Ep. 046 - Elena S. Blair: The Beauty of a Designer Life
Elena S. Blair is an absolute powerhouse in the photography world, and today we're having a conversation that's packed with wisdom for anyone looking to make their mark in the creative industry. We kick things off by exploring how Elena captures genuine connections in her family photography, a skill that sets her work apart and resonates deeply with her clients. She shares her journey through the ups and downs of building a successful business in this competitive landscape, emphasizing the importance of mindset and community. As we chat, we dig into the nitty-gritty of practical strategies like SEO, email marketing, and the role of AI in streamlining our workflow.
Podcast Title: Generator
Episode Title: Elena S. Blair: The Beauty of a Designer Life
Episode Number: 46
Publish Date: 25 April 2025
Episode Overview
Elena Blair is a family photographer based in Seattle, WA, and in this episode, we dive deep into the magic that happens when creativity meets business acumen.
Throughout the conversation, Elena emphasizes the importance of understanding what you want out of life to design a business that supports those dreams. She dives into the nitty-gritty of running a photography business, touching on everything from business metrics to the role of AI in marketing. Elena's candidness about the hard work required to build a successful business is refreshing, and her stories about her own students' successes highlight the effectiveness of her teachings. It's not just about taking beautiful pictures; it's about creating a business that resonates with authenticity and connection.
As the episode unfolds, listeners are encouraged to rethink their own business strategies, especially regarding the use of email lists and social media engagement. Elena advocates for focusing on genuine connections rather than vanity metrics, which can be tempting in today’s digital age. By the end of their chat, both Matt and Elena inspire listeners to embrace their journeys, reminding them that with the right mindset, community, and strategies, they too can design the life they desire. Tune in and soak up the wisdom shared in this episode, where the art of photography beautifully intertwines with the realities of building a business.
Takeaways:
- Elena Blair emphasizes the importance of capturing genuine family connections and emotions in photography, going beyond traditional portrait styles.
- In the podcast, we dive deep into the significance of building a community over competition in the photography business, which is crucial for long-term success.
- Elena highlights that having a solid email marketing strategy can yield significantly better engagement rates compared to social media, making it a vital tool for photographers.
- The conversation covers how mindset and self-awareness play a huge role in overcoming fears and self-sabotage, especially for new business owners in photography.
- Elena shares her insights on the necessity of understanding basic business metrics and SEO for photographers to effectively market their services and attract clients.
- The episode wraps up with the idea that creating a 'designer life'—one where you control your time and business direction—is the ultimate goal for creative entrepreneurs.
Resources and Links
- WEBSITE: https://www.elenasblairphotography.com/
- FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/elenasblairphotography/
- INSTAGRAM: http://instagram.com/elenasblair_photography
Calls to Action
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Transcript
Welcome back to Generator.
Speaker A:You know, when I was first starting in portraiture, there were all these names of successful business owners in the photography world that I made note of.
Speaker A:Sue Bryce, Jerry Gionis, Joel Grimes, and on and on and on.
Speaker A:And one of the people that was on my radar for years was Elena Blair.
Speaker A:Now Elena is a family photographer, a podcaster, a business coach.
Speaker A:She lives in Seattle, and the thing that struck me most about her was how connected her work felt.
Speaker A:Meaning she seemed to capture emotion and connection between family members that went beyond the typical portrait.
Speaker A:Since I don't photograph families myself, it was kind of foreign to me.
Speaker A:But her work still spoke to me, and she stayed firmly on that list of people to watch and hopefully someday meet.
Speaker A:Well, fast forward and while at the Portrait Masters several years ago, Nikki Klosser introduced me to Elena at the pool party, and I realized that my intuition was right.
Speaker A:She walks the talk in every facet of life.
Speaker A:And as we've grown as friends over the years, I realize how fortunate I am to have connected with her.
Speaker A:So this year, while I was out at wppi, I made it a point to sneak into her marketing seminar and just watch the crowd.
Speaker A:Elena commands presence in the most disarmingly and beautifully authentic way.
Speaker A:She holds nothing back and is relentlessly honest about building a business and a lifestyle that's purposefully designed.
Speaker A:It's hard work, but the payoff is immense, and she's got the stories and students to prove it.
Speaker A:Whether it's her family portrait business, her mastermind, or how she harmonizes work in life, Elena epitomizes what a bit of focus, discipline, self awareness, and community can do for you.
Speaker A:It's magical.
Speaker A:In this episode, we cover a lot of ground from understanding business metrics and AI and SEO and the importance of knowing what it is you want out of life so that you can design your business to support it.
Speaker A:I never have enough time with my guests, and this conversation is no different.
Speaker A:But over the next hour, I want you to just sit back and listen to Elena and feel how powerfully she inspires you to live your dreams.
Speaker A:It was truly a pleasure having her on Generator.
Speaker A:And so now, without making you wait any longer, let's get on with the show.
Speaker A:It was really nice to see you on stage.
Speaker A:When I was in Las Vegas, it filled me with a couple of things.
Speaker A:One, it gave me just kind of a renewed sense of how brilliant you are.
Speaker A:And two, it's just awesome to see cool people succeeding.
Speaker A:And I know you've been on a bunch of stages and I know you do this all the time, but it still kind of gives you that little thrill to know that a friend is up there just kind of growing her business.
Speaker B:It is very sweet of you.
Speaker B:I feel like I can't even believe you popped in.
Speaker B:I.
Speaker B:It was.
Speaker B:It still makes me extremely nervous to get up on a stage like that.
Speaker B:I don't know if I will ever not feel really nervous about it.
Speaker B:So thank you for saying that.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Why?
Speaker A:Why does it make you nervous?
Speaker B:I don't know.
Speaker B:You know, they say, like, if it's making you nervous or if it makes you feel something, then you know you're doing the right thing.
Speaker B: en going to conferences since: Speaker B:The few bad comments about somebody's talk, like, oh, they.
Speaker B:I didn't learn anything at that talk, or I didn't.
Speaker B:Or, you know, I.
Speaker B:I didn't feel inspired or they weren't very good on stage.
Speaker B:So I.
Speaker B:I put a lot of pressure on myself to emotionally connect with the people in the.
Speaker B:In the crowd.
Speaker B:I want them to feel like they can, like, see themselves in me, but I also want them to.
Speaker B:To walk away with something they can actually try.
Speaker B:I don't want it to just be inspiration.
Speaker B:And so I just put a lot of pressure on myself for that.
Speaker A:So I downloaded that PDF that you were giving out, the kind of like the marketing PDF, and it's so full of good information, just like good foundational information.
Speaker A:And, yeah, what was funny was I was talking to Renee Robin yesterday, and I asked her, you know, what's the one thing that you would have done 15 years ago if you knew then what you know now?
Speaker A:And she said, start my email list.
Speaker A:Like, build my email list.
Speaker A:And I know that's like your big thing.
Speaker A:Do you find that people know they need an email list, but they still suck at it?
Speaker A:Anyway, I.
Speaker B:You know, actually, the weird thing about email lists, what I would say about email lists when it comes to our photography businesses.
Speaker B:So, like, someone like me and someone like you has a multifaceted business, right?
Speaker B:I have an education platform, and I have a photography business.
Speaker B:And when you.
Speaker B:When you take to the Internet, take to podcasts, Google, you know, whatever, YouTube, and you start learning about email lists, the advice is very complicated because they're speaking to digital marketers, like people who are selling courses, digital products, you know, whatever.
Speaker B:They're using all of these terms like lead magnets and all of these legalities, and it's this really complicated thing.
Speaker B:And I will admit that in my education side of my business, when I am marketing to thousands of people, lots of people, it is complicated.
Speaker B:But when we're talking about an email list for your photography business at the.
Speaker B:It's all it means is having a legal way to email your clients at a map like that.
Speaker B:That's it.
Speaker B:And there you don't need, you don't need a lead magnet.
Speaker B:You don't need any of this complicated stuff.
