This episode of the Creative Empire Podcast with Shea Hopely of Shea Hopely Flowers is all about styled shoots! Reina, Christina, and Shea discuss how to be intentional about which ones to participate in, the etiquette behind asking another creative to collaborate, how to keep the shoots fun, and why to keep them small. Shea also shares what she looks for in an ideal client and what to do when the client’s design style is completely different than yours but you really need the money.

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Show Highlights:

* How florists can travel and work on location

* What Shea looks for in an ideal client

* How Shea decides to do a styled shoot with someone + what she looks for in a project before saying yes

* How to keep the amount of people on-site at a styled shoot small

* What the process of planning a styled shoot with other vendors looks like

* What “enough” looks like for Shea

* What to do if a client’s design style is completely different then yours, but you need the money

* What Shea’s best tips/tricks are to asking another creative to collaborate on a styled shoot

* What everyone should know about making styled shoots fun

* How styled shoots have helped Shea develop ongoing relationships

* What Shea hopes to see in the floral design area in the future

Show Notes:

* Shay Cochrane’s episode

* Cultivate Retreat

* School of Styling

* Savvy Business Owners

* Emily Grace Design

Shea’s Bio:

Shea Hopely is one of Northeast Florida’s most sought-after floral artisans. Her designs are characterized by a creative use of texture, greenery and color.  Shea designs her events with careful consideration to the entire aesthetic – from luxurious linens to specialty rentals, each Shea Hopely event is a custom celebration tailored to her client’s vision. With over twenty years of experience in the industry, Shea brings a wealth of knowledge and skill to her clients’ events. Shea began her career in the visual merchandising department of a large retail store in Jacksonville, Florida. There, she was able to cultivate her eye for design and created custom displays that implemented fashion trends and styles.  Later, she went on to work for several highly acclaimed area floral designers until she began her own company in 2009. Since then, Shea’s designs have been featured in multiple publications, including the Celebration Society, Every Last Detail, and Southern Weddings. She is a regular contributor to area editorial shoots and has spoken and taught classes at a variety of workshops and retreats. Shea lives in Jacksonville with her husband and two children, and has a love of country music and roller coasters. When she’s not up to her elbows in garden roses, peonies, and greenery, you might find her sipping coffee (she’s a recent convert!) and enjoying a piece of her MeeMee’s pecan pie.

Shea’s Social Handles:

* Website

* Facebook

* Instagram

* Pinterest

Business strategist, mentor to creative entrepreneurs, and founder of Tradeshow Bootcamp Katie Hunt is Reina and Christina’s guest on The Creative Empire podcast this episode. They dive right in to some things to consider when trying to decide whether or not to go wholesale and that advantages/disadvantages to going to a big tradeshow such as the National Stationery Show. Other things they talk about include: what to consider when deciding whether or not to buy educational opportunities for your business, why focus is key in growing your business, and what characteristics people have that make them more likely to be successful.

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Show Highlights:

* What some things are to consider when thinking of going wholesale

* When (in the timeline of your business) to go to a big trade show like the National Stationery Show

* What the pros + cons are of going to a big trade show like the National Stationery Show

* What Paper Camp is

* What to consider when deciding whether or not to buy educational opportunities for your business

* Why focus is key in growing your business

* What characteristics people have that make them more likely to be successful

* What a few Paper Camp success stories are

* What is next for wholesale

Show Notes:

* Katie’s CreativeLive courses

* The Savvy Experience

* Seanwes Conference

* Be Sage Conference

* Unique Camp

* Makers Nation

* National Stationery Show

* Paper Camp Conference

* Paper Camp E-course

* NY Now

* E Frances Paper

* Creative Empire Podcast’s free workbook

* Printable Wisdom

* Emily Ley’s episode

* Valerie McKeehan’s episode

* Thimblepress

* Social Type

* Wild Ink Press

* TaskRabbit

* Meant to be Sent

* Loudhouse Creative

* Paper Source

Katie’s Bio:

Katie Hunt is the founder of Tradeshow Bootcamp, a business strategist, and mentor to creative entrepreneurs. She is a firm believer in professional development, surrounding yourself with community and pushing ‘go’ even when you might not feel 100% ready. Katie has taught classes for CreativeLive, The Savvy Experience, Seanwes Conference, Be Sage Conference, Unique Camp, and Makers Nation. She frequently speaks about strategies for creating a product line, selling wholesale, business planning and the importance of community for entrepreneurs.

Katie earned a dual MBA in marketing and finance from Loyola Marymount University and has spent the last 16 years c...

