Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in photography but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Lauren Mudrock, Owner of Lauren Mudrock Photography, LLC., located in Philadelphia, PA, USA.

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

I'm a brand photographer and educator. I help small business owners change the way people see them with scroll-stopping branding photography and headshots.

Tell us about yourself

I've never been good at working for other people. It's far too boring and limited in what I can get my hands into. In my line of work, I get to collaborate and co-create with brilliant entrepreneurs, and we can bring any idea we want to life. Plus, I'm obsessed with business brainstorming, marketing ideas, and mindset work, things all of us business owners can geek out on together. The connection and conversation never end :)

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

My biggest accomplishment as a business owner is seeing that I've gotten to work with TEDx speakers and that my photographs have been on Sirius XM and in international best-selling books.

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

For me personally, it was overcoming my own mindset and giving myself the right environment to focus in, especially when I didn't have the means to just make that space appear.

I floundered and was only partly dedicated to my business for the first six years in my business because the environments I lived in were pretty toxic and definitely not conducive to success in any area of my life. I knew that I needed that to change, but I didn't have a stable way out, and I had a lot of mental baggage I needed to work through before I could really make the moves I wanted. It felt like the biggest fight of my life, but I have a lot of respect for my past self for working on getting me out of it. Everything else has felt pretty figureoutable since.

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

  1. Read Marketing Made Simple by Donald Miller and do the exercises he provides. It'll build your entire website and messaging for you.
  2. Invest in good branding. Really, invest in good branding. When you LOOK like you take yourself seriously, other people take you seriously. And they don't question your prices.
  3. Don't rely on your talents/quality of service alone to grow your business (this was a tough lesson for my ego). Instead, learn marketing. Not necessarily from quickly outdated college courses but from people who are making money doing the work in real life. (I've grown my entire business thanks to online courses.)

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://lmudrockphoto.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lmudrockphoto
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lmudrockphoto/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurenmudrock/

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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