High standards, diversification, and empathy: A Roadmap 🗺️

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Subject: High standards, diversification, and empathy: A Roadmap 🗺️

#atthegrove

An anthropology lesson

I had an awesome thesis professor in college. He was funny, inspiring, and a total ball-buster (no easy rides through architecture!).

One phrase he said stuck with me over the 20+ years since graduation.

When speaking about travel, he said:

"You need to make the strange familiar, and the familiar strange."

I still think about this phrase often.

It's a reminder to stay curious, live with wonder, and embrace the universality we all share in all corners of the world.

It's a way to stay in love with our corner of the world, while not being afraid to explore the far reaches of the globe.

Today, though, let's look at this in terms of your business.

That quote is actually from an anthropologist, Horace Miner. But it applies to SO MANY THINGS!

So how can this apply to your business?

High standards

The first thing that comes to mind is the risk of getting complacent in the services we deliver.

We get booked, show up, take photos, edit, deliver, repeat.

It's easy to lose the excitement or that motivation to go above and beyond for our clients.

By taking time to make the familiar strange, you can start to find curiosity about things in your everyday world... including work!

Curiosity can spark more excitement, which can lead to just WANTING to do better.

And that's what your clients will notice and what will keep pushing your business forward._

How can you exercise this?

When you see a beautiful interior photo by another photographer, sit for a few minutes to think about how it may have been lit, what time of day it may have been, or what editing techniques seem to have been used.
When you show up at your next shoot, take a few minutes to walk through the spaces and just admire the design work - the views, the structure, the finishes, the decor. Touch finished to feel their texture and ask a few questions to learn more about the story.

Diversification

You can also use this approach to look at the bigger picture of your business.

You get into a routine with your workflow, with your clients, with your editing...

What if you put yourself in the shoes of someone NOT in your business, and look at what you're doing with fresh eyes?

Suddenly, you may find ways to improve. Ways to be more efficient.

Ways to diversify.

(and we all know by now that I'm a huge fan of finding ways to diversify your income!)

This is how you can brainstorm fresh ideas to maybe create different offerings for your clients.

Or maybe you see that it makes perfect sense to pursue some third party licensing with other vendors in the project.

Or maybe you get inspired to take a fine art approach and create prints.

Or maybe you find a gap in the educational info out there and decide to put together some videos to sell.

Whatever you discover, it needs to start with taking a step back and looking at things through a new perspective.

How can you exercise this?

Ask a friend who is in a completely different line of work if they have any ideas for what you could do that is different than just taking photos. Stay open to their ideas, knowing that their idea may spark you to consider something you never thought of.
Think about all the different marketing assets and services that your clients may need, and explore if any of them are things that you can add to your offerings. Don't limit yourself to just photos when brainstorming your client's needs!

Empathy

Finally, this can absolutely help you develop those oh-so-important soft skills and make you more empathetic to your clients' needs.

How?

Because you "make the strange familiar". This is basically another way of saying that you put yourself in someone else's shoes.

When you look at something that is "other" - aka different than you - and you start to get familiar with them, you start to see similarities.

Your client may seem like an opposing force at times, but really, they are a business owner just like you. They have budgets, demanding clients, deadline pressures, and drama at home. We can all relate to those things.

Seeing these commonalities means you can start to come together. It makes you want to do what you can to support them... and in doing so, they become a more loyal and more satisfied client.

How can you exercise this?

Get to know the interior design industry more to learn about all the different pieces that go into what your clients do.
Ask questions! The best way to get a feel for what your client needs and what they are going through is to ask questions. It'll show them that you care, and it'll give you insights that you can't find with online research.

It's a Recap!

Continuing our mid-year recap of the talented photographers we've featured every Friday, our last two posts celebrated the women featured in March and April - Marli Nagtegaal, Lauren Chambers, Tori Sikkema, Amanda Large, Sumaira Amber, Kyla Chambers, Natalie Marotta, Kristine Kohl, and Katie Tuzmen!

Click below to check out their work, leave a like and comment, and then give them each a follow to show your support! ❤️

See our March recap

See our April recap

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