We had the good fortune of connecting with Kimberly Romano and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kimberly, what is the most important factor behind your success?

It wasn’t until I began stepping outside my comfort zone and showing up as my true energetic, goofy self that I really started to see my version of success in my personal branding photography business. It also took a lot of trial and error to learn how to manage the chaos of running a photography business all while maintaining a booked-out calendar. But, once I figured out what I needed to do inside my business, I’ve found the freedom to enjoy life every day. It’s been a true honor and newfound passion to help other photographers do the same.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?

After being a struggling wedding photographer for nearly 18 years, I was ready to pivot my business to personal brand photography. I specialized in South Asian weddings for 10 of my 18 years, where you didn’t need to market your business. Everything was by word of mouth.

So, I had A LOT to learn when I wanted to pivot to providing photography services that help entrepreneurs market their businesses.

To get started, I worked with a few business coaches and gained a better understanding of the direction of how I wanted to conduct my personal branding photography business. It took a year for me to become more confident, more clarity and the guts to act on what direction I wanted to go. Acting on the clarity and personal courage is when my business really took off.

It wasn’t always easy, and I made many mistakes, but I made sure to learn from every experience, which has contributed to the success of my modern marketing business today.

I never imagined I would mentor other photographers, but after a few requests for 1:1 coaching, I found a new passion. It’s an honor to help other struggling photographers (as I once was) gain clarity on how to grow their photography businesses.

In the end, staying true to who I am sets me apart in my industry and inspires others to take the same action in their business.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?

Hands down, I would take them to downtown St Petersburg. The city is flooded with boutique shops and non-chain restaurants. We’d grab breakfast at Cassis while sitting outside watching people walk up and down with their sweet pups. Then we’d head over to Grand Central to hit up many fun boutique shops. Next, we’d grab fajitas for lunch with margaritas at Grand Hacienda. Then walk around Sunken Gardens and end the day at St Pete Pier.

Then the next day, we would hit up St Pete beach to rest on soft white sand after a fun-filled day in downtown St Pete. And that’s just a small fraction of what to do and enjoy in St Pete!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Three incredible women are at the very top of my success, and wonderfully for different reasons.

First and foremost, Leah Herzwurm of Herzwurm Homes for believing in me from the very beginning and making the biggest impact in her industry which lead me to niche down to serving confident, luxury real estate professionals.

Secondly, Angie McPherson, a brand photographer based out of Virginia, showed me that it’s possible to make a successful career being a personal branding photographer.

Last but certainly not least, Meg Marie a brand photographer based out of California, showed me how to believe in myself in a whole new way, apply new habits that changed my daily life for the good, and raised my confidence as a personal branding photographer.

I wouldn’t be where I am today in my life and business if not for the impact these women made in my life.

Website: https://ksromano.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kimberlysromano/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/scalewithksr

Other: https://www.pinterest.com/kimberlyromano/_saved/

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.