2000 Sessions. 12 Months. 1 Photographer — with Sarah Witherington
Episode 36: Show Notes.
After working several jobs to stay afloat, Sarah Witherington burst into the photography scene with her first Groupon gig which earned her 2,000 clients. Today, we sit down with Sarah to discuss her journey as a photographer, beginning with how she got her start in the industry. Sarah tells us about how she changed direction in college toward a more creative avenue and used her student loans to purchase her first professional camera.
After shooting weddings and nannying on the side, she then decided her business needed a fresh flow of clients. Listeners will hear how just one Groupon deal brought Sarah 2,000 clients and subsequently launched her career.
She tells us about her experiences and the lessons she learned, going on to share tips about dealing with high volumes of clients like location designation and using call-in camera actions as a measure to save time.
Later in the episode, we hear about how Sarah’s business has evolved into the boudoir niche and how she’s refined her process to create an efficient and lucrative service for her clients. To hear more insider tips and stirring anecdotes, be sure to tune in today!
Key Points From This Episode:
- Introducing today’s guest, boudoir photographer Sarah Witherington.
- Sarah tells us about how she got started in photography.
- Hear about Sarah’s Groupon deal which became an overwhelming success.
- How Sarah managed 2,000 Groupon sales.
- Sarah’s advice for managing high volumes of clients in one day.
- The lessons Sarah learned from her Groupon deal experience.
- Find out about systems software and how you can make client management easier.
- Why it is important to stop doing what you’re not enjoying.
- How Sarah’s photography business evolved into the success it is today.
- By increasing her prices Sarah was able to refine her business process and up revenue.
- Sarah’s parting advice for photographers getting into Groupon and Gilt City.
Tweetables:
“I probably picked up the camera for the first time in 2007, and it wasn’t until 2014 that I could fully support myself without a second job.” — @_SarahEsther [0:03:11]
“I did a $49 portrait session on Groupon and I sold about 2,000 of them in a matter of seven hours or so. And that launched my business.” — @_SarahEsther [0:05:51]
“I will say this about any photography business: You have to do what works for you.” — @_SarahEsther [0:11:11]
“Looking back, my advice to other photographers is to know your limits with clients and to trust your gut.” — @_SarahEsther [0:18:04]
“It’s pretty common to not love certain types of photography and it’s also okay to admit defeat — that you might not be good at certain styles of photography.” — @_SarahEsther [0:20:50]
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
Sarah Witherington on LinkedIn
