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Keeping the U in Business

All right, so we have gone over a lot of information, totally understanding minds are blown. This is just really the tip of what you need to know, which is why I wanted to bring this little bits and overview today, specifically was automation. That is something you guys continually go do tonight when you're headed home while you're happy hour driving, so don't do it on the way home when you get home. If it's in your office hours work on it, the client management that's going to bring so many benefits as well as well as the outsourcing and networking perfect time of year. But now we really need to talk about keeping you guys in it because I think that we get lost at the end of the day after we go through the list in the hours and doing everything that we need to do in giving to our clients to giving to our families, we kind of get lost where we get the leftovers and there's, not any leftovers, because party in the negative right s so it's super important. This is going to think this seg...

ment is the last call for q and a, so if you guys had any questions asking now this goes with a live audience so army in studio audience and online I'm just shoot out the questions and we can sprinkle them through as we go through this last segment as well and I know we are gonna have hot see I don't know if they told you guys who we've picked or if I just get a pick on somebody we're going to hot seat so what you got to start thinking a little bit and for at home to start thinking about things in order on your list of what you're going to do from here on out let's take all of this and eat the elephant a little bite at a time do they really tell you who's going to do what the whole this is fun for me I like it so keeping the u n business eso where you at now now that we've done the two days where exactly are you completely more overwhelmed than before I've just added and like threw up a whole bunch of stuff on your plate is to dio eso where you add what can we sparse through did you get that list that I gave you yesterday that you started to anything change did you add anything to it did you I feel really confident some of you have a target so really confident that I have been doing a lot of this is fantastic they're just minor tweaks any he'd make are you happy with what you're doing? What can I do with the unhappy things that are on the list of things to d'oh revaluate your circumstances now you see that it is possible to do balance and I'm not saying that I balance everything all the time it's always a constant when you get off balance, you always have to shift yourself back, right? So it's always a constant balance, it's never ends. Honestly, you know that I can tell you the bad news now that it never becomes too a coasting point. You always have to do a little adjustment, but to have your business plans changed now they've done this to you feeling now you could actually achieve reaching out and get to know other vendors or really delving into your past clients to make more money. One of your business plan has changed jot that down, see if you can tutut that because we're going to put that into that final list when I bring you guys up here in order to see what you're going to do from here on are you going to change in response to your business? And these are things you guys may be doing all the time, always constantly asking yourself any time that you move along and in four months from now I want you to take out this list and go back through and say ok I'm implementing all these tools how my answers changed my changing in response to my business because if I fixing these efficiency measures multiply the hours of my day in a sense and like taking on more clients ok do I need to just into according to that what do I need to d'oh so the very first thing is scheduled time off I'm going be transparent I'm very bad at this I love toe work I love it I love it I love it I just know I can't do it all the time but just because I love my work doesn't mean I and my work I don't have to always be my word you need to schedule time off and you don't have to necessarily make it on the weekend aa lot of us we work on the weekends that's when our sessions are that's one thing that I didn't really show on the air example schedule for you guys is that on some weeks I mainly work money the friday because I have no sessions that weekend but then the next weekend I may have sessions so I'm going to take two days off during the week to compensate for the two to one or two days on the weekend that's that flexibility and that's how it comes in you have to schedule time off and it's based on your plan and how you can kind of condensed things together so for example, if I have a goal of successions a month, I mainly want to take three per weekend. Well, if I break it up and keep doing each week and you're gonna constantly be working always feel like you're doing that, you're never able to separate it out. So why not condensed into two weekends right there? You're able to schedule some time off the work family balance and they're also able to add a little exclusivity by telling your clients, but I only have this in this available is not a detriment to starts extending that timeline when you start feeling things out for clients and it could only be a benefit if you manage it correctly and you guys already know how it make it efficient to do it. Um all right, so plan and long weekends, no digital stuff so the weekends that you do take off, I don't recommend shooting every weekend um a at least you need to sprinkle some in there. Ah, and I completely understand if sometimes that's the only time you get to work and shoot, especially if you have a spouse that works a full time job during the week and you're unable to shoot during the week but it is still critical do you at least take some time to be there at the same time and turn old digital stuff off everything that includes social media because even if you tell yourself I'm not going to check the business social media what happens to be log onto yours and you see a notification you get section two that sucked into another thing all the time I always tell my husband I'm just gonna hop on to do one thing goes we'll see in two hours because he knows that if I'm not focused on that it's going to end up spiral e and being able to close it all up so what? See what's next planning yearly vacation or a staycation on this goes back to the money stuff to do you just need to make a couple more sessions and that you can pack in in order to be able to compensate for that vacation you can plan the time off two out of three business owners really worry about their companies when