FULL TRANSCRIPT: Please note this transcript was generated by AI and may contain errors.

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You’re listening to the Portrait System podcast

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When we get an objection, we’re not saying, Oh no, let’s go back to the previous why we say no. What is it going to take for us to get to the people that are going to be able to do this? And then we just go out and just, you know, you know, see how we can do that?

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This is the Portrait System Podcast, a show that helps portrait photographers and people hoping to become one. Navigate the world of photography, business, money and so much more. We totally keep it real. We share stories about the incredible ups and the very difficult downs when running a photography business. I’m your host, Nikki Closser, and the point of this podcast is for you to learn actionable steps that you can take to grow your own business and also to feel inspired and empowered by the stories you hear.

My guest today is Yagazie Eguare, and she built an impressive photography business in Lagos, Nigeria.

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When Yagazie decided she wanted to be an entrepreneur, she knew she wanted to be more than a solo entrepreneur. At the beginning of her career, she was loading her gear into taxis to get to her client’s homes. And after only a few years, she now has a team of people who also do photoshoots. They help with marketing and everything else that comes with running a photography business. Yagazie shares so much about just how she maintains an over $2500 average in Nigeria, how she finds her clients and what it’s like working with and managing a team of people.

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I am very honored to have learned more about her and what she does, and I’m so excited that I get to introduce her to you today. OK, let’s get started with your Garcia igual. Hi Yagazie, how are you?

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Hi, Nikki, I am also doing very well. So excited to be here.

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I’m excited to have you. I feel very honored. Will you tell everyone where you are located?

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So I am in Lagos, Nigeria.

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So cool. Have you always lived there?

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I have always lived in Nigeria since I was born. Yes, but I have traveled quite a bit. But I am currently based in Lagos, Lagos. It’s one of the states in Nigeria. OK, well, a major state. Yeah.

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OK, OK. And have you always been a photographer? I mean, at least in your adult life?

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Not always. So well, this this year would be my 10th year as a photographer. Well, the 10 year I went into, I just started exploring my journey as a photographer. So when if you see adult life from after university, then yes. But before doing university? No. Yes. So I saw my photography 2012. That’s when I really just went into photography.

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Yeah, OK. Is that where you went to school for?

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No, no, no. So I mean, I went to school. I studied as an optometrist.

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Oh, interesting

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in school, yes. But all the while, though, I’ve been very fascinated about fascinated about photography cameras. And just ’cause I would always steal my mum’s camera when you know, when I was younger, I would take all the pictures. I would get lost in front in my computer, just editing, you know, I would do all of these things, but I never thought that I would be a photographer. I just thought it was one of those things that people would just do on the side, you know, just like you hobby. So nothing that nothing really serious.

00:03:15:29 – 00:03:59:08

So yeah, so it was after university that, you know, while I was doing university was I was sure that I wasn’t going to practice. But I mean, they’re usually at the university. There is the two year compulsory you have to do like an internship and you have to, you know, do some community service for the country for one year. So I was certain that after I was done with those two years that I wasn’t, I wasn’t going to practice, but I wasn’t certain what I was going to do. But then again, you know, photography was that thing that I just had as a hobby that I really loved and I was just like, you know, let me just learn about it so that I can have something that I’m doing, you know? Well, but you know, I wasn’t living in Lagos state at the time, which is more like just like the cosmopolitan city of Nigeria.

00:03:59:16 – 00:04:29:15

So I moved to Lagos state, and that’s when I got a bit of training and I saw that photography was, you know, well, more advanced in Lagos than where I was coming from. And it was at that point that I realized, Oh, wow, this is really what I wanted to do. All the while, you know, and I think the major reason why I didn’t see it as something that I could do because I didn’t really see good examples around me, you know that portrait photography in these successful ways, I thought, OK, you know what? This is not something for successful people, and I’m going to be successful.

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Yeah, yeah. I always felt the same too that. Photography was just a hobby, like growing up. It just wasn’t a career that was ever encouraged by my parents or I didn’t know anyone who actually made money doing photography. It was like just something we did for fun to take photos of your friends like it. Just for some reason, it was just never something that I ever thought would be possible. So yeah, it’s interesting.

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That’s interesting because you would think, you know, we would think that. Oh, no. That’s just the way it is here, but I mean, hearing you say that, so apparently that’s how it is every other place.

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A lot of the people I’ve interviewed on this podcast have said the same thing. And like, I had a dad, at least as a young girl before, you know, when I still live with them where it wasn’t like, You’re going to be an artist. I mean, it was, you’re going to be an engineer or a teacher or, you know, you’re going to go to college and like, there just wasn’t any discussion of creativity. So it’s interesting how you went from optometry  to photography, I know? Wow. You know, there was an episode we have off to look up what number it was, where her mom, I interviewed her.

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She’s a photographer. Her mom found out that she had cancer from a photo of her eye. Yeah, it was episode number 84 Zucchero Mohammed. She that’s her mom, saw the her eye and was like, something’s wrong with her eye and that she took it to an optometrist. And that’s how they found out she had cancer from a photo. So that while,

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oh wow, just look at that.

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Wow, I know. Well, anyway, OK, so so you come out of university, you know, studying optometry. And then at what point did you decide? I know you said that you realize, you know, once you went back to Lagos that it was like, OK, this is a possibility, but it did. You were just like, you said goodbye to your schooling and you were like, I’m doing this full time, or how did you do that transition?

00:06:26:16 – 00:07:01:06

No, I definitely didn’t. I mean, of course, you know, it wasn’t. I I was. I’m also coming from my background and, you know, parents that don’t see photography, as something that anyone ought to pursue full time. So after school, you know, everyone thought I was still like, I was clean, you know, they were just like, you know, of course, I had to do the compulsory one year internship. I had to do the Community National Youth Service for one year again. So that’s two years. So within those three years, I was still shooting, but then I was working actively as an optometrist.

