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Name Your Business Review

Lesson 19 from: Group Mentorship: Grow Your Wedding Photography Business

Susan Stripling

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Lesson Info

19. Name Your Business Review

Lessons

Class Trailer

Day 1

1

Mentorship: Introduction and Overview

20:49
2

Mentorship: Business and Marketing

30:42
3

Mentorship: Shooting & Post Production

15:21
4

Social Media Marketing

13:07
5

Google Analytics

29:16
6

Targeting Your Market with Social Media

25:54
7

Social Media Marketing Q&A

10:21
8

Common Issues and Problems

20:01
9

Student Questions and Critique Part 1

26:18
10

Student Questions and Critique Part 2

20:41

Day 2

11

Month 1, Week 1 (Sept 8-14) - Assignment Video

10:28
12

Month 1, Week 1 (Sept 8-14) - Feedback & Weekly Review

53:10
13

Month 1, Week 2 (Sept 15-21) - Assignment Video

09:43
14

Month 1, Week 2 (Sept 15-21) - Feedback & Weekly Review

43:05
15

Month 1, Week 3 (Sept 22-28) - Assignment Video

07:12
16

Month 1, Week 3 (Sept 22-28) - Feedback & Weekly Review

39:17
17

Month 1, Week 4 (Sept 29-Oct 6) - Assignment Video

06:41

Day 3

18

Office Hours Overview

13:42
19

Name Your Business Review

31:41
20

Where are You Running Your Business Review

09:41
21

Get Set Up Legally Review

16:12
22

Personal and Business Finances Review

26:58
23

Banking and Paying Yourself Review

15:42
24

Pricing Problems and Case Studies

35:12
25

When the World Isn't Perfect Review

23:56
26

Mission Statement and Target Client Review

25:46
27

Shooting: Macro and Getting Ready

17:26
28

Shooting: Portraits of the Bride

14:24
29

Shooting: Formals, Ceremony, and Cocktail Hour

16:30
30

Shooting: Reception and Nighttime Portraits

18:46

Day 4

31

Month 2, Week 1 (Oct 6-12) - Feedback & Weekly Review

57:47
32

Month 2, Week 2 (Oct 13-19) - Feedback & Weekly Review

55:04
33

Month 2, Week 3 (Oct 20-26) - Feedback & Weekly Review

57:13
34

Month 2, Week 4 (Oct 27-Nov 2) - Feedback & Weekly Review

47:48

Day 5

35

Details Critique Part 1

28:49
36

Details Critique Part 2

23:57
37

Getting Ready Critique

29:38
38

Missed Moments Critique

11:44
39

Bride Alone Critique Part 1

12:39
40

Bride Alone Critique Part 2

21:04
41

Ceremony Critique

12:36
42

Wedding Formals Critique

19:18
43

Bride and Groom Formals Critique

24:23
44

Reception Critique

18:33
45

Introductions and Toasts Critique

18:14
46

First Dances and Parent Dances Critique

17:47
47

Reception Party Critique

20:08
48

Night Portraits Critique

15:38
49

Month Three Homework

18:45

Day 6

50

Month 3, Week 1 - "Office Hours" Checkin

43:05
51

Month 3, Week 2 - "Office Hours" Checkin

28:11
52

Month 3, Week 3 - "Office Hours" Checkin

36:06

Day 7

53

Get Organized

30:40
54

Editing Q&A Part 1

28:57
55

Editing Q&A Part 2

32:18
56

Editing Critique Part 1

33:32
57

Editing Critique Part 2

31:48
58

Editing Critique Part 3

28:43
59

Editing Critique Part 4

29:33
60

Editing Critique Part 5

21:51
61

Final Image Critique

36:28
62

Album Design and Final Q&A

21:57

Lesson Info

Name Your Business Review

Let's start delving into the homework. We're gonna go section by section. Some of them have a lot to talk about. Some of them only have a little bit to talk about. So what I'm gonna do, I basically from the emails that you guys sent in, I pulled your questions. I have written the questions in here. I'm going to read the questions back to you. Is that a little boring? Maybe. But if you're sitting there and you kind of rolling your eyes and you're like Oh, my gosh is taking forever to read this question, just bear in mind. I'm reading someone's question that's really important to them. And if you had a question, it was important to you. We will more likely get to that, So I know it's a little text. 1st 1 There's something about a lot of thought into a use of a business name that came from a song I liked. People didn't get it, and it wasn't great. So I changed a cabin Elizabeth Photography in January 2014 because it felt like the right thing for me. So even though my name is technically E...

