I recently read THIS article about how Groupon affected another Portland business, Posie’s Cafe.  After having spent the last 10 months working through the consequences of my studio doing a groupon, I can completely relate with Posie’s.  While I accept full responsibility for choosing to do a Groupon and am glad I did it, it has definitely come with its sacrifices.  My studio has gone through a lot of growing pains this last year because of my decision, and I wanted to take a moment to just explain our perspective so that you might understand a little more of what goes on around here.

We were completely blown away when we sold over 250 Groupons, and to be completely honest I was not prepared for this.   Up until that point, my studio consisted of one employee, me.  So when Groupon called and asked if they could run the ad 2 months earlier than planned, I agreed but was very nervous with not having had the time to properly prepare for what was to come.  In addition to this, I was told they had no idea how many they expected to sell, and our goal was around 50.  I was never given the option to put a cap on the limit sold, and if I had been given this option I definitely would have taken it!  So, fast forward 24 hours and boom, I have 250 new clients.  I quickly figured out that it would be nearly impossible for me to do all of these sessions, let alone all of the pre-session meetings, post-production, and ordering appointments for all 250 new clients.  So I started by hiring an office assistant, Jocelyn, who has seriously been a godsend.

I don’t really know how to accurately describe the last 10 months.  Busy is an understatement.  I have met some amazing people along the way, and am so glad to have worked with so many great people.  Unfortunately there are areas of the business that have had to suffer because of our hectic schedule, and for this I am apologizing.  I have had numerous customers concerned with the turn around on their images and orders.  I am here to simply ask (ok beg) for a little patience and understanding.   I am human, like everyone, and can only work so many hours in the day.  I am trying my hardest to get your orders done in a timely manner without sacrificing the high quality of products I am so proud to offer.  I sincerely hope that you will keep this in mind as I am doing everything in my control to provide you with a great portrait experience.  I am sorry it is just taking a few extra weeks than it would have if you had come to me last year.  The Groupon has been one huge learning experience for me, and I really do hope to work with all of you again in the future.

I welcome your feedback on your experience with my studio, and I hope that this post gives you a little insight into what I’ve been going through these last 10 months.