Success Beyond Podcast

If you’ve been in business for long, you know that it’s not all cupcakes and rainbows. Every day isn’t about living your best life and singing in the rain. In fact, more often than not, your business grows and develops directly proportional to your own personal growth and development. 

Mine has been no different. 

In the episode preceding this one I shared all about the beginning of my story. But then in 2020 my business like so many others experienced a huge shift that I wasn’t necessarily ready for at the time. 

The “panini” brought up a lot of personal baggage that I’d been holding onto for many many years and they highlighted behaviors that I’d held over from my corporate life. The same corporate behaviors that I created my business to escape. 

Listen as I share where the business is today and why it was a couple of personal decisions that I made for myself that led to massive growth. This episode isn’t as fun and upbeat as some of my other episodes but it’s real, raw, and extremely honest. Which is all I hope to be for you as you’re building your own businesses!

[03:01] When my business started to feel the pressure of Covid, I dove into the Honeybook and Dubsado setups to keep things afloat.

[04:22] At this time I wasn’t physically or mentally in a good place.

[05:08] I atribute a few different things that I did to where the business is today.

[05:29] In the fall of 2020 I reached out to a therapist for help.

[06:44] Six months later I hired a personal trainer.

[08:07] The business went crazy in 2021 and we reached consecutive five figure months.

[11:15] I would agonize over small things in every aspect of my life.

[12:39] I don’t believe that the business would be where it is now if I hadn’t hired a therapist to face the scary boxes I had in place.

[14:45] I challenged myself to take a kickboxing class and now I am an instructor.

[16:30] With this podcast I want to have honest conversations that allow you to run a successful business.

[19:04] You can do anything you put your mind to.

[20:07] Thank you for listening!

Success Beyond The Lens

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When it comes down to it, we’re all trying to tell our stories. For photographers, the goal is to tell their client’s story in a series of pictures, but what about the story behind their own business? This season I’m sharing the story behind my business and the businesses of other amazing photographers just like you!

Did you know that telling your own story is kind of hard? It’s hard to sit down in front of a mic and just start talking all about yourself. Especially if you’re not used to talking about yourself as a normal part of everyday life. 

I found it to be almost impossible. In fact, I recorded part II of this little mini-series and realized that something was missing. So what did I do? I called in my amazing podcast manager Kayla Wells to help me share my story.

Listen in as we chat about how I got started, when I knew that I only wanted to work with photographers and how Covid (or the panorama) helped propel my business forward in ways I could have never imagined. 

How did you start your business? Why did you start your business? It’s time to share your story.

[01:24] On this first episode of season 4, I am being interviewed by my Podcast Manager Kayla Wells.

[02:18] I share how I got started in the virtual entrepreneurial world.

[03:11] I started my own business so that I would have the flexibility of my time.

[05:25] Listen as I talk about how I found out about the virtual world.

[07:44] When I started out I did anything people would pay me to do like, shownotes, transcription, web design and graphics.

[09:58] My first photography had me doing everything except taking photographs for her company.

[11:18] I discuss the evolution of my company from doing anything to niching down to photographers.

[13:58] My passion is helping photographers to grow their businesses, I share how I helped them find what worked for them.

[18:48] I talk about the timeline to where I am today.

[22:06] During the pandemic in 2020 I lost 80% of my business.

[25:30] In October of 2020 I took two steps that literally changed everything.

[30:18] I don’t know if I would have the business I have today if the pandemic hadn’t happened.

[32:50] How enforcing my boundaries has allowed me to have “me” time, time with my family and grow my business.

[38:57] It has allowed me time to work on a big project for the fall and improve the foundation of the business.

[42:28] Now that you know where it all started, listen to part 2 to hear the changes I’ve made for the business going forward.

Success Beyond The Lens

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Hiring an expert to help you with any aspect of your business is great, but only if you too know what it is they’re doing. This is especially true when it comes to the systems and software you’re using in your business. Listen in to learn why your systems are only as good as the knowledge you have of them. 

I hear this complaint about various software all the time. So and so came in and set everything up but I have no idea how to use it. This is a problem! You should have an idea of how to use the software and use the system that’s been implemented. 

If you’re setting up your systems yourself, take the time to dig into the resource libraries provided by the platform you’re using. They all have them. Many of them even have weekly webinars and various other ongoing resources you can attend to get better acquainted. 

If you’re hiring an expert, be sure that they offer you the time to either sit down and show you how to use the platform and system OR that they provide you with videos walking you through various aspects. 