lizabeth Cavin, I got tired of people calling me Elizabeth. The placement of cabin First was a choice I made so that people would know my name is cabin. It's also further up in the alphabet that Elizabeth so that helps with some listings. That's really smart. When I made the change, I wanted to keep photography out of the name. I feel like it's more elegant and other feelings I can't put a name on without using photography. People said I should have the word in there, so I kept it. About three weeks ago, I decided to remove photography. I'm moving to a new area, and I have a boyfriend who is a software engineer Web developer. So website changes air free and easier for me to do than for most. I'm finally happy with Cabin Elizabeth, although it will be a little hectic, changing links and you RL's in the beginning. So this is an example of if you and I'm putting this in here because this was literally the very first homework assignment that anybody sent in. If you sent in a homework assignment like this, I'm not going to critique it. There is nothing for me to critique here. This is doing it right, starting showing me the thought process, showing me the name that she's come to showing me why it's meaningful to her, why she's made the decisions she's made and why it's going toe work. So this when if you send in an email like this, I'm giving you a thumbs up, you have done it. If I'm not critiquing the name of your business, it means you're doing it right. So, Amanda, the name of my business, is currently Amanda J. Cox Photography. It's my name, but I don't love it because it's a mouthful. I also don't like it without my middle initial, but I've owned the domain Amanda cox dot com for several years, and I'm not giving it up. I don't think it's confusing, but it may be. I can't decide if I want to drop the middle initial or change it all together. I'm definitely not using my first and middle name Amanda Jean, so I'm a little stuck. This is an example of overthinking it right like it's I know that every decision and I'm not making fun of you, Amanda. I'm not every decision that you make in your business seems monumental, and sometimes you can get stopped going around and around in a circle on something that seems like a huge big deal that isn't actually a huge big deal. Amanda J. Cox Photography is a gorgeous name. Is it a mouthful? Sure, Susan Stripling Photography is also a mouthful and owning Amanda cox dot com and not giving it up, that's fine. You could also go out and purchase Amanda J. Cox dot com and have that forward over to your website. So anybody that goes looking for Amanda J. Cox Photography we'll just get sent to where you want them to. Anyhow, I think that keeping the J is perfectly fine, and I don't think that it should stress you out that much. If you were thinking of changing it to, like Amanda Jean Photography, that's a bigger decision. But just keeping that j in there. I don't think it's like a life or death. Make it or break it sort of thing. The only thing that I would suggest above and beyond that is to see if you could purchase Amanda j. Cox dot com. I would also if I were you. Purchase Amanda COX, Photography dot com and Amanda J. Cox photography dot com. So anytime anyone thinks they know you're you are l. And they type it in if they're doing a common misspelling. I've been noticing when I'm looking at my traffic that there are people who can't spell my name. So I considered buying multiple variations of my last name. Like some people will search for Susan striping photography. I've considered buying Susan striping dot com and having it for over two seasons, tripling. So when people get it wrong, then they end up at your place. I've also bought some funny domain names. I have a friend of mine who used to buy funny domain names all the time. So when people would ask like, Hey, dude, what's your you know, whats your business photography? U r l And he'd be like, I love leather couches dot com Ha ha ha ha ha! But he had really actually gone and bought. I love leather couches dot com and redirected it to his website. Right. So I had another guy who bought best effing wedding photographer ever dot com, and he would tell people that was his actually Orel, and it was because he had bought it redirected over to his site. So if you have people who are finding you know who are commonly mis spelling your name by that common misspelling of your name and set it up is a redirect. There you go. Okay. Angela, I have debated the name of my business for a few years. I originally started my business in 2012 using the name Angela Handzlik photography. I felt that it was personal and professional. However, I never go by the name Angela. I always introduce myself is and year and so using Angela felt a bit stuffy and foreign. Earlier this year, I changed the name of my business to Handzlik studio and I apologize if I butcher anybody's name. I'm really sorry. My reason for this was twofold. One, I'm going to be relocating from Honolulu to South Dakota. Wow, that is quite a move. I'm retiring from active duty service in the Navy and will be re branding and launching myself as a full time wedding photographer. So you know, not that busy in all of her free time being active navy, I plan to open an actual studio within a year. It's my intention to focus on weddings. However, I want to have an actual physical studio where I can also do boudoir and corporate headshots and possibly newborn to I want to have the name, hands look Studio vs Angela R and D. Handzlik photography so that I could possibly take on other photographers in different regions of the Midwest. I know that's a super long answer, and I would love to hear your thoughts. First of all, I think that you are awesome for being