Today we’d like to introduce you to David Talbot.
Hi David, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
This journey all started when I needed a print made for a client of mine. I’m a wildlife photographer who picked up a camera as a way of therapy to help me with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) that stemmed from my time in the Marine Corps. When I went to the website of the place I got my photos printed and the website wasn’t there anymore.
So, I decided to call them to see if it was just a technical issue or what had happened. When I called they said that they were not doing the photo printing anymore, and in the same conversation they asked if I would like to purchase the business. I told them that I would have to talk to my wife and they set up an appointment for the following week to discuss the business and what it would all entail. After a few conversations and months of figuring out if my wife and I could do it, at the end of March 2021 we made the leap and purchased DIY Photo Printing.
By Mid-April we had the website back up and running and we started marketing it through social media and by word of mouth. We also acquired the emails of past customers, and for the first month or so we sent out emails letting the previous customers know that DIY was back in business. Six months later, we are still growing and acquiring new customers.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It definitely has not been a smooth road. We have struggled to get access to the social media accounts so we have had to start from scratch on those and get them to where the previous owners had them. In today’s world, social media is the way to get your business out there, but it’s not the easiest.
Another struggle we have had to overcome was redesigning the website. The website that the previous owners had worked, but it was dated. Another reason the website was a struggle was the person that was maintaining the website did not want to maintain it anymore and we did not want to find someone to maintain a website, because we felt that if we want to change something on the website, we did not want to have to go to someone to make the change. So we ended up putting the old website up for a couple of months while we designed a new website and got it up and running. We then redirected traffic from the old website to the new one.
One of the biggest struggles we have had to learn to adjust to is for me to try and balance running the business, continue working a 9 to 5-day job, and time with family. Being a business owner there’s a lot that goes into running a business, and trying to work a 9 to 5 job at the same time makes it a bit more challenging. Luckily, my wife is a quick learner and handles the phones and same-day printing if needed.
Usually, after I get home from my day job, I start my “second job” of running and maintaining DIY Photo Printing. This is hard for my kids because they want to have daddy time, so the majority of what I do happens after they go to bed.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
DIY Photo Printing is a full-service photography printing business. We offer custom-made photo prints on three types of paper, (Premium Luster, Enhanced Matte, and Metallic) two types of canvases, (Satin Canvas and Matte Canvas), and Aluminum Metal Prints. We are looking to add glass prints in the not too distant future as well. We offer a variety of sizes from 4″ x 6″ to 40″ x 60.”
We also do custom sizes if the size is not listed on our website for our customers. We offer a turnaround time of 24 to 48 hours or less, depending on the size of the order, but a lot of our printing is done the same day. We truly focus on the quality of our prints, if something does not look right we work with the customer to get it right. We are not going to print anything that we do not feel comfortable with quality-wise.
What makes you happy?
What makes us happy is seeing our customers happy with their photo prints. Why? Because being a photographer myself, it’s something different to see your actual work as a tangible item rather than looking at it on screen.
My family also makes us happy, and we love the adventures we go on, and we love to explore new places and see new things.
Contact Info:
- Email: customer_service@diyphotoprinting.com
- Website: www.diyphotoprinting.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/diyphotoprinting
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/diyphotoprinting
Image Credits
Meghan Sangiacomo Photography
