Speaker 1: 0:10

Welcome to the Wedding CEO podcast, where we discuss all things marketing, sales and scaling so you can become the CEO of your life and business. I'm Elora Rochelle and I've been a Wedding photographer for over a decade and now I'm sharing all of my secrets so you can stop sacrificing your time and make more money like a CEO. Hello, my lovely listeners, how are ya? Are you good? Are you stressed? If so, this episode is for you. I'm going to be talking about why it's important to take a break and why you shouldn't be feeling guilty for having other things going on in your life besides work. I feel like, as entrepreneurs, we get caught up in this thing and it gets to become a part of us in a way that we cannot separate anymore. Everything you do becomes about the business. When you're even scrolling on social media, you're probably looking up business groups. You're probably looking up business things, tasks, whatever, not to mention Facebook ads don't really help with that, but I digress. Anyway, I think it's really important to take a break. Let's get started. The first thing I want to say that I think is essential for everyone, whether you are a business owner or whether you're still working your 9-5 or juggling both at the same time, or you're a full-time business owner or photographer, creative, have a hobby outside of your business. Are you still with me? Some people think it doesn't make sense and it's probably a waste of time not to always be in work mode. Hey there, enneagram Threes. It's essential in order not to lose your identity. Like I was speaking before, what we tend to do is create. Is we pummel down this rabbit hole and we continue to constantly research our competitors, do market research, think about industry trends and whatever else occupying our minds, aka content creation what to post on Instagram, what to post on TikTok, pinterest or what have you. This will be the biggest thing that you do in order to retain your creativity and also maintain a mindset that is creative and helping you just to create content. Creating content, but not necessarily because you feel like you're an engine and you have to, but because you want to and you have the creative space and the ideas won't stop and you're just in a good, free, flowing space.

Speaker 1: 2:21

You're probably listening to this and you're like, okay, what, how, that doesn't make any sense. How can you be more creative and more productive if you're not working, if you're not doing something that has to do with work. But listen, hear me out. There is peace in the disconnect. There is serenity in the silence Is that a coin term, because I need to trademark that?

Speaker 1: 2:41

But really, like when you first set out, you get in the habit of what must I do next? What must I work on? How must I do it? Let me do research, let me invest in this, what course should I be investing in? How do I get X results like so and so, when really what you need to do is step back and then ask yourself what you need to do for your own success and then, when it's time to clock out mentally, you can dive into that hobby that you wanted so much to dive into, but you say you never have the time for it. This is not a video, so I'm going to just let you know that I did air quotes.

Speaker 1: 3:12

Trust me, I speak from experience and, as Amber Heard's attorney would say, objection here, saying I am learning to disconnect fully, even though I am constantly managing this still too fasted business. And I also have children, I have a life, I have family, I have friends. I have so much going on, more than just my online and physical business and, in a way, even though they're sort of all connected. There's still vastly different business models which I'm not going to dive into here, but I'm learning to pace myself with project A and project B, but also not accomplishing all but more than a three mere task a day. Now that I'm recording this, in summertime I go for a walk, like quite often, I listen to a podcast or think about where I see myself personally in the next few months to years, and I've actually been diving into a lot more just mystery podcasts and something that doesn't have to do with work, wellness, anything that's not necessarily always about business, because my brain will continue to strategize and work and work, and work and work all day, if I let it, because I love it. I love my job, to be honest, I love business.

Speaker 1: 4:20

But what I found in the wintertime, when I was not able to grow on these walks or leave the house, because Michigan has the worst winters ever, but I was burning myself out mentally and I would just get so tired, and then, of course, I very much rely on vitamin D and the sun, and there was none, and so I found myself just being so burnt out and just uninspired and just therefore feeling bleh. So I did going for a walk and getting physical but getting out of my head to where I'm like, trying to accomplish a task that has nothing to do with money. Because for me, I don't know. I have to accomplish either I have to be a really good mom by making all of my meals from scratch, or I have to accomplish reading a book or something like that, like my sisters and I actually were creating a book club, like a small little book club, and we're going to read like a chapter a week and discuss it and just something fun, something that has nothing to do with business, probably a thriller, and you know there's so much you can do that doesn't revolve around making money. Now, I did not used to ever believe this when I got started in my business. I'm like I can't get 10 tasks done if I have a hobby. Like that's dumb.

