Do you want to fit in or be different?
The other day, I was reading a post on a photographer Facebook group who asked for advice about changing the name of her company. She said she wanted to “fit in with the wedding industry trend.”
While I was thinking about how to best respond to her question, it occurred to me that other business owners out there might be thinking exactly the same way.
Maybe looking around at competitors in their industry and wanting to look like them. Wanting a website that looks the same. Trying to emulate the way they write and perhaps even copy their offers and pricing.
The thought in their head is something like, “If they are successful, maybe if I look more like them I will be successful too.”
True confessions? I used to think this way too!
When I was starting out (about 12 years ago) as a newborn and maternity photographer, I spent a whole lot of time studying what others in my industry were doing. Everything from their photographic style to their website design to their pricing and more.
I purchased so many templates and booklets and guides in an attempt to craft a brand that would look amazing so that people would flock to me for their newborn photos.
But the truth was, that brand I crafted never really felt 100% like ME. It always felt like I was missing something. Plus, it felt so hard explaining to potential clients why I was different from other newborn photographers.
A fellow photographer to the rescue.
I came across a fellow photographer who was teaching something no other photographer at the time was really doing. He was teaching about wholeheartedly being DIFFERENT.
He wasn’t selling design templates, or email scripts, or turn-key procedures. He was helping photographers discover what makes them different so their offers would be irresistible to their ideal clients.
I think that was my first real a-ha moment in terms of my brand. It was then that I stopped trying to implement things that other photographers were doing and instead turned inward to figure out who I REALLY am and what makes me different.
Plus, and I didn’t know it at the time, but it was the genesis of my interest in branding for small businesses. 😊
About that wedding photographer who wanted to fit in with the industry and the trends? My message to her is DON’T!!! Don’t worry about the name of your business or what other people are doing. Figure out what makes YOU who YOU are and then shout THAT from the mountaintops!
I promise THAT is how you build a brand and a business that you will absolutely love.
About Melissa
Melissa Henry, CEO of Melissa Demple Photography, helps speakers, authors, and entrepreneurs become KNOWN. Walk away feeling like a rock star with powerful clarity on your personal brand, including unique images that wow your target audience and help you sell out your programs, books and win those coveted keynote spots!
Quoted in Forbes and Entrepreneur and featured in Thrive Global as well as on podcasts such as The Rita Made Me Do It Show, No Fat Cats, and Two Girls Talking, Melissa understands the challenges of standing out in the crowded marketplace and will make sure you & your business do too!
With extensive expertise in consulting and over a decade building her own brand, Melissa provides an extraordinary experience for purpose-driven entrepreneurs who want to become known as experts, thought leaders, and seven-figure business owners.
