Latest / Networking Unleashed: Building Profitable Connections / Networking Unleashed: S1E20 An Interview with Chris Griggs and Michael A Forman

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Networking Unleashed: S1E20 An Interview with Chris Griggs and Michael A Forman · Networking Unleashed: Building Profitable Connections

0:00
Hello, and welcome to Networking Unleashed, Building Profitable Connections.
0:13
Welcome to the show, folks.
0:14
I'm your host, Michael Forman, and you're listening to the podcast where networking
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is more than just an awkward handshake and bad coffee.
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It's an art and a talent.
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But here's the twist.
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It's an art and talent you can actually learn.
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Yes, even if you're the person hiding in the corner at every event pretending to check
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emails.
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Networking isn't just a nice skill to have.
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It's a game changer.
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And when you get good at it, you'll wonder why you didn't start sooner.
0:47
More connections, more opportunities, more profits.
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It's like unlocking a cheat code for life.
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So whether you're the life of the party or the let me just stay at home and text type,
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we've got something for you.
1:02
So stick around.
1:03
Let's turn those awkward small talk moments into big wins.
1:08
Now I've got quite a guest this morning.
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His name is Chris Griggs.
1:14
Don't look like that, Chris.
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He is the owner of a photography studio.
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He's an Atlanta native, but he graduated UGA.
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By the way, my future daughter-in-law also graduated from UGA.
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And he's got a wife, three kids.
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But you know what?
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I'm really not doing him justice.
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Let me introduce Chris and let him tell you all about himself.
1:37
Chris, how are you today?
1:39
I'm doing great, Michael.
1:40
I am actually really excited about doing this today because you kind of mentioned those
1:45
networking skills and all that.
1:46
But you know, podcasting skills are pretty important too, I think.
1:52
It all works together because one helps you and teaches you about the other.
1:56
Oh, yeah, for sure.
1:58
You know, I really appreciate that intro.
2:01
I don't know how interesting of a guest I am, but I'll try to stay on my ground.
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You know, one thing you didn't mention is being an owner of a photo and video company.
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I have to give that credit to my wife, just though.
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She is the founder of our company.
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She founded it a little over eight years ago and she really is the driving force behind
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what we do.
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I just kind of sort of claim part ownership for my own sake, but she really is the one
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that drives the bus in most things.
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And sometimes I'm all in front of the ride and sometimes, you know, she'll let me take
2:38
a few things on.
2:39
Okay, so you've got this photography studio, video studio and networking obviously is a
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very important part of what you do, how you market.
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But this has become a very digital world.
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And how do you build genuine connections in a world that's increasingly digital?
3:05
Wow.
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Gosh, that digital angle is a tough one.
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I guess really to kind of start, you're right, networking really is huge.
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And I think a lot of people, especially small business owners, I think they underestimate
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that and the value of it.
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I was even talking to somebody the other day and this kind of segues into something else
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that I bring out too, but their key role is new client acquisition for their employer.
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And they kind of said, you know what, networking can almost be a full time job.
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If your role is to bring in more clients, more customers to get people in the door,
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whatever your business is, whether you're staying by an account or working behind a
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computer, networking has been absolutely key in our business.
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I mean, it's absolutely crucial from the digital side, though, gosh, I don't really have an
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answer on that one because to me, I'm really more old school.
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I like being in person, being in rooms, talking to people, seeing faces, shaking hands, even
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when those rooms are excessively packed with 100 people and you have to shout to the person
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next to you.
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You know what, that might be a really good dive on this too, to talk about the sort of
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virtual digital aspect of that.
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And that might be something that I can learn here today.
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It's virtual is good.
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Zoom is very good, but I am old school and I believe in the face to face networking,
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networking events, meetings, small meetings, large meetings, whatever, because you get
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to feel the vibe of the person that you're talking with.
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You get to feel the vibe of the room that you're in.
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And so many things can happen that you need to pick up the vibe.
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Now the first thing you must consider when you're speaking with somebody is confidence.
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You have to have confidence in yourself in order for you to start to speak on a confident
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level.