Speaker B:And so what ends up happening is that people don't do it because they think that it's this really complicated thing, that they're going to need all this software and they're going to need tags and segments and there's all of these things that they don't need.
Speaker B:So do I.
Speaker B:Yes, it is, it is the most important asset in my business.
Speaker B:And anyone who learns how to use it will say the same thing.
Speaker B:And it's, you have a direct line of communication to people who are interested in what your offer is.
Speaker B:So for years I was booking my calendar out, you know, for an entire year in advance with an email list that had like 250 people on it.
Speaker B:It was, it was just past clients.
Speaker B:It wasn't like I went out and like, you know, found all these leads with all these, like, ways to trick them in.
Speaker B:It was just me giving clients people who I've worked with, you know, first dibs on my calendar.
Speaker B:And I've grown it organically since it's still not very big, my actual email list for clients.
Speaker B:And that's, that's what I like to teach to photographers.
Speaker B:It's, it's just having that direct line of communication to people that want to work with you.
Speaker B:It's really that simple.
Speaker B:And it is, yes, the most valuable.
Speaker A:Marketing tool we often think, you know, our email list is really small.
Speaker A:I've got four or five hundred people on mine.
Speaker A:Not big, not small.
Speaker A:And if I walked into a room where all 400 or 500 people were in the room, I'd be blown away that that many people were interested in what I had to say.
Speaker A:Yet I always feel like, well, it's not tens of thousands of people, therefore it's negligible.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:And I think that's the trap that a lot of folks fall into is they get trapped by the vanity numbers.
Speaker A:And I know you talk about vanity numbers quite a bit, and it's those sorts of things that I think are the most detrimental to those of us that are trying to build a business and kind of be content Marketers, even though that's not our real job, but we're trying to learn the terms and do all the things.
Speaker A:And I love your approach to coaching because you give such practical, down to earth insight to how people should do these things.
Speaker A:As you've developed this over the years, what seems to be the common theme that everybody starts with?
Speaker A:Is it fear?
Speaker A:Is it that they don't know what they don't know?
Speaker A:What do you see as kind of like one of the biggest barriers for people in growing their business?
Speaker B:That's such a good question.
Speaker B:Oh my gosh.
Speaker B:I could go on and on about this.
Speaker B:So I was actually just, I was, I had a mastermind meeting today with my current group and we were talking about taking up space.
Speaker B:We were talking about.
Speaker B:It was a mindset meeting today.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:And I said, you know, one of the things that you hear high achievers talk about a lot is mindset.
Speaker B:And it's annoying when you're new because you're like that can't, you can't possibly just tell me that I can think my way through this and you know there's gonna be hard work involved.
Speaker B:I don't believe in spiritual bypass.
Speaker B:I'm not saying you can like sit on your couch and like wish something to happen and it's gonna happen, but I do think that one of the things that's missing for a lot of people is the just this, the confidence that this is going to work.
Speaker B:And then because of that they lack focus.
Speaker B:And so what ends up starting to happen is they what, something doesn't work the first time and they're limiting, you know, little, little voice in their brain that is their limiting belief is like, see, you're not good enough.
Speaker B:This isn't working.
Speaker B:And so instead of doubling down on that and making it, you know, trying harder with that one thing or refining it, then they, they try something, they try something else.
Speaker B:So they're ping ponging all over the place and so their brand is lacking clarity and then, then it just does cycle from there.
Speaker B:So my, my students, I would say that have the most success.
Speaker B:You know, I've taken people from like making ten thousand dollars to a hundred thousand dollars within like twelve months.
Speaker B:Are, yes, they're able to implement strategy.
Speaker B:Yes, they're very talented photographers.
Speaker B:But, but they also believe in themselves.
Speaker B:They have the mindset piece, they're willing to, to, to look at what's going on inside and clear that up so that they can show up in, to command the kind of business that they want.
Speaker B:Because you, you're you are a content creator, Unfortunately, I mean, that's what we.
Speaker B:But the good news for photographers is that's our job.
Speaker B:We create content.
Speaker B:We take pictures of people.
Speaker B:Like, this is something that we have at the ready to share, but a lot of people are afraid to share it or they're not able to do it authentically.
Speaker B:And so it's just a vicious cycle.
Speaker B:So I would say the mind.
Speaker B:Mindset piece is actually one of the biggest, biggest factors that a lot of people completely skip.
Speaker A:So the human connection part, I know you do really, really well.
Speaker A:You let people in.
Speaker A:You're vulnerable.
Speaker A:You talk about all the successes and failures.
Speaker A:Have you always done that, or is that something that you developed over time?
Speaker B:That's a really good question.
Speaker B:You know, I.
Speaker B:One of the things that is surprising to people, I think, when I say is that I'm actually really private.
Speaker B:So even though I am vulnerable and do share a lot of life, I'm actually extremely private.
Speaker B:So that's been something that I've really had to learn how to navigate.
Speaker B:And I think if somebody met me, they wouldn't.
Speaker B:Like, I'm a pretty outgoing person.
Speaker B:You maybe wouldn't realize that, but it's.
Speaker B:But it's the truth.
Speaker B:There's a lot about our life that I don't share.
Speaker B:I do have a deep desire to connect to people.
Speaker B:I always say that I am not a photographer because I care about cameras or gear or lights or any technicalities, which is probably why it took me 10 years to get Canon to sponsor me.
Speaker B:Because I'm just like, don't talk about the gear.
Speaker B:Yeah, I'm a photographer because I, like, I am obsessed with people.
Speaker B:I'm obsessed with connecting with people.
Speaker B:And so as a marketer, and this is.
Speaker B:This is one of the, you know, cornerstones of the strategy that I teach.
Speaker B:I simply create content that connects deeply with the people that I want to work with.
Speaker B:That's it.
Speaker B:It's that simple.
Speaker B:I actually one time, Facebook, I thought I was being punked.
Speaker B:They asked me to come speak to their engineers about how I was beating the algorithm because I wasn't paying for ads.
Speaker B:And I had such high engagement.
Speaker B:And I was like, this must be a lie.
Speaker B:But I had a friend who worked at Facebook who confirmed that it wasn't.
Speaker B:So it was really cool.
Speaker B:I got to go in and talk to them, and they wanted me to, like, give them, you know, these little hacks or whatever that I was doing, these engineers that were working at Facebook, and I'm like, no, I just actually create engaging Content like it's not really that, it's not that exciting.
Speaker B:There's nothing, there's no tricks or any, any beating of any algorithm that I've got going on here.
Speaker B:I'm just creating that connection with people and I think that that is something that you understand.
Speaker B:There's something that I understand, it's something that any successful photographer understands, is that when you are screaming to everybody on the Internet, however you decide to market yourself, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, social media, search engine of any kind, SEO.
Speaker B:If you're just screaming at the Internet and you're like, I do all the things, I'm a person with a photographer and I can photograph your dog and your, your real estate and your this and that and you don't have this connection to who you're trying to work with.
Speaker B:It's hard, it's really hard to be successful.
Speaker B:It's hard to market yourself and you will burn out.
Speaker B:But when you create a business that's based in that connection, that human connection to the people you actually want to work with, marketing's easy.
Speaker B:You're just talking to them, that's it.
Speaker B:You're sharing about your business.
Speaker B:But it's easier said than done.
Speaker B:It takes a little bit of soul searching work to get to that place.
Speaker B:Definitely doesn't happen overnight, but I would say connection is like the foundation of a good marketing strategy.
Speaker A:Well, you mentioned clarity earlier.
Speaker A:Did you ever read Building a Story Brand by Donald Miller?
Speaker B:I know it.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah, you get the concept of it.
Speaker A:It's, it's essentially the hero's journey where long story short, it's not about you, it's about your client.
Speaker A:Speak plainly, clearly solve a problem.
Speaker B:Cute language.
Speaker B:Won't convert in SE for SEO ever.
Speaker A:Ever.
