Total Revamp; Phase 1

A core element of reinventing my business is the total revamp of my website.

It’s time to completely revamp my website. I usually make a few updates once or twice a year, but this round is different. My business is going through a fundamental change and my website needs to change along with it.

I didn’t have to build a lot of formal business development in the previous iterations of my business and I was happily served by a simple website that showed off a bunch of portfolios but didn’t include too much info about myself or my services. Corporate Events were my core revenue stream. Event Planners or Production Managers or Communications Directors that were referred to me through various networks would take a look at my work and, once under the impression that I could operate a camera, reached out about their gig. There wasn’t a whole lot to it.

Boy are those days over.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I am attempting to transition from a Corporate Event photographer that booked the occasional headshot or portrait session to a Headshot and Portrait photographer that books the occasional corporate event.

That means making a lot of people in the Washington, DC area aware of my work and convincing a few of them that they totally need what I have to offer.

What a daunting task! I generally like to operate under the radar, so this will be an interesting exercise.

Luckily there is a thing called the internet that includes things like websites. My website will always be a place that I have full control over and can continue to refine and rework and improve.

My goal is to redesign it into a more informative, interactive space using a number of strategically organized phases. These have been grouped together and undertaken in order of importance;

Phase 1: New Home, About, and Headshot pages, plus a better footer

Phase 2: New Portrait page

Phase 3: New Personal Projects landing and project pages

Phase 4: Food and Bev and Event pages

Corporate Events are last because I think they are the last aspect of my previous business ecosystem that will re-emerge from the depths of the COVID19 plunge.

New Home, About and Headshot pages are first because, well, better thought out versions of those pages are absolutely crucial to attracting and informing new clients. Everyone needs a headshot these days for their work from home digitally adapted side hustles turned income streams, plus headshots are relatively safe to do and I enjoy the heck out of making them.

Portraits are of the same line of thought as headshots; I have always done them but didn’t try to grow them into the revenue stream that they could be. The portfolio pages I always ran for my portraits and headshots simply didn’t do the services I provide enough justice. Visitors need to be informed as to why I think I am the best option for their needs. It’s time to improve.

This whole process is one aspect of a multi-platform effort to get my business in the minds of new people. Hyattsville, Maryland is a treasure trove of creative, entrepreneurial businesses. I hope I am able to become a valued resource for the area.

Another aspect of this revamp is what I’m calling the Quartly(ish) Newsletter. I should probably get around to publishing the first edition sometime soon. But it would be good to be done with at least Phase 2 of the website revamp and have this blog more fleshed out before sending that crucial first edition. But, I also don’t want to wait too deep into the year before sending the newsletter because our inboxes are about to be destroyed by ….The Holidays (dun dun duuuuuun).

What came first; the chicken or the egg..

This post is part of an on-going series about revamping my business.

You can start here: How Did We Get Here?

Next up in the series is: Phase 1, Part 1: New Home and About Pages, and Footer