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So it all starts from there.
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Can you give me a specific example of how a networking relationship significantly impacted
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your business?
5:31
Oh, that's an easy one.
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So I'll actually kind of step back a few years on this one.
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So I actually came into our business about four years ago.
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I did, as a lot of people kind of jokingly refer to as the pandemic pivot.
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So I had my prior career went for about 20 years.
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And so this is career number two.
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When I came into the business, Jess had been a member of some of the area organizations
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around here, business associations and so on.
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And she showed up to a couple of meetings, met some people, picked up a tiny little business.
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But at that point for us, like joining any local area organization, especially when we
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were literally trying to figure out week to week how to keep the business running and pay
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ourselves, joining an organization for like $150 a year or something like that.
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That was kind of a big deal.
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So four years ago, we had an opportunity presented to us.
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I won't go too far into the story, but we had an opportunity presented to us to photograph
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an event for a larger organization.
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And fortunately, we got that and we were booked for it.
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And then the person that connected us with this opportunity said, the organization would
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actually feel a little better about you shooting this, especially considered what you guys
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are being paid to shoot this.
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If you would join the organization, we're like, okay, sure.
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No big deal.
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And at that point, I think we had only joined, I think we were only actively like once, twice
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a month, attending two other organizations.
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And those were to the team, like I mentioned, like $150 for an annual membership and all
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that.
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And we were like, well, sure, how much?
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And they were like, it's $150.
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And we were just kind of like, oh, okay.
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Well, you know, we had to give it some thought.
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So we bit the bullet, joined the organization.
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And we made a point to network to show up to meetings, show up to after hours, show up
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to lunches, show up to anything that we could fit in our schedule with that organization
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because we made a pretty significant investment for us at that time.
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That was huge.
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And even today, four years later, it's still not some change.
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But so networking, showing up, being a part of that organization, our $850 investment
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netted us $35,000 in revenue in the first year.
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And now on a year to year, we average, I think, about $60,000 to $65,000 revenue in our business
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just from that one organization.
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And that's because of the client base that we've built out of that organization.
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These are companies that we now shoot with on a regular basis.
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These are regular clients and clients who we've held on to for now two and three years
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plus.
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So networking absolutely is key to our business.
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And it's not just that we just made those relationships and then they just sort of self-sustain.
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Still got to show up, still got to be seen, still have to follow up.
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We need network.
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Yeah, the follow up, I say this all the time and on most of the podcasts, the follow up
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is almost more important than just meeting the person.
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Because it's not only how you follow up, but how many times and the way that you follow
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up so that you don't feel like you're overdoing it, but you don't want to underdo it as well.
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So it's very, very difficult.
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Oh, you're totally hitting that concern right there for me because I'm always wondering
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how much is too much, how much is too little.
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And most times I feel like I'm not doing enough, to be honest.
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I have what's called a secret sauce for follow up.
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And within two weeks, you find out whether or not the person was serious.
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So it's a fine line, but it has always worked very well for me.
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And that's what I profess that follow up.
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But what would you say are the key elements with professional networking?
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The key elements for me in my own experience is just becoming known, not showing up and
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trying to make a sale.
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I guess the best way to sort of encapsulate this, and I don't take credit for this, somebody
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else gave me this one, is that networking is farming, not hunting.
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You know, I think a lot of people ship to network events and immediately they want to
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shake your hand, they want to tell you who they are and exactly what they do and why
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you need to use them.
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And you know, when I started networking, I was guilty of that too.
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Definitely did that and found out right away.
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People don't care and that's the quickest way to turn people away.
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But really just by showing up and just getting to know people, you know, and I think if you
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kind of get to know people a little on a personal level, just to know if they're married, if
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they have kids, you know, I mean, know enough about what they do in their job just to have
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conversation but not necessarily to try to drive them, you know, to book a project or
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something and over time, and this has been our experience over time, when people have
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a need for something and they remember you, they come to you and they're like, I've got
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an idea, can I just talk to you about it?
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And I'm like, you know what, let's have a conversation and that's it.
