This Creative Empire podcast episode Reina and Christina chat with Justin and Mary Marantz of justinandmaryweddings.com. Justin and Mary Marantz are an international wedding photography duo who travel the globe shooting weddings, teaching, and inspiring other small business owners, as well as the founders and editors in chief of twin wedding blogs, The Black Tie Bride and The Well Groomed Groom. Today they are chatting with Reina and Christina all about running a business with your significant other. They talk about making the leap into their business after both having great job offers and what being a couple can look like working together. Mary shares the largest road blocks she hears from people when mentoring business owners, which are permission and perfectionism. They both talk about how you can build confidence in your business.

Main Takeaways:

• How Justin and Mary took the leap of faith into starting a business together [0:01:54]
• What the pressure looked like for them to make their business succeed [0:04:45]
• What the two biggest road blocks are for success [0:09:16]
• How to have conversations about starting your own business with people you care about [0:12:05]
• What being a husband-and-wife-duo in business has looked like for them + tips [0:17:08]
• What the biggest objections they see in mentoring [0:28:54]
• Why you should do what you are good at [0:31:29]
• What two things are that can help you build confidence in your business [0:34:50]
• Why should you connect with people [0:40:10]
• How to tell a powerful story + not comparing to each other [0:42:39]

Show Notes:

• Yale Law School
• Dave Ramsey
• Smirnoff
• Adrienne Dorison
• Blue Apron
• Annie Leibovitz
• Lindsay Lohan
• Olivia Pope
• Betty White
• Natalie Franke - Creative @ Heart
• Morgan Freeman
• Jay Crew

Bio:

Justin & Mary Marantz are an international wedding photography duo who travel the globe shooting weddings, teaching, & inspiring other small business owners, as well as the founders & editors in chief of twin wedding blogs The Black Tie Bride and The Well Groomed Groom. In the past few years, they have put on their workshops worldwide including London, Australia, Germany & The Netherlands, took their What's Next Tour" across the country on their own tour bus, authored their two books- The Guide & The Lighting Guide, presented at international conferences including WPPI and The Dutch Wedding Congress, and were featured in Inside Weddings, Style Me Pretty & Martha Stewart. Their iconic style of photography is recognized the world over and most recently earned them a place as a “LEGEND OF LIGHT" for Profoto along with their year long video series "Walk Through a Wedding w/ Justin & Mary" walking through each step of the wedding day. But on their best days, you can find them at home by the water with their very fluffy golden retrievers, Cooper & Atticus and drinking way more Starbucks than any normal person should. Mary is currently working on writing her first book.

Social Handles:

• Website
• Facebook
• Mary's Instagram + Justin's Instagram
• Blog
• Courses

Joining Reina and Christina today is Catherine Orer, a Business and PR Strategist for artists and creative entrepreneurs of theartistentrepreneur.com. Catherine is chatting about how branding your business as an artist, will be able to help you in the art market.  She also discusses how a regular journaling practice can help an artist, or any creative entrepreneur, gain clarity for sharing with your audience. The trio chat about pricing and Catherine shares about how incorporating a discount into your pricing strategy can be beneficial. 

Main Takeaways:

• How the art market has changed [0:03:49]
• What the steps are to position yourself after branding for an artist [0:06:50]
• How millennials and custom artwork is affecting the art market [0:10:11]
• How artists can tell their story a little bit more effectively [0:14:57]
• Where to start at the beginning of your art career [0:21:50]
• Why Etsy should not be your main webpage [0:24:09]
• How to price yourself and artwork [0:30:53]
• How to incorporate discounts into your pricing strategy [0:37:08]
• How creating scarcity can help or hinder your business [0:42:04]

Show Notes:

• The Auction House - Christie’s
• Brittany Branson
• The 12 million Dollars Stock Shark - The Curious Economics of Contemporary Art
• Britt Bass
• Wayfair
• Etsy
• Amazon - Handmade
• Pinterest
• Artfinder
• Zatista
• Saatchi Art
• Janet Gwen
• Steven Pressfield - Turning Pro + The War of Art