active duty service in the Navy, and I can't believe that you're thinking forward like out of what must be a very busy time for you into a pretty fantastic business plan, which it sounds like you're doing right here. I think that your honestly on the right path I would probably do exactly what you're doing and be Handzlik studios. I've considered changing the name of my business several times. It actually, the longer I am married. I know I've only been married for a year and 1/2 but it kind of bothers me that everybody knows me a Susan Stripling instead of Susan Mountain, because my name isn't Susan Stripling anymore. But I built this huge brand around being Susan Stripling, and I kind of can't change that, which sort of stinks. But I really think that Handzlik studio is fantastic. It's personal. It's got your name in it. It sounds super. It just has a wonderful sound to it. And you're right that it would also allow you to add on other associate shooters if you wanted to. And if you don't like being called Angela, don't be called Angela. You could always be, you know, Handzlik studios, you know, by Angie. Hands look like you can change that around if you want, but I think that what you were doing is absolutely fantastic. Okay, I currently named my business a year ago and after looking at the test database and confirming my name is not used, I'm sticking with my current business name of splendid things. Photography. The reason I first chose this is my married name is Olsen. So I felt like I would be school lost in a sea of Olson's living in the Midwest. I was thinking of all the milestones that I get to sharing with clients and what splendid events these were and It was just like a bolt of lightning splendid things. Photography. Okay, I wanted to include this as an example of someone who did not use their business name or did not use their personal name when naming their business, but did it right. Splendid things. Photography means something to this person. They didn't just pick a random name and stuck with it, you know? And if you're reading along in the business and marketing workbook, I have a little section about things to avoid when you're naming your business and one of them is just naming it something trendy or naming it something weird or naming it something that doesn't mean anything to you. You know, Katie has clearly indicated what splendid things photography means. Tow her. So this is an example of picking a name for your business that isn't your name but is also meaningful to you. And this is fantastically done, and I think it's charming and the thing about splendid things is it's It's very sweet, and it's very wonderfully named, but you would also brand it in a bunch of different ways. So it is generic without being generic. It's it's really very well done. Alrighty. Our business name is High Photo. Because our last name initials R H and I and I'm sorry for any grammatical things or misspellings. I basically did a copy paste from your email. So, um yes, we thought to add photo instead of photography or fotografia in Spanish to make it fresh and original for Mexico. I didn't want her business name to the any of our first and last names. And then add photography at the end. Because in Mexico you can find hundreds of photographers named like this, and we were planning to have a name that got stuck in your head. So we decided high photo was the right one. We already have a logo. Maybe in the future, we will change it Because a fellow photographer told us it wasn't elegant nor delicate at all. What do you think about it? I think that you need to not listen to what fellow photographers tell you. I mean, honestly, that's like the take away here. I think high photo is freaking cute. I think it is memorable. I like I read hundreds of emails when I was reading you guys. His homework assignments and high photos still sticks with me like it's cute, but it's not cute Sea and its modern without being cheesy. And it's something that isn't your name while still being your name. I think it's wonderful. I think I wouldn't change it, and I would be very, very, very careful in listening to what other photographers have to say to you. Um, because even though they might be your good friend, they're not you. And if you like your logo and you think it's working and your clients think it's working and it's helping you reach the people that you want to reach and some other photographer tells you that it isn't elegant enough, I kind of ignore that other photographer. When I did my rebranding about two years ago, I had somebody tell me Somebody on Facebook was like Your logo looks like snakes. I think it's gross. And I was like, noted, I mean, I get it like, and it wasn't like, you know, screw you for not liking my logo. It was I can see how you could feel that way, and I definitely thought about that. I like that. It looks like snakes. That was kind of intentional. So if you like what you're doing and some other photographer told you they don't like it or told you that you're not doing it right, I wouldn't listen to them. All right, Some of these air long, but I feel like the length of some of them is very important because it tells the story. So here we go. I'm on the fence. I've been using my first name. Arnell is my middle name in the name I've been known by all my life. Von is my first name. And so I am von gone photography. If I said that wrong, I'm really sorry. I don't really love it. In fact, I'm not even sure I like it. Here is what I was considering and why my dad, whom I was very close to, died suddenly and unexpectedly three years ago. Although I've had a camera in my hand pretty much nonstop since high school. I didn't do anything with it until he died. I was so distraught. I sunk