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I don't have to sell them on a photography package or a video package or give them a
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price or anything.
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It's like, I don't even want to ask them, you know, what kind of budget are you looking
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at because I'm not concerned about the money aspect at that point because they've approached
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me, they're like, I've got a challenge and I'm looking for a solution.
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It may or may not be me.
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And that's fine.
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You hit a lot of topics that I talk about.
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Okay.
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The first and foremost is you look to give, not receive.
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Yeah.
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All right.
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So that's the first thing you walk into that room and you say, who can I be a good referral
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source for or how can I help them become more successful?
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There's a lot of different ways to give and you're not even thinking about receiving.
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Then you're talking about your rapport that you build with the person.
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If they know you like you trust you, they'll do business with you.
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If they know you, that's great because you're in a big area and everybody knows you, you're
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great guy.
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They like you.
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That narrows the field down just a little bit, but trust you.
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The trust factor is so crucial that, you know, when you're building that rapport with that
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person and I use something else, well, this is stolen, by the way, everything, I've just
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put it all together, but it's form, F-O-R-M, family, occupation, recreation and a message.
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So you want to talk to them about anything and everything, their family, what they do
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for a living, how they enjoy themselves.
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Ever since the pandemic, the days of building your customer base is really out the window.
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It's building relationships and how do you build those relationships through form, know
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you like, you trust you, everything else comes into play, but it's very, very important.
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Okay.
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So what is your, give me your biggest mistake you made in business and how you overcame
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it?
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Oh gosh.
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That's embarrassing.
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And it goes outside of networking too.
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I mean, it doesn't even have anything to do with that, to be honest.
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You know, we work with a lot of difficult clients in a large segment of our business.
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That doesn't mean we don't have a lot of undesirable clients.
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Occasionally, you just run across a personality that's really hard to work with.
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And sometimes it's hard to not react to that.
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It could be as simple as, gosh, like I said, I'm putting myself out there.
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I'll give you one example.
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We had a real estate shoot one time and the agent was not there at the property that I
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was shooting.
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As I'm finishing the shoot, the homeowner comes in and I just make chitul, nice, good
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conversation.
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And then all of a sudden the homeowner starts kind of becoming a little obsessive about
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what I am shooting.
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And she starts asking questions that really pertain more to us in our business and our
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client who is the realtor.
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And these were questions that I actually got.
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I grew increasingly more uncomfortable with because it's like, you know, the agent is
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the one who I work with.
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And I guess long story short, this particular homeowner started asking kind of personal questions
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like, well, what do you charge?
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Why are you charging this to my realtor and blah, blah, blah, and then also started to
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tell me what you wanted to have photographed in the house.
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Whereas we already had direction from our client, the realtor.
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And it kind of started, I mean, tension started building.
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I felt like it was starting to escalate.
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And I had to leave.
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I had to get out of there.
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And as I'm leaving, the homeowner is yelling at me.
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Yelling at me.
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And it's really hard to not yell back at somebody because, you know, when it comes to like fight
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or flight, you know, it's like, you know, I want to fight, but I'm like, I can't do this
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professionally.
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I can't do this.
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But the thing was is it ended up with the homeowner being mad at me.
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And then of course, the homework, talk to the realtor about it.
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We had a phone call with the realtor, explain what happened, had a conversation.
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The realtor fully understood, but we never got a call again from that, from that realtor.
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Now that was very early on for me.
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And that was a big lesson.
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It really was because it's like, you know, it was a lesson in me keeping myself in check,
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not just me personally, but I have to remember that I represent not just me, but I represent
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my business.
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I represent what I do.
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And there's a brand element to that.
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The biggest thing that I realized is that even though the realtor was our client and
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the homeowner was the realtor's client, that homeowner is also a client by extension.
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And what I do, what I come in and when I photograph a house or do you video or anything
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like that, it goes beyond what we provide to our immediate client because when the homeowner
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is trying to sell their house, they're trying to maximize what they're potentially going
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to sell that house for.
