Life & Work with Josiah Carlson

Today we’d like to introduce you to Josiah Carlson.

Hi Josiah, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
In 2017, I decided to join my dad in real estate (he, an agent for 17 years). He was looking for support with social media and marketing which was my background as I’d gone to school for Marketing at UMKC. Suddenly immersed in the real estate world, I found my niche being tailored more toward the “artistic” aspects of real estate. My parents decided to move to Colorado, and me (wanting to stay in KC) decided to join a brokerage at Keller Williams Key Partners in Prairie Village, where they had an in-house marketing team for their agents. I joined the marketing team part-time while also working as a real estate agent. The agents flocked to my expertise not only as a marketing professional helping them with their website, property flyers, and other marketing materials, but also having the knowledge as a licensed agent, it helped propel me forward with real estate agents and quickly gained their trust. Cut to winter of 2019, our head of the marketing team was offered a full-time position at a marketing firm which wanted to hire her and transition the in-house marketing for KW Key into an outside firm. However, they could only hire one, so they hired her. At a crossroads, my wife and I decided to launch a real estate photography business at the beginning of 2020. Having already built solid relationships with agents in our office from my previous job on the team, I quickly gained clients who wanted for me to shoot photos for them. Then the pandemic hit. I quickly plunged myself into learning avenues of real estate virtual tours and video so that I could accommodate agents in helping them market their listings in a rapidly increasing virtual environment. My services spread like wildfire. I jumped from shooting for ten agents at the beginning of 2020 to over 250 agents today.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
The most difficult aspect of growing my business was navigating the pandemic. I had agents referring me to others like crazy as I was one of the few in town offering virtual tour services at a reasonable price. Without knowing what the pandemic was going to do and if I was going to have a job at any given time, I was taking any and every opportunity I could handle. This led to 18+ hour workdays. I would eat, breathe, and sleep real estate photography. I invested all of my time, energy and money into growing the business as quickly and efficiently as I could. But it meant very little work-life balance. It was almost all work. The stress of it all was starting to take a toll. I knew I needed to add more to my team. My wife quit her job to help me with the administrative side of things so I could focus on shooting. And we managed to power through 2020 as a team of 2.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m the Owner and Founder of Carlson Home Photography. I have been immersed in the real estate marketing world for over three years. As a marketing media specialist & a licensed agent, I have a keen eye for what it takes to ensure properties look amazing and sell fast. I’m proud of how quickly I’ve been able to build my real estate photography business over the last year and a half, despite nearly all of it being built during a pandemic. My work typically speaks for itself as I always aim to deliver high-quality real estate media at a reasonable price. And customer service is incredibly key for the success of my business and what sets me apart from others. I firmly believe that I am a direct extension of the real estate agent and I represent their clients just as much as they do. So I always aim to deliver high-quality work at a reasonable price with a quick turnaround time which is incredibly important for agents.

Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
Whether you’re a real estate agent, interior designer, rental investor, AirBnB owner or perhaps just a homeowner looking to sell your property yourself, my goal is to deliver incredible media that can help you market your asset the best way possible. I don’t just specialize in real estate or architectural media either… we can also do headshots, portrait photography, weddings, and other events too!

Pricing:

• 25 Listing Photos: $130
• 35 Listing Photos: $160
• 8 Listing Drone Photos: $100
• Listing Virtual Tour: $100
• Listing Video: $200

Contact Info:

• Email: admin@carlsonhomephotos.com
• Website: www.carlsonhomephotos.com
• Instagram: carlsonhomephotos
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carlsonhomephotos
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPLXphPcqXLf1oMS8IOuylA/about

Image Credits
All credited to Josiah Carlson of Carlson Home Photography