my whole life every day and photography pretty much to avoid life. But when I surfaced, I realized what joy it brought me and how good it felt to bring happiness to other people when I took a good picture of them. So I am here now trying to start this business now. My dad picked my first name, Von. I never like that either. Do me. It sounded better than Arnell Gantt's photography. Then I sort of had this epiphany, largely due to the fact that I would like to change my name anyhow to change my name in my business name to Vivian Gantt's photography, Vivian being my dad's mother's name. I think you'd like that, and I like the way it sounds. What are your thoughts? I think that's beautiful. Honestly, I think it is beautiful. I think it is meaningful. I think that it's still honors your dad if you don't like your first name. I've always hated my first name. I think Susan sounds like Sinus. I think it's awful. I think it's not pretty. I've never liked it. If my parents are watching this and really sorry, but I think that if you have a chance to use something like Vivian, it's your dad's mother's name. It's still personal. It still keeps it in the family. It's gorgeous. Go for it. The only thing that you have to worry about if you do something like that is that people are going to think that your name is Vivian. And you might have to do a little explaining. Or maybe you introduce yourself as you know, Vivian nonce photography by von right. Like you're gonna have to explain to people my name is not it in. But if you don't mind doing that, go for it. The ones for naming your business are the ones that are the longest. So if you're already tired of reading tiny text, I promise we will not read tiny text all day. We need to look at numbers really soon. All right. My current business name is simply my own name. Andy Mayberry photography. Although I've been back and forth over whether to call myself Andy or Andrew, and I'm wondering whether or not it makes any difference to the way I or my business or perceived, I used to use Andrew Mayberry photography, but because most people who know me 10 to call me Andy and because it slightly shorter, I changed everything over to Andy Mayberry. I still on both domains. Yeah, smart. So in theory, I can keep my options open. But for things like social media pages and email addresses, I'd rather keep a long term consistency. Where there's currently some inconsistency is the use of the word photography. I tend to use it sometimes, but other times just simply use Andy Mayberry. I also tend to prefer the word photographer, but this needs to be written in a specific way in relation to the name in order for it to make sense. I think for me simply using Andy Mayberry is probably best and then tagging photography or photographer on the end when necessary to clarify what I do. I always feel that I want to be known as myself rather than a generic business name. I can't imagine any photographers or artists I look up to now or throughout history being known by anything other than their name. If you do happen to have any views on Andy versus Andrew, I'd be interested to know I want to talk first about the difference between photography or photographer as part of your business name. These are decisions that I used to agonize over. Am I going to be Susan Stripling, photographer or maybe season tripling photography or maybe Susan Stripling. But then I sometimes use photography, and I can tell you it doesn't matter. It legitimately does not matter. You're not gonna book a wedding over another photographer by being Susan Stripling photographer over the Susan Stripling photography. And these are decisions that seem like a huge big deals and monumental deals when you're first getting started or when you're thinking about a name change. But I can tell you right now it does not matter whichever way you decide to go. Your clients are not going to think into it nearer hard as we think into it ourselves. And as far as Andy versus Andrew, I think that whichever name your most comfortable being called by and introducing yourself by is the name that you should go by. I don't think that Andrew sounds more professional than Andy. I don't think that Andy sounds more casual than Andrew. I think that whatever resonates the most with you if you are an Andy B and E, if you are Andrew, be Andrew. But pick what makes you feel the best. And it sounds like being Andy Mayberry is what feels best for you. So I think that that is absolutely how you should proceed. Yes, sir. I'm Jim and Jane. I'm Jim and James, Right? And almost felt feel like if I was doing hiring weddings, I would probably lean towards James. Would you tell Andy if he's doing a certain type of wedding? Just really, How you matter how you talk? Like, I think that we think about it really intensely. But I don't think that clients think about it really intensely, right? Like there's, ah, high end studio in New York where I live, and they do most of the big society. Wedding is in there, Andy Marcus photography. So I think that Andy Markets might book more wedding that you with Andrew Marcus. Now, I just think clients think about it is hard like it now. If your name was Jim and you are, your name was James, and you went by Jimmy Jim with your friends, right? Like, that's kind of a different thing, but I just really don't think that it matters that much. Great. Honestly. So I think the work is what matters more than anything else. Yeah. Thank you. Sure. All right. Nicole chan Photography I am happy with it because it's my name and it directly represents my brand. I have good brand recognition that has been built around it. I've already done all of the legwork for SDO website domains in listings. I'm unhappy with it because I have