Maximizing Business Growth

Speaker 1 0:04

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 everyone , and welcome back to another episode . Let's talk about the real reason why you clicked this episode Slow season . It's finally here , and here's five things that you must do . This is the five things that I always do at the end of the year . I'm very much like okay , let's reflect on everything we did right , maybe things we could improve on , and what we're going to be leaving behind . The first thing I would definitely say is to look at your stats and make a plan for the next year . I'm already doing this . I already have two full focus planners right in front of me and I've already printed out my new laminated yearly calendar , and I'm going to start planning my quarters on my iPad now , so I have the worksheet on there and I'll just keep saving them digitally , because I write better on my iPad with the pencil , which Eli broke the tip , so I'm actually waiting on Amazon right now to bring me my tip on my pencil so I can actually use it .

Speaker 1 1:23

It's been crazy , guys . Just what is life , anyway ? So look at your stats . A good business owner knows their numbers . If you know what you did and didn't work , then you can plan for the future and make sure to do more of or less of that thing Basically , so you're not complacent and staying in the same place or doing the same thing over and over and wondering why you're not seeing growth , why you're not getting results or why you keep feeling stuck . There is nothing that stresses me out more .

Speaker 1 1:51

For any business , whether it's new , old or seasoned , them not knowing what their plans are , I'm just like , okay , well , what's your business plan ? And it doesn't have to be like , oh , in 10 years I see myself here , here and there . It's not that at all , but it's just like , oh , yeah , by the end of this year I want to do X , or you know what I mean ? Just like something really basic that you're working towards and it kind of keeps you accountable to that . So , anyway , stagnant , I hate it . I suggest you don't do it , because it's just a waste of time being in the same place . I don't know how . How can 12 months go by and you're in the exact same place that you were last year ? Like I'm just going to be your kind but firm business coach and say make a plan , let's be intentional , because if you don't run your business , it's going to run , you guaranteed . It's like if you don't make a plan , you plan to fail . Unfortunately , it's true .

Speaker 1 2:37

I know some of these are really cliche . We all are sick of hearing them , aren't we ? But it's important . Look at your stats , look at your contact form , look at what people are saying they're finding you from , maybe like your referral base . If you have HoneyBook , it'll kind of tell you a lot how many inquiries booked and then how much revenue you made , how much revenue you still have to make , how much cash you collected . These are all really really important things , which kind of continues into number two , which is calculate your profit versus expenses .

Speaker 1 3:11

As a photographer , once you get over to the hump of that's too expensive when you're buying your first $3,000 lens or $5,000 camera , you start to get in the habit of over-investing inside of your business . I just want that to sink in for a minute . Why am I saying this ? Hear me out Done is better than perfect . So 99% of the time , 99.1% of the time , you don't really need a brand new camera and you probably don't need a brand new lens . You really don't need another lens . That's probably going to sit on the shelf . Do you know how many times I bought lenses that I never used ? But just because I heard someone on YouTube tell me to buy it and it was a must-have , and I used their affiliate link to purchase it Rant , rant .

Speaker 1 3:55

Okay , I will not even follow that one . Basically figure out how much money you're spending versus how much money you're making and then you can actually figure out if you can afford to stay in business . This is like I don't like surprises . I'm the kind of person if you didn't get it from me , like having a whole a rant about planning is like I believe in knowing exactly what's going on all the time , whether I budgeted for this amount or I am spending this amount , but I have this much coming in . Does that make sense ? Is that going to move the needle forward ? Can it wait ? Needed to bring the business success and growth . If not , maybe filter out the noise , put your head down and start making smarter business decisions . Your profits will thank you later . There's no use like even being in business if you're making side hustle money but you're like I'm a business owner but I don't profit anything , but it's fine . Because I'm a business owner , I have an LLC . That's why I'm official . There's so much more to it than having an LLC and an EIN .

Speaker 1 5:02

Okay , now number three . Now this may seem counterintuitive , because I just talked about your expenses , but invest in your education . If you don't want to be in the same place that you were in the previous year , in the years before , or if you just got started and you're ready to hit the ground running , this is probably the perfect time to make the investment , so you can skip two to three to five years of chasing your tail and hoping you find the answer . So that's just something I've learned . I mean , right now I'm looking for a business coach for 2023 and I'm doing a lot of research on all the things that I need improvement on and things that I can probably scale beyond what I can currently imagine , and so I think it's important that everybody does this , whether it's a course , even if it's a free class , like somehow investing whether it's your time or your money in some sort of education , because you need to be accountable to someone that has actually been successfully in your place previously .

Speaker 1 6:00

I'm actually going to go off script here a little bit and be like also check the receipts . There are so many people and I've just been seeing in forums on social media , whatever where they make really really big investments and coaches , and I mean they're upset and I get it like spending money is a crazy thing . It's a lot , you know , you make it , you hold it dear and then you have to spend it , you have to give it away to make more whatever . But when I did the research on the person that they were speaking about , the person didn't have testimonials . The person just had really good brand messaging and really good sales copy . Like really really good sales copy . Like I'm talking sales psychology , pain points all over the place . You would feel as if they were speaking directly to you . But they had , like , let's say , they had an Instagram account and they didn't have very many followers , but they had really good sales copy and they were telling you how to make money on Instagram . But then their tactics didn't work .

Speaker 1 6:59

And so all I'm saying is like read the receipts , do the research , listen to a podcast . Make sure you like the way this person talks , because they're going to be talking to you forever . How long you invest in them . Also , pick somebody that you actually look up to their lifestyle Like . A lot of people will invest in a coach and they kind of don't really like the way they live , but they like what they're saying . So that's another thing too , because they're only going to teach you what their life represents , what they already know , what success they've been able to give themselves . So make sure that if this is somebody you're going to invest in , that they actually have the life that you want to live , and if not , probably look elsewhere .