Speaker A:I don't think a lot of people get that.
Speaker A:They want to press the easy button and copy someone, but then it's not really them.
Speaker B:And what's happening right now too.
Speaker B:I am the biggest fan of AI by the way, so I'm not.
Speaker A:Yeah, me too.
Speaker B:Distinct.
Speaker B:We're using it.
Speaker B:But you, but also you can tell when somebody, when chatgpt wrote somebody's entire, you know, caption.
Speaker B:You can't do that either.
Speaker B:It's the same thing as copying somebody or using the copywriter.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:You have to make it your own.
Speaker B:And when I get copied, I mean, they're kind of switching gears here.
Speaker B:But just because of what you just said, I'm going to pig back on it.
Speaker B:I never worry because I'm like, it won't work for them.
Speaker B:Yeah, you know, and.
Speaker B:And I.
Speaker B:And I always tell my students that, too.
Speaker B:I'm like, I'm not here to make you a version of me.
Speaker B:You should become the best version of you.
Speaker B:It won't work for you.
Speaker A:I.
Speaker B:What I'm doing, I have, you know, a skeleton strategy, a foundational strategy, but you then have to apply it to your lifestyle of business, your ideal client, all of that, and make it work for you.
Speaker A:When I talk to coaches that have some sense of absolutism, where they're saying, well, this is the method that you have to follow, and you have to do it this way, there is no one method.
Speaker A:I've been in this game way too long.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:There is no one method that works for anybody.
Speaker A:You find the pieces that work for you.
Speaker A:You connect with the coaches and the mentors that, you know, give you some sort of spark and you roll with it.
Speaker A:But they're all just suggestions.
Speaker A:You've got to define your own path for your marketing.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:You can't copy anybody.
Speaker B:I say that all the time.
Speaker B:There's.
Speaker B:There's more than one way to do this.
Speaker B:And any.
Speaker B:Any coach or mentor that says a.
Speaker B:That makes a guarantee.
Speaker B:We can't.
Speaker B:You can't make a guarantee if you don't know what you're going to do with what we teach you.
Speaker B:That would be a lie if I guaranteed anything.
Speaker B:I mean, I have success stories, you know, that are amazing and lots of them, hundreds of them.
Speaker B:But.
Speaker B:But then the other thing, too, is that, that speaking in absolutes, I just.
Speaker B:I.
Speaker B:I just was listening to an old podcast episode that I recorded on my own podcast where I was talking about how to choose a mentor, and I say, if somebody speaks in absolutes, that's a red flag.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Like, there.
Speaker B:There is not just one way to do it.
Speaker B:There's not just one way to price yourself, not just one way to market yourself.
Speaker B:Like, I love when my students, like, prove me wrong when they're like, you said this wouldn't work, but I did it, and look it.
Speaker B:It worked.
Speaker B:I'm like, amazing.
Speaker B:That's so cool.
Speaker B:Like, I'm so parable.
Speaker B:Amazing.
Speaker B:You just came up with a whole new concept that I didn't even know about, and it's.
Speaker A:And it's awesome.
Speaker A:So let's get back to AI for a second.
Speaker A:So I know you use it for a lot.
Speaker A:What are you finding most beneficial these days, and where are you looking to go with AI over the next year or two?
Speaker A:How are you incorporating it into what you do?
Speaker B:I.
Speaker B:How am I Not incorporating.
Speaker A:I know, big question, right?
Speaker B:So I think that I, I, I have a nephew who's 24, and I swear he is the reason that I adopted it earlier because he was like, I mean, he was on the ground floor, you know, just going for it, using it, using it for things that I wouldn't even imagine.
Speaker B:So I've been way more creative with how I've used it and I owe it all to him.
Speaker B:But I feel like it's like another employee for me now and my team, we're a small team.
Speaker B:There's three of us.
Speaker B:We all use it and we all, if one of them isn't using it, I will remind them to use it.
Speaker B:So we use it as an analyst to analyze like funnels and things that we're doing to give us, you know, suggestions on how to make things better.
Speaker B:We use it to write copy, not usually from scratch though.
Speaker B:So what we, our best way to use it for copy is to have take a big long form piece that I wrote or something that I wrote in another platform and have it repurpose it.
Speaker B:It's, it's brilliant at doing that.
Speaker B:When you have it, write it from scratch, you, it's pretty obvious still, I feel like, although probably some people are prompting it better than us, that's.
Speaker B:It's such a skill, by the way.
Speaker B:It's such a skill.
Speaker B:I use it for personal things like grocery lists and meal planning.
Speaker B:Just FYI, to take that mental load off, just now, my daughter's friend put like this weird thing in our coffee maker and I used it for step by step on how to fix it.
Speaker B:I could go on and on.
Speaker B:It is an integral part of our day.
Speaker A:I use it for absolutely everything in similar ways that you do.
Speaker A:I'll either use it as the beginning, the front end of copy creation or blog posts and then I tweak with my taste or vice versa.
Speaker A:I use it for something that I've written and I make something more concise.
Speaker A:Prompt engineering.
Speaker A:That's what I want to see people teaching, you know what I mean?
Speaker A:How to truly prompt, not just give me an email about this or rewrite this.
Speaker A:There are a lot of things that you can do to teach these models to really work for you as an assistant.
Speaker A:Have you developed any secret sauce in terms of like prompting your, your GPT?
Speaker A:Do you say, hey, you're going to be a marketing director and we have.
Speaker B:The paid version too?
Speaker B:Which I, I don't, I didn't used to think that was important, but for the organization part of it it really does.
Speaker B:So we have different projects.
Speaker B:So it, you know, the different elements of our business.
Speaker B:It's like this is the photography part, this is education.
Speaker B:This is, this is our, you know, coaching side or whatever podcast.
Speaker B:We just took the podcast from being private to public and we used AI to generate all of the show notes and the description of, of each thing.
Speaker B:And it also suggested what opt in we should be linking it to because it knows our opt ins like it.
Speaker B:Our AI is very smart because we've been using it.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:So we prompt each each time we go in and I, my daughter is teasing me.
Speaker B:I'm nice to my AI just in.
Speaker A:Case you say please and thank you.
Speaker B:I am so nice to him.
Speaker B:I, I say today we're, today we're working on Instagram content.
Speaker B:You are an Instagram marketing expert.
Speaker B:My focus for this this week is converting to this.
Speaker B:You know, we're focusing on newborn to convert to this opt in.
Speaker B:These are the calls to action we want to use.
Speaker B:This is the manychat.
Speaker B:If you guys don't know what manychat is on here, it's a automated DM thing for Instagram, which is mind blowing.
Speaker B:I can't believe Instagram's still letting us use it, to be honest.
Speaker B:So we'll, we upload all of the stages of the funnel, we tell them what content we're working on and then we go back and forth with it.
Speaker B:So I like to stay.
Speaker B:I would say that why my AI is so well trained, I don't even know if this is true or not, is I stay on the content focus that I'm on in that project so that, that it's getting smart about that one type of content that we're working on.
Speaker B:And then when I'm ready to move on to another one, like I have a health one.
Speaker B:He.
Speaker B:My chatgpt helps me like analyze my labs.
Speaker B:I mean, I could go on and on.
Speaker B:We use it for everything.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:But yes, I have really good prompts.
Speaker B:And we also have like an ideal client, you know, document that we upload to it once in a while.
Speaker B:When I feel like it's losing its memory, I'll be like, remember who my ideal client is.
Speaker B:That's better.
Speaker B:But yeah, we're, we're pretty, I feel like we're getting pretty good at it.
Speaker B:I haven't taught a class on it yet, but definitely getting good at it.
Speaker A:Do you have a good way of organizing all your stuff?
Speaker A:Like, do you copy and paste into other documents?
Speaker A:This has been like the one hurdle I can't get over.
Speaker A:And while there are some folder options that you can use to organize, it still feels kind of clunky.
Speaker A:Do you have any good organization tips.
