Charlotte: How to Get Out of Your Comfort Zone and Build Your Photography Business

If you’ve ever been told, “if your work is good, people will find you”, you know now that is, at best, wishful thinking. For all its art and emotion, photography is a business, and must be treated as such.

In a new workshop, APA Chicago Chapter Director Steven Brooks will share proven new business tactics to help you break out of your comfort zone and achieve your business development goals. He will discuss how establishing a consistent workflow can give you the confidence to complete difficult business-building tasks. Steven will break down seemingly big concepts (ex. “How do I grow my business this year?”) into small, digestible tasks to add to your calendar so that they get completed on time.

Topics:

The two traits all successful commercial photographers possess.
Find out how to bootstrap an effective new business plan on a small budget.
How to develop a targeted prospect list in just three hours per week.
Why a targeted marketing approach yields better results.
Discover the power of niche.
How to use key information to build relationships with prospects.

Who should attend:

Photographers who think big but have a difficult time completing key tasks.
Emerging photographers looking to create a new business/marketing plan for the year (on any budget).
All Photographers who love to produce great work, but need motivation and strategy in promoting it.
Photographers who want to break out of the generalist mold and pursue a plan of marketing to their strengths and niche.

About the Speaker

Steven Brooks has been the chapter director for APA Chicago since 2012. He got his start in the agency business as a media planner because he was good in math. As a media planner, selling media plans to agency clients was central to his job description and he quickly learned, “An idea you didn’t sell is no better than one you didn’t create.” From there he teamed up with Rick Conrad to co-found the creative agency Spy Advertising, where they developed campaigns for Berghoff Beer, Donlen Corporation, Areawide Cellular, Interstate Bank and America’s Tire & Battery, among other clients. Today, Steven is an artist representative, managing photographers such as Robert Randall, Anthony Arciero, Andy Goodwin, and Brandon Sullivan.