Transforming Your Photography Into Art

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in photography but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Hayley Roberts, Creator and Founder of Creative Photo Folk, located in Brisbane, QLD, Australia.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

My business, Creative Photo Folk, is an online course platform that helps photographers be more creative with their cameras. Too often, photographers find themselves losing their mojo because they keep photographing the same things in the same ways and ultimately lose their confidence. So Creative Photo Folk is designed to teach them a variety of creative techniques that help them build an exciting and saleable portfolio while growing their skills in photography, storytelling, composition, lighting, editing, and selling.

Until recently, Creative Photo Folk was a monthly membership, but I've just pivoted into offering two different courses and communities in an attempt to be more niche - one that teaches trick photography and one focused on the art of Photoshop compositing.

Tell us about yourself

I always loved art, but a high school teacher told me I wasn't creative, so I spent much of my life in frustration, believing art wasn't available to me. That was until I picked up a camera and realised art teachers don't know everything. Discovering my creative side started an obsession with photography, but I quickly tired of documentary photography and began experimenting with the more creative aspects using photography tricks and Photoshop. I taught myself these in a very linear and logical way by creating an art project a week and blogging about the process.

Out of that, I grew my influence and art career and entirely changed my life over the space of a year from someone who wasn't creative into an award-winning artist. So now I love to teach photographers this same method that worked so beautifully for me, to empower them to discover their creative side because doing so had such a profound effect on my own life. I'm not just teaching photography, but a way to carve out a creative hobby that builds a photographer's confidence and self-worth.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Seeing the progress my students make. Photographers often come to me having lost their mojo and, subsequently, their confidence, but through my blend of teachings and supportive encouragement, it's so rewarding to see them consistently create incredible and inspiring work that they're excited to share while they grow their skills and push themselves outside their comfort zone. It makes all the years of work it took to create my programs so worthwhile.

What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?

Communicating the value of my programs to others! Photographers love to think they can learn alone and often don't see the value in investing in education. This is why they ultimately lose their mojo because the Dunning-Kruger effect prevents them from seeing just how much there is to master, and eventually they get overwhelmed and don't believe they have what it takes.

I've had to spend my first few years working 'on' the business, not necessarily 'in' the business, trying to find the right messaging to resonate with this audience and continually pivoting to find what works. Admittedly I made the mistake of building my courses before my audience, but I didn't really know any differently at the time - I was just so enthusiastic about creating it without really thinking about how I was going to sell it.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

My background is in traditional advertising, and so I made the big mistake of thinking I could hide behind my brand. But these days, people want a connection with real people, so if you have fears about being seen, I highly recommend doing the personal development work to become comfortable with being visible (a huge work in progress for me) and learn to speak openly and fearlessly about yourself and your work on social media. I also suggest growing your audience first to get people invested in your cause and what you're building.
Invest in education when building your product or business. Because of my marketing background, I thought I knew what I was doing but wasted so much time analysing other people's marketing mechanisms, like webinars and funnels, trying to find the right things to say. Building a business requires big investments in either time or money, so I recommend committing to learning messaging and marketing from an expert if you want to progress much faster. (Which I know can be scary if you're not even sure your business idea is going to work, but it's better to invest at the start so you can make money more quickly than waste lots of time and money trying to make it work on your own.)
Trust your gut, tune into your intuition and create empty space in your day to let it guide you to the right actions to take and the right words to say to attract your audience. While it's important to build the solid foundation I recommended in tip 2, it's also just as important to act from a place of alignment with your own values. Only you know your business the way you do, so while the processes that others teach may have worked for them, they may not be right for you and your audience. But your intuition will know the right action to take once you give it a foundation to work with. And most importantly, know that you never fail, you only learn, and each lesson points you closer to your destination.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.creativephotofolk.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/creativephotofolk
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/creativephotofolk/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hayleyrobertsphoto/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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