Speaker B:For no other that I keep the project separate.
Speaker B:That's how I keep it organized.
Speaker B:So I try not to talk about, you know, mastermind coaching stuff in like my photography business part because those are two different.
Speaker B:Two different ideal clients, you know, two different messages that we're trying to convey.
Speaker B:So that would be the only way that I know how to organize it.
Speaker B:No, I don't.
Speaker B:I'm assuming that's going to get better though.
Speaker B:That's the thing, it just keeps getting better.
Speaker A:Use Imagine and I know you're an ambassador for them.
Speaker A:I use Fido, which is similar, similar product YouTube more volume than I do.
Speaker A:But I found that the combination of some of these tools is saving me like using Fido for color correction and then Evoto for, you know, skin work or clothes smoothing or backdrop fixes or whatnot.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker A:I love knowing how to do all this retouching but man, if it saves me two hours in the back end for every photo, why not?
Speaker A:Why not use it all the time?
Speaker B:Well, you just said it perfectly.
Speaker B:I always tell students or new photographers, even when I was just outsourcing and I wasn't using AI so you cannot skip learning how to edit.
Speaker B:That's that you have to know how to edit.
Speaker B:And I've edited all my own work for a decade.
Speaker B:But when you get to where you're an experienced photographer who has a, who's getting it right in camera by the way, like AI is not going to when where somebody's not very skilled, AI can't fix a bad photo.
Speaker B:Like you do have to learn.
Speaker B:You can't skip learning how to be a photographer and learning how to edit.
Speaker B:Those two things are very important.
Speaker B:But once you become a skilled photographer, this is like a no brainer tool because it makes things so fascinating.
Speaker B:I actually do believe, and I think that this probably makes people angry when I say it, but I think that because of the time saving factor of AI in general, if you don't adopt it, you might become irrelevant.
Speaker B:I know I'm not supposed to say that, but I think it's probably true because clients are going to expect a faster turnaround.
Speaker B:It's not going to be customary for a wedding to take three months anymore.
Speaker B:That's just not going to be the case.
Speaker A:I used to hand retouch everything and it would take me a week or two depending on how many shoots are lined up.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:But I try to keep things relatively short.
Speaker A:I'm turning things around now in 24 to 48 hours.
Speaker A:And even though printed products are going to take three, four weeks sometimes because that's the nature of manufacturing, they have their digitals and well edited digitals within a day or two.
Speaker B:Our school photography, that's been a game changer for us because that's like we do school photo and it's, you know, large volume.
Speaker B:It used to take a couple of weeks and which is, which is still pretty darn fast.
Speaker B:We're turning them around in like four or five days and our sales have increased and I think it's because it's still front of mind for that parent.
Speaker B:Like if their kid had photos on Monday, school photos and they're already getting their gallery on Friday, they're still thinking about it and so they just buy it where if it had been a couple weeks and a busy mom, dad, they forgot already.
Speaker B:So it was, it's been huge.
Speaker A:I don't know imagine well enough to answer this for anybody.
Speaker A:I'm sure you can.
Speaker A:Does imagine learned your style over time, does it adapt to how you're doing your color grading and whatnot?
Speaker A:And I asked that ignorantly.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So you create your own profile and you do that by uploading catalogs, eye catalogs.
Speaker B: ,: Speaker B:And then as you get, you know, galleries back and you do your own tweaks, you re upload the edits, your adjustments so that it learns and learns and learns and it's getting to the point now, especially for school photography, like that's a light, a background.
Speaker B:It's like so you know, standard and simple that we're running it through and just making like some crop edits to like fix the background or whatever, but not having to do anything else.
Speaker B:And it's just getting so smart.
Speaker B:So without my outdoor work even that's getting, it's shocking.
Speaker B:If anyone knows my work, I am a very weird photographer.
Speaker B:I like to like blow people's heads out and I love sun flares and weird stuff.
Speaker B:And at first I was, I think that's really one of the reasons I was a little bit nervous about using AI because I was like, it's like going to understand my not so conventional use of light.
Speaker B:It's learned it, it's, it's really learned it.
Speaker B:So it's pretty amazing.
Speaker A:One of the things that I've always seen in your work is family dynamic and you strike this gorgeous balance between being present in the moment, maintaining that level of intimacy that happens in a family.
Speaker A:But you're also getting the expression towards the camera.
Speaker A:You're getting them to interact with you and connect so that it feels a bit voyeuristic.
Speaker A:You're watching this family interact and you get the dynamics of, of how much they love each other or which kid has what personality.
Speaker A:There's this dynamic that you capture.
Speaker A:Is it just human connection?
Speaker A:Is it the work that you do prior to the session?
Speaker A:How do you do what you do?
Speaker B:Oh, it's a good question.
Speaker B:I actually, I do actually teach about this and I am actually able to help people with this, with this aspect.
Speaker B:And yes, so you answer a little bit of it.
Speaker B:A big part of photographing families who are.
Speaker B:When you look at my portfolio, if anyone has ever seen, like I said, if you ever stumbled upon my work, the people are very lovey dovey connected.
Speaker B:Even with teenagers, you know, they're like hugging and kissing their kids and loving them.
Speaker B:And that's what my portfolio looks like consistently.
Speaker B:So I attract families who love each other.
Speaker B:I mean that sounds like a weird thing to say but like I do like, I like people.
Speaker B:Like how do you deal with an awkward teenager?
Speaker B:I'm like, my teenagers aren't like, I can't get enough of that.
Speaker B:Like they're not.
Speaker B:My kids aren't like that.
Speaker B:And so that's the vibe I put out there.
Speaker B:And so I attract it.
Speaker B:So it's a big part of why that happens.
Speaker B:I work with people who are, love each other.
Speaker B:But the next piece is that I actually am a big poser.
Speaker B:Nobody, you can't tell that.
Speaker B:But I tell my families exactly how I want them to sit, exactly where I want, what I want them to do.
Speaker B:And then it's like being a director, you know, they're going to bring their own magic and personality and connection to the, to the vibe and then that's going to be what makes magic.
Speaker B:But you do have to be a skilled poser.
Speaker B:And I think that lifestyle photography looks unposed.
Speaker B:But the truth is that we're actually like put your finger there and turn that way.
Speaker B:And we're being pretty controlling actually about it.
Speaker B:But the next piece I would say is that the reason everyone I am close proximity of body, having people touching.
Speaker B:I don't like light showing between my families.
Speaker B:That is a huge connection point too.
Speaker B:And then the next piece I would say is I use really short lenses.
Speaker B:I am in there.
Speaker B:I use a 50 primarily.
Speaker B:And then I have, I do have an 85 that I actually feel like I'm using that less and less.
Speaker B:But I have a 35 on one camera and a 50 on the other.
Speaker B:I am like in there with them and I'm not afraid to be in there with them.
Speaker B:To just really be allowing myself to fall in love with them.
Speaker B:And I think that that shows.
Speaker B:You gotta feel something if you want photos to.
Speaker B:For people to feel things when they look at your photos, you have to feel something when you make em right?
Speaker A:When is the first time that you remember taking a photo where you're just like, holy shit.
Speaker B:I actually can answer that with a lot of clarity.
Speaker B:When I started taking pictures when my son will be 18 in August, I have the photo framed upstairs in my bedroom.
Speaker B:I was taking photos of him with a point and shoot camera.
Speaker B:He was so cute.
Speaker B:He was a really intense baby though.
Speaker B:He didn't cry a lot.
Speaker B:He wasn't fussy, he wasn't colicky.
Speaker B:But he needed a lot from me and I had to hold him all the time.
Speaker B:He had to sleep with me all the time.
Speaker B:And I was a young mom and home alone with him.
Speaker B:And I started taking pictures of him.
Speaker B:And it was with this point and shoot camera.
Speaker B:I have this photo.
Speaker B:I could turned it to black and white probably like on my computer.
Speaker B:I don't even know how I did it.
