Today we’d like to introduce you to Yanet and Jose Lar.
Hi Yanet, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born and raised in a small town in Mexico. I came to the United States when I was 11 years old. Moving to the United States was a big and challenging change in my early life due to the language barrier and diversity of cultures we have here, but I soon adapted to my new life. My parents have always played a big role in my life. They have always encouraged me to follow 4 important values: To always be good and kind to others, to always keep up with my word and promises, to be honest, and respectful to others and the last one, to work hard for the things I want. I have always had an entrepreneurial spirit. My first small business was selling candy to my classmates in middle school. While I was still in high school, I started working in the food industry at the age of 16 as a part-time server. The responsibility of having to keep up with school, homework, and a part-time job helped me mature at a very young age. Working for the food industry for 11 years and the values my parents instilled in along with the lord’s blessing, helped me become who I am and brought me to where I am today. I am a very straightforward person who always tries to do the right thing. My clients know who I am and trust me as a person and professional.
My love for photography and video started at a very young age watching telenovelas. I always wondered how it would feel to work behind the cameras, so I studied filmmaking at the Houston community college and graduated in 2015. I earned an Associate’s degree in Arts and an Associate’s degree in Filmmaking. From there, I began my career in photography with my husband.
My husband Jose Lara and I are childhood sweethearts. We came from the same town. His grandmother and my grandmother are neighbors in Mexico. I remember we started our relationship when he was still in Mexico during a summer vacation while I was visiting my grandmother. We lost communication for a year when he went to study in France, but we reunited in 2012 when he came to the United States. Jose and I don’t have kids just yet, but we have been married for 8 years. I can tell you that he is the best man I could have ever found. He is very smart, loving, patient, and supportive. Without him, I could never have founded YanJo Studio. He is the Main videographer at YanJo Studio. Even though he has a full-time job outside of YanJo Studio, he always helps me with video editing in the afternoon and video recording on Saturdays. He is amazing; I can’t imagine a single day without him by my side.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Honestly, starting a business is not easy. Our main struggle was to make the decision to leave my full-time job to become a full-time business owner and dedicate myself to making YanJo Studio grow. The transition was tough because, in the beginning, our business was not generating much money. The money that was coming in was mainly used to pay for photography classes and to invest in photography equipment. So we went from having two steady incomes to having just one. I do not regret any step of the process because I do believe that if we do not take the risk, we will never have any rewards.
We’ve been impressed with YanJo Studio, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We founded YanJo Studio back in 2017 when my husband and I decided that it was time for me to leave my management position at the restaurant where I was working. Before that, we were doing photoshoots as a hobby. We started taking photos of our family and friends and they spread the word with their family members and friends. We also posted our work on social media which led to getting more photo shoot requests. For a long time, we worked for free or at a very low cost to build our portfolio. Nowadays, we not only offer photography services but video too. We focus on shooting quinceañeras and weddings in All corners of Texas. We became a big success when we decided to offer a more personalized and exclusive service in which we only serve one customer at a time. We have high-quality standards; therefore, we do not take more than one event per day to ensure the quality of our work. I believe our customers love this.
We work hand in hand with our clients to capture their most precious moments with the most artistic and unique photographic and video styles. We are expanding to other states and countries. We have done quinceañeras in Mexico and other US states such as North Carolina and Georgia. We do travel if the client lives out of town or out of the country. We are in the process of expanding our services to other areas of photography such as maternity, newborn, and family portraits, hoping that soon we will be able to find a second photography company specialized in those areas.
Our interaction with our clients, our ability to understand our client’s needs, and the effort and love we put into our work are what define YanJo Studio.
How do you think about luck?
I believe the success of an individual or business comes from hard work, persistence, and determination. If I had to attribute something to luck, it would be growing up in a country full of opportunities and following the lead of my hardworking parents.
Pricing:
- Our packages start at $1999
Contact Info:
- Website: www.yanjostudio.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/yanjostudio
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/yanjostudio
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@yanjostudio
Image Credits
YanJo Studio
