Today, we talk about the infamous COVID pivot. Over the next few months, we will be bringing in entrepreneurs who have used the pandemic to pivot their business and solidify a new vision for their brand.

We address:

• What Cara was doing on March 12, 2020 and how she turned crisis into opportunity
• How Cara turned a local initiative into a global social movement
• Turning powerful insights into powerful new ideas
• The elements of timeless photography
• Cara’s best gift out of a year of quarantine

Today, Karen sits down with photographer Cara Soulia, co-founder of The Front Steps Project, a global social movement that has raised $3.5 million dollars by photographing families in isolation during COVID-19 on their front steps in exchange for donations to local organizations and nonprofits.

Listen in as Cara shares how she turned a curveball into an amazing opportunity for both herself, her community, and beyond.

3 MAJOR POINTS DISCUSSED

• The power of a good idea starts with a universal truth and a powerful insight. The insight that drove The Front Steps Project was the idea that, since the pandemic forced everybody to stay home, an opportunity existed to capture slices of life and bring them together to create connection in a new normal that isolated us.
• When huge opportunities strike, don’t sweat the small stuff. Interview requests from dozens of major networks and talk shows was a totally new and unexpected experience for the introverted photographer. Looking back, Cara would have liked to have relaxed more by reminding herself that the limelight was really on her initiative.
• When you hire a photographer, make sure they know what they’re doing. It may seem obvious, but you get what you pay for. If you’re capturing a once-in-a-lifetime moment such as a wedding or baby shower, you’ll never get a second chance. Find a photographer that is both technically proficient and can capture the authenticity of the moment.

RESOURCES

• Cara Soulia
• Cara Soulia on Instagram
• The Front Steps Project Book

Cara Soulia is a newborn & family photographer based outside Boston, Massachusetts. Cara’s journey to photographer was a winding one, through years in the finance industry, starting a photography business as a side hustle, and finally making the leap to follow her heart and launch a full-time career as a professional photographer. For the last decade, she has been capturing life’s most beautiful and important moments for families with babies and young children. Cara’s images are most well known for being colorful, emotional, and unique in composition.

Cara has bachelor’s degrees in Math and Economics from Connecticut College and is primarily a self-taught photographer. Cara is the co-founder of The Front Steps Project, a global social movement that has raised $3.5 million dollars by photographing families in isolation during COVID-19 on their front steps in exchange for donations to local organizations and non-profits.

Cara lives in Needham, Massachusetts with her husband and three children and is currently living the newborn days all over again with a rescue puppy.

Karen Morales is founder and brand champion at Marketing Magnet.

Marketing Magnet was founded by Karen and her lean team of Fortune 500 marketing and advertising talent. We’re a world-class marketing department that has decided to take our big brand experience and direct it at the clients we want to serve: purpose-driven enterprises. Our secret sauce is our ability to focus companies on three marketing pillars to create great impact.

If you are looking for a solution to a marketing challenge, a specific project to be completed or a team to drive marketing on your behalf, we can help.

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