have done all of these things, so I am not saying they are bad. They are only bad without purpose and vision.

Psalm 107 1-2 says, "Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, His love endures forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story." If you are a Christian you are telling that story to anyone who is not a believer, so what story are you telling? Is it a selfish one? A dramatic one? Is it one where you shove bible verses down the throats of those following your feed? Or is it a beautiful one? Full of the great life that forgiveness has given you.

We Can Be Better

As a business owner it's hard for me to walk into a store, restaurant, church or  any establishment and not think of what I would do differently.  It's hard for me to be on a website and not think about how clean it runs or what kind of branding they have in place.  (For those of you who don't know my wife and I operate two businesses.  One is walk in love. - a clothing brand that has one retail store in Lancaster, PA.  We have 12 team members and sell a lot of shirts!  The other business is a photography business - Brooke Courtney Photography.  It's a five member team photographers that specialize in natural light portrait and wedding photography.  Currently there are two main shooters - Brooke and Jeff, a full time assistant - Maddie, an intern -Sam and myself - the manager.)  For this blog post I am going to focus on our photography business. My job, as the manager of the business and team members, is to make sure things run smoothly. That's the bottom line.  I make sure we have all the information we need for shoots and that clients are paying us on time. I do all I can to make sure that brides are happy with the final product.  I assist Brooke at almost all of her weddings, and I could very easily transition into being a full time shooter (I do shoot weddings by myself from time to time)  but I don't for one simple reason : We Can Be Better.  I think our work is fantastic! Brooke, Jeff, Maddie and Sam are extremely talented and super fun to work with... but I still think we can be better.

A lot of people take offense to a statement like that, ("we can be better" or "you could do better"), when talking about their business.  Because when you own a business it is personal and any criticism of the business becomes a criticism of you. But when I tell our team that we can be better, I only mean it in a positive way. I think all small business owners out there need to start looking at themselves the same way.  There are times when you need to step back and figure out the weak links in the chain and find solutions to make them stronger.  It's not bad to admit that you don't do something well -- as long as you are willing to do something to change it.

For example: currently our photography team isn't good at connecting with clients after they get their final product.  We see some of them here and there, but now that we have so many clients, it's hard for us to remember to send out anniversary cards, or go out to lunch from time to time.  This is an area where I think our team can be better.  It is not something that we can fix instantly. It will, without a doubt, take time and energy. We know this, but that doesn't mean that we don't try to get better.

Your business is always a work in progress and you need to start looking at it that way, and if you can't then you need to find someone who can. Which is exactly what I do for our team.  Sometimes I have to tell Jeff or Brooke that they could have done better because I have made myself an impartial viewer.  I often say to Brooke, "If I were a bride, what would I think of that?"  You don't have to be a wedding photographer to have that view either, just insert your client into that sentence.  For walk in love. it's "If I walked into this store what would I think? What direction would I go? What grabs my eye right away? Is it easy to understand what things are? etc." Sometimes just asking these hypothetical questions out loud to yourself, or with your team, will give you the answer quite clearly!

Fix things. Sometimes things that need to be fixed only take minutes or seconds. But, sometimes things are a bit harder and might take money, but that doesn't mean you don't start to save to make them happen.  Right now walk in love. desperately needs a new website/web store that better integrates with our retail store's inventory. But, as you can imagine, that is going to take some serious money and we aren't ready for it now -- so we have to work with what we have.  And that's okay.  I am not saying that you have to fix every problem today, but you have to at least be aware of the problems and have an action plan on how and when to fix them.  Even though we can't afford the new site now, we have been e-mailing designers to figure out pricing and how much of a budget the project will need and how we will save for it.

Try to stay away from quick, cheap fixes.  If you need a new website make sure you find the right designer for the job and not just whoever is cheapest. Because more often than not, you get what you pay for.  So even though your new, cheap website might seem awesome right now, you'll probably want something better sooner than you think.  Quick, cheap fixes almost always end up costing more money.

Stay impartial.  Critique yourself or your team often, but make sure they understand it's for the greater good and it's not mean spirited.  If your whole team has the attitude that they can be better, your business will start to take off because everyone will constantly be putting out their best work. Clients will notice.

Don't be afraid.  It's scary to start pointing out things that need work! Because as soon as you do it means you have to start fixing them.  It's kind of like when you finally admit (out loud, to someone) you have to break-up with your boyfriend/girlfriend.  You can act like everything is fine... but, as soon as those words come out they require action.  Don't be afraid of it! And don't get overwhelmed by it!  Some of the things will take time and that's okay.  Acknowledging them is so important though!

Never Give Up.  This is one of the most common phrases used in our house.  Brooke and I use it for the simplest things -- like when we are looking for our keys or planning our budgets! And as a small business owner you have to have this attitude. There will always be something else ahead of you to tackle.