an associate named Karen, and sometimes it can get confusing. I tend to attract a lot of Asian clients, some of which are intense price tag Lear's and I won't be able to sell in the future. Thinking of an exit strategy, I think of exit strategies also. But when I think of exit strategies, I know full well I'm never going to be able to sell Susan Stripling photography. Maybe there's a studio in New York called Brett Matthews Photography, and there there is no Brett Matthews photographer, right? It's just the name of the studio, and I think that when you're very, you know, new and your business for the first couple of years in your business, thinking of how you're going to sell it down the road is great. But it shouldn't be the decision that you, um, that you you base your entire business around and with your associate Karen you know? Yes, it can get confusing. But no matter what you name your business, it could be confusing, right? Like Susan Stripling photography still manages to confuse people right there, like, Oh, are you Susan? I think. Well, who else would I be right like? But if I had an associate like if Sandra ever started shooting weddings for me, my assistant, Sandra, she would be Sandra Crouse for Susan Stripling photography. So Karen could be Karen for nickel chan photography, you know, pretty easy. And okay, so you tend to attract lots of Asian clients, some of which are intense price. Beichler is the only thing that you can do about that is to take out your last name. And I would hate to see you go from a name that means something to you, to a name that's really generic. Just to try Teoh, change the demographic of people that are looking you. And maybe you wouldn't be able to sell it in the future for an exit strategy. But that doesn't mean that you couldn't. You couldn't sell it in the future as an exit strategy, right? Like you could make Nicole Chan photography such a brand name that it didn't matter who was actually running the coal chan photography down the road, right? Like you could have if you sold it to some guy named Bob General. You know Nicole Chan Photography by Bob Smith. Right? Like you could always add a tagline on that explains it. So I wouldn't change your name away from something that you like, because you're worried that you won't be able to sell it down the road. Evil pirate Roberts I right, exactly Like there's been tons of different James Bond's right Like it. You know, there's and again these business, same things. I feel like people get really hung up on them and almost incapable to make a decision over something that really isn't going to be that big of a deal. And it's hard when you're in it, because it's a big deal to you. But when you look back on it, you're like, I can't believe I spent six months debating on photography versus photographer. It doesn't matter at all. I just don't want. And I wish someone had told me from the very beginning that those things didn't matter because I would have spent a lot less time obsessing about them. The only debating is adding on the l l C L A. Well, now I just wonder if I should leave it a Dana Todd or Dana Todd photography. I keep going back and forth, So if I leave it on, people know what I do. Or if I leave it off, they may think, What does she dio as this just recently happened at a wedding fair Bride came to my booth and looked at all the photos and albums, and she said, So do you make the albums or the prince and sell them? Or did you take the pictures? It was obvious that was the photographer, but that made me rethink taking off the photography. Listen, you can't let one person who doesn't understand what you do change the way you do things just like 11 problem client should not mean that you then go back and change your contract. So I am Susan Stripling Photography LLC on my website and with my logo. It just says Susan Stripling. If you can't come to my site and figure out that I do something with weddings, that's a problem. But I don't think being Dana Totter, Dana Todd Photography If you're Dana Todd Photography, you could have written all over your booth at the bridal fair. Gehna Todd Photography and that person still might have asked you the exact same question, right? Like I ate each do whatever you're comfortable with. But I don't think staying as Dana Todd or changing to Dana Todd photography or back and forth are going to make a big of a difference, as people think. Like I am Susan Stripling. I'm Susan Stripling photography and I still have people come to my site and asked me if I shoot video. I don't know like it's I've had people email me and be like, Do you make wedding albums or are you a re toucher or are you a photographer? Like there are always gonna be people who don't get what you dio, but you can't keep changing your business name if somebody doesn't understand. You know, if a large group of people don't understand you, then you've got a problem. But if the random person at the bridal fair doesn't know what you do, that's not that big of a problem question. So far so we do have a couple of questions I want. Well, let's see, uh, two things. One thing I want to let you guys out there know if you're in the chat rooms or if you're you know you're watching at home. This is like the ultimate office hours for Susan. So we encourage you to ask questions in the chat room. That's the creative live tab based on your on your business on your business enquiries. I've got one here. I hope this is a good time. Um, let's see. My business name is LLC Victoria Sprung Photography LLC. But my branding and website, your l is sprung photo. Are there any reasons for me to change the way of doing this except to do maybe what I said before, which is by all of the different variations that people could