they're on vacation and I totally get it I mean that's the monkey on the back right? But it's that good worrying that bad worry you can worry you make sure that it's going on but if you're completely and utterly stressed out about it there's no sense of going on vacation put all these supports in place maybe look at having testing someone out for a while you're gone you know, if you had someone for a little bit you're adding them a little bit more responsibility to the play this is probably a good test time but you can still keep updated with them and figure out and see if they can really be a permanent part of your business if you're trying to also are some of your stuff the good benefit is when you do scheduled time off just like we were talking about the not multitasking because the multi tasking lowers the I q by like I was fifteen points the whole weed cannabis example I gave yesterday if you're just tuning in you really need to listen to our yesterday what I'm talking about but whenever people do take time off they actually see it eighty two percent increase a productive ity after return on and so for me hey that's more than enough reason to take a vacation if I mean we're productive in the time that I do have so daryn slower times you want to look at doing this carve it out ahead of time and the beginning of the year put it on the counter doesn't I mean that can't change it may cause you may end up with a big opportunity that you may have more networking or event with somebody or a big wedding but you have the flexibility to change that as well try to change and delegate somebody in order to do these things while you're on vacation and you want to notify any clients and customers if you are going to go on vacation I don't recommend leaving things in the lurch wire gone try to wrap it all up, it's going to feel a little stressful, getting it taken care of, but all the stuff you need to be hands on with their client needs to be taken care of, and if you've already scheduled the other e mails, pretty much we deliver the product at that point and they have done the quality check and they're happy you already scheduled all the other e mails for you're free to go is that simple? You don't have to feel like you're constantly constantly going take holidays off. We are regular business, many businesses take holidays off. I also include on here if you want to take sundays off their many business that takes in sunday's often they don't have an issue. A lot of people don't take time because they're afraid they're going to miss an opportunity from a client. They're afraid they're going to miss an opportunity to make more money. Perhaps, but remember the example that I gave you when we do the triangle balance in the hole creative life thing? If they had been amenable to me waiting because of all of the things we're going in my life is moving and having micah and all sorts of things, then they probably weren't a company that I wanted to be associated with anyways. They obviously works, I'm here and I totally was one percent behind that I'm the exact same with my clients in my clients can't honor the fact that I don't wanna work holidays, then that's a good that's a good filter right there to see what kind of client they would actually be if they got in the door and how they respond to me not being holidays or such, but you reserve the right to shoot on those if you do want tio I personally don't want to on federal holidays because my husband is home, so I know that right after that there's no if ands or buts that goes on my calendar that's a big red x and I don't have to worry about it. So scheduling time off, they found remember the stress stuff we talked about the very beginning this is also going to lower a lot of those stress issues that come around. They found that manu take vacations or thirty two percent less likely to die of a heart attack. So not only are you getting the eighty three percent more productivity, but you're also getting the benefit of reducing your risk for other issues and women who don't make it don't take vacations or up to eight times more likely to suffer heart disease then from women who take two vacations a year I'm using this one with my husband two vacations a year and like you're going to have me for a long time look at that because I'm more likely to be healthier than if I didn't take any vacations at all scheduled time for health as well I'm getting I've always in the front front row here commit to regular exercise way we are in a very active type of industry we what we do we have to be active especially for weddings you're on your feet all day this last summer when I was pregnant hughes I don't know why I decided to do this then but I put on a heart monitor it was july or august so it was hot and humid I was hugely pregnant put on a heart monitor so many calories I burned in a session and I only could think it's man what would it be in a wedding so we have to keep up in order to be able to be on point because if you're just so tired the wedding you know be able to give that standard experience he gives all of your clients and committing to health is super important to be able to provide that and also if you're not committed do it you're going to be spending more time in doctor's offices that's less chunks remember we're family and personal obligations come first then your business your business chunks of time start getting smaller make sure you do take a routine doctor's appointments okay, I'm getting eyeballs from here because we're just talking about this at lunch, but yes, it is super important that you commit to this put that on the calendar routine things that you need to get done massages and other treatments. How did that get on there? Hey now, but massages and other treatments that for your mental health things and escapes that you need to do not just vacations, but I think that you could do in order to help you feel more productive when you are in the office or just like me, we go walk around target, I'm going to go grocery shopping and just sit in the front, you know, in the parking lot, turn it off the car and not listen to anything that's a good little escape that's a little therapy, you need to turn off a little bit. The next one is to make sure you get a hobby business. Even though you identify as your business and you love it, you still need to have something outside of it. I told myself for years and years and years that this is my hobby and I'm still getting eyeballs because I see still absolutely love it and identify this this is me, but I still have to have the hobby outside of it and what are the out of benefits of having a hobby? Well, I get out of the house, I see other people and what can I do with