Tonya Damron Photography – The Reason For The Change
A few months ago I really started thinking about what I wanted in 2017 for Your Reflections. Call me an overachiever or crazy, but yes halfway through 2016 I was already focusing on 2017. Maybe thinking ahead is just my way of preparing for success or maybe it’s a side effect of having some of the most creative people in Knoxville as my friends. It was either over a cup of coffee in my friend Nancy’s kitchen or during dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant that the conversation came up again “what’s next” for my business. If you know Nancy, this lady is a machine when it come to anything to do with a business. Her brain never goes to sleep and she just kills it in her businesses. This conversation had came up so many times, from so many different people that it was finally time to figure it out because I honestly didn’t know!
I loved the business that God had blessed me with, but I felt stuck and a little uninspired. I had some thoughts on where I wanted to go but most of them were just a hot mess! What I wanted was, when people looked at my website or my business logo to instantly get a feel of what the company was about. I felt like that wasn’t being portrayed at all. The only thing I knew for sure was, this business wasn’t the plan I had for my life. I always wanted to own my own business and travel the world, but photography was never even a thought that had crossed my mind. In conversation with Chuck Carringer, I realized even though this wasn’t my plan, God had been in the middle of every single thing. With all that said I started digging in deep to figure out all the answers to the questions and was in store for 2017.
The things I did know:
The business name Your Reflections had no reason behind it (my friend Amanda actually named it on my way to the courthouse to get a business licenses)
I never wanted to work for someone else again, I loved being my own boss
I loved my clients
God was in the middle of it all
I loved the fact I get to serve my community, church and on the mission field with my photography skills
Change is hard
I wanted to change the way people viewed me online and put the heartbeat of the business front and center
I wanted to add value to peoples experience with me
I wanted to only attract the perfect clients that reflected my business goals and personality
I wanted to continue to love people in a big way through every interaction I had with them
What I didn’t know:
The new vision for my company
The true Why behind the company
How much this change was really going to cost
How I was going to get there
Who I was going to hire to help me
Where to even start
How hard changing everything really was (mentally and physically)
The Process
Eventually, I decide to dive in head first and try to answer those questions for myself because I honestly didn’t know the answers. I knew I wanted to grown the business, but I didn’t know how. I knew I wanted to narrow down who my perfect clients were, but again I didn’t have the answers on to how to do that. I pursued some professionals to help me figure all that out and even though it wasn’t cheap or a fast process, it was worth all the money and time invested!
I met with Chuck Carringer, an executive business coach in Knoxville, TN. The meeting was awesome and as I explained to him what my business was about, I realized so much. I realized that what I was projecting was different than what the heart of the business was. From there I sat down with the amazing photography duo Justin and Mary (for the 2nd time) and talked about the things from my meeting with Chuck. Justin and Mary helped me on how to convey all those things from my meeting with Chuck to the world. I took a course on branding from Katelyn James hired also hired a professional designer to help recreate my logo, my brand and purchased a new website. I had many many talks with my creative friends and different people just bouncing ideas off them and finally had somewhat of a game plan to move forward. It was a long process and there’s still a few tweaks to work out but the new website if finally live! Tonya Damron Photography www.tonyadamron.com
With All That Said
I am so excited about the new business name, brand, logo, website and further for Tonya Damron Photography. This journey for rediscovering the business has been long and somewhat painful at times, but in the end it has been rewarding! In 2017 so many things will change to better serve my clients and I can’t wait to roll out all those things.
A big thank you to everyone involved in the process of this change, your expertise have been vital. I also want to thank everyone who has cheered my on from day one! There’s a long list of people who have been there from day one and a even longer list of people who have joined me in the journey. I couldn’t do it without people who have been my cheerleaders and people who have helped carry me when I thought I couldn’t go on. Last but not least my clients, you have made every step of this journey worth it all!
Cheers to 2017!
Tonya
