Ask Ash: 'I Don't Have Any Experience.'

Dear Ash,

I want to travel.

I want freedom.

I want to be able to jaunt off to France at a moment’s notice, and wear a scarf unironically around my neck, and tell the server I’ll be having the “coq au vin,” and visit an art museum without feeling like a prepubescent toddler.

As a result, I’ve decided I’d like to get into personal brand photography. It’s a job I can do while traveling, so long as I have a camera. Who doesn’t need a killer photoshoot for their website these days? (I remember when you + your photographer offered these in London; I was drooling.)

The only problem is, I don’t have any experience. I’m good with a camera—I have professional equipment and am self-taught—but who’s going to hire someone who hasn’t worked with any clients?

I’m not sure how to approach this. Am I supposed to work for free? Charge low rates? Something else?

How can I break into the industry without seeming like a two-bit Tina?

HELP.

Sincerely,

Coq Au Virgin

Dear Virgin,

Do you realize that I am SO bad at tying a scarf around my neck, once I actually bought AN ENTIRE BOOK about how to tie a scarf around your neck? (I can’t make this up.)

When armageddon hits, please let everyone know I am busy trying to pull off “The Neckerchief” without looking like a pilgrim.

…or a flight attendant.

Me. Italy. 2016. Trying very, very hard to look chic.

Maybe it was the blue. 🤷‍♀️

ANYWAY—

I 👏 support 👏 this 👏 idea 👏 so 👏 much 👏 it 👏 hurts 👏 me 👏 to 👏 type 👏 all 👏 of 👏 these 👏 clap 👏 emojis 👏 but 👏 I 👏 am 👏 going 👏 to 👏 any 👏 way 👏 because 👏 this 👏 is 👏 a 👏 great 👏 way 👏 to 👏 travel 👏 and 👏 run 👏 your 👏 own 👏 business.

I have several friends who are international photographers, several of which do personal branding, and I can tell you what: I’ve never had more fun. What’s NOT fun about teaming up with wardrobe stylists and makeup artists and renting a swanky studio and eating all the charcuterie and drinking all the mimosas and laughing together and walking around the city together and—most importantly—making people feel like ONE MILLION DOLLARS? There’s nothing better. And, I can vouch that when I did our photoshoot project in London, we had people coming from across the globe.

So, let me begin by reassuring you that, yes, this is absolutely a thing, and yes, you’ll have the freedom to travel—whether you go to clients’ cities, or they come to yours (wherever you happen to be!).

But, of course, it can be really unnerving when you’re just starting out and have no real experience and haven’t got any clients and aren’t sure how to GET any clients (or whether or not you should be charging them real and actual money).

You are not alone. Everyone started here once. And, it’s fucking terrifying.

BUT! It’s absolutely doable. And not just doable, but fun.

There is nothing like the beginner’s high.

So, let’s ride it, shall we?

Instead of looking at your inexperience as a negative, we’re going to turn that around and present you as the hottest new thing on the block.

Everything is about how you position it.

The key is knowing the right way to position yourself as a newbie, and the wrong way to position yourself. (And, by the way, this applies to any industry.)

The Wrong Way to Launch a New Side Hustle

Let’s talk about the stuff you’re really worried about:

You’re worried you’re not legitimate, you’re worried you’re an imposter, you’re worried you don’t have the skill, you’re worried about trying to sell yourself, you’re worried clients will expect perfection, you’re worried clients will balk at the money, you’re worried about having to ask for money at all in the first place (UGH), you’re worried you’re selling yourself short if you don’t, you’re worried you’ll do a bad job, you’re worried you’ll disappoint the client, you’re worried that you don’t really know what you are doing…at all.

So, as a result?

Newbies run around with their pants down, working in ways that diminish them as professionals, creating the conditions for clients to view them merely as order takers, rather than advisors.

This is the #1 thing newbies get wrong: they assume that inexperience = incompetence.

So, they act incompetent.

• They work for free
• They don’t charge money
• They don’t value their time
• They don’t do contracts
• They don’t have a process
• They don’t deliver on time
• They don’t create a killer experience
• They don’t excite their clients
• And they don’t ask for MORE.

Instead, it becomes a very “tail between your legs” kind of thing, where the client is the boss and you are the minion and you do as they say, because you feel like you aren’t in a position of authority.

This leads to all sorts of early-stage resentment—and soooooo many people giving up on their businesses because they haven’t yet learned how to properly do business like a professional. (Even if they haven’t been one for long.)

Because, here’s the thing: a client doesn’t care if you’re inexperienced, so long as you’re awesome. We need to focus more on making you awesome, and less on all the ways you aren’t.

That way, even if you are inexperienced? That doesn’t mean you’re incompetent.

It just means you’re taking your skills and applying them to a new type of work.

And that’s precisely what I’m talking about when I say “the right way to position you as a newbie.”

Because when you do it right?

You won’t seem like a rookie, you’ll see like a savior.

The Right Way to Launch a New Side Hustle

Introducing….The 3 Holy Fucking Commandments. Because none of this is obvious, but it’ll sure help you start your business off right.

1. Thou shall charge money, even when brand new.
   This is a controversial opinion, but it’s mine, and here’s why: Just because you’re entering a new industry does not mean all of your expertise, wisdom, and knowledge has suddenly been erased overnight. It simply means you’re taking your skills and applying it to a new field. That means that, contrary to how you feel right now, you actually have much more to bring to the table than you think. In fact, your previous background may even make you more qualified. Have you been a life coach for that past decade? You’re going to be SO GOOD at making people feel comfortable behind the camera. Have you been a marketer for the past decade? You’re going to be SO GOOD at advising your clients how to leverage their personal branding photos to get noticed. Have you been a teacher for the past decade? You’re going to be SO GOOD at directing your clients on where to go and what to do.
   
