There’s no question that social media can be a big help to your business, whether you’re trying to reach current customers or target new ones. There are also many people who say that social media takes up too much of their time, and they don’t feel like they get enough out of the time they spend on it to make it worthwhile. Here are five tips for spending less time on social media without missing out on all the great benefits as a business. These are the same tips I follow when it comes to all my businesses; Modern Market, Wordsmith & The Essential Studio Manager.

THE IMPORTANCE OF USING SOCIAL MEDIA AS A BUSINESS

We live in a digital world. Most people use social media, so if you’re trying to grow your business, you have to be where your customers are: on social media. But there’s more to it than that. It’s no longer enough to just have a Facebook page and hope for people to like it and engage with it—you actually need content and strategies, or you risk losing valuable leads. Take some time out of your day and design a plan that will allow you to maximize your presence without wasting all of your time (or missing out on opportunities). 

WHY YOU NEED AN ONLINE PRESENCE 

There are plenty of reasons why businesses (and individuals) create social media accounts. It’s a way to share content with your audience and spread your business’s name, establish yourself as an expert in your field, network with other businesses or people in your niche, even find a new employee. However, if you’re struggling to keep up with social media while running a business (particularly if you work solo), then it might be time to evaluate how much time you spend on these platforms and how you can still get all the benefits of using social media, without having to spend so much time on social media.

CREATING CONTENT PILLARS

Content pillars are a core component of every successful social media strategy because they take the guesswork out of what to post, making it easy for you to stay on target and have fun with your content. Pillars are relevant topics and themes that keep your audience engaged. The content pillars I’ve always built my content around is: 

1. Personal 
2. Educational 
3. Promotional 
4. Engaging 
5. Passion

Depending on what kind of business you have, you could adjust these content pillars, or change them to something more specific that your audience enjoys.

CREATING CONTENT AHEAD OF TIME 

Write out a schedule for content creation and stick to it. Schedule your social media posts several days or weeks in advance. Utilize tools like Hootsuite, Buffer, or Later to plan content in advance and save yourself time. These apps allows you to create a queue of pre-written posts, which you can then schedule at different times over an extended period of time. This way you’re not having to do all the work on the go and can dedicate one day to plan and schedule all your content. 

TIP: Just because you automate your posts doesn’t mean you can get away with not showing up online. I try to schedule my posts but then push the notification to my phone so I can post it manually and engage during the best time. Which is typically shortly after posting.

SHOWING UP AND ENGAGING WITH YOUR AUDIENCE

Let’s not forget one of the most important ways to participate in social media is to simply show up. Engaging with your audience requires you to use social media as a place for interaction and presence, even if it doesn’t directly lead to sales or customers. Using it only for promotion means you’re missing out on half of its value. Let’s not forget what makes social media great. It’s a place you can connect. Although I’m all for planning ahead and scheduling my posts in advance, one thing I won’t ever miss (or outsource) is the opportunity to show up and connect with real people. 

 Promoting your business or brand on social media is important, but it’s just one use of a diverse and valuable tool. You’ll get more out of it by showing up and connecting with people in your industry on a regular basis. Even if you’re not being asked for advice or solutions, being there to support and encourage others can help build relationships that lead to collaboration later. Sometimes all you need to start is an introduction, so never be afraid to say hi!

EMAIL MARKETING VS SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING

It’s obvious—email marketing is one of, if not THE, most effective ways to reach customers. If you’re hoping to spend less time on social media, then getting your email list started might also be a really great idea. I learned a valuable lesson after spending years building up my Facebook fan page (back when we could still reach our followers organically) and overnight losing that connection when Facebook pushed new changes on who saw our content. I promised myself I wouldn’t make the same mistake with Instagram or any other social media platform. Instead, I used social media but focused more on building my list. A direct connection to my customer and clients. Thanks to my list, I was also able to spend less time on social media, but still reach my audience directly anytime I sent an email. Email marketing is also just one piece of the marketing puzzle, but a piece that I truly enjoy utilizing. 

LIMITING TIME ON SOCIAL MEDIA CAN HELP YOUR BUSINESS

Many entrepreneurs say that social media is addictive, and believe it’s holding them back from focusing on what really matters. By spending less time on Facebook and Instagram, you’ll be able to invest more time in other areas of your business—and get much more done in your day-to-day operations. Start by determining how much time you currently spend on social media each day, then figure out if that is the best way forward. Figure out how much time you really need to spend on social media, and then make that your goal. Often enough, when it comes to social media it’s easy to let those quick 5 minutes turn into two hours. By being more aware of how we spend our time on social media, we become more productive with how we spend our overall time. 

IT’S OK TO NOT ALWAYS WANT TO CREATE CONTENT 

Being on social media is important because it provides another way for people to engage with your brand and business. But just because social media plays a big role in how we market our business these days, doesn’t mean we should feel obligated to spend all our time on it. I’ve actually had more success with marketing by being less on social media because it’s allowed me to focus my time on other parts of my marketing strategy that so often got pushed to the side. Remember: Social media marketing is just one tiny piece of the marketing game. There are many other ways you can go about marketing your business. What’s most important is that you find a way to market your business in a way that you enjoy. If social media isn’t at the top of your list, then stop making it such a huge priority and instead focus on marketing you enjoy. 

Thankfully, I specialize in creating social media captions that can easily be customized to who you are and what you do. They are perfect for any kind of business owner ready to start showing up online consistently.

WORDSMITH SOCIAL MEDIA CAPTION EXAMPLES:

1) BIG WARM HELLO (PERSONAL)

I haven’t introduced myself on here for a while so I thought I’d do that again. A big warm hello to all of you  My name is [name] and I’m the [girl, woman, man driving force, dreamer] behind [your business name].

When I was [age or time in your time] I fell in love with [what you do] after [an experience that helped you find your passion] and in [year you started your business] I decided to go for it and [your business name] was born.

I spend most of my days [what you typically do for your job] and love every minute of it. For me, what I do is so much more than just a job, it’s something I picture myself doing for years to come because it allows me to [your favorite part of what you do], and I honestly couldn’t imagine doing anything else.

I’m also a [something else you are, parent, mom, occupation] and obsessed with [something you love to do, like spending time with your family, drawing, reading, etc.] in my free time.

I’d love to get to know you a little better, comment below and come say hello and tell me where you’re from, it’s always so much fun to see where everyone is!

2) THE PERFECT FIT  (EDUCATIONAL)

What’s the number one thing you look for when you’re searching for the perfect [enter your job title]? Is it [list a few things like price, style, location, personality, etc]? If you’ve been looking for a [your job title] you’ve probably realized that it can be a little overwhelming at times and I’m here to help you in your search with my 5 best tips on finding the perfect [your job title]! 

[offer tips to help them in their search. ex; if you’re a photographer you might mention that they should view their portfolio to see if they have the right style, or that cheaper prices can sometimes be a red flag]
1. [Tip number one]

2. [Tip number two]

3. [Tip number three]

4. [Tip number four]

5. [Tip number five]

I hope these little tips help you with your search. If you’d love to talk more about hiring me as your [job title] then shoot me a message! I have a few [available appointments, spots, sessions, etc] in the next [week, month, year] and would love to send you some more information to see if we’d be a great fit! 

3) WHERE ARE YOU FROM (ENGAGING)

I’d love to know; where are you from? There are so many new faces, and it’s always fun to see where everyone is located! Most of you probably know, but I live in [your current location] and have been calling this beautiful place home for [how many years you’ve lived there].

Near or far, comment and below and let me know where you’re from!

FREE INSTAGRAM CAPTIONS

You can get a whole month’s worth of social media captions when you sign up for the free trial for Wordsmith. A platform dedicated to helping business owners create great content. I publish new content for you to use every single month!

