If I had to start my business over, what would I do differently? In today’s episode, I’m answering exactly that. What I would actually focus on if I had to start from scratch today, especially to build momentum, book clients, and grow a profitable business. 

On Quianna Marie Weekly, we’re chatting about business growing pains, finding genuine connections, and celebrating wins of all sizes through the lens of a photographer at heart. Sprinkled throughout stories and interviews with past clients, photographers and other business owners this podcast is designed to help you step into your purpose and to truly create a life you’re proud of, a life worth photographing and sharing.

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Review The Show Notes:

Document Everything (2:00)

Start My Email List WAY Sooner (3:35)

Invest In A Brand Shoot MUCH Earlier (7:46)

Get In The Room, As Many As I Can (9:54)

Show Up Anyway (11:42)

Keep My Options Open (14:17)

Offer Free Photography + Collabs (17:18)

Make Sure My Business Is Legit (19:03)

Have Fun! (19:57)

Mentioned In This Episode:

Book More with B-Roll Mini Course: stan.store/quiannamarie/p/bloom-with-broll

Book A Brand Session Planning Call: quiannamarie.com/book

Flodesk quiannamarie.com/flodesk

Episode 217 Sell Out Your Mini Sessions With Flodesk: quiannamarieblog.com/2025/11/17/217-sell-out-your-mini-sessions-with-flodesk

Episode 193 Exposure Doesn’t Pay The Bills: quiannamarieblog.com/2025/06/02/193-exposure-doesnt-pay-the-bills

Episode 103 Investing In Events + Conferences: quiannamarieblog.com/2023/09/11/103-investing-in-events-conferences

Episode 56 Creating A Legally Legit Business with Paige Griffith: quiannamarieblog.com/2022/10/17/creating-a-legally-legit-business-with-paige-griffith

Review the Transcript:

Hey. Hey, my friend. Welcome back to Quianna Marie Weekly. Okay. Today’s episode is a fun one, but also a little spicy, a little honest, and definitely coming from over 20 years of being in business, because I started thinking if I had to start to my business from scratch today, no audience, no clients, no connections, what would I actually do differently?

Not the fluffy advice and not the just post, consistently show up. More energy. Right? Post, post, post, post, post. But more like what would I actually focus on if I wanted to build momentum book clients and grow a profitable business as quickly as possible? And I’ll be honest, some of these might surprise you.

Some of them may be no-brainers, and some of them might catch you thinking, I never knew that about Quianna. Right? It’s not what most people are focusing on right now. So let’s get into it. Grab your notebook, grab your pen and paper. Heat up that iced coffee. That even sounds so silly ’cause it’s been a day.

But let’s get ready for today’s episode all about what I would do. If something was burned to the ground and I had to start over today, welcome to Quianna Marie Weekly, a podcast for creatives who love to celebrate wins, big or small by dancing in the kitchen photographers who are excited to serve their clients and friends who are ready to chase.

Really, really big dreams. You can find all of the resources mentioned in this episode@kianamarie.com slash podcast. Join me as I share weekly motivation, chat about growing pains, finding genuine connections, and celebrating your wins through the lens of a photographer at heart. Come join me for a dance party.

Ready? Let’s go.

Alright, cutie. You know I love a good list. So for today I have nine key tips. That I would be focusing on if I was starting flat on my face rock bottom, or maybe not like a fall and collapse moment, but maybe just starting from scratch.

1 – Document Everything

Okay, so number one, I’d focus on documenting everything. If I was starting over today, I would not worry about a perfect logo, a fancy website, business cards, or any of that kind of stuff at first.

Not saying those aren’t important, but instead I would focus on content immediately. The more you capture your work, personality, passions, and progress, the more you become seen. It helps build trust and you start bringing in those inquiries. And I would specifically focus on behind the scenes, talking to the camera, sharing stories and rant straight to your phone, like FaceTime, showing my process, client experience, and real time photo shoots, sharing what I’m learning, conferences, workshops, retreats, and masterminds I’m attending, showcasing what I’m learning.

New friends I’m making and creating opportunities for future shoots, collaborations, and potential work. I’d even share the books I’m reading podcast in my ear and any courses, coaches or mentoring that I’m investing in or any type of education that I am paying money for. You bet your booty. I’m talking about it.

