20 November, 2012

Funny... Or Becoming a Problem?


For those who do not know, not only am I a pastor, but I also have a small photography business on the side. At this point, it has really been far more of a hobby than a business, but it is beginning to grow and I'm getting a lot more calls for business. There is one issue that has been there all along, but it is happening with more and more frequency, and now I'm beginning to wonder if I've created a monster. When I began my business, I named it "Dan Ash" after my kids, Daniel and Ashley. They had a great deal to do with me taking the step to go back into photography after laying it down for many years. The problem now is that people keep wanting to meet "Mr. Ash."  Like I said, it has happened many times since I began the business, but it is happening more and more frequently. Like it is in many things, people may like the employee, but they want the "expert" or the owner. Just yesterday I received an email from someone who I've been talking to about shooting their wedding pictures, and finally she sends this message back telling me how much she loves my work, but wanted to know if it would be possible to meet Mr. Ash and book him to shoot the wedding. It took several tries to get her to believe me that I AM Mr. Ash. Then this morning, I received a phone call from another client that I'm supposed to meet with next week to secure a wedding shoot and she said that they would really like to meet with Dan as well, because they want the best shots available. She thought I was giving her the run around to keep a shoot for myself, going so far as to tell "Mr. Ash" that I was risking  losing their business by trying book their wedding when they really wanted him to shoot it. They said they liked his work better. I'm like, "OK... how can you tell which ones I've shot and which ones he shot?" She said she really did not know, but she wanted the best. I finally got her to agree to go back to my website and read the "About Us" section. As she read it, she said, "Oh my God, do I feel like an idiot!"  I told her it was not big deal, it happens all the time. But now I'm wondering... How do I deal with this? I sure don't want to lose weddings because people don't take the time to read that section of my website. It's like most things, people skip all the details and go right to the "important" parts. I've been wrestling with how to get this across to people without putting them in these situations where they feel embarrassed or even angered, like one person did. I'm not going to change the company name at this juncture and lose 5 years of building my name, but it is obvious I've got to do something. 

Anyone have any ideas on how to make it simple and clear that Dan Ash is my alter ego?

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