Bio:

Catherine Orer is a Business and PR Strategist for artists and creative entrepreneurs. Her extensive marketing and communications experience in the corporate sector and in the contemporary art market inspired her to found The Artist Entrepreneur, where she empowers artists to build personally fulfilling and financially successful businesses with marketing, PR, and sales strategies that actually work. Catherine also teaches at iCMTL, the first business incubator dedicated to cultural and creative entrepreneurs in North America, and sits on the board of the Sylvie and Simon Blais Foundation, which is dedicated to promoting new practices in contemporary art. She has been invited to share her voice about art and business as a contributor to many publications, some of which are The Huffington Post, Colored Pencil Magazine, and ArtSquare.

Social Handles

• Website
• The Lab
• Online Community
• Facebook
• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Instagram

Joining Reina and Christina for this Empire Mentoring session is Chelsey Nelson, a photographer and blogger based out of Louisville, Kentucky. Chelsey's biggest struggle right now is booking clients and deciding which pathway she was to take her photography business. The trio think through what an ideal client would look like for Chelsey and discuss how to clearly set goals for obtaining clients.

Main Takeaways:

• How to add people into your client pipeline [0:03:18]
• How hard it is to articulate yourself as one of the many [0:04:50]
• What is a unique value proposition and how to figure it out [0:06:13]
• How flying into the blue ocean will make things a bit easier [0:12:41]
• What an ideal client can look like + thinking through the process [0:19:01]
• How to focus in your business + set and achieve goals [0:21:48]
• What her first steps are towards booking an ideal client [0:28:32]

Show Notes:

• Rising Tide Society
• Instagram
• Blue Ocean versus Red Ocean
• Abby Bringman - Abby Grace Photography
• La Plume Studio - Cassie Clark

Bio:

Hi, y'all!  I'm Chelsey.  I'm a believer, grateful wife, wedding and portrait photographer.  I live in Louisville, Kentucky where my husband teaches and attends at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.  We're in the thick of Seminary life and loving it. After years of telling myself I wasn't creative, I changed the story I kept telling myself and dove into entrepreneurship.  Maybe willingly listening to entrepreneur success story cd's in high school should have been my first clue!  My aim is to show the world as much of God's beauty as I can, while helping them feel loved and valued.  Right now, it's through photography and blogging.

Social Handles:

Website
Instagram
Facebook
Pinterest
Blog

This jam session episode features Reina and Christina chatting about how to break the mold in your business. The duo have at least eight actionable strategies that you’re going to be able to take away in this episode and can use to start switching up the status quo and do your business differently than the rest of your industry. 

Main Takeaways:

• How high need, low competition ideas can do great things [0:01:54]
• Why we should be questioning the "standard way" to do things [0:06:40]
• How payment plans can be a client experience [0:08:48]
• Why client gifts are getting overwhelming [0:14:00]
• Why stepping into another niches conference is a good idea + investing  [0:20:08]
• How questioning the status quo can help us develop [0:23:03]
• What collaborations can do with your clientele [0:30:46]
• How leveraging your past can differentiate your business [0:34:39]

Show Notes:

• Jessica Rasdall + The Speaker Blueprint
• Ashlyn Carter
• The Savvy Experience
• Laura Foote
• The Trouvaille Workshop
• Shanna Skidmore
• Jamie - Marigold and Grey
• Elon Musk
• Haven
• IKEA
• Adobe InDesign
• The National Stationary Show
• Shopify
• Lynn Stevens - Think Splendid and splendidinsights.com
• Molly Suber Thorpe
• Mariah Coz
• Shay Cochrane - SC Stock Shop
• Lara Casey
• Emily Ley
• Katell Schmitz of Reverie Lane
• Illiah Manger of C&V
• Lauren Hooker
• Etsy
• Creative Market
• Lauren Carns
• Conferencing Better - Reina and Co.

