We’ve launched The Creative Template Shop-- us cool kids just call it The Shop-- and it’s FILLED with templates for your business, ranging from social media to client experience to even web design and opt-ins. These already-made templates are the silver lining for any biz owner who struggles trying to put together beautiful graphics for their business.

You’re working your tail off in your creative service-based business.

Your life is all about clients: finding them (where ARE they??), landing them (and competing on price makes your feel like you’re charging so much less than you need to if you want this biz to be sustainable), making the ones you DO find happy (so much so that you find yourself delivering WAY more than you originally agreed to)...

And maybe you’ve convinced yourself that this is just how life has to be if you’re going to do what you love for a living.

Do you ever find yourself on the word vomit train when attempting to sell anything? You know the one that makes zero stops and is stationed in Awkward Townsville? The one where you’re chatting with a potential client and you find yourself having the out of body experience where you hear yourself doing things like…

Many small businesses are basically “doomed” from the start.

Although done unknowingly, many entrepreneurs design their business in a way that keeps them stuck in the Merry-Go-Round trap.

They’ve designed their business in a circle. Doing the same things over and over again. Answering the same questions. Dealing with the same problems. And they aren’t growing.

I bet you know the feeling: you’re working and working and working, but you just aren’t seeing any progress. And where the heck are all those clients you desperately want to be working with?

It feels like you’re still playing “pretend business” and you’re wondering if you’re even smart enough to figure this all out like it seems like everyone else has.

This convinces you that the only way to get clients is to do what works for everyone else - posting 3x a day on Instagram, blogging “value add” content, showing up in Facebook groups where you *think* your client might be and so on…

You’re listening to countless other business owners tell you that doing all that ^ is what’s going to work for you...so why isn’t it?

Here’s the truth: it’s not you. It is the strategies you’re using. They aren’t right for YOUR business.

Blogging is a long game strategy - meaning it’s effects are best measured months and years after a blog is posted. It can be a fantastic way to add valuable keywords to your website and to up your search rankings through the power of SEO (search engine optimization).

But here’s a secret about blogs that no one is talking about. Blogs are likely not reaching your potential clients. Blogs are reaching people who want solutions to a problem (think how to type content), not people looking to hire.

As photographers we convince ourselves that we all have to go through this same “rite of passage” in order to be legit. It looks something like this:

Get Camera -> Work For Free -> Charge $50 -> What the Hell Happens Next

Most of you are probably in between the “Charge $50” and the “What the Hell Happens Next” stage of business. Maybe you’ve upped that $50 session fee to a *gasp* $150.

So the goal here today is to take you from “I could make more money working at Target” to “Holy sh*t I’m looking at a $2k+ deposit”. Ready?

So you keep hearing the following statement, “As a business you should probably get around to sending out some ‘professional’ email.” And you may be wondering where the heck you should start or if it is even worth your time.

Email Marketing has some powerful benefits, but to be successful it has to be well thought out and carefully managed. Today, we will cover some of the benefits, how and where to get started and then the ideal anatomy for your newsletter.

Sounds pretty dreamy right? Someone finds you online. They are interested in what you have to offer and learn to more about you. They like what you do, say, and sell and eventually buy. Well folks, to make this happen you really have to focus on a couple of key things.