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159. Streamlining Your Photography Business with Melissa Rich
Running a successful photography business means more than just capturing stunning images. It’s about balancing creativity with the operational side of things—a challenge many photographers face. Melissa Rich, founder of Virtually Done Systems, helps photographers simplify their businesses through smart workflows and automation, making room for what they love most: photography.
Melissa Rich is the founder of Virtually Done Systems, a business dedicated to all things systems and workflows for creative small business owners. She’s spent the last 16 years behind the camera as a full-time wedding photographer, secretly enjoying all of the behind-the-scenes work more than her time making pictures. Now, Melissa specializes in helping overwhelmed business owners get their lives back by implementing strategized systems, workflows, and automations to take care of the day-to-day tasks that stress them out so they can fall back in love with their businesses, spend less time behind their laptop, and live their damn lives.
From Wedding Photographer to Workflow Pro
Melissa’s journey into systems started while helping her husband, Kyle, with his wedding photography business. She took on tasks like managing emails and client meetings, quickly realizing her knack for organization and efficiency. When she began shooting weddings herself, she brought this same mindset to their photography workflows, streamlining processes to improve their business.
When the pandemic shifted the world, Melissa leaned on her expertise to pivot into the role of a virtual assistant. With a background in healthcare IT and process improvement, she naturally gravitated toward building systems for her clients. It wasn’t long before she turned her focus to helping photographers create sustainable and efficient businesses.
Why Systems Are Essential for Photographers
While most photographers thrive on the creative aspects of their work, tasks like managing inquiries, contracts, and timelines can feel like an energy drain. Melissa emphasizes that well-designed systems don’t limit creativity—they enhance it. By automating repetitive tasks, photographers can save time, reduce stress, and focus on their craft.
The Tools to Transform Your Workflow
Melissa’s top recommendations for photographers include:
- Dubsado for client management, from inquiries to invoicing.
- ClickUp for project management and task tracking.
These tools provide structure, consistency, and more time to spend on creative work.
Start Small to Avoid Overwhelm
Melissa advises against trying to overhaul everything at once. Begin with one area of your business, like automating inquiry responses or setting up scheduling reminders. Once you see the time savings, it’s easier to expand your systems step by step.
Signs It’s Time for a System Upgrade
If busy seasons leave you scrambling to keep up, or you find yourself repeatedly fixing the same problems, it’s time to revisit your systems. Regular reviews ensure your workflows grow with your business, keeping things smooth and efficient.
Creating Boundaries for Work-Life Balance
Photographers often work weekends and irregular hours, making boundaries essential. Melissa recommends using tools to limit when clients can book time on your calendar. Accountability partners can also help you stay on track and make time for yourself.
Where to Begin
For those new to systems, Melissa suggests starting with a project management tool to organize tasks and ideas in one place. From there, you can move into specialized tools like CRMs to refine your workflows.
Your Next Step
Melissa Rich helps photographers transform their businesses through effective systems, allowing them to work smarter, not harder. By starting small and embracing automation, you can create a sustainable business that supports both your creativity and your life.
Melissa Rich
The Ultimate Client Workflow Cheatsheet
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Ingvild Kolnes is the host of the Sustainable Photography Podcast, an educator for photographers, and is ready to help you with your photography business.
hi, I’m ingvild
This podcast is all about education and inspiration for photographers. A sustainable business is profitable and lasting. Instead of short-term wins you want to make sure you’re doing things that matter. Both to yourself, and to create the business you want. The goal of this podcast is that it will help you build and structure your business around your life, instead of the other way around.
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