Forget the odd jobs that come along with being in college. Elyse Ku Felts when faced with hard times in college turned limes into lemons by founding Elyse Kufeldt Photography.
Website: www.elysekufeldtphotography.com Twitter: twitter.com/elysekufphotog Facebook: facebook.com/elyse.kufeldt.photography
What is your business all about?
I take pictures of fleeting moments. Of moments that would otherwise slip by and be totally forgotten. I make sure that my clients receive these photos in some tangible way. I think in our culture it’s easy to focus entirely on tomorrow and what’s on our to-do list and forget to stop, take a breath and enjoy the love we have in our lives right now. And, for as much as I love the internet and computers, sometimes we have to remind ourselves to get our memories off them and in our homes.
I’m a photographer. But I focus on working with my clients to really understand who they are and to design a session in which they can be relaxed and just be themselves. No cheesy smiles. No awkward posing. Just raw relationships. And not just relationships with the people around us, but with ourselves as well.
My specialties are couples, weddings, new families (maternity through first year) and individuals.
What does your background look like?
I’ve always had an entrepreneurial flair. When I was 16, I started doing commissioned web design work. When I was a senior, I did my senior project on starting a business. That business was focused on providing clients with ways to use their family photographs, especially as slide shows or albums.
After I graduated high school, I took an unintended year off and worked for a voice recognition software company in Bellevue in User Interface Design and Usability. This experience gave me a unique look at how to cater to your clientele and user base. I was, however, laid off in October 2008, when I had started college.
Now, I am entering my final year at the UW, majoring in Russian Language & Literature and minoring in Linguistics. I believe in following your passions. I am passionate about everything Russian and always have been and knew I would have done myself a disservice if I hadn’t followed up on that dream.
Why did you start your business, launch your first product, or build that community in the first place?
It was an indian summer. I was freshly engaged and newly returned to school after an unintended year off working. And I found myself laid off. Living in Duvall, and commuting to Seattle every day for school, I had to find a way to make money that didn’t add more craziness into my schedule. And so I picked up my camera, and started shooting for cash.
It’s not a romantic story, but it’s a true one. While I always enjoyed my camera before, my love for taking photos has grown by leaps and bounds since that October day three years ago. It took me a while, but I’ve finally realized that what I love most about photography is capturing the joy and weird idiosyncracies in relationships and helping individuals to see how beautiful they are through and through.
What are your favorite things about being young, female and entrepreneurial?
I dig the challenge. And in a weird way, I dig the failure. It’s a course I’m charting all by myself. I hold all the cards and get to make all the decisions. It’s all at once terrifying and liberating. Every failure is a chance to pick yourself up and try again. Conan delivered the commencement address to Dartmouth grads this year and he said this: “It is our failure to become our perceived ideal that ultimately defines us and makes us unique. It’s not easy, but if you accept your misfortune and handle it right your perceived failure can become a catalyst for profound re-invention.”
I thrive on re-invention. And working for myself, I get to do that all the time, whenever I want. Keeping energized and excited about work is on me, and I have the ability to keep it that way without trying to change an already entrenched system.
Do you have mentors or people you admire that you think of when making business decisions?
Not as many as I should. I do watch a couple of photographers pretty closely: Michele Anderson of Pinkle Toes Photography and Andrea Halsey of Andrea Halsey Photography. This is one area I’ve really wanted to work on recently.
What have been the advantages of being young and female while building your business?
I’d wager it’s easier to take failures in stride. Being young, I don’t think I can rightly expect to have great success out of the gate, so I haven’t been surprised or disappointed that I haven’t. It also makes it easier to take risks and chances.
What are the disadvantages you’ve faced, if any?
Especially as a photographer, it’s difficult to network and make valuable connections with mothers and families if you don’t have children yourself yet. This was a major frustration for me this past year and it blocked me from making positive progress. A month ago, I was forced to really think about what I love to shoot most as a photographer. And I realized it wasn’t families and kids.
What a concept! Maybe, the real reason I was having a hard time connecting with that market was that I just wasn’t jazzed enough. Since changing my focus, I feel freed. I was worried about being feeling trapped and limited by narrowing my focus, but instead I feel like there’s so much more I can do, and it’s hugely motivating to know that every inquiry I deal with now will be one I am excited for!
I think it’s easy to get caught up in what everyone else is doing and think that you have to do it too. But it’s important to step back and ask yourself what exactly it is that you really want — what is it that makes your heart pound fastest when you think about your business?
What is your advice for a young, female entrepreneur just starting out or in the research stage?
The first step should always be to get your paperwork in order — licensing, taxes, etc. Don’t delay! This is my one biggest regret and shame — that it took me a while to do it! You’ll feel so much better when you’re legal! Promise!
Second, work on your networking skills first and foremost. This is still an area I’m weak in and I think it’s a big part of what’s holding me back.
Third, don’t rush to go live. Make sure that your pricing reflects where you want to be. Make sure you know what you want to sell. Knowing those things will make it way easier to market and way easier to talk about your business and will help you market to the right people from the start.
What is your drink of choice?
I’m a boring H2O girl
What can we find you doing when you are not working on and in your business?
Fighting with my Russian homework, working on my thesis, baking or thinking about how I should probably get around to cleaning up the apartment. My husband and I enjoy lazy days with our dog watching probably far too much TV (recently, Merlin, IT Crowd, Mad Men, Parks & Recreation [Ron Swanson, anyone?!]). I also work extremely part time in the library doing metadata for too many pictures of Russian architecture
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Elyse, that’s so awesome that you were able to start your own business in college! I know that I was so focused on graduating and doing all the things I thought would land me a job that I couldn’t even think about becoming an entrepreneur. Way to follow your passion!
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