Freedom Focus Photography

072 - It’s Laser Coaching time again, which is a member benefit inside the Hair of the Dog Academy when members get to schedule a 15-minute 1:1 call with Nicole to discuss any issue that they are currently facing in their business. In this conversation, Angela is trying to determine if she should advertise end-of-life sessions, and what that looks like if she markets it.If this episode inspired you in some way, take a screenshot of you listening on your device and post it to your Instagram Stories, and tag us, @hairofthedogacademy.Haven’t left a review yet? All you have to do is go to www.hairofthedogacademy.com/apple, and thanks for your support of this show!LINKS:Check out the Hair of the Dog Academy.Grab your FREE Editing 101  or Pricing 101 masterclass!Connect with us on Instragram - @hairofthedogacademyJOIN THE PARTY: Connect with us on Instagram Explore valuable pet photography resources here Discover effective pricing and sales strategies for all portrait photographers. Ready to grow your business? Elevate helps you do just that. Check out our recommended gear and favorite books.

071 - Overwhelm. It's that mind-racing, waves-crashing-over-you feeling that we're all familiar with. If you're not careful, overwhelm can lead to a state of paralysis, which in turn kicks off a shame spiral. And then you're really in the muck. 😳  So this week's podcast is about recognizing the signs of overwhelm, mindfully assessing the situation, and making a plan for moving forward. Because while overwhelm arises for ALL of us on occasion, staying in a state of overwhelm is a choice—not an inevitability!What To Listen For: Why we're attached to being "busy"The ingredients of overwhelm (and what's missing from the equation)What to ask yourself when you're feeling overwhelmedShifting the way you view your to-do listHow to find your top priority, and what to do once it's clearYou'll also hear about my favorite new tool for circumventing overwhelm: the Project Tracker spreadsheet. (You knew it would involve spreadsheets, didn't you?!)Resources From This Episode: Free project-tracking spreadsheetHow to use the monthly trackerHoundvision Pet Photography Retreat (registration now open!)Hair of the Dog Academy Hair of the Dog Facebook groupHair of the Dog Elevate coaching programJOIN THE PARTY: Connect with us on Instagram Explore valuable pet photography resources here Discover effective pricing and sales strategies for all portrait photographers. Ready to grow your business? Elevate helps you do just that. Check out our recommended gear and favorite books.

070 - It’s Laser Coaching time again, which is a member benefit inside the Hair of the Dog Academy when members get to schedule a 15-minute 1:1 call with Nicole to discuss any issue that they are currently facing in their business. In this conversation, Ina is stumped at what type of content to create for her blog and newsletters.  We brainstorm and discover how she can repurpose the content through different platforms.If this episode inspired you in some way, take a screenshot of you listening on your device and post it to your Instagram Stories, and tag us, @hairofthedogacademy.Haven’t left a review yet? All you have to do is go to www.hairofthedogacademy.com/apple, and thanks for your support of this show!LINKS:Check out the Hair of the Dog Academy.Grab your FREE Editing 101  or Pricing 101 masterclass!Connect with us on Instragram - @hairofthedogacademy JOIN THE PARTY: Connect with us on Instagram Explore valuable pet photography resources here Discover effective pricing and sales strategies for all portrait photographers. Ready to grow your business? Elevate helps you do just that. Check out our recommended gear and favorite books.

