Eportfolio Intro Video!

AbigaleSleezerResume

Hello! My name is Abigale, but you’re more than welcome to call me Abby. I’m 20 years old, a self-taught photographer, videographer, avid coffee consumer, traveler and a kansas-made goofball. I am currently in Florida for the month staying with family and when I am not doing schoolwork, you will find me on the beach enjoying the warm sunshine.

I find that my top strengths are creativity and authenticity, however, I would also consider myself very open-minded and reliable. Each year, I always choose three words to live by. This year my words are- intention, vision, and to be.

My work experience has been limited as I have worked for myself for the past few years. In the summers, I worked for a shaved ice company in my small town as well as ran their social media. In high school, I worked for our local pharmacy as a sales associate and delivery driver. In this position, I assisted in the sales of customers prescriptions and other medical aides, as well as delivered medications to customers, and senior living centers. When I was in the beginning of my business, I job shadowed a fellow photographer, assisting in posing the client and changing backdrops.

Professional Development Plan – Abby Sleezer

As I filled out the workbook, I realized that before now and this class, I never really took the time to figure out what my strengths and values were. So, doing the assessments and finding out the results, made me feel good, because my values have been things iv have always lived by but never verbally announced. And, now seeing those words written down, it all makes sense.

This semester went by pretty quick, and I learned that I don’t procrastinate when its a class I am interested in. Last semester was my first semester of college and I procrastinated so much. I had no motivation to do anything, and I just assumed it was because it was a transition semester and it was just going to take time to get used to. But, after this semester, I can say I was definitely wrong.

Informational Interview Essay

For my informational interview, I chose to talk to Molly Hoffman. Molly is a photographer at her own company, Molly Hoffman Photography that serves Kansas City, Mo and beyond. She specializes in weddings, elopements, couples and seniors. I found her by social media and through a classmate who had her senior photos taken by her. Molly’s work has never been less than amazing and she has always inspired me, so I thought she would be the perfect person for me to interview.

As Molly and I both own photography businesses, I knew there would be some similarities to our thoughts and lifestyle. However, I was stunned to realize that yes, we do the same thing, but ultimately go about things in a completely different way. Which, in total honesty, makes sense given her location in the heart of KC, and me in a small town with a population of 2,000. I think the thing that surprised me the most about Molly was her resilient attitude. Her job is nowhere near easy, and she opened up to me about her struggle with mental health issues in the past, but she always bounces back and produces work that is outstanding. 

I can see myself following in her footsteps of living in a bigger city and traveling the country to take photos of people, creating memories that they can cherish forever. I honestly don’t think I would do much different than her, except I am not sure what photos I want to specialize in quite yet. I am still testing the waters to see what I do best. 

I learned that there really isn’t an easy way to break into the photography business. It is a very saturated market right now, so the best thing you can do is just jump right in, and start marketing yourself on social media. You may have to do some photoshoots for free at the beginning, but that will start a word of mouth train. Don’t invest in the most expensive equipment first, start out with a beginner camera and work your way up as you start gaining more clients and making money.

Personally, I think I need to learn more of the business and accounting side of photography. I can always use more knowledge with marketing as well, but knowing how to successfully own and run a business the right way is very important to me. There is also so much more I can learn about my camera, editing, posing and creating a positive client experience. Workshops and content days are a great tool for photographers to learn how to work with other photographers, pose clients, and create magical photographs. There are also online courses you can take, but I have always been a fan of Youtube videos. There are so many photographers that show you behind the scenes and they pour all of their knowledge into you. 

This experience and interview has made me so excited for my future in photography. Molly really made me feel like I can do this, and that I will succeed. It definitely changed the way I perceive my immediate future, in ways that are hard to describe. I am currently trying to move out of my small town to a bigger city with more opportunity and she lit a fire to my behind to do just that. I am so excited to continue my journey and am really grateful for her and this experience in more ways than one.

Part 1: What insights did you glean from the webinar you attended/watched? How will/can you apply these new insights/knowledge?

I watched Marketing Trends NonProfits Need to Know and Embrace and I learned a lot in the first 10 minutes as she talked about how “Marketing is no longer an option for nonprofits looking to engage and grow their donor base.” Mobile giving is very important in todays technology advanced world, and to grow your donor base, is key to having a successful non-profit. And with the Millennial lifestyle, donating to charitable causes is on the rise, so making sure mobile giving is user friendly and is as responsive as possible makes for a better experience. On the same note of the advanced technology we have today, it is more of a normal thing to donate to charities where as the expectations to give were lower than now. Because of Covid, mobile first experience is now key for any nonprofits or businesses because most people use their phones to look up stuff. Taking time to make a nice, responsive webpage will ultimately lead you to more donations. Factors to make that possible include limiting the number of images as they distract the viewer from the point and images can actually slow down the responsiveness of your page. Make sure the page is easily navigable, by making sure buttons to press are visible, turn pop-up offs!!! I love pop ups on websites, but only on a computer as when they are viewed on a mobile device, they are hard to exit out of and sometimes keep popping back up- which leads the person to exit your page. I have been on several websites on my phone where there are so many pop ups that distract you and it gets frustrating to navigate, so you leave to site. I can use this for my own website, as a photographer, and be mindful of the mobile first experience as it is very important. Watching this is making me go make sure that my website is mobile friendly, as most people view it on their phone.

Part 2: Upload your worksheet to your blog reflection (or paste the content into your blog reflection/post).

Kickstarter Worksheet- Sleezer

For the Sandler Training Webinar I watched Small Business, Big Sales and the topic I learned about matters because more often than not, small business owners don’t know how to successfully run their business nor know enough about their buyers and the order in which they buy. For example, the first step in the typical buying order is express interested and act motivated whereas the sellers typical selling order is analysis and then proposals. Knowing the proper order of each helps the buyer reach their buyers and know what to look for.

For the Sales Power Webinar I watched Turning Uncertainty into Predictably. One key takeaway was that uncertainty RULES and no matter how you set quotas and look at predictions for the end of the quarter, most of the time we don’t always get it right or understand why or what’s happening or going to happen and that’s because don’t control the prospects. I can apply what I learned about knowing that you can’t control the prospects and you can’t always control the outcomes and sales but that’s how life is. It has its ups and downs and at the beginning of this they talked about how sales is more gambling and not manufacturing because its not always the same outcome and there is always the wins and losses.

This is my ad for Ellen’s Bridal & Dress Boutique, and originally I had planned to do an ad promoting a sale, but ultimately decided a “New Collection,” would be the perfect marketing opportunity. Giving a little sneak peek of the new gowns in stock creates that, “I want to see more,” feeling, and gets potential buying brides to check out your website or come to the store to check it out for themselves!

I am targeting brides all of types but specifically millennial and gen z brides who want that modern or possibly boho dress and experience! When a bride sees this ad, my goal for them is to feel a sense of peace knowing they found somewhere that fits their aesthetic. But, I also strive for them to be intrigued about what’s in the new collection and why it makes it so special.

I would advertise my ad on Facebook (Bridal Groups, Wedding Dress Groups), Instagram (Posts-Using on brand hashtags, Reels, Stories), and Pinterest because THAT is where a LOT of brides seek inspiration

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