From Famous Footballers to female founders: How This Photographer is Changing the Game
I have been so excited to share this Moments to Motivate with the Your AJency Community!
I first “met” Victoria online last year when we both signed up to Money Mavens mentoring programme. But when we discovered that we lived in the same town, and are both passionate about helping female business owners get visible, we knew that we needed to meet in real life!
I heard Victoria speak at an event and absolutely loved hearing her story. I know it will inspire you too as it’s simply incredible. From capturing goals and famous footballers in an incredibly male-dominated industry, Victoria is now using her expertise in brand photography and marketing to help amazing female founders reach their business goals.
Victoria has been on quite a journey over her career and she is truly one of the kindest and most supportive fellow founders and small business champions! We always have a lot to talk about and I can’t wait for you to read her story! So, without further ado….
Meet Victoria Haydn
Brand Marketing Specialist & Former Senior Photographer for Manchester City Football Club
Victoria, hi! We’re so pleased to welcome you to the Moments to Motivate series!
The Your AJency community is made up of female business owners across the globe, all at different parts in their journeys as female entrepreneurs. Tell us a little about your journey!
I started photography around 15 years ago after finishing my photography degree. As a new graduate, I had a chance encounter and met the Manchester United photographers. They told me they needed an editor for match days and despite never having watched football before, I said yes to the very cold and very wet world of sports photography!
After 2 years of editing Man Utd, I wanted to be the one behind the camera pressing the shutter. As there was no window of opportunity at Man United, I decided to jump ship to the blue side! I accepted a 6-month internship at Man City which was then extended to 12 months. After that, they took me on as a full-time employee and I started working as Assistant Club Photographer. I worked extremely well in high pressure and intense working environments, so the role was perfect for me.
After 5 years I was promoted to head of photography at Man City - timed perfectly with the arrival of the new manager Pep Guardiola. For 5 years I was part of the furniture and travelled all over the world with the team as they dominated the Premier League. It was such a special time, but I felt the need to evolve and develop my skills further and I was ready for a new challenge.
I photographed the highs and lows of Man City in some of its greatest years and will be forever grateful for the people I worked with and my time there.
Wow, what an incredible experience! Do you think your background in sports photography helped you launch your own brand photography business?
Yes! After learning first-hand how to use imagery to market one of the biggest brands in global sport, I decided to put that knowledge to better use by helping female founders and kick-ass business owners elevate their brands with stunning photography. I launched this arm of the business in March 2023 and I’m proud to say it’s gone from strength to strength.
There were quite a few people that encouraged me to stay in the football world and to feel lucky to have a safe, secure salary in the creative industry but I’m SO pleased that I followed my dreams and now I get to be creative with so many different business owners helping them grow their businesses and attract their ideal clients!
Leaving the safety of a secure salary must have been tough, but it’s so good to hear your business is going from strength to strength. At Your AJency, we talk about how important it is in marketing to share your why. What’s your “Why”?
My goal with my brand is to help kick-ass business owners elevate their brand with stunning photography so that they can achieve their own dreams and goals, and create a life for themselves that they are truly proud of. I’m my client’s biggest cheerleader and it’s because I genuinely care about their success and them as people. Owning your own business can be isolating sometimes so I’m here to give them the visibility they need with a gorgeous cohesive library of images that represent their brand and who they are as a person!
You’re right that being a female business owner can be isolating. It's hard to launch and run a business on your own, impossible in my opinion. Who and where have you sought the necessary support?
Yes indeed! I outsourced my accountancy and bookkeeping to Cope and Associates who are an incredible couple based in Cheshire. I also get help with my social media from @sociallyemilia who holds me accountable for producing content and making marketing videos every week!
What’s the best advice you’ve received when it comes to being a female entrepreneur/ business owner?
Ask for help!
I used to think I should have all the answers and be embarrassed if I didn’t know, but one of the biggest transformations in my business happened when I got a business coach. Good business coaches have done it all before and know how to scale, grow and guide you to achieving the things you really want in business and in life.
That’s really helpful. I’d definitely agree that getting a business coach or mentor can be game-changing for business owners! What’s the biggest thing you’ve done that resulted in growth?
Invest in yourself. Whether that’s a mentor, coach, online education, up-skilling. Learning is the greatest key to success.
And anything you’d have done differently?
When I started, I felt like I was treading water with my marketing, always searching last minute for photos to post and trying to come up with things in the last hour. I now have an annual plan which breaks down my monthly marketing drives so I know exactly what is coming and allows me to look at the year at a glance – it’s transformed the way I look at my business marketing.
A good strategy is absolutely essential - we agree! It makes up one of the fundamental parts of our small business toolkit!
How do you find your audience and your clients Victoria? Do you focus on specific platforms to grow your business?
My audience find me through two channels. I find these two marketing pillars successful and achievable to manage all at the same time.
Face-to-face networking and Instagram.
I tend to go to networking events once or twice a month and during the events, people always ask whether I’m on Instagram. I refer to it as my shop window. This way they get to see my work, my services and they get to know me as a person too.
Yes, having your Instagram as your shop window is such a great idea when you’re trying to connect with other female founders or business owners at in-person networking events.
How do you strike the balance and set boundaries between work and your personal life?
Putting clear boundaries in my diary for work and life - I’m not sure there is ever a balance! But I’d like to think structure and discipline gives me freedom. My weeks are always the same, two days shooting, two days editing and one day marketing. By having this structure, it allows me a manageable schedule and I know that I can give my clients 100% energy which is so important when I’m capturing their brand and telling their story.
It’s definitely tricky finding a balance which is constant so having that idea of structure and discipline is really helpful to those in the Your AJency community who are looking at their work patterns! Success looks different for everyone, what is success for you?
Success for me is TIME. Time is so important and coming from a world where I would work into the early hours, travel 4 times a month and work every weekend, I’m truly grateful of the ‘normal’ working hours that my business allows me to create.
What’s next for you and Victoria Haydn Photography?
Big Question! I want to continue capturing incredible business owners. I LOVE this part of my business. I frequently get asked by other photographers about the techniques I use to create my contemporary magazine style images so coaching photographers in some capacity may evolve in the future but I’m not in too much of a rush!
We love your images and how you capture the incredible female business owners that you work with!
Our last question is about your lasting message that you’d want to give to people. Is there a quote that you often return to in terms of your business?
“Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room” Jeff Bezos.
The reason I love this is because it’s so true. Personal Branding is everything about you as a person and service based business. It allows your potential clients and consumers to get to know you before they make the purchase. They want to know and trust you before they make the investment to work with you and Personal Branding gives you this opportunity.
For us too, personal branding and showing up authentically is key to connecting to your ideal clients. Knowing how to gain the confidence to do this, whether it’s through beautiful images like you take, or knowing your worth and charging fairly are so crucial to success of a small business! We’ve even written a blog about how to gain your confidence as a small business owner!
Victoria, thank you so much for being on our Moments to Motivate series! We can’t wait to see what you do next!
After ten years of working for one of the biggest brands in global sport, Manchester City Football Club, Victoria decided to share her knowledge with female business owners and help them make their brands bloom with her personal branding photography. Victoria helps female entrepreneurs elevate their personal brand to create the business of their dreams. Using her stunning photography skills, she captures the people behind the brand to create engagement and increase visibility. This helps her female entrepreneur clients reach their target audience.
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If you’ve been inspired by Victoria’s story and want to take the next steps in crafting your business strategy but don’t know where to start, get in touch with us today!
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