Premium Members, click here to access this interview in the premium area.

Paul Jarvis of www.pjrvs.com is the author of a new book, Company of One – Why Staying Small Is The Next Big Thing For Business which focuses on the idea that staying small and avoiding growth can be more enjoyable, more fulfilling and possibly more profitable than going big.

In this interview, my hope is your takeaway will be coming away with a new idea of how you define success with your photography business.

Paul is a writer, designer, podcaster, online course teacher and software creator.

The contact page on his website has no contact info – he says, the volume of email was too much. Instead, he says, pretend I'm dead. And that everything he knows is available online through books and articles he's written, podcasts he's hosted and the courses he teaches.

In this interview, Paul shares his thoughts on how we, as photographers, can and should define success and grow our businesses. I hope you find the discussion both thought-provoking and inspiring and see the release date of this interview as more than a coincidence of good timing and more of a roadmap for you and your business at the start of a new year.

Here’s some more of what we cover in the interview:

  • Going away or taking breaks  are both acceptable and necessary when running a photography business
  • Why you shouldn't say yes to every business opportunity presented to you
  • The importance of taking the time off to recharge
  • Is it worthwhile swapping holidays for client bookings?
  • Why Paul decided to write this book
  • Why you need to work out how much is enough in order to create more time to do what you want to do
  • How much is enough today?
  • The more money people make, the happier they are
  • The catalyst for making changes that are right for you and your business start with defining success
  • Comparison is the thief of joy
  • Should you live for the now or make enough in preparation for retirement?
  • The secret to happiness
  • Why you should not run a one-person business
  • Mailing lists need to grow to a certain size to generate good revenue
  • Connections drive the direction of a photography business
  • Why Paul prefers hiring people he doesn't need to manage
  • Will reading Paul's book encourages you to downsize your businesses?
  • How optimisation can offer a solution to your business
  • Creating a knowledge base or helpful videos to aid with client questions
  • Paul follows the “time will tell” philosophy
  • Steps to consider when undertaking major decisions that could make or break your business
  • Paul's advice on creating email lists for photographers
  • Optimising email lists for your business
  • When is the best time to send newsletters to your subscribers?
  • Is it alright to share personal stories on your newsletters?
  • Topics to write about in your email newsletters

Paul Jarvis Photography Podcast

What’s on Offer for Premium Members

If you’re a premium member, you should have received an email with links to your version of this interview – the full length and more revealing version where you hear the absolute best tips and advice from every guest.

If you’re on the fence about becoming a premium member, join with the $1 trial today and get access to the FULL interviews each week, get access to an amazing back catalogue of interviews and ALL future interviews delivered automatically to your phone or tablet.

I realised I don't have to say ‘yes' to everything. Not everything is going to be the opportunity that makes or breaks my business. – Paul Jarvis

Plus special member-only interviews.

You'll also receive access to the members-only Secret Facebook Group where you can connect with other Premium Members and interview guests to help, support and motivate you to take ideas you hear in each episode and put them into action. There are also FB live video tutorials, role-play interviews and special live interviews happening in the group.

You will not find more friendly, more motivated, caring and sharing photographers online.

Joining a Mastermind Group (encouraged by Andrew) has been incredibly valuable and fun, I look forward to connecting with my group members every week. Jina Zheng, Premium Member and Melbourne Children photographer.

And that's not all… you get a set of steak knives… I'm kidding!

Seriously though, that's not all. In addition to everything above, you'll get access to and instructions on forming or joining a MasterMind Group with other premium members. These groups are super motivating, make you accountable and build friendships with other pro photographers with similar motives to you – to build a more successful photography business.

What is your big takeaway?

Following this interview, I’d love to know if you're taking anything away from what Paul shared. Is there something you heard that excited or motivated you to the point where you thought, yeah, I'm going to do that! If so, let me know by leaving your thoughts in the comments below, let me know what your takeaways were, what you plan to implement in your business as a result of what you heard in today's episode.

All businesses, especially in the beginning, have to grow. All businesses start at zero. We all have to adapt the growth mindset in the beginning to get to wherever our enough is. – Paul Jarvis

If you have any questions that I missed, a specific question you’d like to ask Paul or if you just want to say thanks for coming on the show, feel free to add them in the comments area below.

iTunes Reviews and Shout-outs

Each week I check for any new iTunes reviews and it's always a buzz to receive these… for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, it's confirmation that I'm on the right track with the interviews and that they really are helping you improve your photography business. That's awesome!

Secondly, iTunes is the biggest search engine when it comes to podcasts and it's your reviews and ratings that help other photographers find PhotoBizX. More listeners mean more interviews and ultimately a better show.

If you have left a review in the past, thank you!

If you haven't and you'd like to, head to https://photobizx.com/itunes and you can leave some honest feedback and a rating which will help both me and the show and I'll be sure to thank you on the show and add a link to your website or blog if you let me know the URL of your website and your name.

Alternatively, if you've left a review for PhotoBizX and are looking for more backlinks to help your SEO, leave a review for the new Photography Xperiment Podcast and email me your keywords or keyword phrase and where you'd like me to link to.

Another great way to get a backlink to your site is to send a video testimonial. It doesn't need to be fancy and your phone will be perfect. Click record and tell me how PhotoBizX has made a difference to you and your photography business.

Paul Jarvis Photography Podcast

Links to people, places and things mentioned in this episode:

Paul Jarvis Website

Company of One: Why Stay ing Small is the Next Big Thing for Business

Paul Jarvis on Twitter

Thank you!

Thanks again for listening and big thanks to Paul for sharing his thoughts on business, growth, success and why it's up to us, individually, to decide what is enough, where success lays and what to say yes or no to in our photography business.

It's up to us to make that decision because we're calling the shots. We need to be happy with the direction our business is going. – Paul Jarvis

If you have any suggestions, comments or questions about this episode, please be sure to leave them below in the comment section of this post, and if you liked the episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of the post!

That’s it for me this week, hope everything is going well for you in life and business!

Thanks and speak soon

Andrew