Alan talks to Graham Jennings from Gaslight Photography who came to the very first Rebel Business School in 2012 to catch up with how his Business has advanced.
Note: This transcription has been generated with AI and there may be errors present.
So what happens to all these people that come on pop up business schools and start small businesses to work out making money doing what they love? Well, I love catching up with people who’ve come on previous pop up business schools. This is Graham Graham one’s gaslight photography. And Graeme came on a pop up business school about what four years ago now? Yes, yes, September 2013. September 2013, November, November in western Super Mare of all places. So we’re catching up with Graham. So tell us about your business. What have you been doing for four years? Greg? Take photographs. obvious answer that. Right? Oh, where do I start? Started off work from home. February last year, I decided to open a studio in Bridgewater after knocking the guy who run the shopping centre for eight months. So let me have some space. And I’ve been run the studio since doing weddings, passport, photos, photo restorations, pretty much anything to do with photography, and absolutely loving every minute, then pop up business school four and a half years ago, I learned this a long time ago. What? Out of all those 10 days of workshops we did together, what had the biggest impact for you? The confidence, the confidence that was instilled upon me by you to say I can do it. I mean, do you remember what it was like to have Nervous, nervous. And I just didn’t feel confident enough to actually go out there and do it. But I already had the business idea in my head when I came along, and he just helped me take it to the stage where I could actually go out and do it. And I’ve never done it. And you are doing it. I am still doing it. Yes. So from the last four years, yeah. What’s the biggest thing you’ve learnt? Like? What have been the biggest things? Like you’ve tried different stuff? You’ve done this? You’ve done that? What have you learned? Like, if you could teach the entrepreneurs that we work with a couple of things from your learnings would they be don’t do anything for nothing. Don’t do anything to build your portfolio, you’ve got bills to pay, you need to pay them. So you need people to pay you. If you’re going to go round and say Yeah, after your wedding for nothing to build my portfolio or for the exposure, or pro sure business shots, anything like that. It doesn’t work. I promise you. I’ve tried it. It doesn’t work. Always get paid. Always have a contract in place. And make sure you’ve got insurance. I’ve never needed it, but it’s there. That’s the key thing. enjoy what you’re doing. If you’re not enjoying it, twist it around a bit, change it up, tweak it about until you are business should definitely be it should be fun. Yeah, it should be I have an awesome time. I love weddings, I love going to them. I love being part of their day. And I love just being involved in them. And mixing with everybody is awesome. So out of all of the things that you’ve tried to market and sell your business, what’s the one thing that has got you the most business? One thing that’s caught me the most business? I think to be honest, is my personality? Because word of mouth sales are my highest turnover? Are they? Yeah, the website does well, Facebook, it does Okay, sometimes. But word of mouth sells is my biggest thing. So I’ve got longer wedding, people have fun. And I probably hand out five to 10 cards at a wedding to people who are maybe getting married next year or a year after or they know somebody who is and then they come back to me and I get word of mouth sales. So that is probably the My personality is my biggest selling point. So the more weddings you do, the more weddings you get. Yes, yeah, I’ve got 24 books this year. Already. Last year, this time, high five. Last year. At this time, I didn’t have any books. And I ended up doing 12 Weddings last year. And this year, I’ve got 24 books already. So Graham, people might be watching this who have not come on a pop up business school yet. What would you say to them about coming to an event like this, do it you’ve got nothing to lose doesn’t cost you anything. You get brilliant information, make notes, take notes and use the information you’re given. You will not regret it. I haven’t not for one moment. And I still refer back to my notes all the way back from 2013. I still look through them. Just make sure I’m doing everything that I was taught and told about at the time. So yeah, I still got them in a folder pop up business. Oh, yeah, I haven’t done that for a while. So you know, keep notes useless refreshes. I mean, four years down the line and I’m still doing it. So must be doing something right somewhere. I love it. I love it. And if the audience wanted to find a photographer in the West Country, how might they find you might go to my website at the moment is GD Jo photography.co.uk. But in the very near future, I’m rebranding and it will become gaslight studios. So search for Google
happy Like, nothing makes me happier than you making it happen when 24 Weddings is incredible when you did the certificates at the end. Put a little note on mine. Thanks for your energy. And I carried on. You kept giving energy. Yeah, yeah. So thanks still filming.