Work in the Luxury Market Positioning

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 . I'm so excited to have one of my first alumni from the Wedding CEO will be launched in 2022 .

Speaker 1 0:33

Oh gee , and I'm so excited to have her back for like a third time . I think we talked about how you hit 100K , we talked about life after 100K , but now we're going to talk about what it has been like for you to position your work into the mid-luggery market , and I remember when it happened it like happened on accident , because once you figured out the profit pricing formula , you couldn't go back . You just kept raising your prices and then you're like I'm going to raise them again . I'm going to raise them again . So can you tell us what it looked like like , what your business looked like before ? I don't even remember how much you charged when you came . What did you charge ? Was it like 2K for everything ?

Speaker 2 1:13

I think it was between 2 and 3K . Yep , I wasn't over 3K at that point . When I started the CEO , I was definitely between 2 and 3K . I was not over that 3K mark yet . I could not push myself over that mark . I would not go over that mark . That , I think . In my brain I was like nope , you've hit it . That's as much as people will pay for you .

Speaker 1 1:39

It's only a year ago , but do you think you can remember the mindset you had , why you thought that was such a validated price ?

Speaker 2 1:48

To be quite honest , the fact that that was a year ago is wild to me . It feels like a no A year ago . I think at that point I didn't value myself the way that I should . I also think one of the huge mindset shifts that I got after I joined the program was I started looking at my time as currency . So before I joined the program , I was choosing and planning my business before my personal life and before the things that I wanted and needed to do .

Speaker 2 2:27

After joining the program , there was a huge mindset shift for me . I went from planning my business first to planning my personal life first , working around that but also valuing my time more . I started to look at things as okay if I'm going to be missing X , y or Z , if I'm not going to be seeing my husband , if I'm not going to be seeing my dogs or my nieces or my nephews , I need to be compensated at a rate that feels good to me and that , I think , is fair to me , because my time is important , my time is valuable and missing time with people that I love is huge , absolutely huge . So I think that's one of the biggest mindset shifts that really pushed me toward okay , it's time for you to charge more .

Speaker 1 3:19

And when you did it . I don't even know what you charge now because I know it's definitely surpassed 2K . So we teach about the custom proposal strategy , but you took it to the next level by doing out cart custom proposals . I'm curious to how you came up with that and how that has been serving you and raising your prices as well and positioning for luxury anyway .

Speaker 2 3:41

So back when I started photography , it was all the three tiered pricing , so highest package , nobody books , lowest package and ticest people to get your metal package . But I was so overwhelmed that I just did one package at one price because that's what I could keep track of , and it worked out well for that season . And then , moving into the next season , I tried the three tiered pricing package and I think it was like for me it was almost like like a comfort and I was like , okay , I have this lower package if people don't want to pay these higher package . So I think that's really why I moved to the three tiered system without realizing that that's not what works for me and that's not what works for my ideal client . So after I went through my first round in the wedding CEO and we really sat down and we nailed down like where do I want my business to go ? Who is my ideal client , I realized that , like , my ideal client is me and I don't want to make all these decisions . I'm tired . I had just planned my wedding the year before and there were so many decisions to be made that I really sat down with myself in my business and was like , okay , I want to be more luxury . What says luxury ? Less decisions to be made . I'm the expert , so I'm really telling them like this is what you're going to need on your wedding day , and I know it because I've done a ton and I think customization is really like what my people want .

Speaker 2 5:13

So I sat down and I created a one package system for my business and that is all I have . I do not have three packages anymore because I realized six hours was not enough for my people , so why am I even offering it when a year later , they're going to have to add on two more hours ? So I think a lot of it also had to do with transparency , like I love being able to be like well , you can book at the six hour and then , if we need to add more on later , we can . But I just felt bad a year later being like surprise , you need four more hours . So cut that out completely . You didn't need the six hour .

Speaker 2 5:51

And then after that it really came down to reducing decision fatigue and making it feel like a customizable , bespoke luxury experience for them . So I have one eight hour package . It starts at eight hours . It has the things that I think every single one of my couples at the base needs after doing , however many weddings for , thank goodness , my ideal clients for the last hour of a long , because the wedding CEO also completely changed my clientele . So it starts at that and then after that everything is customizable for them and they can choose if they want extra hours of coverage , if they want another photographer .

