In this new series, we dive into the journeys of some incredible creatives who are using Nick Church Photography business coaching to unleash the potential of their businesses

Before I started my own photography and coaching business I had a career in the software industry, and it had gone pretty well.

It culminated in running an analytics and video encryption business based in San Diego with teams in UK and India, but prior to that I worked in various organisations from small start-ups to established international companies.  

Along the way I invented and patented designs for the software running in your TV, managed part of a new broadcast streaming platform for Alan Sugar and, way back, helped create some of the first video call devices, 20 years before Zoom took over the planet!

Why does my background matter?

This matters for a couple of reasons:

1. Firstly, it means that through this previous career I’ve acquired a valuable set of transferrable skills. I am not just talking the talk, I came to business coaching with a proven track record of growing, building, and marketing a wide variety of different businesses to success. I understand how a small business successfully engages with its audience and how to ensure that the business is one of the small number that succeed.

   In my experience, even small businesses that may be doing well, are often not performing to their full potential and I have that knowledge to take those businesses to new heights. 

2. Also, maybe more importantly for some, I created and grew my photography company to success from my first wedding in 2016 to 50 wedding in 2018 (which is when I gave up the day job). I did this around the same constraints of time, family, growing skillset and finances that many of my clients have.

In my coaching sessions, which run at my COVID-secure training workshop and photography studio near Bristol or via Zoom, I share the experience, techniques, knowledge and skills I used to create my own successful business. I am really proud to that since Nick Church Photography Education started running our technical and business workshops I have watched all my clients’ businesses really take off and start to achieve their true potential.

You can read details of the business coaching modules here.

In a future posts I will be talking to a variety of clients. Coming soon is someone who like me, decided to pick up a camera, and move into photography from another field. Through my technical training in photography, and business sessions on workflows and marketing, he is now booking his own weddings just a few months later.

This article though is focussed on another client, Betty Bhandari.

Betty Bhandari - Wedding & Portrait Photographer

Betty was already an established wedding photographer, but she came to me with a feeling that her business was not where it deserved to be (I absolutely agreed, she is very talented), and that she would LOVE to love it all again… this was the perfect starting point. So let’s look at Betty’s journey with me and Nick Church Photography Education.

Identifying the potential & building on what’s already there

People that run their own businesses are naturally capable and entrepreneurial and sometimes feel they won't benefit from coaching. But often, it's when work is going pretty well that it can be profitable to work alongside a coach. By identifying and building on successes, and streamlining other areas you can take your business to the next level.

Working with Betty is a great process, we quickly uncovered that she is driven by a passion for human interactions of her clients, and not just those at weddings. As a creative herself, she is fascinated to get under the skin of her subjects and so portraiture, alongside her amazing weddings, is the vehicle that would allow her to do that. She loves to capture creatives in their ‘element’, in the places that inspire those individuals doing what they love, we just needed to create a pathway for that to flourish.

Seeing Betty thrive in this area is wonderful and it is totally why I love doing this job as well as my own photography. The portraits she is taking have upped not just one gear, but many. Really impressive work!

A sensible, risk-free investment for the future of your business

I would not be doing my job properly and (certainly would not enjoy it this much) unless I knew the benefits from coaching would pay for itself many times over, and last forever!

Business coaching is good value and a great investment. Other professional services, accountants for example, will often explain that the time and money they save you, will be much higher value than the fee they charge. The same is true of business coaching. Clients of my marketing workshops see an immediate upturn in bookings, which pays for their investment in training many times over.

I always provide a free consultation Zoom call or meeting at my studio. This will give us chance to get to know each other, and for you to get confidence in the process and the results you will achieve before we start, all without spending a penny. You can book a zoom call online, so just click here.

What is my approach?

As a coach, I want to work in partnership with you and will always act as a critical friend. I am not and don't want to be a remote trainer reading from a template set of notes. I'll remain present and available, and I'm happy to take an ad-hoc call if we need to revisit certain areas from our last formal session – it's all included in the price!

This flexible way of working gives my clients the peace of mind that if they haven't absorbed everything immediately they we can jump on a zoom call and run through any clarifications.

My modular system allows you to pick and choose the areas that will give you the best return on investment.  I also tailor sessions to suit your specific business. This is driven by my analysis of your work and of your style of learning as an individual.

I am very happy for you to help steer the direction we take too. So if I feel a session on website optimisation would be useful, but in fact you are happy with your SEO, let’s use the time to focus on a different area.

You can view more details, content and pricing of the coaching sessions here.

New ventures, or planned growth

Coaching isn't just for startups. Lots of established businesses drift of course over time. Taking a step back and working with a coach can be really enlightening. It can  help you to see things clearly and more objectively for the first time in years.

You'll often find that your initial goals are not the things you want to achieve now. You may have completely different aspirations and may not be sure how to achieve them and this redirection can take a while to sink in.

Lots of my clients share that they had an initial reluctance to seek coaching but all of them go on to say how much they wished they'd done it earlier.

Let’s get started…

Remember, I offer a FREE consultation for new clients. After this call you see how the sessions will work, and you will have a feel for a great things we will be able to achieve together. And if you decide not to proceed with any sessions, that’s fine too and you will have lost nothing, it’s still nice to chat.

If you would like more information or have a couple of questions before we chat, that’s not problem, just contact me any time. If you want to go ahead and book a zoom chat (or come to the studio) then please follow this link to the booking system.