Rewind the clock 10 years and we find ourselves in 2009 (wow, 2009 was ten years ago already?). It's been about a decade since I started shooting headshots, but back then, during the first few years of my business, I consistently struggled with this big question:

How could I be myself without seeming unprofessional?

I sometimes feel overwhelmed. As a business owner, I find myself cooking about eight things at once. My five burner stove is running full blast, I've got two things in the oven, and I'm trying to make a salad in a bowl on the counter. It's no wonder at least half of the things I've worked on in the past have burned.

Alright, I'll stop with the cooking metaphor (although I love to cook)!

Currently, as of January 18th, 2019, we are working on a bunch of things in the company - creating case studies for past successful clients, writing blog posts, getting our mailing list organized, training our photographers to be as great as they can be, reaching out to past clients and letting them know about our other videography and marketing services, and signing up new business consulting and career coaching clients. On top of that we're still running our usual day to day business operations.

How many people tell you, "Oh you really gotta use LinkedIn more to connect to people and create opportunities for yourself!"?

I feel like out of every 5 people I meet and talk to about business, at least one tells me I need to use LinkedIn more. And if you're an actor reading this, it can feel even more difficult to network because most actors are not on LinkedIn!

I used to have no idea what to do. Yeah, sure! I'll put my headshot on there and make sure my profile is up to date... but what else is there? Connect with people and send them a creepy "Hi, I just met you online and want to be your friend," message?

I was stuck for years having no clue how to use for LinkedIn or what I'd need it for besides just having my presence up to date and looking professional to anyone who happened to stumble across my profile.

Well, all that changed for me last year when I realized exactly how I could use this social media tool generate new opportunities for myself and my business.