If you’re a business owner, spend less time on social media without missing out on any of its benefits and be more productive with how you use social media to grow your business.  This will in turn help build your brand and give you back valuable time.  Start by creating daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly goals for yourself on social media so that you can track your results over time. You don’t need to spend hours each day managing your social media pages. Sometimes it comes down to using these marketing tools more efficiently to get the most out of them. 

The key to being more productive on any given day is to focus on what you need to do and make sure you get it done before moving on to the next task or activity. If you keep this daily routine, you’ll be more productive by focusing on one task at a time instead of juggling different tasks from one moment to the next. Here’s how I stay focused throughout my workday.

Define Your Overall Mission and goals

Before you tackle anything else, be sure that you’ve set your end goal clearly in mind. It can take a little time to grasp what you want for yourself in terms of accomplishments and future opportunities. However, once you know what you’re aiming for—and why—the next steps will become more clear. Remember: Write down your mission statement and keep it somewhere easily accessible like your journal or on your phone so that it is always on your mind. Remember that working on the right thing is more important than working hard. 

Do what’s most important every day

Build a daily routine that centers on your top priorities. I call it my critical-path method, and I use it to make sure I get the most important things done every day. It’s simple: Every morning, I sit down and write down my top 5 most important tasks for the day. Then tackle those things in order of importance. I try to complete all five tasks each day, but if I don’t, the uncompleted tasks get transferred to the next day. 

Focusing on just five tasks helps me stay focused and on track. I have another sheet where I jot down random things that still need to happen but aren’t as important. This way I always have a master list of all the things I need to do while still staying focused on the important tasks.

Do What’s Important Before You Do What’s Urgent

The importance of making priorities 

It’s not always easy to make your daily schedule fit your goals, but it’s important to try. Organizing your time and tasks using a prioritized list will make you more productive and help you avoid feeling overwhelmed. Getting organized is an essential first step to take when setting goals or tackling new projects; otherwise, it can feel like you’re busy working all day, without much to show for it. There’s a big difference between being busy and being productive. 

Timeboxing my business tasks

One of my methods to getting things done is what I call timeboxing. Timeboxing is a time management technique that requires you to designate a specific time frame for a specific task. During this time, you only focus on the tasks and remove all other distractions. Again, instead of bouncing from task to task, you focus on something specific. The best part about timeboxing is that it’s very flexible. Just about any work activity can be timeboxed–whether you’re writing an email, preparing for a meeting, or building a spreadsheet.

As a small business owners, it’s easy to try and do all the things all the time and lose focus and momentum in actually getting anything completed. I would rather focus on one project and get it done in a few hours than work on many little things and get nothing done. A good example of this is how I write new content for the Social Media Membership. Instead of writing content for my clients randomly, I sit down and put all my focus on writing great captions. By having a set time to really focus on this one task, I create better content and get it all complete much more efficiently.

Working at the right time

Another really great way to be more productive is knowing what time during the day you do your best work. I used to wake up and the first thing I would do is jump in my inbox and try and answer all my emails. Some days it would take me a few hours in the morning. (Also the time of day I usually feel the most energy and most creative). I realized that after answering my emails and taking a lunch break, I felt more tired and less inspired to work on other projects. 

I now use my morning hours where I feel most inspired to work on important projects. And leave the afternoon and evening hours to answer emails. Something that doesn’t take much inspiration, but certainly a lot of time. Take some time to figure out when you feel most productive vs when you don’t seem to get much done and get your important work done during the right time. 

Do What’s Important Before You Do What’s Urgent

Although there’s a ton of advice that encourages people to focus on urgent tasks first, which might be a good idea for some, but it can be incredibly damaging as an entrepreneur. When things feel urgent but aren’t actually important, it’s easy to become distracted from what really matters. The best way I’ve found to avoid that trap is by creating a daily list in a separate area in my notebook for all the things I still need to do. Then hand-select which ones make it to my priority list each morning. 

Balance Work And Life

It can be hard to find time for everything you want and need during a workday. The less time you have outside of work, though, the less effective you’ll be at work. To stay motivated and productive at your job—and happy in your personal life—it’s important to make sure that you’re making time for yourself and your priorities. Although I’m often guilty of putting time for myself last. I’ve realized that when I find a good balance between work and life, I end up getting more enjoyment out of the work I do.

With a never-ending list of things to do, business owners have to become good at time management. We must know how to maximize our results with the time we have. Identifying your top priorities, time-blocking, and knowing what time you do your best work is the perfect way to get more done in less time! Just don’t forget to find the right balance between life and balance so it’s something you can continue long-term.

Social Media Captions

More Business Articles

Raise your hand if you’ve ever felt like walking away from something because you didn’t feel it was worthy enough or waited to launch your new idea because you just didn’t feel like it was quite ready yet. I know I’ve been there many times. I realized that for those of us who work in creative fields and have our own business, it’s so easy to let perfection hold us back. The good news is that if we change the way we see progress and embrace the imperfect moments, we can finally let go of the idea that everything we produce and create needs to be perfect before we put it into the world. Always remember; progress over perfection.

As an entrepreneur, you know that building and growing your business, and your brand isn’t easy. You’re also aware that success doesn’t happen overnight. It requires hard work, dedication, and commitment to excellence. While you want to do everything right, the fact of the matter is you don’t have time to get it all done perfectly—or even near-perfectly—right away, so why not focus on moving forward? After all, progress is more important than perfection when it comes to growing your business and reaching your goals.

PROGRESS IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN PERFECTION

Raise your hand if you would consider yourself a workaholic. And I don’t mean that in a bad way. Those of us who have our own business often LOVE the work they do and will spend far more hours working on what we are passionate about than the average person. My kids and husband will tell you that on the days I get to put in some solid work hours, I’m an overall happier person. Why? Because I love what I do. On the days I don’t get to work, I miss it. That sounds a little pitiful, but the truth is that when you love what you do, you might also turn into a workaholic. Or, as I like to call it, someone who’s just really passionate about their work.

But what we forget is that our dreams are not actually about success; they’re about pursuing something meaningful. Once you decide you’re committed to doing something with your life, don’t sacrifice today’s work because you’re worried it won’t be perfect someday. Instead, just do something worthwhile and focus on doing great work rather than perfect work. I promise, in the long run, you’ll realize that’s what really going to get you to your biggest goals.

YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE PERFECT

The most important thing is that you realize that you don’t have to be perfect; not only is it impossible, but it’s unnecessary. Don’t wait for everything to line up perfectly before taking action; take smart action today until you reach your goal (or change course). Perfection will come later when you’re at cruising altitude.

Share your imperfect moments, and always know that focusing on progress over perfection is key in moving in the right direction, and often what others are most interested in seeing from us.

Out of curiosity, I did a fun little poll on my IG stories asking if people were more interested in seeing the finished product OR the process that goes into making said product. And a whopping 96% of people said they rather see the process. So next time you find yourself hiding the messy part of running a business, realize that people would actually prefer to see that over the polished finished piece we typically want to share.

START NOW. LIKE RIGHT NOW.

Now, if you’re a type-A business owner with a ton on your plate, there’s a good chance you may think that being productive is about getting as much done as possible. This may work for short-term gains, but it won’t allow you to reach long-term goals.

Building good habits (and the right habits) is critical for helping us move forward toward our goals. Once you’ve identified your goal, it’s time to identify habits that will help you achieve it. To do so, simply ask yourself: what habits am I already doing today that will help me achieve my long-term goals? What changes do I need to make to start moving towards my goal? It really comes down to breaking down your big goals, into tiny little habits you can focus on every day. Eventually, all that progress adds up and will get you where you want to be.

