This Can't Be That Hard

It's not uncommon for my new Simple Sales students to have lots of questions about the "rules" of the system. If they change this thing or tweak this step, will the system still work? Today I want to discuss the three modifications I most commonly get asked about in our Facebook group - how I have seen them work (or not work) for other photographers, and why I think that is.  If you...

Adding films to your photography business can be a great way to up-level your client experience, and can be rewarding both artistically and financially. That doesn’t make it an easy transition, though! The business of offering films to your clients is totally different from the business of offering still images.  If you've ever considered adding films to your repertoire - or if it's some...

We all get to the point in our business where we need to raise our prices. But if you aren’t taking the time to understand why your prices need to go up (and even more importantly, how you're going to align that price increase with your overall business model), you're setting yourself up to fail.  Today I'm covering 5 questions you should ask yourself before you increase your prices...

You know when you have that perfect client experience? From the moment they reach out, they're excited to work with you, there's no pushback on your pricing, the shoot is a breeze, and when you deliver their images they absolutely gush? It’s just an amazing experience from start to finish. Don’t you wish you could clone those clients? Today’s guest, Heidi Thompson, is showing us how to d...

When you're a solopreneur, your to-do list can feel never-ending. Taking a break, stepping away, or even ( gasp! ) going on vacation can seem like a luxury reserved for the non-self-employed. After twelve years in business, I wish I could say I no longer have a hard time taking time off from work, but to be honest, it's still something I struggle with. That said, I've finally come t...

As photographers, we spend a lot of time focusing on our visual storytelling, but as entrepreneurs, our written communication is just as important. Like it or not, your words are as likely as your photographs to land you your next job... or to lose it. Today, creative copywriting specialist Courtney Fanning is sharing the 4 different types of buyers in the world, and how we can use our writing to...

One of the easiest traps entrepreneurs can fall into is filling our time with the busywork of running a business, and in so doing, postponing or missing bigger opportunities or changes that could dramatically improve our businesses and our lives. A lot like having a baby, there is never a “perfect” time to make changes - especially big ones - in your business. There’s always going to be a good rea...

If you believe a task or a project is going to be easy, the smallest roadblock can seem insurmountable. But if you're mentally prepared for a challenge, those roadblocks become an expected part of the journey. A lot of photographers go into business believing that their side hustle won't require much effort - what's so hard about doing something you love and getting paid for it, rig...

The most common complaint I hear from other photographers is that they hate trying to get people to buy. On one hand, I get it - there’s something inherently uncomfortable about tooting your own horn and asking people for money. On the other, I worry that mindset is hurting you!  Years ago, working in New York City in a totally different industry, I learned the difference between what makes sellin...

Have you ever heard the term “your strength is in your struggle?” The Simple Sales System was born as the result of a life transition that forced me to take a good hard look at my business and my numbers. Once I got over the struggle of doing that (and saw the massive results it created in my business and my life), I wanted to help other photographers do the same thing, ideally before they were fo...

There's more than one way to run a successful small business... photography or otherwise. But with all the variety out there, successful businesses share one important trait: they are fully aligned under one of three models - The Donkey, The Unicorn, or the Workhorse.  Back in episode 38, I described each of these business models in detail (so if you haven’t listened to that yet, I’d suggest...

I'm always surprised when people express an interest in my personal life... you come here for photography business strategies, not the latest on this single mom's love life, right? Well, today you're going to get a bit of both. Back in February, I announced I'd gotten engaged, and instantly started getting pinged with questions about who this guy was and what our story was all...

A few weeks ago my refrigerator (finally) died. I knew it was on the outs, so it wasn’t totally unexpected, but surprise expenses like that can be a big bummer, right? Today’s guest, MicKallyn Elis, calls those kinds of surprises “Oh 💩! Expenses”, which is exactly how I feel about them! MicKallyn is a financial coach who specializes in helping solopreneurs gain control of their finances. She unde...

It’s easy to fall into the trap of advertising that we do ALL THE THINGS - saying "no" to work that comes your way can be scary, especially when you’re first starting out as a photographer! But the last thing you want is for your business to come across as a “jack of all trades, master of none.”  The fact of the matter is that niching down can really benefit your business… if you do it t...

When photographers want to increase booking rates, we tend to think about the things people see BEFORE they reach out to us - our social media or our websites. And although working on those can bring more inquiries in, a much easier issue to address is what happens AFTER they reach out... getting the people who inquire to you to actually hire us.  The number one factor that will sway someone to hi...

Several years ago, right in the middle of one of her busiest seasons at work, Sabrina Gebhardt had a series of major, totally unpredictable personal issues hit all at once - a health emergency, a natural disaster, and a death in the family. When you run a solo business, you can't just call in sick... you have to manage the explanations, the reschedules, and the apologies, even when you may no...

Want to make more money? I mean… who doesn’t?!? But most of the time, we think the only way to make more is to charge more. Not true! Today, I’m sharing three super-effective strategies for earning more money that you can implement quickly and easily in your business without raising your rates (or worse, discounting your work to try and get more clients). Resources: New to the podcast? Go to thisc...

If you’ve ever stared longingly at the photo byline in a major publication and wondered “how can I get THAT job?!?" today’s interview is for you! For the last couple of years, Carolyn Fong’s portraits have frequently been seen illustrating stories in top news publications and ads for major brands, but the path to get there was neither short nor easy. In our conversation, Carolyn shares the de...

Since his last guest appearance on This Can’t Be That Hard, a lot has happened in Cornell Watson’s career. Most of it has been hugely positive: he’s become a regular contributor to several major news outlets, including the New York Times and the Washington Post; he’s received several awards, including a grant from the Alexia Foundation, and - last summer - was offered an artist’s residency at the...

Gloria Chou is an expert when it comes to P.R. and how to pitch yourself. And maybe “pitching yourself” isn’t on your radar as something you believe you need to do, but it should be! Think about it: you’re pitching yourself when a client contacts you, when you’re applying for a job, when you’re asking to be considered as a speaker at a conference or a guest on a podcast… as entrepreneurs, we’re re...

The Pareto Principle (aka the 80/20 rule) tells us that only 20% of our actions are responsible for 80% of our success… so the big question is: how do we find that 20% and do MORE of it? Well, one thing that definitely WON’T help find the 20% is dragging your feet on taking action. Today I want to remind you that the thing that makes your art better - getting out of your own way and trying (and ye...

It’s hard to write the show notes when you haven’t listened to the episode, but that’s exactly what I’m doing, because this episode was fully managed - from concept to final edit - by my amazing marketing wingwoman, Dayna… and I’m not going to listen to it until it drops. What I CAN tell you is that it features the stories of five of my amazing students, and who doesn’t love a good story? I seriou...

If you’ve ever scrolled Instagram and found yourself gazing longingly at someone else’s perfect-looking life, wondering why you don’t have your ish together like they do, this episode is for you. Given that I’m always talking about systems and streamlining and automating, I don’t doubt that some people might imagine that I’ve got it all figured out, particularly when it comes to business. Well - s...

For years, you’ve heard people talk about the two main choices you had for running a photography business: in-person sales and all-inclusive sales. Both of those models can be successful if they’re managed right, but both also have some pretty significant drawbacks - all-inclusive photographers are leaving (big) money on the table and giving their clients a less complete experience, and IPS photog...

You’ve heard me talk about Bluebird clients before - those ideal clients who love your work, happily pay your prices, let you do your thing artistically, then sing your praises all over town. You may also have heard me talk about snake clients - the ones who drain your time and energy, complain about your prices, micromanage your work, then top it all off with bad reviews. This week on the podcast...