Are you juggling school and a photography business? See how one full-time student uses ShootProof to keep her work – and life – beautifully balanced. (Featuring GRACE JICHA)
“ShootProof is seriously such a life saver! I’m so impressed with the platform and the customer service!”
Grace Jicha is a full-time journalism student with a weekday job in media relations and a weekend gig as a photographer. To call her “busy” is an understatement! But Grace maintains a healthy balance between school, work, and life – thanks in large part to ShootProof.
“ShootProof helps me keep all of my clients contracts, invoices, payments, galleries, and print orders organized in one centralized location,” raves Grace. “I’ve been able to say goodbye to heaps of Excel spreadsheets and Word docs, and hello to more nights out with friends or extra photoshoots with the time I save by utilizing ShootProof!”
Photo: Grace Jicha | This is How a Full-Time Student Uses ShootProof
Start Strong with Purposeful Boundaries
Starting a business is challenging for any entrepreneur, but as a full-time student, Grace finds it imperative that she create firm boundaries and a structured workflow.
#1: Set Priorities that Matter to YOU
“It’s important to set priorities no matter what stage of life you’re in,” shares Grace, “and for me right now, school is that priority, so I only take on a limited number of clients.” By realistically evaluating her calendar and only booking a manageable number of photography clients, Grace is able to deliver stellar results to each and every client.
Photos: Grace Jicha | This is How a Full-Time Student Uses ShootProof
#2: Learn Something New, Every Chance You Get
Grace creates exquisite images by maintaining her creative learning. “I’m completely self-taught through YouTube, podcasts, and mentorships,” she explains. Her journalism and graphic design classes also play a huge role in making her a strong photographer. “Journalism, like photography, is all about storytelling,” she explains. “Although it may not seem like writing and photography are related, learning how to become a journalist has seriously improved my skills as a photographer. It’s capturing a person for who they are and finding an interesting angle.”
Photos: Grace Jicha | This is How a Full-Time Student Uses ShootProof
#3: Self-Care = Client Care
When you’re not healthy, your business can’t be healthy. “I can’t serve my clients well if I’m not taking care of myself,” acknowledges Grace, “so it’s important to me to take the time to rest, spend time with the people I love, and say no to the things that may overwhelm me instead of saying yes to everything.” She also aims to be fully present in everything she does. Instead of trying to do everything all the time, she focuses fully on whatever project she’s currently engaged in. “This means not answering photography-related emails during classes or work, and not working on schoolwork while editing galleries for my photo clients,” says Grace. “Whatever I’m working on gets my full attention.”
Photos: Grace Jicha | This is How a Full-Time Student Uses ShootProof
Stay Strong with ShootProof
With her values firmly in place, Grace knew she needed the right tools to help her stay on track. ShootProof has proven to be the perfect companion to her burgeoning photography business.
#1: Use Simple Client Contracts & Easy Online Invoices
ShootProof’s contracts and invoices helped Grace streamline her booking process with an all-in-one approach. “I used to send my contracts as emailed PDFs and my invoices through PayPal, but ShootProof has sped up my workflow!” Grace shares. “My clients LOVE being able to just sign electronically and put their deposit down – all in one email.”
Photos: Grace Jicha | This is How a Full-Time Student Uses ShootProof
#2: Empowered Clients are Happy Clients!
Grace involves her clients in the photo selection process using ShootProof’s Favorites feature, a handy complement to Labels and digital downloading rules. “I love that ShootProof allows me to watermark my images so my clients can pick their favorites to download,” explains Grace. “I used to choose all of the photos for my clients, but now they can pick their absolute favorites themselves. It gives them a sense of freedom!”
#3: ShootProof is Affordable & Accessible – Even for Students
For the price of a couple lattes each month, Grace gives every client a streamlined contract-signing and payment system, along with their own gorgeous online gallery. And starting at only $1 more, she can optionally Archive these client galleries in the ShootProof cloud for easy retrieval later. “If you’re a photographer who is drowning in loads of documents for each client and session,” says Grace, “make the investment in ShootProof and get your time BACK!”
Photos: Grace Jicha | This is How a Full-Time Student Uses ShootProof
Get from Beginner to Pro – Seamlessly!
ShootProof will grow with Grace as she graduates and expands her business. With scaleable selling features like Package Builder and Email Campaigns, ShootProof helps photographers attract more clients and build successful, sustainable businesses.
Are you ready to take your photography business to the next level?
Try ShootProof for FREE!
Written by ANNE SIMONE | Featuring GRACE JICHA
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