STOP COMPARING YOURSELF TO OTHERS

Stop comparing yourself and your progress to others in your industry. As a new business owner, you might be comparing yourself to someone who has been doing it professionally for 10+ years. You might also compare your messy behind-the-scenes action, to that perfect polished piece you see them share online. Regardless, it won’t serve you any good comparing yourself to others. So kick that habit to the curb and learn how to appreciate other people’s work and progress without feeling like it takes anything away from yours.

The desire to attain perfection often prevents us from starting projects at all. This is why entrepreneurs should push themselves to create something—anything—even if it isn’t perfect. Entrepreneurs who fail to complete tasks or produce products eventually lose momentum and motivation. They assume that if they can’t do it right, they shouldn’t do it at all. If you strive for perfection, you may procrastinate and even sabotage your own long-term success. Achieving great things takes persistence and resilience: To become a successful entrepreneur, you must learn how to be imperfect while staying focused on your goals and never giving up on yourself or your dreams.

Imperfect progress is still growth.

Sometimes we’re hard on ourselves. We know that being perfect is not a reality, but that doesn’t stop us from striving for it—to a fault. It may be tempting to scrap what you have and start over if you feel like you haven’t hit your mark just yet, but don’t throw good work away just because it isn’t perfect. While perfection can be idealistic, it won’t often reflect your business growth or your personal growth. Imperfectly growing is still growing—and though growth doesn’t always look exactly how we imagined it would at first, progress will happen organically as long as you keep working toward something better.

SLOW PROGRESS IS STILL PROGRESS

When you’re busy launching your new business or working on an important project, it can be tempting to forget that small wins are still wins. Even if they aren’t milestones, they’re still part of moving forward with your goal. Don’t be afraid to pat yourself on the back for every little bit you do; if you don’t make time for yourself, no one else will. You deserve it! Work hard and remember why you started in the first place—in other words, remember what progress feels like. A lot has probably changed since then (you might even look back at some of those early days and shudder), but it is still good to remind yourself that feeling proud is not only normal but necessary for business success.

You are allowed to be both a masterpiece and a work in progress simultaneously.

― Sophia Bush

The act of getting started produces momentum. Momentum fuels motivation. Motivation increases your chances for success. All you need to do is press play and start moving forward—and try your best to focus on progress over perfection. Progress over perfection and you’ll reach your goals in no time!

All too often, I see new business owners leaping into the world of entrepreneurship without first taking time to align their business with their purpose and passion. Most of the time, they are chasing their passion, but without much thought about what the business side needs to look like. Or they focus 100% on the business side without putting any thought into their purpose and overall long-term mission. In this article, I’ll go over the importance of aligning your business with your purpose and passion.

A common problem, and certainly something I had to learn myself in the early years of building my business, was devoting an equal amount of time to all three of these pieces that ultimately create a business that will last. Because if one thing is for certain, it’s the importance of aligning your business with your purpose and passion.

As an entrepreneur, it’s easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of running your business. But if you lose sight of why you started your business in the first place, you can easily become frustrated and find yourself on the path to burnout. Aligning your business with your purpose and passion will keep you motivated and moving forward towards your goals, rather than just working towards the next sale or crossing another task off your to-do list. Learn how to align your business with your purpose and passion. There are some basic steps you can take to help find the sweet spot between your purpose and your passion so that they complement each other instead of conflicting with one another. In fact, if you follow these steps, you’ll likely find yourself more fulfilled in the process of running your business than ever before!

Defining your purpose

Why are you in business? What motivates you to take risks? Do you have a purpose? What kind of change do you want to create in the world? If your business isn’t in line with your core values, it won’t be sustainable. When starting out, it might feel like success is defined by that big salary or being able to choose the hours you work—but when these things don’t happen right away, many entrepreneurs struggle when they lose sight of their motivation.

Defining your passion

The first step to aligning your business with your purpose is to define what you’re passionate about. If you feel stumped, ask yourself questions like: What activities give me energy? What kind of people do I enjoy spending time with? Are there any hobbies I love doing in my spare time? Do I dream about pursuing something I’ve wanted to do for a long time? You don’t have to know every answer right away—and perhaps you won’t be able to decide on just one passion—but asking yourself these questions will help get you started.

Defining your business

Once you’ve determined what your passion is, it’s time to turn that passion into a viable business. Begin by defining what your business will be—you can go broad or narrow, but once you’ve established some parameters, you can begin to explore your options. This part of starting a business can often take some time—it’s not uncommon for entrepreneurs to define their businesses several times before finding one that fits their skillset and market needs.

Creating the perfect balance

Successful businesses are led by people who have a true passion for what they do. If you have no passion, you’ll fail at some point. At some point, your energy will dry up. If it’s not something you enjoy doing, you won’t be able to stay on that path very long before dropping out. When you create the perfect balance within your business, you’ll be able to do it for years to come. Even when things get hard, you’ll be able to hold on to why you started and get through tough times. You’ll have a deeper connection to your work because it’s all connected to more than just a business idea.

Connecting to your ideal customer and client

The goal of any business is to provide value to customers. And you need to understand who your ideal customer is before you can truly provide them value. It’s critical that you connect with your customers on a deeper level than just what you sell—you want to identify your shared values, lifestyle, passions, etc. Once you do, it’ll be much easier for you to take risks because they’ll resonate deeply within yourself as well as others.

Passion can be a powerful source of motivation for running a business. But more importantly, it can also lead to more thoughtful decisions as you start and grow your business—decisions that could change your business’s trajectory. Whatever your business is, wherever it is going, passion will help you get there. Now go out there and build a purpose-driven company that makes a difference in its community. And remember: Keep following your passion!

The last time I set up my in-home studio space, I had to figure it out as I went. Having gone through the process already, I knew exactly what I needed. I figured it would be a perfect way to give photographers some insight on how they, too can set up a fully functional in-home studio without spending a fortune. I recorded the whole process so you can watch the setup and create your very own dream studio space!  I’m sharing all the details on how to create this dreamy space in a complete DIY White Studio Setup Guide as the newest freebie in our resource section.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD DIGITAL GUIDE

Over the years, I’ve always gotten a ton of questions on what materials I use. Especially for the floor and so excited to finally have an actual mini guide on the entire setup. You’ll know exactly what I use, how to set it up and learn some bonus tips on shooting in natural light. 

I spent a total of $138. But for a smaller set up you can spend as little as $86 for the same look. This has been my go-to setup for years. 

The digital guide includes the following: 

• Video tutorial on the studio setup
• Step-by-step instructions
• Item list (with direct links) 
• My favorite natural light setups

There are a few diagrams to show you some of my favorite ways to use natural light and the final results. This way you can learn a little bit about how to shoot in this space as well. 

Below are a few questions I’ve also gotten a lot in the past. Although I no longer shoot full time, these will be helpful for any photographer looking to grow their business. In the past, I’ve always had in-home studios and loved every minute of it!

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE GUIDE

WHY DO I PREFER HAVING AN INDOOR STUDIO?

The majority of my sessions consist of baby sessions and maternity sessions. Since babies are little, I need something simple, cozy and comfortable. My other sessions are done outside, so I don’t need a space for my traditional sessions that gives me a ton of space. With itty bitty babies, it’s actually nicer to have something that they too can feel comfortable in. And as a photographer, it’s awesome to have a space where everything is set up how it needs to be without needing to constantly set up and tear down. Choosing a space like this helps me as a photographer create more consistent work, and I love that about using a studio space.

This studio space will be used for baby, newborn and commercial sessions.

