Worth Every Penny Joycast

Friend, we need to talk about a certain someone in your life. The one who puts you down and tells you that you aren't good enough. The one who knows all your greatest fears, doubts and insecurities and throws them in your face. The one who constantly reminds you of all the reasons "people like you" can't succeed in a photography business. Look, I know where that mean bully lives who is holding you...

So you're booking sessions…but the clients who are booking you aren't exactly your dream client. You're probably thinking that since you aren't living a fancy lifestyle, it's just not in the cards for you to get better clients who want all the things. Not true, my friend. It's time to kick those beliefs to the curb. Let's talk about what you CAN do to get those dream clients to step in front of yo...

Remember when you learned to swap a head in Photoshop? Aaaah. So satisfying, right? Now what about when you learned how to run a profitable photography business? Ooh, that takes SOOOO much LONGER, right? Decades even? At least that is what you're telling yourself. That you can't fully commit to growing or even starting your photography business because you don't know enough yet. Well, friend, I'm...

Raise your hand if you've ever heard me say something and thought " Oh Sarah, But I already know that. I've heard you say that before ." Look friend, no hard feelings. I know you aren't a know-it-all. But be honest – you've probably thought this before, am I right? Well, here's a truth bomb. There's a pretty big difference between knowing something in your brain and actually living it with ease an...

Your stomach drops. The lump in your throat appears out of no where. And the tears – I'm not crying, you're crying!. Another photographer you're friends with just got a $5k order. And as much as you want to celebrate with her, the volume on your own head trash is up to level 10. What's wrong with ME? How come I'm not getting orders like that yet? Is it my prices? My marketing? My photography? Heck...

This may sound a little bit savage, but hear me out because the coach in me can't help but get a *little* fired up when I see you out there dabbling with your photography business. Now before you say, "Who me?!" and snuggle back into being content to make whatever money falls in your lap from your photography this year, listen up. If you're thinking about throwing in the towel for the year because...

Photographer, there are more reasons right now than ever to pull back or quit your photography business. The economy! COVID! I bet you've thought to yourself (ahem) "Businesses are closing and people are losing their jobs so I can't grow a photography business!" Or maybe you've thought this one, "My kids are at home…I am the teacher and we're sharing ONE computer so I can't grow my photography bus...

Here's something that may shock you. I don't plan out my photography marketing more than a few months in advance.  Now before you say, but Sarah, I've followed you for years. I know how much you love to plan. I've SEEN your photography marketing calendars. Let me explain. I've got 3 kids. My kids have tons of activities and I get their sports schedules a few months before the season starts. I run...

Friend, there's nothing worse than being stuck in indecision prison. Let's be real. There's not a photography business owner on earth who hasn't experienced it. But being paralyzed by indecision keeps us from doing a good job in ANY of our roles in life!! Parent. Spouse. Friend. Child. Photographer. So on part 2 of this joycast on How to Make Decisions When You're Stuck, we're diving a little bit...

Raise your hand if you're in a season where even the simplest decisions trip you up. You're exhausted, avoiding every flavor of decision from what to make for dinner to whether you should rebrand your photography business, create a new logo and change your prices. You're stuck in a rut, seconds away from a toddler in Target meltdown and it feels pretty terrible. Friend, I've been there. And today...

Hey portrait photographer. What if I told you I could help you find a client who could afford your photography in the next few minutes….without EVER even stepping foot in your town. You'd probably say Sarah, you're crazy.  Well, friend, today's your lucky day because I'm going to prove it to you right now. The truth is, no matter where you live, there are people with disposable income. You just ha...

Do you ever wonder if you can really make MONEY as a portrait photographer in a world of shoot-and-burners doing it cheaper? Or if the day will EVER come that you can replace your paycheck from the job you don't even like with the money you'd make doing photography? If you're like me, juggling family, life and all the things, you need some assurances that every second you pour into this photograph...

Failure is such a crazy thing for photographers isn't it? It's something we spend hours obsessing about before it even happens! We give it control over us to the point where we're afraid to even "try" something. We're consumed with what ifs. What if it doesn't go well? What will people think of me? Even worse, I'll feel bad, embarrassed, ashamed. And I don't want those yucky feelings. So I avoid e...

On a scale of 1-10 how true do you think this is? To be boutique and for clients to value what you do, you have to have an amazing photography studio. You've thought it right? We've all have. Convinced our clients will have sticker shock when they see our prices and then see our studio…or LACK of studio? So today I'm going to show you how you can be a boutique photographer without a studio. It's e...

It saddens me how much guilt, shame and anxiety photographers have over selling their photography. You might be paralyzed by the fear of being rejected or heck, even just the thought of someone thinking you're pushy or salesy. So instead of creating a business that serves your clients as well as YOU, you want to keep everyone happy and end up giving it all away or competing to be the cheapest. But...

Your life has suddenly been thrown into a tailspin. Your children have descended upon you and every 5 minutes they need to be fed, need to use your computer for home schooling that you didn't ever sign up for. They want you to play with them…to entertain them. It's a good day if everyone in the family only cries once. So about your work routine. Yeah…what routine? In this absolute chaos you've bee...

We've all had it happen. A well-meaning friend or relative tries to give you business advice on what you should and shouldn't do in your photography business. But they aren't an expert at all. Your hubby who says "You have to sell digital files." Or your mom who says "everyone other photographer around here charges under $200 and you're new so you better be cheaper." Or your friend who says "I'd n...

Marketing. It is one of the hardest things to learn and implement successfully when you're a business owner. Second-guessing every idea. Letting fear of doing it wrong paralyze you from doing anything at all. When I think back to my years of working at an ad agency, I remember seeing the same thing from client after client. So trust me on this one, photographer friend. You're not alone in this. Mo...

One thing is for certain. If you are in business long enough, you're going to hit some kind of disruption that's outside of your control. It could be a weather related like a flood or tornado, a health issue with a family member or even a world-wide pandemic. If you've ever found yourself worrying about how to keep your business going when everything around you is falling apart, you're in the righ...

Do you ever wonder if you're actually a good enough photographer to make a consistent income? A good enough photographer to quit your day job and replace it with money people pay you for your images? A good enough photographer to look people in the eye and tell them you are a professional and not feel like you have a flashing, neon sign on your forehead flashing "fraud"? If you've ever doubted you...

It's exhausting when you see another post from a good photographer whose prices are lower than yours, sharing her latest special. You go down the rabbit hole, questioning your photography prices. Could I book more sessions if I lowered my prices? Do I just need to give digitals since everyone else is? Is it even possible to make money in photography? If you've found yourself thinking these things,...

I was just a mom of newborn twins who wanted to add a little income from photography so that things weren't so tight. So I looked around and did what every other photographer was doing because that seemed the easiest. But what was supposed to be easy felt impossible for me. I saw my dream of balancing parenting with running a business go down the drain. On this episode, I'll share how I saved my b...

Today's episode is the farthest thing from a highlight reel. I'm going to share how I accidentally became a professional photographer and why I am so passionate about helping anyone out there whose dream is to have a career that provides you an income for doing something you'd probably do anyway for free. You might see my cool studio now and think my life and journey were so easy, but that's the f...