Joining Reina and Christina for this episode of the Creative Empire Podcast is Alli Elmunzer, professional lifestyle + commercial photographer and founder of the Turquoise & Palm Stock Gallery. Alli offers great tips on how to use stock photography in your business, including why stock photos are better than DIY’ing it, how to be authentic while using them, and other ways to use them besides social media. She also shares candidly about how she decided to price her membership site and how she increased its value.

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Show Highlights:

*

What the value is of signing up for a stock photo subscription vs trying to DIY

* How to feel authentic while using stock photos

* How to deal with people who steal your images

* How branding helped her business + at what point Alli developed the Turquoise and Palm brand

* Why it’s important to be open to change

* What ways you can use stock photos in your business besides in your Instagram feed

* How Alli decided to price her stock photography site

* How she increased the value in her stock photography site

Show Notes:

* The School of Styling

Alli’s Bio:

Alli is a professional lifestyle and commercial photographer at her studio Turquoise & Palm in Charleston, SC. Prior to opening her photography business, Alli attended law school in Boston and is a licensed attorney in both Massachusetts and Michigan. Feeling creatively uninspired in the practice of law, she took the leap into entrepreneurship in 2009. Her photography accomplishments include features on blogs and in magazines including Grace Ormonde, Style Me Pretty, Joss and Main, and Belong Magazine, as well as book features in the Knot Outdoor Weddings and DesignHER. Most recently she launched her stock photography site, the Turquoise & Palm Stock Gallery, which is comprised of both lifestyle and styled stock photography curated especially for small business owners, creative entrepreneurs, and bloggers.  Additionally, Alli is an online educator and speaker and is passionate about helping other creatives cultivate a more beautiful online presence through photography.

Alli’s Social Handles:

* Website

* Facebook

* Twitter

* Instagram

* Pinterest

Click for Full Transcript

Reina and Christina’s guest this episode is Rhiannon Bosse, founder of Rhiannon Bosse and the Trouvaille Workshop. The trio have an honest conversation that addresses a few issues in our creative community today, such as copying others’ work, defining success in others’ terms, and our business running our life instead of the other way around. Listen to this episode and learn how to find your own voice, define your own version of success, and set boundaries.

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Show Highlights:

* What some of the hallmarks are of doing business the right way

* How to find your own style/voice

* Why we need to give ourselves permission to change

* How, as an entrepreneur, to prepare for becoming a parent

* How to build a business that supports the life you want to live

* What mistakes Rhiannon has made around setting boundaries

* How Rhiannon loves on her clients

* How being a mom + her relationship with her own mother help her serve her clients

* How community is a good thing, but needs to be moderated in our lives

* Why working hard for what you get is a good thing

Show Notes:

* Making Things Happen

* The Scobeys’ episode

* Defining Your Success blog post

* Shay Cochrane’s episode

* Shoe Dog

Rhiannon’s Bio:

Rhiannon is passionate about striving to make those around her always feel loved. She is the businesswoman behind the Rhiannon Bosse brand which has two distinct facets; a wedding planning and design firm, and a lifestyle blog both started in 2009. When she’s not designing florals in her studio, she’s found at home in West Michigan spending time with her family. Rhiannon stands for innovation, integrity, and most of all, extending love and grace to all.

Rhiannon’s Social Handles:

* Website

* Facebook

* Twitter

* Instagram

* Pinterest

* Trouvaille Workshop Website

* Trouvaille Facebook

* Trouvaille Instagram

Click for Full Transcript

Reina and Christina talk to Bushra Azhar of The Persuasion Revolution during this episode of the Creative Empire Podcast. Bushra outlines each of her Eight Persuasion Switches and shares how to use them. This episode is jam-packed with information on how to sell to your audience. Listen below!

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Show Highlights:

* What the Eight Persuasion Switches are and examples of them

* How to use the Eight Persuasion Switches in sales copy + social media

* How to dive deeper into the art + science of persuasion

Show Notes:

* Deadline Funnel

* Mass Persuasion Method

* Bushra’s email list (to receive The Ultimate Guide to Persuasion)

Bushra’s Bio:

Bushra Azhar believes that human beings are irrational and trying to persuade someone through a rational argument is like trying to stop a 5 year old from ODing on M&Ms by recounting the evils of high fructose corn syrup. She is a Persuasion Strategist and Founder of The Persuasion Revolution, where tiny businesses make big bucks, using Psychology of Persuasion. She started  The Persuasion Revolution in July 2014 and managed to go from an absolute nobody with zero connections and subzero sales to $1M+ in sales, an email list of 23,000 and a buyer list of 4,000 in less than two years.

