The Updraft Podcast

When this episode goes live, I will be exactly 1 day away from officially reopening my studio post Covid. Can I just say, I am RIDICULOUSLY excited about this?! Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful for the time off… I got to spend more time with my kids than ever before in their lives, I got to relax, clean the house, reorganize, got a ton of work done on my photography business course that I have been building AND we got to spend so much time outside in the beautiful weather being active…

But let’s be real – I have missed my work, and when they announced earlier in the week that my region was moving to phase 2 and I could reopen my business I totally squealed like a little girl. It feels like Christmas. In June. The best. Its going to be a bit different, I need to figure out how to balance working with being a full time Mom to 4 with no school or daycare which I have literally never done – but I’m excited and willing to take it on! I’m hoping that lots of you are either open again, or opening really soon and I wanted to go over a game plan on how you can do that safely, smoothly and successfully. Now as usual this will be geared a bit more towards photographers because that is the area that I know really really well, but for the most part it all transfers over to any small business – so just apply it to your own business.

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Ok so if you have the go ahead for reopening and have a date in site you are going to want to start with some prep work. First, and oh so important is to learn what the health and safety guidelines are for your area and figure out what it is going to take to comply with them, AND how it’s going to affect your business. For many businesses they are going to have way less volume, more labour for cleaning, more overhead to supply PPE to employees, clients or both, more overhead for sanitization, etc. So it is entirely possible that you are going to need to do a price increase to make up the difference and stay profitable. Its fine. Raise your prices. Prices are going to be going up on a lot of things, you will be in good company, and there is zero point in running a business that isn’t profitable. It also isn’t possible – you are going to end up putting yourself out of business if you do not do what you need to in order to stay profitable. So before anything else you need to sit down and do a realistic rework of your cost of doing business, and volume and then figure out what your new prices need to be. For some of us, we are fine at the price point we already had – but MANY MANY businesses are going to need to adjust and that’s ok! Next is the logistics – can you even GET the PPE and sanitization supplies that you will need to run your business?  Finding Lysol wipes was no easy feat guys… there is a massive increase in demand on these products and the suppliers are really struggling to keep up. Make sure that you can find the things you need to use in order to keep yourself and your clients safe BEFORE you open and are stressing trying to figure it out. How are you going to manage traffic and volume? How are you going to manage physical distancing in your business and if you run a business where physical distancing isn’t possible then what other precautions are you putting in place? How are you screening people that you are working with? You need to have the answers to all of these questions figured out so that you can responsibly and safely reopen – AND so that you can confidently answer and reassure any clients or potential clients who ask. Having this information posted at your physical business location and on your website is also a great idea to help people feel more confident in working with you. A lot of the photography groups that I am in have been buzzing as the photographers try to figure out the best approach to this new normal. Many of us were debating what to do about newborn sessions where we typically hold and pose brand new babies and are at close proximity. It has been really i

All over the photography groups, the business groups and the internet right now I am seeing people shutting down their businesses, or talking about shutting down their businesses and getting a more “reliable” job.

COVID 19 has been INCREDIBLY hard on many, many small businesses. I see that, and I understand that. I also understand that in some cases it will be necessary to close due to financial hardship – there are businesses that won’t be able recover from this shutdown – which breaks my heart, and I truly hope the owners of those businesses are able to get something new up and running eventually. The questions and conversations I am seeing though, the ones I am talking about, are not from those businesses. They are from people who are contemplating or planning to jump ship out of fear, panic and anxiety. And that is something we need to have a chat about. .

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I am a huge fan of entrepreneurship. Huge fan. It allows for flexibility, it allows for unlimited potential, growth and creativity. It allows people to accomplish what they want, look around and then start reaching for the next level. It allows people like me 8 years ago, to support their kids as a single Mom without having to miss their children’s entire lives. For me, entrepreneurship is a huge gift and I don’t want to see anyone bailing on themselves, their family or their dreams because of this pandemic and the fear that it created. So… if you are out there contemplating if you should be closing the doors on your own small business I want you to think about a few things to make sure that you are making the RIGHT decision in closing your business, and not just having a knee jerk reaction to massive amounts of anxiety.

First, what is the biggest reason that you think you should close? Is it because you are completely dreading going back to work and just want to be a stay at home Mom? Is it because you feel your business might not have any customers when you reopen? Is it because you feel it won’t be profitable with the new restrictions that you are required to follow due to COVID19? Is it because you feel having employment would have been “safer” from an income protection perspective? Or that you heard someone else say that small businesses are going to die out? There is only 1 reason on that list that would make me actually consider closing my business. The only reason on that list that would be valid for me personally is if I DECIDED I didn’t WANT to run my business anymore. If I decided that this no longer gave me joy, was no longer something I wanted to participate in – then I would consider closing and either staying home with the kids, or looking for employment elsewhere.

