Meet Andi Willis | Personal Photo Organizer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Andi Willis and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Andi, what is the most important factor behind your success?
Because of the personal nature of what I do, I get to know my clients and their families intimately. Through working on their photos, I go on vacations with them, celebrate birthdays and holidays and get to know their extended family and friends. They become like a second family to me.

This personal touch and willingness to learn about a client’s family, their life and their family history sets me apart from other businesses which may just scan a batch of photos and return them. It’s this close connection that my clients appreciate and keeps us working together for years.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I started my business 12 years ago as a residential organizer helping clients declutter their homes. Several years into this endeavor I realized that organizing photos was something I was good at and that many organizers shied away from. I also have always loved family history and stories so working with photos seemed to be a great fit.

In 2018 I rebranded to Good Life Photo Solutions and I now focus exclusively on helping clients take the overwhelming chaos of their print and digital photos and, in turn, creating a cohesive collection that allows them to enjoy their photos again and to preserve their family’s legacy.

Growing a business over the past 12 years has definitely not been easy. Being a solopreneur can be overwhelming, exhausting and lonely. One of the main lessons I learned is to surround myself with like minded people with similar goals and ambitions. Working with business coaches and participating in mastermind groups have been vital to allowing me to grow as a business owner.

When you have your own business, it can become all-encompassing in your life. I have learned that taking breaks from my business are vital for my mental health and the health of my company. Not only do breaks give you perspective, they also allow you to reenergize.

I truly love the work I do. When I can help someone share a photo of their grandmother from 1920 with entire family, when I can help a young mom get control of the 1000s of photos on her phone or when I can create a lifetime collection that preserves a family’s history, I am doing a service for my clients. Family and the memories we create are the most important things in life and often we preserve those things in our photos. Keeping those pictures safe, accessible and organized allow the memories and the stories to live on beyond us. That is the purpose of my work.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
My husband and I just relocated to Fort Worth in late October so we are just starting to explore the city. So far we are really enjoying riding bikes on the Trinity Trails. What a wonderful place to get out and explore the city and enjoy the beauty of the river.

We’ve also been exploring some of the restaurants, looking for fabulous vegetarian food and good local beer and gin! Just a few highlights so far have been HG Supply, The Rim, Local Food Kitchen and Little Red Wasp.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
A lot of my success comes from the support and shared resources of The Photo Managers, the leading educational community for photo organizers around the world. My colleagues are tremendous resources who I rely on to continue to grow as a photo organizer and as a entrepreneur. There is never a question I can’t answer or a problem I can’t figure out because my fellow TPM members always have the answer.

Website: http://goodlifephotosolutions.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goodlifephotosolutions/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andiwillis/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/glozing

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoodLifePhotoSolutions

Other: https://www.pinterest.com/goodlifephotosolutions/

Image Credits
Only for shots in the green shirt – Photographer: Chris Capozziello