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So my parents, they weren’t worried because they were like, Oh, you know what’s? You know? Don’t worry, you’re going to get tired of this hobby anyways. Then it’s like, This is how these things go, right? But then, you know, for me, I just kept thinking like, you know, I had always imagined, you know, I wanted a life that was living it fully and just happy, and I wasn’t just chasing too many things at the same time. So by the time I was done with the second year, which was at the time I was going to now make the decision, I started asking myself, Would you be able to handle being an optometrist and the photographer? And the answer for me then was, no, because, you know, I’m very driven, you know, and I was like, If I’m going to be an optometrist, I want to rise to the pinnacle of my career.

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If I want to be a photographer, I want to be very good at it. So and there is absolutely no way I can be very good at two things at the same time. So and I decided, you know what? I’m just going to choose. One thing I think was that time when I decided, You know what? This life is my life. I’m going to take responsibility for my life. And I understand that my parents love me and you know, every other person doesn’t really understand or see what I’m seeing because I just saw I just felt like it was almost like, I feel like this photography was he was just more than it was like a calling, like, there’s something here for you. And I felt so much joy and fulfillment.

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And, you know, I didn’t want anyone calling me a doctor too much. I just thought them, just call me a photographer. So it was at 2013, 2014. That was a time that I write, you know, that was when I was done. I was like, You know what? I’m just going to go into photography. But then again, I’ll tell my parents, You know what? I’m just going to. I’m still looking for a job. You know, I want to get a job just to get them to just be chill. Whereas that I think it was 2015, and I think I have a conversation with my dad and he was still saying, you know, I used to go down and get the job. Those point, I just told him, You know what? I’m not going to get a job anymore. This is what I want to do, and this is what it is.

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This is my life right now, and I’m sorry it was hard for him. But then again, you know, I knew that I had to make that decision. So it wasn’t it wasn’t easy, but it was one of the most courageous things I have had to do.

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Yeah, yeah, I believe it. I believe it. And here you are 10 years later. And do your parents, how do they feel now about what you do?

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I mean, they feel they’re happy and they’re proud of me. You know, seeing all the different things I’ve been able to do and how I have evolved as a photographer and not just, you know, seeing now I’ve evolved. I mean, it’s not just me anymore. You know, I have, you know, I’m building a photography company and having, you know, it’s now seeing me, not just as a photographer anymore. They see me. She’s an entrepreneur. You already know that she’s really good at what she’s doing, you know? So they are seeing this evolution and it’s, you know, they’re happy about it and they’re proud of it.

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And they, you know, they’re just at peace now with everything. Yeah.

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I mean, I think our parents, they want what’s best for us, right? And they absolutely. They see those careers that are stable and have good health insurance and good or at least in the states. I don’t know. You know, and it’s like, they want what’s best for us. And I’ve joked, if my dad was alive still, when I switch out of my like, really stable school social work. Career, he would have been like, what are you doing like he would have it, so, you know, it just takes time, I think, to prove that there is another life other than just these typical careers, you know? So absolutely.

00:10:12:12 – 00:10:26:26

Yeah. So, OK. So speaking of success, I mean, it sounds like you have been really, really successful with what you do. So can you tell everyone just a little bit about what you shoot? You know, do you shoot in a studio on location like just give us a little summary of your business?

00:10:27:04 – 00:11:05:10

So I am a portrait and wedding photographer, so I started out as a wedding photographer primarily. Well, yeah, more into business. So the first major job that I got was as a wedding photographer. And it’s the reason it is the most common here, and I’m sure in most parts of the world anyways. So I started out as a wedding photographer, but I realized that I’ve always been very, very fascinated about humans and just people. So after I had my first child, I realized that, you know what? I needed to go back into portrait because I felt like, you know, I was in a bit of portraits, but then you had to really go back into it in the sense that, OK.

00:11:05:15 – 00:11:16:18

I mean, it wasn’t as time consuming. And then, you know, I also get the opportunity to really connect with people on, you know, more directly. And yeah, explore that. This fascination that I have about

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humans as opposed to weddings. Do you mean?

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Yeah, as opposed to weddings?

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Yeah, OK. So I thought, OK, just yes.

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Yes, yes, I was doing weddings first. So, yeah, so then I went into poetry. So now I am primarily a portrait photographer. I do a little bit of weddings, but you know, right now the primary source of income is, you know, portrait photography. So I’m I launched out, you know, fully into portrait from 2016, 2016. That was when I opened up, you know, my studio Gazmado studios, you know, I kind of rebranded from my photography to Gazmado Studios.

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And, you know, I just really started this. I started taking myself seriously and taking my business seriously and now asking myself, You know, why are you doing this? You know, what kind of business do you want to build? Who is doing what you’re doing? And I believe I think that was the yeah, really. I think I got into Sue Bryce Education I believe in 2015, 2016. So right now, I’m a portrait and wedding photographer, family portrait photographer. So really, what I do is I’m very fascinated about the woman, right? And I see myself as someone who celebrates and empowers the everyday woman to really see herself and, you know, become all that she has been called to do.

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Right. So, you know, we do the we do a lot of personal branding portraits, we do glam portraits as well as family portraits as well.

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Yeah, OK. Very cool. So you do most of these things in studio and you focus on photographing women for the most part.

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Yes. Yes. So what we do, most of these things in studio, we do a bit of on location, but we since we have a studio, we do maybe 70 percent of our sessions happening in the studio. And then the other 30 percent is probably on location. Yeah, OK.

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And you said we is it just you on your team because you said we? I’m just wondering if it’s, you know, do you have other photographers or is it just you?

00:13:17:18 – 00:13:29:27

Yes, I do have all the photographers. So on my team, I have a team of four photographers. I am the lead creative and then I have three other photographers that also.

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Great. Yes. Yes. Very cool. Can you tell us a little bit about how that works, huh?