Speaker B:And if the lighting is like super moody, it's exactly how I would light somebody now.
Speaker B:I knew nothing about it though.
Speaker B:I didn't know what the hell I was doing.
Speaker B:But I took this photo of him and he had these intense blue eyes and he's still, he's.
Speaker B:I shared a photo of him this week in my store, in my feed.
Speaker B:I rarely do anymore because he's becoming a man and he doesn't want me to.
Speaker B:But he had this.
Speaker B:He had this intensity.
Speaker B:And I learned very quickly that I could not only just translate like how beautiful he was to the world, I could.
Speaker B:I could actually translate who he was with my camera to the world.
Speaker B:And he's still like one of my favorite people to photograph.
Speaker B:And it was.
Speaker B:I was hooked.
Speaker B:I was addicted to that.
Speaker B:I wanted that more and more and more.
Speaker B:And that's what I do with people of all kinds, you know, with families or anyone.
Speaker B:I'm.
Speaker B:I'm not trying to take like a surface photo.
Speaker B:I don't want anyone to see anything when they look at my work.
Speaker B:I want them to feel something.
Speaker B:Yeah, that's.
Speaker B:That's who I owe it to.
Speaker B:Him.
Speaker B:That was where it started.
Speaker A:If you could describe motherhood without Depicting people.
Speaker A:How would you show that in a picture?
Speaker B:Oh, gosh, that's a.
Speaker B:That's a great question.
Speaker B:So I would say motherhood, to me is a cozy cabin, isolated in the woods, because I don't.
Speaker B:I do not pretend that childhood or motherhood, any of it, is all wine and roses.
Speaker B:I think that's why I actually share photos of kids that are really intense, because I think that it's an intense experience.
Speaker B:But I feel like, you know, as a mother is home to these people that she created.
Speaker B:She's that cozy cabin, but she's isolated in the woods.
Speaker B:She is isolated in the woods and afraid and wondering if anyone's going to come help her and wondering if she can do it on her own.
Speaker B:And I think that that's.
Speaker B:That intensity that is.
Speaker B:Motherhood is something that I really like to capture, especially with my newborn work.
Speaker B:I like to capture, like, the mutual attachment that I experienced.
Speaker B:I mean, when I had babies, I was like, oh, my God, I can.
Speaker B:I'm never going to even be able to, like, leave the couch, because how am I going to put this baby down ever?
Speaker B:You know, it's like this crazy, intense attachment.
Speaker B:So I like to.
Speaker B:I like to portray that.
Speaker B:But, yeah, it's intense.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:And I think you see that in my work, it's.
Speaker B:I have.
Speaker B:There's an intensity to the way that I photograph mothers and the babies.
Speaker A:All right, let's talk a little bit more about business.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker A:You said something in your presentation at wppi.
Speaker A:I was in the back and I was kind of laughing because the engagement rate that people think you're going to get versus what is clinically good at 1 or 3%, maybe 5%, blows people's minds.
Speaker A:And I could almost hear this audible gasp in the room when.
Speaker A:When you said, you know, that an open rate or a response rate is really only going to be between 1 and 5%.
Speaker A:And if you're doing that, you're kind of crushing it.
Speaker B:That's for social media.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So that's.
Speaker B:I love.
Speaker B:I love metrics.
Speaker B:I think that there's so many things I always.
Speaker B:I don't ever want to overwhelm a new photographer.
Speaker B:If they're listening to this and they're like, oh, God, now she's telling me, I got into an email list and I have to pay attention to metrics.
Speaker B:But the truth is, these are actually pretty simple things.
Speaker B:Most people are obsessed with social media.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:And it's because we're all addicted to it.
Speaker B:I'm addicted to it.
Speaker B:We're all Addicted to it.
Speaker B:Let's just be real and good engagement.
Speaker B:On social media, if you're getting 1 to 3%, not 5, if you're getting 1 to 3% of your followers engaging meaning liking or commenting, you're, you're killing it.
Speaker B:And that's, that's all you.
Speaker B:Unless you're paying for ads, which I don't, do not recommend unless you have a very high level training, you're lighting money on fire.
Speaker B:So that's, that's great.
Speaker B:Now on email, a great open rate is about 20 to 30% and that's, you're killing it with that.
Speaker B:If you get that point, which is just by the way already, like why are we not focusing on email?
Speaker B:Like 20 to 30% as opposed to one to three.
Speaker B:But then SEO, search engine optimization, if you can rank one on page one or two somebody, the likelihood of the person who googled for what it is that you're ranking for of actually clicking on your website is like 30 to 40%.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Maybe even a little bit higher.
Speaker B:I'm not, I'm saying this off the top of my head.
Speaker B:So the, I mean it's like a no brainer for me.
Speaker B:That's, it's a no brainer.
Speaker B:Do we have to use social media a little bit these days?
Speaker B:Of course.
Speaker B:And I use it a lot more for my education business, but it's so unreliable.
Speaker B:But that's what everyone wants to know.
Speaker B:How do I make a viral reel?
Speaker B:Tell me how I get the next 10,000 followers.
Speaker B:I'm like, you don't need 10,000 followers.
Speaker B:You need $10,000 a month.
Speaker B:Like that's not, it's not literally not going to work.
Speaker B:It's not going to make your business.
Speaker B:But I can't make people not want to do what's cool.
Speaker B:I'm more, I, I just think about profitable.
Speaker A:It's really funny.
Speaker A:Whenever I look at a big YouTuber or social media influencer, photographers that I know, they might have a hundred thousand followers and then you look at their posts and according to those engagement metrics, right, if they're doing between 1 and 3%, let's say on social media, there should be about 3,000 people at least interacting with that post.
Speaker A:Right now, I don't see their insights, but you look and you're like, well, only a hundred people like this out of a hundred thousand followers.
Speaker A:That smells a little bit fishy to me.
Speaker B:They probably bought their followers is what that means.
Speaker A:Bingo.
Speaker B:By the way, everybody here, that's a normal thing.
Speaker B:People do that.
Speaker B:It's not worth it though.
Speaker B:It'll actually bring your engagement down.
Speaker A:It's been really interesting as I've grown the podcast and I send out media kits and have my actual analytics and metrics in that so people understand what they're getting.
Speaker A:There's a little bit of humility in it because I'm not Joe Rogan, but at the same time, these people are rabidly engaged with the content that I'm putting out and I would rather have that than vanity numbers like you were talking about.
Speaker B:Podcasting is like extremely effective right now.
Speaker A:It's a totally different way to market.
Speaker A:And I think podcasting really gives an insight to whatever it is you do.
Speaker A:Whether it's photography or sculpture or auto, you know, repair, it doesn't matter as long as people get an insight to who you are and what you're doing.
Speaker A:Again, it comes back to that human connection.
Speaker A:They're connected to your brand a little bit more.
Speaker A:And it's that authenticity, it's that connection every single time.
Speaker B:I would also consider a podcast content that you own and content that you control.
Speaker B:And I think that's one thing that people don't realize.
Speaker B:Well, if the TikTok ban didn't teach anyone a thing or two, I don't know what will.
Speaker B:Your content is literally just gone.
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker B:And that could happen.
Speaker B:And I've actually, I know people who have lost Instagram accounts and Facebook accounts or whatever and they don't have customer service.
Speaker B:There's no one there to help you.
Speaker B:If it's gone, it's gone.
Speaker B:You don't own that content.
Speaker B:And so focusing only on that is just like I could.
Speaker B:I mean, I'll say this, I'm blown the face.
Speaker B:It's such a waste of a waste of time, especially for your photography business.
Speaker B:Like a full time photographer needs 50 to 200 human beings to contact, to connect with in one year, which 200 would be insane by the way.
Speaker B:My biggest year was 180 and that was, it was done.
Speaker B:I like worked way too much.
Speaker B:A full time photographer.
Speaker B:Weddings, that could be 15 brides that you need.
Speaker B:Why are we obsessed with these vanity metrics?
