On today’s podcast, we have my good friend Heather Cluff from Kindly Camera Bags joining us! Heather and I have worked together on several projects over the years – I do brand photography, and Heather does Brand Videography. Since then, she has grown, changed her business and done new things!
Heather entered the entrepreneurial world nearly 19 years ago when her 3rd child was born – that’s when she got interested in photography. She started small and didn’t get too big because she had kids at home! After being a hobby photographer for a while, she found a new interest in videography. She eventually found her way to brand videography!.
She’s always wanted to sell a product, and after many ideas didn’t work out. Heather finally decided she wanted to go for it!
Her camera bags are incredible! I have one, and everyone who sees it wants it too!
It’s interesting to me how many entrepreneurs get their start through photography. Heather loved taking photos, especially when her kids were young, but when they got older, she found herself evolving into videography. Heather’s videos are awesome! She is unique in that she doesn’t show up with a massive production and gear – she’s a minimalist. As an industry, we’ve seen media start to shift to minimalism, and Heather’s always been great at this!
Because she’s been working with brands already behind the scenes, Heather figured “why not do this for my own product and do this for myself at the same time?” Product based is definitely different. It’s been messy at times, but she’s figured it out! She’s spent her whole life thinking about things rather than just doing them. Heather said she finally thought, “Move forward in a way that you can, instead of just sitting there and mulling on it!” She loves that she gets to merge her product-based business with her creative side and service-based business.
I have loved watching the process of Heather’s launch. She was nervous and scared, but as soon as she launched, it’s been all uphill from there.
Truly, we over think so much! You never know what’s going to take off and what isn’t! If you don’t try it, you won’t know! Really, all of Heather’s prior experience, prior work, saving her money, her coaching, etc. has led her to her success today.
I asked Heather: What’s been the hardest thing and the best thing to starting a product-based business?
There’s so much work that goes into it before you even have a website. However, what’s good about a product, is you put a ton of work into it, then once you have it, it’s there and you just sell it. Heather said that’s probably been the hardest part – all the time and energy that goes in behind the scenes before you even launch. Heather stated, “I used to think that if I didn’t know how to do every part of a business, I shouldn’t do it. However, I’ve learned that there’s people out there that you can hire to do things that you don’t know how to do! Don’t let that hold you back!”
What’s the best part of starting a product-based business? It’s SO fun! It’s so fun to see your ideas come to life!
I so enjoyed chatting with Heather about her story and her successes, as well as the parts of her business that have been a little scary and trying. She left us with the following take aways:
Lessons for fellow Mom-Preneurs
- Know and speak to your target audience – this is vital to a successful product/business launch!
- Branding yourself from day 1 – Heather knew her camera bags were high end, and she wanted her brand to reflect and attract customers who were looking for just that!
- Consistency – Post every day! 6 days a week!
- Confidence – Heather trusted herself and started just going for things without second guessing!
- Coaching – Heather invested in people who know things that she doesn’t know!
- Trust your intuition – She says you must trust your intuition follow it! You know what’s best for you!
FIND HEATHER HERE:
https://www.instagram.com/kindlycamerabags/
Coming Soon: coaching and videography courses
https://www.instagram.com/videographymadesimple/
Episode 110. The Formula for Success with Heather Cluff of Kindly Camera Bags
View comments
+ Leave a comment