Here we sit at the beginning of the year and you might have some frustration from how last year ended.
Wondering if how much you worked or how much of your heart and soul you put into your business was even worth it?
Or maybe you are wondering if you are cut out for a life as a photographer or wondering where the proof is that this will work.
I got that wrong for many years, and I want to straighten it out for you.
When you’re not seeing the success you want as fast as you want, the self-doubt starts to take over and you question your ability to ever make money as a photographer.
I remember feeling this way, and out of desperation, I took one final stab at turning my business around.
When I went all-in, it was my last ditch effort to make this business work, or I was going to go get a job.
So I took what I knew from my ad agency days, my MBA, and growing up the child of an entrepreneur and I jumped.
I doubled my prices four times quickly and I made some other hard changes to my model that I felt I really needed to do.
I was scared to death, but that’s when Julie entered the picture, my first right-fit client to ever come in.
Even in my still somewhat broken model, she had an $1,800 order.
It was proof because once I saw it that ONE time, I forever believed I could do it.
There was no way I could have gotten that order without believing I could.
So many people say, “You must see it to believe it.”
Well, after getting my Julie, I believe the opposite.
I think you must believe it to see it.
This is why I work so hard to help photographers convert to boutique and do the work in my program so they can start to believe.
Until you believe, you aren’t going to see the proof, and that’s the lesson that I got wrong until I went all-in.
If it is true that you have to believe it before you see it, how do you increase that belief and get the strength to do hard things?
1. Go Find It
If it’s proof you want, go find it.
Find proof that people are failing all over the place in their boutique photography business.
Or you look at success stories from others who have done it.
In my community alone, just from a handful of photographers I worked with in 2021 who qualified for awards, they made $5.2 million being boutique.
Pull yourself a seat up at this table and get in that room.
I think you deserve it.
2. Prioritize Belief Over Skills
I think you must work as much on filling your belief bucket as your skills bucket.
The skills are out there that you can learn, but if you don’t believe in yourself, you’re probably going to try to mess it up.
You can do this by taking a close look at what’s holding you back.
What’s the story you’re telling yourself about why you can’t do it?
Seriously, someone somewhere in a way worse situation is doing it.
Why can’t you?
3. Don’t Do It Alone
If you want to be good at something, like a sport, for example, what’s the first thing you do?
You get on a team with a coach.
What’s cool about business is that you actually get to pick your coach and pick your team.
This is why I create so much content in the world.
I want you to know me and know what we stand for, and I want to attract the right people into our community.
4. Do the Work Everyday Toward Your Goal
Post your goal and keep it in front of you.
Start your day with it.
5. Go and Get the Skills You Need
The more skills you get by doing gets you confidence, and with confidence comes belief.
I know that as a fact.
If you need help with your belief, I have a free 5 day challenge happening right now.
I want to invite you to join us.
You’ll hear stories of so many of my students who have gone from disbelief, shame, fear, and doubt to having financial success.
But more than anything, you will hear how they are now believing in themselves.
Wouldn’t that feel amazing for you too?
And amazing for your boutique photography business.
You can come join us, no charge, at Photography Business Institute.
I know that success in anything is about more than just belief.
You have to have the skills too, but if you’re constantly being torn down by others or by yourself, the cycle of self-sabotage will continue.
What if you could do it?
What if you could build a business that made enough money to allow you to put your family first and live the life you want?
I know that’s a lot of what ifs, but there is something I know to be true: someone else is doing it, and if they can do it, so can you.
