At Green Hills Office Suites, we have a great variety of business types, and a strong community of business professionals. We enjoy getting to know our members more deeply, and this month we had the pleasure of visiting with with Nicole Taylor of Nashville Corporate Photography and finding out what drives her.
Nicole originally hails from Indiana but moved with her family at a young age to Tennessee. She attended Tennessee State University where she received a Bachelor of Business Administration with full intentions of pursuing a career as an accountant. She took a position with an accountancy firm straight out of college, where she noticed that there was something missing from the marketing efforts made by the firm.
A big part of marketing a firm like that is to properly represent the team, and Nicole saw that their head shots were just not reflecting their true colors. It brought her all the way back to bad experiences she herself had with Picture Day at school. The photographers were always rushed and did not take the time or the care to portray each individual at all, producing unsatisfying representations that were indelibly placed in yearbooks and extended family homes, much to her dismay. She decided to take matters into her own hands and started helping her coworkers with their headshots.
Nicole found such joy in helping others put their best foot forward and creating great first impressions, that she started her own professional photography business. She says that having her accounting background has really helped her be able to efficiently run her own business, while avoiding many of the pitfalls that newer business owners often fall into.
Professional headshots can really make the difference between being chosen or being passed over. Nicole says that she sees a headshot as a soft introduction to who the person is, and what it’s like to work with them, and this approach definitely shows in her product. Not only does she produce beautiful headshots and team photos, but she also photographs corporate events as well! She offers quick appointments for those with tight schedules, all the way to the full experience with hair and makeup services if desired. Nicole’s overall goal is making her subjects look polished, not plastic, and while she does include full editing services, she does not go overboard with retouching her photos, instead keeping them natural and true to form.
When I asked Nicole what advice she would give to young professionals looking to start their own business, she said that she would tell them to soak up all the experiences from each position they fill, even if they hate their role, in order to take away skills and lessons from each.
In Nicole’s spare time, she spends every free moment she can with her 16-month-old son, because she does not want to miss a single moment. We all know how quickly they grow up! She also is involved with several local charities and is very active in her church.
Nicole absolutely loves being a part of the Green Hills Office Suites community. She decided to join us in September, which was still a very challenging time for all business owners, because she felt the positive atmosphere from the moment she walked in and says that it felt like it was set apart from everything else that was going on in the world. The location and services were also a big part of her decision, and she enjoys working with our staff.
Take a moment to connect with Nicole on LinkedIn, and check out her amazing work on her website!
