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Angie's Angle - Nikki Kirk - part 3 of 1 2 3 4

by Angela Adams Published 01/02/2016

How do you attract clients and what market do youtarget?
The vast majority of our clients (approx. 80%) areattracted via word-of-mouth, which is a wonderfulway to meet new people and to have someone elsesell your business for you! We also attend a few selectwedding fairs every year and are regularly featured onblogs and in magazines with our work.

Tell me about your boutique studio and 'tea and cake'meetings?
You should never have a meeting without teaand cake! Our studio is located in the centre ofCheltenham, in the same building as the CotswoldBride Boutique, so there's a lovely wedding feel theminute you walk through the door. Our consultationroom is situated on the lower ground floor and boastscomfy sofas and lots of albums and wall art for clientsto browse. Chatting about weddings and portraits overtea and cake is very civilised and adds to the lovelinessand value of the client experience.

What percentage of your time is spent creating images,versus time spent on business administration andmarketing?
Around 50/50 when you average it out over the year. Irun the day-to-day business myself, however, there arecertain elements I outsource. It's taken time, but I'venow worked out the balance that gets good results.

Do you manage your own Website, SEO, Marketing,Social Media Presence and PR or do you pay others todo that for you?
I manage the content of my website, but not the build.It's not my area of expertise, so therefore I outsource toexperts in this field.

If you could start your business again from day one,what would you (if anything) do differently?
It would have been nice to have starter earlier - purelybecause of how much I enjoy what I do! I'm a countrygirl at heart and love being outside in the fresh air - Ithink I would have had a much better decade healthwise in my twenties and thirties if I hadn't spent solong in an office!

What's the best single piece of business advice you'dlike to share?
If you truly love what you do, then commit 100%. Workhard and money will come - do whatever you needto, take a part-time job to pay the bills if you have,to but keep going. It makes me so sad (and cross)when I meet people who don't enjoy photographingweddings, but do so just for the money. This is wrongfor many so many reasons, but primarily because you'llspend your whole life doing something you don'tenjoy, in order to go on living, to do something youdon't like doing; which quite frankly is just daft!

Learning to become a competent photographer isa serious challenge, one that keeps us learning andexploring - what would you say is the most importantchallenge you've faced?
I think the biggest challenge I have faced is theeducational side of the business. These days everyonehas a camera or a smart phone, so everyone thinksthey're a photographer. I believe that as professionalphotographers we have a role to play in educatingpeople on why commissioning a professional isan essential expense. In the USA families routinelyput aside a sum in their annual household incomefor family portraits, which I feel is important - ageneration of pictures is only being captured on smartphones.

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1st Published 01/02/2016
last update 09/12/2022 14:56:58

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