[Interview] How Colton Adams Sells $5K Projects on 30 Acres With His 360 Camera

Welcome to the show! Today, we have Colton Adams with us. Colton is a 360 tour and Google Street View photographer based in Centerville, Texas. He’s had some great success in the industry, with some impressive clients under his belt. In today’s interview, we’ll be hearing Colton’s story of how he got started in the business and landed his first deal.

Colton started his journey by buying a small action camera for a holiday trip. He quickly realized that he could use the camera to create 360 tours and began researching online, eventually finding the CloudPano Facebook group and joining. His first business was Cell Geeks Phone Repair, which he walked into and pitched the idea of a 360 view of their store and the benefits of being on Google Street View. The business was excited about the idea and Colton ended up doing tours for all three of their locations.

Pricing was a bit of a challenge for Colton when he was first starting out. He initially charged a flat fee of $95 for five images, with every additional image costing $20. This was a good way for him to get his foot in the door and start building up his portfolio.

Colton has a passion for photography and it shows in the quality of his work. He uses a drone, 360 camera, and other equipment to capture beautiful images of his client’s businesses. In addition to 360 tours, Colton also offers HTML encoding to put the tours on websites and Google Street View integration.

One of Colton’s biggest wins was getting a contract with the Texas Renaissance Festival, a large event that takes place annually in the state. He also recently met with the city of Conroe to discuss potential projects. Colton attributes much of his success to the Cloud Pano Facebook group, where he has received valuable advice and support from other photographers.

In conclusion, Colton Adams is a talented 360 tour and Google Street View photographer with a passion for his work. He’s had some great successes in the industry, including contracts with the Texas Renaissance Festival and the city of Conroe. Colton’s approach to business is to go from business to business, looking for an owner or someone who can get excited about his services. He uses a combination of high-quality equipment and marketing techniques to promote his business and has found a lot of support within the CloudPano community.

As a photographer and videographer, it’s important to constantly build your portfolio and find new ways to showcase your work. For Colton, that meant heading out to the Texas Renaissance Festival on weekends to create 360 tours and videos, even if it was just for the purpose of adding to their own website. When he ran into the marketing director of the festival, he took the opportunity to show them what they had been working on, demonstrating the tour on their phone. This casual conversation ended up turning into a business opportunity, as the festival’s team saw the value in the tours and began discussing potential uses and pricing with the photographer. It’s a great reminder to always be ready to showcase your work and be open to new opportunities, even in unexpected circumstances.

The photography portion took about 24 hours of work, spread out over a few days. Colton took photos every 30 steps while walking through the festival, and he didn’t have a specific plan in mind for the spacing of the photos. He did not charge a hosting fee to maintain the virtual tour of the festival, but they should have. Colton mentioned the importance of adding a service element, such as updating and changing the tour and charging a fee for it.

Starting a business can be intimidating, but it can also be incredibly rewarding and Colton found success by focusing on small businesses in downtown areas, where they were able to have face-to-face conversations with owners and easily explain the benefits of their product. He shares their strategy of making as many conversations as possible, with the goal of getting 50% of businesses to sign on for their tours. They estimate that, on average, they make $345 per business, making for a predictable revenue stream. He also mentioned the importance of having a partner, in this case, their wife, who helps fill in the gaps in their knowledge and supports their business endeavors. Overall, they highlight the value of focusing on small businesses, making personal connections, and having a reliable revenue stream in order to succeed as an entrepreneur.

Knowing the importance of being aware of body language and communication during conversations. It’s important to pay attention to the other person’s reactions and responses to make sure they are understanding what is being said. It’s also helpful to use examples and visual aids to help explain concepts or ideas, as this can make it easier for the other person to follow along and understand what is being discussed. It’s also important to be mindful of the other person’s body language, as it can indicate if they are losing interest or not fully comprehending what is being said. If this happens, it may be helpful to slow down, clarify any confusion, or provide additional examples to help the other person better understand the conversation.