This Creative Empire podcast episode Reina and Christina chat with Katie Doherty of La Rousse Shoppe. Katie  is a whimsical redheaded photographer and entrepreneur, who has built a six figure e-commerce company from the ground up in just two years. Katie is sharing all about the transition of being a full time photographer to being a shop owner and photographer. She gives tips on intentional affiliate programs, such as HARO and Refersion. The trio talk about what automation can do for your business and how to hand off things to others.

Main Takeaways:

• How she transitioned from photographer to shop owner + Photographer [0:02:05]
• What investing in a product for your business looks like [0:15:03]
• What pre-validation looks like for her [0:18:04]
• What lessons can learned from transitioning from a service based to a product + service based business [0:23:59]
• How to start a successful shop [0:28:07]
• How to use Facebook Groups + Instagram for your shop + having influencers [0:28:19]
• What intentional affiliate programs can help [0:32:08]
• What automation can do for your business [0:38:00]

Show Notes:

• La Rousse Shoppe
• Keep Sake Boxes
• Mrs. Box
• Alibaba
• Shopify
• Ezra Firestone
• Boomerang
• Nikki Elledge Brown
• Janet Gwen Designs
• HARO
• Reversion
• Katie Fisher
• The Money Pillow with Shawn Malarkey
• The Smart Passive Income podcast with Pat Flynn
• The Unofficial Shopify podcast with Kurt Alastair

Bio:

Katie Doherty is a whimsical redheaded photographer and entrepreneur, who has built a six figure e-commerce company from the ground up in just two years. La Rousse Shoppe sells boutique packaging products, such as glass photo boxes and usb drives, to professional photographers. It all started with Katie’s love of creating beautiful things, fueled by a desire for freedom and the ability to work from anywhere. Her favorite aspects of running La Rousse Shoppe are designing products, branding & packaging, and seeing all of the wonderful ways photographers are sharing their styled print boxes on social media. Katie and her business partner Phil are working on further automating the business by building their team and outsourcing daily tasks like shipping and fulfilling orders. The goal is to build systems and automation so that Katie and Phil can focus on expanding their product line, and of course enjoying a life of travel and leisure.

Social Handles

• katiedoherty.me
• La Rousse Website + creative10 at checkout for $10 off your first order
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Pinterest

This episode features Reina and Christina chatting about relationships in real life, meaning relationships at home or with people outside of your business. This episode gets down into the nitty-gritty of relationships as an entrepreneur. Both ladies talk about their personal relationships and ways that they could do better. Both talk about being more intentional and give tips to do just that. If you ever feel like your journey at home is messy, but don't want to talk about it, they are for you! 

Main Takeaways:

• How to figure out your daily, weekly, and monthly "Circles" + who to invest in [0:02:42]
• What connecting with others with changing lifestyles is like [0:05:10]
• How to start formalizing reaching out to friends [0:11:15]
• Why in person conferences will never fail [0:13:30]
• What personal, committed relationships while working from how can look like [0:19:13]
• Why committing to relationships can be helpful [0:27:41]
• What huge life events can look like for entrepreneurs [0:29:31]

Show Notes:

• LulaRoe
• Zulily
• Powersheets
• Postable
• Trouvaille Workshop
• Callie Lindsey
• Lauren Carns
• Adrienne Dorison
• Lingo Mod
• recorders.com
• This is the End
• Alejandra.tv
• Mindbodygreen - 5 Signs It’s Time To End Your Engagement
• Jess Lively

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This Creative Empire podcast episode Reina and Christina interview Joanna Waterfall, the Founder of Yellow Co. Yellow Co. is an organization that exists to empower creative women to become agents of good. With a degree in graphic design and digital media and a background in branding, Joanna believes that creativity, purpose and business should go hand in hand. In this episode Joanna shares about her entrepreneurial journey and how she began the Yellow Conference. The trio talk about social good in a business and Joanna shares how you can implement it in your business. Lastly, she shares more about the Yellow Conference and what she expect for the future of Yellow Co.

