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!

As an introvert, I often felt like I didn’t have the right personality to succeed as an entrepreneur. I’m happy to report that my skill sets as an introvert have only helped me reach new levels of success in the 10+ years of working for myself. I’ve built a successful online business for fellow entrepreneurs, Modern Market. One of our top resources is Social Media Captions written for fellow entrepreneurs. I’ve even built a Saas The Essential Studio Manager with my husband to help business owners manage their photography business. I hope that this article helps other introvert entrepreneurs pursuing their passions realize just how powerful they are. Here are 10 reasons introverts make great entrpnuers.

While many people believe that entrepreneurship and extroversion go hand in hand. There are plenty of successful business owners who are not only introverts but thriving as entrepreneurs. In fact, studies show that certain personality traits, such as those that make up an introvert’s personality type, can actually be advantageous when running a small business.

They Solve Problems On Their Own

Although extroverts prefer to work with others and solve problems in groups, introverts can succeed when working solo. While it may be less enjoyable for them, an introverts’ ability to work alone (and often at their own pace) allows them to focus on tasks without distractions and tackle problems creatively. As a result, they find solutions that would have otherwise been missed by others.

They’re Independent Thinkers

As an introvert, you’re far more likely to go out on a limb and give your own opinion than someone who’s more socially comfortable. You’re not afraid to speak up when you don’t agree with something. And that trait can work in your favor when starting a business. Asking for advice is great, but it doesn’t give you any real-world experience in making your own decisions or asserting yourself.

They’re Passionate About What They Do

The idea of building a business around your passions is hugely appealing to introverts. It means they won’t have to spend their time doing something they don’t enjoy. After all, few people are motivated by money alone.

They’re More Likely To Listen

One of your main jobs as an entrepreneur is to listen. Be it your customers, clients, or other people within your industry—it’s important that you can effectively communicate and empathize with others. The ability to do so doesn’t always come naturally to extroverts. Particularly in certain situations. But introverts tend to be natural listeners and communicators. Which makes them great for listening closely and bringing their perspective into a conversation. While speaking is often viewed as a sign of leadership, listening can be just as important when it comes to making good decisions.

They Put Action Before Action Words

Okay, so some extroverts have a tendency to chase shiny objects. They’re constantly meeting new people and trying new things. Meanwhile, introverts love a good routine, and they don’t seek out constant stimulation. In fact, their need for stability can actually be a huge asset when starting a business. It allows them to focus without being derailed by every new fad or shiny object that passes their way.

They Don’t Chase Shiny Objects

Because introverts have a lower need for external stimulation, they tend to be less prone to unrealistic quick fixes. They’re also less likely to be distracted by shiny objects that will often distract an extrovert from their goals. In short, when it comes to losing weight, they stick with it.

They Don’t Care What Others Think Of Them

An introvert is not necessarily a loner, but they can get things done on their own if need be. They are likely to plan and work strategically. When it comes to working, they are more focused on the project at hand rather than being social with others. 

They Can Get Things Done Alone

While extroverts crave interaction, introverts can thrive as independant workers. They’re able to focus more easily and avoid distractions from those around them. This gives them an edge in getting projects done quickly and with less stress. They keep a low profile. While some extroverted entrepreneurs enjoy being in front of a crowd, others don’t care for all of that attention and actually prefer to be behind the scenes working.

They Won’t Leave Something Unfinished Because It’s Easier To Start Over

It takes a lot of self-discipline to get an idea off paper and into reality. This is true for any entrepreneur, but introverts tend to be highly motivated once they get an idea in their head. It’s less likely they’ll get distracted and let their ideas fall by the wayside. Also, since they’re good at working independently and alone, they aren’t tempted to rely on colleagues or friends to help them complete a project. 

No One Tells Them How To Do Things

As an introvert, you often have to go off the book when it comes to extroverted coworkers. No one told you how to talk to new people, answer phones, or pitch investors, build a business or launch a new course or product, so you just made it up as you went along—and that makes you valuable. You’re comfortable with ambiguity and are excellent at making on-the-fly adjustments. And since no one told you how things are done, no one knows how they can be done better.

