561: Andre Toro – From corporate life to thriving photography business, the fast way.

PhotoBizX The Ultimate Wedding and Portrait Photography Business Podcast

Premium Members, click here to access this interview in the premium area

Andre Toro of www.andretorophotography.com is a US-based, Venezuelan mother of two.

Before photography, she was an electrical engineer with an MBA from MIT. She is a self-proclaimed nerd, math lover, and businesswoman to her core.

Five years ago, she had a life wake-up call following a massive concussion that stopped her for literally months.

She decided that life was too short not to follow her biggest passion, so she quit her corporate job and pursued photography full-time—a hobby she had loved until then.

When she started five years ago in photography, she had zero clients.

In 2023, her revenue was $440K, and she says she's just getting started!

She runs an IPS studio in Lexington, north of Boston, specialising in family portraits and headshots.

In this interview, learn how to evolve your business from zero to huge success by finding your direction and then going all in on the business side to grow and profit quickly.

Here's some more of what we covered in the interview:

• Career Change: From corporate engineer to full-time photographer after a life-altering concussion.
• Business Growth: Starting from zero, Andre grew her photography business to $440,000 in revenue in 2023.
• Taking the Leap: Leaving a high-paying job to pursue photography, supported by her husband.
• Niche and Pricing: Focusing on family portraits and holiday-themed sessions, earning up to $27,000 annually.
• Evolution of Style: Learning from industry experts, Andre's photography evolved from classic to emotive shots.
• Balancing Art and Business: Emphasizing business acumen over artistic talent for success.
• Targeting Ideal Clients: Prioritizing SEO, referrals, and repeat business for a steady client base.
• Marketing Strategies: Networking, referrals, and a business card-less approach at events.
• Profitable Business Model: Maintaining a 56% profit margin and focusing on scalability while delivering quality service.
• Identity Struggles: Overcoming the loss of identity post-career transition through confidence and passion.
• SEO and Marketing: Leveraging SEO strategies and planning podcast appearances for business visibility.
• Studio Management: Efficiently managing workflow and outsourcing editing for increased productivity.
• Photo Studio Efficiency: Showing all photos to clients but delivering only the best for a polished final product.
• Selling Wall Art: Designing custom wall art during in-home consultations for a personalized touch.
• Photo Framing Consultation: Creating custom collages and utilizing PDFs for wall design presentations.
• Enhanced Client Experience: Utilizing PDFs to focus on wall selection, providing a high-end, tailored experience.

What’s on Offer for Premium Members

If you’re on the fence about becoming a premium member, join with the $1 trial today and get access to the FULL interviews each week, a fantastic back catalogue of interviews, and have ALL future interviews delivered automatically to your phone or tablet.

Plus, special member-only interviews.

You'll also receive access to the members-only Secret Facebook Group, where you can connect with other Premium Members and interview guests to help, support and motivate you to take ideas you hear in each episode and put them into action. The group also has FB live video tutorials, role-play, and special live interviews. You will not find more friendly, motivated, caring and sharing photographers online.

Seriously, that's not all.

In addition to everything above, you'll get access to instructions on forming or joining a MasterMind Group with other premium members. These groups are super motivating, make you accountable, and build friendships with other pro photographers with motives similar to yours – to build a more successful photography business.

What is your big takeaway?

Following this interview, I’d love to know if you're taking anything from what Andre shared. Is there something you heard that excited or motivated you to the point where you thought, yeah, I'm going to do that! If so, leave your thoughts in the comments below; let me know your takeaways and what you plan to implement in your business based on what you heard in today's episode.

If you have any questions I missed or a specific question you’d like to ask Andre or if you want to say thanks for coming on the show, feel free to add them in the comments area below.

NEW MASTERCLASS – Third Party Marketing on steroids with willing and waiting partners

Photography business and mindset coach Johl Dunn has FINALLY agreed to share his marketing strategy around Community Fundraising!

First up… this strategy is 100% NOT reliant on social media. That's right, no Facebook Ads!

And Johl was generating over $200k a year for his studio on this strategy alone!

All the details are here: https://learn.photobizx.com/community-fundraising-photography-marketing-strategy-registration/​

Including testimonials from other photographers, Johl has taught this system.

NOTE: This class is NOT for you if…

• You're not an established business
• You don't do in-person sales
• You're not a portrait photographer
• You struggle to take action

This will be an incredible solution if you're looking to diversify your marketing away from paid ads and SEO.

And the real beauty of this modified Third Party Marketing strategy is your contact will love hearing from you and eager to have your support and help to get in front of their audience!

iTunes Reviews and Shout-outs

I check for any new iTunes or Google reviews each week, and it's always a buzz to receive these… for several reasons.

Firstly, it's confirmation that I'm on the right track with the interviews and that they are helping you improve your photography business. That's awesome!

Secondly, iTunes and Google are the most significant podcast search engines, and your reviews and ratings help other photographers find PhotoBizX. More listeners mean more interviews and, ultimately, a better show.

If you have left a review in the past, thank you! If you haven't and you'd like to, head to https://photobizx.com/itunes or https://photobizx.com/google, and you can leave some honest feedback and a rating which will help both me and the show, and I'll be sure to thank you on the show and add a link to your website or blog if you let me know the URL of your website and your name.

Alternatively, if you've left a review for PhotoBizX and are looking for more backlinks to help your SEO, leave a review for the new Photography Xperiment Podcast. Email me your keywords or phrases and where you'd like me to link them.

Another great way to get a backlink to your site is to send a video testimonial. It doesn't need to be fancy, and your phone will be perfect. Click record and tell me how PhotoBizX has impacted you and your photography business.​

Links to people, places and things mentioned in this episode:

Andre Toro Website

Andre Toro on Instagram

Andre Toro on Facebook

Alchemy Three

Andre Toro FB Ad Library

Thank you!

Thanks again for listening and to Andre for coming on and sharing how she has created the most amazing photography business so quickly after moving from her corporate job and life.

That’s it for me this week; I hope everything is going well for you in life and business!

Thanks, and speak soon
Andrew

The post 561: Andre Toro – From corporate life to thriving photography business, the fast way. appeared first on Photography Business Xposed - Photography Podcast - how to build and market your portrait and wedding photography business.