Liz Hall is an award-winning commercial photographer who enjoys 'shooting' businesses into the spotlight with story-telling photography. Her recent accolades include Corporate Photographer of the Year (North West) at the UK Enterprise Awards 2022 and Corporate Photographer of the Year at the Corporate LiveWire Global Awards 2022-23.
Liz shares her own inspirational Lancashire woman in business story.
I help businesses and charities by creating a library of photos which they can use across their marketing efforts. Working together with clients I find out what stories they need to share visually to help move clients through the buyer journey, ultimately turning them into paying customers.
There are so many ways in doing this and I love working with a variety of industries and helping them achieve their goals.
I always had an interest in being a business owner and being creative so studied both at A-Level. I then studied an Art Foundation Course which gave a good general overview of many creative disciplines. I had a keen interest in photography so pursued that as a profession.
During my studies I learnt the best way into the commercial industry was to seek a photographer’s assistant job. These were often offered as freelance opportunities so that is how my business started along with undertaking my own photography projects.
Just over a year into freelance assisting, towards the end of 2007, there were rumours of a recession so I took a full time assistant’s role in Manchester while keeping my business books open. It was a good juggle and I learned so much from the team I worked in.
This all fed into my own business and when the time came that I was earning a good salary in my own business I took the plunge to work full time as a photographer. By the end of 2023, I will have been working purely in my own business for 10 years.
Now, I wouldn’t change this for the world. I love the freedom and flexibility of running my own business and it’s not without it’s challenges.
Forming a team to work with has been such a challenge. Having been a sole trader for so long and now using outsourced help for my business allows me to be more productive and takes the pressure off me.
I’m now able to take time off from my business knowing that emails will be monitored and other photographers can cover jobs for my clients, rather than feeling guilty about not being able to service my clients.
My proudest achievement was winning the Sole Trader Awards at the 2021 Rossendale Business Awards. All the hard work since forming my business in 2006 had felt worth it, especially after the global pandemic where my business stopped invoicing for 10 weeks and was slow to get going again after that.
If I had known the 18 months to follow would have been the best trading months to date, my concerns during COVID-19 would have been very different.
I’ve worked with business mentors over the years from both funded sources along with the support of fellow small business owners. During the pandemic the online support of my peers was invaluable. When working on my own this really helped with keeping focused on my business and making sure I made it through.
The support of my family, friends and business connections help so much in keeping me going when times are tough. Without them, I really don’t know where I’d be. Whether during the pandemic or when I lost my father last year, things like people checking in or helping with advice on business matters has been invaluable.
Also, being a role model for our daughter, seeing her mum running a business and showing what hard graft can produce. www.lizhenson.co.uk
Boost is helping Lancashire businesses. We have a range of funded support programmes and a team of business advisers you can talk to. To speak to someone from the Growth Hub about business support, contact Boost online or call 0800 488 0057.
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