Speaker B:And it's, it's because you're addicted to it.
Speaker B:You got to call yourself out there, you're addicted to it.
Speaker B:So you can focus on that if you want, but it's not, it's not.
Speaker A:A great long term strategy outside of your mastermind, outside of Instagram and measuring your own analytics and programming chat, GPT and doing your education site and doing your family photography and all the Other things.
Speaker A:What are you doing for fun?
Speaker A:Like how do you, what, what's your ritual to kind of extract yourself from all of that is.
Speaker A:Do you have a ritual, like a daily ritual every morning to get you into the mindset?
Speaker B:I, you know, what is the truth?
Speaker B:And I, when I say this, I was talking about this in my mastermind today too.
Speaker B:When somebody who's been in business for 15 years tells you that they don't work around the clock, we're saying that from a place of experience.
Speaker B:There was an earlier time in my life where I was raising babies and businesses and all that and I was working a lot more.
Speaker B:But I have really boundaried work hours.
Speaker B:I don't start until about 10am I get everyone off to school.
Speaker B:I'm like done at three at the most at the latest.
Speaker B:What I do for fun and what I do in my free time is all around the people in my life.
Speaker B:I'm extremely close to my children.
Speaker B:I'm extremely close to my partner.
Speaker B:I'm extremely close to my family.
Speaker B:We have a very tight knit group of friends.
Speaker B:So we're, we're pretty social.
Speaker B:I mean my sister and I have seven kids together so there's just like lots of family stuff happening all the time.
Speaker B:And then we are, we live on an island and we go for a walk almost every day in the forest, which is so lucky.
Speaker B:Even when it's raining, it rains around all the time in the winter.
Speaker B:What they say is true.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So it's really around like home cooked meals with my fa.
Speaker B:It's kind of boring.
Speaker B:I'm getting to that age, you know.
Speaker B:But we're also, like I said, we have a really close knit friend group as well.
Speaker B:So Seattle's a fun place.
Speaker B:So we're out, you know, to dinner and doing that kind of thing.
Speaker B:But that's really how, how we, how we spend our free time.
Speaker B:Both of us, My husband and I both work in creative fields and we love our jobs.
Speaker B:But we definitely have boundaries for when we're working.
Speaker A:I never see it as boring.
Speaker A:I see it as balance.
Speaker A:I see it as you've worked hard and earned your balance.
Speaker A:Because there's always a grind at the beginning.
Speaker A:But balance is something I think you definitely learn with experience of where it fits into your life.
Speaker B:It comes with experience too.
Speaker B:I mean, I think, you know, there are super entrepreneurs out there.
Speaker B:I always, there's so much advice, you know, so many.
Speaker B:And they're like, oh, you know, I work from a place of rest and, and don't, don't subscribe to hustle culture and whatever.
Speaker B:And I'm like, she's saying that because she hustled for five or 10 years and now has a team behind her.
Speaker B:Let's be realistic.
Speaker B:There is a stage of your journey when you're being growing a business that you know where you are going to have to.
Speaker B:You are.
Speaker B:That's how you get the experience necessary to get to that place of privilege where then you can implement the more balanced schedule.
Speaker B:I don't know if I believe in balance.
Speaker B:I call it harmony.
Speaker B:You know, when you like all of the parts of your life, then it doesn't feel like you're taking from another part when you're immersed in that part that you have to be immersed in.
Speaker B:And there's definitely seasons of my.
Speaker B:Of my year that are much busier.
Speaker B:Like, I would call this time of the year conference season.
Speaker B:My kids are totally used to it.
Speaker B:Like, they're now.
Speaker B:They just know, like, mom travels a lot during conference season.
Speaker B:And they know that when summer comes, like, this is the.
Speaker B:This is the beauty of a designer life.
Speaker B:When you have your own business, you get to make these.
Speaker B:These rules.
Speaker B:I don't do any shoots.
Speaker B:I don't have a mastermind running in the whole month of July.
Speaker B:I take the whole month of July off because everybody's home and we're chilling.
Speaker B:Like, we're just like, I'm barely working.
Speaker B:I'm barely checking in on email or anything.
Speaker B:Like, it's really amazing.
Speaker B:And I take all of December off too.
Speaker B:September, October, November are crazy for me.
Speaker B:I'm a family photographer.
Speaker B:I don't care what anyone tells you.
Speaker B:Family photography will always be busier in the fall.
Speaker B:But those are like, my kids are.
Speaker B:I guess the point is that they're used to that rhythm of.
Speaker B:Of my business, and I'm okay with it.
Speaker B:Like, I'm okay with being busier at different times of the year and kind of just leaning into that harmony a little bit.
Speaker A:So, man, you just.
Speaker A:You just came up with the title for this episode.
Speaker A:The Beauty of a Designer Life.
Speaker A:I've never heard the term designer life, and it's so spot on as the thing that we all work towards when we go into business for ourselves.
Speaker B:Oh, yeah.
Speaker B:It's such a gift.
Speaker B:And I.
Speaker B:I have, you know, fam.
Speaker B:I know people that are very successful that do not have as a designer life, you know, and that's one of the beautiful things about working for yourself is you make the rules, you decide where you're gonna.
Speaker B:You're gonna spend your time where you're gonna spend your money, where you're gonna grow your wealth, where you're gonna do all of those things.
Speaker B:And that is just a lovely thing when you can figure that out.
Speaker B:I think that's why I like helping people make this work, because I know that when you get control of those things, it's like, it's the best.
Speaker A:I think this is what draws a lot of people to your Mastermind, and it's something that I didn't realize you did until probably about a year, year and a half ago.
Speaker A:You've done just such a really good job of making photography education and business education very approachable.
Speaker A:That being said, if your mastermind was a reality show, what would it be called and what would the first competition be?
Speaker B:Oh, my God.
Speaker B:No one has ever asked me that.
Speaker B:That is so funny.
Speaker B:Okay, let me think.
Speaker B:If it was a reality show, it would be a little bit like, it would be like real, real world.
Speaker B:We'd all live together.
Speaker B:So it would be, it would be like, I mean, this has probably already been a reality show, but it would be make or break, and you would be all live together and you would grow that community together and build each other up and share each other's secrets and probably get a little bit of, like, gossip going on that you would, in that short amount of time that you were living together, you would make it work because that's, that is the core sort of my, of my mess around.
Speaker B:It's like we're a community and we hold each other up and hold each other accountable and big change happens when that, when that's the environment that you're in.
Speaker A:I agree.
Speaker A:That's a great answer.
Speaker A:I love that.
Speaker A:Whenever, whenever I've been in education, right.
Speaker A:I taught high school then.
Speaker A:I've also done, like, this type of education for years.
Speaker A:Inevitably, I learned something from a student unexpectedly.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:What's one of the things that you've learned from any student over the years?
Speaker A:That you're like, oh, shit, that's a great point.
Speaker A:I didn't think about that.
Speaker B:Like I said, I always tell them, I am not here to make you like me.
Speaker B:I want you to be the best version of yourself and you can tell me I'm wrong.
Speaker B:Like, when I'm reviewing their stuff, like, if I say, I think you should do it this way and you want to do it another way, prove me wrong.
Speaker B:That I, I will be so proud.
Speaker B:One girl proved me way wrong.
Speaker B:I, I, I personally don't believe.
Speaker B:I don't like doing mini sessions.
Speaker B:I don't think that they're worth my time.
Speaker B:I think they're, you know, stressful or whatever.
Speaker B:She's like, nope, I'm gonna grow my entire business on mini sessions because I know my demographic.
Speaker B:Like, she, the part of the country that she lives in, it really commands a lower price, high volume type of business.
Speaker B:Girlfriend's making like 250 a year with a mini session business.
Speaker B:And I'm like, like, hell yeah.
Speaker B:You know, like, so proud of her using a lot of the, like, marketing strategies that I taught her.
Speaker B:But so that's one that's like a, a tactical, that practical thing.
