Priority Pursuit

046. Are you looking for a community of other creative entrepreneurs who you can build relationships with? Have you gotten tired of being your own sounding board and could really use the advice and feedback of others? If so, then this episode of Priority Pursuit is for you! 

Courtney Cannon and her husband Robert, make up the husband-wife wedding and branding photography team, The Cannons Photography based in Massillon, Ohio. Courtney and her husband have a passion for serving and loving couples well and pulling out all the stops to show their clients, vendors, and fellow entrepreneurs that they truly care. They’ve even created a styled boutique conference called The Graceful Gathering to teach others how to truly care and serve their clients well. 

If you can’t find Courtney behind a camera or mingling about in a crowd making new friends, you might catch her at Chick-fil-a with an ice cold lemonade or having a dance party with her children Max and Cora, or going on a walk dreaming of the day when she and her family will own a Corgi. 

Courtney and her husband have purposefully built a thriving business that’s founded on showing people that they care, cultivating meaningful relationships, and being genuine. And in this episode, Courtney shares why community is important and gives practical steps for how you can foster community in your industry as a creative entrepreneur.

In this episode, Courtney shares:

1. Why community is so important for creative entrepreneurs
2. How to start building community and cultivating community
3. How to foster community with clients and vendors
4. How workshops can help you foster community with clients & vendors
5. The importance of serving well and showing grace
6. A little bit of relationship advice

 

You can find a more detailed version of this episode’s show notes at: 

045.

In this episode of Priority Pursuit, we’re discussing something that scares arguably most creative entrepreneurs: raising your prices. 

 

When you love what you do and you want to serve your customers well, it can be easy to charge less than you, your team (if you have one), and your business need and even deserve. 

 

But, here’s the thing. As a small business owner, you likely work really hard, and you deserve to be compensated for all you do and for all you’ve built. And, as your skills and business grow, you certainly deserve to be able to pay yourself more, to work less, and to reward and build your team. (I mean, that’s the dream, right?)

 

However, unless you’re charging enough for your products and/or services, you’ll never be able to reach those goals. With this in mind, in this episode of Priority Pursuit, we’re discussing seven signs it’s time to raise your prices as a creative entrepreneur, which include:

 

1. You aren’t able to cover your cost of doing business or pay yourself enough to meet your needs. 
2. There’s so much demand for your work that you’re turning business away. 
3. You’ve invested in new equipment or further education.
4. You’ve improved your client experience. 
5. You aren’t making sales, because you’re priced in the “dead zone.” 
6. Your competitors are charging significantly more than you.
7. You’re ready to work less. 

 

If you identify with any of these signs, in this episode, we also discuss strategies you can use to raise your prices without upsetting your customers, including:

 

1. If you need to make a big price change, give your customers a heads-up.
2. Raise your prices incrementally.
3. Add value to your products or services.  

 

You can find a more detailed version of this episode’s show notes at: 

https://victoriarayburnphotography.com/signs-time-raise-prices.

 

Mentioned Links & Resources

 

• “Episode 044: Exactly How to Determine Your Prices as a Creative Entrepreneur with Chris Deckard of Velvet Lotus Photography” -

044. Have you ever wondered exactly how to determine your prices as a creative entrepreneur? Do you know if you’re charging the appropriate amount for your services and/or products? If you have pricing questions, this episode of Priority Pursuit is for you!

Chris Deckard of Velvet Lotus Photography is a Lafayette, Indiana photographer who photographs diverse subjects. He shoots high school and university seniors, families, weddings, and commercial photography. And, on top of this, he mentors and offers workshops to other photographers. 

When Chris isn’t behind a camera or computer, he can be found cooking, sipping on a nice bourbon, or spending time with his three children and his dog, Sophie. 

With over a decade’s worth of photography and business experience, Chris has successfully determined the prices that move the needle forward in his business. The pricing advice and guidance he offers in this episode of Priority Pursuit is not just for photographers. Chris’s formula can be used by any creative entrepreneur who wants to know exactly how to determine their prices and grow their business.

In this episode, Chris shares:

1. Determining your prices starts with defining the cost of doing business
2. Exactly how to determine your cost of doing business 
3. How to determine what to pay yourself
4. How to determine what to charge for both services and products
5. What to do if these numbers scare you

 

You can find a more detailed version of this episode’s show notes at: 

https://victoriarayburnphotography.com/how-determine-your-prices-creative-entrepreneur.

Mentioned Links & Resources

• Velvet Lotus Photography  - https://www.velvetlotus.com/
• Find Chris on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/velvetlotusphoto/
• Find Chris on Facebook -

043. As a small business owner, you’re likely already well aware of the importance of posting to and utilizing Facebook, Instagram, and various other social media platforms. 

 

However, I have a question for you. Are you utilizing your Google Business Profile (formerly called “Google My Business”)? 

 

If you’re like most small business owners, you probably created your account for the sake of having the online directory listing, but you haven’t updated your Profile since signing up and have yet to share a single post. And, friend, I want to encourage you to change this so that you can improve your search engine rankings.  

