In 2017 I was five years into photographing weddings. The work was becoming consistent and I finally had a portfolio of actual, real life clients (not just friends who were gracious enough to be my muse). I was full of fresh creative energy—and still so many nerves.
Every inquiry came with a jolt of self-doubt. I had the portfolio, but I didn’t yet have the resources or confidence to sell it.
Instead I’d respond to each inquiry from my Yahoo address. I’d type out my pricing with an undertone of “if that’s too much money I can totally do it for less!” If the client was able to push past my wavering sales pitch, I’d send them a Word doc contract and passively list the inconvenient ways they could sign and pay their deposit (mail a check? meet up in person? no worries! no rush! get it to me however you can!)
To put it simply, it was hard to sell myself using Yahoo and snail mail. I had the portfolio to grab people’s attention but I had no workflow to turn them into clients.
Then, Honeybook. In 2017 I finally invested in the business side of my creative small business. That year I built a workflow and tripled my income. The next year it increased again, and by 2019 my partner quit his career to be the stay-at-home-parent so that I could fully indulge in my growing business.
Through Honeybook, potential clients had a solid place to land when considering my work. Instead of having only my scattered emails, they had professional brochures; clear booking proposals; a secure payment system; and a cohesive booking experience. This workflow gave them trust in me, and it gave me the confidence to sell myself.
I’ve used Honeybook every day since. My workflow begins and ends on this platform, from the inquiry form, to the contracts and invoices, to the questionnaires and project management, to the bookkeeping, to tax time, and dozens of resources in between.
I’ve partnered with Honeybook because I wholeheartedly believe in their work and thrive on their system, and I want you to experience it too. Use my educator code heyhails* to try out Honeybook and receive 35% off of your first year.
And if you want some help setting up and getting familiar with the platform, schedule a Honeybook workflow session with me and I’ll walk you through it!
This is the first in a series of blog posts about putting the “business” in creative small business. In my 11 years as a professional creative, I’ve learned many lessons—some the hard way—and the purpose of this series is to share them with you. If there is a topic you want to see here, reach out!
*Honeybook referral code is case-sensitive
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