Speaker 1 7:37

I feel like now more than ever , there are so many ways of seeking education there have ever been ever . Most of us only had like YouTube or really high ticket offers , or actually they just weren't mentors . Honestly , back then we were kind of left on our own . Google and everyone's blogs was basically our friend . But think about the life that you want 12 months from now and what it's going to take to get there . Where do you see yourself this time , next year or not , maybe even like halfway through .

Speaker 1 8:04

If that's too far , it's like for me , I know I want to feel a certain way , I want to have my system set up a certain way and that's what success is to me . I don't have like a really complicated life that I want to live . I really believe in less is more . So this is why in the wedding CEO , we do a plan your year masterclass in January so we can literally lay out what's worked , what didn't , and then we can also plan their future offer sessions , services , launch plans , courses , anything for the entire year that they want to launch . And so we have it like broken down in this Google doc . That's like super fun and they can kind of brainstorm like , oh , in January I want to do this , in February it makes sense to do this , and so on and so forth . I like to consider myself like a type B person , like type B slash a little bit of A , like it's hard to explain , like I really do take it easy and I do like to chill , but I like to strategically plan so that I can be chill and laid back . Nobody wants to be around somebody that's always freaking out about something , at least for me . I'm just like whoa your anxiety's giving me anxiety .

Speaker 1 9:12

Number four look at your brand and website okay . Are you happy with it ? Does the design feel dated and wonky ? Does it even represent you right now , the new version of you , like every year ? I think it's so smart to give yourself a website refresh , a brand messaging refresh , and make sure that you're speaking exactly to the people you want to attract . You're showcasing the best brand image . This may blow your mind , but your website is your storefront .

Speaker 1 9:42

So think about when you walk into a store . You notice the layout , the products , the pricing and , if you're like me , the first thing I look at is the branding , which is why I love Target brands so much , because every one of their brands have like a very strategic market they're trying to attract , and so I actually use Target a lot to kind of see oh okay , this is more of like a modern , like boho , more of like an organic brand and everything is very clean . It's like it's very interesting to kind of see how branding and the messaging and how everything is looking can speak to people . It's not just about what they're saying , so , but anyway , from the messaging to the call to actions on your website , every single thing should be strategic . Every single thing Like it should be taking them to a specific place that you actually want them to go , not like , oh , I need three pages like my home , about in contact and those books . It's fine and maybe that's the case , but that doesn't work for the rest of us . Okay , most of us actually have to work for what we want and you know , clients are just flying at the shelves like , oh my gosh , I need to work with you . I love you so much , I don't care how I find you , I just need to find you , especially if you want to charge more . If you want to charge more and differentiate yourself from the noise , then you're going to have to level up . Sorry , babe , love ya . Facts are facts . So if you want to get off the hamster wheel , you got to be able to learn how to book less , get paid more , have a stronger brand presence , have a better messaging and also just make sure you're happy with how everything looks . Is your business brand exactly what you want it to look like ? Is it attracting the people you want ? If not , then maybe now is the best time , from December , january , february , march , especially during the new engagement season that happens during the entire holiday spree this is the perfect time to put your head down and start making those tweaks .

Speaker 1 11:29

Now the last one , number five . Look at all the images that you share everywhere . Sometimes I cringe when I Google myself and see the images from like 2017 , 2018 . Regardless , you need to look at the images that are popping up when people search your business name . Is it just so you can post something and feel like something was posted , or is it intentional images of what you want to attract more ? If the answer is , I'm going to post something , so I feel like I did something . Update them Update them now . Trash the old and end with the new . Round up your best of images At the end of the year . This is actually .

Speaker 1 12:09

I used to make this a thing . I used to call it like the best of weddings or something , and at the end of the year , I would go through all of my sessions in photomechanic and I would just like take a couple minutes per wedding and just like round up my best 20 or 50 or so and then call them even more images . And then I would make a big blog post and , honestly , it helped a lot . My clients shared it everywhere because they were so honored to be featured in this blog post , so it kind of felt like a marketing movement , if you will , but these were the images that I wanted to showcase to attract more clients that appreciated what I was putting out there

Holiday Season Business Growth Tips

Speaker 1 12:45

.

Speaker 1 12:45

So if you can think about a way to be strategic in every single thing that you're doing in your business , it'll be successful . It's like you can't turn your brain off . Honestly , I hate it . I wish I could turn my strategic brain off , sometimes like after five , six o'clock , but like if I hear something , I'm like that's interesting , how could that translate to business ? And I'm like oh , so that is some tips that I think are going to serve you through this entire holiday season .

Speaker 1 13:15

While everybody's slowing down . Everybody is so excited that the year is coming to a close , we're all so inspired for the new year . We're really excited about the possibility and I promise you , if you do all of these five things during slow season this is like long game tactics here it will pay off . I promise you . Wait , don't go yet . If you love 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 Now .

Speaker 1 13:51

If you're ready to grow your photography business , I invite you to join the waitlist 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 know we have students making five bigger months , launching their dream brands , doubling their prices , taking vacations and more , which are lifetime skills that you can take with you even if you decide to leave the industry . Join the waitlist for when we open the doors on November 14th to the waitlist only , and you're going to get an exclusive , advanced private training on how to scale to 100k , booking less than 20 weddings a year . And , trust me , you don't want to miss this Link in the show notes . I'll see you inside .