those other people that I end up running into? This is my justification anyways, potential networks and clients see how that works s o getting non business related hottie non completely unrelated not to say I may not get a hobby that is where my target client hell might frequent I know kind of pushing the line there, but I do want to make sure that you do something like this at least once a month but we talked about the very first time in history seasons of life in the very busy seasons you may not be able to commit to it, but when it's slower, why can't shoot if you've learned how to schedule so far use the hobby is networking blogging for your business? I gave this example already you're able to utilize it as well as things that you can use in your business just an added benefit develop habits ok, so this is pretty much the active where we're going to go from here everything we talked about I want everything that we've done become a habit so that you can do all the other things in this segment so you can keep you you don't even have to think about it anymore once everything is set up it's set up once you've learned how to do it it's done because I have it is usually behaving something that person doesn't often regular repeated way the example of that ratty, tatty book of mine. I can't tell you how many times I have reached for since I've been here because it has become a habit and I don't I feel completely and utterly lost, but it is because it is something so close to me, so little history lesson here, benjamin franklin says. So I was researching habits and kind of the study in history of it on dh he came up with a list of thirteen virtues and one of them that he felt with super important that is any time that he had a virtue he felt was lacking, he wanted to become habit so it's, even elephant one bite at a time in modern psychologist have keyed in on this s so they start with one task to implement just one so when she doesn't take that main one, that probably that first one that you start on on that list yesterday, that's the one I want you to create a habit out of in twenty one days repeatedly do it now that's not including it that's not including set up time. So say you set up a database system that may take you twenty one days. I'm talking actual physical use of it to become a habit cause your conditioning yourself so committed to dedicate to that task to become a habit, and I want your master that one keep doing it, but we want to the other because at that point you're already going to do it, we're going to reach for that book, you're going to automatically pull the local list instead of the global you're I'm actually going to know what to do when you sit down, okay, unplug, I kind of already said this a little bit about getting away. Ah, but one thing that really strongly recommend is that everyone's pretty much on cell phones now, I don't necessarily want my clients calling me all hours of the night and day because I don't work all the hours of nine day get a google plus number and you can turn it on and turn off when you want is through an app that's a free number that google plus can provide to you, and I'm sure there's other options available out there on then also, when I call through it, they don't have my personal number. So they can call the number, leave a voicemail I can wait instead of huddling in the bathtub to listen to it and call back later. And when I call the back, the google number comes up it's a regular standard phone over, they don't know they're none the wiser. Um and so and you can actually selected the one I selected actually has my business name in it so it's like the five, five five be smart or whatever that's not what mine is. I don't know what else to put but like five, five five photo you can you khun run that through the google plus system and it will create you a number out of it? So it's also a nice little marketing tool you can use, so implement a no phones rule at social events, including networking event get old school with the business cars and make sure you actually physically are able to reach out and touch someone. If you start just to find that you're going to do the virtual business cars, everyone starts sitting like this and you're not doing any good with each other, kind of like they confiscated y'all's phones here, I like that, so because you're more focused, you're not multitasking. Put your phone away and put it in the middle of the table I didn't come up with this idea I actually heard from this from multiple people and the producers and I were talking about this when you go out with a group of friends especially when her photographers and networking event put all your phones in the middle of the table that first person touches it has to pay we'll be touching that I want to pay quite frankly but it is true on dh my husband I joke about this in those joint checking but we joke the same way it's like what you found we need to put it away whoever touches it has to pay I mean comes out of the same place but it's the same concept of putting it away way sat down and told you yesterday you know everything was so stressed because we're in one of those busy sees the wife and we didn't have this talk and that was one of the things was I want you unplugged said ok, what can I do? Nine o'clock the phone goes off I mean within reason, I still need my parents to get in contact with me and most phones now allow youto important numbers come through but you can shut everything else off and the good thing with the google number if it's turned off you don't you don't hear it and if it's really that soup when what is so super important photography unless it's like a birth or something that's going on that you're waiting for a call on you know and that I would probably do a personal number in a requirement to make sure that they get a hold of you um in contract and everything and learn to say no so we've done the unplug was scheduled time off we know all of that but we also need to know when enough is enough we're gonna look to all the guys if what we've done and just cause no doesn't we say no it doesn't mean it means no forever just means not right now unless it's somebody legitimately don't ever work with again um and you phrases to say no that don't sound like you know when I flat out told people I said I'm interested contact me in amman I've got to get through creative life or it's busy season right now I would love to be able to commit more time I always try to spin the benefit because I still don't want to close the door on that network I mean already be pulled a gun when we talked about the networking session we able to put as much time into it is we're expecting out of it exact same way I just tell him for