Since those are what I’m booked for most, it’s very convenient to have it at home because it means I don’t have to drive anywhere for the session, saving me time throughout the day because I can go from working in my office to shooting a session, then jump straight into editing which I love. I have a limited amount of time available so the less I have to drive back and forth the better!

LARGER STUDIO

Since I might require a larger space now and then, I found an amazing 2000+ sq ft all-white studio space that is available on an hourly rate. IF I need something bigger than the space I use at home I can easily use this space on a need-to-use basis without having the incredibly high overhead cost of retail space. Many larger cities offer this sort of thing, just search for photography studio space rental. It’s an awesome option for those of us who don’t have the space at home or prefer to have something outside their home without having to sign a long lease and have a monthly studio rental bill.

BUT WHAT WILL MY CLIENTS THINK?!

I get this question from fellow photographers who have thought about setting up their own in-home studio but are scared that it doesn’t look professional to clients who will be booking them. My advice on that is this; I have never not booked a client due to my in-home studio. When clients book me, they are looking at the finished product, my work and fall in love with that, not my studio space. They trust me as their photographer to create the same quality of work for their session. When potential clients go over my work, they care much more about what my work looks like, than how large my studio space is. Many of my clients become wonderful friends and since many of them book me for their maternity, newborn, then baby milestones they feel incredibly comfortable here. I love welcoming clients into my home and studio.

So if you’re on the fence about it, give it some thought. An in-home studio might be a wonderful fit for you and your clients.

Ok now to my favorite part, let’s go over how to set up your very own in home studio!

NATURAL LIGHT

If you’re a natural light photographer like me, then having a space that has plenty of that gorgeous light is top priority! I picked a room that basically consists of large windows on one side giving me plenty of light to work with. The room is filled with beautiful light, and that’s exactly what you need when you count on natural light. If you love using studio light, then having natural light is not a priority.

ENOUGH SPACE

Think about how you want to use the space. What type of sessions you want to offer and find a space that gives you enough space to work in. Since I love working with babies and newborns, I don’t need a ton of space to move around. I’m usually up close and personal when I’m shooting so a wall that is 9+ feet wide is great for space. Since the room I’m working in, also allows me to shoot long ways I have 30+ feet that I can shoot from the other way and get farther away portraits. I love creating dreamy backlit images so shooting directly against the windows will be perfect for those sorts of portraits!

WHITE FLOOR

This is one of the things I get the most questions on. What type of floor do I use? As you can tell by the images, there’s a slight glossy look to it. Prior to switching to these types of floors, I used seamless papers and just got frustrated with the number of times the paper would tear or all the staining that would happen when it was in use. Working with babies = lots of drooling so having something that isn’t going to show drool spots is awesome. It’s the perfect white, shiny and since it has that smooth finish, it makes it easy to clean.

So you’re probably wondering, what the heck is it and where can you get some!? You’ll get all that info in the digital guide. I have a whole sheet that lists all the items I used for my studio so you can use the exact same pieces. The floor is by far, the best part about the whole thing and it took me a long time to figure out exactly what worked the best.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD DIGITAL GUIDE

I know firsthand what it’s like to work with clients and customers who value what I have to offer (and those who don’t). I think it’s easy to believe that when you start a business, you’ll magically attract the right people (the ones who value your time and work) when in reality, most of the time, we spend a lot of time working with customers and clients who teach us what we don’t want. (we’ll call those hard lessons to learn). But the truth is, it’s those lessons that teach us to listen to our gut when it comes to the types of people we attract, and over time, we become great at attracting the right audience and saying no to the rest. 

But let me go back in time for a minute. To a time where I didn’t feel valued. Where I felt like I poured my heart into everything I did just to have it go unnoticed. I often sat there and wondered if pursuing a career in something that I am attached to emotionally, something I cared so much about, was the right decision. I think part of me is more vulnerable by choosing this as my job. Because to me, it’s more than a job. It’s something I created from nothing in hopes that the person I’m creating it for, is someone who values it. Pouring your heart into something you love for a long time just to feel like it’s not valued will run you into the ground eventually. 

The truth is that a lot of us spend a long time getting hung up on what we are not to justify the fact that we don’t value ourselves enough. We focus on all the things we aren’t excellent at instead of the pieces that make us great. The idea of truly valuing our time, work, vision, and dreams is always tied to something in the future. We become accustomed to it always being just out of reach because we’re not willing to seize it and hold on to it.

That leads us to the million-dollar question is; how do you get others to value what you do? 

It starts with you.

The first step in getting others to value you is to value yourself.

There are countless hours of work I put into this business. Countless nights that I would stay up all night to get my work done because it was the only time I could because it was when my little ones were sleeping. Countless hours on the road. Nights away from my family. Countless hours of trying over and over to get it right and countless of hours of failing and trying it again. Long days of work while holding my son while he’s sleeping. I have taken every day and pushed towards my goal, and I am the only one who knows how much I have had to sacrifice.

Do you know who values what I do most?

I do.

I know how much I have had to sacrifice and how hard I have worked. I know the hours, the days, the years I have put into this. There have been a million things that I have had to sacrifice to get to where I am now. I value every minute of my day, and at the end of the day, I have become very picky in choosing where I spend my time and who I spend my time on. I am ok with walking away from someone who does not value what I do. Because I know there are people out there that value everything I do. 

So the first step to getting others to value your time, your effort, your work – is to value yourself and your time.

The second thing is learning how to recognize those that will value what you do and those that don’t. With this, you will also need to learn to let go of those that don’t. It’s learning how to filter through people to find your dream client or customer. The people that see how hard you work and they appreciate everything you do for them. It’s not always easy to figure this out but take the time to figure out who your dream client is. 

Have you ever had a ‘dream client or customer?

If yes, sit down and write down what about them you loved so much. Then figure out how to find more of those types of people. Learn to see signs of a dream client and signs of a client that you’ve had in the past that didn’t appreciate everything you did. You’ll soon know exactly how to figure out who falls into what category, and more importantly, how to find more of the right people!

Here are a few things I look for:

They know how hard I work

Someone who understands how much work goes into creating quality products, resources and services. Since most of my clients and customers also have their own business, I always try and connect with those who really understand how much work goes into running a business and creating quality products and resources. Often this is someone who’s been in business for themselves for quite some time and is willing knows the importance in investing in quality items. Someone who has this understanding will always value what we do more than those who do not. 

Their style lines up with mine

You’ll never find an industry that doesn’t have competition in one way or another. Most of the time, there is no shortage of people who have the same thing of service or product available. So what separates these options really comes down to style and vision. For example; Our social media captions are written in a specific voice and style. I know they won’t be a perfect fit for everyone who’d like to get professionally written social media captions delivered each month, but by staying true to this style of writing, we create a resource that ends up being the perfect fit for a lot of business owners. My goal with these captions is not to be a generic option for anyone with a business. Instead, I want these captions to be a perfect fit for the right business owners. 

They value my prices

Like so many others, I started my business charging very little for my time. As time went by and my business grew, my pricing increased as well. One of the most interesting things I found was that charging higher prices helped me attract more of my ideal clients and customers. The ones who didn’t question my pricing tried to get a discount or attempted to compare my pricing to someone else offering something similar in hopes that I would doubt my pricing and lower it. Those types of people often don’t make the best clients and customers, and I learned very quickly that to FEEL valued, I need to charge accordingly. 

They’re excited to support my business

I’ve had thousands of customers from all over the world over the years. 80,000+ people who have in some way ordered something from our shop, became a member, or hired me for something more specific. Regardless of how they found out about Modern Market, it’s the ones who are genuinely excited and connected to this company that I’ve built that always bring me the most joy.