Hands down, when your system breaks down, it’s almost 99% because of user error. There is usually some small step missed, or button unclicked. If you’ve never spent any time using the platform, you’ll never know when those things are missed. 

Listen in to hear my tips for testing your systems, troubleshooting, and most importantly making sure you’re able to learn as much about your chosen platform from the expert you’ve chosen to hire. 

The goal of these systems is to save you time and make you money, and every single one of them will do that for you. IF you take the time to learn how they work and what to do if something goes wrong. 

[02:24] Hiring an expert to get your system up and running is great, as long as you know how to operate it once it’s done.

[04:15] If you learn by doing, create your lead contact form, fill it out and go through the workflows yourself.

[07:20] If you learn by watching, the platforms have tons of resources out there to help you.

[10:19] You need a basic knowledge of how to run your platform so you can be more successful with it.

[12:56] I recommend spending a few hours running through your systems to see what they look like.

[15:04] The more time you spend in these systems playing around the better you understand them.

[15:44] Your homework.

[19:41] I am so excited about season 4.

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Have you ever heard the saying that email is dead or dying? Every couple of years marketing gurus all over the place decide that email is just no longer working. Every couple years those same gurus are proven wrong. Listen as Liz Wilcox not only shares how to write a 20 minute newsletter but why it’s so important you start now. 

Liz has done it all. In fact, she started her freelancing career on Craigslist of all places and in 2016 she found her way to blogging. What she quickly realized was that email marketing is what truly made her freelancer’s heart happy. 

Now she helps turn bloggers into business owners by creating personality driven email copy that creates adoring fans and repeat customers. 

Listen as Liz breaks down her 20 minute newsletter framework and shares exactly how you as a photographer can and should integrate email marketing into your business.

Want a sneak peak at one myth we’re busting? (It’s not about when you send your newsletter… success is found in the way you handle your introduction in the welcome sequence!) 

Intrigued? Listen in to hear it all!

[01:30] Welcome to the show, Liz!

[03:14] How she developed the simple newsletter framework she uses.

[05:00] The steps in creating the newsletter.

[08:21] Listen as Liz recaps the three steps to creating a 20 minute newsletter.

[09:01] “People don’t buy when you are selling, they buy when they are ready.”

[10:37] How often you should put out a newsletter.

[14:22] The importance of onboarding and getting clients your email welcome sequence.

[16:38] Think about what your vision is for your clients, what do you want them to get out of the photos.

[18:10] Share your values in your onboarding emails.

[22:36] Questions you should ask yourself when writing emails and newsletters.

[23:45] Where you can get her free email welcome sequence and newsletter examples.

[25:15] What is a welcome sequence?

[31:13] Her favorite business tools are Ecamm Live and Giphy.com.

[33:59] She shares her favorite quotes.

[35:45] We talk about where we would go and what we would drink if I went to Destin, Florida.

[37:52] Find out where to hang out with Liz.

Liz Wilcox

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As your business grows, you may wonder, “Is now the time to hire?” Here to help answer that question is Julie Calcote. Julie is an online business manager for creatives with a specialty in helping business owners make fantastic hiring decisions. Hiring however, is not a magic bullet and Julie’s here to tell us why. 

First things first, do you know where you spend your time? Not just your time working, but your time period. If you’re sitting there trying to piece together the last couple of hours of your day, then you need to do a time study. (Julie has some amazing resources for that here!) 

Once you know where you’re spending your time, you’ll have a better idea of where you should start the hiring process. Interestingly enough, rarely is the first “right” hire someone for your business. 

As busy moms and business owners, the first “right” hire is someone to help us manage some part of our household tasks. You’ll find out your first right hire completing the time study. 

But what’s next? You can’t just hire someone and then leave them to their own devices. You need to know what specifically you’re hiring them for and then provide them with the tools they’ll need to succeed. 

Listen as Julie shares her tips for creating SOPs before you ever need them, ways to manage your expectations when you finally do hire someone for your business, and what you should look for as you begin the process for hiring. 

This conversation was truly magical and filled with some amazing advice for anyone looking to hire in their business. If that’s you, take a listen before you start the process.

[02:02] Welcome to the show, Julie!

[04:26] Why hiring isn’t a magic bullet.

[07:31] She encourages people to write down processes, and how to look at the big picture.

[11:20] Julie shares how valuable it is to have videos of the processes you have set up.

[14:36] Learn the importance of having someone on your team that looks at things differently than you do.

[19:00] Listen as Julie discusses doing a time study that will allow you to figure out where in business and life it is that you need help.