I’m sharing it, not just pretty post and daily coffee cups, but real valuable content because people don’t hire you from your logo. They hire you because they feel like they know you. Visibility builds trust, and trust is what books clients. This is why I’m passionate about B-roll, not to just blast your life online, but to share your value, be top of mind, and start becoming the local favorite in your industry.

2 – Start My Email List ASAP

Number two, I’d start my email list way sooner. Yes, I’ve mentioned this a million times on the podcast here, but it’s true. If I could go back, I would start my email list on day one, not after I grew up following, not after I felt ready immediately, because social media is great, but it’s borrowed land. And what if your account disappears tomorrow or suddenly social media isn’t free anymore.

What are we gonna do with Instagram or TikTok or Facebook? Go down. That’s been the buzz phrase for many of us, and we’re pretty much numb to that by now, right? Like we know that we’ve heard it a million times, but there’s a new algorithm shift that’s happening right this second, and we need to be prepared for this shift.

If you’re busy multitasking, come back to me real fast for a sec. Unless you’re driving, please don’t do this. But if you can safely, I want you to whip out your phone and I want you to scroll through Facebook or Instagram. Just pick a platform and scroll for a couple scrolls like I want you to do a couple like swoosh swoosh, like full length of the phone two or three times.

How many of those posts are actually friends or people you follow? When I scroll Facebook these days, about one in every five to seven posts are actually family and friends that I know. That means for one. Just one of those posts out of all of those girls is actually a human that I know, right? Most are suggested posts, ads, fluff and anything, but my friends from high school family and real humans in my life.

The crazy part is, is that those suggested posts are all about gardening, floor plans, camera gear, and all of the relative things that I truly enjoy. I’m still scrolling the platform because I subliminally enjoy those posts and they aren’t that random for me. Right. This is why coming straight from the content king himself, Gary v.

States that social media is dead. Interest based media is here. People are unfollowing friends and family to feel more courageous to post strangers On TikTok, we’re hitting follow on people and influencers who we’ve never met before. So this shift, this is why I am passionate about generating content that captures who you are, what you offer, or what you’re selling, and why you are the best at what you do.

Now, imagine having a newsletter that’s packed with subscribers, clients, potential clients, and everyone that wants to learn from you and hear more. No more posting and praying. We can land right in the inbox of people who care about us without feeling burned out on the content hamster wheel. Your email list is where you own your audience.

You build deeper relationships and you can actually sell. People are so much more inclined, and if I’m speaking for myself as a elder millennial, we make laptop purchases like we make computer purchases. We very rarely will make a big purchase on our phone. I’m not scrolling Instagram on my laptop. I’m not really scrolling Facebook on my laptop.

Never have I ever put TikTok on my laptop, right? Like we’re always on our phones. So think about that, right? And if I had to start over from scratch, this is what I would focus on with my email list, okay? Collecting emails from every single client, creating simple lead magnets, consistently showing up in inboxes because that’s how I sell up my mini sessions.

And in case you missed it, check out episode 217: Sell Out Your Mini Sessions with Flodesk. I’ve been a flow desks fan since they were in their beta stages, and I’ve been a flow desks partner for years. They’re super user friendly for some of US Tech challenge, and they keep rolling out with new features and analytics that actually help us scale and grow.

Check out QuiannaMarie.com/flodesk. Four more. It’s not too late to get started building your list. If you’re thinking, oh, no key, that ship has sailed. I promise it’s never too late. And the best time to start your email list is today. I promise your future self will thank you!

3 – Invest In Business Branding

Number three, I’d invest in a branch shoot much earlier. Okay. You knew this was coming. Obviously I’m gonna talk about branding, right? But I’m serious. I waited too long to truly invest in strategic brand photography. And I don’t just mean getting photos taken, I mean planning the shoot around my offers, creating content intentionally, building a library of visuals, because once I had photos, that actually reflected my personality, my professionalism, my client experience, who I am, what I’m about, why I’m just so eager and excited to be your photographer.

Oh my gosh. Everything changed. I showed up differently. I marketed and promoted my business differently, and I started booking more quickly. Your photos aren’t just for your feed. They’re proof that your business is legit. And if I’m being a little sassy here, it actually proves that you exist, right?

