Today we’d like to introduce you to Sydney Prather and Alyssa Douglas.
Sydney and Alyssa, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
We started out as a freelance photographer and videographer, doing things on our own here and there. When we met, we really bonded over our passion for photography and from there we decided to start our own company.
At first it was a lot of hustle. We were on Craigslist and asking our customers (we both worked part-time at Starbucks) what we could shoot for them. Slowly, we started gaining traction. People we worked with started referring us to more companies, and before we knew it, we had repeat clients and didn’t have to even advertise anymore. We started saying “no” to jobs we didn’t want and began to focus more on what we liked and what we did best. It’s been fun, and we are only 2 years in.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I don’t think any roads are smooth when you own a business. There’s a lot of learning to do as you go. We haven’t had an unhappy client yet, but we have hired people that haven’t worked out, and that is always a hard conversation.
We also have had down times where we just weren’t getting jobs and when that happened in year one, we both started driving with Lyft and Uber. Alyssa made it her job to get clients off of Craigslist. I started shooting things I hate shooting- like weddings or whatever. It was not smooth and it still isn’t. But just like with anything, you have to work hard and stay at it day in and day out. We eventually were able to quit all of our extra jobs and focus on what we set out to focus on- shooting photo and video content for companies.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Avenue Media story. Tell us more about the business.
We primarily exist because social media exists. You cannot have a business without some sort of online presence, so with that in mind, we specialize in creating content for companies to use on their social media accounts and websites. Some businesses have their content generating down pat, but most companies need help. They are focusing on whatever it is they do and they just need someone to help them show the world what they’re doing. That’s where we come in.
In addition to creating photos and videos, we also do social media management. So if the company really wants to be hands-off, we can take that over for them, so they can focus on what they do best.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Luck always plays some sort of role in things. The saying “It’s who you know” is more than just a saying- it’s true. Without certain connections we have made along the way, we wouldn’t have some of our best clients today. But of course, you could argue that without our hustling, we wouldn’t have put ourselves into situations in order to meet the people we randomly met. So it’s just how you look at it really.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.avenue.media
- Phone: 6193417712
- Email: killinit@avenue.media
- Instagram: avenue.media
Image Credit:
Avenue Media
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