Main Takeaways:

• How she left a 9 to 5 job and got into freelance graphic design [0:01:25]
• How to find the next step that you can't seem to find [0:08:49]
• How the Yellow Conference came to be [0:10:58]
• What the mission of the Yellow Conference is and how that influences the message [0:19:05]
• How to have a philanthropic cause with your business [0:20:34]
• How to incorporate social good into your business model [0:26:10]
• How to make the most out of a Yellow Conference experience [0:29:07]

Show Notes:

• Yellow Co.
• Yellow Conference
• Jamie -  The School Sessions
• Yellow Collective

Bio:

Joanna Waterfall is the Founder of Yellow Co., an organization that exists to empower creative women to become agents of good. With a degree in graphic design and digital media and a background in branding, Joanna believes that creativity, purpose and business should go hand in hand. She has been featured in publications such as The Huffington Post, LA Lady Magazine, Boss Ladies Magazine, Belong Magazine and others. She is motivated by the belief that women can change the world through stepping into what makes them come alive.

Social Handles

• Website
• Instagram
• Snapchat
• Facebook
• Pinterest 
• Twitter
• Personal Instagram
• Personal Twitter

This Creative Empire podcast episode Reina and Christina interview Shanna Skidmore. Shanna is a business strategist and financial coach. Nicknamed the “dream-releaser” by her clients, she helps entrepreneurs make money doing what they love by building profitable and sustainable businesses. Shanna shares all about taking sabbatical and time off for your business to do better. She gives advice for people to have confidence in their business by,  giving yourself a budget, making a plan, and understanding the outcomes you’re looking for will really help you decide what’s the best content you can get and start there. Shanna shares lots of tips to help you plan and be intentional in your business. 

Main Takeaways:

• What caused her to jump off of social media and what it has been like [0:01:39]
• How sabbaticals can help your business [0:04:23]
• How to plan out your finances to help you schedule time off - "Money Date" [0:10:56]
• How to be a good entrepreneur [0:15:34]
• What the difference between a hobbyist and an entrepreneur is [0:19:09]
• What a "10 year overnight success" looks like [0:25:55]
• How multiple streams of income can help your business [0:27:05]
• How speaking can become a diversified stream of revenue [0:30:55]
• What you can do to have confidence in your business [0:35:33]

Show Notes:

• Trouville in Michigan
• Shanna Skidmore Consulting
• Blueprint Model
• Teissia Treynet of Firefly Events
• GoPro Founder: Nick Woodman
• Erin Benzakein of Floret Flowers
• Magnolia - Fixer-upper Magnolia
• Pricing for Creatives Course
• entrepreneurs.com
• Mary Beth Creative Empire Podcast Episode

Bio:

Shanna Skidmore is a business strategist and financial coach. Nicknamed the “dream-releaser” by her clients, she helps entrepreneurs make money doing what they love by building profitable & sustainable businesses. For the past 10 years she has been immersed in the world of small business development and finance. By studying patterns of success, she now coaches and consults with creative entrepreneurs on business principles she found to be key indicators of success. Her background in finance, psychology and art, have allowed her to marry the world of business and creativity. Her greatest joy is watching others transform their stories and build businesses & lives they love!

Social Handles

• Website
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Pinterest

This Creative Empire podcast episode Reina and Christina interview Lauren Hooker of Elle & Company. Lauren is a graphic designer, online business strategist, and creative entrepreneur who helps creatives transform their passion into a successful, profitable business. In this episode she shares a lot about her business and the struggles that can occur. She dives deep into burnout and how to combat it. She share tips on how to encourage new business owners, by being realistic and prioritizing in your business. 