Keep Moving.  Whether you are in your first year of self employment or your 20th, it's so important to never stop moving, adapting and critiquing.  I think that when businesses stop moving that's when they start to go out of business.  It doesn't mean that you have to be changing things wildly all the time, that is definitely not what I am saying.  It just means that you have to understand your customer, what you are offering, and the best way to connect the two.

I think that your business is only as good as you let it be.  So many business books talk about how you are most likely the problem with your business, but you are also the solution.  We Can Be Better is a great battle cry that all business' should have -- and it starts with you.

Ten Things I Want to Tell Teenage Boys (Young Men)

First a disclaimer : This post is a complete 100% rip-off of something Brooke's cousin Kate wrote on her blog a couple of weeks ago and it took off. Here it is : Ten Things I Want to Tell Teenage Girls - It's brilliant and you should read it and then follow all of Kate's writings because she is awesome at it. Her post has blown up and I've been seeing people post it on twitter and facebook that I know don't even know Kate. I love that it's happening and it inspired me to come up with a list of my own directed toward boys. So thank you Kate for inspiring me.

Now 10 things I want to tell teenage boys (young men)

1. Pull your pants up.  No one wants to see your crack hanging out or your underwear.  It makes you look like an idiot.  No one with any sort of authority will ever take you seriously, it's hard to run, jump or move.  It's not slimming and it's not 1990 anymore.  Do I need more reasons?

2. Look people in the eye/Have a good handshake.  These two things will tell me a lot about a young man.  It will tell me if they are confident, driven and respectful.  If I was hiring more team members and someone came in didn't have a good handshake and didn't look me in the eye while I was talking to them I wouldn't hire them.  They could be super qualified for the position but without those two things I'm not interested.

3.  Open the car door for your girlfriend/fiance/wife.  When Brooke and I started dating about four years ago I decided that I was going to open the door for her every time we got in the car and I still do to this day.  As men we need to make sure that our lady knows she matters to us and that she is important and there is no better way to continue to tell her this then opening a door for her.  There are times when I will get in the car and Brooke will look at me and say, "You know you've been opening the door for me for 4 years...That means so much to me."  It's easy and it shows respect and kindness.  Do it! (Ladies- If a guy doesn't open the door for you, tell him he should start.)

4. Not trying isn't cool.  Try hard in school, in sports, at work and at whatever else you do.  It is worth it and will pay off.

5. You are not entitled to anything.  Life is hard and takes work.  No one is going to hand anything to you for free.  You haven't "earned" anything.  You need to work and work hard to earn things.  Stop acting like the world owes you something, like your teachers, parents and bosses owe you something.  They don't, you have to work for everything.

6. Develop good eating habits.  I know this might seem like silly advice and sound very motherly, but you will thank me in 20 years when you can still see and touch your toes.  If you are skinny right now and eat whatever you want just know that it won't last forever.  Your metabolism will slow down and weight will just start to hang around your gut.  You don't want a gut.  You want to stay thin and fit because you'll live longer, your wife will be more attracted to you and you'll be able to actually play with your kids longer.  If you can develop those habits now, it will pay off big in the future.

7. Stop swearing. It's not tough, it's not cool, it makes you sound unintelligent.

8. Stop looking at Porn : This will ruin your marriage, your life and your ability to enjoy sex. I used to work as an intern for XXXchurch and we would meet young man after young man whose life was ruined by being addicted to porn.  It's not worth it.

9. Have integrity.  Stand for truth and always do the right thing.  Sometimes it's a lot harder but it's always worth it.  Leave a legacy that is good.

10.  Be a real man.  Real men are not the men you see on TV or movies.  Real men are kind, compassionate, respectful and honest.  They fight for truth and justice.  They love their wives whole heartedly and deeply.  They care for those who need help. They work hard.

I was not a real young man.  I was kind a punk kid coming out of high school and through most of college.  I didn't do half those things on that list.  I made bad choices that I regretted.  I don't look at them as learning experience, I look at them as mistakes and if I could go back and change them I would.  Don't live with the idea that "you only live once"  or "you have to do something to learn from it."  That type of living is idiotic and full of shame and regret.  Instead, live honestly now.

I Volunteer as Tribute.

There is a scene in the movie The Hunger Games where Effie Trinket reaches in to a bowl of tribute names and picks out the name Primrose Everdeen.  It is at that moment that Catnice Everdeen, her older sister,  jumps up and screams, "I volunteer, I volunteer as tribute."  You can see it here in the trailer. Every time I see that scene in the trailer my eyes fill with tears because it is the essence of sacrificial love.  Something that we rarely see in our selfish world today.  It is with this type of love that Jesus went to the cross with, but instead of sacrificing himself for one he did it for all.  He saw that all our names were going to be drawn and they were all tainted and covered with sin.  He knew that the only way to remove that sin and give us a chance for eternal life was sacrifice.  So he stepped out of the crowd and yelled, "I volunteer, I volunteer as tribute."  He did it for you and he did it for me.