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And what they sell the house for probably is going to help them move into whatever the
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next step of their life, their journey, whatever is going to be.
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And it really humbled me quite a bit and it made me change my perspective in how we work,
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not just with our clients, but our clients, customers and clients as well.
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Because in the end, it doesn't matter who really booked the project with us and who's
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paying what and all that kind of stuff.
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The end result is, is it?
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That's it.
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That's what matters.
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The way we deliver is the very thing that defines our business and how we work with people.
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And so, yeah, that was, trust me, you do that one time, you do not do it again.
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Yeah, it's humbling.
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And all of this comes around to that trust factor because they have to trust you to such
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a point where they let you do your job.
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But how do you establish and maintain the relationships, thinking that trust factor,
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how do you maintain the relationships now with fellow professionals?
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I know this probably sounds cliche, but chemistry, it's like personality chemistry.
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We've had clients that we get good work from, we even get regular work from, but we can
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barely hold a conversation.
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And that's nobody's fault.
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Some personalities click better than others.
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But chemistry and personality is very important to us.
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In fact, it's one of the things that we bring up with our team, within our company.
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We've got about six contractors that work with us on various projects.
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Five of them are very active and very regular in our day to day business.
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And one of the things that we always tell them is that chemistry is really important.
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Personality is really important because it's part of our culture and our business.
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Quite simply put, if we didn't love what we do, we wouldn't do it.
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Just fair enough.
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And honestly, that comes up with our clients as well.
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So the very people that are looking projects with us and are bringing revenue into our
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business, same thing.
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And it goes back to what I was saying earlier about just getting to know people using form,
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just saying hi and sometimes a handshake and a smile is all you really need to do.
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And it takes that tension away too.
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That's another thing too.
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We found out that it takes the weight off of our own shoulders.
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It's like, if we make a connection at a meeting at an event, then it doesn't mean that we
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got a booking.
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It's just that we got a connection.
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We met somebody.
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We had a good conversation.
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And to the point that the next time we see them, it's going to be like, oh my God, hey,
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man, it's great to see you again.
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There's one guy that is in three of our networking groups.
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Three different, completely different organizations.
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There literally was one day a couple of weeks ago, I saw him three times in this.
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It makes the job more fun when you see familiar faces.
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I'm not the best with names.
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I remember faces, but names are kind of hard to me.
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I'm probably going to have to see you about a good six or eight times before I remember
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your name.
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But that's only because of the sheer volume of people I encounter on a daily basis.
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So no offense to anybody.
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What you're describing, because you're describing the relationship you get to obtain with these
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people.
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And ever since the pandemic, when I said that it's really not a time for building a customer
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base anymore, and this is the way that I tell you the difference between a customer and
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relationship.
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Let's say you're going along in a supermarket and I bump into you and say, hey, Chris, how
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you doing?
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Goodbye.
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And that's it.
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That is what a customer usually does.
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A relationship.
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Hey, Chris, how you doing?
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Oh, that's great.
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How's your wife?
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Oh, is your child doing this?
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Oh, was he doing?
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Oh, he's playing Little League now.
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Oh, that's great.
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And we have a little conversation.
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That is a relationship.
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So when I leave, you now remember that much better.
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You remember me and you put me more on top of the pile of people that you've already
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run into.
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So it's a relationship.
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And actually, I prefer this.
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I prefer this type of getting together and networking because it brings us all closer.
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And that is exactly my philosophy.
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I've actually said this a number of times when speaking with people and also in network
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meetings, I mean, you're almost verbatim nailing what my philosophy is, is that in this manner
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I'd be the best delivery, but I don't care about a transaction.
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I don't.
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I really don't.
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I can have a one off client and this happens in our business.
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We can have one off clients all the time.
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Now as long as we did our job, we did it well.
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We delivered, we did everything to the satisfaction of the client.
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That's great.
22:38
But I feel like in our business, we're more effective and we deliver better work when
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we understand what our client's business is.
22:50
You know, so without going long on it, I mentioned earlier, we belong to several organizations
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and associations and whatnot.
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But they're not all the same type of group.