Speaker 2 6:31

I know a lot of photographers are like we have to include a second photographer at eight hours or 10 hours . A lot of my couples don't want or need that , so why am I making them pay for it if it's not something that they want or need ? Because I'm also again here for the transparency , like I'm not afraid to look at my couples and be like I can do this myself , you don't need a second person . But I'm also not afraid to look at them and be like you're getting ready in two different locations . We're going to need an extra human to be running around that morning because I can't do it all myself . So , yeah , it really came down to what's going to work for me in my business , but also what's going to work for my clients . What do they want , what are they looking for , and what they want is easy , customizable and that's it .

Speaker 1 7:18

Wow , and I mean , you came up with that just after figuring out your dream client , which is yourself , which I feel like people overcomplicate , that they're always like oh yeah , oh , what's her name ? How does she dress ? And I'm just like just picture a richer version of you . 100 . Oh my gosh .

Speaker 2 7:34

Yes , that's the perfect way of thinking about that . I was like they're like me , but like up here like wealthy my wealthy version .

Speaker 1 7:45

And then when you figure that out and you're like and I say all the time like , well , I don't like this and I don't want to do it , so why do I have to do it ? I feel like everybody's like you have to do it this way , you have to do it this way and I like that . You took our pricing formula and , just like , made it your own and because of that you were able to double , triple . What did you do to your prices ?

Speaker 2 8:04

I have doubled on the way to tripling . Yeah , that's the thing . The minute I really sat down with myself and figured out what works for me and what my ideal client wants and needs , the confidence just like came through . And once the confidence comes through , the people are confident in you and they have no problem paying it .

Speaker 2 8:27

Like I have friends who come to me and they're like oh my gosh , don't you hate when clients X , y or Z , like ask to take something out of your package and you have to awkwardly tell them like the price doesn't change ? Or don't you hate when couples come and like ask you for like a deal and I'm like that doesn't happen to me ? I can confidently tell you that does not happen to me , because everything in my packages my clients need and I know that that's what they need and the way that I speak about my packages and my services and the experience that they're going to have with me , by the end of our phone call they're like done , sign me up , how do I pay you , please ? Insane , that is insane and I love it . I love my people .

Speaker 1 9:12

You know them so well . And I feel like this is such the first step because everyone's like , oh well , I just want to market , or I want to make 100k , and I'm like , well , you can't do that if you have no idea who you're talking to .

Speaker 2 9:22

Yes , yep , and I think like that's a piece of sales where people get like lost , like we can market all day long , but if you can't make the sale without being salesy then you're done , the money's not going to come , and part of that is really part of it's like really like the confidence in the communication .

Speaker 1 9:41

Yeah , oh , confidence hands down . I remember when you were like , so how do you like get them to get like the highest package ? Or I was like , well , if they keep booking your middle package , you need to make your middle package or lower package . We need to shift it around . But you were just like , after a while , I think , you kept booking and you kept changing your three tiered packaging and you're like , yeah , I'm going to do something else . I was like can't wait to see it , whatever it is . Yeah , I mean , it takes a lot for people to master pricing a ton and I feel like that's like the first step to sales is like .

Confidence and Mindset in Business

Speaker 1 10:12

I feel like for you , the breakthrough was just being confident in what you were offering , because you knew that's what you wanted and because you knew you wanted it . You knew they wanted it and you could sell it because you wanted to offer it . You know what I mean . You weren't just throwing something in there .

Speaker 2 10:25

Yes , and like people can totally tell if you're not confident in what you're selling . And people can tell the way that I speak about my business and my services . And like my people , I think that it just comes across like how passionate I am about it and how confident I am in what I'm doing and what I'm giving to people . So I think the confidence is huge . I also think that it's huge so many people are scared of trial and error and I think a lot of people are scared of like failing , and I think originally that was another mindset of mine . I didn't want to raise my prices and have nobody book me . I was scared that nobody was going to book me , that I was going to fail in that .