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So it’s very interesting because, you know, when I started out as a photographer, you know, in the business, I realized that I wasn’t I didn’t necessarily want to build a solo business. You know, the the business I envisioned was something that was going to involve other people, as well as building other people and really getting them to align with, you know, the vision. And you know what it is that we’re really doing. So, you know, I started out, you know, having interns and, you know, really raising the interns and then, you know, they become they becoming photographers as well.

00:14:13:15 – 00:14:32:14

And of course, ensuring that they were aligning to really what it is that we’re doing and they also connected to the vision personally. So I’m the I’m the photographer, the photographer. So there are sessions that are specific to me. And then there are also sessions that my team takes, and the clients are very much aware of that.

00:14:32:23 – 00:14:45:10

OK, gotcha. Yeah. So is it something that your team members, they have things that they’re really good at and that they like doing, and you stick with what you like doing? And is that kind of how you divide it up?

00:14:45:27 – 00:15:19:13

Yes. So let’s say from one of the photographers, she’s more into documentaries, so she does a lot or a lot more documentary photography. So when we have like weddings and all of those, she’s she’s more involved in the setting in that genre. Photography, whether you admire the team members, that they also do portraits as well. Yeah, so some of the I mean, they should women, mostly everybody shoots women the most. You know, we also shoot men but, I think, is just about really getting people that understand. And we’re able to connect with what we do.

00:15:19:23 – 00:15:54:25

You know, the vision like our approach to photographing women and for them also, they connected to that. So he’s not necessarily saying, Oh, this is what we do. You have to do it right. But you also training them in such a way that, you know, I be able to connect with this. Do you see yourself? I, you see him, you know? You know, do you see the transformation that can cause you connect with it? So I think that’s one of the things I’ve been able to do with my team and gets into them to the point where is not just you, they’re not just doing this out of the mere fact of, Oh, I just want to do this, but you know, they really do personally connect with it.

00:15:54:27 – 00:15:58:25

So those are shooting portraits, a lot of shooting portraits. Mm hmm.

00:15:58:27 – 00:16:16:21

Yeah. OK, cool. And then I know people out there are going to be wondering because we’ve had people asking lately, like, how do you add an associate photographer? How do you build a team or whatever? So I know people are going to ask how the pay works like our people paid hourly. Are they paid a percentage of sales, like how do you manage that part of it?

00:16:17:28 – 00:16:58:25

So is that right now we do a salary based payment. Every photographer ends is salary at the end of the month includes myself inclusive. OK. Yeah. So yeah, so not just maybe on some projects or when we have to do like out of town, you know, out afterwards. But then there’s a bit of allowances that, you know, committed here and there. Yeah, but you know, there is so really where we where one of the things we really are, you know, doing more of is really creating a structured system around, you know, the work that we do in such a way that, you know, that allows people still get the benefits of, you know, being employed in an organization.

00:16:58:27 – 00:17:08:01

You know what it would be like being employed by an organization and not just yeah. So I mean, that’s a system that has worked for me and you know that I am currently doing so I don’t do the.

00:17:08:03 – 00:17:26:09

Yeah, yeah, OK. Like, how did you find these the people to work for you? Because I feel like that’s one of the things that people struggle with is, I know, finding people that work well on your team and are great with clients and are planning on staying for a while, like, did you have luck with that?

00:17:27:06 – 00:18:16:26

Yeah, I would seek God’s help. So we find him. So we find them. I think one of the things is, you know, when I hire, I do necessary. Well, I haven’t really gotten to the point where I’m just I’m just I just I’m just going out and hiring photographers. So I hire interns. So I invest a lot into training. Yeah, I invest a lot into training. So training, I’m building my team members, raising them continuously. So I think one of the way you know is something that’s, you know, a lot of people find challenging because I also feel like it’s not everybody that they know, people know really sold into training and really leading and also being, you know, carrying the team along as though they are part of, you know, because you can hire or you can hire someone so you have someone.

00:18:16:28 – 00:18:50:02

But then again, you’re running the business all by yourself and the person doesn’t see themselves like, I don’t see myself in here. I don’t see I don’t know what is going on. I don’t know, like, where are we going to? And Oh, look, this is all really carrying my team along and constantly, you know, having a very, very open line of communication where, you know, we’re able to go through everything, you know, consistently but training has been a major, major core. And, you know, maybe we need training them and also raising them as the leaders in the sense that they take a lot of responsibility over things.

00:18:50:04 – 00:19:20:26

So over their clients, they take responsibility over their clients. So you’re not going to have a session and then there’s a difficulty, then I have to come in and say, Oh, no, no, no, no, unless it’s like, you know, it gets to, you know, it’s it’s something that’s completely out of your hands. So even if there’s a difficultly, I would guide you into solving it as again, solving the problem. So they feel like, you know, owners as well, you know, being part of the business as against just, you know, being an employee or someone you’re just working for. I don’t know that. I love that. That explains the.

00:19:21:03 – 00:19:21:18

Yeah.

00:19:21:20 – 00:19:52:03

Yeah, that’s really smart. It’s really smart because I think sometimes there can become, you know, depending on the relationship, there could become some sort of like a resentment towards the boss or, you know, the one who’s like maybe making more of an income even though it’s their business and they’ve built it. And so, yeah, so that’s good. I love that. I love that mentality. OK, so you know, a lot of times people will say like, Oh, you know, the prices that Sue recommends for industry standard like you can’t you can only charge that in New York or L.A.

00:19:52:05 – 00:20:07:17

or Chicago, you know, in the States, maybe the, you know, London or some of these. And I know Lagos is a very, very large city. Yes, but for people who say you can’t do that here, like tell us a little bit about how it’s been in Nigeria, you know, with with your pricing,

00:20:08:17 – 00:20:43:26

you know, I used to have that mentality as well, you know, when they started, I mean, Sue Bryce education. I don’t think I’m like, what I don’t even understand is who is going to even pay this like it’s not even possible. But I mean, one thing that helped me is, you know, also seeing someone that has been able to crack that and that someone being T Y Bello and then I’m thinking, I’m like, you know, T Y is able to do this, you know, there is. His building has built a business around this, and he’s been able to attract the right people to hire into her brand.