I think because this business is more than just products, resources, and services to me. I feel connected to the people who support it because we’re all in the same business of chasing our biggest dreams. It’s a community of creatives that just understand what it means to put this much work into what we do so when they come along and show their support and are excited to be part of something bigger; it just feels like all the little pieces have fallen into place.

Anyways…those are just a few things that I look at. There are so many signs that you can learn to see in your dream client and customer. You just have to learn what to look for and learn to walk away from those that show signs of not valuing what you do.

With how much energy, time, and work you put into your business, you deserve to be supported by people who value what you do. More importantly, you have to value it first. You have to raise that bar and never bother with losing out on anything that’s below your highest standard.

You deserve only the best. 

Let’s talk about time management! Do you ever feel like your day is passing you by, and you haven’t really gotten anything that you had hoped to get done for the day accomplished? You’re sitting there working on…stuff…but nothing specific? Well, you’re not alone! In this article, I’ll go over some of my favorite things to do in order to stop wasting time.

Many of us deal with time management issues, especially those who work from home and have their own business.

Instead of working at a job that is 9-5, we have one that is 24/7. And it’s those 24 hours every day we have to look at, organize, and strategically set up to maximize our outcome for getting tasks accomplished for work and life.

IT ALL COMES BACK TO TIME-MANAGEMENT

Below I wrote out my favorite time management tips, and I’m hoping they help you plan and organize your workday, all while getting closer to your personal goals and helping you stop wasting time.

The biggest lesson I’ve had to learn as an entrepreneur is time management. And let me tell you – it was a hard one to learn. I look at it this way. You can run your business without time management skills and work against yourself for the rest of your career, OR you can learn how to be a time management genius.

Let’s be honest, running a successful business is one big net of getting things done to get you closer to your goal. The only way to do this is to know how to manage every little thing that relates to you running your business.

MAKING A PLAN

You need to have a structure, a plan, a schedule, deadlines, and you need to actually get it done. You need to be strict with work hours and not let your business run your life. I think this goes especially for those of you like me that work out of your home. Your office is right there, in your home, and it is easy for your job to start ‘ruling’ your life.

Sometimes it can feel like work is around you 24/7. You’re always checking your phone for notifications. You’re trying to squeeze in work in between making dinner and bath time. You go to bed only to be woken up by your phone binging and feeling like you need to get up to answer that one email which we know will lead to answering just another ten more. You’re stressed because you feel like you can’t be there for your kids 100% and be running your business 100% no matter what; you never have enough time in the day.

I hear you! That was my life before I learned how to manage my time. My new normal? I know what I need to do when I’m in my office. My phone does not run my sleep cycle and for the first time, I feel like I can be a happy, unstressed mom with my kids again. I hope that these little tips will help you too.

And please note, this is coming from a working mama (I have four kids between the ages of 9 months-13). I homeschool and have to balance both life, motherhood, homeschooling, and business. So this is coming directly from someone who has a full plate and a very wild house most days.

1. DESIGNATE A WORKPLACE

Hint: it should not be your kitchen counter, your bed, your sofa, your patio. Pick a room or a corner in your home that when you sit down at, you know it’s time to buckle down and get your work done. It’s not the time to catch up on Facebook or play on Pinterest. It’s time to knock off items from your to-do list.

Know what time you need to start working and should be done working. It might not be a solid amount of hours; it might be three large chunks of time throughout your day. You run your business; you get to pick your hours. When you’re at work, work. When you’re not, then enjoy your time away from work.

2. MY TO-DO LIST

I have ONE relevant folder sitting on my desk. It’s a to-do list. I have a million checklists, and it is never-ending. Anytime I have something I need to do (it could be answering a particular email, calling someone back, scheduling an appt) it gets added next in line. As I work, I check them off as I go. My bigger projects are added to the list, and they usually have separate to-do lists. You know how it goes. My checklists…have checklists… it’s a never-ending list, but it is the one big thing that keeps me moving forward. And quickly. When I get done with something, I don’t waste a minute thinking about what else needs to get done; I look at my list and choose my next item.

3. QUIT MULTITASKING (AKA, WASTING TIME)

If you’re working on something, work on that ONE thing. Not that one thing, plus three more. The only two things you should be doing is working on something AND drinking your favorite coffee drink. That’s as far as your multitasking should ever go. Know what’s important and put the focus there.

Manage your lists by working on the most important thing first and then move on to the next important thing on the list.

This goes hand in hand with knowing what’s on your list that holds the most value. You should be able to look at them and, within a few seconds, know what you need to be working on next. It’s a good idea to know which three items would qualify as your ‘three most important tasks’ when you get your workday started.

4. USE THE RIGHT PLANNER

After years of buying planners (and not using them), I finally decided to make my own. One designed for goal-driven business owners in mind. It comes with so many incredible printable pages to help you plan and stay on track to reaching your goals, including a pretty to-do list for each month. I’m telling ya…it’s a game-changer! 

I made the planner FREE so you can download it, get it printed and get to work. 

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE BUSINESS PLANNER.

5. AVOID DISTRACTIONS

This is a hard one to do for some. But I know I am more productive when my phone isn’t in the same room. So I make it a point to keep it out of sight where I won’t be tempted to check notifications. If you find yourself constantly picking up your phone to see what’s going on, try putting it elsewhere, at least for the time being that you’re at your desk working.

6. BATCH WORK

This is probably one of my favorite ones to do. Instead of bouncing between my inbox, blog posts, customer support, and that new online class I’m working on. I bundle my tasks together, which saves me a ton of time.

Take social media posts, for example. I could take 10 minutes every day to find a picture, write a status, schedule that post before moving on to something new. OR I could work on a whole month worth of social posts in 30-40 minutes.

This is exactly what we do with our Social Media Captions Membership. Every month, our members get new captions for the entire month, and all they need to do is customize and schedule them for the month ahead. This batch work alone saves me hours every single week!

Time management is a hard one to master, but with the right system in place, it’s possible to have days where you’re getting tons of work done and getting closer to your goals. There are so many things we can learn to do that will help us not waste time. It just comes down to realizing when we’re doing something that’s not actually being productive and making a change in our daily routine.

A question I often get is about Facebook Advertising. Does it work? Is it worth it? It’s something people email me about, ask me on Facebook, discuss in my private Facebook group. After publishing my income reports and showing that I spent money on advertising, it has brought even more questions my way, and I’m so excited to answer them today. 

Most of you who are reading this probably have tried to use Facebook advertising and either lost money or quickly booked some new clients. This article is here to tell you exactly what will make your Facebook ads work, what won’t.

I have spent plenty of money on Facebook advertising. Plenty of losses and gains. I’ve spent money on ads that brought me nothing but negativity and money on ads that have connected me with some passionate creatives and made it possible for me to scale my business. There are so many possibilities with advertising, and what I think is most important is understanding how they can work for you.

I have made over a million with my business promoting different products and services, including Lightroom Presets, Social Media Captions, and even CRMs. Much of that money was made before ever spending a penny on Facebook. Before spending money on advertising, I had many months making anywhere from $10,000 to $14,000 a month without spending a single dollar in any digital advertising. Facebook advertising wasn’t even an option for me when I started my business, and I surely didn’t have a large enough budget to ever consider investing in any type of advertising when I first got started. So with that being said, let’s dive into what works and how to avoid possible BIG financial mistakes. 

WHAT MAKES FACEBOOK ADVERTISING WORK? 

THE ONLY THING FACEBOOK ADVERTISING WILL DO IS AMPLIFY YOUR CURRENT BUSINESS STRUCTURE AND RESULTS

And that’s not always a good thing!