Speaker 2 11:06

And then at the beginning of the program , my mindset when it came to failure and success completely changed . I redefined my definition of success and I also I don't think Failure is a thing . Failure doesn't exist . Failure is simply a learning experience and an opportunity to pivot and go in a different direction . So I think that now , if I want to raise my prices , it's more of an experiment . It's an experiment . It's data analysis . I'm really trying to just look at okay , what are the numbers coming in . What does this look like compared to my previous ? Is it working ? It's not working . Okay , now how can I shift versus oh , I raised my prices and nobody's booking me . I'm a failure . No , no , maybe we just need to tweak something else to make it work .

Speaker 1 11:59

Yeah , and that's like . That just shows the powerful transformation of a six-figure mindset . Like you , don't take it personal , it's a business . Let the business be a business . Oh my gosh , Do you know how many times we make it meeting something about us ? Oh my gosh , people aren't booking me . Something's wrong with me . Oh my goodness , my personality . I'm like babe , do you know how to sell ? Is your brand on point ? Who are you talking to ? What are you saying ? Are you posting the ?

Speaker 2 12:26

math ain't mathin' the fundamentals . When you get down to it . And I think that when I get in my head and I start internalizing things and personalizing things , I take a step back and I'm like , okay , let's get to it . I sit down and like really figure out , like why is X , y or Z not working , instead of sitting here feeling down about myself and saying mean things to myself that I would never say to a friend . First of all , I would never look at my friend and be like your business is a failure , so why am I saying that to myself ? So , yes , just I sit with my fundamentals of my business . I'm like all right , what can we tweak ? What can we make better ? Because I feel like that's something to . It's so easy to get set in your ways and think , okay , well , this worked for me last season , so it's going to work for me this season . Well , it's a new season , so some adjustments need to be made .

Speaker 1 13:20

Yeah , and I like how , when we were talking earlier , you're just like 2024 is going to be way better . She's like I'm going to double my income . I'm like double the whole thing . We're getting crazy over here , I'm like that's . I'm not saying you can't do it , but that's a lot of money , girl , always the lock Totally . But I mean worst case scenario , you make 150 and you're like , yeah , I still made a lot of money .

Speaker 2 13:47

That's the thing you set the goal a little bit higher , and then you reach a goal that you probably didn't originally think you'd reach anyway .

Speaker 1 13:56

Yes , shoot for the moon and you'll land along among the stars or something like that . But I'm curious , because we were talking about pricing , but I'm curious to like what other biggest like lesson or takeaway you got from the program . Cause I know when you came in you were just , you were like finishing your rebrand . Like you were finishing your rebrand , you just changed it to the Richardson collective . And I know pricing , like you hit the ground running with pricing . But what was like the next thing that you were like , yeah , this was a game changer for my business . I know so much . I know mindset was a big one and she's obviously conquered .

Speaker 2 14:35

I think money mindset was huge . I walk around to everybody . I'm like change your money mindset and it'll change your life . Allora changed mine

Investing in Branding and Business Growth

Speaker 2 14:44

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Speaker 2 14:44

I think another huge thing was which kind of goes along with money mindset , but I stopped being afraid to invest in myself and my business because before , like , even joining the wedding CEO which obviously the pricing is completely different now for the wedding CEO , as it should be but that was a huge investment for me at the time and I got that investment back 10 fold . And then , after I invested in the wedding CEO , I invested in a mentorship and I flew across the country . I live in New York . I flew to California and did a mentorship in California completely changed my life , changed my client experience , just opened up my eyes to new things too .

Speaker 2 15:34

So , like doing the wedding CEO and that mentorship together just crazy craziness and then continued to invest , like in my education and myself . That was huge for me . My brand changed everything . That changed everything for me . I still have people messaging me on Instagram being like oh my gosh , your branding is great . Every time you post something I can tell it's yours , and I think people severely underestimate the brand consistency I'd preach that to you , your brand became an aesthetic because I was , like I said the same thing .

