Episode 768: Digital CEO Weekly Win: A Photographer in a SMALL Niche Making 6-Figures/Year On Digital Membership - Sean Brown's BBD Success Story

May 28, 2025

In this conversation, Sean Brown, a senior portrait photographer who scaled his business to six figures, shares his transformative journey. He discusses the powerful membership model that led to high retention rates and why outsourcing is crucial at every business stage. Sean dives into the effective marketing strategies that helped him thrive in a niche market. He emphasizes the importance of mindset shifts and the evolution from traditional courses to memberships for sustained success, providing actionable insights for aspiring photographers.

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ANECDOTE

Sean's Niche Photography Journey

Sean Brown is a senior portrait photographer specialized in high school senior portraits.
He helps photographers build thriving senior photography businesses with more time, flexibility, and freedom.

ADVICE

High Membership Retention Strategy

Memberships can have very high retention rates, around 93-94% in Sean's case.
Helping members achieve quick wins keeps them engaged longer.

ADVICE

Football Phone Boosts Conversions

Use a "football phone" strategy as an irresistible offer to boost membership conversions.
Repackage existing content as standalone offers to funnel people into the membership.

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Today, we're spotlighting another incredible Business By Design Success Story! Meet Sean Brown, a senior portrait photographer who not only built a 6-figure photography business, but now empowers other photographers to achieve similar results.

In this episode, Sean reveals the exact strategies from BBD he has used to scale his photography education business and how he’s maintained an incredibly high retention rate in the process. Sean also opens up about the mindset shifts that were needed to embrace his dual role as a successful photographer and educator, why outsourcing is a necessity regardless of what phase of business you are currently in, and so much more. Get ready, because this Digital CEO’s journey is sure to inspire and give you clarity on the next steps of your journey!

We just released the replays of my free 3-day training for digital course creators, called Your First Digital Product, which was the largest free masterclass that we’ve ever hosted! For a limited time only, you can get the replay at www.jameswedmore.com/fdp, but hurry as it’s only available until today, May 28th.

Tomorrow, May 29th, we kick off our live virtual extravaganza that happens just once a year - it’s our 3-part live week-long training experience, The Rise of the Digital CEO. You register and reserve your seat NOW at www.businessbydesign.net/rise!

Before you go, snap a screenshot of the episode playing on your device, post it to your Instagram Stories and tag us, @jameswedmore @jeunejenni and @seniorphotoeducation.

In this episode you’ll hear:

How Sean built a thriving senior photography business and now helps other photographers achieve more time, flexibility, and financial freedom
Why he felt something was still missing and what led him to BBD even after having a successful membership launch in 2020
The powerful “football phone” strategy Sean learned in BBD that dramatically boosted membership conversions from 5 to 15 percent overnight
A breakdown of his simple, yet effective content delivery model for his membership
Sean’s process of challenging the mindset that teaching limits success, and the big shifts he’s made since in this area since joining BBD
The key lessons he’s learned about outsourcing and why hiring a VA isn't just for established businesses, but essential for entrepreneurs just starting out as well
His best advice for people just starting out in the online space and how they can use BBD to achieve success as a Digital CEO

For full show notes and links, visit: www.mindyourbusinesspodcast.com/blog/768