00:20:43:28 – 00:21:17:24

So what is it going to take? What do I need to do to be able to, you know, start to get people to understand or be able to value my work? You know, like this and all of the thing that I realize is I had to believe first that it was possible. Definitely, you know, and I think, you know, just you just eliminating that, oh no, this only happens zero because for me, it no of right, even as I know, you know, as that last year, I was telling my team like the most of problematic clients, actually the clients that come from abroad, you know, they come from like the U.S..

00:21:17:26 – 00:21:37:03

So, you know, like when they’re coming from the US, back to Nigeria and they’re like, Oh, you know what? You know, we’re not going to get something cheaper here, and then we get to introduce, Oh, you’re going to pay for a special fee and then these are the images they’re going to pay for and all of those things. Yeah, we find them more problematic to be honest. Sorry about

00:21:39:15 – 00:22:23:08

the Nigerian based clients, right? So I knew that first of all, what I had to work on was I need to work on myself. I went to work on myself, self value, how I saw myself, how I valued myself because that was, you know, I needed to project an image because I realized that is the energy that I project. That’s really what people feed off and people what people decide. OK, this is the reason why I’m going to buy or not buy, right? And then one of the things I really did was I really soaked myself into all of the lessons I to teach is like, I’m just, I’m, you know, I’m this old I found out to, you know, and really everyone, you know, like the sales, everyone, I’m like thinking, OK, how can I apply this in my own market? Because I believe that the people, I mean, Nigeria.

00:22:23:26 – 00:23:13:26

I mean, there are wealthy people here. There are so many people. There are lots of people that I have the money and we need to spend spend it. But the only thing is that do they see you as valuable enough to be able to spend that amount of money? Have you built a business that is able to communicate and attract the kind of value that you desire? So, you know, that was it for me. So I wouldn’t say is, you know, it’s from the clients or from. It was the work that I needed to do myself. So the fact that before I didn’t believe it was because I had on the value myself, I had measured my value based on maybe what I was used to or where I was coming from, or, you know, what I had in my pocket and all of those things and not understanding that, you know, there is so much value in the work that I do and now understanding that this is also my responsibility to effectively communicate that to my clients.

00:23:13:28 – 00:23:45:12

And then, you know, say getting a no doesn’t necessarily mean it means maybe next opportunity or it means that there’s going to be another time and just being staying consistent and, you know, staying together and saying, OK, you know what? This is what I want my average to be, and this is what how many Sessions is going to take for me to do this. This is what the price is going to be. And these are the when we get an objection, we’re not saying, Oh no, let’s go back to the previous. I will say no, what is it going to take for us to get to the people that are going to be able to do this? And then we just go out and just, you know, see how we can do that?

00:23:45:26 – 00:23:53:14

Yeah, I love that. I love that mentality and it really does all come back to us and it doesn’t hurt that you’re really beautiful work, too. That helps.

00:23:53:27 – 00:23:54:18

Oh, yes. Yes.

00:23:54:26 – 00:23:56:15

Your work is really gorgeous.

00:23:56:17 – 00:23:57:08

Thank you so

00:23:57:10 – 00:24:01:25

much. I love all your color tones and just such such beautiful work.

00:24:01:27 – 00:24:03:15

Thank you company for me.

00:24:03:28 – 00:24:19:00

OK, but yes it does. It does go back so much to just what we’re putting out there and being the photographer that people really want to book and when you feel that confidence in the value it radiates from you and people want that.

00:24:19:16 – 00:24:22:18

Yes. Yes, yes, yes. Yes, yes.

00:24:22:26 – 00:24:23:20

It radiates. Great.

00:24:24:01 – 00:24:38:19

So, so good. Yeah, I had to talk to you. I was talking to your clients when this was like the way you talk about this photography thing. I just want to. I want to do it. So and I realized I was the confidence that I was exuding that, you know, people, that it was just that. Maybe just so attractive.

00:24:38:26 – 00:24:50:17

Yeah, right. Right? It’s true. It’s true. OK, so then tell us a little bit about how your pricing works and your just your packages and your structure. Or do you have packages? Do you do a la carte and how your pricing works?

00:24:51:13 – 00:25:27:16

OK, so we have the personal branding sessions and then we have the glam and the family sessions, right? So the pricing is a bit. For two, the two of them. So with the personal branding sessions, we do the packaging, you know where we just have one. I think it’s these two packages, two different packages that that is inclusive of images, right? OK. Because, you know, we kind of saw that, you know, people just wanted something that they could, you know, we had gone over it over it, but we went outside without having the package system for that, both for glam sections and the family sessions.

00:25:27:18 – 00:25:43:13

We do the, you know, there’s a session fee people pay for a session fee and our session fee, you know, the pay out in the month to fifty thousand, which is about, I think, 400 to 500 dollars.

00:25:43:23 – 00:25:46:24

Yep. And that’s just the session fee itself.

00:25:47:05 – 00:26:26:09

Yeah. Yeah, that’s the session fee itself. So the session fee covers, of course, the shooting time or the number of outfit changes. It comes with hair, it comes with makeup it doesn’t come with. So we don’t this. We don’t do wardrobe styling yet. So most times people come with the outfit changes and all. Yeah. Then afterwards, you know, people now portraits their portraits in packages. Yeah, the package is inclusive of the images the world portrayed. And then, you know, either the motto prints, depending on the package they choose or the albums, they can also choose to a la carte to you to just price range.

00:26:26:13 – 00:26:26:28

Yes.

00:26:27:16 – 00:26:30:14

Awesome. And then do you know what your average sale is? At this point,

00:26:31:04 – 00:26:41:24

it’s between two five to three thousand dollars. It’s that Oh, that means I need to get the exact, you know, as that’s when I calculated it’s towards the end of last year.