Speaker 2 16:09

Like Michaela , everything matches top to bottom and before that , I felt so lost and I think all just ties together , like my brand became cohesive , my brand became an extension of me , like a true extension of me , and I think that that just led to a crazy amount of confidence in my brand and in positioning myself into that mid-luxury market , because my name before was not , it did not scream luxury . My branding before did not scream luxury and now it's clean , it feels luxurious , it sounds luxurious and that just blew everything up . Oh , I keep all of these things together . I can't believe that that was me in 2022 .

Speaker 2 16:56

Like a year ago I did it was the craziest things all at once and it just went wild . And now I still just fly in all over the country doing things .

Speaker 1 17:10

And I remember you talking about it too , like you're like , yeah , I was telling my husband like I need to do this , and back then it was a four month program , so it was like you were literally betting on yourself . I don't make my investment back in four months , like what am I gonna do ? But I remember we tore up your website tagline because your copywriter , like we cleaned up your messaging and it's not bad to hire a copywriter but your copywriter doesn't know your dream client as well as you do , and so we just changed the language . We added things that was more relevant to you and what you wanted . You wanted to pivot out of like a certain style , but like clean it up , like a cleaner , modern version , and I feel like you just started attracting them like left and right , like Yep , couple of tweaks , triple your prices .

Speaker 2 17:56

NBD no big deal , it was fine . It's fine . Yeah , I it's so funny to Mastered your mindset when we did that . Like at the beginning of 2022 , end of 2021 , boho was still like all the rage and I loved certain aspects of that . I loved the warmth , I loved how inviting it felt , like part of it felt like me , because I'm a very multifaceted human , like I'm half-vigilant , I don't even know , I'm like , oh , I'm all over the place . But I loved aspects of Boho , but I knew that it wasn't what I wanted .

Speaker 2 18:34

And it was such a fun journey because I joined in January and then my rebrand I didn't launch until May and thank goodness I was simultaneously going through the wedding CEO while doing my rebrand , because if I wasn't , I would have wasted a lot of money , because the program really made me sit down and figure out who am I well , who's my ideal client ?

Speaker 2 18:56

All of those things before I really jumped into like a huge investment , like a rebrand . But it was such a fun journey to go from and to be okay with how multifaceted I am and take all of those pieces and parts of things that I love . I love fashion , but I also love the feeling of Boho colors . But I also need clients who are super laid back and chill , but they also like nice things and wanna have a really aesthetically pleasing wedding day and being okay with I can put all those things together Like that's okay . There's humans out there who are like me and who think that way and who want those things and that was so fun to kind of discover , like I'm gonna create my own little way of being in this world of photography and like that's okay . I've never been more authentic and true to myself and my business has never been more true to me before that .

Speaker 1 19:51

I love that because I remember and I remember like we were talking about this , because you're like I do , but I don't like Boho , and I was like , well , what do you like about it ? And we just broke down . You're just like , oh well , I guess I just like the colors . I'm like that's all and that's not Boho , babe , Like we could just have a bit of a . You would not have Boho , Like you just like wore a ho .

Building a Successful Business Transformation

Speaker 2 20:10

I straight up thought I wanted to like climb mountains with people . I was convinced , like I like hiking , I like the outdoors , I go camping , I don't have a problem going to the bathroom in the woods , it is what it is . But I also , on a wedding day , discovered I have no desire to go on a four mile hike to the top of a mountain with my gear . It's not for me . It's not for me and I had to be okay with that because for so long I thought that that's what I had to do or wanted to do and I was like I gave myself permission to go in a different direction and it was wonderful .

Speaker 1 20:47

Yeah , Well , I think too , and maybe you thought this too we were like this is too unique , Like this unique style that I'm coming up with . Like what , if nobody ? But I'm like well , you exist and there's gotta be people who are just settling for someone else because they really want your style .

Speaker 2 21:04

Yes , Yep , and that was true with my editing too . So many people , a lot of my mentees , come to me and they're like how did you find like your style , your editing style ? And I always look at them and I'm like it was kind of an accident . I made stuff up , I wasted money on a lot of presets that I didn't need . And then I think really again , like nailing down my editing , I did it simultaneously , nailed down my style along with my brand , and they just mashed . And when that happened , I was like I found it .