THIS MEANS THAT IF:

• your business is set up correctly
• you have a business plan and strategy to reach your goals
• your work is something you are absolutely proud of 
• you stand 100% behind your passion and work
• your pricing is set up to bring in profits and create value-based 100% on your personal goals
• understand exactly who your dream client is
• have excellent customer communication skills
• know how to make clients value your service 
• have a strategy in collecting potential leads 
• know exactly how to close the booking deal 
• have a loyal client base that trusts you
• have a brand that people recognize
• put a ton of time into your business
• you have a strong business workflow that keeps you on track
• have a style that is unique 
• you have clients who rave about your service
• know that the clients you have will recommend your business to others and return to you over and over again

FACEBOOK ADVERTISING WILL WORK AMAZINGLY FOR YOU

It will literally take every aspect of your current business and quickly help you amplify the results. Facebook ads will ONLY work for you if your business is set up correctly. I can not stress this enough for those of you who are thinking of not just Facebook advertising but any business advertising that will require you to invest a large amount of money. 

Now Facebook (or any advertising) will blow your money quicker than you can imagine if your business is currently not set up correctly. If you currently have a business where you feel frustrated with how it’s working, you are either not bringing in enough clients/customers, people don’t value what you do, and you don’t have an overall business strategy; advertising is not for you (YET).

This certainly does not mean that it won’t ever be for you, it just means that we have to get it set up correctly first, get everything lined up how it should, go over your goals, make sure that your pricing is where it should, make sure that your brand and website is the best version of your business, and put in a booking strategy that will quickly turn potential clients into loyal clients that are quickly referring more and more loyal customers your way. 

THIS MEANS THAT IF:

• your business is not set up correctly
• you have no idea how to reach your business goals and don’t know how to make it happen. 
• your work is something you are still perfecting
• stand 100% behind your passion but are still struggling to get it where your vision is
• your pricing is set up based on what you read online, or worse, 100% based on someone else’s pricing
• know you want clients to value you, but have no idea what that person looks like
• have a hard time staying on top of communicating with clients
• don’t know how to make clients value your service 
• don’t have a strategy in collecting potential leads 
• you don’t know exactly how to close the booking deal; right now it’s like a hit or miss. Sometimes they book you, and other times you never even hear back from them.
• don’t have a loyal client base
• have branding in your head but haven’t been able to really nail it down in real life
• feel like you don’t have a good workflow and your are constantly stressed about the amount of work you need to get done. 
• you haven’t yet found your style, and are still jumping around a lot. You’re not yet creating consistent work. 
• put a ton of time into your business but aren’t seeing the return
• you have clients who don’t seem to value the amount of effort you put into your work
• Your current clients aren’t really helping you grow your client base

Facebook (or any type of advertising) is not for you YET. 

I’m not saying that if you read that list and said “yep” to every single one, I’m saying that even if 5 of those things lined up with how you feel about your business, it’s not yet time to spend any money in advertising. I also made sure to underline the yet part, because just because your business isn’t ready for it now, certainly doesn’t mean it won’t ever be ready for it!

THE TRUTH IS THAT ADVERTISING IS NOT GOING TO BUILD YOUR BUSINESS FOR YOU

Advertising is awesome; I love using it to grow my business. But take it from someone who had used it before being ready, and lost money, any type of advertising will not put in the hard work you have to do to create a successful business. 

Put in the hard work, figure out what works and what doesn’t. If you’re someone who is currently not fully satisfied with their business and wants to learn the correct way to set up their business, how to find the right clients, pricing yourself correctly, and understand that running a successful business has a lot more to do with following the right strategies and plans that blindly trying different things then I would love to help. 

My business class teaches you everything from start to finish and comes with access to a private online group where I can help you on a more personal level. I don’t want to talk too much about it in this blog post, but seriously, even if you have a tiny piece of you wonder if THIS class could help you, I’m telling you right now, it will! 

Back to Facebook ads: Let’s say that you fall under the category of Facebook ads working great for you, then here are a few important things you need to do when setting up ads! 

START SMALL AND BE CAREFUL

People I talk to about ads often come back with “omg, there’s no way I could spend that much in ads a day! That’s absolutely insane!” I can not stress this enough, and that’s why it’s on the top of the list, but start small! VERY small. $1 a day will end up being $30 a month. If you spend $5 a day, it will end up being $150 a month. The nice thing with social ads, you can start small. 

CREATE A LANDING PAGE

Make sure that you link it to your website! Better yet, create a special page on your website that will give them a nice welcome, talk to them more about what you have to offer and most importantly, have a way for them to fill something out to reach you or get on your email list!

CUSTOMIZE THE TEXT

This one is simple but so important. A lot of people don’t even realize this is possible. When you add a link to Facebook, it will automatically put an image and text from that link. You’ll see the larger ‘header’ text and the smaller text. CLICK on them to edit them!

WHAT ARE YOU PROMOTING, AND HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?

Always make sure to look at how much the service is you are selling and how much it took you to gain that new client/customer. Spending $100 is a lot, but when you keep adding those numbers up, the return is actually pretty good. 

Let’s pretend like for every $100 you get a new $500 client. 

• $100 in ad spend, you’ll make $500
• $200 in ad spend, you’ll make $1000
• $300 in ad spend, you’ll make $1500
• $400 in ad spend, you’ll make $2000
• $500 in ad spend, you’ll make $2500. 

That’s a great return. If you could continue this structure long-term, it would be super easy for you to keep finding more clients using Facebook advertising. 

EXPLORE WHAT WORKS

Facebook advertising has worked great with me, but it certainly is not the only way to utilize advertising. Business owners might also see great results using something like Instagram, and those who offer a physical product might benefit most from using Pinterest, a local flower shop might see best results in using Google ad words! As you can see, there’s a lot out there and what works for one person, might not for another. It’s important to try different things to see which one will be best for you and your business. 

But remember, any form of advertising will only work if you have a business that is set up correctly. If you need help in building a successful business, then I would love to help you! 

When it comes to the world of marketing and advertising, we’re lucky to live in a time where we don’t just have to depend on word of mouth. We can use modern tools like social media to reach thousands of people from around the world. All with just a click of a button.

If you run a business, you probably spend a great deal of time coming up with content to share and know the struggle of content creation. Sometimes it can be hard to know what to say to place yourself as an expert in your industry, so potential clients and customers are eager to hire and buy from you.

So let me let you in on a little secret…

When it comes to social media, it’s not about constantly selling and promoting what you have to offer.

Instead, it’s a place to build a connection.

A place where people get to know you more, learn from you, see what you do and what you have to offer. It’s so much more than a platform to sell. When you start using it as a tool to connect, you’ll see the sales and booking begin to come naturally.

You might wonder why that is…

When you can build a personal connection and create trust, you no longer have to “sell” yourself to potential clients and customers in order to grow your business. Instead, you can use tools like social media to connect with the right people. By having an open conversation, they will naturally learn more about what you do.

The best thing you can do for your business is offer value to those who need it the most. The truth is, I’ve never liked the idea of ‘selling’ to clients and customers. Instead, I love to see it as me educating them about a problem I can help solve and showing them how to do that. 

Here’s a quick example.

Wordsmith is a membership of professionally written social media captions for entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs can sign up for free and get the first month’s worth of captions for free to see if it’s the right fit. If they choose to stay, they automatically get new captions, delivered every single month.

THE PROBLEMS IT SOLVES:

• It helps entrepreneurs save time because they get professionally written captions every month and no longer need to write them.
• They instantly get a social media strategy built into the captions. Which will help them connect to more customers and clients.
• By using the captions, they can finally show up on social media the way they have always wanted to. 
• They can quickly customize these captions to who they are and what their business is about.

Our software helps photographers and entrepreneurs with clients manage all aspects of their business. And our beautiful presets help others edit their photos. These presets help create their dream style with just a click of a button. 