23:04
They're not just, you know, business chambers, you know, business association or whatever.
23:12
We try to join organizations in sort of different markets, different areas.
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And that's one of the things that's also helped us build our business.
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But going back to your point, by getting to know people and what they do and what their
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business is about, you know, it doesn't matter if it's real estate, it could be banking,
23:29
it could be insurance, it could be law, maybe it's professional speaking and networking,
23:36
Michael.
23:37
You know, it's like by us kind of getting to know those people and what they do, it
23:42
actually better positions us to deliver on what their needs are.
23:50
It really does.
23:51
Okay.
23:52
So let's do this.
23:53
Give me one tip that if somebody is looking to improve their networking or sales skills,
24:00
what would you say?
24:01
Just give me one tip.
24:02
I think I would say this, networking and approaching people and all that.
24:09
You don't wake up one morning and you can just do it.
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It's like anything else you do, any hobby, any sport, any skill that you develop, it
24:17
takes practice.
24:19
You have to show up and you keep having to work sort of those social muscles, so to say,
24:28
in order to walk into a networking event and be comfortable and just walk right up to somebody
24:33
you've never met before and go, you look just as lost as I feel sometimes.
24:38
How are you doing?
24:39
What brought you here?
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And just opening up a conversation that way.
24:43
You know, the other side of that too, especially for those of us out there that attend networking
24:48
events where you have to give your elevator pitch, quote unquote, Jesus, I am still learning
24:55
how to do that.
24:56
That is so hard to do.
24:57
It really is.
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Even though I've done it like 200 times, I get up there.
25:02
I say what I say.
25:03
You know, say your elevator pitch in front of a B&I group is one thing.
25:10
But if you say your elevator pitch in front of real people, then you really don't, they
25:18
say an elevator pitch is 30 seconds long and you try to keep it to that.
25:23
I don't.
25:24
Okay.
25:25
Networking skills are all practice, practice, practice, you'll get better.
25:29
Now here's my elevator pitch.
25:32
I help professionals network and communicate more effectively and efficiently, thus creating
25:38
more profits.
25:40
Now I don't say, if I imagine myself in an elevator, I don't come out with that whole
25:45
thing.
25:46
I help professionals network and communicate.
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And all you're trying to do is get a response.
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That's the whole idea of an elevator pitch is to get a response.
25:58
So if they say, well, what do you mean by that?
26:02
Or can you further explain that?
26:05
Or you know what?
26:06
Let's get off the floor and just tell me about.
26:08
So something so that you get a response.
26:11
Okay.
26:12
So, but that's it.
26:13
But that's the key thing you have to remember in the classes, when I teach in a workshops
26:19
and things like that, that's exactly what I say.
26:22
Say, just enough to get a response.
26:27
And then that will invoke the conversation.
26:30
And then it's up to you to take it for what it's worth.
26:33
But it's very important.
26:35
And that is just a small fraction of the part when you meet somebody.
26:39
When you walk into that room, that big room, most people are like, oh my God, what did
26:46
I get myself into?
26:49
But you know, if you are there, if you've gone to eight networking events beforehand
26:54
and you practice, practice, practice, you've tweaked it, you've done it and you don't say
26:58
certain things.
26:59
You do say certain things.
27:01
But what most people neglect is when they walk up to a networking table, you don't talk.
27:09
You don't say a word.
27:12
You listen for the conversation.
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Is this a conversation that I want to be a part of?
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It's not.
27:20
I'm going to politely bow out and go to the next table.
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If it is, then you come out with something.
27:26
And I remember, you're the expert in your field and your professional.
27:30
So whatever you say should really be that.
27:33
And all you figure there's four or five people at the table.
27:37
What you're trying to do is to get two or three of those people to look at you and comment
27:43
on what you said.
27:45
So then you're thinking form when you're speaking to that one, two or three people and you're
27:52
letting them talk and you're letting them talk about themselves because trust, here's
27:58
that trust factor.
28:00
That trust factor is building and that wall is coming down because listen, everybody loves
28:06
to talk about themselves and you let them, let them talk.
