From Food Stamps to Six Figures
Hey everyone. This is Sandra Coan. Thank you so much for checking out the recap of episode ONE of my new podcast!
It’s so exciting!
In this episode, I just want to introduce myself. Tell you a little of my story, why I’m so passionate about photography and the photography industry, and then a bit about my goals for this podcast.
I started my photography business way back in 1999, sort of by accident.
I was teaching kindergarten at the time, and really struggling to make ends meet on my teacher’s salary. In fact, as a first-year public school teacher, with a full-time job, and a full-time salary, I qualified for food stamps.
At that time, photography was something I’d always done on the side, for fun. But I’d never thought of it as a potential job.
About this same time, one of my dear friends was expecting her first child, and for fun, I’d taken some maternity photos of her.
Now, back in 1999, maternity photography was not what it is now. There just weren’t a lot of people doing it, but my friend loved her pictures. And she made the suggestion that perhaps I could offer my photography services on the side, to supplement my income.
So I did.
Since that time I’ve grown from side hustle to multiple six-figure businesses.
In addition to running my studio, I teach photographers around the world, on my own educational platform, Sandra Coan Education, through my signature course, The Missing Link, as well as on other respected platforms like CreativeLive and Kelby One, at industry conferences and most recently, through my new book, Crafting the Natural Light Look.
Teaching other photographers how to build successful businesses is a HUGE passion of mine.
And what I teach primarily, is how to create natural-looking light with strobes and flash… which I know may sound boring…. But friends, this one skill, is THE thing that took my business from a place of stress and struggles to that initial six figures.
And that happened in large part because learning to create consistently beautiful light helped me grow my brand. What I know after 21 years in this industry is that having a strong brand is essential to having a strong business. And the key to having a strong brand is creating consistency. Learning to create your own light is the quickest and easiest way to create consistency in your work.
So that is what I teach inside my course The Missing Link, I teach photographers how to go beyond natural light, and learn to create their own natural-looking light with strobes and flash…
My goal is to help you get clarity around your brand and your business, while also getting better at your craft.
I’ll have three different styles of episodes…. I’ll solo shows, like this one, with just me speaking directly to you, I’ll have guest speakers, conversations with my friends in the industry. The final type of episode, which is probably the one I’m most excited about, is live coaching calls with students of The Missing Link, my online course.
So I have a lot of exciting things planned.
If you are on Facebook, be sure to join the Beyond Natural Light Photography Facebook group, so we can continue the conversations we’ll be starting here on the podcast. I’ll share a link to that group in the show notes
Don’t forget to subscribe and if you enjoy the show, a five-star review is appreciated.
Thank you for being with me… and here's to a new podcasting adventure.
Talk again soon!
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