Speaker B:Amazing.
Speaker B:I love it.
Speaker B:I love that for her.
Speaker B:And she's doing it efficiently, like, obviously very profitably.
Speaker B:Like, she's just a badass.
Speaker B:So that's one.
Speaker B:One today.
Speaker B:I actually had a little break, a moment today that was so cool.
Speaker B:We were talking about mindset stuff and we were talking about self sabotage and how if, if you look at your business, if, if you're listening right now, actually, and this is, you look at where you're self sabotaging.
Speaker B:If, if you're doing, if your work is, is up to snuff.
Speaker B:Like, if you can truly take a look at your work and be like, yes, I have a very professional and consistent portfolio.
Speaker B:And you're doing everything right.
Speaker B:You're marketing your business with all of the, you know, ways that every, that people are teaching you.
Speaker B:Search engine optimization, email.
Speaker B:You're literally implementing all these things and it's not working.
Speaker B:Ask yourself why you're self sabotaging.
Speaker B:Like, or are you?
Speaker B:And this girl today said, I made her cry.
Speaker B:So she's listening.
Speaker B:She's like, oh, my God, I can't let you talk to me.
Speaker B:I made her cry in a good way.
Speaker B:I said, maybe you just want to be a mom and that's okay.
Speaker B:She has little, little kids at home.
Speaker B:And she was like, oh my gosh, I might be self sabotaging because maybe I don't even really want to do this.
Speaker B:And I said, you know what, if you leave this program and that was the realization you had, I will feel as proud and then I would feel as proud as if I took you to $100,000 this year.
Speaker B:Because that is like we were talking about, that's a designer life.
Speaker B:Like, you need to be able to be so aligned.
Speaker B:And a lot of us think, well, in order to be worthy, this needs to be a business or whatever.
Speaker B:And she's extremely talented.
Speaker B:This person that I'm talking about, like, I reviewed her work.
Speaker B:I mean, she's so talented.
Speaker B:So there was, there is a mindset thing going on with her.
Speaker B:She's doing everything right.
Speaker B:And it was like it dawned on her and I felt like that was something.
Speaker B:What did I learn from that?
Speaker B:I learned that maybe I'm not always going to teach you to go to the next level of financial security.
Speaker B:Maybe you're going to learn that you don't even want this to be a business.
Speaker B:And that was just really eye opening for me as an educator.
Speaker B:I was like, wow, she had such a breakthrough that it wasn't even the kind of breakthrough I wanted her to have.
Speaker B:It was really cool.
Speaker A:It's really important that people know that a lot of folks start businesses and think that, well, now I'm on this path.
Speaker A:I can't get off this train.
Speaker A:I have to, you know, ride it into the sunset no matter what.
Speaker A:And we forget that we're in control of our own lives.
Speaker B:I definitely don't run my business like the norm for.
Speaker B:I would say.
Speaker B:And I mean I could.
Speaker B:People at conferences are always like, oh, you're leaving money on the table because you're not doing in person sales or whatever.
Speaker B:I can go on.
Speaker B:And I'm like, well, show me your bank account.
Speaker B:Because I'm pretty sure we're doing pretty good over here.
Speaker B:Like, it's.
Speaker B:This business has been making over six figures for 12 years.
Speaker B:So I think we're doing okay.
Speaker B:Like, but, but that's.
Speaker B:I, I actually don't.
Speaker B:Whatever, whatever, whatever.
Speaker B:However you want to do it is fine.
Speaker B:But when somebody tells you that it's the only way, it's just so not true.
Speaker B:It's so not true.
Speaker B:And the pricing thing is all about us, not our clients.
Speaker B:Like your clients are not paying attention to your price increases.
Speaker B:We, we think they are.
Speaker B:They're not.
Speaker B:But that's a common, that's a common limiting factor for a lot of people.
Speaker A:It's really funny how much we project of our own insecurities onto our clients.
Speaker A:It takes a lot of, I don't want to say deprogramming, but maybe internal reflection, a little bit of self awareness to really look at.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And, and I think once you start looking at that, right.
Speaker A:Meditating, being quiet, really just reflecting on how you're doing business.
Speaker A:The types of clients you have.
Speaker A:One of the big indicators for me is when people are like, oh my God, I have all these nightmare clients.
Speaker A:Well, something's going on there.
Speaker A:Because I'd say in the 13 years that I've been a photographer, I think I've had Two clients that just blindsided me with, oh, they've got to touch the crazy, right.
Speaker A:And never saw it coming.
Speaker A:But other than that, I love every single one of the clients that walks through my door because I've taken the time to educate them and see if I'm the right fit and vice versa.
Speaker B:Oh, yeah, I could go on about that.
Speaker B:I think that's so the same I've had.
Speaker B:There's a few, right?
Speaker B:There's a few that slip through the cracks.
Speaker B:How did that happen?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:And I always think of it like, I bet you're.
Speaker B:I mean, a handful.
Speaker B:I always, in 15 years, a handful.
Speaker B:I always think of it as like, well, that's some information.
Speaker B:I definitely must not have asked the right questions or whatever.
Speaker B:But you're absolutely right.
Speaker B:When somebody is on like a forum or a Facebook group or something complaining about clients time after time, I'm like, bro, you are the common denominator here.
Speaker B:Like, something is happening that you are confusing your potential clients or you're not educating them on the process.
Speaker B:Or we could go on and on about that, but 100%, it's so important.
Speaker A:Let's start landing this plane a little bit.
Speaker A:The family business is going well.
Speaker A:Photography business is going really well.
Speaker A:I see how passionate you get about teaching others.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker A:I've seen it firsthand.
Speaker A:I hear it here.
Speaker A:I've heard it for years.
Speaker A:I see how much satisfaction you get from helping people grow their businesses.
Speaker A:How can people learn more about the mastermind?
Speaker A:Or what should they expect in your mastermind?
Speaker B:I wholeheartedly, I always say this.
Speaker B:A business model for me is community over competition.
Speaker B:I don't believe that there is any reason to hide any part of what I do with my students.
Speaker B:I share every part.
Speaker B:So you can expect that.
Speaker B:You can expect the complete and total, like, community over competition aspect.
Speaker B:What I teach in the Mastermind is a very foundational approach to business so that you can apply it to your own lifestyle and life and goals.
Speaker B:Just like what we've been talking about throughout this.
Speaker B:Like, it will.
Speaker B:I give you every strategy that I use and every template and all of that.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:But it is live.
Speaker B:We meet weekly live.
Speaker B:And that part allows you to take what I'm teaching you and apply it to your life and goals.
Speaker B:So it is a fully comprehensive program where we lay the foundations for a solid brand, teach you how to create a website that will convert at a very high level.
Speaker B:We talk about pricing, for profitability, and then of course, all of the marketing.
Speaker B:We talk about all the marketing modalities.
Speaker B:That are available to you.
Speaker B:But I definitely focus a lot on search engine optimization and email.
Speaker B:And then we do a lot of mindset work.
Speaker B:I'm actually a certified life coach.
Speaker B:I never talk about that, but we do a lot of mindset work because we all have an abundance capacity.
Speaker B:You have an amount that you believe you're worthy of and you won't ever go past it if you don't start working on your money blocks.
Speaker B:We all have confidence issues that we have to work through, especially as a, as an online marketer or as a marketer in general.
Speaker B:Like you gotta, you gotta get past that stuff.
Speaker B:You have to feel worthy.
Speaker B:So we talk a lot about that.
Speaker B:So it's a pretty all inclusive program.
Speaker B:But I think the most beautiful part of it, and I'm so proud of this part, is the community aspect.
Speaker B:It's, you know, it's.
Speaker B:Every group is just 30 people or 30, 30 to 35.
Speaker B:Everyone has an accountability pod, accountability partners.
Speaker B:They bring in mentors.
Speaker B:And again, we meet once a week.
Speaker B:And you get, it's amazing how close these people get via Zoom.
