204 | Are Associates the Right Move for Your Business?

Jennifer Ryals began her wedding photography business just a few years ago and it took off a lot faster than she hoped or expected. So like many photographers, she came into 2020 with big goals for her rapidly growing business.

However, so much has happened in the years leading up to 2020, that the COVID pandemic has caused Jennifer to truly pause and reflect on what her future as a photographer looks like.

In this episode, Jennifer opens up about her experiences with her mental and physical health as well as the racism she's experienced as a black female wedding photographer in the years leading up to 2020. We also talk about  how she's been coping with the pandemic itself while serving her clients and navigating decisions about the future of her business.

This raw and open conversation is a must listen as we close out this challenging year and all look ahead to the future of our businesses.

VIEW JENNIFER'S WORK HERE
https://jenniferryals.com/

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As a wedding or portrait photographer, its indisputable that selling physical products such as albums, wall art, and prints will not only serve your clients better but dramatically increase your revenue.

But selling physical products can feel complicated, sleazy and just plain overwhelming. In fact, you might be thinking:

• What if I'm not good at sales?
• Can my clients afford beautiful albums & prints?
• I don't have a beautiful studio for sales sessions...
• My business is new - how do I even get started?

Whatever objection or uneasiness you're experiencing with post-wedding sales and selling physical products, Makayla Jade of The Harris Company and The Printographers Society has felt it, too. She began her photography business as a brand new mom selling wall art out of her apartment living room (think: Cheerios in the couch cushions!), and has grown into a thriving, high-end photo + video studio generating multiple six figures in print sales alone - all by focusing their brand experience on albums and physical products.

In this episode, Makayla shares her story of learning how to sell physical heirlooms like wedding albums, and walks through all of the objections photographers typically feel when it comes to selling products beyond just the digital files. 

If you're feeling nervous about selling albums, she'll answer:

• The key communication touchpoints that need to occur with your couples for successful sales
• How to handle the digital files in order to make your clients happy but also sell beautiful heirlooms
• How to educate your couples on the value of physical products so they'll always want what you have to offer
• The exact steps to take to begin selling albums and physical products to your clients

If post-wedding sales or selling albums feels overwhelming to you, this deep-dive episode is going to demystify the whole process!

GET MAKAYLA'S FREE EMAIL TEMPLATES FOR BETTER SALES:
https://www.printographerssociety.com/email-templates

CHECK OUT THE PRINTOGRAPHERS SOCIETY
https://www.printographerssociety.com/

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With the majority of big weddings either postponing to 2021 or pivoting to smaller celebrations, wedding photographers have had to learn how to pivot their businesses to offer coverage for elopements and small intimate weddings - many for the first time ever.

However, the number of couples that have been ditching the idea of a big wedding and choosing an intimate elopement has been on the rise for years - and Maddie Mae noticed this in 2015.

After 5 years photographing big wedding days, Maddie found herself burnt out and jaded with the performance and production of big weddings, but that all changed when she photographed her first elopement. Immediately she knew that it was her greatest passion and she took the leap to go “all in” and created Adventure Instead, her high-end brand that specializes in adventure elopements only.

Now, 5 years later, she runs a Forbes-featured and Rangefinder-award-winning, kickass team of 3 adventurous female photographers (herself, Amber, & Tori) who travel around the U.S. and world helping eloping couples bring their vision of their own intimate & meaningful wedding experiences to life.

In this episode, Maddie shares:

• Why so many couples have been choosing to elope (even before 2020)
• The biggest myths & misconceptions about elopements and intimate weddings
• How to pivot your business to become an exclusive elopement photographer
• How to offer intimate wedding coverage if you DON'T want to become an elopement photographer, but need to book business NOW

Join Maddie's Facebook Group Here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/weddingsandwanderlust

Learn About Adventure Instead Academy Here:
https://adventureinstead.com/academy/

Learn About Maddie's Leave No Trace Program Here:
https://adventureinstead.com/academy/how-to-leave-no-trace/


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Reviews are how we get found! If you're binging these episodes, then share the love!! Leave a review on iTunes so that other amazing photographers like you can find us, too. 

If you've hung around us Youngrens in 2020, then you've heard us talking about time management, specifically the block scheduling system that we've created and teach to all of our students in our Thrive Business Intensive.

On today's show, I'm expanding on the block scheduling that we use to stay focused, eliminate distractions, and achieve our goals... even in a crazy year like 2020.

As we near the end of this year and round the corner into a fresh new one, it's time to start the conversation about how you're going to level up your habits in 2021.

