Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Mark Cunzolo. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Mark, so great to be with you and I think a lot of folks are going to benefit from hearing your story and lessons and wisdom. Imposter Syndrome is something that we know how words to describe, but it’s something that has held people back forever and so we’re really interested to hear about your story and how you overcame imposter syndrome.
Imposter syndrome was one of the biggest hurdles I had to face when starting my photography business. I didn’t mean to get into photography, I didn’t have a burning passion for it, and I wasn’t even looking to start a business. My church needed someone to take better photos, so I grabbed a camera that was available and just started shooting each weekend. Then, out of nowhere, a friend at church came up to me and said, “Hey Mark, I need family photos for a re-elect campaign. How much do you charge for a family session?” I had no idea what to say. I had no pricing schemes, contracts, or ways to collect payment in place. But, I knew I needed to start somehow and sometime, so why not now? I said yes, gave a price, and set a date. Heading into that my mind was screaming, “You have no idea what you are doing!” I went into that shoot physically trembling. My wife was helping me and saw that I was having an anxiety attack with the clients in the room. I turned to her and said, “I can’t do this.” She took my hands, breathed with me, and said, “You have got this. You can do this. Breathe and get going.” Long story short, the shoot was a success. However, despite all the years, successful shoots, and 5-star reviews, I still feel like everyone is better than me, and I still get nervous before every shoot. Thankfully, my wife is always there for me. I go to her before every shoot for a needed pep talk. She reminds me of everything I’ve done and all of my happy clients. She reminds me that within 5 minutes of starting the shoot I will be happy and loving it. Thank God for a strong wife who supports what I’m doing. God is another help against imposter syndrome. I remind myself before every shoot that He’s been in my corner and helped me to succeed up until now and He doesn’t plan to stop. Finally, what really helped me get over that feeling like every other photographer is better than me is shadowing these photographers. I literally reach out to them and ask to observe them during a shoot. I offer to help them or let them use my gear for free if I can just watch them. Most of the time I walk away saying, “That was it? I’m already doing most of what they do. I’ve got this.” We build up in our minds that the “other” photographer is way more creative, professional, and competent. They have the secret sauce. So, if you just spend time around them, you’ll find it’s not as mysterious and above you as you thought.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I went to college for 7 years to get a bachelor’s in biology and a master’s in secondary education. I worked for 7 years as a teacher. As the years wore on, I needed more freedom in my life. I started teaching myself how to code websites and started taking classes at night. Within 2 years I had left teaching for a web development position. Three years later I became the communication director for the same organization. Eventually the entrepreneurial spirit hit me, and I left to start a marketing company with a friend. Even though we launched it right as COVID hit, we quickly gained clients and paid ourselves every month. However, my friend and his wife started another business at the same time, which took off like lightening. Eventually, we couldn’t make our marketing business work. That’s when I went into one of the toughest seasons of my life. I stepped into my wife’s art business. Together, we converted it into a woodworking business, which had us staying up all hours of the night making products that we could haul around to maker shows and conventions. While it did okay, it was not breaking the bank by any means. Eventually, we had to let that business go so my wife could focus more on her career goals for her full-time job. That left me in a spot where I was barely bringing any money in for the family. I won’t go into details here, but I kind of lost myself. Eventually, an opportunity opened up for me to start volunteering to take photos at my church. I found that I really loved photography, and I even started spending weekends walking around my town to just take street photos. Eventually, someone asked me to take paid photos for their family. From there I just kept saying yes to anything that came my way. The game changer was when Leon Dwinga from Runaway Productions, another AMAZING business owner who you interviewed recently, reached out to me randomly (i.e., by God’s grace) on the phone one December. He basically said, “Hi. My name’s Leon. I’ve seen you taking photos at church, and I love your dedication. Would you like to come work camera on an AV gig with me in Florida in January?” I won’t say how much he offered to pay me, but it was a Godsend for my family. Leon’s faithfulness and willingness to give me a chance opened a floodgate that has stayed open ever since. Without ever marketing my business, it now provides an amazing secondary income for my family. It’s allowed us to take trips, remodel our house, put away savings. I’ve been able to build over 110 5-star reviews on Google. God’s favor, the support of others, and my own unwavering dedication to customer experience/support took something that was a volunteer opportunity and turned it into a thriving business.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
1. Learn how to build a portfolio and Google reviews – You have to look and sound legit because you have to sell yourself and people have to buy into you. Most of the time, you can’t just start getting hired and paid. What I did was I figured out the types of photography jobs I wanted to take: family sessions, couples sessions, kids, senior portraits, sports, pets, brands, etc. I then reached out to people and businesses I knew and offered them free photo sessions. The catch was that they had to review me, let me put the photos on my portfolio, and make a review video with me. After the session, I had 5 questions I would ask clients and I would take a video of them answering the questions. I then took those clips, spliced in edited photos, put music and motion graphics on it, and added it to my platforms. I also added their pictures to my portfolio, and I got numerous LEGIT reviews right out of the gate. Plus, when someone asked me if I did senior portraits, for example, I could truthfully say yes.
