My BEST business tips inside!

Here at Foodtography School we believe in teaching food photography both as a skill AND as a BUSINESS. It’s easy to get wrapped up in the photography side of things and forget to focus on the business side of things. 

Taking awesome food photos is great. But at a certain point you’re going to need to LEVEL UP YOUR BIZ. 

Well, you’ve come to the right place because today I’m sharing some advice I wish someone had given to me when I first started my business. *CHEERS* Let’s do this! 🙌🙌🙌

01. Don’t Sleep on SEO

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. Basically, it helps search engines like Google find your website, instead of losing it among the thousands of other sites vying for attention.

And, IT IS AWESOME! Once you get a handle on SEO, more people will be able to find your website. And if it’s easier for people to find you, then that means more people will see your work. And if more people see your work, then more businesses will want to buy ad space from you. Cha-CHING! 💰 

This is most useful for those of us with food blogs, but optimizing your portfolio site is also important for making it easier for potential clients to find you. (And we have some killer food blog and portfolio website templates with built-in SEO that make all this technical stuff 1000% easier!)

Because at the end of the day, social media is fickle. You don’t own your followers, your likes, or your shares. But you DO own your website and *that* you can always control.

Don’t sleep on SEO and start raking in that passive income, ASAP!

02. Money Makes Money Makes Money

You probably don’t want to hear this, but…you have to spend money to make money. UGH! Seriously? I know. 

Spending money on your business is always a little nerve wracking, especially when you’re first getting started. 

But if you want to reach those higher levels, if you want to see massive growth, if you want to skyrocket your business (and not remain stagnant for years and years and years), then you need to put money in. Without money *in* you won’t get money OUT. 

So invest in your business. In your education. In your equipment. Invest in your team. In your website. In whatever it is you need to improve your biz. It may be scary at first, but I promise you’ll thank me when you start seeing the returns on your investments!

03. Stay in Your Zone of ✨ GENIUS ✨

You know that thing that you just LOVE to do in your business and that you’re super good at? 

Yeah. Only do that. 

I know it’s tempting to be everything at once: photographer, website designer, social media manager, accountant. You get to have full control and it’s free because you’re not hiring anyone. 

But the truth is: it’s not free. Let me repeat that for the folks in the back: IT’S NOT FREE! 🔊 

It’s coming at the expense of your time and energy. Time and energy which you could be using towards your ~zone of genius~. 

All the other stuff? Delegate it. Feeling lost with Pinterest and Instagram? Hire a social media manager! No idea where to start with your taxes? Hire an accountant!

The very first person I ever hired was a social media manager, followed by a shooting assistant, and then an accountant for my taxes. 

And WOW did it make a difference. Now, I have time for the things that make ME awesome. And the rockstars I hired? They can focus on what makes THEM awesome. It really is awesome all around!

…

There you have it, the three biggest things I wish someone had told me when I first started. 

So instead of figuring out everything on the fly (like I did 😅) you can focus on leveling up your business the right way. 

P.S. Looking to step up your food photography game? Check out our course offerings to see which one might be right for you!