When Joanna Lee Kilgore launched her first photography business in South Carolina, she went all in. She set up a big studio, dove into the local community, and put herself on a steady upward trajectory.
Then, about a year later, Kilgore’s husband needed to transfer to South Florida for work. Kilgore had to relocate her business. As a portrait photographer, she relied on a local clientele and strong community ties. Starting all over was daunting but necessary if she wanted to pursue her professional photography dreams.
So Kilgore dove into a new community, and carefully tracked her methods and her progress. Now, three years later, her studio is busier than ever and her business has reached new heights. Here is her roadmap to relocation success.
Plan, plan, plan. “Create a plan, then a backup plan, then a backup for your backup,” Kilgore advises. Every market is different, so it pays to adapt your plans and come at things from different angles.
Show up and be seen. Community involvement is key. Show up to as many places as possible. Volunteer and contribute to local charities. Be a part of the community and engage with others with similar interests. “I put myself out there in as many places as I could during the first year,” Kilgore recalls. “I focused on getting my name out there—not on making money at first—more on being visible and involved.”
Network like crazy (online and offline). Kilgore feels that meeting people in person is critical to forming strong personal bonds. Once she makes a new contact, she reaches out to them on social media to stay in touch. Facebook is her primary channel, and Facebook groups have been helpful for engaging in local conversations and building her visibility.
Work with local influencers. Seek out local influencers and try to arrange symbiotic partnerships. These influencers don’t need to be social media icons with a million followers. A local influencer could be anyone with a robust network or a strong profile who can help you get a foothold in the community.
Do good work. Whether it’s a paid gig or a volunteer job done for exposure, she says, always, always produce your best quality work. People are going to judge you based on the most recent images they see, so always do your best.
Ensure that all parties are clear on terms. If you do decide to trade photography for publicity, make sure all parties understand what’s expected. It is smart to put the arrangement in writing. “I don’t do things for free,” Kilgore says. “I may not charge for every project, but I do get something in return. In the cases where I’m donating my photography, I’m looking for promotion and publicity in return for my work.”
Show solo. Consider hosting a one-person show at a local gallery or prominent public space. Kilgore has experienced considerable success with a series of pop-up galleries featuring a couple of long-running projects.
Wow with service. “I dive in and offer exemplary service on every project,” says Kilgore. “It’s one of the ways I distinguish myself.” If you provide great service to every client, every charitable organization, and every promotional partner, word gets around.
Put the focus on the client. When working with a new client or when doing a volunteer gig with a prominent community member, Kilgore gets permission to post about them. Then she posts stories to her personal and professional social media accounts with writeups about what each person does in the community. It’s a simple formula—a picture and a story—and an opportunity for the subjects to be seen and acknowledged. Potential clients see these stories, and many call for their own sessions for similar treatment.
Give clients what they want. “Taking yourself out of the mix and focusing on the client really makes a difference,” Kilgore says. “After all, it’s not about me. It’s about them, their life, what they want. So, I took myself out of it, made it about them. I became more flexible in what I offered. Then anyone could book me because I give them what they want. That has really opened up my clientele.”
.jpg)
Shift your style (while staying true to yourself). Kilgore’s clients in South Carolina had more of a debutante style, she says: glamorous dresses, lots of hairstyling and makeup, and all the accessories. In Florida, her clients want more of a natural look, so she pulled back on the glamour and simplified the approach, which struck a chord with her new audience. “My personal style is going to come into play regardless, because I’m the artist,” she says. “There’s always going to be a touch of whimsy, but, within that context, I can adjust for the style and tastes of my clients.”
Consider expanding your offerings. While networking in her new home, Kilgore met with all kinds of business leaders and talked about how they wanted to be seen. That led to a growing line of professional branding work and business headshots, which has helped expand her profile in the area.
Connect and empathize. Kilgore has learned that anything she does to connect with people and build empathy not only benefits those individuals but comes back to her business. In every client interaction, every project, she endeavors to focus on the positive, make an empathetic connection, and leave people with a sense of encouragement and confidence. “The more you can connect with people and be sincere about it, the better it is for your business,” she says. “If you take someone and fill them up, build their self-esteem, they take those positive feelings and multiply them to their community, and it grows from there.”
Jeff Kent is editor-at-large.