Want More Quality Clients? The Journey to Odds & Ends
BIO #1: I'm Caileigh, and my socially acceptable Twitter bio would say that I am a film photographer, chai latte lover, and unapologetic travel addict.
So much of who I am is defined by my job. And I honestly wouldn't have it any other way. I love documenting real love stories and creating art out of moments. I love when clients become friends and continue to want me to tell their stories at different chapters of their lives.
Most of all, I love being able to have a creative voice.
As a solopreneur, I am inspired by sharing information and teaching other creatives. I thrive off of writing blog posts that help others grow as others have helped me. It gets me far too excited to click "publish" when covering topics that I wish were explained in such a straight-up way to me when I first had a desire to learn about them.
BIO #2: I'm Caileigh - photographer, traveller, creative entrepreneur, documentarian, writer, musical theatre performer, artist, and business educator.
Whoooaah, Nelly. This is way too much of a non-niche bio for one person/brand. It's 2015, and our world is structured by the simplified elevator pitch. By minimizing who we are so that others can understand us best. It's a world that's about efficiency above all. A culture obsessed with productivity and profitability.
And we kind of have to suck it up and live in that.
We all aim to learn how to thrive in the face of these limitations. To not be stuck by having to be exclusively one type of person in order to succeed.
So we have to ask ourselves this question:
Do we need to minimize who we are to fit within a world that will easily understand us? My thought is that maybe, just maybe, it's possible for us to build a world that's just as big as we dream it to be.
Odds & Ends began as an idea a few years ago based on this reality: There's a large part of my creative voice that I can't express as Caileigh, the photographer.
Yes, I am still a photographer and I will still strive to grow my business and connect with amazing clients for years and years to come. I still want my brand to reach brides first, and other creatives second. And while I love teaching and blogging and sharing tips and advice with other people, I don't want to be a person that merges every ability under one large and confusing umbrella brand. To me, that just seems like a professional self-destruction via having an unspecific target market (a topic I will undoubtedly touch on later).
Ultimately, this part of me needs a home. An outlet.
So here we are. All of the odds and ends of running a successful creative business in one place.
A place to share. To teach. To connect with people that want to grow their businesses without losing their integrity. To answer real questions and be honest about the struggles of entrepreneurship (because let's be real... working for yourself is not always as glamorous as Instagram makes it look).
My ultimate end goal is to be able to challenge creative entrepreneurs to think about their businesses in ways they maybe haven't before. If I can help one person identify the barriers for their own success, then I'll mark this experiment as a win.
I hope that together we all can learn something here. With the right resources, any business owner can thrive while wearing all of the hats.
Let's strive for nothing but the extraordinary.
Stay tuned. :)
- Caileigh
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F.A.Q.'S
Q: What will happen to Photographs by Caileigh?
A: Nothing will change at all! I'm still working full time as a fine art wedding and lifestyle photographer and continue to take on commissions there. This is simply another extension of my passions and skills. I hope that this extension will allow me to express things in a less fine art, and more to-the-point way than would ever be possible on my photography blog.
Q: What makes this blog different than other branding/tech resource blogs?
A: Long story short, I think a lot of resources shared online are only specific enough to hook people in. There's always a piece left out. I want this to be about continuous learning. I want to treat bloggers and business owners like people, not productivity machines. That means being realistic about our limitations as people that are trying to do it all, but also providing ideas for bettering ones creative process and workflow. I want to provide understandable resources to overcome professional barriers. They say a rising tide lifts all ships, and I'd love to play a part in that.
Q: What kind of information will you be sharing on O&E?
A: My formal education background is actually in Media, Information, & Technoculture and Creative Writing (UWO represent!). I like to think that this - albeit ridiculously expensive - piece of paper has allowed me to develop a unique perspective on communicating brand messages and truly understanding the psychology of connecting with and booking your dream client. The major themes of this blog will be branding, consumer/client psychology, social media, user experience design, SEO, brand communications, workflow, pricing for profit, and more.
Q: Who should subscribe?
Anyone that has a passion for growing their creative business. You should subscribe if you believe that success isn't about the destination, but rather the journey. The sweat and the tears. The honest, unglamorous moments of reality. You should subscribe if you want to perfect your workflow to develop a better work/life balance. Finally, this blog is for you if you're a person that has the curiosity, passion, and drive to just go for it.