Speaker 2 21:39

I literally looked at my husband and I said I think I've done it , I think I found my style . And he literally looked at me and he goes thank goodness , because he had been listening to me for years Just be like I don't like this . Oh , I want my pictures to be more like this . Oh , I don't want to do this . And I think part of it was when I stopped trying to imitate and I just started to do what I liked . That was huge . But it was also during the rebrand when I was like how do I want my business to make people feel , how do I want to make a lot of my business comes from ? How do I want to make others feel ? So ? How do I want to make others feel through my experience with me . How do I want to make others feel through my branding ? How do I want to make others feel through my photographs ? And a lot of that came down to warmth , inviting , happy , all of those things .

Speaker 1 22:35

They all came together at the same time , but the crazy thing is , all those pieces were just branding alone . We hadn't even dove into marketing . That's just one module of the program mindset too . But one thing I like to talk about constantly is I want you to build a brand so unique that you're incomparable , so you can charge high ticket . And do you know anybody who has your exact same style , editing style clientele ? Maybe that's why you can keep raising your prices ? They can't even compare you to anyone else . So this is uniquely what she's offering her clients . We have to pay if we want to work with her . This is what we have to pay , and they're willing to .

Speaker 2 23:14

Again , I think , us sitting down and talking about what makes you different from other people . What makes you different ? Because we talk about the saturation in the market and how we can all sit there and be like , oh , the market's too saturated I could never , whatever , sure . But really sitting down and being like , how am I different ? And that really stemmed from I stopped watching other people , I stopped what other people were doing , especially in the area that I live , there are a lot of us in a very small area Buffalo is not a huge city but I stopped looking at what everybody else was doing and I started doing what I wanted to do and not caring .

Speaker 2 23:54

And that , I think , was another huge game changer for me . And it really did help me sit down and be like okay , what is my magic , what's my superpower ? How do I serve others in ways that somebody else doesn't or somebody else can't ? And again , that just translated into the confidence and the communication and the sales and all those things . Yeah , wow , it's crazy to talk about it out loud because I don't just walk around every day talking about this transformation and how everything transpired and how all of these pieces were . They happened separately but we're all woven together throughout the entire journey of change .

Speaker 1 24:36

Yeah , these are the keys of building a business in general . It's not even just photography . These will literally solidify everything that you ever do . If you decide to pivot out of weddings and do something else , you know it's going to start with mindset , then it's going to be branding , then it's going to be your pricing and it's like it's all like this is literally your business roadmap to success . It's not just a course .

Speaker 2 24:57

That's where I'm at right now , trying to now pivot into education or passive forms of income . I have to take a step . I have to remind myself okay , you need to take a step back . Who is your ideal client ? Now ? You're not speaking same people that you have been speaking to for the last hour or many years in wedding photography . So if I want to teach photographers , who's my ideal client in that area ? If I'm selling education online , who's my ideal client in that area ? Who am I speaking to ? And that's so funny that you say I was just thinking about it like last week . I was like , okay , I'm going to hit the ground running before 2024 . In 2024 , I want to launch my first course , I want to launch my first digital product . I want to do all of these things and I was like you need to reel it in and you need to start from the beginning , the foundation of all of it .

Speaker 1 25:53

Yeah , and you did it before . It's like I can do it again . I think that's why you're like I'm going to double my income . I already made 100K .

Speaker 2 26:02

I never thought that I could sit here and say like , oh , I own like a six figure business . I'm sorry , what If you said that to even like 2021 me , 2021 me , would have been like you're crazy . You're literally crazy , you're wild . Just go to your job and get your bi-weekly paycheck and move on with your life . And now I literally said the other day to someone I'm like oh yeah . They were like oh , like , what's your goal ? And I was like you know what ? I think someday I want to own like a seven figure business . And they were like okay . And I was like , yeah , I think that's where we're headed , you know , we're just going to go for it . Yeah .

Speaker 1 26:43

Welcome to the 13% of business owners that hit 100K . That's wild . It's very small number . I love that . For me , honestly , that needs to be the new merch , just like I'm the 13% , because I already shipped out the 100K merch .