00:26:42:03 – 00:26:53:19

That’s amazing. Yeah, that’s a really high average. That’s incredible. Good for you. And it’s so cool, too, that you have this whole team around you. So it’s not like you have to be the one constantly working and just, yeah,

00:26:53:21 – 00:26:54:06

always

00:26:54:24 – 00:27:02:21

doing everything yourself and to have other people who are also bringing in income and you’re providing them with an amazing career.

00:27:02:28 – 00:27:33:18

Yeah, cool. And you know, they I also challenge them to also have their own averages as well, you know, because you know, they know what what you know, they know sessions that are specific to them and what it what they are bringing in. So I challenge them to have their, you know, telling them to raise their average because they see how I consistently raise mine. So it’s almost like your your your growing individually. But we’re all together on there. And, you know, under a business on their company.

00:27:33:20 – 00:28:04:08

Yeah, yeah, I love this. I love this so much. It just it feels like it’s not that you just and you said it. I’m trying to remember exactly how you said it is. You didn’t want to be a solopreneur. You wanted to have like a company sort of situations. And I feel like going into that what that mindset is really, really smart. You know, there’s just something about being able to to grow your team. And and I think often people go into this as they’re just going to be a photographer and it’s just going to be them.

00:28:04:10 – 00:28:19:01

That’s how I went into it. It didn’t even occur to me that I would have a team. Where as it sounds like pretty early on. Yeah, yeah. What is it? What do you find our like? Are there any like difficulties or struggles with having having a team?

00:28:19:26 – 00:28:58:18

Well, of course there are difficulties and there are struggles. You know, things are not always going to go your way in the sense that if you’re a control freak, so to speak, you’re going to get frustrated a lot, you know, because again, you know, everybody, everybody is not working at the same pace as you are. You know, they have they they can, they have the capacity to. So, you know, just that’s it requires a lot of patience, right? And it also requires compassion, and it requires a lot of commitment to raising people.

00:28:58:25 – 00:29:28:28

And that’s the way that I see it. So it’s a it’s a great thing, but is also a challenge in aspect in the sense that, you know, things are going to go wrong and it’s not going to be directly your fault is going to be from your team member. So you’re going to need to apply a lot of emotional intelligence and leadership. And you know what happens? That’s when things go that way. Right. So those those for me, I would say, you know, those are the challenges when you’re just like, You know what I do, I’m not sure I want to carry this number of people can just be me.

00:29:29:04 – 00:30:09:15

You know, the days that your tired your so that you just remember, like, it’s not just you like, you can’t just wake up and say, this is because there are people that are really holding on and hanging on to this, you know, with you. So it’s great. But I would say that, you know, those are the areas that I’ve really found the most challenging just. And also bringing in someone new, bringing in someone new and really aligning them to what you stand for. So what’s your definition of excellence? Is to what the brand is about, to what you guys stand for, what your values, what is your culture, what is all of those things? You know, because for me, it’s not just about bringing someone in and saying, Oh you’re just going to work for me.

00:30:09:17 – 00:30:29:04

No, you have to fit into who we are. Yeah, what we represent and you have to understand that and you have to be able to carry that, you know, along. I don’t have to be here for, you know, someone to say, Oh, this is Yagazie’s studio too for them to get the experience. Yeah. So I think that’s that’s a challenging aspect of it for me.

00:30:29:16 – 00:30:45:00

Yeah, that makes sense. I mean, I would yeah, I can definitely see all of those things. And it’s funny when you said, it’s like if you want to be someone who’s micromanaging, I feel like that’s going to be really hard. You know, like, you have to kind of let go of the control for sure.

00:30:45:11 – 00:30:46:27

Exactly. And let’s talk a

00:30:46:29 – 00:30:52:10

little bit about marketing. How do you how do you market to get your clients and does your team help you with that?

00:30:52:23 – 00:31:28:09

So as far as marketing is concerned, we’ve explored different marketing channels, you know, for work, not as much as we would love to, but we’ve explored quite a bit. So for I would say one, we use social media. We do a lot of social media marketing. We’ve been very active and very intentional and strategic with, you know, our social media platform, you know, social media ads, you know, to for more brand awareness. So for us with social media is really getting more people aware of the brand and just being in the minds of people.

00:31:28:27 – 00:32:03:24

We use email marketing as well. Email marketing has become one of the quite one that we’ve been. We’ve explored quite a bit in almost two years now and has been quite quite interesting and quite successful as well because true whoever comes into our systems, so to speak, you know, we’re kind of moving them into like a community and referral marketing is also really major. And in fact, one of the major drivers for us because we’re very big on relationships, so we’re very big on ensuring that our clients keep coming back and they refer us to friends and families.

00:32:03:26 – 00:32:33:26

And, you know, we don’t just hope that they do. We actually request through our process, which are the way collaborations collaboration has been big in terms of for the past three years consecutively we have collaborated with, you know, a Nigerian clothing brand in the beginning of the year. So we ingdo. This major collaboration is called the Lady Boss Portraits, so we collaborate through the clothing brand and together we come together to put together a campaign that is targeted ads. You know, people working people, you know more.

00:32:33:28 – 00:33:06:12

Is it personal branding campaign? Well, more extensive will be because through the collaboration, we’ve been able to leverage, you know, because they are also a, you know, a very well known premium clothing brand in Nigeria. We as well. So that has helped really establish the brand a lot and really, really helped our marketing and also do in order to about about three campaigns in a year. So those are those, I would say, the major marketing, networking as well, networking, networking as well.

00:33:06:23 – 00:33:09:15

Those are the different channels that we’ve explored.

