How can Memory Keeping become a business?

Did you see that post title? I bet you're super curious about how you can turn your passion for capturing memories into a business.

How can memory keeping become a business? There are multiple ways: you can start an online store, share your endeavors on YouTube, or even start a business that helps others memory keep too (and so much more). But that's where my focus is--helping others memory keep. I love helping others achieve their memory keeping goals, understand that this doesn't have to be something hard, and that their stories are meant to be captured, documented, and saved.

For those of you who may be unaware, I started a videography and photography business early in 2018. It's called LVP Studios (formerly known as Lang Videography). It started simply because a friend had asked if I had ever thought about filming weddings (since I had camera gear already and loved creating vlogs). Basically after that I said "why the heck not... so, um, can I film your wedding?" This was all also around the time when my husband and I got engaged. We began the process of looking into wedding videography options and quickly realized that this was something we were passionate about doing for ourselves. I'd booked a good number of wedding events right off the bat, and learned so much about the film making industry.

My love for photo and video wound up being a pretty natural transition into a business. I’ve been creating videos of differing styles for over 5 years. Vlogging, sit down, montages, etc. From quirky and literally LOLing, to romantic and slow-mo worthy, I am constantly learning about the best way to capture any moment. After almost a year of entirely doing wedding videos, I wanted to branch out to something more! I needed to help others capture their memories during times other than weddings. And also, I wanted to supplement video with photo too.

Early this year, I dabbled in photography for the first time. It was truly a blast. I think that video making is really my speciality, and it's really what sets me apart from the crowd, but there's just something about having stunning photos to go on your wall too that just makes the entire experience of capturing your memories feel so full circle.

With LVP Studios, I made it my mission to contain the essence of who the customer is and bottle it into a video and photo gallery that can last a lifetime. The videos and photos that I create have always been as a means to hold a moment in time--something you can review for years and years to come. This is my full-time memory keeping business.

I love keeping my own memories in video form. This is why we vlog. So when I started LVP Studios I knew I wanted to keep my same storytelling background in mind while shooting these cinematic wedding clips, capturing those special moments of a family, and documenting events and days of all kinds. I constantly think about the memory that I want to capture for the couple and the feelings that I want them to experience again. I think that this is what sets me apart from other videographers and photographers.

I'm not formally trained in video or photo, but I really love it and am learning every single day. As long as you have a passion for something, you can turn anything into a business. These next five steps showcase exactly how you can do the same—how you can turn your passion for memory keeping into a business.

5 steps to turn memory keeping into your career

1. Treat it like a full fledged business.

Do you know the saying “fake it til you make it?” Well that’s what almost every entrepreneur does. We’re all out here pretending we’re super busy, blocking time off of our schedule to do hours and hours of marketing, and faking the business until it is a business. When it comes to memory keeping, remember to keep it fun, but if you want it to become your business then you have to first treat it like a business too.

2. Be financially smart.

No matter what direction you are taking your business with memory keeping, be sure that you are not unnecessarily spending more money. In all honesty, I would even say don’t spend any more money than what you’re making with your business. For example—if this is your little side hustle then you should NOT be dipping into your personal finances to pay for your side hustle.

Now, don’t get my wrong, many people do get business loans, or spend personal money to get up off the ground, but in my opinion, you don’t have to. And this is especially true for those of you who want to make memory keeping a full time job. A lot of times its more about changing your mindset about the business, not changing how much you’re spending on it.

3. Put in the work!!

You have to put in the work!! No matter what you’re doing, in order to reach your goals you have to do the things. If this means offering a few things for free just for the practice, or handing out demo products to family just to get realistic feedback, no matter what you have to do, just put in the work. I spend hours late into the night working on strategies, editing, and brainstorming things that my family doesn’t even understand. But I know that I have to put in the work in order for this career to keep going. Freelance is hard!!

4. Be okay with failure.

As you’re learning and growing you will inevitably make mistakes. Maybe they will be financial or marketing or tax related…who knows, but it’s okay to mess up as long as you get back out there and correct it, learn from it, and move on.

One of my biggest failures during my journey as a full-time memory keeper at the beginning was not sticking to a deadline. I am ashamed to talk about this now, but I know that it allowed me to push myself harder, develop a better strategy going forward, and find something that ultimately worked more in my favor.

5. Invest in your education!

Now, when I say invest I actually don’t mean money. Paid classes and courses and ebooks are GREAT! But there is soooo much to learn out there on the internet for free. I spend probably weeks out of the year just scouring Pinterest or YouTube for tutorials on problem A or problem B. I have read countless articles about taxes for small businesses, how to make a business plan, and different photography tips. It’s important to prioritize education especially at the beginning of your career, but also throughout your journey.