For me, it’s never about selling, it’s about offering a solution.  

If you haven’t already, take time to think about the problems your business solves for others. How you can change the conversation from selling to having the perfect solution to someone’s problem. When it comes to getting more sales, more clients, or more customers, it comes down to building more connections with people. People who need exactly what you have to offer.

That leads to more traffic to your business.

Which is what we all want, right?

The #1 traffic referrer for my business is direct traffic. And there’s not a great deal someone can do to alter those numbers. The second leading referrer has always been social media. With over six figures made directly from clients and customers finding me via social media alone, it plays a vital role in my business marketing strategy. Lucky for us, the amount of traffic we get from social media IS something we can alter significantly with the right strategy.

Using social media to book more clients, get more customers, or sell more products is 100% possible. But you have to build your foundation on connection instead of selling. A great way to do exactly that is by using the 5-point strategy, which covers not just promoting your business but other important topics you can use to connect with ideal customers and clients. I’ve used this exact strategy for years, and it’s worked incredibly well. 

Download some free captions to try

If you’re ready for more, I recently created a guide going over my entire Social Media Marketing Strategy. I even included some of the social media captions from our Curated Captions membership. You can jump right in and see for yourself how easy it is to use the power of social media to scale your business!

You can download the complete guide for free HERE. 

It’s loaded with helpful tips and tricks, and absolutely perfect for anyone who’s ready to start using a social media strategy that will actually help them grow their business.

Since the new website launch, I’ve had a few people ask why I decided to go with a Showit Website. Over any of the other options out there. Before I dive into why, I’ll start with what I was using prior, and the reason it was no longer the right fit for my business.

Since the very beginning, I’ve have used Shopify as my website platform. As an e-commerce shop, Shopify was always the best option. But over the years of growing my business, it became more difficult to build a space that really showcased everything I had to offer.

For years now, I’ve been making Shopify work, and for years I’ve felt held back as a creative. I’ve had to piece together apps in hopes of creating a space online I loved. Only to become frustrated with it a site that wasn’t a true reflection of my style and vision.

I KNEW IT WAS TIME FOR A CHANGE

Fast forward to this year. I knew it was time to make a big change. I knew I would still keep Shopify for the shop side of Modern Market, but wanted to find the right kind of platform that would make it easier for me to style and customize my site. After months of research and comparing different platforms I decided that Showit would be the best fit.

At the time, I was incredibly nervous about moving everything over. Especially since I had just invested over ten years into building my business on one platform. I knew that in order to grow with my business, I needed more. Now that the switch has been made to Showit Website. I couldn’t be happier.

The number one reason I was so drawn to Showit was the company TONIC, which creates the most incredible pre-made Showit Website Themes you’ll find online. After they launched their Paper Plane theme, I instantly knew it would be the perfect theme for me. It’s exactly what I had in mind for Modern Market. It’s literally like they knew what I wanted and needed and designed a site that was made just for me.

They have so many beautiful themes to choose from, which you can see HERE. If you see something you love, you can even use the code MODERNMARKET to get yourself 15% off!

Below I’ll share the top reasons I decided to go with Showit Website.

BEAUTIFUL DESIGN + FUNCTIONALITY

As I said above, the top reason I ended up going with Showit was because of the design company Tonic. Their website designs are so much more than just a pretty-looking site design. Now don’t get me wrong, of course, I wanted my site to look beautiful. BUT as a business, I needed something that helped me put my best foot forward. As a creative entrepreneur, I needed something to make it easy to showcase everything I have to offer. If you’re looking for incredibly beautiful + functional themes, look no further. I bet you’ll find your dream theme over at TONIC.

SHOPIFY INTEGRATION

Next on my list was that I needed something that would easily allow me to integrate within my Shopify store. This is where I host ALL my digital products, and it was an absolute MUST on my list. To my surprise, Showit makes this super easy. I love that I can have my main site. Which is finally 100% designed the way I want, while still selling through Shopify. I’ve been creating specially designed pages for each of my preset collections. This way I can really showcase the collections available. I’m so happy with how it all looks.

EXAMPLE:

• THIS is what my old product listing looked like.
• And THIS is the same collection designed on Showit.

My favorite part? I can finally show off those pretty before and afters!

EASY TO CUSTOMIZE

One of the main things I was concerned about was being able to actually customize the site and make it look the way I want. Have you ever bought something and then just get so frustrated with trying to use it? Yeah, you won’t feel this way using a TONIC Theme + Showit platform. Within two days of getting started with my theme, I was getting the hang of it. I have to say, the whole process was incredibly fun.

If you’re worried about making the switch over to Showit, and worried about not being techy enough to actually figure out how to do it, I highly recommend using a TONIC theme . Pretty much everything is ready to go and all you have to do is customize it to your liking. Showit support is also top-notch. The few times I couldn’t figure something out, they were super quick to jump in and help.

THE OPTION TO CREATE MORE PAGES

For those who have been following my business over the years, know Modern Market has A LOT to offer. Like a lot, a lot.

• We have beautiful presets.
• Launched over 700 digital products.
• Membership for social media captions.
• Software to help entrepreneurs manage their clients and business.

With offering so many different kinds of products and services, I needed something that would make it easy for me to design and create custom pages. This way, I could create an unlimited amount of special pages while still keeping everything on ONE site.

Before switching over to Showit, the second someone wanted to view our Social Media Captions Membership, they would get bounced off our main site onto another. That style-wise didn’t really match. And then if they wanted to learn more about our software. Again they would get bumped off our main site and to a new one.

Since moving to Showit, I can finally create pages specifically for different products and services. No matter where someone goes on our site, they will get the same style.

The biggest takeaway from making the switch over to Showit and using a Tonic theme is that I finally feel like the website I have, is a reflection of my style, dreams, and vision.

I couldn’t be more in love with this beautiful site we created with TONIC & Showit!

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Tonic Site Shop offers beautiful, customizable website designs for entrepreneurs & creatives.

Paper Plane is the theme designed by Tonic that I used for our website. (Mixed with a few Greyhound Elements)

Showit is a drag-and-drop website platform that provides total creative freedom over the layout and design of your website, all without a single line of code.

We’re celebrating because the new Showit website site is officially LIVE!

The process of bringing this new vision to life has been so rewarding. It’s been amazing to see everything come together so beautifully.

It’s been years of piecing together different things to get it at least a little bit how I wanted, and it feels incredible to finally have a website that is the 100% what I’ve always dreamt of having. A place for all my ideas, dreams, and resources. 

I spent months researching different platforms and decided to go with Showit Website. With Showit, I am using a theme from TONIC. I was completely blown away by how easy and enjoyable the whole process was. I’m working on a few articles and can’t wait to write more about the actual process of switching over and using a TONIC Theme for my new website for Modern Market. I’ll be sure to link those articles below when they are ready!

WHY YOUR WEBSITE MATTERS

Too often, we underestimate how important websites truly are. How they can completely change our outlook on what’s possible within the dreams, we pursue in life. It’s so much more than a website. It’s the place I get to share all the things I’m passionate in one place. While making an impact around the world.

So happy to finally share this new site with all of you. I’ll be writing a few articles on the process of switching over to a Showit.

This new launch has also allowed me to shift with my business. For those of you who have been with me from the very start know I got started as a portrait photographer who specialized in documenting motherhood. Later on, Modern Market was the place I shared the resources I used to grow my creative business. Over time it’s turned more and more into a community.

A community that I’m so honored to serve.

A NEW DIRECTION

Over the last year, I’ve done a lot of soul searching on the direction I wanted to go and knew I wanted to open the doors to more ways to serve. For years now I’ve found myself emerging in helping entrepreneurs with growing their business. I knew in my heart I wanted to continue building on to this community by including not just photographers, but all creative entrepreneurs.