Speaker 1: 5:26

I used to think people having hobbies were so lame and I was just like, why aren't you working Like you could be doing something productive, you could be making money? And my husband, honestly, is really good at having hobbies that don't make money, but also it's his way of decompressing from work. So we need to do the same thing we need to decompress from constantly working. We have to set our own boundaries. We have to protect our own mind and our own creativity by doing other things. Even when I watch a movie, I'm thinking about the cinematography, I'm thinking about the camera, angles, the mood, and I'm just like Allora, turn it off, like, just watch the movie, enjoy it for what it is. It's a work in progress, but that's why I'm making this episode.

Speaker 1: 6:05

If you struggle like me, then this is what you need. If you don't, then you're probably just listening to me for the sake of listening. You could be doing laundry. That's when I listen to podcasts, when I'm doing laundry. But anyway, this keeps you from burning out mentally and then beating your mind like a dead horse because you're constantly trying to make things work and make things fit in a certain timeframe, but you can't make something. Have the answer if your mind is exhausted and I feel like when we burn out, and if you've ever been there, I think we've all kind of been there where we burn out mentally and we're just like what's wrong with me? Am I broken? Kind of. Yes, your mind is so exhausted and confused and it's just like hey, can we have a timeout? Because I don't even know what's going on. So, before you get into this place which I hope you don't have to I hope you listen to this podcast and you're like.

Speaker 1: 6:53

You know what Allora said take a break. If things get foggy and things don't make sense and I'm emotional for no reason, that's my body telling me hey, cut it out, we're done, we're shutting down. So take a break, take a break. Take a break Every once in a while. Take a day off or two, if you can, mentally from the business and strategize and trying to compete and trying to come up with new ideas and create new content, new offerings, new launches, and just try to remember that you can clock out mentally. This is definitely for the people who have the online business. If you have an online business and you don't have a side hustle, but you're full-time, you're going to think that you have to earn the right to rest and you don't. That is a mindset issue. I promise you that you are worthy of taking a break, just like everybody else.

Speaker 1: 7:40

You don't have to work every single day. If you actually do to keep your business running, it's time to outsource or have some workflows. Every time that I go outside, go for a walk, listen to an audible or anything like that or a podcast. It's when all the ideas actually come rushing through, when I'm not forcing it to happen, when I'm not trying to push through and I'm not trying to force everything to make sense. They make sense on their own. When I'm just walking and looking at nature and enjoying the sun, it's like when you allow your brain to breathe.

Speaker 1: 8:13

And this could be through the hobby, or this could be something as simple as, like I said, going for a walk, going for a bike ride, and you're not thinking about those 22 to 50 million things you have on your list and what's happening next week and what's happening next month. No, today's problems are enough for today. Okay, and that's actually your scripture. So, if it's hard for you to shut things down, having the hobby to turn to is going to give you the thing that you'd need to take a break, taking a rest from the strategy, the comparison or even the burnout, because social media has been so exhausting lately. I don't know what Instagram is doing. I don't think they know what they're doing. I've been watching a lot of YouTube videos just trying to figure out the new Instagram algorithm and everybody's coming up with the question mark, because I think they're trying to be TikTok so bad and they don't know how to make it work with photos, so I think they're turning to video. I don't know. Come back in another month, when we've all seen the next algorithm change, to be honest.

