The Most Basic Photography Business Hack You’re Not Using

I don’t think photographers talk enough about the nitty gritty small details when it comes to running a business.

I get it because it’s easy to want to share all the big picture steps that move the needle forward in your business. After all, we want you to reach your big, audacious goals as fast as you can.

But often, the little steps along the way can really trip us up.🤔

When I’m learning from my mentors, sometimes I have the most basic questions that I can’t find answers to. Can you relate?

That said, I thought I’d share a really basic resource you might find helpful now or in the near future, when you hire your first assistant to help with busy work.

You may have heard me say this before. When you’re a solopreneur, one of the best frameworks to help you stay on track is to “automate, delegate, eliminate”, a phrase first coined by Timothy Ferris, the author of “The Four Hour Workweek.”

The idea is, you automate what you can, delegate the busy repetitive work and eliminate anything that doesn’t get you to your ultimate goal as a business.

This way, you stay focused on growth.

Maybe you hired an assistant to delegate repetitive tasks like admin work, emails or to provide support for client calls.

But here’s a question. In the age of cell phones, how can your assistant be helpful to you and your clients by returning support calls or maybe even sales calls if your business line is your cell line?

Have you ever wondered? Basic isn’t it?

Well, here’s a solution I found years ago. I’m not an affiliate of American Voice Mail. I just use them and have for years, and love my setup so I thought I’d share.

See, I have my business number setup so that it goes through American Voice Mail and doesn’t ring on my cell phone (unless I want it to… keep reading) and instead it goes straight to voicemail.

The idea is that you have access to your voicemails via an online dashboard so that anyone on your team can access them.

BUT we never actually use the dashboard because the beauty of AVM is that your dashboard has settings you can turn on and off that helps you access voicemails off the platform.

✨One of those settings is that your voicemails can be forwarded to your inbox as digital WAV files.

✨The other is that your voicemails can also be forwarded to your cell phone!

So if I’m not at my desk, I know immediately that a business call came in but I didn’t have to pick up my cell while at the grocery store wondering what surprise call I’m going to get myself into. A new client or a current client in need of support.

I’d rather call people back than sound unprofessional picking up the phone in a grocery store. Because beware, you will be judged by the noise in the background!

Back in my acting days, I remember so clearly being turned off by a photographer I called because I needed headshots. He was getting in and out of his car, doing all kinds of other things all while apologizing which didn’t make a bit of a difference for my experience. His focus wasn’t on me. I wasn’t his priority. He didn’t get my business.

NOTE TO SELF: Never pick up a work call when you’re busy not doing work. If you want bookings, always make your prospects feel like they are the only thing that matters at that moment.

But I digress…

American Voice Mail.

Because the voicemail also goes straight to my inbox, my assistant easily takes care of all my incoming calls.

Here’s the best part. If I’m sitting at my desk and I’m able to take sales calls, I can turn on live calls. Meaning, calls can ring directly to my cell phone so that I can answer them before they go to voicemail.

Brilliant isn’t it?

I hope this basic tidbit comes in handy! Get into my DMs and ask me your basic questions on IG, I’m happy to help.