28:11
And the first thing that you say, first of all, you're listening to them.
28:14
You don't know distractions and you listen is the pause at the end of the listening.
28:21
And why is it so important?
28:24
Because that tells the other person that you were listening to them wholeheartedly and
28:30
you respond to them.
28:32
What they were saying, not the next thing that you want to say, but the next to respond
28:37
to something that they said.
28:40
And after that, you say, you know something, I like you.
28:43
I like the way you do your business.
28:47
How can I make you more successful?
28:51
How can I be a good referral source for you?
28:56
Usually blows them away, but this is the art of giving and not receiving.
29:02
The whole whole works together.
29:04
I've even had moments where I'll meet somebody at any given event and I'll be honest with
29:13
it.
29:14
It's rare that I say that.
29:15
It's very rare that I say that and I'm sure a lot of people, maybe even yourself are going,
29:18
never say that.
29:20
But no, no, I believe what you're saying.
29:23
But what I follow up with that is this is like, you know what, let's exchange information.
29:32
Because although I know I don't need your service, you don't need my service.
29:37
I encounter people all the time who are looking for what you do.
29:44
Networking has built our business and I am always, always willing and open to share information
29:51
to somebody else who needs a lead, needs a direct contact, needs an introduction to somebody
30:00
out of probably the 1500 plus contacts that I have saved in our CRM software.
30:10
If somebody is looking for a mortgage loan, a home remodeler, a painter, a plumber, an
30:18
owner, somebody who's looking to open, just moved to town and needs to know what bank
30:24
to go to.
30:25
It's like, I could give them pretty much an answer to anything that they're asking about
30:31
or need some kind of information about.
30:34
When we made a referral to somebody else, and this is one of those people that we did
30:38
not think that we would be doing business with, they've contacted us and they'd be like,
30:45
hey, we've added some staff to our office, we've got 50 plus people, we think we need
30:51
headshots.
30:52
It's like, oh, well, let's talk about that.
30:56
It surprises us.
30:58
All the art of giving.
31:01
Because listen, if you give, give, give, what goes around does come around.
31:05
It will come around to you because that client, that person will remember how much you helped
31:12
them.
31:13
So the best way to do that, obviously, is to give a referral and not ask for anything
31:18
in return.
31:20
Because you will get that in return eventually.
31:23
Okay, let's bring this full circle.
31:27
Give me one takeaway that my listeners can use today.
31:33
One takeaway regarding network.
31:35
Seriously, just one thing, what's one thing that you do most often in networking?
31:57
I think the one thing that, and I do this consciously and subconsciously, is just try
32:04
to be sincere.
32:05
Just be authentic.
32:06
Just be authentic.
32:07
Just be authentic.
32:08
Be genuine.
32:09
Be authentic.
32:10
Like I said earlier, I'm not there to try to close a sale.
32:16
That's not what networking is about.
32:18
It really isn't.
32:19
I mean, networking is just, just meeting people and having fun.
32:26
I mean, honestly, that's actually been the hardest thing for me to learn.
32:30
It's so funny saying that now because it's so obvious and sounds so easy.
32:35
But having going to networking meetings and events and all this kind of stuff for four
32:43
years, it's only within the past year that I'm just kind of like, you know what, if I
32:48
just walk into this place, no matter how many people there are five or 150, I'm just gonna
32:55
have fun.
32:56
And honestly, that's actually one of the things that also keeps me in check too.
33:00
It's like if I'm not having fun, I'll leave.
33:05
I will.
33:06
I mean, because your job to be a job.
33:08
Right.
33:09
I don't want my job to be a job, but also like if it's a new group, it's a different environment.
33:14
If something feels off, I mean, we've learned to kind of trust our gut and just be like,
33:19
maybe this isn't the best use of our time right now because we have plenty of back work
33:22
to do.
33:23
We got client work.
33:24
We have things waiting to be delivered, finished, worked on, edited, whatever.
33:29
That's rare, really rare that we show up to a place and we check out after 15 minutes,
33:36
right?