[22:31] Tools you can use for the time study.

[23:41] Where she looks to hire someone.

[27:04] The best way to determine a fair rate for hiring.

[30:32] Tips for hiring successfully.

[31:38] Her favorite business tool is FG Funnels.

[32:46] She recites her favorite quote.

[33:36] We talk about where we would go in Anchorage to get a drink.

Julie Calcote

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I cannot say it enough, your brand is the key to attracting the clients you WANT to work with. But it doesn’t stop at your website and social media. All of the systems you use in your business need to present the same energy and experience. Listen in to learn how to incorporate your branding into your systems!

Okay, let’s make up a brand right fast so I can better explain this concept. Imagine that you are an adventurous wedding photographer who loves to shoot in out of the way places for people dead set on an unconventional wedding. 

All of your social media posts are fun, energetic, and capture the essence of the clients you want to attract and they all lead back to your website. You don’t want your website to then reflect a super formal, black tie affair type brand. It needs to be fun and energetic, just like your social media posts. 

Let’s take that one step further. So you’ve got these beautiful social posts, leading to a really fun website, and your ideal client decides to fill out your contact form. What does the email say that they receive once they’ve filled it out? 

I’m going to assume (because if you’re listening then you KNOW that an email needs to go out) that an email is in fact set to go out to anyone who fills out your form. While a super short email that lets your ideal client know that you’ve received their inquiry and will get back to them soon is sufficient, it’s not furthering their experience.

That email should be just as energetic and informative as all the other touch points they’ve seen so far. 

Want to learn more? Listen in to hear all of my tips for making sure your systems are just as branded as your social media and website and why it’s so important. 

[01:29] I’m talking about the different systems in your business.

[02:29] When someone visits your social media pages you should show them the same person that is presented in your website.

[04:30] Consistency throughout your systems is key.

[06:02] Your branding will attract the clients you want but it will also repel the clients you don’t.

[08:10] Make sure the backend of your business is as branded and fluid as the front end.

[10:28] When someone inquires, make sure you give them something back.

[12:37] The more your branding is on point from A to Z the better experience your clients will have.

[14:16] I share your actionable tip for this week.

[16:06] Come find me on Instagram!

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Our society has a very negative view of failure and its role in our lives. For Rohana Olson, failure has to happen in order to find success. In fact, without failure it’s almost impossible to find your true self. Listen in as we chat about some of the failures she’s experienced in life and business and how she has grown through each. 

Rohana loves creating timeless images that depict the simple, every day beauty of love and marriage. It all started with the epic love of her grandparents. They were married for 71 years and were a shining example of love and marriage, but they had very few pictures of their lives together. 

She is passionate about capturing those little moments for her clients so that their love will shine through the years. 

But her vision doesn’t always land with her clients. Listen as she shares one specific moment and what she did to make sure her clients were happy with the end result. She says it herself, she’s no stranger to failure in life and business. 

However, if she’d never failed, she would have never learned and she wouldn’t be where she is today. She’s sharing all of her nuggets of wisdom and you won’t want to miss them. 

[02:05] Welcome to the show, Rohana!

[03:18] She discusses how to handle failures in your business.

[04:43] “Courage is grace under pressure.” - Ernest Hemmingway.

[06:22] Rohana talks about the importance of clients understanding your contract.

[08:13] She shares a time when she had a failure with a client and how she recovered from it.

[11:28] “Failure has to happen to find success.”

[14:25] Listen as Rohana talks about her client's love box.

[19:17] She discusses some gaps in her business and how she fixed the issues.

[21:48] When you are going through conflict, curate what you listen to and hear.

[27:06] Rohana gives some tips on how to recover from a mistake.

[28:46] HoneyBook and Quick Books are her two favorite business tools.

[29:30] She shares where she would take me for coffee if I came to her neck in the woods.

[31:03] Thank you for being on the show!

Rohana Olson Photography

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What is your brand story? How did your business come about? Why are you so passionate about the type of photography you shoot? All of this plays a huge role in how your brand story helps shape your mission, vision, and values. 

Listen in as I share why and how you can synthesize your experience and beliefs into an amazing framework for making business decisions. 

For me, I started my business because I didn’t want my time beholden to anyone else anymore. I wanted to be there for my family and build something that was important to me. That need to have time-freedom and autonomy over my day to day activities plays a huge role in my business. 