possibly be using to get to your website? Like I have Susan stripling dot com. But I'm also, you know, I have a bunch of other and I can't actually remember how many different redirects go to my website. Um, and I know that there are some that I have bought that I have not set up to redirect But if you're like Bob Jones photography by bob Jones dot com Bob Jones photography dot com Misspell Photography Most people that I see that miss both photography is phot o g r a p Why, right? Like photo gray P. They don't do the h. I would most common misspellings by that version of your name. If you are, you know Bob Smith Photography. But you've got to bees at the end of your last name by B o B B Smith and in B O B. Smith, right? Like think of the different ways people could be typing in your URL and go buy those. But I don't think that they should change the way they're doing things at all. We have a couple of the great questions. Not quite on topic right now. But their business. I'll tell you, we're gonna cover that later or not. Perfect dairy. Wheaton wants to know bridal expos are crazy. Expensive. Here. You mentioned in a book? What do you think about handing out booklets outside of the bridal show? Is that ethical? I think that is exceedingly unethical. Getting awful. And don't do it. Not only will you probably get in trouble with the Expo. The other vendors there, If they find out what they're doing, they're going to hate you. Okay, Another question. The other thing. Don't do this. And I've seen other people talking about wanting to do this. Don't go to a bridal expo and pretend to be a bride to shop your competition. It will absolutely backfire on you. Please, please don't do that. If you're not exhibiting or participating in some way, don't go because you're gonna look like you're there to tow like mooch information, which is just plain wrong. Exactly. So what's your opinion on offering referral fees and incentives to other vendors or even other photographers? Absolutely not. There's it's not gonna happen. Like I I have very few hard and fast, absolutely not. Rules and paying of interfere. Offering up a referral fee is something I'm never going to do because I want people to refer me because they want to. That's not saying that I'm not gonna do something nice for people who refer me, but I'm absolutely not going to pay money for it like not even starting out. It just starts you down a long road that's gonna be hard to get back out of right eventually. Perfect This interesting question. Do you think there would be any market in older brides or second time around brides? As in each market, they might not command as high a price tag. But there often people with money who see a value and beautiful art shouldn't offer Ohio price tag. Just because they've done it before doesn't mean he should get a price break the second time around. You know, I was the second time Brian and I was depressingly enough considered an older. Second time, Brad, I got married. I was 21 then I got married again when I was 35. If anybody had ever marketed to me of the second time bride or an older bride, it would have been really offensive, like I would have been really like a Listen, I'm not here pretending that my first marriage never happened. My husband and I even cited our first marriages in our vows. Like we, the jig's up. You guys were married before. We've got kids from previous marriages like we're not pretending that this is the first time around. But if anybody had ever marketed to me as a second time bride. It would have made me feel kind of sullied. Do you know what I mean? Like a little. And so I I think that they're out there. You know, I I've definitely shot weddings of people who have been divorced before, but I would never approach it any differently than how I do now. Okay, here's one. Thanks. You guys out there for all the great questions. Keep him coming, please. I kind of like the cyber questions because I know that it could get a bit numbing to kind of debate the same things over and over again. So perfect. I like this. This is fun. I'm loving it too. So and I love this question. My my business name is Kim Hayes Photography and I'm based in Fort Worth. There's another Kim hates photography in Seattle. I bought the I bought the Cleric. I bought the domain name Kim Hayes. Photo photos dot com Any advice? Try changed to something else. I mean, there's a Susan Stripling Elementary School, right? And humorously enough. It's like 20 minutes away from where I grew up, which is really funny. So I am actually battling the Ethio against an elementary school, which is weird, right? My inclination would always be to change my name because I want to be the only one. But at the same time, why should somebody else's business make you change your name? You know, like, why should you stop being who you are? Just because there's another one? Maybe you're gonna get some of their referrals. Maybe you're gonna accidentally cross fbo with those people like, but I really wouldn't change something unless you personally felt that you needed to. I wouldn't want you to make a decision about something that hasn't happened yet, right? Like maybe this other person's CEO would overtake mine. Or maybe this Or maybe that don't make a maybe decision. You know, if you realize that all of a sudden you're getting all of their traffic and it's actually actively becoming a problem, then you need to think about it. But don't create a problem before a problem exists. Okay, Got some logo's debate. The name of your business. This is in a bit of a journey for me. I started out geared more towards events, family and general all around photog. I began with my maiden name and for design reasons, landed on top Top talk photo. I