This Can't Be That Hard

As we get ready to kick off 2023, I wanted to take some time to help you figure out what areas of your business you need to focus on in the upcoming year. Often, when we are in the thick of running our businesses, it’s difficult to get a big-picture view of what’s working and what’s not.  So this week and next, I am sharing a couple of helpful tools that will help you map out where you are current...

Creating a membership program in your family photography business is a win/win: your clients get yearly photos they can rely on and you get a predictable monthly schedule and income. But what if you don't photograph families? What if you're a boudoir photographer, or a brand photographer, or something else... could a membership work for you? Today's guest is here to answer that ques...

What would you do if you woke up one day to find that all the social media accounts you use for your business had been shut down? That's exactly what happened to my guest, Megan Lacy. You've probably heard the old adage "don't put all your eggs in one basket," and when it comes to marketing your photography business, that's great advice... especially when the basket i...

Keeping up with the ever-changing landscape of social media can feel like a full-time job on top of your photography career (especially if you’re like me and don’t really love doing it). But there’s no denying that social media is a big part of most of our marketing strategies these days, so love it or hate it, we need to at least be able to fumble our way through the basics! I wanted to bring on...

I think we all know that SEO is crucial when it comes to growing our businesses and getting more inquiries, but it can feel like a complicated (or even impossible) nut to crack.  Enter today’s guest! When Melissa Arlena relocated from DC to Florida, she was able to quickly and successfully relaunch her business with a simple SEO strategy based entirely on blogging. It turns out, blogging is not de...

There's never a perfect time to start a business, have a baby, or get a puppy... at some point, you just jump in and say "I guess we're doing this!"  We recently got a new puppy (Lasso... yes, after Ted Lasso), and spending so much time with this bundle of fluff has reminded me of all the joys - and struggles - that come with starting something new. It's both exciting and...

Brands evolve over time, and rebranding is a project that most of us have to tackle at some point in our businesses… but it can be a daunting process! Confusion about where to start, what to do, and what to say can turn what should be an exciting process into a frustrating slog. Today, Rachel Greiman of Green Chair Stories is sharing her expertise on the rebranding process. She gives advice on the...

If you’ve been in business for any amount of time, you're probably familiar with burnout - it happens to the best of us. A lot of the resources out there focus on how to avoid burnout, which is great until you suddenly find yourself in the middle of it with no plan for how to turn the ship around.  In case you find yourself in the throes of burnout - now or in the future - my guest Krista Mar...

So many photographers feel annoyed at best (and overwhelmed at worst) when it comes to the financial side of running a small business - most photographers aren't born bookkeepers, but of course as small business owners, it's something we all have to manage. Tanya Hirschy from Tidy Books Boutique is on the show today talking about why it’s important that we take some time to clean up our...

I’m all about sharing the mistakes I made in my business to help you avoid making the same ones…. and one of the biggest, most costly mistakes I've ever made was not bothering to create a sale at the holidays for the first 8 years of my business. When I do the math, I estimate that one mistake cost me north of $50K (it still hurts to write that number!)  If the word “sale” makes you cringe in...

Every photographer's path to success looks different. Some of us went to school for photography, while others of us picked up a camera for the first time when our babies were born. I think one of my favorite things about talking to photographers is that no two success stories are ever the same.  Today’s guest is someone I have Instagram stalked for a long time, both for her beautiful images a...

Evan Berding is an incredibly talented custom furniture maker who happens to also be my one and only brother. What's funny is that for all our similarities (siblings, artists, entrepreneurs), there are also a lot of big differences. Evan and I take very different approaches to our work, and I always love chatting with him about how who we are has shaped the paths we've taken.  Today I&ap...

VIP Days have been gaining popularity over the last few years as a way for business owners to offer high-touch, high-value services that deliver fast results to their clients. If you've ever wondered how you could expand your photography business, either to increase revenue, stand out from the other photographers in your area, or to allow for more flexibility in your schedule, today's co...

Most of the time on this podcast I give you ideas for how to refine your business, streamline your systems, and improve your workflow. But today I want to talk about WHY doing those things is important. One of the (many) reasons it's good to have a well-run business is so can keep your eyes open for the golden opportunities that are all around you.  Sometimes as soloprenuers, we're so bu...

If you’ve been a photographer for any amount of time, you’ve probably had a card malfunction, or a drive corrupt, or watched as Lightroom choked in the middle of exporting a session.  Oh 💩, right? In those moments, I always wish I could just pick up the phone and call my own personal IT department to make THEM fix it.  This past spring, in the wake of the worst data nightmare that I have personal...

For years, I've encouraged photographers to talk to prospective clients on the phone. For a variety of reasons, I believe it's the best way to not only book more clients, but to start the process of working together off on the right foot. But these days, more and more people - photographers AND their clients - are reluctant to pick up the phone... which has led some of my students to exp...

One of the most common questions that I get asked here at This Can't Be That Hard is: “How do I get more photography clients?" Right? It's the photography marketing magic bullet (say that 10 times fast!) that we are all looking for. But as you know by now, I’m a believer that there is no one-size-fits-all strategy for your marketing. It’s about trying different things, seeing what s...

When your first start your photography business, you need to make a plan for a period of time where you're building your client base up. It's normal to run at a loss for a year or two, but you need to have a plan in place for moving from that deficit into the land of profit. (If your profitability runway is too short, you’ll risk feeling like a failure. If it’s too long, you may never ge...

As the busy season creeps up on us, often our stress creeps up right along with it. While some stress is inevitable (more clients = more work to do), it’s important to remember that at least part of the reason we chose to be photographers was to have freedom, flexibility, and control over our schedules and lives, so we need to run our businesses accordingly! This week, my guest is Flourish Academy...

For many photographers, self-promotion can feel a little painful even in the best of times. But what about those days (and weeks and months) when there are much bigger events (rightly) dominating our headlines and headspace? How do you send out a sales email or post about your upcoming mini sessions when those things seem trivial at best compared to what's happening in the world? Balancing th...

Every photographer uses technology to some degree or another. In this day and age, tech is required for everything from bringing new clients in to giving them a good experience to editing, backing up, and delivering the images themselves. And if you're not careful, it's far too easy to let your “tech stack” get away from you. Today, Colie James and I are having a conversation about the t...

When the economic forecast looks dark and stormy, it’s easy to get panicked about whether your photography business is up to the challenge. Panic, though, doesn't help... a plan does. Even in boom times, it's smart to keep our businesses ready for whatever storms may come.  In today's episode, Annemie shares four important ways that you can sure up your strategy and take some of the...

In the world of photography education, there seems to be an assumption that everyone is after the same goal: to make 6 figures and have a completely full roster of clients that’s booked out 3 years in advance.  But there’s a very large subset of photographers for whom that doesn’t resonate…  because that’s not in alignment with what they want or need from their businesses.  Erin Brown artfully dub...

Have you ever had a brilliant idea while driving or walking the dog that felt so clear and exciting at the moment, but then even a few minutes later when you try to write it down… it’s gone?  This has happened to me so frequently that I actually created a system (shocking, I know!), not only to capture the ideas that occur to me (even at the most inopportune times), but actually get them into my w...

Dealing with the legal side of running a business is complicated, confusing, and can feel like an overwhelming item on your to-do list... but the cost of NOT addressing it can be enormous. Luckily for us, Rachel Brenke - better known as The Law Tog - has spent the last 10+ years using her expertise as both a lawyer and a photographer to make the legal side of things accessible to us as creatives. ...