2. Learn how to project manage with digital tools – I honestly feel that the number one thing that earns me more clients AND separates me from other photographers in my area is my communication. I use ASANA religiously to store, organize, and track every little detail/task with each lead and client project. Everything, no matter how small, is entered as a task and dated. When I tell a customer I will contact them next Wednesday if I don’t hear back from them sooner, I 100% deliver on that promise. When I have photoshoot planning meetings with clients, I will go over next steps with them, providing the step and the date it will be done. You CANNOT trust your mind or pen/paper. You have to have a digital system of tools in place to track everything so that your clients never question if you will come through or not.
3. Immediately respond to leads every time – This is somewhat related to number 2. Sorry if it feels redundant, but it is critical. When a lead calls you, emails you, or text messages you, respond back to them AS SOON AS POSSIBLE every time. This will earn you more business than a nice looking portfolio. The lead is hot in the moment. The person wants to talk, and he or she may already be ready to “buy.” The more time you give them to walk away, the more time they have to change their minds or find another provider. So, if someone emails me and is interested in senior portraits AND if I have the time in the moment, I pull up my senior initial response email with my package info and next step question “Would you like to move forward with booking or would you like to set up a personal discovery meeting with me?” and I hit send. The lead sent an email and got a detailed response back in minutes. What does that tell them about this photographer they are thinking of spending hundreds of dollars on? He’s prompt, he cares, he’s professional, he’s ready, etc. Okay, but what if someone emails you Mark and you don’t have the time to email back? I jump on my phone and send a text like this, “Hey there Tina, this is Mark from Mark J Media. Thanks so much for considering me for your son’s senior portraits. I got your email, but I’m currently at work. Yep, real guy with a real job. hahaha! Is it okay if I email you tonight with details?” Most leads text right back something like, “Wow! That was quick. No problem on the delay. I’m at work too. Slaving away. LOL.” I can then send another text back making a joke and continuing to inject the human element. Then when I get home I email them and text them to give them a heads up. Leads are usually impressed that you took time out of your work day to acknowledge their message and that you prioritized the email after a long day of work.
All the wisdom you’ve shared today is sincerely appreciated. Before we go, can you tell us about the main challenge you are currently facing?
I don’t want this to come of as arrogant, but my number one challenge right now is the amount of leads coming in. I have a full-time job, a wife, a toddler, a home, church volunteering, family and friends, and then I’m shooting once or twice every week it seems. I’m at a spot where I would like to slow down, but it’s hard to pass up the extra money. I know that can seem like a good thing, but when it leads to burn out all of the areas suffer.
I’m at that critical point where I either have to just stop taking as many jobs, raise my prices to make the same/more with less work, or change the business model (e.g., recurring high-paying events vs. portraits and brand shoots). It’s very scary to change things up when you are doing well and things are steady/reliable, even though you know making the change will be to your benefit in the long run.
I’ve started testing out new pricing here and there. I’ll get final changes in place in January. My wife and I area also planning to map out our year in January to designate time where I can take gigs and times where I can’t. I’ve also set some rules in place for deciding when I take time off of my full-time job to do photo gigs. If the gig doesn’t make me 4 days of my full-time job in one day, then I don’t take time off of work. Otherwise, I book everything after work and on the weekends.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://markjmedia.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/markjmedia
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markjmediapgh
Image Credits
All photos taken, edited, and owned by Mark J Media
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
