She Started Shooting Weddings From Her Dorm for $750 — She Cleared Her First $1 Million at 28
3 min read · RealCase summary
Katelyn Alsop picked up photography during her second year at Christopher Newport University, when a friend asked her to take photos of students on campus. She bought a Canon Rebel XSi for $700, treated it as a hobby for about six months, then launched Katelyn James Photography from her dorm room in 2008, according to CNBC Make It.
Her first rate was $750 for six hours of shooting and editing. By 2013 she was earning six figures a year, and her husband, Michael, quit his job that year to work in the business. In 2015 she launched an online education business teaching other photographers, and right after her 28th birthday in 2016 she made her first $1 million in profit.
Now 35 and based in Richmond, Virginia, she typically shoots about four weddings a year at $12,000 or more each. The business brings in about $240,000 a month, roughly $230,000 of it from courses. 'I might not have slept for a few years, but didn't feel like a sacrifice at the time because I loved it so much,' she said.
Key takeaways
- ›First camera: a $700 Canon Rebel XSi; first rate $750 for six hours
- ›Six figures a year by 2013; first $1 million in profit around age 28 (2016)
- ›Now shoots about four weddings a year at $12,000 or more each
- ›Revenue around $240,000 a month, about $230,000 of it from online courses
Original source
Read the original (CNBC Make It via NBC San Diego)
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