Every other reason is based in fear, and anxiety and likely has little basis in truth.

I have been hearing over and over from photographers that they feel like they need to cut their prices in half after this for a variety of reasons including the idea that people will be unwilling to come in for photos and risk exposure, that people won’t have money to spend on a luxury service like a photo shoot, or because they need to book so many sessions to make up for the lost revenues In the weeks or months that they were closed that they will need low prices to make the competitive. I can tell you, very confidently, that the moment my studio’s doors open I will have a list of people waiting to book their photoshoot. I know this because I have already had people calling, willing to hand over their 10 day old baby to have their portraits done. If your customers trust you, then they know that you will do everything in your power to keep them safe and minimize risk. If you follow careful protocol and do an excellent job with what you do then people will trust you, and they will return or send their friends. There are people who are stuck in fear and there are people who are chomping at the bit to get back to their lives. Don’t let your own personal perspective cloud your judgement on how o

I had an episode planned for this week, and thought about continuing that plan. I considered putting myself on Mute, and saying nothing this week in support of the blackout for Black Lives Matters. Then I saw a friend’s post, where she said that instead of muting ourselves (as in, we white people) entirely, we should just be pausing our content and using our platforms to educate our white friends about systemic racism and how we can HELP our friends in the black community. I don’t think anyone could be at this point, but if you are unaware of what is happening currently in the United States… yet ANOTHER black man has been killed in by the police.  A man named George Floyd was murdered senselessly in the streets of Minneapolis, while 3 other police stood by, stopped anyone from interfering or saving his life. The officer kneeled on his neck, until life left his body, and then offered no medical treatment. This man’s quote unquote “crime” was paying for his purchase at a local grocery store with a counterfeit $20 bill.  He leaves behind many friends and family, and a little girl named Gianna who is all of 6 years old. This is horrifying, and should be shocking but at this point it has happened SO MANY TIMES that it didn’t shock me at all. And it shouldn’t shock you either.

Protests have cropped up not only all over America, but all over the world to show support and solidarity, and many of us are left feeling helpless or wondering what on earth we CAN do to make an impact and drive change. I want to talk about some of the ways we can do this, and I am hoping for real change. .

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As a white woman, I want to start out by saying I may not get this right – but I am going to try my best. In the past I have made mistakes – thinking that something I was saying or doing was helpful to POC only to find out that I was wrong. I’m going to do my best to share the information I have gathered through reading, watching and listening and I am going to keep working to do better in future – there is always room for improvement. In the past few days my husband, my black husband for the record, has actually gotten calls from white friends asking what the right thing to say or do is, because they feel like no matter what they do they are getting it wrong and someone is getting mad. His answer was basically “there is no right thing. Just be yourself, and do your best” This can be tough to swallow, because we always want to get things right and live in a fairly perfectionistic society - but it is pretty accurate. People process trauma differently, and right now the black community is experiencing and reliving YEARS, GENERATIONS, of trauma. What one person might find helpful or supportive might be offensive to others – and they are all entitled to process in their own way. As a white person who is genuinely trying to help it can feel really awful when you are told you are doing it wrong. It can make you want to stop trying, to stop stepping up. It can make you feel like you just shouldn’t say anything at all – but then of course you get called out for silence. It’s hard. But right now isn’t about us – it is about supporting another community who is suffering. So let’s try our very best to be open to criticism, critique and to learning new methods. Let’s be open to the opinions of the people we are trying to help and hear them when they express what they need. Addressing our privilege can be uncomfortable, but it will be worth it. So here are some of the things that I have learned and want to pass along to help anyone out there who is trying to learn, to listen and to support: First…  The fact that you have been friends with, work with, dated, are married to or have children with a black person does not give you an automatic pass as a non-racist.   I once accidentally blew up my entire Mommy group getting into it with a racist woman who had NO IDEA that she was in fact racist, and used the fact that her ex was black to defend herself.

Listen in on my interview with Dr. Nima, Chiropractor turned Edutainer. He is on a mission to teach business executives, entrepreneurs, and teenagers about how to dissolve the ROOT CAUSE of stress.

Dr. Nima has helped countless people in his 20+ years of practice as a chiropractor and helps people who are stuck in toxic relationships, career limbo and emotional trauma to overcome their anxiety and create powerfully aligned relationships by deepening their intimate relationship with the most important person of all – themselves.

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So the first thing on my list is “if you go the extra mile for them, they will go the extra mile for you” and to be honest I did know this, sort of, but I didn’t realize just HOW true it was. I get that happy clients tell their friends and all of that, but what I didn’t realize is how MUCH they will rave when you are willing to put in the extra work.

