Sophie Lindsay has been a photographer for 25 years. When ON IT launched, she had a new dream: turning a barn on her property in Dorset into a studio, and completely changing how she worked. A year later, that idea is a fully functioning fine art and portrait studio with more work than she can take on.
“I started off with an idea, lots of ideas and a bit of a dream. And now I have a fully functioning studio.”
Launch
Chris left full-time employment in March, and by May he and his partner had moved to Australia. That gave him two months to make the business work. He had a few steady clients he’d built strong relationships with, but there was still plenty to do to get his name out there and keep work coming in.
“It felt like it was made for me, and it was the perfect time for my business.”
Foundations
Even with 25 years’ experience, Sophie needed a new offer suite, packages, pricing, a website and portfolio, and she had to master studio lighting. Learning to separate internal and external growth helped her see which work was laying the foundations and gave her much more clarity.
Capacity
Sophie now has more work than she can currently take on. Her next step is building the systems and the team, a VA plus more editors and retouchers, so she can work at full capacity. She’s moving from getting the business off the ground to scaling it.
The Role ON IT played
For Sophie, the monthly check-in is the heart of ON IT. She has a colour-coded notepad with page after page of notes from each session. She says the calls are packed with information but never overwhelming, and she always leaves with clarity. Even with over 150 members on each call, it feels personal to her.
“I don’t want to tell her, but she is actually giving me individual coaching.”
ON IT is now a fixed part of her monthly routine, and she’s staying for the next year.
“It’s the best thing I have done as a photographer, for sure.”