wanted something punchy and a bit hip. I have a good friend. He's a graphic designer who worked with me on my branding. This was our initial logo, all right. I loved it. I love the punch of green, the clean, modern design. But it started to change my business model to be more portrait and wedding driven. It didn't seem elegant enough. At last Polish, I decided to keep my maiden name. It extended the word photography. So now it's talk, photography or the stacked version. I already started work on my website, etcetera, and I had registered my domain name as top photo dot com. I kept it but registered talk photography as well, So either address will lead you to my site. Thoughts. Thoughts are good, right? Like what I can clearly see here is an evolution in logo and very clear, smart thought behind it. I wanted to include this as an example of doing it right, right, like she's not. You know, talk photo here isn't just making a decision to go from one logo to another, just cause you know, they said we wanted something more elegant that lack polish, and they did exactly that. And they're doing the smart thing where they own multiple different domains. So tall photo doing it right. The name of my business is Laura E. Photography. I've been through two other names I thought I like, but realized I didn't. I chose to go with Laura E Photography because it's my first time in my last name. Initial on I heard it made the business more personally appealing. I thought about doing Laura East bold photography, but I didn't really like how it sounded. I do really like my business name right now, and I don't think I have any plans on changing it. I think that's a great business name. I included this because I I've said in my book that if you realize that you've made the wrong decision about your business name, you should change it. But that doesn't mean you should change it 50 different times. If you keep changing it over and over and over again, you're gonna confuse people. So from here, if you've changed it a few times, I wouldn't change it again unless you are absolutely certain, right? Like you if if you change it over and over and over again, not only is it gonna be hard for people to continue to follow you, but it might make you look a little. And I'm not trying to hurt any feelings here. It might make you look a little unprofessional or a little new, like you can't quite make a decision on what you want to dio. So I would stick with Laura E. Unless you feel very personally pulled to go in a different direction. If you are pulled to go in a different direction, go there and stay there. Four years ago, we started this Fowler photo in 2012. We added video is Josh Fowler cinematography. By early 14 we knew we had to combine the businesses. It's really nice to have one name that encompasses everything because my husband works another full time job, and this allows me to handle a busy all business calls, emails and paperwork's. We can step in and only do the actual video and editing work. This is another example of doing it right. Combining businesses together under a name that makes sense for both, and I got a lot of people who do photo and video together and were struggling with how to do that, whether they have separate names or have one name. And I think combining the businesses and having one name is very smart. So any other questions about business naming any questions at all before we move onwards? Any questions about anything? Yes, pop over to my questions document. So my name is THB wedding photography, and I want to change it to Hudson Studios. My maiden name. So can I. Associate photographer so I can add associate photographers. I'm also an event coordinator and want to add these services to my company. Any thoughts? You know, there was really a question in there. Is there? Yeah, I'm not really sure what I should be. I think that it's the question is, um, changing it to Hudson Studios photographer and a coordinator at the same time? Is there out there? And they're still in the chat room. If they could hit us back and clarify what they're talking about, are they actually coordinating and shooting at the same time, or is it two separate services? Or they could give me a little more back story. I don't want to answer a question that isn't the right question. If that makes sense, yes. So they are. They are both there doing both at the same time at the event. They're two separate. Sorry. So if they're coordinating, they're just there to coordinate. And if they're a photographer, they're just there to photograph. Ah, that's literally like my nightmare business. I thought, like, Sounds like the worst thing ever because what I can see happening is when they hire you for a photography, they kind of expect you to help coordinate also. And it just seems, if it's working for them, that's great. But if this isn't, is this a new business idea? Is this an established business? Are they in their actively chatting with us right now? Yes, it seems like they are, but I'm not seeing where their chat and they can. Actually, if you're there right now writing a paragraph like I need to know a little bit more about this business that you're running, I want to help you. What do you primarily doing? Are you doing photo and coordination at the same time or they separate are you able to delineate them between the two and people hire you, write us a tiny little novel and then I just need more data before I start inventing questions and answering them about this one from flashback photography. What do you think about having a name that's really popular? I'm flashback photography, which is very common, but not in my area. And if it's common now, that doesn't mean it's gonna be common tomorrow or common in five years.