Speaker 2 26:57

but oh my gosh and I talked about when that came in the mail and I squealed and I put it on immediately . I literally wear it like every day .

Speaker 1 27:05

Oh my gosh , I'm going to live in it .

Speaker 2 27:08

I'm telling you right now , it's just in the wash currently , so I couldn't put it on for today's call .

Speaker 1 27:14

Oh , because like and the sleeve it says you got this , because I'm always saying that like you got this , I had this , yeah , you need to see that until the other day and I was like I love it even more now .

Speaker 2 27:24

I already loved it so much . How could I love it anymore ? Oh my gosh .

Speaker 1 27:28

I can't wait to have you in my mastermind for educators . I'm working on it this winter and I'm only launching it to the 100K alumni . It's going to be insane . I'm so excited . Oh my god . I'm going to give you my whole business .

Speaker 2 27:46

I'm so excited Me in person . It's going to be wild . I feel like I've known you for like 80 years . It's only been a year , but , kayla , I know .

Speaker 1 27:59

It's insane . I honestly I always forget because when I'm like talking about this program like guys , only a year old , it's a baby . This is a baby Like yeah , we're talking off .

Speaker 2 28:07

I think about how amazing you are and , like all the things , no , we've accomplished in the last year . Don't do it .

Speaker 1 28:16

Stop . I mean I Want to teach you guys what I was able to do . I was able to walk away from a half a million dollar business and step into another six-figure business and Keep every weekend , raise two children , run a household and , technically , education is another business . So I was running two businesses . Yeah , I mean you can do it . Let me be proof . I do have some dark circles under my eyes , but that might just have been from staring at the computer for over a decade , but I'm teaching everyone in 12 months what took me literally 12 years , like I just did my last wedding in September . I'm done . Yeah , all the years it's all yours . You and you did in 12 months , like it's proven . It's crazy , oh , so crazy . I'm so thankful , honestly , that you took a chance on my four-month baby program that is now like a group program . We're about to open the doors again on November 14th and it's just gonna be incredible . I can't wait to welcome all the new students and change their lives , because everybody wants to be in the 13% like come on .

Speaker 2 29:25

I can't wait to watch all of those people just kill it .

Speaker 1 29:28

So the Kayla I mean you've done everything . What do you have to say to somebody that is thinking about joining or maybe even last year , you charging 2k , investing 2k , four month program that that you had no idea what it was gonna do ?

Speaker 2 29:50

Yeah , it's so funny because I feel like I say the same thing every time but Just take the leap of faith . Just take the leap of faith , trust yourself , do the thing and do it scared , because if you wait for it to be the right time , if you wait for it to be the perfect time , if you wait for your business to be in a certain Stage , you're never gonna move forward . You have to do it , and you have to do it scared , and you have to do it . Well , it's not perfect , because I was that person .

Speaker 2 30:24

I was that wait around for everything to be perfect person and the minute I made this investment , in the minute I joined the program , I Started doing things that I never would have dreamt of pushing myself to do . Between you and all of my classmates in the program encouraging , supporting , pushing a little bit here and there I Just , leaps and bounds , moved forward in my business , in my personal life . It just changed so many things . So if you are sitting on the edge of making the investment and Jumping and making them , taking the leap , just just do it , because it's going to be worth it every single time .

Motivational Speech on Scaling Photography Business

Speaker 2 31:10

Yeah that was incredible .

Speaker 1 31:13

That was a motivational speech right there . I would have watched that live . Oh , so well spoken . Thank you so much , mikaela , for hopping on and just sharing with us your journey , what it's looked like in a full year of the program , and it's insane . It's insane . We're going on two years in January and already so much has happened .

Speaker 2 31:34

I'm so glad I'll still be there . We'll be celebrating there for the next 50 years .

Speaker 1 31:39

The band is like you can't get rid of me .

Speaker 2 31:43

You're stuck with me forever .

Speaker 1 31:47

I can't wait . I can't wait . 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 32:07

Now , 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 a hundred K . 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 gonna get an exclusive advanced private training on how to scale to a hundred K , 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 .