Because without those branding images, without all that documented B-roll, and behind the scenes clips. You’re just kind of floating in space, doing your thing, and only your current clients know about you. So we need to change that. If I was starting from scratch, I would trade with other photographers.

Let’s be real. Brand photography can be an expense. So doing anything I could to swap with other photographers, heck yes, I would start there, but eventually I wish I invested in a professional sooner. Once you start growing and expanding swaps, don’t cut it anymore. You’re gonna wanna dedicate a day just for you and your business, glam, styling, marketing, and content prep, all of it just for you and your business.

Not only would I go back in time to do these sooner, but I would absolutely do them more often. Quarterly is a sweet spot. Booking a quarterly session is just like Chef’s Kiss because you have the opportunity to. Update your stuff, try new trends, test out different outfits, and really just stay relevant with all of that content that you can just flood everything that you need, but at the very least, annually works too.

4 – Get In The Room

Number four, I’d get in the room as many as I can. This one might be the biggest lesson of all. Your net worth is only as big as your network. It’s crazy to think that way, but in my opinion, it’s true. While I was in the thick of my wedding seasons, I invested a ton in photography, workshops, conferences, retreats, and masterminds.

I still do this today as I focus on branding and more coaching and speaking on stages. When I put myself out there and walked into rooms where I knew no one, I always walked away with some of my best friends in the industry. These are my people, the friends, soul sisters, and even mentors that help support me, my life and my business today.

This is your chance to meet up in real life with your group chat and turn your Instagram friends from around the country into your real human friends. These friends keep you on track, challenge your ideas, fine tune your offers, and help you dream bigger. Plus, I’ve always lived by the phrase community over competition.

And there’s something really sweet about having industry besties that live in other states than you to bounce ideas, swap pricing concepts, and test marketing without anyone feeling like you’re copying or implementing a little too close to home for your liking. You know what I mean? I would never have these genuine friendships with these besties unless I bet on myself, bought the ticket, booked the flight, and got in the room.

So, how did I find these places? Check out episode number 103: Investing In Events and Conferences to learn more about how I source these events, how to prepare and tips for leaving lasting impressions. That’s episode number 103 on Quianna Marie Weekly.

5 – Show Up

Alright, number five, show up. Anyway, alright. This one is totally a little piggybacked, the last one, but I can’t tell you how many times I didn’t wanna go to an event.

Like I literally. Oh my gosh. I didn’t wanna put a bra back on, leave the house and spend an evening peeing when I was already exhausted from the day. But those are the pivotal moments in my career that I could pinpoint and say, holy smokes. I’m so thankful I went. You’re gonna wanna be a couch potato on the weekends.

You’re gonna wanna stay home with your dog. You’re gonna wanna call in sick and skip plans that the version of you that had more energy promised to join weeks ago. Right. Maybe this is a little big sister push. Or it’s because I’ve been doing this for literally over 20 years, but I know my business has survived this long simply because I showed up.

I show up for my friends and support their businesses. I show up for my niece’s softball games and my family events. I show up when I’m tired. I just do it. But I have to add this little bonus for you. The secret is not to just show up. I know, I know. I took a ton of effort to get outta the house.

Shouldn’t that be enough? Sorry, sister. No. If you’re going to show up, go full cent. Don’t half ass this next event. Challenge yourself to talk to two to three new people. Introduce yourself. Ask how you can help support these new contacts, mingle and truly invest in this experience. What good would it bring to your business and livelihood if you just showed up, got a drink, snagged a wanton, and then snuck out the back?

Don’t let your valuable time be a waste. You don’t have to be the class clown or a walk in and be the life of the party. But making intentional conversation, being friendly and grabbing a couple selfies will absolutely help those follow up dms and recap posts worth your time and energy. Mm-hmm. Did you catch that?

Yes. I also challenge you to post those selfies, add them to your stories, and create some fun content around the event. The host sponsors and guests will absolutely love to see what you create, and it’s a great way to share the buzz of the event. Keep that sizzle sizzling. Sort of like circa 2014, if you didn’t post that, you went to the gym, did you even go, bro?

Like for real, right? Sharing your experiences and all of those moments of showing up are such a great way to stay relevant, make connections, and deepen friendships with everyone you’re showing up for. Don’t put in that effort. Don’t leave the house unless you can promise yourself that you’re actually going to talk to humans at that event.

I promise. I promise it will pay off.

