Why This Photographer Chose Relationships Over Social Media And Still Built a Business

He spent more than two decades in law enforcement before he ever charged for a photograph. In 2024 he picked the camera back up and turned it into a full-time business, built on portraits, professional headshots and events. Then he did something every marketing expert says not to do: he decided relationships come before posting consistently on social media. On this episode of Bring My Customer: Founder Playbooks, we take that decision apart and look at where his clients actually come from. Inside this episode: → Why 98% of his work comes from just three services: portraits, headshots and events → How his very first paying client found him at a church event → The relationship that led a veteran press photographer to share his exact camera settings → What 20 years in law enforcement taught him about people that art school can't → Word of mouth and Google: where his clients really discover him → Is the event the product, or the marketing? His surprising answer → "I'd rather have solid relationships with a handful of people than shallow ones with a thousand" → How he decides which jobs to turn down, even when the money is good → His simple referral recipe for any service business: keep your word, own your mistakes, and ask If you run a relationship-driven service business and wonder whether you have to become a content machine to grow, this episode offers a very different playbook. Chapters 00:00 Intro 01:48 The 30-second pitch 02:07 Back roads and a film camera 03:23 Losing the camera and finding it again 04:26 The first paying client 05:26 The mentor who shared his settings 07:48 What law enforcement taught him about people 09:38 Faith and the business 12:29 The customer autopsy 12:49 Portraits, headshots, events: the 98% split 13:25 Giving back with free community headshots 14:29 Where clients actually come from 15:31 Is the event the product or the marketing? 16:48 Relationships over posting 18:51 Corporate headshots at scale 19:40 The job he should've said no to 20:36 If he could keep only one channel 21:13 The referral recipe for any service business 22:57 Did the art exhibition bring paying clients? 24:38 The 24-month plan 25:35 Rapid fire Want a predictable flow of customers for your business? Check out www.bringmycustomer.com #photography #smallbusiness #wordofmouth #founderstories #podcast