33:37
You're picking up the vibe of the room.
33:39
Yes.
33:40
You're picking up the vibe of the room, the vibe of the other people.
33:44
You have to trust your gut, your instincts.
33:48
And if you don't like the vibe of the room, then absolutely you pick up and walk out.
33:54
Yeah.
33:55
But of course you pay $100 for it.
33:57
Yeah.
33:58
Right.
34:00
Well, the paid ones, we're going to have fun.
34:03
We're going to make sure that the mines work.
34:05
But again, it goes back to what I said earlier.
34:07
If we didn't enjoy what we do, why would we do this?
34:12
I've had plenty of jobs in my previous career where, I mean, it was okay, but I didn't love
34:19
it.
34:20
I wasn't passionate about it.
34:21
It's like I just showed up, clocked in, did the work, clocked out.
34:26
I mean, it was about as robotic as it could be.
34:29
And that's easy to do when you work for somebody else, right?
34:34
Because you got to pay check.
34:37
You get paid every two weeks.
34:39
As long as you do your job, you do it well.
34:42
You work just hard enough to not get fired.
34:47
But now that we're business owners and we are the only source of our income.
34:55
We are the only source of our business.
34:58
And we are the only ones providing for our livelihood, for ourselves and our family.
35:05
It's like having fun is actually much more important.
35:08
It makes our interactions with our clients better.
35:11
And a lot of times, so I know I gave that horror story earlier about the homeowner or
35:16
the house that I was shooting and all that.
35:18
But you know, like now, when I walk into a house and the realtor is there, or it could
35:24
even be a builder, right?
35:26
It doesn't have to be a resale.
35:28
And the homeowner is there too.
35:31
That's the first person I walk up to and I introduce myself to.
35:35
That is absolutely because I want them to know that I'm there for them.
35:40
You know, that lesson I mentioned I learned earlier.
35:43
I'm there for them.
35:44
I really am.
35:45
And when I have those opportunities to meet the homeowner or whoever the end user is, let's
35:49
just say that the end user of the product that's being provided by putting them at ease.
35:54
It actually puts me at ease.
35:55
So it kind of makes sense.
35:57
And it sets the tone right there.
35:58
And it's like within the first five minutes of showing up on a project, it's like, there
36:04
it is.
36:05
The tone has been set.
36:06
The vibe is there.
36:07
The atmosphere is good.
36:08
And it's just like, you know what, I'm going to have fun with this.
36:11
Let's just knock this out and we're going to deliver some amazing work.
36:15
It makes working that much easier because it's really not like working, you know, it
36:20
makes it more fun.
36:21
Chris, let me ask you a question.
36:23
Sure.
36:24
Somebody wants to contact you for photography, for video or anything else.
36:30
What's the best way that they can get hold of you?
36:32
And if you have anything in the works that's coming out that's new, tell me about that
36:36
also.
36:37
Yeah, sure.
36:38
So they answered the first party question.
36:41
We're really fortunate that we have a very unique name.
36:45
So for anybody who missed it or didn't see it in the notes, our company is LaRouche Photo.
36:52
It's LaRuCHE Photo.
36:58
And if you look for at or hashtag LaRouche Photo on pretty much any social media platform,
37:05
you will find us.
37:07
We're in all the usual places, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube.
37:13
We have our own channel there where we post client videos, things like that.
37:17
And if I missed one, I probably did.
37:19
But I think we have a TikTok page, but I know we don't know where TikTok's going.
37:23
But Instagram is probably the best place to find us.
37:27
That's where we keep a lot of our current work posted.
37:31
We don't do a lot of videos there, but as far as our photo work, every market, every
37:37
industry that we service, you'll see examples there.
37:40
So things that are kind of coming up sort of new for this year, we are expanding our
37:46
team.
37:47
We're increasing our capabilities to bring on more clients.
37:51
As a matter of fact, just in January, we've brought on two new builder clients in our
37:57
business.
37:58
They're testing the waters with us.
37:59
We're testing them too.
