REACT – RECOVERY – RESILIENCE
SBDC IOWA CLIENTS SHARE THEIR COVID-19 JOURNEY
Risney Photo and Design
Anne Morgan, Owner

How did you come up with the idea for your business?
Risney Photo was first opened by my parents in the 1950s. In 2004, I took the business over after they both had passed away. Due to my graphic design background, I added the design portion to the original business model. Risney Photo and Design is a photography studio that does business portraits, family pictures, senior pictures and then graphic design projects on a smaller scale.

How has the SBDC helped you?
When I first took the business over, I reached out to Sue Pitts, Regional Director at Iowa Western SBDC. She was wonderful. I received lots of good information and help with QuickBooks. She has been a good resource for anything I have questions about. During COVID, she got the information about loans and grants out right away. Without her doing her announcements, I am not sure I would have been able to get the PPP Loan.

How have you been impacted by COVID-19? Have you pivoted operations? How have you helped others during this time?
Because of COVID, I lost lots of events I was supposed to shoot and call-ins. The PPP helped a lot in keeping the business afloat. I also started a project called Porch Sessions. I would take pictures of people at their homes, social distancing, for $99. They would get 8 images and a 10-15 minute session. I received $39, and the profit of any additional images, the other $60 was given to 1 of 3 non-profit, local organizations. The local chamber gave me a gift card which I was able to donate to a local organization as well. Apart from my business, I was able to sew a bunch of masks for people in the community, contributing to helping flatten the curve.

Visit Risney Photo and Design at https://www.risneyphoto.com/ and on Facebook.