Business for Photographers: Best Business Advice Ever: Don’t be a Jerk. Ever.

Maya Angelou said “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

Sound advice, seems like a no brainer, right? I cannot stress this enough in business… I tell all of my students this when we talk about business for photographers. Especially when working with women – which let’s be honest, most purchase decisions are made by women. Men may rule the world, but women often rule the pursestrings. Women account for 85% of all consumer purchases, across the board with various items and services. Even if you don’t deal with women who want to purchase your products or services regularly, eventually, you will. And this rule still holds true for men too!

At WPPI this year, I was looking at a specific lighting product. This particular light is about $2,000 – definitely not cheap, an investment in my studio. I waited in quite a line to ask some questions of the man working there, and when I got in front of him, he looked me up and down and started talking to the man behind me.

I don’t know if it was because I was female, because of the sequin lips on my shirt, or my glitter on my eyelids – but he made me feel like shit. I wasn’t good enough for him, I wasn’t worth his time. Maybe he thought I couldn’t afford the light. Maybe he didn’t like the fact that I’m a larger woman. Maybe he didn’t like my flip flops. In the end, it doesn’t really matter WHY – the point is that he treated a potential customer horribly, for no discernible reason.

Now, every time I get an email from this company, AFTER I have unsubscribed from their mailing list, I report it as spam. I’m tempted to write a strongly worded letter not only to the company, but to the many photographers that have spotless reputations that advertise for this company. These might be the best lights available – they have a lot of celebrities touting their capabilities, they seem pretty freakin’ cool. But I will never spend a dime with this company, because I will not tolerate being treated this way.

Business for photographers 101: treat everyone you work with wonderfully. Clients, other photographers, business owners, everyone!

How are your clients feeling when they talk with you? How do your potential clients feel when you interact with them? There will be a lot of times that clients are wrong. The customer is always right is crap, and we all know that. But when those instances come up, how do you treat someone? Do you treat them with respect and explain things easily, and work together for a resolution? Or do you make them feel like a dumbass for even asking?

If a newbie in your industry wants to meet with you and you truly don’t have the time, are you a jerk to them? After all, how dare they even ask, right? Or are you kind, explaining the current situation – that it just isn’t possible right now?

If you meet with a potential client who drives up in a beater car, are you treating them with the same respect and care as you do the client who drives up in a Mercedes? Assumptions can kill your business, and making these assumptions about people based on shallow interactions, without truly getting to know someone, can be dangerous.

Whether they’re your ideal client or not, treat every person with kindness. They will always remember how you made them feel. Even if they’re not a good fit for your services, when they come across someone that is, they will refer you if you treat them well and made them feel amazing.