069 - The recent episode with Elevate coach Megan Murray was such a hit that we brought her back again, this time for an in-depth conversation on the subject of mini-sessions. Love 'em or hate 'em, mini-sessions can give your business a BIG boost. And whichever camp you're in, the information in this episode will help you make them an indispensable (and enjoyable!!) part of your photography biz.    What To Listen For: Three keys to mini-session successHow (and why) to differentiate your minis from your regular sessionsOur thoughts on in-person sales versus selling an all-inclusive packageTime-saving ideas for handling the client-prep side of thingsWhy Megan & Nicole had ZERO bookings for their first mini-sessions 🙈...And how to avoid making the same rookie mistakes that we both made!!Join us to hear about math tests, avoiding resentment, and what to do after your mini-sessions to ensure their success! Resources From This Episode: Episode 63 - Taking Calculated Risks, with Megan MurrayMegan Murray PhotographyMegan Murray Photography on FacebookMegan's InstagramJotform Online Form BuilderAcuity Online SchedulerHair of the Dog Academy Hair of the Dog Facebook groupHair of the Dog Elevate coaching programJOIN THE PARTY: Connect with us on Instagram Explore valuable pet photography resources here Discover effective pricing and sales strategies for all portrait photographers. Ready to grow your business? Elevate helps you do just that. Check out our recommended gear and favorite books.

068 - It’s Laser Coaching time again, which is a member benefit inside the Hair of the Dog Academy when members get to schedule a 15-minute 1:1 call with Nicole to discuss any issue that they are currently facing in their business. In this conversation, Jessica is looking to move her session average from $1300 to $2400, which we can do with a few easy tweaks.If this episode inspired you in some way, take a screenshot of you listening on your device and post it to your Instagram Stories, and tag us, @hairofthedogacademy.Haven’t left a review yet? All you have to do is go to www.hairofthedogacademy.com/apple, and thanks for your support of this show!LINKS:Check out the Hair of the Dog Academy.Grab your FREE Editing 101  or Pricing 101 masterclass!Connect with us on Instragram - @hairofthedogacademyJOIN THE PARTY: Connect with us on Instagram Explore valuable pet photography resources here Discover effective pricing and sales strategies for all portrait photographers. Ready to grow your business? Elevate helps you do just that. Check out our recommended gear and favorite books.

067 - Guess who's back this week? Yep, listener favorite Heather Lahtinen! And in this episode, Heather shares with you her numero uno piece of productivity advice (calling it a "hack" doesn't really do it justice, tbh).Set aside your skepticism and your I've-heard-it-all-before-ism. This is research-backed, and can improve your output by a whopping 300-500%. 😯 It's also an especially hard one for us as solo entrepreneurs to get right. But we believe in you—and we really, really want you to believe in yourself when it comes to this.    What To Listen For: A straightforward fix for low-level stress and discontentWhat messages your brain receives when you're out of integrityThe energetic shift that draws people toward you and your businessHow eating Ben & Jerry's can lose you money (womp womp)The 7 critical questions you should regularly ask yourselfMaster this practice and watch your business—and your life—improve by leaps and bounds. And when that happens, I hope you'll tell us all about it! Resources From This Episode: Flourish Academy websiteFlourish Academy on FacebookFlourish on InstagramStart With Why, by Simon SinekHair of the Dog Academy Hair of the Dog Facebook groupHair of the Dog Elevate coaching programJOIN THE PARTY: Connect with us on Instagram Explore valuable pet photography resources here Discover effective pricing and sales strategies for all portrait photographers. Ready to grow your business? Elevate helps you do just that. Check out our recommended gear and favorite books.

066 - It’s Laser Coaching time again, which is a member benefit inside the Hair of the Dog Academy when members get to schedule a 15-minute 1:1 call with Nicole to discuss any issue that they are currently facing in their business. In this conversation, Nicole and Natalia discuss planning sessions  - who, when, where, how? If this episode inspired you in some way, take a screenshot of you listening on your device and post it to your Instagram Stories, and tag us, @hairofthedogacademy.Haven’t left a review yet? All you have to do is go to www.hairofthedogacademy.com/apple, and thanks for your support of this show!LINKS:Check out the Hair of the Dog Academy.Grab your FREE Editing 101  or Pricing 101 masterclass!Connect with us on Instragram - @hairofthedogacademyJOIN THE PARTY: Connect with us on Instagram Explore valuable pet photography resources here Discover effective pricing and sales strategies for all portrait photographers. Ready to grow your business? Elevate helps you do just that. Check out our recommended gear and favorite books.