Class Materials

bonus material with purchase

Mentorship Launch and Social Media Keynote.pdf
Susan Stripling - Study Packet Spreadsheets for Numbers.zip
Susan Stripling - Study Packet Spreadsheets for Excel.zip
Susan Stripling - Month 1 Mentorship Assignments 1 - 7.pdf
Susan Stripling - Business and Marketing Workbook.pdf
Susan Stripling - Study Packet Spreadsheets - PDF.zip
Susan Stripling - Month 1 Mentorship Assignments 8 - 14.pdf
Susan Stripling - Month 1 Mentorship Assignments 15 - 21.pdf
Susan Stripling - Month 1 Mentorship Assignments 22 - 28.pdf
Susan Stripling - Month 2 Homework.pdf
Susan Stripling - Month Two Introduction Keynote.pdf
Susan Stripling - Month Three Assignments.pdf

Ratings and Reviews

a Creativelive Student
 

A couple years ago I attended WPPI and sat in on Susan's class. Out of all the classes I sat in on that year her's was in the top 2 for actual information and not just fluffy feel good hype. So I figured her Group Mentorship course would be a good one and it definitely has! A bit of background on me, I've been running my own wedding photography business for the last 6 years, 5 of those full time. I've taken tons of business courses and have circled back around to taking more classes to improve my craft. Susan's class focuses on both business and improving your craft. The big warning I have for this class is that there is a lot of homework, A LOT!!! But that is not a bad thing at all. I was swamped with weddings as the class started and was late to get to my homework but I'm so glad I didn't skip it because there was a lot of things I learned about my business just in answering her questions. I believe there were homework assignments every single day and while some are quick others will take awhile. So my recommendation is to take this course in your off season and use that down time to really concentrate on doing the homework and putting together questions to ask during the weekly chats. I was not able to do that as much as I wanted because of my schedule and I feel I did myself a disservice by not taking full advantage of what was offered. As another reviewer stated there were a lot of basic questions that were asked like how to get proper exposure in an image, etc. If you aren't sure how to do that then this class is not for you. I believe this class is geared towards those who are past the portfolio building stage and are looking to set their business up for success on the back end while improving their craft. Remember to ask questions, keep a notebook and write them down while doing your homework. Don't focus so much on what she uses for everything but why she uses it, if you understand the why you can apply that better to your business vs just the what. Again I would say to properly allocate time to take this class, treat it like a college class with weekly homework and study required. Don't buy it to watch later as you will lose out on most of what this class is about which is access to Susan for questions and feedback. Do the homework, I found the questions she asked us to answer led to a lot of revelations for myself in my business. Her questions led me to ask my own questions and review a lot of historical data for my business to get a better grasp on where I am. Luckily for me I'm doing way better then I thought ;)! Also I recommend for image critique to not just submit your best images, while we all like a pat on the back that won't make you better. She requested a mix of your best and areas of struggle. The images I submitted that I was struggling with are the ones where her advice will improve my craft.

a Creativelive Student
 

I found this course helpful - but I also did all (well most) of the homework and I think to get the most out of this class you really need to be prepared to do the homework - which does require a reasonable time commitment. I found the business information (month 1) invaluable, and Susan was very, very active in the Facebook group, constantly answering our questions, which was great. Month 2 was a big image critique and I also found this very helpful. Month 3 was about editing and it was also a critique, which was helpful as well. Susan, Sandra (her assistant), Jen (her post production person) and CL worked very hard for us so we could get the best out of this course and I really feel I did get the most out of it that I could have gotten out of it. It is definitely worth it if you are willing to do the work. All of my questions were answered and I feel like my work is going to improve for the better now. If CL run any more mentorships such as this one, I would highly recommend them as I found I learned a lot more than in a regular class - because of the homework and the feedback (direct from Susan) on the homework. I am so glad that she was honest about my images because now I am seeing them in a new light (no pun intended).

Carissa
 

Susan, simply amazing photographer, amazing woman, amazing business woman! If you want your but kicked then this the course for you! A kick start for your 'business', awesome .. honest .... brutal.... critique.... don't take it personally.This is a course for beginners and for those been in business for 4 + years. I have been in business for 4 years and this helped me seriously start from the beginning again on the business side of things and fine tune my processes. I learnt so much.... but was also great to know I was on the right track. For those beginning - oh I wish I had this as a guide 4 years ago!!! Enjoy! worth every penny! cheers Carissa www.capture-t-moment.com

Student Work

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