Episode 003: Own Your Sh*t As An Entrepreneur

Balance | Humility | Humble | Pride | Entrepreneur | Solopreneur | Photographer mentor

I finally chose a launch date for my course!! Now that I’ve got the date I’ve been working on planning out all the other things I have to do like setting up my pre-launch challenge and looking for beta testers! Sooooo many fun things so be sure you’re on the list!  I’ve also been working on scheduling all social media posts for the month so hopefully they have a good flow and look cohesive with my brand! It’s a little overwhelming trying to balance pinterest, instagram, facebook, canva, blogging, podcasting, developing the course, AND still taking on clients / sessions but I just take it one day at a time and focus on one thing at a time so I can actually say that I accomplished “XYZ” today, instead of just working on a little bit of everything and not really getting anything done.

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As a thank you for tuning in… I want to offer you all first dibs on my brand new freebie! Feedback Questionnaire request. I’m the kind of person that starves for feedback, affirmations, etc. Sometimes when I delivery galleries, I never hear back from clients. I don’t know if they loved their images, hated them, or what. As a Type 3 achiever, I need to make sure I’m hitting the mark all the time. This questionnaire is one way I do that. Sometimes clients just get so caught up in seeing their gallery for the first time, that they just forget to respond (which if we’re being honest, how many times have you “answered a text” but it turns out you only answered it in your head and never actually hit send? Yeah… Me either… 

I use Honeybook to schedule This questionnaire to be sent 3 days after their gallery is delivered. This gives them a chance to look at their gallery, pick their favorites, take a breather from me, but is not so long after the session that they have a chance to forget about things that happened.

It also gives them direct links to leave me reviews on google and facebook so they can copy one of their answers from the questionnaire where I ask for a review and paste it online for me!  

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I want to share with you this new program that I’m super excited about. Okay, it’s not really new because I’ve been using it for about a year. And  I haven’t talked about it much on my channels, but I do have a blog coming out at the end of the month about it. My newest obsession is Flodesk. I use Flodesk for all my email marketing (and while it’s super inconsistent right now, I always get compliments on the emails I send out and I have past clients reply to the emails which means they ACTUALLY read it! How awesome is that?! If you use my referral link, you’ll get 50% off your first year! And guys…. Even better? It’s so cheap! There are so many email marketing platforms to choose from, and a lot of them have minimums, and maximums, and other types of requirements but flodesk doesn’t!

My favorite feature is that each email you send has its own landing page. So if you want to use it for advertising, etc, you can still promote your content to people who aren’t on your email list (which will then hopefully convince them to join your email list. I’ll be sure to include my referral link in the official show notes on my blog and I’ll include a landing page from an email i’ve sent previously so you can see how awesome they look!

A lot of the copy is already written for you, too. So all you have to do is tweak it to fit your brand’s voice, drop in some content, and you’re ready to send!

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Guys, I am cracking uppppp! Hosting a podcast is so hard!

I know there’s no “right” length for a podcast to be, but I’ve been struggling just to hit 10 minutes! I know if I just ramble I’ll be able to fill the time, but then there won’t be a focus or organizational structure, so then I try to make a list or write out everything I want to say so I can stay on target, but I sound like a robot reading and then it’s over before I know it! This is what I was talking about in my first episode when I said that even though I didn’t know what the heck I was doing hosting a podcast I was just gonna DO IT, and I am, and it’s a learning experience of course. I kind of just wish I could fast forward to the point where I’m already really good at it and don’t have to embarrass myself anymore. 

Buuuut that’s not how things work. Everything starts out a little rough (uhhh flashback to my backyard photoshoots in high school where I thought I was the bomb.com). Here’s a nice little throwback.

As much as I might feel like I suck, I’m owning it! Just like I need to own it when people commend me for doing something awesome.

You guys. I opened a freakin photography studio less than 5 months after quitting my job! Who does that?! I hit six figures in my photography income when I was wrapping up my last year teaching and first year as a full-time photographer! That is some awesome stuff right there!

Does anybody else get super awkward when you get a compliment from someone? Someone can tell me they really like my shirt and instead of just saying THANKS! I’m like, “oh thanks my mom has one just like it from the thrift store”. Like, what!? Who does that! Rhetorical question. I know tons of people who do it. And I love it when I compliment someone and they hit me with an awkward way of saying ‘thank you’ and I just look at them and appreciate their awkwardness like me too, sis, me too. I feel ya.