38:01
But we've had multiple projects already in the bag and shot and delivered for them.
38:06
And they've been super happy.
38:07
And we're trying to get some more builder clients on board with our business.
38:13
It just so happens, and this goes back to the whole pandemic thing, that the majority
38:16
of our business happens to be property related.
38:19
It's not what we were looking to do.
38:21
It's not sort of that niche market that we were just like, that's it.
38:27
That's our only focus.
38:28
It just turned out that about, I'm just going to guess probably about 60 to 70% of our business
38:37
is property related.
38:39
That includes, of course, resale market.
38:42
That's always there.
38:43
We've really built our business into the new build market.
38:47
So we work with a couple of national builders, some regional builders, and some custom luxury
38:52
home builders as well.
38:54
We work with remodeling companies.
38:55
We work with investment companies.
38:57
We work with a small amount of even commercial real estate, people who are looking for that
39:02
mixed use office type work.
39:04
And a lot of our work is actually sort of grown peripherally out of that market.
39:09
So when we shoot for builders and things like that, we've developed relationships with mortgage
39:15
providers and closing attorneys and other and remodeling companies.
39:22
And it's kind of interesting how that all just sort of grew out of itself.
39:28
But outside of that, we do a lot of headshot work.
39:30
We do a lot of event and video work.
39:32
We shoot award shows and we shoot business seminars.
39:36
We also do a little bit of product work too.
39:39
We don't push for that, but occasionally somebody comes in, we shoot product.
39:44
But I think probably overall the biggest area, or I would say the biggest category of what
39:49
we do in addition to this property stuff, and actually the property work sort of siphons
39:55
back into this category too, is we provide marketing assets.
40:00
I think that's honestly probably the most accurate description of what we do.
40:05
One short we do photo and video.
40:09
It's like, yes, in the end, we deliver photography, we deliver videos and things like that.
40:14
But what we are doing is we are providing people with marketing assets because when
40:19
it comes to social media, these companies, they need content.
40:22
They need content for social media marketing.
40:25
And it doesn't matter if it's product, if it's a service, or even if it's their own
40:29
face.
40:30
And if that's what they build their business on, just recognition, then hey, that picture
40:37
review is pretty important.
40:39
But your marketing assets go beyond social media.
40:42
It goes into whatever, anything you put in front of a potential client, you need a photo
40:49
or a video of some sort.
40:51
Every presentation, if it's a proposal debt to a new client, if it's your next Facebook
40:57
post, another good example is, let's say a company's redesigning their website for 2025.
41:04
We've worked with web design companies as well to provide full asset suites for websites.
41:10
So all the photography, all the video, your video banners, all that kind of stuff, probably
41:16
a better, better enlarger picture of what we're able to offer.
41:21
Okay, Chris, you know something, this was an outstanding podcast.
41:27
I love learning all about what you do.
41:30
And if any of my listeners want to contact Chris, contact him, go on Instagram.
41:35
That's the most prevalent one.
41:37
And just thank you for coming on.
41:39
Thanks Michael.
41:40
I appreciate it.
41:41
This has been a lot of fun.
41:42
And to be honest, this is, I haven't done a lot of podcasts, so I needed this practice.
41:46
All right then.
41:48
All right.
41:49
Goodbye.
41:50
Wait one minute.
41:52
Don't leave yet.
41:54
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Well, that's a wrap, folks.
43:34
A huge thank you to our special guests for sharing such incredible insights today, and
43:40
of course, a big shout out to you, our amazing listeners, for tuning in and spending your
43:46
time with us.
43:48
Remember, networking isn't about being perfect.
43:51
It's about being present.
43:53
So take what you've learned today, get out there, and make some meaningful connections.
43:58
If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe, leave us a review, and share
44:03
it with someone who could use a little networking inspiration.
44:08
Let's keep the conversation going.
44:10
You can find me on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or my website, MichaelAForman.com.
44:17
Remember, until next time, keep practicing, keep connecting, and keep building those relationships.
44:24
This is Michael A. Foreman, signing off.
44:27
Take care, and happy networking.