Bushra’s Social Handles:

* Website

* Facebook

* Facebook Group

* Twitter

* Instagram

Click for Full Transcript

This episode of the Creative Empire Podcast with Bonnie Christine of Going Home to Roost is all about surface pattern design! Reina, Christina, and Bonnie discuss everything from how to learn Illustrator to how to get your portfolio in front of people who want to license artwork to how to design your life around financial freedom. There are lots of great tips + resources in this episode for people wanting to learn surface pattern design.

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Show Highlights:

* What surface pattern design is

* Why you should slow down + make a bunch of patterns before trying to land a licensing gig

* Where Bonnie draws inspiration from

* How to find an alternative path to financial freedom

* How to learn how to use Adobe Illustrator

* How to learn what you need to learn to be a surface pattern designer

* How to get your portfolio in front of companies

Show Notes:

* Roost Tribe

* Art Gallery Fabrics

* Creative Empire Podcast’s free workbook

* Bonnie’s CreativeLive classes

* Bonnie’s Skillshare classes

* Lisa Jacobs’ episode

* Artist’s and Graphic Designer’s Market 2017

Bonnie’s Bio:

Sophisticated and delicate, Bonnie Christine’s designs transcend time and brighten up the past. Bonnie weaves a small part of her life into each pattern she creates, making the design process and end results meaningful and unique. She lives nestled back in the forests of North Carolina where she finds endless inspiration from the mountains around her. Stay connected with her through her blog, Going Home to Roost and attend one of her classes on surface pattern design on either CreativeLive or Skillshare.

Bonnie’s Social Handles:

* Website

* Blog

* Facebook

* Twitter

* Instagram

* Pinterest

* Roost Tribe

Click for Full Transcript

Branding expert, founder of Love Inspired, and creator of Shopsite School Cathy Olson is Reina and Christina’s guest on The Creative Empire podcast this episode. Cathy shares the pivotal experience that changed her life and made her want to start teaching and speaking. First they discuss branding- who to hire, how to make your website user friendly, and what the most essential part of your brand is. Then Cathy talks about how being on Etsy can be a branding “kiss of death” and how she recommends people get off Etsy. Finally, she shares a ton of knowledge about how to build brand loyalty to get customers to follow you off of Etsy.

http://creativeempire.co/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/22-681-post/EP-91-Cathy-Olson.mp3

Show Highlights:

* How to determine who to hire for branding your business

* Why having a website you can use + grow into is important

* How Cathy is able to translate what her clients want + what she uses to fuel her process

* Why transitioning off of Etsy is important, branding wise

* How to build brand loyalty off of Etsy

* How to build your brand as a whole

Show Notes:

* SumoMe

* Creative Empire Podcast free workbook

* Shop Site School

Cathy’s Bio:

Cathy Olson has been beautifying brands and designing experiences of digital delight for over 17 years, working with multi-million dollar brands like Costco, Best Buy and Disney. Now the founder of Love Inspired, an international branding and web design studio with a boutique approach, she helps creatives package their expertise in a way that excites eyes, hugs hearts, and cues cha-chings. She is also the creator of Shopsite School, an online classroom and essential resource to help product-based businesses get off of Etsy and create a successful shop on their own. She has a passion for putting the fun in functional, the purpose in pretty, and the meaning in details. When she’s not innovating for clients, she shares her multifaceted expertise teaching online or on the stage. Her heart’s mission: To help talented creatives feel seen online, so they’ll feel proud to share their ideas and passions with others, and inspired to stretch their creativity.

Cathy’s Social Handles:

* Love Inspired Website

* Twitter

* Facebook

* Instagram

* Pinterest

* Youtube

* Snapchat: @LoveInspired

* Shopsite School Website

Click for Full Transcript

Joining Reina and Christina for this episode of the Creative Empire Podcast is Rachel Rouhana, graphic designer, photographer, and founder of The Styled Stock Library. Rachel reveals everything about her membership site to Reina + Christina, including what made her do one instead of a different business model. She shares what she started with, how she keeps coming up with fresh content, and how she balances retaining customers with selling new subscriptions.