Main Takeaways:

• What her business looked like when she started and the struggles behind it [0:01:39]
• How creating a blog has helped grow her business [0:03:35]
• What creating content looks like for her [0:04:45]
• What made her share about burnout and how to take care of yourself [0:08:34]
• What she shares to encourage new business owners [0:13:05]
• How seasons change in your business [0:16:09]
• How creativity can come during burnout phases [0:17:16]
• What making excuses in your business can look like and how to shift from that mindset [0:21:33]
• How the educational course field is becoming saturated and what is next for passive income [0:25:23]
• Who the influencers have been behind Elle and Company [0:30:35]

Show Notes:

• elleandcompanydesign.com
• Buzzfeed
• Udemy
• Adobe Illustrator for Graphics
• Freelance Academy
• Pat Flynn
• Brian Harris of Video Fruit
• Freelance Academy
• Facebook Live
• Crowdcast
• Elle Chats
• Instagram Live

Bio:

Lauren Hooker is a graphic designer, online business strategist, and creative entrepreneur who helps creatives transform their passion into a successful, profitable business. Lauren graduated with a BFA in Visual Communication Design from Virginia Tech and immediately got a job working in the corporate world. After leaving her 9-5 to start her own business, she now has two passions: design and helping other creative entrepreneurs.

Social Handles

• Website
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram
• Pinterest
• Youtube
• Facebook Group: Elle & Co Community

This Creative Empire podcast episode Reina and Christina interview Lauren Carnes, photographer behind Lauren Carnes Photography. Lauren is known for photography, plus her brand building and she talks about what that transition has looked like for her. The three discuss how sometimes personal and professional content is used in their businesses. Lauren shares tips on how to mesh both together for content by determining what is that brand voice for you, what imagery do you want and just being open to what your followers and what the people in your target audience are looking for and finding where they are. In addition, she shares her 3 tips for the perfect yes pitch. 

Main Takeaways:

• What her non-linear journey has looked like as a professional and moving into photography [0:01:32]
• How someone can transition from one focus to another, smoothly [0:08:45]
• What influence her Instagram has had on her business [0:11:10]
• How to set boundaries for our social media presence + defining your brand voice [0:13:13]
• What social media presence give and takes can look like for a relationship [0:14:30]
• How "personal" and "on brand" can mesh together for content [0:17:02]
• What creating a "perfect yes" can look like [00:26:16]
• What the next wave of communications market is [0:35:49]
• How open she is to continuing and moving seasons as they come [0:39:09]

Show Notes:

• The Rising Tide Society
• Tuesdays Together - The Rising Tide Society
• Honey Book
• Natalie Frank
• Instagram
• Planoly
• Shauna Niequist - Cold Tangerines: Celebrating the Extraordinary Nature of Everyday Life
• The Step-by-Step Recipe to Your Signature Brand Voice: http://bit.ly/BrandVoiceLC
• Top 3 Tips for Creating Instagram Stories That Convert: http://bit.ly/IGStoryLC
• The Heart Centered Biz Bosses Group
• Selling with Generosity Series

Bio:

With a background in marketing, public relations and social media management, Lauren has always been a lover of telling great stories. For 6 years she worked alongside international brands including Nike, Airstream, the John Maxwell Company and Chick-fil-A in defining unique elements of their stories and serving as their brand voice through digital, print and in-person engagements. In May of 2014, Lauren launched Lauren Carnes Photography and began incorporating visual storytelling through branding, food and wedding photography, while also coaching and consulting creatives on photography and effective brand building to fit their unique voice. Lauren partners with creatives and food-focused businesses to align communications strategy and create a cohesive brand through copywriting and visual communications. With a passion for fostering community, Lauren leads the Rising Tide Society TuesdaysTogether group in Augusta, GA. When she's not photographing or drafting engaging copy, she can be found spending time with her husband, Chip, and their fur-baby, Sophie. Lauren loves to cook, host people for dinner (or brunch!), and explore new cities.

Social Handles

• Website
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Pinterest
• Twitter

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