 

Your Google Business Profile needs to be part of your SEO and marketing strategy, and in this week’s episode of Priority Pursuit, we’re breaking down exactly why you should be updating and posting to your Google Business Profile regularly, as well as what you should be sharing on your Google Business Profile. 

What is a Google Business Profile?

 

First of all, what is a Google Business Profile? Google Business Profile is essentially an online storefront where you can display and share updates, photos, videos, your hours, your policies, and more about your business. 

 

When people search for products or services you offer or for your business specifically, Google then uses Google Business Profile to provide Google users with a snapshot of your business. If they’d like to learn more, Google users can then visit your website or even contact you for a quote through your Google Business Profile (if you have this setting turned on). 

Why is it important to update & post to your Google Business Profile?

 

1. Your Google My Business profile will put your information in front of potential customers faster. 
2. Google is the leading search engine & will likely always prioritize its own features & tools. 
3. Google Business posts are searchable.
4. Having an active Google Business Profile can drastically improve your local SEO. 
5. Few business owners are taking advantage of Google Business Prof

042. If you’ve been listening to (or reading) Priority Pursuit for nearly any time at all, you know that there are a lot of things you can do to improve your SEO.  However, one of the most effective ways to improve your Google rankings is to get backlinks to your website. 

If you have no idea what a backlink is, don’t worry. In this episode of Priority Pursuit, we’re discussing what backlinks are, why backlinks matter for SEO, and six easy easy ways you can get backlinks as a creative entrepreneur so you can move your website up the Google ladder so that more of your ideal clients can find your products, services, and content! 

What are backlinks?

A backlink (also referred to as an “inbound link”) is simply a link from another website to your website. 

Why do backlinks matter?

To achieve this goal, Google ranks content based on EAT, which stands for “expertise,” “authority,” and “trustworthiness.” In other words, Google prioritizes—and more or less rewards—credible websites by ranking them well, which makes Google users more likely to click on and visit these well-ranking sites.

If you want to improve your SEO, you need to prove to Google that your website is credible and has authority. And, arguably, the most effective way to do this is to get backlinks to your website. 

Six Easy Ways You Can Get Backlinks as a Creative Entrepreneur

1. Create consistent online directory listings.
   1. Free Online Directories
      1. Google: https://www.google.com/business/ 
      2. Bing: https://www.bing.com/?toWww=1&redig=D61419D79A244C0F82090C7E122A5C63 
      3. Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/

041. This may or may not be true for you, but I think it’s safe to say that while nearly all creative entrepreneurs prioritize and see value in social media, many creative entrepreneurs fail to prioritize their websites and even neglect them altogether. 

However, here’s the thing. Your website is your most powerful marketing tool! When built strategically, your website will:

1. Serve as a 24/7 salesperson for your business
2. Attract your ideal customers and repel those who aren’t a good fit for you
3. Display your work and products at their best
4. Communicate your brand
5. Serve as your safe haven on the Internet regardless of algorithm changes

Basically, your website should be at the center of your marketing efforts, and every other marketing tool—including SEO, social media, email marketing, and more—should be driving your ideal customers to your website so they can learn more about you and what you offer. 

Now, because I know you don’t want overwhelm to stand between you and having a website that (1) serves your clients well and (2) enables you to meet your business goals, let’s simplify the web development process. Instead of getting lost in the weeds by thinking about all of the things your website could do or the way it could look, in this episode of Priority Pursuit, we’re breaking down the seven things you must have on your website as a creative entrepreneur to convert website visitors into paying customers. 

These seven things include: 

1. A brand position statement that clarifies what you offer, who you serve, and where you serve
2. A step-by-step booking or purchase process
3. A clear call to action
4. Straightforward pricing
5. Clear offer details
6. Client testimonials
7. Your personality!

You can find a more detailed version of this episode’s show notes at: http://victoriarayburnphotography.com/things-you-must-have-website-creative-entrepreneur.

Mentioned Links & Resources

• Marketing Made Simple by Donald Miller -

40. Do you want to make more money with your small business? To be fair, what small business owner doesn’t?!

While you might assume that you need to add an entirely new product or service to increase your revenue, there are a lot of ways you can make more money practically doing what you’re already doing. You simply need to make a few changes to your processes. 

In this episode of Priority Pursuit, I’m excited to discuss five easy ways to make more money in your small business:

1. Resell work you’ve already created. 
2. Upsell to your current customers.
3. Utilize affiliate links in your content.
4. Charge for coaching sessions. 
5. Raise your prices.  

You can find a more detailed version of this episode’s show notes at: http://victoriarayburnphotography.com/ways-make-more-money-your-small-business. 

