The final installment of the “How to Boost your Business with Education Series.”  I personally think mentoring the most important form of education and so worth the time it takes to investigate in finding a mentor. I went to college for photography and my professors were very different from me. At this time of my life and in my art I was desperate to find someone to be my guide and leader through the college years. Unfortunately, I found myself disappointed in the directions and advice I received from my professors. They had a lot of life experience that was different than me and my personal values and always encouraged me to go in directions that were basically the opposite of what I was morally comfortable with. So when I got out of college and started to build my photography business, I was in a desperate search for a mentor. Even before college, people who I knew did photography would never answer my simple questions and it trained me to think “that when you are a photographer, you don’t share your ideas with others.” It was a lonely place to be thinking that there wasn’t any room in the photographer world for me.

Lucky for me, all that changed when I signed up and attended the Kylee Ann Workshop in 2015. You can read the LONG version of that if you want. But surmise it to say that I learned more in one day during that workshop of who I wanted to be as a photographer than I did in 4 years of my formal education. And the who I learned it from matters. Kylee embodies the idea of “community over competition” and she has been a shining light in the photography world for years. She shares her secrets with and educates photographers all around the world. I’m so lucky to have found a mentor and best friend in her.

If you want someone to invest in you, invest in them first

I learned how important this was immediately when I met Kylee. When I showed up at her workshop, I had ALREADY bought everything she was selling in her online store. She knew me by name because I had invested in her business. From the beginning she poured into me because I had made it so clear that I trusted her. Now, I totally notice the people who comment on my Instagram and blogs. People who take the time to let me know what my work means to them are my top priority when it comes time that they need a favor or advice.

People who have different skills and experience than you are priceless

I love talking to new people! Its one of my hobbies and passions. When I find out a groom did summer sales last year, I love to pick his brain about how he did his door approach and what types of success he found in selling. When my neighbor launched her jewelry Etsy shop, I loved getting her insights on how to best sell her commodities. Don’t count someone out as a mentor just because they aren’t in the same industry as you. Mentors come in all shapes and sizes.

You with gain from the world, what you put into the world

I realized the more that I interacted and shared with others, the more they trusted they could share with me. Like I said, when I was a new photographer, there were many times I got brushed off when asking simple questions like “Hey what is aperture?” (Okay, that isn’t a simple question now that I think of it. haha.) But now its my turn to have new photographers message me asking questions. Its my chance to get to show them that sharing and learning from one another is the best way to make this industry stronger. I’ve been amazing at what a great source of joy its become for me as a photographer and educator. I love getting to share my knowledge with others, and its amazing the great things that have come back to me because of the efforts of sharing.

Pay for private mentoring

One of the quickest ways to find a mentor is paying for a private mentoring session! You can find photographers who have a style and personality that you relate with and who are experts in their areas of business. Spending 2 hours with a mentor is an invaluable investment in your business. I found when paying for mentoring that the money spent is really money saved by asking an expert and not having to guess and check in your business over time. Also, there is extra value after one on one mentoring via special Facebook groups just for mentoring students.

Help with all areas of business not just photography

For many photographers, when we fell in love with photography, we had no idea how much extra stuff comes along with it. Now in running a business we are also expected to master bookkeeping, editing, marketing, branding and social media as well as our photography. It’s hard to be a one person show in running a business and lucky, your mentor probably will have done and seen it all and can answer questions in all those arenas of business. Furthermore, they will be rooting you on, hoping to see you exceed and depending on your style, may even refer business to you that they can’t take on themselves.