Cal Poly EIM Club Zoom Meeting / 11.5.2020
Hi friends! My name is Asia Croson and I am incredibly passionate about helping people build positive relationships with themselves AND their communities- I do that through photography, coaching, and - what I'm here to talk about today- community events.
I’m here because Susanna asked me and I will do anything she says because I love her but I know she asked me to be here because she’s familiar with me, my business and my work an I know a lot of you aren’t. I want to ask you to briefly open up your Instagram, follow me @asiacrosonphotography, and then you can thoroughly stalk me after we hop off our meeting today!
I typically photograph college aged women for senior photos, then follow them around for the rest of their lives with they start their careers, I do headshots, when they get engaged, I'm hiding in the bushes, when they get married, Im with them all day, if they decide to start families I get to photograph that too. I truly feel like a lifelong friend and photographer. So I have been in the photography business for 8 years now, and full time for 6, and became self employed just 3 years out of college. I know that self employment is not the dream for all, but for those of you who have considered it, I want you to know that is ONE HUNDRED PERCENT POSSIBLE.
I run an incredibly profitable business, my revenue has doubled from 2016-2020, I have brought in more than 6 figures the last 3 years. My income is more than double that of an average female in California my age, an dIm saying that because its fabulous, obviously, but also as proof that you do not have to sell your soul to a corporation you don’t care about, or work a job you're not passionate about as a means of making a decent living. That is a myth and I want it shattered.
I believe that my success has of course a lot to do with my personal brand, customer service, passion for my clients, and the quality of my work.
But I also know that my business has stood out because of one simple but MAJOR thing- community events. As a photographer, I can understand it doesn't seem necessary or natural to hold events, so I want to back up and explain how that came to be a huge part of my business.
These events were not strategically designed to be beneficial to my business, but came in a way that was natural to me because of my mission statement: helping people build positive relationships with themselves and their communities.
I put on 3 major events:
Clothing Swap + Drive, which we (in the normal world) do every quarter, with roughly 600-1000 people in attendance. Attendees bring clothes they would typically donate to Goodwill, and we set up a huge free store, and anyone who donates can take whatever they want from the swap. We also pull clothes directly from it to donate to local organizations such as the Women’s Shelter, and the homeless shelter.
Girls Who Handle It, which you guys may be familiar with, which also has around 1000 attendees. Girls Who Handle It aims to increase the level of public vulnerability, allows participants to share traumas in their lives and share how they handled it, in order to be a step in the healing process but also to inspire others to do the same, and to know they are not alone.
And BYOB, which stands for Build Your Own Business, which is a monthly meeting for those hoping to start their own businesses to ask questions, get resources, and essentially have a community with others at the same stages of business.
Do any of these events have to do with photography? No. I have of course found a way to incorporate photography into all of them, but at the heart they are helping people build positive relationships with themselves and their communities. These events strengthen my brand, my community ties, and at a very simple mathematical level, my brand recognition and awareness because so many people hear about and attend these events.
I also LIKE putting events on, I'm an extrovert and love a touch of manual labor alongside a team and a result you can see visually and be like WOW we did that. But that mentality isn’t common. Many business building strategies we hear about today are online based- which is GREAT in a global pandemic- but for me, email list building, holding webinars, and building e courses is KIND of intriguing, but isn't where my strengths lie and doesn't like LIGHT ME UP. Holding events is definitely against the grain, but works SEAMLESSLY into my business.
I make sure that I am PRESENT at events, connecting with my community, and not just running it. If you are the face of the event, make sure you do this, and if you are working for someone who is the face of the event, make sure you enable them to feel free enough to do this.
I’m telling you this because whether or not you run your own business or work for someone else who does, holding events can be a huge way to connect, contribute, and ENJOY your community. Having someone with event experience at any company is a HUGE asset, and I would encourage you to get any experience you can in order to facilitate events moving forward. If you're in this club I am assuming that this is something you are interested in, and not everyone is, and so playing up your strengths in that area is INCREDIBLy important and will help you stand out.
Top 3 event tips you may never have heard of
Treat every person coming like they are the first and maybe only person there
Tell people what they can do instead of what they can’t (“The restrooms are for restroom use only” vs “Do not use the restrooms for anything but the restroom”)
Talk about it all the time
If you’re pitching events to a business who doesn't currently throw them, or trying to come up with events on your own, here are the levels of events to generate ideas for you.
3 levels of events to throw for any business:
Large capacity, free (this would be like the Clothing Swap or Fall Photo Off, so you can reach a broad market at a low cost to them)
Best way to convert new people into followers
Medium capacity, accessibly priced (Twenty Dollar Headshots would be in this line- $20 is accessible, but is some skin in the game)
Best way to convert followers into customers
Low capacity, exclusively priced (BYOB, higher price point, more skin in the game as having to show up and actually participate)
Best way to convert customers into raving fans
So what I'm HOPING is that all this information on how I use events for my business inspires you to do the same for yours, or to understand the meaning behind the events you may be throwing for companies in the future.
BONUS:
Susana asked me also to briefly talk a couple of iPhone photo tips
Face a window but not like too close to it
Block the sun from hitting the the camera directly
Find a pose and stick to it (no need to have 5000 poses)