That can come in a lot of forms. It can come in the form of a special little extra or add in that they didn’t know was included, it can come in the form of a surprise call or note to let them know that you were thinking of them – like for a birthday or anniversary. It can come in the form of offering extra support, extra time, kind words – pretty much anything that goes above and beyond what is set out by your job description and packages will get their attention and help them to form a lasting and positive impression of you and your business.

Maybe it’s even that something went WRONG but they way you handled it was so impressive that they were blown away by your customer service. Sometimes it isn’t even the clients that had a super smooth and perfect experience that have been the most impressed, sometimes it is the ones where things went wrong but the effort put into rectifying the situation was so amazing that they left delighted and thrilled. It can be easy to get our backs up, to be defensive or to start laying blame because we are nervous – but honestly, most of the time it is worth sucking it up and doing whatever you can to make the client happy and turn them into loyal customers and raving fans.

#2 Word of mouth is THE most powerful form of marketing. I love marketing. I love facebook ads, google ads, running events and promos on social media and email lists. I seriously love all things digital marketing – but I have to let you in on this – there is nothing, and I mean nothing more powerful than word of mouth marketing. People trust their friends. They want what their friends have. So when Jenn shows her bestie the gorgeous photos that I did of her kids, and raves about how comfortable and fun the experience was, how much the kids loved it and how happy she was with the end result? There is an incredibly high chance that that friend is going to book in for a session of her own. Even better is when you have been creating tons of happy, raving fans and then you start getting someone who hears from you not only from one friend, but another, and another. I remember the first time this happened to me. A client came in and told me that while she was pregnant she had asked on facebook who she should use for baby photos. 2 friends that didn’t know each other both recommended me, then her hair dresser mentioned me while she was at the salon and then the cherry on top was when her neighbor said she used me as well. Honestly – with positive recommendations from all of those people why woudn’t she hire me?! Word of mouth is HUGE my friends, absolutely huge. Start making connections, get your name out there and make sure you are going above and beyond with every client.

#3 The Customer is always right – except for when they aren’t. I started my journey into customer service working in retail and then in restaurants where the saying goes “the customer is always right”. I learned quickly that as a customer service representative there is a very large portion of your job that involves biting you tongue, swallowing your pride and doing whatever it takes to make the customer happy. This is a really good strategy, and it served me well most of the time, but it also created a situation where people could walk all over me because I would just keep bending, and bending… and bending. So. The customer is always right – except for when they aren’t. You need to be willing to go above and beyond. You need to be willing to fix your mistakes when you inevitably screw up. You need to be willing to provide top notch service – but – you also need to be willing to stand your ground occasiona

Allison is the Founder of I Swear I Love My Kids. She is passionate about helping empower moms who love to work AND love their kids (most of the time) with sanity-saving strategies and self-care programs like morning routines. She lives in the Chicago suburbs with her 3-year-old daughter Julia who thinks Doc McStuffins is her bff, her 8-year-old Sebastian whose love language is ninja fighting, and her husband of 10 years, Kevin. She is a high school counselor full-time.Today we are talking all things parenting - life as a working Mom, Mom guilt, self care, morning routines and how the heck we are supposed to balance raising a family while working from home amidst a pandemic! 

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How many times have you looked around and wondered if you are running your business right? How many times have you looked at a competitor in your industry and questioned if their method works better – or even tried to copy it? Recently I got into a little mini tiff, debate, I don’t know what to call it – let’s just say a polite disagreement with another photographer online. This person was trying to argue that the way I do business is unrealistic and basically that I was wrong.

There is some controversy in our industry surrounding different business models. There are people that offer cheap sessions where they show up, take pictures, put the pictures directly onto a flash drive, disk, etc. and give them to the client – this is called “shoot and burn”. There are photographers who do IPS or In Person Sales which is typically a higher ticket session where they pay a session fee and then have an in person (or these days over skype) meeting and choose prints, products and occasionally digital files that they want from their session. And then there is something of a hybrid in the middle which is where I fall. I offer predetermined packages that include the session as well as a set number of digital files (which are fully edited) and then they have the option to purchase more. There is typically no sales meeting, definitely no pressure on the client to purchase anything additional and it is a mid-range price. There are a million different ways that photographers organize their businesses but it usually falls into one of those 3 categories.

Anyway, this person was trying to tell me that my business model wasn’t sustainable, that clients wouldn’t be happy because I was skipping out on the full service aspect of designing the art collections for their walls for them, and that I would be completely burned out because I’m doing too many sessions per year. That may all be true for them and their clients but it is clearly not true for me because I have been doing it happily and successfully with a huge number of repeat clients for YEARS, so I wanted to jump on today and remind you that you should ALWAYS being doing what works for YOU. Don’t worry about what anyone else is doing – do what works for YOU!