00:33:09:28 – 00:33:45:27

This is really great. I think sometimes people think that there is just this. We get that question actually, sometimes in the Facebook group where people are like, what’s the one thing you do that gets you clients? And it’s like, Oh, there just isn’t just one. There’s one thing and you are such a great example of you’ve got to put in the work with your marketing and your social media is great. I mean, you have you have a pretty large social media following, yes, but social media doesn’t always translate to bookings, No, no. So yes, it’s brand awareness, and I love that you’re that you have the email marketing component, the collaboration component.

00:33:45:29 – 00:33:53:09

This, you know, campaigns. It sounds like you’ve done a lot of a lot of work to get where you’re at with your business. And it’s great.

00:33:54:01 – 00:34:27:07

Yes. Yes, we’ve done a lot of work and we’re still doing more work every single time because I mean, the industry is growing more and more. And as much as it’s great, I think first of all, understanding that there are people that actually need your service and you have to go out there, it’s it’s a disservice to yourself and to the universe that the people that need your work, they do, they haven’t seen it. They don’t know about you and they don’t know how to find you. So that’s the way I see it. So I think that’s one of the things that really drives me as I see there are people that we need our work, our needs, our responsibility to ensure that we go.

00:34:27:09 – 00:34:30:05

We look for all the different avenues to ensure we reach them.

00:34:30:07 – 00:34:53:01

Yeah, totally, totally. Yagazie, that was such a good way to put it because people are not going to just come to our door and find us. Even if they do need our services, we have to. We have to find them. We have to show them that we’re available. And sometimes it’s not just one time like, OK, so let’s talk a little bit about your email marketing because you said you, you kind of convert them into your community. How does that work?

00:34:53:25 – 00:35:32:14

So I mean, we send we send out, we try to keep our. So anyone that comes in. To the Gazmado Studio, in comes into our email, where are you coming in to maybe an inquiry? You came in through a website or you, your client? I mean, we have different segments anyway. But then again, we have like a collective one. So we send weekly emails to our community, our email community, to just keep them abreast of what’s going on. You know, let them know we celebrate our clients, you know, maybe when they’ve done something we put out, maybe there’s any opportunity that you know, someone, you know, maybe that we saw that would be relevant to maybe a group and maybe someone sees it.

00:35:32:16 – 00:36:17:19

And then we also use that as an opportunity to now, you know, of course, remind them about having a session. Let them know if there are any offers, if there anything that way,myou know, really do. What we’re just trying to do is really get people to see us as a family sort of like, you know, sort of to build a community where they constantly have us top of mind. And, you know, every time, even if you haven’t booked a session, when you’re ready, you’re still going to think about us. If someone needs a session and you’re like, Oh, who’s that first manager that you want you to think about this? So and because they have had an experience with us, so to speak, maybe we’ve had a consultation zoom with them, you know, so it would be easier for them to book us than someone that just comes through Instagram because the person has had no experience with those whatsoever.

00:36:17:23 – 00:36:21:21

So that’s why we’re really holding on strongly to that, you know? And yeah,

00:36:21:27 – 00:36:56:20

absolutely. I love that. And I think sometimes people think just because a client maybe isn’t ready now, are they? They’re not interested in booking now doesn’t mean that they won’t ever. You’re just like priming them for when they are ready and what you just said is so smart. So it’s so good, so good. I love that I’m in the process of redoing and revamping my whole email community right now because I realize I just have not put the time and energy into it. And I’m so, so, so excited to do it. It’s one area on my marketing that I’ve fallen flat on, and I’m like, You just got me really excited.

00:36:56:22 – 00:37:29:17

I’m so pumped to do this, to just contribute more to email instead of like social media can be so draining to the point where it’s, Oh, I’m so it’s like my psyche needs a break, but I still want to be able to, you know, be in touch with my community and and clients and everything. So yeah, I’m I’m super excited about my email, so I’m glad you brought that up. And yeah, is there anything that you have found to be really helpful with email like email? It’s like, OK, let’s talk about the logistical part of it.

00:37:29:19 – 00:37:37:10

Like, Is there a specific, you know, company that you’ve used? You do it yourself. Did you hire someone?

00:37:38:00 – 00:38:13:12

We do it ourselves because for so we I started with MailChimp. I just MailChimp was great, but I just the MailChimp interface. I’m not sure that I’m so that  I love it that much. Yeah. And then we moved into another comfort kit. So ConvertKit has been great. So with writing the emails, we do it ourselves in the house. I don’t necessarily do it myself. So there’s someone, someone in my team that is in charge of that. It’s her responsibility to ensure that, you know, email goes out to our client base every week.

00:38:13:20 – 00:38:19:15

So I mean, we just that’s what what’s on the email ensure that it gets the approvals. Yeah.

00:38:20:02 – 00:38:24:05

Very cool. It sounds like you have built yourself a really amazing business.

00:38:24:18 – 00:38:27:10

I love it. Thank you, Nikki. It’s been a lot of work

00:38:29:11 – 00:38:53:25

and so much work to be a business, to be able to be an entrepreneur. Yet in the way people like I was talking to someone, you know, just like, why do people just sit down and say, You know what, I just want to go into my own business. It’s great nonetheless. But then again, they never tell you, like, it’s going to be this much work. You’re going to be that you’re going to be the market that you’re going to be. I mean, you’re going to be everything. You start to lose your mind that you realize, Oh my God, I need help.

00:38:55:04 – 00:39:29:05

Yeah, it’s true. Although I will say it’s like, I feel like now that you have all of these pieces built. OK, so you’ve been a photographer for 10 years, but building this particular side of your business with your team and everything that has only been a couple of years, right? Yeah, yeah. So I feel like give yourself a little bit more time and I bet you it isn’t going to miss so much work. It’s like we have to put it all in at the beginning. And then eventually, like with networking meetings, for example, I used to go to networking meetings like two times a month, sometimes three times a month.

