Meet Grethel Pavon | Photographer & Filmmaker

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

Hi Grethel, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
When I started my solopreneur adventure I asked myself all the time, what do I love to do and what do I want to do forever and not feeling I am working? It is hard and a bit of a fallacy because being an entrepreneur entails so many things that could easily turn into a disaster. However, I was super motivated and with zero fear.

Also, at that time, the company I was working for was having some crisis and many jobs including mine were not secure. I was feeling anxious all the time, and for me to be feeling like that, like someone else decision was going to put my job at risk didn’t make sense to me. So I took the courage and quit and with the money from my severance, I bought some equipment for my photography business and started with it.

It was not easy in the beginning but I was super motivated and very positive-minded and took advantage of that. I was not an expert in photography so I also had to take online courses and many many tries and errors but I was determined and found a niche at that moment that needed my services and that’s how I got more jobs and finally succeeded and made a name in Nicaragua as a Family & Portrait Photographer.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I think what makes me different from other photographers is that I know both worlds, the creative side, and the business side, I studied Business at College but ended up choosing a creative career in my late 20s. However, this is great because I came from a Business and customer service mindset because I also worked at a call center before. So I feel like I was preparing myself to serve my customers better and to create visuals that will help my clients in their business and life. I am proud that even if I was not as young as other photographers, I was able to take risks in my career and experiment with something new that changed my life. Now, I not only work as a photographer, but I also have a Marketing Agency with my husband. We provide not only marketing services and websites but also content creation for businesses that will help enhance their Brands and achieve their goals. I have learned to never give up, and trust in myself. People will not like you, and it’s fine, not everyone has to be your customer. Focus on one niche and keep going. All entrepreneurs doubt themselves, you are not alone, so don’t worry, keep pushing.

I want the world to know that I am a woman who started my brand “a bit late”, I had many obstacles, not a lot of money, people judging me, including my own family, who didn’t know much about photography (the product) and I still took the risk to fight for my dreams.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Fun fact, I used to travel a lot when I started my photography business because I also was doing some travel video vlog. So I would say I know many places in Nicaragua. I would talk about Nicaragua because now I live in Toronto, I moved a few months ago, so I don’t know much about the area here yet.

If you are staying 1 week in Nicaragua, I would organize it this way:

Day 1: to our “Gran Sultana” Granada. This is a top destination because it is full of color and culture. It is so beautiful with its Colonial Architecture and the people are amazing. If you want to eat local, we go to the park and many local people are selling tipical food. If you want the best of both worlds, we can go to El Garden Cafe, this is one of my favorite places, food, service, and ambiance are great! If we have time, we can go a little outside the town and take a dip in the Laguna de Apoyo, and have a national beer or a natural juice with great ceviche or pizza. You choose,

Day 2: We will go further down from the capital. We will go to the beach at San Juan de Sur. It is a pretty nice beach with so much culture and food. We would eat at El Timon or any of the restaurants near the bay. At night we will go get some craft beer in town.

Day 3: We will explore other beaches around, there are surf beaches and they also give lessons for people who don’t know how to surf. We will also go on a boat ride along the nearby beaches.

Day 4: Day to move to another great location! This time to our famous Ometepe Island. Here the view is amazing, this island is located in the biggest lake in Nicaragua and has 2 main volcanoes which makes it a perfect spot for photos. We will also go to the clear waters at “El ojo de agua” which is on the Island as well. This island is full of nature and amazing food and people.

Day 5: We will get back to Managua, to explore the city. Even though it is not a big city, it has so much to offer. Nice restaurants, great food, good nightlife, and so much fun. I will take my best friend to El Chante or Carne Asada Doña Tania. These places are my top ones for Tipical food. After that, we can go hang out at a bar or do some bowling.

Day 6: We need to explore the north of Nicaragua. So I will take my friend to Matagalpa, one of my top places to go. The climate is way different, it is cool and full of vegetation. There are beautiful forests and this place is where we grow some of the greatest coffees in the country and the world. We have different types of places where we grow coffee, we are a coffee Country but here it is very well known for it. I will take my friend to my favorite place in Matagalpa, which is Selva Negra. Great please, great food and service. Then we will explore the town, with a lot of great spots to hang out.

Day 7: Last day, wow, there are so many places it is so hard to take them all in 1 week. However, you cannot leave Nicaragua without going to Leon and try sand boarding at our amazing active volcano “Cerro Negro”. The city is great and just a few km outside the city you have the place where the best licor is made in Nicaragua, Ron Flor de Caña. We would also do a tour of this place and have some good shots of one of the best Ron in the world.

There are more to explore, so my friend needs to come back and try Corn Island, Chinandega, Aguas Agrias, Tola, las Peñitas, Rio San Juan and much more!

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?
I have to thank my mom because even though she was a bit hesitant about the idea, she always supported me in making the decisions that would make me happy. She always says to me “If you feel in your heart that that’s what you want to do now and that is going to make you happy, then I support you” She also encourages me to put all my wishes in God’s hands and he will help me, so I did. Then I will give thanks to all of my friends who supported me in the Journey, by teaching me a few things about photography and the software they used to edit photos.

Also, my first clients; they were the ones who trusted me the most on this idea even if they didn’t know me, they took the chance. They are Javier and Carmen. They became my clients for the rest of out lives. Then I will definitely thank all the clients I had, they were the reason why my brand grew, they trusted and belived in my work.

Website: grethelpavon.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/grethel.pavon/

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

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/grethel.pavon/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/grethelpavon

Image Credits
Grethel Pavon Photography Brenda Zarate Mujeres Finanzas Molly Lopez The Henson Family