In fact, when I start working with clients, my goal is to help them find that balance between business and family. I don’t believe in having periods of rest. Rest should be the norm. I believe that you have periods of hustle. It’s important that I help my clients realize these differences and then make them happen in their businesses. 

So what kinds of experiences play a part in determining your mission, vision and values? Listen in to hear all of the examples and learn how to begin writing your own.

[01:36] Learn how your brand story helps shape your mission, vision and values.

[03:21] Look back on the story of why you started your business, what is your why?

[05:21] Listen as I discuss why boudoir photography is my favorite type of photography and what my story would be if I were this type of photographer.

[08:48] How personal experiences can shape your story.

[14:35] A value that is important to me and my company is making it a safe place for everyone.

[16:38] My mission is to help transform the perspective of 500 women in the next five years.

[17:22] Here’s your homework for the week.

Success Beyond The Lens - Mission, Vision and Values with Natalie Gingrich

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If you haven’t already established your mission, vision and values for your business, you won’t want to skip this episode. Natalie Gingrich, CEO and founder of The Ops Authority, joins me to share why establishing these from the start of your business is so important and how to be sure you reflect on them both professionally and personally.

Natalie spent over 15 years working at a fortune 150 company and while she loved her job, she needed time freedom and flexibility to spend more time with her family. Rather than continue on in the status quo, she took the leap and hasn’t often looked back. 

One of the things propelling her into entrepreneurship was her intrinsic value based around her family. Her children were moving into some pretty exciting times in their lives and she didn’t want to miss it. 

What came a little later for her was the mission behind her business and the vision to enact it. Natalie makes a great point that when you’re just starting your business, it’s important to dabble. Figure out what you like, what you don’t, and how you want to make an impact in the world. 

Once you’ve found the clients or work that truly make working in and on your business a joy, then it’s time to start delving in and solidifying some of these key pieces. When done right, your mission, vision and values will act as guardrails for your business, keeping you in the lane you need to travel to reach your goals.

Natalie is brilliant. Success Beyond the Lens was born through one of her masterminds and it was her pointing out my love for working with and for photographers that got me thinking about how to shift into working exclusively in this niche. 

Listen in to see how you can start putting together your mission, vision and values, when you should review them, and why it’s important to simply get something down.

[01:25] Welcome to the show, Natalie!

[02:08] Listen as Natalie shares her journey to where she is today.

[05:40] What it took to figure out where she wanted to take her business. 

[09:49] She discusses what she means by picking your mission statement.

[13:56] When your mission statement reflects you, it makes you more authentic.

[17:44] Why a vision statement is important both in your business and personal life.

[25:40] The most important thing for your business is having core values.

[26:16] Natalie shares an exercise she uses to come up with her core values.

[32:47] She uses mission, vision and values as guardrails to guide her business.

[37:23] Her favorite business tool is Voxer.

[38:05] “Yes, you can” is her favorite motto.

[38:28] Natalie tells me where we would go to grab drinks in San Antonio, TX.

[39:18] Connect with Natalie.

The Ops Authority

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We all have a story. We had a reason for starting our businesses that stems from some sort of life experience. We were inspired based on our own lives to create change in the world. So, how do you use that story, your brand story, in your marketing? Listen in to find out!

I’ve shared about my story several times on the podcast before, but what I haven’t shared is how that story informs almost all of my day to day decisions. I left corporate after being treated pretty terribly by my boss and my company while I was out on maternity leave. 

Finally, I reached that period where I could take no more and I vowed when I started my business that it would not take me away from my family. I didn’t want to live my life chained to my desk and unable to take a break for fear of being reprimanded. 

That’s why when I work with clients my goal is to find ways to give them time off. No one should work 24/7/365. You should have systems, processes, and automations in place to help take the load off when you are away living your life with your family. 

The passion I have for helping my clients reach that point is fueled by my underlying brand story. So what’s your brand story? What types of sessions are you passionate about capturing? Now consider why you have that passion. 

Listen in to learn more about how to incorporate your brand story in your marketing and why it’s so important to share!

[01:15] Welcome to season 3!

[01:43] My brand story and how it ties into my business.

[02:32] I help my clients run a business that is not dependent on them 24/7.

[04:14] What gets you excited about your business?

[06:55] Share your brand story with your clients.

[08:23] Are you ready to grow your business? I’m excited to announce my 30 day consultation packages.

[09:30] Share how far you’ve come in your journey.

[13:03] If you are not comfortable sharing vulnerable pieces of yourself, then don’t. 

[15:56] Marketing is all about connection. It’s about finding the people you are excited to work with.

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