My hope with this Modern Market is to continue to serve as best as I can, with the strategies and tools I’ve used to build my business from the ground up. A place I get to share my dreams, and goals while helping you with yours.

For a long time, I felt like the website platform I had was holding me back from growing my business. Now, with my new site, I truly feel like I’m no longer being held back. Instead, I feel more inspired to create than ever before.

SOMETIMES ALL WE NEED IS A FRESH START

This whole process served as a reminder that sometimes the things holding us back from building our dream business could be something as simple as our website. We put so much effort into so many aspects of our business. The marketing, the sales, social media, and all too often, our website is set up and left behind as we continue to grow throughout the years.

If your website isn’t currently living up to what you would consider your dream site, then maybe it’s time to make it happen and create a space that truly inspires you.

Today, I’m celebrating not just a new website design but celebrating all there is to come for all of us.

If you have questions about building a Showit website, just leave a comment below! I’d be happy to answer them.

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The reason it’s so difficult to talk about because I take it so personal and have poured 10 years of hard work into my business.
To have something like this happen…has been so incredibly hard.

SOMEONE STOLE MY DIGITAL PRODUCTS

I had someone steal my products, upload them for the world to download for free, and had to deal with the fall-out behind the scenes because of it for months. To say it was hard would be an understatement. For a long time, I had no idea this had even happened. It wasn’t until I suddenly saw a drop in sales that made me wonder what had happened.

I had a solid business, great products, and a killer marketing strategy in place. I built my dream business. Months went by until I decided to take a closer look at what happened and discovered the problem.

My best selling products, stolen by a stranger, uploaded for free, for the world to download.
This wasn’t the first time someone had stolen my products. Sadly, I see it happen all the time. It was just the first time this had happened and really affected how my business was doing financially.

HOW IT FELT  

First, I was angry, so angry. Angry at this person for taking what I had worked so hard to build. Then the sadness kicked in. Then doubt. Then some more anger. I questioned what the point was of building a business when someone could come in and just take what they wanted without any consequences.

THE TRUTH: THERE’S VERY LITTLE YOU CAN DO

There’s very little you can do when digital products are stolen, and the damage that occurs because of it happens so incredibly fast.
In the 10 years of being in business, it has been the HARDEST thing I’ve had to deal with, and I’ve never had something made me question what I was doing creatively as much as this.

After a lot of hard work and trying many different things, I managed to get my stolen products taken down. The sad part is that they were up for months without me being aware. Regardless, the damage from having this happened can’t be undone. The only thing I can do now is move forward.

The really sad part about it is that this site is still up, and this person if earning money by stealing other people’s products and letting the world download them for free.

As a creative business, it sickens me to know that there are people that think it’s OK to do this.

It also makes me sad knowing that there are photographers and other creative people that go to these sites to download products for free, knowing they are stolen instead of purchasing them from the actual creator who put so much time into making them.

THIS IS THEFT AND IT’S NOT OK

People might think it’s an innocent thing to do, that it’s just them doing it, but here’s the truth; I am a small business, and pour my heart into what I do because it’s what I love. My family of 5 depending on my business financially. This is not a side hobby, this is what we count on and I know so many other small businesses that are in the same boat. So when someone downloads something for free online…I hope they realize it will affect that creator in a negative way.

It’s not innocent.

It’s not OK.

And as someone who works in the photography industry as a photographer AND creator, I know how common it is for photographers to share digital products. To split costs and do a group buy. To trade preset packs and digital products. I’ve seen threads on Reddit from photographers, specifically asking for my preset collections and listing what all they would be willing to trade for.

I see it happen all the time and know that it’s not just happening to me and my business, but is a massive problem in the digital product world.

What bothers me most about it is because I know the people that are doing it, are photographers. Photographers who are also trying to make a living doing what they love. Photographers who want to be booked by clients who value them, their time, and hard work. I know how much it would hurt them to have clients who just took screenshots of the gallery instead of purchasing prints or digitals from them. They are no different than me. They want to be valued.

Sometimes I wonder how a photographer, in the same creative industry as me, would be OK with stealing from someone online.

THIS WASN’T THE FIRST TIME MY PRODUCTS STOLEN

The first time I found one of my digital items stolen and posted for free I remember reaching out to the other creators whose products were next to mine. I explained what had happened, how upsetting it was, I knew they would be just as upset as me and that if we all stood up together, we could make a change. maybe even put an end to it.

Sadly this is what she said;

“Don’t bother…There’s nothing you can do and talking about it will only make it worse so don’t bring it up anywhere”.

I left that conversation with my head hanging low because I knew they were right. There was so little I could do, and bringing it up could potentially make the problem even worse by drawing more attention to it.

But after having this happen, at such a large scale, I knew I was done being quiet about it because it’s a problem that affects so many small businesses, and I want people to realize it’s not ok.

I WANTED TO QUIT

I had days of wanting to quit because when you spend 10 years building something from the ground up and then have something like this happen, you feel so knocked down from it.

Then, after all the sadness and plenty of support from my husband, who I don’t know how many times had to lift me up over the last few months and remind me that I had it in me to do bigger and better things, I decided that he was right.

Just because something like this happened doesn’t mean that I couldn’t take what I had learned over the 10 years and apply it in a new way.

TIME FOR CHANGE

I took some time to take a look at my business and how I want to move forward and know in my heart that I want to make some changes. To focus not just on one aspect of what I am good at, but the many things I enjoy doing.

The truth is; there’s still plenty of sad days and a little anger towards this stranger, but more so, there’s a drive-in me to do something even more amazing. To use this to push me past my self made limits of what is possible and try something new.

Sometimes bad things in life happen, and they are out of our control. But deciding how to move forward will always be up to us.

CHOOSING TO SEE OPPORTUNITIES

We can choose to see the opportunities rather than feel defeated. We can see hard times as things that strengthen us in the long run.
I’ll continue working hard, just in a new way. I’m putting the days of sadness, anger, doubt behind.

CHANGE IS UNCOMFORTABLE BUT NECESSARY

Here’s what I know for sure; Change is uncomfortable but necessary.
My biggest wish is for you to be here for it all. I’m turning a new page, with a new dream and, most importantly, hope.

The last few months were incredibly hard, but I’m more than ever excited about what’s to come. To each of you who have shown support to me and my business; thank you for always being there. You have no idea how much that means.

This wasn’t easy to share, it wouldn’t have been easier to just keep it all to myself, but I felt it was important to share what happened so I can truly put it behind me and move forward.

I spent the last week re-vamping my homepage and re-organizing the blog and want to put more effort into adding new content here to help all of you.

HERE’S WHAT I’LL BE DOING NEXT

After 10 years of being in business, I’ve built a striving photography business, a million-dollar e-commerce site, and The Essential Studio Manager, which is a software used by thousands of photographers around the world to manage their photography business.

Simply put; I bring a lot of knowledge to the table when it comes to building businesses, managing, and scaling. I love taking ideas, making a plan, and making it happen. It’s what I love to do, and it ties perfectly into what I love to do. Helping other business owners build and scale their own business.

There are big things ahead, I can feel it.

I can’t wait to share everything I know with you, so you can use these same methods with making your dreams a reality too.

Here’s to bigger and better things.

And to the person who stole from me; You’ll never personally know me. You’ll never know the pain you put me through or the struggle I had to face because of your action. Stealing my digital products seemed so innocent to you. You probably had no idea that my family was financially dependent on my business and that your actions would push us to have to move from a home we loved and start over again.

As hard as this was for me, I also know that I have I am strong enough to push past this and continue doing great things with my life and business.