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Show Highlights:

* How Rachel got her start in stock photography + how she grew her membership site

* How Rachel knew she needed help + grew her team

* What made Rachel decide to do a membership site instead of other stock photography business models

* How to balance selling membership spots with retaining existing customers

* How to keep creating new + fresh content

* How much content to have before launching

* What stops people from downloading all the content + canceling

* Why listening to your customers is essential to running a business

Show Notes:

* Natalie MacNeil

* Creative Empire Podcast’s free workbook

Rachel’s Bio:

Rachel Rouhana is a graphic designer and photographer who helps women entrepreneurs create visually stunning brands to attract their ideal clients. She founded the Styled Stock Library to make it easy + affordable for boss ladies to create gorgeous graphics that get clicks, likes, shares, and ultimately lead to more sales. Obsessed with gold, glitter, and all things pink, you can often find her sipping a latte and scrolling through Instagram for inspiration. Meet Rachel and learn how to add instant glam to your brand at www.hautechocolate.ca

Rachel’s Social Handles:

* Website

* Facebook

* Instagram

* Pinterest

Click for Full Transcript

Reina and Christina’s guest this episode is Holly Patton Olsen, Lead Planner & Designer of Perfectly Posh Events. Holly shares her knowledge about presenting yourself as a professional through appearance, body language, and business practices. She also gives great insight into how her client meetings are structured and how to deal with clients who are presenting some red flags.

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Show Highlights:

* What makes Holly’s wedding planning business unique + what some of the benefits are to having a team of planners

* How to present yourself as a professional when you do in-person meetings

* How showing up as a professional helps change your mindset

* What body language has to do with your first impression

* What advice Holly has for someone who is new + nervous

* How Holly structures her client meetings

* Why you need a client questionnaire

* How to figure out what clients will be a good fit for you

* How to fire a client professionally

* How to appear more professional especially when you get to work from home

Show Notes:

* Le Tote

* Creative Empire Podcast’s free workbook

* Bliss + Savvy

Holly’s Bio:

Holly Patton is the Lead Planner & Designer of Perfectly Posh Events and is the go-to-gal in Seattle for stylish and city chic weddings. She adores all things pretty and feminine, is obsessed with anything Kate Spade, is inspired by creating designs that represent her couples, and loves any excuse to celebrate with bubbly! Recently, Holly and her team were awarded “Best Wedding Planner” by Seattle Bride Magazine’s Best of Awards for 2015 and 2014, along with being named in the Top 50 Event Planners in the United States by The Daily Meal and receiving the Couple’s Choice award from Wedding Wire for the past four years in a row! Holly earned a BA in Business from Seattle Pacific University and spent over six years working for various companies in the event and wedding industry. She has been working exclusively with weddings for the past six years and absolutely loves it. She loves starting the morning off with a dry almond cappuccino and ending the day with a glass of red wine from one of the local Washington wineries. A lifelong Seahawks fan, she love football season and spending Sundays cheering on her home team!  She adore shoes and can frequently be seen running around events in a pair of amazing heels that color-coordinate with the event theme. Her free time is spent volunteering for Get Hitched Give Hope and the Mona Foundation.

Holly’s Social Handles:

* Website

* Twitter

* Facebook

* Instagram

* Bliss and Savvy Instagram

* Pinterest

Click for Full Transcript

Joining Reina and Christina for this Empire Mentoring session is Lauren Grove, blogger at Every Last Detail. First they chat about how Lauren got started + took the leap to blogging full-time. Then they discuss how much work it takes to run a blog, how to get more content, and how to get eyes on your blog from social media. From there they discuss Lauren’s V List, which is a special list of wedding vendors vetted by Lauren, and how to strategically pitch to editors like Lauren. There’s something for everyone in this episode, whether you’re looking to run a successful blog or you’re a wedding vendor looking to learn how to pitch!

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Show Highlights:

* How Lauren got started blogging + took the leap to blogging full-time

* How much work it takes to run a blog

* How to get new content for your business + blog

* How to get people to your website from social media

* How to balance two different audiences for your blog

* How to stay true to your audience, even if it means rejecting a payday

* How to handle a vendor list on your blog

* What kind of websites convert for wedding vendors

* What editors are looking for + how to get content published

* How to be strategic when pitching + how to make it easier on the editors

Show Notes:

* Savvy Business Owners Facebook group

* The V List

* Creative Empire’s free workbook

* Christina’s Courage + Clarity episode

Lauren’s Bio:

I started out in the wedding industry as most do- as a bride. While I was planning, I was not only constantly searching for inspiration, but also for information. Needless to say, I never quite found that information, which is one of the reasons why I decided to start blogging- to help other brides. As the years passed, I gained more and more experience designing and planning weddings- all the while, continue to blog via Every Last Detail. As ELD grew, so did my passion to educate and inspire brides. Working in the industry (and also being a bride who was “absolutely clueless”) has played a huge role in helping me shape and focus my business and goals. I now not only have a goal of educating brides, but I have also developed a passion for helping wedding professionals grow their businesses. I am able to fulfill both of these passions with Every Last Detail, and I thank readers, brides, and wedding professionals for allowing me to do so!

Lauren’s Social Handles:

* Website

* Twitter

* Facebook

* Instagram

* ELD for Pros Instagram

* Pinterest

Click for Full Transcript