065 - This week my guest is J. Nichole Smith (Nic, for short) who specializes in what she calls "whyfinding." Drawing on her past experience as both a pet photographer and retail brand co-founder, along with lessons from a marketing master's degree, Nic helps entrepreneurs uncover their true purpose and transform their gifts into successful brands—in both the pet space and beyond. She's also spent a lifetime obsessed with color, of all things. Our conversation flows from conscious capitalism to applied color psychology to discovering your "legacy work." It's a meaty one this week! What To Listen For: The surprising source of most people's deeper purposeWhat you're actually selling as an entrepreneur (hint: it's not pet photos)How your business succeeds or fails in just 8-15 secondsWhat to do about the mixed messages your website is probably sendingThe 3 most important elements for creating an instant emotional connectionHow to determine your brand's color personality...and why it mattersPlus, hear it here first, folks: In this episode, I reveal the incredibly exciting new direction of my own life's purpose!!Resources From This Episode: Color Personality QuizJ. Nichole Smith: Building Brands that Matter on FacebookWorking With Dog on FacebookNichole's InstagramMillion-Dollar Dog BrandEpisode 43: Website Copy for the Win, with Kim WishcamperHair of the Dog Academy (registration opens soon—get on the waitlist!)Hair of the Dog Facebook groupHair of the Dog Elevate coaching programJOIN THE PARTY: Connect with us on Instagram Explore valuable pet photography resources here Discover effective pricing and sales strategies for all portrait photographers. Ready to grow your business? Elevate helps you do just that. Check out our recommended gear and favorite books.

It’s Laser Coaching time again, which is a member benefit inside the Hair of the Dog Academy when members get to schedule a 15-minute 1:1 call with Nicole to discuss any issue that they are currently facing in their business. In this conversation,  Kate is setting up her business and feeling completely overwhelmed with all the things that need to happen!  Where should she focus?!?   What comes first?!?!  We break it down!If this episode inspired you in some way, take a screenshot of you listening on your device and post it to your Instagram Stories, and tag us, @hairofthedogacademy.Haven’t left a review yet? All you have to do is go to www.hairofthedogacademy.com/apple, and thanks for your support of this show!LINKS:Check out the Hair of the Dog Academy.Grab your FREE Editing 101  or Pricing 101 masterclass!Connect with us on Instragram - @hairofthedogacademyJOIN THE PARTY: Connect with us on Instagram Explore valuable pet photography resources here Discover effective pricing and sales strategies for all portrait photographers. Ready to grow your business? Elevate helps you do just that. Check out our recommended gear and favorite books.

063 - Megan Murray is my kind of nerd. Before the Houston pet photographer (and fellow Elevate coach) left her job as a chemical engineer, she did a careful analysis of her financial goals and the kind of lifestyle she envisioned. She spent three years building the foundation for her photography biz. And then...she leapt. This week Megan joins me to talk about taking risks, reaping rewards, and ignoring the advice so often given by friends and loved ones alike.  What To Listen For: The #1 question that helped Megan leave her corporate job behindHow strategically working "for free" generated $25-30k in revenueWhy you should never market mini-sessions!One non-negotiable element for successful partner eventsHow introverts actually have the edge when it comes to meeting new clients To quote Megan quoting poet Erin Hanson, "And you ask 'What if I fall?' Oh but my darling, What if you fly?” If you're ready to fly, get on the waitlist below for the Hair of the Dog Academy. Doors open soon! Resources From This Episode: Megan Murray PhotographyMegan Murray Photography on FacebookMegan's InstagramHair of the Dog Academy (registration opens soon—get on the waitlist!)Hair of the Dog Facebook groupHair of the Dog Elevate coaching programJOIN THE PARTY: Connect with us on Instagram Explore valuable pet photography resources here Discover effective pricing and sales strategies for all portrait photographers. Ready to grow your business? Elevate helps you do just that. Check out our recommended gear and favorite books.