If you have a lot of rescheduled weddings next year, it might be a much busier year than usual, which means you need to get a handle on your time so you can not just survive 2021, but THRIVE.

Learn about the simple ways that this system will transform how you view your time and move your business forward.


Wanna know how I run our three brands while being a part time mom?

GET MY EXACT WEEKLY WORK SCHEDULE HERE:
https://theyoungrens.com/overwhelm/

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

Our First Episode on Time Management: https://creativerising.com/301

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GET ON THE WAITLIST FOR THE THRIVE BUSINESS INTENSIVE:
https://theyoungrens.com/thrive/

LEAVE A REVIEW:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/creative-rising/id1464017907

Reviews are how we get found! If you're binging these episodes, then share the love!! Leave a review on iTunes so that other amazing photographers like you can find us, too. 

For many many years in our business, controlling my email inbox was a battle that I fought nonstop.
 
A full inbox would cause so much stress in my life, that it’s the #1 thing that pulled me away from important work - things like updating my website, getting new clients, and building my brand. Work that truly affects the bottom line of my business.

So if email is such a powerful force in your business, how do you keep it under control?

In my fourteen years of business, the thing that has been the single most effective weapon in this epic battle against email overwhelm is using EMAIL TEMPLATES.

In this episode, I'm sharing the six critical email templates that every wedding photographer should use and why.

These six email templates are the ones that not only free up the most time in our business, but they also help us grow our business and make more money.

Check out this episode to find out what they are!

GET OUR THREE FREE EMAIL TEMPLATES HERE:
https://theyoungrens.com/photographers/free-resources/top-3-email-templates/

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:
Get our Full Set of 42 Email Templates in our Shop
CR107: Four Things We Do That Turn Our Inquiries into Bookings
TAVE

NEXT STEPS:

JOIN OUR FREE CREATIVE RISING COMMUNITY
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GET ON THE WAITLIST FOR THE THRIVE BUSINESS INTENSIVE:
https://theyoungrens.com/thrive/

LEAVE A REVIEW:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/creative-rising/id1464017907

Reviews are how we get found! If you're binging these episodes, then share the love!! Leave a review on iTunes so that other amazing photographers like you can find us, too. 

If you've spent hours curating your Instagram feed and gotten little to no results for your business, you're not alone. Instagram easily sucks hours of valuable time from your days and bring very little in return, and Devin Robinson argues it's probably because you're doing it all backwards.

Devin spends half the time on Instagram than most creatives, posts very little to his own feed, and yet generates hundreds of thousands of dollars in wedding bookings from Instagram alone.

Want to know his secret? He flips the entire system on it's head to generate raving fans and book his entire team of associate photographers. He spills his entire strategy in this refreshing and honest episode and it's unlike any strategy I've ever heard from any other educator - period.

You're not gonna want to miss this episode!

Download Devin's IG Shortcuts & Join His Facebook Group Here:
https://twpmasterclass.com/creativerising

Check out Devin's podcast, Anchored Business, here:
https://anchorandveilphotography.com/category/anchored-podcast/


NEXT STEPS:

JOIN OUR FREE CREATIVE RISING COMMUNITY
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WANT BETTER CLIENTS? TAKE THIS CLASS:
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LEAVE A REVIEW:
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Reviews are how we get found! If you're binging these episodes, then share the love!! Leave a review on iTunes so that other amazing photographers like you can find us, too. 

As a wedding photographer in 2020, how often do you get asked, "So how has COVID affected your business this year?"

So often, there's the surface answer to that question (ie "everything's fine," "we'll get through it") and then there's the REAL answer (ie "my business has been devastated").

Since the COVID pandemic hit the US in March of 2020, Jeff and I have lost over 70% of our revenue across our three brands and we've only shot four weddings, two of which have been last minute elopements.

And we're not alone.

If you're a wedding photographer, this year has probably decimated your business.

So in true Creative Rising style, we pull back the curtain on what's really been going on with our studios over the past six months - no BS, just the honest truth about the struggles, challenges, and lessons we've learned as we've navigated this pandemic.

Spoiler Alert: there's been a LOT more going on behind the scenes than we've let on over social media.

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

JOIN THE WAITLIST FOR THE THRIVE BUSINESS INTENSIVE HERE
http://thrivebusinessintensive.com/

GET OUR FREE COVID-19 EMAIL RESPONSE TEMPLATES HERE
https://theyoungrens.com/photographers/free-resources/covid-19/


NEXT STEPS:

JOIN OUR FREE CREATIVE RISING COMMUNITY
https://www.facebook.com/groups/339344669485595/

WANT BETTER CLIENTS? TAKE THIS CLASS:
https://dreamieclass.com

LEAVE A REVIEW:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/creative-rising/id1464017907

Reviews are how we get found! If you're binging these episodes, then share the love!! Leave a review on iTunes so that other amazing photographers like you can find us, too.