 

Here’s the thing… when you are starting out or when you are struggling, it is really tempting to look around and start following exactly what the first successful person you see is doing. It might even work. Maybe. If you are similar people, with a similar ideal client, with similar strengths and similar weaknesses. You get the picture. It also might fail horribly because they are REALLY good at sales and you are still struggling in that area. Or they are fantastic on the phone, but you really prefer writing it in an email.

Now if you were to take the time to really look around, instead of panicking and jumping on the first bandwagon that you see, you would see that there are lots of really successful people that are running their businesses in completely different ways. They will all have some things in common, like excellent customer service and a quality product, but there will be tons of things that are done completely different. The one thing that they will all have in common though is that they are doing what works for them and their business.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with taking inspiration from the way other people are doing things, in fact is it a great way to learn. I teach my students how I do things all the time. My advertising methods, my workflows, my customer service processes – all of it, I try to lay it out in a blue print that they can copy so that they can have the same success that I have – but I ALWAYS tell them that they need to take what works for them and throw out the rest. If something feels unnatural and isn’t working, then see if you can find an equally effective way to accomplish the same thing.

Take a minute and think about your business and the areas that you have success vs the areas t

Today I am interviewing Jackie of Jackie Shagen Design. An entrepreneur with over 15 years experience in Kitchen and Bath design, Jackie helps clients plan their home renovation projects.  As home renovations are often the biggest purchases you'll make, she'll help you make the best decisions for your home, your family and your budget. I actually had the opportunity to meet Jackie last year to create her headshots, and I’m so excited to chat with her and have her share some of her journey in starting her business!

Today I got to have a blast interviewing my sister, Natalie Miller. She is a talented maker, and the owner of Fledgling Studios. Nat makes beautiful mugs, planters, and other pottery which she ships to collectors all over the world. I personally own a few of her mugs and honestly they are the only thing I want to drink out of anymore! Today we are chatting about some of the struggles she had while trying to get her business going, how she grew her impressive Instagram following and more! Connect with Natalie 

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Every person on the planet has been given some form of a gift. We all have something about us that make us unique, or special. The range is huge. For some people their gifts are obvious, and easily put into practice. For some people if feels like everything they touch turns to gold, and everything comes easily to them. For others we need to dig a little bit deeper to see what specific areas they have been blessed in, what talents lie beneath the surface, but I promise you – we all have a gift. We have all been given an edge in some area of life – be it brains, beauty, empathy, compassion, skills, heightened senses or perception – there is always something. To me this is a given. What isn’t a given is our ability to first recognize it, and second to make a decision to use it. Are you able to see what areas you are blessed in? Or are you feeling ordinary? Do you spend all of your time trying to cover up the things that make you special? Or are you willing to shine a light on them and use them to your advantage? The gift was just that – a gift. What you do with it is ENTIRELY up to you.

If you have been listening to the show for a while then you might know that when I was in high school I was super nervous, socially anxious, did anything to avoid being seen kind of girl. I had friends, but I was lost without them. I wasn’t teased or bothered for the most part – in hind sight I think most people probably thought I was nice and a few guys even tried to ask me out, but I was too shy for them to be able to form any connection with. I was clueless about my own gifts, and the ones that I did recognize terrified me so I tried my best to cover them.

The anxiety eventually came to a point where I wasn’t sleeping, I was exhausted ALL the time. I would wake up in the mornings when my alarm went off and then find myself in bed again hours later, haven fallen asleep and having no recollection of going back to bed. I was missing classes left, right and center – both from not being able to get out of bed and from not being able to force myself to walk into a class of my peers on the days when I did make it to school. If my friends weren’t going to be there – there was no chance I was showing up. If I had to do any form of public speaking – not happening. I would pick up homework, show up for tests (I have always been the odd one out that loves taking tests) and I would drop off assignments, but the social aspect of high school was a complete deal breaker for me. Eventually the school kicked me out for poor attendance. The Vice Principal told me that “I was making the other kids feel bad” because they never saw me in class but always saw my picture on the honor role. It was setting a bad example and instead of them trying to address the root cause they decided to kick me out until I could maintain better attendance. That’s when I started doing correspondence and homeschooling myself, which honestly was a WAY better fit. The following year I caught wind that the school’s musical theatre class was going to be doing Les Mis and I HAD to be in it. I talked to the school about doing just 2 classes in school and continuing the rest through the online program I was currently using. This would mean that I could be a part of the musical, and because the arts programs for our high school took place in an entirely different building – my social interaction with the school’s general population would be pretty limited. Win win. I was also a year older, in the 12th grade (so the oldest in the school) and had gained a touch of confidence in the year I’d been off. I don’t 100% remember what brought the conversation about, but my music teacher, who was doing the casting for the play, told me that when we have been given a gift like the ability to use our voice to bring joy into the world, and into people’s lives it is a responsibility to use our gift, to spread joy and to not be so concerned with what other people think that we selfishly hide our