Speaker 1: 9:07

But anyway, it's a true reminder of what really matters when you take a break, when you go for a walk, when you have that hobby, and what really matters your social life, time with family, friends, actually having something that doesn't involve money or business or strategy or marketing or branding. It's so easy to let this career consume your entire life to where you just become this robot that's always spitting out business facts and everybody's kind of like okay, but how are you? I've actually run into people like this where I'm just like do you binge webinars all day? What is your favorite food? Because it's not a nine to five. It's not a nine to five when you're working on an online business. You don't get to leave work at home. Your work is either with you on your phone or it's with you at home, and it's with you all the time because that's the life. That's the life that we wanted, the nomad life. So, unless you have business boundaries, it will burn you out faster than you can ever succeed.

Speaker 1: 10:06

So it seems like this advice is so lame, and you're like, yeah, okay, whatever, but every single time that I spend with my family and my friends, by just doing something as simple as having brunch, or just getting out of my house, where all of my work stuff is getting out of my office, everything seems so simple and being around other people, versus being at my computer, where my eyes are straining all day doing research, planning content, working everything, blah. I always feel so refreshed after by being able to take a step away, and I'm always dumbfounded at why I don't do it more often, like I always think to myself ah, you don't have time for this, you don't have time. It's like, hey, do you? Though you could strategize this. You can work things around a schedule, because I'm always thinking about work and it's always on my mind and I'm always trying to get ahead, and I'm always trying to do things and be different, and I'm always thinking of ways that I could probably perfect something, strategize something more at another marketing funnel lol into my life, and it's being out of that and giving yourself a break from that, though, is amazing and it's coming from a familiar place, because I'm literally telling you like about my life. Like this works for me and what I've recently learned, since the summer has opened my eyes, is that taking a break may not always be easy, but if you have a hobby, it's going to force you to take that break. But also have fun. The hobby is something you absolutely enjoy to do.

Speaker 1: 11:27

Like I used to cross stitch when I was little. I loved it. I loved cross stitching. I was such a grandma I think I had this Mickey Mouse cross stitch or something and we didn't have cable at my house. So we had to kind of like make do and I would go join fabrics with my mom. We would buy some like creative projects and I would play with them. I think I used to make those little rug squares I don't know what they're called anymore, but I'm a three nineties kid and can relate. We remember a life that was so different than this which it's always nice that I can reflect on that and be like you. Remember what life was like before the business, the social media, the updated phones. You know, having a flip phone was actually high technology for us and so having you know the ability to disconnect and do those things again. I think during COVID I actually went back to join fabrics and was like I'm gonna cross stitch again and I did. I cross stitched a little cactus. My son lost it, so I don't have it, but making it was worth the hobby that is mom life. Actually, my son lost my book for the book club and I just found it yesterday. So I'm thankful and I'm going to hold it into a higher place so he cannot find it.

Speaker 1: 12:31

On that note, I just wanted to encourage you that if you haven't taken on a hobby, if you haven't taken a break in a while, this episode was for you and I hope that it was timely and I hope you do it. And if you do, let me know. Instagram DMs always on my Instagram, maybe not as much as I used to, but I will check your message. So enjoy the rest of your day. I hope you enjoy this mini-soad and I will see you in a week or so. Bye, wait, don't go yet. If you loved today's episode, I would love if you took five seconds to leave a rating and a five-star review. If you do, send me a DM so I can give you a virtual hug and, of course, a shout-out.

Speaker 1: 13:17

Now, if you're ready to grow your photography business, I invite you to apply for the Wedding CEO. The Wedding CEO is my signature program for wedding photographers who are ready to scale their way to 100K. You're finally ready to work less, make more and live your dream life. If you've seen my Instagram, then you'll know we have students making five-figure months, launching their dream brands, doubling their prices, taking vacations and more. We teach marketing and sales, which are lifetime skills that you can take with you even if you decide to leave the industry. Accepted applicants will get an exclusive access to a private advanced training where I'm going to show you exactly how easy it is to scale your way to 100K. And, trust me, you don't want to miss this Link in the show notes. I'll see you inside.