6 – Keep Your Options Open

Number six, keep your options open. I’m not talking about dating with this one. It’s all about business. There’s so much power in niching down and sticking to one type of photography to become well known for that offer. You know, not just being a wedding photographer, but focusing on intimate elopements off grid, or specializing in LGBTQ plus weddings in Italy.

It’s like narrowing down your niche and then niching down, niching down, and niching down until you are the best in the industry for that dream client. There really is power in becoming well known for one thing. But if I could go back to flatlining without any clients and starting from scratch, I would absolutely keep my options open and offer a handful of different ways to work with me in 2020 when weddings crashed.

I pivoted hard to branding family sessions, senior sessions, garage backdrop sessions, and family porch visits so I could social distance and still pay my bills. I was desperate and I just found any way that I could build up some revenue with my camera. Flash forward to today, yes, I’m still focusing on branding and marketing all of my social media to promote branding, headshot, and client experience moments, but in my emails and in my dms.

I’m booking senior sessions. I’m booking seasonal family mini sessions, garage photo shoots in my brother’s garage, right? And even the occasional wedding here and there, if it feels aligned, there’s no shame in being well-rounded and being able to offer different ways to work with you. As a workshop aholic, all the industry leader photographers preached to stick to one genre and one genre only.

Stick to that, right? Like that’s what, that’s what they preached. But in my experience. There’s so much safety and stability in keeping your options open. And you know what? Now that I’m just kind of like going off the riff here, chatting about industry leaders and this kind of like push to stick to one niche, I literally called BS on that because they are literally in your face telling you to stick to, let’s say we weddings, for example, while you’re at a workshop for a completely different business of theirs, which is the educational portion.

So they’re a hundred percent offering multiple streams of income for their business by offering weddings. If they’re still booking weddings and then educating you like, hello? Like, could you put that together there? Right. So they have kind of cracked the code by offering multiple streams of income, even though I’m not doubting, like it literally is a completely separate business.

Like we know how much work it is, or we’d all be doing it right. Um, but just keep that in mind like it’s, it’s, there’s no shame in keeping your options open. This also goes for creating multiple streams of income and not relying on one type of client to fill your calendar. Go get that money, honey. Like we have bills to pay, we have trips to go on.

We have kids to save for all the things, right? Like any type of investments that we’re working towards. Like put yourself out there. If you have a skillset, use it.

7 – Offer Free Photography + Collabs

All right. Number seven, still offer free photography and collabs. This one may come as a shock to some, but it’s true. Even two decades into business, I still offer free photography, trades, swaps, and collabs.

But this is a secret that not very many photographers are talking about. If you’re feeling burnt out, use and abused for doing free work, you are doing it wrong. And I can’t even say this like with a straight face ’cause I’m just laughing over here like, I wish I could choke hold you and be like, if you feel like doing free work is a complete waste of your time, you are doing it wrong.

I break it all down in episode number 193: Exposure Doesn’t Pay The Bills. Make sure to add that one to your playlist. That’s episode number 1 93. It’s a juicy one. Having your camera skills is truly a gift to be shared and celebrated. I photographed events for free and walked away with three booked weddings.

That’s over 15 K for a couple hours of my time to get those bookings crazy, right? Once again, bringing it back to another key tip, simply showing up. Right. I’ve photographed podcast events for proximity to the speakers and shared galleries with them, which has led to more bookings for brand shoots and events.

Plus, I’ll even add, this is an important note. I have purchased tickets to these events, photograph them for free, and still shared galleries for future opportunities. It’s all in the follow through with generosity and kindness with your support. There’s a lot of business owners that say no, and they will never work for free, and I’m sure that works for them, but so many doors have opened simply because I’ve led with my heart, and I’ve always received that love back into my business somehow some way.

8 – Make Sure Your Business is Legit

Number eight, make sure your business is legit. And episode number 56, I have the honor of chatting with my girl, Paige Griffith, the legal page, all about making your business legit. If I can go back in time, I would absolutely make sure my business bank accounts are squared away. I legally have my business licenses understand taxes and insurance, and have all of my taxes and secure contracts intact.

Staying organized with bookkeeping and taxes has been the death of me for decades. I do anything to go back in time to be legit, save myself so many headaches by making sure I’m legally protected and safe. This is another one that’s never too late to get legit as creatives. For many of us, this is not our wheelhouse, but we gotta do it.