Mentioned Links & Resources

• Show Notes: http://victoriarayburnphotography.com/ways-make-more-money-your-small-business
• “Episode 011: How to Build Your Team as a Creative Entrepreneur with Jessie Roseberry of Roseberry & Co.” - https://victoriarayburnphotography.com/build-your-team-as-a-creative-entrepreneur-jessie-roseberry/ 
• Pixieset - https://pixieset.com/ref/8kKrzZAaKX 
• Amazon Associates - https://affiliate-program.amazon.com/ 
• Business Coaching for Photographers with Victoria - https://victoriarayburnphotography.com/business-coaching-photographers/ 
• SEO Coaching for Photographers with Victoria - https://victoriar

39. Welcome to the first episode of “The Priority Pursuit Podcast”—a podcast dedicated to helping creative entrepreneurs define, maintain, and pursue both their personal and business priorities! 

As a recovering workaholic, I’ve learned the hard way what loving your job too much can do to your personal life. While I don’t believe work-life balance exists, I do believe there’s power in determining your priorities—both in your personal life and in your business—and making choices and creating systems based around what’s most important to you and what’s going to lead to results.

Relationships, effective marketing strategies, setting boundaries, delegating, creating an incredible client experience, and keeping your priorities at the core of everything you do are exactly what you, experts, and I will be discussing every week. 

With this in mind, it only makes sense for the very first episode of “Priority Pursuit” to be about identifying your priorities and assessing how well you’re pursuing what’s most important to you both in your personal life and your business and getting all of this information down on paper.

How to Determine & Assess Your Personal Priorities

1. Make a list of the people & activities that are most important to you, & put them in order of most to least important. 
2. Use your calendar to assess whether or not you’re making time for what’s most important in your life. 
3. If you aren’t prioritizing your priorities, determine why. 
4. Get specific about what needs to change in order to make your hypothetical priorities your real priorities. 

How to Determine & Assess Your Business Priorities

1. Determine how your paying clients are finding you to figure out what your top business priorities should be. 
2. Make a list of all of your business tasks.
3. Compare your lists & determine which tasks are needed for your priorities. 
4. Stop putting tasks on your to-do list that aren’t moving the needle in your business. 
5. Use your new-found time to help your business grow!

Find a more detailed version of this episode’s show notes at https://victoriarayburnphotography.com/are-you-prioritizing-whats-most-important-your-personal-life-business 

Mentioned Links & Resources

• Show Notes: https://victoriarayburnphotography.com/are-you-prioritizing-whats-most-important-your-personal-life-business 

38. Have you ever wondered how to become an “award-winning” business owner? I mean, you work hard. You produce great work. However, while you regularly see industry peers receiving awards, nobody is knocking on your door to give you a trophy. What gives?

Thankfully, in this episode of Priority Pursuit, award-winning and published wedding photographer Jasmine Norris of Jasmine Norris Photography is sharing exactly how you can become an award-winning business owner—including how you can be named to The Knot and WeddingWire’s “Best of Weddings” lists if you’re a wedding vendor. 

Just to name a few of the awards Jasmine has earned throughout her career (You can find a more extensive list here!), Jasmine is a six-time winner of WeddingWire’s Couples’ Choice Awards, a seven-time winner of The Knot’s Best of Weddings, and a four-year Stevie Awards recipient (with multiple awards earned each year). 

Jasmine is an incredible photographer and business owner and is certainly deserving of these awards. However, Jasmine doesn’t simply receive awards regularly. She’s made applying for awards part of her workflow and uses her awards to leverage her business. And, in this episode of Priority Pursuit, she shares how you can and why you should be doing the same. 

Jasmine shares more in the audio of this episode, but essentially, to become an award-winning business owner, you need to: 

1. Nominate your business and apply for awards. Don’t wait for others to nominate you.
2. Research awards within your community, state, or area.
3. Research awards within your industry.
4. Research general awards. 
5. Set up workflows to make applying for awards simple & routine. 

You can find a more detailed version of this episode’s show notes at: http://victoriarayburnphotography.com/how-become-award-winning-business-owner

37. The holidays are here, friends! And, as wonderful as this time of year is, it can be a lot for small business owners and often hard to enjoy because there’s just so much on our plates. 

With this in mind, in this week’s episode of “Priority Pursuit,” we’re discussing five ways you can better prepare your business, mind, and heart for a little time off this year without letting things fall through the cracks in your business. 

We dive deeper in the show, but the five tips are:

1. Turn your out-of-the-office response on. 
2. Create an email template for new inquiries so you can respond quickly. 
3. Schedule the activities you want to do, & arrange your work schedule around them. 
4. Plan your social media content in advance. 
5. Be present. 

For a more detailed written version of this episode, visit http://victoriarayburnphotography.com/tips-preparing-your-business-heart-holidays-small-business-owner. 

Other Mentioned Links & Resources

• Show Notes - http://victoriarayburnphotography.com/tips-preparing-your-business-heart-holidays-small-business-owner 
• Join the Priority Pursuit Podcast Facebook Community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/179106264013426 
• Receive 50% Off Your First Order with Photographer’s Edit -  http://victoriarayburnphotography.com/pe/ 
• Receive $20 Off Your First Pair of Rothy’s - http://victoriarayburnphotography.com/rothys
• Join the Priority Pursuit Facebook Community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/179106264013426
• Follow or DM Victoria on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/victorialrayburn/