“That's gorgeous! Why don’t my photos look like that?”
“Their work is crazy good. Mine doesn't even compare!”
“Look how many followers she's got! I'll never be able to get a following like that!"
Sound familiar? If you're being honest, you know similar words have come out of your mouth at some point. And it's happened to me too. I know how it is...
You see another photography business just killing it out there with amazing photos, a gorgeous website, and tons of engagement on social media. You just know they’ve totally got it all together and are clearly doing everything right. And when you see that you can easily ask yourself, “What am I doing wrong?” You can start to feel less than or even worse, like an imposter.
But, we aren't doing ourselves any good comparing ourselves to other photographers and letting it get us down. In fact, talk like that definitely won't improve our work. It tears down our self-esteem and pauses the path in our own growth as a photographer and a business.
In reality, what we're comparing ourselves to are a ton of unknowns. We don’t know how much time and money someone is spending a month to keep their business running smoothly. We don’t know if they have a team behind them, helping to create content, build and update their website, and create amazing copy that helps convert clients. We don’t even know that they may not be doing as well as they present themselves to be. They may not even be turning a profit!
So, if another photographer’s business makes you start to feel unsure of yourself, do your heart and head a favor and use these 5 questions for some quick perspective:
1. Does this business have branding, values, offers, and an audience that’s similar to mine?
2. Is this business actually profitable? Have they sat down and done all the math (many don’t) so their pricing and cost of doing business makes sense to create an actual livable income after taxes and expenses?
3. Is a team behind this business and how many members does it take to keep it running at this level? (Because that takes time and money!)
4. What kind of time is being invested to see this kind of success? If I did the same, would I possibly see more of the of results I’m looking for?
5. Is this business the size, pace, and market I would even want to work in to begin with?
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