Invest in the pros to help you as soon as you can. I promise it’s worth the investment.

9 – Have FUN!

Alright, number nine, last one. I promise… Have fun! I would absolutely prioritize a more fun in my life in business. As soon as I made the mindset shift from needing to book clients to making more friends, my business blew up.

Think about it though. Friends, refer friends. The more friends you have, the more referrals will come your way. I wish I spent more weekends chilling out the river, invested in more fun workout classes, painting classes, and line dancing lessons. It wasn’t until I moved to Arizona that I really started having fun in my life and prioritizing my mental health.

Having fun is absolutely a stealth cheat code to making more money, making an impact, and becoming more memorable in your communities. Go have fun, babe. Cut loose. Choose joy and make more memories. I challenge you to add some fun to your everyday life, even if it’s only 10 minutes of reading a juicy novel, dancing in the kitchen with your babies, stretching before bed or splurging on those concert tickets to look forward to.

We picked this career for more freedom and flexibility, so use it. Make life and business more fun. Stop taking everything so seriously and let life happen, right? Like you’ll be amazed at the moment that you just say, okay, God, take the wheel right. We’re being Carrie Underwood here. Like Jesus, take the wheel, like let things flow.

Obviously, get your work done, but leave room for magic. All right, cutie. I love a good recap. Let’s go through these key tips together really quick so they hit home and stick. If I had to start from scratch today, this is where I would start. Number one, document everything. Record as much behind the scenes as you can, not just for social media, but to document and celebrate your progress.

You’ll be so happy you have this beautiful timeline of your life and business recorded. Number two email list. Get that started today. Head to kiana marie.com/floats to grab some deals and get started. It’s never too late to grow that list. Do it, do it, do it, do it. Do it. I promise it’s worth it. Number three.

Invest in a brand shoot. You are legit my love. It’s time for your business to look legit too. I would be absolutely honored to be your photographer to help capture this next era and next stage of your life. So make sure to DM me the word brand and I’ll send you all the details. Number four, get in the room, invest in conferences, join local events, and support your friends.

Number five, show up. Anyway, I get it. We’re all tired. Show up anyway and be fully present to make that time and energy work for you. Number six, keep your options open. Stay flexible, and not just when times are tough, but increase your revenue without putting you and your services in a tiny box. Number seven, offer free services.

It’s absolutely okay to offer free photography or services as long as you’re following through with content and exposure to make it worth your time and energy. Number eight, make sure your business is legit. Lock in your contracts. Get your taxes and bookkeeping organized. I promise. I promise you’ll thank me later.

Just get it done now, and number nine, have fun. You’re funny, smart, creative, beautiful, and fun. Go enjoy this expansive life that you are creating. You are amazing, and we need more people, the right people to know about you. All right, my love. If you’re listening to this and thinking, okay. Okay. Okay. I know I need to start showing up, but I don’t even know what to post.

That’s exactly why I created My Bloom With B-Roll mini course, it’s going to help you capture simple behind the scenes content using your phone so you can finally start showing up consistently without overthinking it. And if you’re ready to take things to the next level, I mean like rocket ship that to the next level.

If you’re ready to stop piecing together content and actually create a full library of visuals that reflect your brand and your growth. That’s exactly what we do During my personal branding sessions and content days, message me the word brand on my Instagram at Quianna Marie and I’ll shoot over all the deets to get us started.

If I had to start over today, I wouldn’t wait. I wouldn’t overthink and I definitely wouldn’t be hiding. I would show up, I would share my work, and I would let people see me building something because your dream clients, they’re not looking for perfection. They’re looking for someone they can trust, and that starts with being visible.

This is your sign. Start showing up, start creating, and let your business be seen. I’m cheering for you always and forever. If you love this episode, please share with a friend. Set it to someone that needs a refresh or a little nudge and support for growing a legit business. Can’t wait to chat soon.

Thanks so much for joining the party! Love you. Bye! That’s a wrap on another episode of Quianna Marie Weekly. Thank you so much for your listenership and support. You can find the resources and show notes for this episode and more at QuiannaMarie.com/podcast, I’d be honored if you’d show your support by leaving a review and rating on your favorite podcast app.

Until next time, keep on on dancing.

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