During this time of quarantine, one of the best things for you to focus on as a wedding photographer is to make sure your website is looking amazing.

But what exactly makes a website 'amazing'? How do you know if what you're showing is really converting?

Knowing what you should put on your website (and where) can be extremely confusing, which is why I brought in the expert. Davey Jones and his wife, Krista, are incredible website designers that help brands create websites that book.

In this episode, Davey unpacks the step-by-step process of how to create a website that creates clarity, spreads your message, and attracts your dream clients. From the 2-3 important items that MUST go on your homepage (including the ONE item that should be seen first) to how to create an about page that actually works, he helps us understand the two critical questions that every website needs to answer that stand in the way of you and booking clients.

You're gonna love the concrete action steps in this episode that you can use to level up your website today.

Learn more about Davey and Krista here:
https://daveyandkrista.com/

Check out Davey's podcast, Brands that Book, here:
https://daveyandkrista.com/btb-show/


NEXT STEPS:

JOIN OUR FREE CREATIVE RISING COMMUNITY
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WANT BETTER CLIENTS? TAKE THIS CLASS:
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LEAVE A REVIEW:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/creative-rising/id1464017907

Reviews are how we get found! If you're binging these episodes, then share the love!! Leave a review on iTunes so that other amazing photographers like you can find us, too. 

As this episode goes live, we're deep into quarantine life because of COVID-19 and while most of the world has had to figure out how to work from home, wedding photographers are no strangers to it.

However, as client work has come to a stop, this pandemic has dramatically highlighted our true working habits. And it's become painfully clear for a lot of you that there are loads of habits from your pre-COVID life that you brought into your current reality that are seriously holding you back right now.

And you can either allow those habits to continue to produce bad results or you can exchange them for new habits that will finally produce the amazing results you long for.

If you're ready to level up your habits to meet the demands of this new economy, in this episode I dig into the five essential habits every wedding photographer needs to win at working from home.


Resources Mentioned in this Episode:
Indistractable by Nir Eyal
Deep Work by Cal Newport
Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport
The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer
CR301: Time Management

NEXT STEPS:

JOIN OUR FREE CREATIVE RISING COMMUNITY
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WANT BETTER CLIENTS? TAKE THIS CLASS:
https://dreamieclass.com

LEAVE A REVIEW:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/creative-rising/id1464017907

Reviews are how we get found! If you're binging these episodes, then share the love!! Leave a review on iTunes so that other amazing photographers like you can find us, too. 

Two weeks ago, Jeff and I were completely checked out on a two week vacation on Kauai.

No phones, no media, no news.

But when we landed back in San Diego, Coronavirus hit the U.S. And within a week, our revenue stopped, our state ordered shelter-in-place, and our business shut down.

In a very short amount of time, the world has turned upside down for all of us. But for photographers, this time is not just scary, it's absolutely terrifying as we've watched our cash flows dry up and jobs get cancelled or postponed for months.

So how do we survive this?

Well for me, that's the wrong question to be asking.

Instead, the better question is, "Who are we going to be IN this?"

Jeff and I are reeling from the emotional and mental roller coaster of this pandemic, so I sat down (literally, I sat down on my bedroom floor), turned on a spare mic (all of my regular mics are at the studio) and shared my innermost thoughts about what this all means.

I get honest, I cut the BS, and I definitely cry. Cuz that's just how things are right about now.

Plus, I outline the three things that wedding photographers should be doing RIGHT NOW to make it through this crisis.


GET OUR FREE COVID-19 EMAIL RESPONSE TEMPLATES HERE
https://theyoungrens.com/photographers/free-resources/covid-19/


Resources Mentioned in this Episode:
Traction (book)
Tyler J. McCall
Katelyn James
Brene Brown on FFTs (podcast episode)
Hannah Abad of Prime Collaborative



NEXT STEPS:

JOIN OUR FREE CREATIVE RISING COMMUNITY
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WANT BETTER CLIENTS? TAKE THIS CLASS:
https://dreamieclass.com

LEAVE A REVIEW:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/creative-rising/id1464017907

Reviews are how we get found! If you're binging these episodes, then share the love!! Leave a review on iTunes so that other amazing photographers like you can find us, too.