BLACK CAT CONSULTING
A game-changer in her own right, Alex is an influential small business owner with over fifteen years of remarkable achievements in photography, entrepreneurship, and philanthropy. As a mentor, her approach is to assist you in developing clear, practical processes and objectives, equipping you with the tools to ignite, serve, enhance, and elevate your business, project, or life pursuits. She adeptly addresses any barriers or constraints you encounter through both analytical and creative thinking, delivering tangible solutions.
Alex has worked with clients in the arts, public, industrial, and commercial sectors, covering a range of varying small businesses, as well as with photographers of all genres, creatives managing small to medium projects, and individuals seeking career change, business start up advice, and assistance to move forward with a mental block.
Alex offers two options for business coaching:
1. Mentoring Sessions available in single sessions or bundles of four calls, focusing on a particular issue, hurdle, or roadblock.
Every session is tailored to address specific areas of your business, project, or personal journey. We’ll lay down the groundwork, define essential parameters, assess your goals, and map out actionable steps to bring your vision to life.
Sessions can cover topics like:
- business start-up and development
- attracting new clients and growing referrals and repeat business to increase revenue
- implementing business orientated mindset and mindset training
- confidence building
- defining, finding and attracting target clients
- relieving target client pain points
- developing a compelling social media profile
- increasing social media influence
- creating social media campaigns
- developing a clear and impacting online brand identity
- effective pricing for profit
- developing passive income streams
- developing book / calendar publishing goals
- collating and creating product ranges your clients love
- understanding the needs of your niche market
- improving time management to balance customer service and business responsibilities
- defining business objectives
- identifying gaps for improvement across service delivery
- studio set up and design
- exhibition and event planning, set up and execution
- image curation for competitions or exhibitions
- career change
- becoming unstuck
- and anything additional you require relating to your business or project
2. Alex’s popular and hugely successful 7-week one-on-one Business Acceleration Program where Alex works with pet photographers from every corner of the globe to help them build solid business foundations and systems, increase their client bases, and generate income. The program is designed to accelerate pet photography businesses by two to three years at least (even more for some!) and to alleviate mistakes otherwise made trying to figure out how to move forward without expert assistance. The program is suitable for pet photographers of all levels, from new to established, or other photographers changing into pet photography.
Why choose Alex Cearns OAM as your business consultant?
Black Cat Consulting was born from an increasing demand on Alex’s time as a business consultant, social media analyst and website assessor. Over the past eight years, she has been a coach, mentor and sounding board for numerous small business owners.
They say one of the most important things to consider about a business consultant is their track record. Is their own business a market leader? Do they have solid, real-world experience in fluctuating economic environments? Do they practice what they preach?
Demand for Alex’s animal photography coupled with her skill as an astute businesswoman, have kept her brand Houndstooth Studio flourishing at the top of its field in an intensely competitive environment for more than 10 years. Her influence includes a following of more than 175,000 on social media and her work is endorsed by ambassadorships with global brands such as Tamron (global), BenQ, Profoto, Studio Ninja, Spider Holster, Ilford Imaging and SanDisc.
She is the author of seven books to date with publishers Penguin Australia, Harper Collins Australia and Harper Collins USA, an accomplished keynote speaker, a renowned leader of global animal photography tours, and is in high demand as a photography judge and educator on an international level.
Alex has received multiple awards for her business acumen. Some of these include being a finalist in the:
- Telstra Women’s Business Awards Private and Corporate category
- Telstra Australian Business Awards Small and Succeeding category, and
- Telstra Australian Business People’s Choice Award.
She has also been awarded:
- Best Pet Photography Business Coach Australia (Media Innovator Awards)
- Best Pet Photographer Australia (Media Innovator Awards)
- Pet Photographer of the Year (Australia Prestige Awards)
- Pet Photographer of the Year (Corporate LiveWire Global Services Awards)
- Best Pet Photography Business Coach in Australia (Pet Product & Services Awards)
- Best Pet Photographer in Australia (Pet Product & Services Awards)
- Best Specialist Animal Photographer WA (Media Innovator Awards)
- Best Australian Pet Photography Business (Pet Products & Services Awards)
- Best Pet Photography Business in Australia (BOMA Smart Business Leadership Awards)
- Arts & Culture Australian Small Business of the Year Award (Australian Enterprise Awards)
- Australian Smart Business of the Year Award (BOMA Smart Business Leadership Awards)
- Woman in Business Award (BOMA Smart Business Leadership Awards), and
- Women in Business Achiever Award (Australian Business Excellence Awards)
Beyond business, Alex’s deep, long-term commitment to philanthropy and her advocacy for animal rescue and wildlife conservation was distinguished with a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the Australia Day Honours List 2019 from the Council for the Order of Australia for her service to the community through charitable organisations.
To discuss your business coaching requirements, to find out how Alex can help you achieve your business goals, or to enquire about Alex’s Business Acceleration Program, please don’t hesitate to contact us.