Shifting From I Can’t to I Will in Your Photography Business

Let’s take a moment to talk about how we are in control of our portrait business’s success.

While hosting an exit interview with Taylor Schoonover of Taylor Marie Images, a former one-on-one coaching client after 3 months of working together, she said something incredibly important.

“You are allowed to stand up for your business.” -Taylor S.

Taylor started working with me as a relatively new photographer searching for an educational experience that would assist in starting her business journey off on the right foot from the start. Over the next 3 months, we met twice a month for Zoom meetings and make a few tweaks in her business but we did not stop there. The most important topic we constantly discussed and worked on was the mindset Taylor had in regards to what she could and could not achieve as a photographer. By the time we wrapped up our three months of coaching, it was clear that Taylor had successfully shifted her mindset from I Can’t to I Will.

So let’s talk about how adjusting your mindset can make a huge change in the success of your business.

Imagine having a conversation with a potential client and when the time comes to discuss your pricing, you have a little voice in the back of your head telling you that nobody will pay your prices. I can just about guarantee that your negative mindset will project into the way you talk about pricing with that client and they will either spend the bare minimum or not book at all.

Now imagine going into the same conversation with the same potential client but with a different mindset. As you begin discussing investment in your business, you are confident that clients will spend thousands of dollars with you because you are providing a sought out experience. Now you have entered the conversation as a confident business owner that will book paying clients.

Does this happen overnight? No, it takes at least 28 days to establish a routine and it all starts with changing the way you think and talk about your business.

For Taylor, we adjusted her pricing to a place she had never imagined possible from portrait clients to schooling horse shows and it has proved profitable. She sometimes feels shocked to believe that her show averages have doubled with the same shows she has always covered and the same number of competitors at those shows. So what was holding her back from changing her pricing?

She now understands that the mindset she had around making money as a photographer was what held her back and once she started working towards a shift in how she perceived her value, everything began to come together.

This one is for the introverted photographers or those who have had a less than great experience working with certain clients in the past. Believe it or not, I am not the social butterfly you might think I am, but as I worked with my own mindset coach, I began to understand how I was capable of building genuine connections with my clients through my client experience.

Just as you built a new positive mantra around clients spending money on photography, you can add the value you provide through connecting with a client experience.

For Taylor, she explained that she had no idea how to interact with clients and had no clear plan going into building a client experience. As we began shifting her mindset from fearing rejection to embracing the fact that she is capable of building a connection through her client experience, we saw tremendous growth.

Now, Taylor is confident in her client experience having a clear and specific plan that she follows to help prepare her clients from the initial inquiry to the artwork investment and beyond. As she builds those client connections she recognizes that she no longer struggles with clients only wanting digitals. Instead they are excited to invest in physical artwork from the portraits she creates and radiates confidence heading into image reveals, something she once imagined impossible.

Last but certainly not least, you have to remember that you are allowed to stand up for your business. Like many former coaching clients have said, you don’t know until you try.

The way I see it, you have two options. You can sit there and do nothing and you probably aren’t going to make much progress, or you can decide to take the step and invest in your future. Taylor recalled that the simple act of saying yes to investing in her education sparked a fire to make a change all on it’s own let alone the changes we made moving forward. If you are considering investing in your education, there is a reason why and while I know it isn’t always so black and white, it means you want to make a change.

It is time to shift your mindset away from wishing you could have a successful business and talking yourself out of your ability to do so and accept the fact that you are allowed to stand up for your business and you deserve to make money as a photographer.

You can do this, and don’t forget, you are allowed to stand up for your business.

“I did not realize how much my mindset was holding me back. If you think nobody will spend $4000 on photos, prepare yourself. My shift in mindset has been a huge game changer for me and my business. I’ve never had another course or coach like Karinda to help me. You can have your prices set, things written out, and all the pamphlets but if you don’t have the right mindset backing it then you won’t see a change.” -Taylor S.

Did you enjoy reading our blog today and want to learn more about how shifting your mindset alters the future of your portrait business? I have a variety of educational resources available for photographers from our free Facebook Community, a weekly educational podcast and my coaching program dedicated to helping photographers build profitable and successful portrait brands.

Make sure you check out our amazing resources and feel free to let us know your favorite part about reading our blog today!