00:39:29:12 – 00:39:42:09

I don’t even go to them anymore because of referrals. Just keep have kept coming from them. So it’s like you have to put the work in ahead of time in order, you know, building the website and everything. But then you’ve got this amazing website, and all you have to do is update it from time to time,

00:39:42:23 – 00:40:06:01

From time to time. Absolutely. I think consistency is actually major to everything that we do. You know, not doing it for the first time and you don’t get the results and then you pull away you. You actually have to stay there, sort of. And the rewards come. You know, a bit much. You know, it may not always come as fast as you desire to, but it doesn’t mean that it’s not working right.

00:40:06:03 – 00:40:21:28

That is a very wise statement right there, and I don’t want to scare people away by saying how much work it is. But I think it’s also everything doesn’t have to be done at once. You don’t have to have your email list, your social media, your collaboration, you know, everything done at one time. Just start somewhere.

00:40:22:00 – 00:40:56:06

Oh no, no, definitely. Not, definitely. Not, definitely. Not because I didn’t have all of these like I didn’t have. I mean, it was just like, like, you were just me. It was really just me. I didn’t even have a car. When I started as a photographer, I would go to clients houses. I would book a taxi. I didn’t have an assistant. I would carry everything. I would set it all myself and I would shoot them myself. So it’s like, you’re getting to here. And it’s like, No, that’s not the entire story. Let’s go back again and just realize that we have been going through this for there’s been a process to this.

00:40:56:08 – 00:41:23:27

I didn’t just wake up and, you know, there’s so much more ahead. And I think I think that it is very important that you mention that because it’s easy to just be like, Oh, you know, for me to get him reminded, you have to start anyways, right until you start, but you start to, you know, the the way you like clarity comes while you’re moving. It doesn’t come why you stay in one place and trying to figure it all out. You have to just start that. You have to just take one step and then, you know, you start having more clarity as you keep moving.

00:41:23:29 – 00:41:59:10

Yeah, definitely. And I would assume that it was probably hard back then when you didn’t have a car and loading all your gear into a taxi is so hard. Like, that sounds really hard as well. So I think sometimes we forget that yes, what we’re going through now with successful businesses feels hard. But when we look back to where we were when I was like charging next to nothing and yeah, constantly like editing my time away and backbreaking weddings and all of these things, it’s like, we have to look at where we were versus where we’re at now.

00:41:59:12 – 00:42:01:21

And have some perspective, you

00:42:01:23 – 00:42:37:13

know, very important, very, very important because it was really hard and I will do everything I would edit for hours. I would not sleep at night. I mean, those are one of the things that made me go into a bit of education because I think that a lot of people, you know, get the wrong perspective when they’re starting. And I’m just like, See, this has been, you know, I had my family was suffering and I had I had my first child and I thought then I thought I was just going to life was just going to be the same. I didn’t realize that. Wait. When you become a mother, it is a different ballgame altogether. Oh yeah.

00:42:37:15 – 00:42:42:09

So like, it’s just been so many curveballs. So many. Yeah, how

00:42:42:11 – 00:42:43:08

many kids do you have now?

00:42:43:26 – 00:42:50:16

Have two kids to go to kids? How old are they? Six years and four years in two months?

00:42:51:07 – 00:42:55:11

Oh yeah. So they were like babies like little when you were building all of this?

00:42:55:20 – 00:43:46:15

Yes, they were. I mean, yeah, there were babies. I mean, now they’re still babies. They’re not like grown or anything, you know? So I still need them very, very much invested as a mother. And you know, yeah, they all bring in. So it’s just I got to a point where I realized that you might. It’s still the same destination, but like the roots could change. Right. And just being open to changes along the way and seeing, you know, as your life changes, as your, you know, things change around you, what are the things? What are the modifications that need to come in in order to, you know, make this so it’s not necessary? So the way I was as a single woman is not necessarily how things are still going to be, what changes need to be made in my life, you know, so that I still have a life.

00:43:46:17 – 00:43:49:29

I’m still present for my family and I’m still able to run the business.

00:43:50:01 – 00:44:10:08

Yeah, and that’s what it’s all about. It really, truly is not letting our business take over our life to the point where we’re not enjoying it and enjoying our family and our just time doing whatever it is that we want to do besides work and and finding a way to balance it all is really just as important as having a stable income.

00:44:10:10 – 00:44:19:20

It’s yes. Yes, it is realizing that every day all those parts are really also important aspects of my life. Very important aspects of my life

00:44:19:24 – 00:44:36:29

is absolutely I love it. Well, awesome. Thank you for sharing all of that with us. I do have a couple more questions that I always ask at the end of each episode. If you don’t mind answering those. That’s fine. And the first one is what is something you cannot live without when you’re doing a photo shoot.

00:44:38:00 – 00:44:41:13

Music, my camera, music.

00:44:42:00 – 00:44:47:22

Nice. Is it just provide like the vibe of the shoot, you know, get you excited.

00:44:48:01 – 00:45:17:21

Yeah. So like the atmosphere. So atmosphere is really very important for me. So it creates an atmosphere that sort of allows. Every other thing, so because I mean, photography is not just it’s not just stick your camera and shoot, it’s yeah, the mood has to be the atmosphere has to be right. Also, the so that the clients, they’re comfortable and they’re able to they’re just they just feel, yeah. So music really does help yeah. A lot for me, and I love it.

00:45:18:07 – 00:45:22:17

Hmm. OK. OK. The second one is, how do you spend your time when you’re not working?

00:45:23:23 – 00:45:52:19

When I’m not working? I spend my time with my family, my husband and my kids. They, I mean, my kids are a handful. I love my husband and my kids are a handful. I mean, they’re enough to take all my time when I’m not shooting. I’m blessed that I also I also love to spend time with friends. I love to eat. So I go out to nice restaurants and I eat food. I love exploring restaurants, so I do that.

00:45:52:23 – 00:46:06:01

Yeah, me too. I’m the same. My kids are three and five, so they could also take up all my time. But I swear I spend so much time eating out. I love it. I love it. If I ever come to Lagos, I would love for you to take me to your favorite restaurants.

