General Manager & Lead Photographer
On-target earnings of $80,000 - $100,000 in your first 12 months.
We photograph visiting families and couples on the best beaches in Hawaii, and we do it at volume. We are partnered with leading resorts for exclusive session location access and a luau photography business. We need someone to run the operation the team, the resort partnerships, the schedule, the numbers who can also pick up a camera and shoot when the schedule demands it.
This role is about 80% running the business, 20% behind the camera. If you only want one of those, this isn't the right fit.
What you'll do
- Lead a small team of photographers and front-desk staff. Hiring, training, scheduling, and coaching
- Own the monthly sales numbers, including session volume, average order value, and upsell conversion
- Manage our resort partnerships across the Big Island's west side as the primary point of contact
- Build and run the session and event schedule, including luau photography coverage
- Personally shoot sessions, filling coverage gaps and handling VIP clients
- Own guest experience end to end: response times, sales conversations, and problem resolution
- Manage labor cost, cost of goods, and marketing efficiency against our P&L
Compensation
- Base salary of $50,000 per year
- Monthly sales performance bonus
- 10% commission plus tips on every session you personally shoot
- 10% share of company net profit
- Realistic first-year $80,000–$100,000 at target volume.
What you need
- 3 or more years managing a team, ideally in hospitality, tourism, retail, or another seasonal service business
- A strong portrait portfolio, specifically beach or outdoor natural light work with families and children. We will ask to see it, and we will ask you to shoot.
- Experience owning a revenue target and being measured against it
- Comfort reading a P&L, diagnosing why a month missed, and acting on it
- Calm with guests, direct with staff
- Availability on weekends, holidays, and early mornings during peak season
- Reliable transportation and ability to work across the Kohala Coast and Kona
Nice to have
- Experience with GoHighLevel or a comparable CRM
- Existing Big Island resort or activity-industry relationships
- In-person or consultative sales training
- Fast, confident Lightroom editing and culling
What to expect
Our seasonality is pretty extreme. July runs roughly five times the volume of February. Holidays are peak season. Summer is relentless; shoulder season is when you repair, build, and train on systems.
We're small. No HR department, no marketing team. You'll do things outside this description, and you'll have unusual latitude to change how the business runs. The upside here is real, and it's tied to performance, not your time.