Colombian entrepreneur shooting her way to success

S&N Shots Photography of Hillsborough County

At the age of 26, Nelcy Baltz decided to take a chance. She married the love of her life, quit medical school, and moved from Columbia to the United States. Now, as she sits in her photography studio in Tampa, she’s proud of what she sees around her.

“Sometimes I regret that I didn’t finish my medical career but now I think I am doing something good because it’s my own,” she said.

Baltz and her husband opened S&N Shots Photography in November 2010. “The idea started because my husband loves photography,” Baltz said. “He is a photographer and I saw a potential business because of the quality of the images that he takes.”

Baltz has been involved with organizations such as the Hispanic Business Initiative Fund and the Florida SBDC at Hillsborough County, since the beginning. She reached out to the FSBDC at Hillsborough County in March 2010, to get assistance in starting her business, managing money and marketing.

They began with a home and mobile studio, shooting weddings and various other events. With her husband in the service, deployments prevented her from focusing on the business full-time. After his retirement, Baltz took the opportunity to lease a brick and mortar building, in April 2014.

Again, she reached out the FSBDC at Hillsborough County for assistance in marketing her grand opening. “When we opened the business we didn’t have any idea where to start. We think it’s just find a place and open it, and it’s not that easy.”

Baltz has worked with certified business consultants at the FSBDC Hillsborough County office, and the Port Tampa Bay office. Each had a specific area of expertise to offer. “The business has so many little pieces and the SBDC specializes in so many different areas,” Baltz said of the expertise. “I met with Jennifer for marketing and Mario to learn QuickBooks and Mark helped me with the Web. The expertise they have in so many areas helps me learn all the different parts that I need.”

In addition to working with various consultants, Baltz has attended multiple seminars offered by the FSBDC Network.

Since opening the doors in April 2014, S&N Shots Photography has garnered more than $5,000 in revenues, and certified business consultant, Janette Blanco, said that is just the beginning.

“Taking pictures was just a passion when I met them,” Blanco said. “Nelcy didn’t know anything about running a business. From then until now she’s grown as a business woman. She follows advice and she’s not afraid – she’s a go-getter. They really do have potential.”

Since opening, Baltz has also become Small Business Enterprise and Minority-Owned certified, making it possible for her to bid on government contracts.

To grow the business, Baltz intends to continue working in the executive head shot market, and will seek a full-time photographer to be at the studio while her husband works another job. “If I can get a photographer during the day, I will have more business coming in and I can continue networking and finding clients,” she said.

Regardless of what the future holds, Baltz said she’s thankful for the assistance she has gotten from so many different people. “I am really thankful to have all this help,” she said. “I’m just trying to use it and do my best.”