00:46:06:06 – 00:46:10:12

Oh yes, we have a lot of them in Lagos. You would love them.

00:46:10:20 – 00:46:17:20

I can imagine. Yeah, very cool. OK, number three, do you have a favorite inspirational quote?

00:46:18:16 – 00:46:48:28

So I mean, I’m very. A lot of the work that I do is very anchored on my my belief in God. So any inspirational quotes will come from the Bible, and I would say like some 16 verse eight, I need to seize. I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken for he’s right beside me. So he’s one of the scriptures that I love it a lot because it just reminds me that no matter what happens, you know, you’re good. You’re always going to be good.

00:46:49:09 – 00:46:59:13

Yeah, it’s beautiful. Yes, OK. And number four is what would you tell people who are just getting started with this whole photography journey?

00:47:00:28 – 00:47:37:13

I would see photography is such a beautiful. It’s such a beautiful carry. It’s such a beautiful journey like it has been one of them. You know, I’ve found it so fulfilling. I found it so beautiful. I found it. You know, and if this is what you really desire to do, just go for it. You know, and understand that your journey is unique and it’s specific to you. And there are people out there, no matter, regardless of how many photographers that are out there, there are still people out there that are for you.

00:47:37:15 – 00:48:08:18

So I would say, let nothing stop you and just start. You just have to start. And as you keep moving clarity, you know you gain more clarity. And of course, very, very major is, you know, just don’t underestimate the importance of investing in knowledge. I think that’s usually like is not enough to just get your gear. Yes, get your gear. But you would fast track your growth ridiculously if you invest consistently in the right knowledge.

00:48:08:22 – 00:48:36:11

Yeah. And I think Sue Bryce Education is just amazing that, you know it has been it’s oh gosh, I can’t even thank Sue enough because it has been one of the I could, you know, my story would never be complete without, you know, talking about Sue and Sue Bryce Education, how much you have helped. It has helped me as a photographer. And I think I speak for, you know, so many photographers out there, you know, it’s such an amazing platform. Such a gift, such a gift. Yeah. So that’s what I would say.

00:48:36:25 – 00:48:56:16

Definitely a lot of people feel that way. So it’s, you know, it’s always it’s always nice for her to hear that for sure from different, you know, different people. So awesome. And you also kind of give back like if people, well, first of all, I always ask, where can people find you online? But I also want to make sure you mention that you give back with your own education that you have your own education platform, right?

00:48:57:02 – 00:49:31:21

Yes. Yes, I do have, you know, very inspired by Sue as well, I have my educational platform here for photographers and especially creatives and what we are doing with Gazmado Education is really, you know, elevating the perspective people have of photography, you know, in Nigeria and within Africa and really helping photographers creative to up level their skills and build successful businesses so they can impact their world with their distinct gifts and talents.

00:49:31:29 – 00:50:05:01

So to the platform, we’ve been able to empower, you know, up to 7000 photographers, we have quite a robust email community. And I also run programs where I help, you know, other photographers that are just starting out, people that are just going into photography, you know, a beginner’s photography program. It’s an online photography program that helps people that just going into photography on exactly this step by step way on what and what they ought to do. And you know how they need to go about it because I find that, you know, it’s something that it’s not common out there.

00:50:05:03 – 00:50:47:17

And as much as YouTube is great, YouTube just just doesn’t give you that, you know, a structured knowledge system where you can just say, You know what, let me just get this, and you know, he’s just a bit all over the place, and I realized that was something that people needed. And with the business as well also helping, you know, just putting starting photographers to just see, how do you just put your business together in such a way that you know? And how do you start to change the way that you see yourself in such a way that you can build something that’s, you know, that would be consistent on that last for a bit and for anyone that is trying to say, OK, I want to I love the business model that you’re doing and you know, this is what I desire, you know, and just, you know, guiding them through it.

00:50:47:19 – 00:51:18:12

So that’s essentially what we do with Gazmado Education. In addition to that, we also we do we just do it for the first time. It’s hosting a conference that the AI Business and Creativity Conference. We hosted the first one last year in November, November 30 and December 1st, and is essentially just a conference for creatives. Generally, you know, any one of them creative in this sense, just empowering creatives with, you know? Yeah, really.

00:51:18:14 – 00:51:23:18

So that that’s those are the aspects of. The work that we do, we Gazmado education, yeah, yeah.

00:51:23:21 – 00:51:28:16

Very cool. And then if people are looking for you online, on social media, on your website, where should they go?

00:51:29:13 – 00:51:55:10

So if you’re looking for me online at Gazmado G a z m a d o,  that’s my personal business handle. Gazmado education for the education, and that’s my other studios. That’s for the portrait work for website WW w Gazmado Studios dot com W w w dot Gazmado education dot com that is the website Yes.

00:51:55:20 – 00:52:19:02

Fantastic. Thank you so much. Thanks again. I really, really appreciate you coming on and hear me. Nikki. Yeah. Yeah, this has been really great and I’m hoping that, you know, people in Nigeria and just we’ll hear your story and be like, OK, if she can do it, I can do it. And you know, it’s always feel great to just inspire other people. And yeah, I appreciate you sharing everything with us.

00:52:19:13 – 00:52:20:07

Absolutely.

00:52:21:09 – 00:52:54:01

Thank you so much for listening to the Portrait System Podcast. Your five-star reviews really help us to continue what we do. So, if you like listening, would you mind giving us a review wherever you listen? I also encourage you to head over to SueBryceEducation.com, where you can find all of the education you need to be a successful photographer. There are over 1,000 on-demand educational videos on things like posing, lighting, styling, retouching, shooting, marketing, sales, business, and self-value. 

There’s also the 90 Day Startup Challenge, plus so many downloads showing hundreds of different poses. We have to-do checklists for your business, lighting PDFs, I mean truly everything to help make you a better photographer and to make you more money. Once again, that’s SueBryceEducation.com.