After hitting all these awesome milestones in my business, I’ve gotten a little better at just saying thanks! and maybe backing it up with an “I worked really hard to get here”.

You are worth it. what you do is amazing. You put the effort in, now you can bask in your glory! I want to share 4 tips to humbly own your success without seeming like some self-centered, self-absorbed loser that nobody wants to be friends with.

By definition, humility is the modest or low view of one’s own importance. That doesn’t sound very reassuring to me… on the flip side, pride is a feeling of deep satisfaction from one’s achievements, or from qualities that are widely admired. And that sounds super selfish. Is it possible to find a healthy balance? I think so!

 

1. Think About The Character Traits You Want To Portray.

I want to challenge you to think of someone in your life, in your bubble of the universe, someone you interact with regularly who you kind of admire. What qualities of theirs do you want to emulate? Are they super bubbly and always positive? Do they always ask about you and your life but never share much about theirs? Are they super encouraging? Make a list of the things they do that you appreciate.

While you’re at it, think about someone in your life who exhibits the qualities you don’t want to echo. Make it a conscious effort every single day to do the opposite of what that person does. Are they always criticizing other people? Trying to one-up or be competitive? I know I am guilty of these things to some degree, but since becoming an adult, I’ve really been trying to make it a point to avoid those types of interactions with people. Or stay away from the types of people who bring out the bad qualities in me.

If you want to take it to the next level, don’t just think about the qualities. Actually make a list and post it somewhere you’ll be reminded daily!

 

2. Realize That You Still Need Other People.

While the theme of this episode is to NOT be awkward, and be proud of your accomplishments, let’s not get carried away. While you might think you’re so awesome, there’s always going to be someone who’s more awesome than you. Or better than you. You’ll never be too good to admire someone. On the same note, you won’t be able to realize how awesome you are if you don’t have people to admire you.

Remember that you aren’t superhuman, there are only so many things that are within your control, and you shouldn’t be afraid to ask for help.

 

3. Keep Perspective

Consider where you started. Everybody starts from nothing. Whether it was a $200 eBay camera, or a $1,500 one gifted from your parents, you still started with very limited knowledge on how to use it. Think about the people who helped you get to where you are. Make sure they know how important they are to you and how grateful you are for all the things they’ve done for you. Take the time to tell them! If there’s one thing I’ve learned is that people who have helped you may not have any idea what they’ve done for you.

 

4. Just. Say. Thanks.

Something I hear often from local friends/family when I see them out at the store is “oh my gosh, you have been killing it! You’ve been so busy lately! It’s great to see how successful you are!” when in reality I haven’t had a single session in almost a week. My social media, or my highlight reel, just makes it seem like I’m doing really well. And to some degree that’s okay! My version of ‘so busy’ might be different than someone else’s. But I bet if I told them that I spent almost every day last week in my pajamas on the couch working on my computer they probably wouldn’t believe me 😂.

There’s nothing wrong with telling that person “Thanks!” and maybe adding “I’ve been working really hard”. They don’t need to know the details of your day-to-day life. They don’t need to know your schedule (or lack of).  Just say thanks while you can, because you probably won’t be running into them when you actually are busy.

 

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Just to recap. My first step to owning your crap is to think about the character traits you want to portray in your business and everyday life. Write them down! Seriously! And put them somewhere you’ll see them every day so you can start working on forming new habits with them.

The second step is to realize that you still need other people. No matter how much you accomplish, never think you’re better than someone else. 

Third reminder is to keep perspective. Consider where you started and look at how far you’ve come (cue matchbox 20 song reference). Don’t compare yourself to anyone else.

The last reminder, and the most important, JUST. SAY. THANKS. No need for excuses. No need for explanations. Don’t make your accomplishments seem smaller than they are. Just say thank you!

 

– Links mentioned in this episode –

Flodesk referral link (50% off your first year)

My flodesk welcome email

Be the first to hear when my beach course launches! 

Feedback questionnaire request

 

– Other Links – 

Honeybook referral link (20% off your first year)

Quickbooks referral link (50% off your first 3 months)

 

Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links and if you go through them to make a purchase I will earn a small commission. Keep in mind that I will only ever share about companies that I truly believe in.