Speaker B:I mean, they're taking like family vacations together afterward.
Speaker B:They're doing amazing business community collaborations.
Speaker B:And we have an annual event and people come from all different cohorts and everyone just gets along.
Speaker B:And I think the community aspect is why it's so successful because we really do operate sort of on our own as photographers.
Speaker B:And when you have a tribe behind you of people that aren't worried about competition, people are there to lift each other up, beautiful things happen.
Speaker A:You're, you're basically giving people an MBA in the photography business.
Speaker A:But I've seen the same thing in business schools with these cohorts that stay in touch because you're so, you're in the trenches together.
Speaker A:You're building that tribe, you're building that sense of brotherhood or sisterhood in these groups because you're going through all the same stuff together.
Speaker A:From what I understand, you fostered this community that really thrives on that.
Speaker A:As opposed to 10 or 30 people coming together and they're with you for a weekend and then they take off.
Speaker A:This is long term.
Speaker A:What is it, three months, six months at a time?
Speaker B:Five months?
Speaker B:Yeah, it's five months long.
Speaker B:And then we do get together once a year.
Speaker B:There's a few aspects, you know, when you're.
Speaker B:If this were free, it wouldn't be as effective.
Speaker B:I mean, right.
Speaker B:Obviously I'm running a business too, but there is, when you invest in yourself, you're going to show up.
Speaker B:I'VE been.
Speaker B:I have had been two masterminds as a student before, and those were like two of the most transformative years of my career.
Speaker B:And you're like, wow, I just paid this amount of money.
Speaker B:And you're really.
Speaker B:I mean, sure, are they investing in me and my.
Speaker B:And my knowledge?
Speaker B:Of course.
Speaker B:But what you're really investing in is yourself.
Speaker B:And when you make that investment in yourself, it's back to like, that.
Speaker B:I think we've talked about this earlier.
Speaker B:You're like, this is going to work.
Speaker B:I am going to make this work.
Speaker B:I just told myself with my checkbook, I don't know what's using checkbooks anymore, but with my credit card or with my bank account, you know, I'm going to make this work.
Speaker B:And then you're in a group, in a room every week being held accountable with people who are making it work.
Speaker B:And I think that's a big part of it.
Speaker B:I think the structure is a big part of the success too.
Speaker B:Like, there are a lot of things that need to be put into motion for a photography business to be successful.
Speaker B:Having it be like, okay, this week is.
Speaker B:This is what we're doing this week.
Speaker B:This is what we're doing.
Speaker B:It gives people.
Speaker B:A lot of us are more, you know, creative brain.
Speaker B:We don't think that way.
Speaker B:So it help.
Speaker B:It gives people structure.
Speaker B:And I think that really helps too.
Speaker A:From the standpoint of mindset.
Speaker A:Is there any homework that people need to do before they join?
Speaker B:Nothing needs to be done before.
Speaker B:No, it's all done during.
Speaker B:We start every meeting, even when we're going to talk about something really nerdy like SEO, which is.
Speaker B:SEO is just like science, by the way, guys.
Speaker B:Like, if you're going to.
Speaker B:You're going to invest in it, like, it just works.
Speaker B:And most people, you know, you only need to do a few of the things.
Speaker B:Like there's like a billion different ways you can get your SEO up.
Speaker B:And if you work on a couple of the things, it'll work.
Speaker B:Like, I can.
Speaker B:It's like it just.
Speaker B:Well, even when we're going to talk about something super nerdy like that, we start almost every meeting with a little bit of mindset work.
Speaker B:Um, whether that just be like learning to drop in or visualize.
Speaker B:Um, I'm a big fan of visualization.
Speaker B:I'm a big fan of self awareness and changing your neuroplasticity.
Speaker B:So the pathways in your brain that you've been, if you haven't heard that word, there's lots of stuff going on that you have no control over inside of your brain, you're literally just looping these patterns that don't have anything to do with your real life anymore.
Speaker B:So learning how to be aware of those things and change them.
Speaker B:And we do a lot of that because you need to be confident.
Speaker B:I want people to feel worthy and confident of.
Speaker B:And worthy of the abundance that they're calling in.
Speaker B:We are afraid to talk about money.
Speaker B:When we need money to eat and put clothes on our body and live in that home that we live in.
Speaker B:You literally can't survive without money.
Speaker B:So why are we afraid to talk about money about it?
Speaker B:So we do a lot of money mindset work too, so that you can kind of get rid of those fears, limiting beliefs, all of that.
Speaker B:But we work on all that together.
Speaker B:So there's nothing that needs to be done before it all happens during.
Speaker B:And people will always.
Speaker B:I think those are the transformations.
Speaker B:If you asked anyone in that's gone through my program, I mean, we do take people to six figures quickly, if that's their goal, or to making.
Speaker B:To quitting their day jobs.
Speaker B:And I've had like pharmacists and physician's assistants and, you know, big, big jobs.
Speaker B:Be able to quit their jobs.
Speaker B:Accountants, like go, go full time with photography, which is really cool.
Speaker B:But.
Speaker B:But everyone will always say that the mindset part is like the.
Speaker B:They didn't expect that to be where the transformation happened.
Speaker B:But you feel better about yourself.
Speaker B:You look better, you're more, you're.
Speaker B:You're taking care of yourself.
Speaker B:Finally you're putting yourself first, which is so important.
Speaker A:Well, I've never seen you either socially or professionally, where you're not confident, where you're not lifting up the people around you, where you're not introducing people and saying, this is the most amazing person part of my team or I met this person and they are incredible at what they do.
Speaker A:Your capacity to make someone feel at ease and welcome and wanted and seen is a skill.
Speaker A:And for you, I don't think you had to work that hard at it.
Speaker A:It just seems to be part of you.
Speaker A:So I can't imagine that your, your mastermind is anything but that, of that feeling of we can be better than we are right now, and it's really not that difficult.
Speaker A:Just takes a little bit of work, maybe a little bit of adjustment.
Speaker A:But anything that we want is within our grasp.
Speaker A:And I've just seen you do that with people over and over and over.
Speaker A:And I think that said just says something about your success.
Speaker A:People resonate with that and gravitate towards you.
Speaker A:And you're a pretty amazing person.
Speaker A:I've seen you for years now, and I'm never not impressed.
Speaker A:Never not.
Speaker B:We always stay up a little too late at the parties, that's for sure.
Speaker B:I was tired after the last one, but it's always worth it.
Speaker A:Always worth it.
Speaker B:Well, listen to gear around.
Speaker A:So thank you.
Speaker A:Where can people find everything that you're doing?
Speaker A:Easiest place to get in touch with you.
Speaker A:How do they do that?
Speaker B:I've.
Speaker B:Of course, I would say straight from, straight away.
Speaker B:Instagram is so easy, right?
Speaker B:So Elena S.
Speaker B:There's an S in there.
Speaker B:Elena S.
Speaker B:Blair Underscore photography.
Speaker B:I answer every dm, so send me a message after you listen.
Speaker B:But you could go to Elenas Blair.com as well, and that's where you can find out about my mastermind.
Speaker B:We have tons of free resources there.
Speaker B:Paid classes, too.
Speaker B:The blog is a wealth of knowledge.
Speaker B:And the podcast recently made public.
Speaker B:So you can listen to the podcast too, which is called Empowered.
Speaker A:Love it.
Speaker B:We got.
Speaker B:We're on everywhere.
Speaker B:We're all over, just like you.
Speaker B:I'm so.
Speaker A:I'm so happy here.
Speaker A:I've been trying to.
Speaker A:I've been trying to do this with you for a year, and scheduling is what it is, and I couldn't be happier that the universe made us do this today.
Speaker A:So I'm really thankful, really grateful.
Speaker A:Thank you so much.
Speaker A:Go enjoy your day and I'll be in touch with you soon.
Speaker A:All right?
Speaker B:All right, take care.
Speaker A:All right, I'll see you.
Speaker A:Bye.