your benefit I can't do it right now and so our example for that for clients, you can tell them I'm booking into july how to x and y work for you not just say no, I have no sessions. If you're in january, no sale and booking in july, how did these work? Because you may have family circumstances or a lot of booked up till then don't tell him no leave that door open, get a mentor and being mentor, I there's there's so many people out there need help on there. You guys have so much information, knowledge just from sitting talking to you at home, you have so much information will provide. If you're in a partnership, you have somebody that you can talk it out a lot of times. Talking things out makes it so much more clear, I think that's also why it being in this in studio audience is so critical as well, because we can have one on one conversations and really flesh it out, they can reinforce their completely reteach something on, so if you have somebody that works with you or could be in men for that, you can ping ideas off of go for it my husband doesn't work in this field with me but he still is somebody that I kind of can talk things out with he can be the fresh eyes in perspective and if it does hurt sometimes but there's only going to further my business not say hurts me that he made some say something that I'm doing this any fisher doesn't come across right and I want to know that and in the same turn you could do that for a friend as well so get him into or be a mentor ninety percent of small business owners recommend having won ninety percent that's almost one hundred percent of people so why is there such a broad idea in the photography industry I don't want to mentor somebody or I don't want to be mentor don't wantto learn it on my own I see this a lot I see two about two types of people I see those that absolutely don't want anything to do with it and then others that really d'oh and I totally get that you just don't have time to help someone tell them that don't tell you know don't just say no and then them guess that you're well I just don't want to help you maybe a legend I don't have time you know or in those that reach out just reach out don't tell yourself no you never know someone your local area be willing to help you and they don't even have to mean the photography industry could be another small business owner because look at this, I said small business and write and say photography owners, because a lot of this translates across different industries and fifty four over fifty percent say they would consider mentoring somebody as well. So I just hope that in his encouragement to reach out to kind of take away that being alone, feeling a little bit more, and we also need to consider room porting ourself, I don't really consider the money if it's that income my family's depending on as a reward, I worked better. I thrive on really ward's. So set yourself a goal and a company award, such as when people are trying to lose weight, they do benchmarks every ten pounds that I lose, maybe the first ten pounds, I'm gonna go get my hair cut the next ten pounds. I'm going to go buy a purse, whatever it is, I want you guys to do this don't get extravagant, be like I'm gonna incident. It'll let filtering emails and go buy a beemer tomorrow. No, no, no, no, no, it needs to be within reason and really accomplish and reward you for what you've just done, and it needs to be for you. Oh, it is so easy is moms and parents to walk into a store to buy something for you and come out with something for everyone else in the family but yourself and these rewards need to be for you. So if you go on a vacation to reward yourself, look about you, it did two things at once down, but you need to make sure you dedicate time within a vacation for yourself as well. That ties and maybe the massage or whatever treatments it is. Look at all this and then there's also intangibles use your gut feeling in all this. This is so inspirational feel good. I'm really uncomfortable kind of this I'm more like here do all this, but god feeling is super important business because a lot of times it's, right? Um, and especially when we're judging with clients, I've been proven wrong sometimes we'll clients, I'm like, oh, they're going to difficult and they've been the best client ever hole they're not going to buy very much and they end up by him, you know, the large collection and everything but within reason your gut can really steer you the right way on how to do things that's, why I had you guys didn't give you that list of things that you're inefficient with before because I didn't want you to overthink it yesterday and wanted you to have it here then start because your gut feeling knows knows exactly where your inefficiencies maybe filtered out a little bit more now that we've talked about things but you need to have that gut reaction you also tb passionate to be motivated that's what? That inspirational thing comes in me I get inspired by numbers by looking at how many sessions I have on the books I'm gonna get inspired mama clients tell me great pictures but to me that standard I should be giving the pictures I get inspired by looking at what further networks how it did I just create means a challenge is fun to accomplish it, but also I'm motivated what the potential let's there up left other business owners treat others as you want to be treated. I will randomly do this, I will email people in my local area and say hey love this session, you're doing great, that is a great way like a wedding coordinator and be like yes, all this session looks fabulous for that last wedding if you did a great job that's a good way to open up the door while I was really in tangibly trying to keep me and making sure that I don't get lost in business by uplifting someone else I haven't added benefit thereof, then my name is front of that a little familiarity is built. Block the doubters. If you have fantasies really getting a feel good. If you have negative people in your life, you may need a limit your time with them. Social media can be become a very negative aspect. A lot of people event a lot of personal feelings on there. It can be good and can you back double edge sword if you have a lot of people who are doubters in life, are not very receptive to what you d'oh, not very supportive. You need maybe limit your time because you're going to get off track and you get so wrapped up in the stress of focusing on that that you're going to pitch everything else you just learned for the last two days, and then we're gonna be right back where you were before you came and you basically wasted two days sending here. And I at least want to help at least one of you revolutionized and help you in your business.