Photographers on Brand

It didn’t take long for me to figure out that something was terribly wrong. I was in my office talking with a team member about one of our projects, when my boss’ boss stuck his head in the door.  

“Hey Lyn, can I talk with you for a minute?”

“Sure!” I pop up and follow him out into the hallway. 

“We need to go downstairs.” He said as he headed briskly toward the elevators.

None of this was out of the ordinary, but today something seemed off about him.

“Are you okay? You don’t look like you are feeling well,” I said.

He looked at me, shook his head and said, “this is not going to be a good day.”

And then he said nothing else.

Right then, I knew he was walking me into the gallows.

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By the time she was done with me, I was frustrated, defeated, and angry. I was offering my first weekend workshop in New Orleans, which was a considerably larger investment than my typical afternoon workshops. 

One potential customer, we’ll call her Cathy, called to learn more about it. And for the next hour or so, she gave me every reason why she would not want to buy from me. 

She told me I was not worth the price. She told me I was risky. She told me that she could do better. And of course, after all that, she hung up. I never heard from her again.

As I think back to that time frame and incident, it makes me think of one of the big mistakes we make as entrepreneurs — we work on building a business but not a brand. A business says you are technically and legally ready to sell a product. The brand gives customers a reason to choose you.

Now as we emerge the pandemic, there is even greater reason to build a business with a personal brand.

I was reading in a local newspaper a couple months about one of the interesting trends to come out of the pandemic. A Harris Poll Survey conducted by USA Today found that 63% of workers who lost jobs because of the pandemic have changed their industry and 4% have changed their overall career path.

The article quoted Lauren Eyster, a senior fellow in the Income and Benefits Policy Center at the Urban Institute saying “people are shifting from full time employment to more entrepreneurial adventures because they have a passion and they have the skills. And now the pandemic gave the time to put that together. I’m sure that’s not an uncommon story.

It got me thinking of all the reasons someone might re-invent themselves. And how you would go about it. You might know that I have gone through the process a couple of times, so when I saw that article, I got it. 

You might have always known you were meant for more. You might have always dreamed of running your own business and using one of your creative passions to serve clients you care about.

Now the big question is how do I make that happen? How do I create the life I want around the thing I was meant to do? And how do I find the clients that light me up inside? And ones who will appreciate me — and what I have to offer?

You can do that by launching a business built around a personal brand, and that’s what we will talk about in Season 3 of the Personal Branding with Lyn podcast.

I have an idea brewing in my head that I think can be great for you!

Here’s the backstory…

For several months, I’ve been getting private messages from people who have reached out with questions like “how do I get started with personal branding” or “how do I keep my branding consistent” or “how can you help me with my personal branding?”

And the more questions I got like this, the more my wheels began turning.

At first, I was going to build courses, but now I’m wondering if there might be a better way to help more people more efficiently.

I’d like to build a community where…

I can teach established principles of personal branding and marketing, and you can implement them in your business and see results!

A place where I can provide trusted feedback and advice on projects you are working on, so you know you are going down the right path.

You’re not for everyone…and that’s okay. That's the essence of personal branding.

I have a confession and a challenge. I haven’t always shown up for you the way I could. Here’s why.

He called me a copycat. And you know what? He was right! Check out my latest Personal Branding tip!

In Simon Sinek’s groundbreaking book, Start with Why, he introduced the idea that you should tap into your real reasons and motivations for your business. I realized that I started without why, so here I am going back. 

Here’s why a PR guy turned photo coach turned Canon Live Learning team member now turns to personal branding. And more importantly, how does that in turn help you!

A while back I was at a public relations conference where the keynote speaker was a White House press secretary. He was regaling us with tales of working the press corps, when he dropped a doozy that made everyone in the room double over with laughter. He said that it was easy to get press coverage. Just send out a news release, and the media will write about it.

In a room of professionals who try to get media coverage, we knew better. Maybe when you work in the White House, where everything is news, it’s easy to get coverage. For the rest of us, it will take a little work and persistence.

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When the phone started ringing, I wasn’t sure what to believe. Sure, I told them to call but already? Honestly, I was in a bit of disbelief.

Back in my photo coach days, I offered one-on-one coaching to help people work through specific problems. And I know a lot of people needed it because they’d pull me aside after a workshop and pepper me with questions. I created a product that would help them get just that, but nobody was buying it. I had a few bookings here or there, but nothing consistent with the need I thought I saw.

So on a whim, I created this video — why they called. I told the story of three different people who had booked me, why they called (the problem), and how we resolved it. I sent it out as a promo, and by the end of the day, four people called and booked. I continued that campaign and increased to a steady stream of one-on-one clients. 

How do you create content that motivates your ideal customer to pick up the phone and call you? To take action on your promotion. To refer you to their friends and families? You create a content strategy — based on three elements:

• Be helpful.
• Wrap your helpfulness in stories.
• Keep your stories focused on the outcome you want.

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If you have been listening to Season 2 of Personal Branding with Lyn, you no doubt noticed I missed the last two weeks. You might be wondering, Where’s Lyn been?

Well, I had some personal health issues that I had to focus my attention on. I had an emergency the weekend before last and was admitted to the hospital. That became fortunate because they found some other issues with my heart that needed to be addressed. 

As a result, I’ve had a couple of procedures within the last week. I feel much better now, so If all goes as planned, I’ll be back to the podcast next week.

I ask for your patience as I get myself back to new-ish.

In the meantime, we covered a lot of ground in the first season of the podcast. Go to lynmorton.com/podcast and listen to any of the previous episodes.