   No matter what line of work you’ve been in, you are a professional. That doesn’t change, even if the industry does. Therefore, you are bringing so much more to the table than you realize, as you already have strengths over your contemporaries in ways you can’t even see. But, try to see them. Try to see how your past experience informs your perspective now: it will help give you the confidence you need to begin. Because when you are clear on your value? It’s so much easier to sell your value.
   
   This is one reason I don’t advocate working for free, even if you are a beginner: the professional respects their time. And clients respect professionals. And professional relationships requires a fair exchange: I’ll do this for you, and in exchange, here’s what I’d like in return. By showing up as a professional, you are mitigating your lack of industry experience, and instead, giving your client the BEST experience they’ve ever had. That’s the goal.
   
   Create a professional experience for clients, and it won’t matter that you’re new.
   
   Buuuuutttt….you still need to disclose the fact that you are. Which bring me to lesson #2.
   
2. Thou shall re-brand “new and inexperienced” into “exciting and fresh.”
   Just because I’m telling you that you need to show up as a professional, and you should charge a fee for your time regardless of your stage, does not mean you should pretend to be anything than you are: new.
   
   But, guess what?! New isn’t bad! New is actually fresh. New is energizing. New is exciting!
   
   New has gotten a bad rap over the years, and everyone’s afraid to be new. But when you OWN your new, you take back your power. You are no longer weak / green / stupid / inexperienced, but rather?
   
   You are someone who is hungry to do incredible things.
   
   Therefore, you know what you say to clients?
   
   You present yourself as the hottest new thing on the block. You give them an opportunity to get involved. You act like what you are doing is sincerely AWESOME. (Because, when you pick the right business, you should feel this way.)
   
   Instead of saying something like:
   
   “Hey, I’m a new photographer and I’m trying to build my portfolio. Might you need any headshots? I’m willing to do it for free.”
   
   (Which is weak and uninteresting and sounds annoying and is easily ignore-able.)
   
   …you take a different approach. You say this instead:
   
   “Hey there! I’m a photographer working on a new project featuring the women who work on laptops in London, and I’d love to include you in the series. I dig your work! This is a new venture for me and I’m really excited. Hoping to get some great publicity for it.
   
   If you’re interested, here’s how it works: you and I agree on a time/date. I’ll come out and photograph you at your favorite place to work. We’ll talk a little bit about who you are and what you do, and why you love it here. And then I’ll include you in the series I’m working on.
   
   Bonus round! Because you’ll be all dolled up with a camera in front of your mug, if you’d like to take the opportunity to do a mini photoshoot (updated headshots are so hard to find time to do!), that’s available as an additional add-on: we can also walk around London for a few hours and get some great personal branding shots you can use for your website this year. For that, I’m charging a small fee of £300, given that this is a new venture. But I’m confident you’ll come away with killer new photos for spring!
   
   Either way, I’d love to photograph you—either just for a few minutes, or a whole afternoon.
   
   Let me know!
   
   Signed,
   You”
   
   Do you see how in this approach, you aren’t hiding the fact that you’re new, but you don’t seem desperate, either?
   
   Furthermore, the focus isn’t ON you—it’s on the work itself, and how you might be able to benefit the client.
   
   The best part is that whatever the client chooses, you’re still building your portfolio…without marketing your work as “free.”
   
   (P.S. I’m not saying you need to run this exact campaign, but I am saying: consider how you can spin “new” into “exciting.” Sometimes, it just requires a simple but strategic re-frame.)
   
   
3. AND—last but not least—thou shall pitch clients with gusto & enthusiasm!
   The #1 thing I hear all the time is: but how do I get clients? And the #1 thing I say is: you ask them for their business.
   
   Most people make marketing wayyyyy too complicated. (Usually they are marketers trying to sell you a system.) You know what marketing is? Marketing is simply this: getting in front of someone.
   
   You don’t need ads to get in front of someone. You don’t need influencers to get in front of someone. You don’t need all of these bells and whistles to get in front of someone.
   
   All you need to do is send an email.
   
   That is how you get in front of someone.
   
   Because, it’s true: most people are not going to know about you. It’s going to be REALLY HILARIOUSLY HARD to become some famous, household brand. That is not what you are doing here. That is why you don’t need 10,000 perfectly polished reels. All you need? Is to identify some cool people you’d love to work with. And send them an email.
   
   A great way to find this is on LinkedIn.
   
   You would be shocked at how many clients you can get, simply by reaching out and pitching yourself. And, the pitch does not have to be a big thing, either: I’d send the note from Commandment #2, or find a way to do something interesting and be relevant to the client. Then, offer your services on the backend. Creating a campaign that’s interesting and unique in your field of work, and then approaching people and asking if they want to be a part of it, is a great way to get your foot in the door with new clients without being pushy or weird.
   
   

Why are these three things effective? Because like we talked about in the beginning: it’s all about how you position yourself.

You are not a newbie begging for a chance. You are a pioneer doing something super interesting & cool in your line of work, and you want to include them.

This is a major shift in posture—and it’s one that will pay off dividends…for life. Anytime you need to refresh your business as a whole, get some new clients in the door, or even pivot your direction, you can devise a fun campaign around a theme or a topic, and then get to work!

Remember: no one is stopping you from doing the work you love. It’s up to you to do the work you love…and then find clients who want to be a part of it.

Do this, Virgin, and you will never seem like a “Two-Bit Tina.”

You will be a person who’s creating a body of work she cares about.

And, there is nothing prepubescent about that.