Are you an introvert too?

So if you’re a fellow introvert, realize just how powerful you are with your set of skills and personality traits. Stop thinking that it’s in any way limiting you as an entrepreneur. If you ever need a reminder, just come back to this article as to why introverts make great entrepreneurs.

Yes, introverts are often misunderstood by extroverted peers, but that doesn’t make them weak or less capable. Your careful consideration of everything around you. Your tendency to think deeply about things. And your thoroughness in making sure you do it right. These are powerful assets—and they’re all important qualities of being an entrepreneur. Not only that, but being an introvert is great for business owners because it forces you to be independent—another trait that leads to success. 

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

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD FREE LIGHTROOM MOBILE PRESETS

If you’ve been following my journey for a while, you know it all started in the photography industry for me. My passion for documenting motherhood. Developing tools to help me with my post-processing has always been something I love to do. Being able to share these tools with all of you just makes it that much more fun.

Over the years, I’ve released over 20 Lightroom Preset Collections that are used by thousands of photographers around the world. I’ve shared a few sample presets in the past, and am so excited to make a special post for these presets. I get so many emails asking about this freebie and hope that this makes it a lot easier to find!

If you’ve been looking for some beautiful presets to try, you’re going to want to download these presets. They come with both Lightroom Classic, Lightroom CC, and Mobile presets. These presets will give you a little taste of what you can expect from our professional Lightroom presets. You can view all those preset collections HERE.

Regardless of where you are in your photography journey, using presets can help bring your dream vision to life. For years I struggled with my work. Not because the original image was bad. I just didn’t know what kind of adjustments I needed to make to get my desired style. Once you start using presets that work, you’ll save yourself so much time. You’ll create beautiful consistent work that’s a reflection of your style.

All our larger collections come with 40 presets total, giving you a ton of options. My goal with presets has always been to create presets that are easy to use and work with a simple click of a button. Each collection has been created with a specific purpose. From real photography sessions. Making them incredibly easy to use for photographers.

Enjoy your new free Lightroom Mobile presets!

DOWNLOAD FREE PRESETS

P.S. Know some photographers or creatives that would love to get some free presets? Share this article with them!

Ready to view all our preset collections? CLICK HERE.

Don’t forget to join my newsletter to be the first to get any new freebies released!

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. 

If you’re ready to start moving in the right direction and become amazing at getting things accomplished then let me explain this concept to you. It might sound simple but take the time to actually think about it. Let it sink in. I believe this concept needs to be understood by every business person out there. 

I often get asked how I managed to grow my business and Wordsmith Membership so quickly and I can say that it had to do with a lot of things. One of them is reading a lot. I’ve never been able to get lost in storybooks, but hand me a book on business and I can’t put it down. I soak it up like a sponge and then piece it together to make it fit my life, my business, and the way I run my business. Something about business fascinates me, and I love reading how things work, how ideas succeed, how they fail. I love reading stories about others that built a business empire out of a simple dream.

The 80/20 Principle

I remember reading about something called the 80/20 principle. It’s actually a really simple concept, but to me, it was absolutely mind-blowing. For the past few years, I have applied this 80/20 principle to running my own business and it has helped me in so many ways. It helps me make decisions quickly and always reminds me of the big picture.

Most people believe that when you put hard work in, you get the same return. If you put 50% of hard work, you’ll get 50% in results. The problem with that concept is that it usually doesn’t actually work out like that. People that have this mindset all too often spend time on the wrong things and move forward a lot slower than those who understand the concept of the 80/20 principle.

The 80-20 rule will teach you to focus on what’s really important in your life and your business. You can apply it to almost every aspect of your life and business and below I’ll list a few ways photographers can think about the concept.

The 80-20 rule states that 20% of inputs create 80% of the outputs and that 20% of the effort leads to 80% of the results.

Here are some examples in business when it comes to the 80/20 principle.

CLIENTS & BUSINESS

80% OF BUSINESS COMES FROM 20% OF YOUR CLIENTS/CUSTOMERS

Figure out who your top 20% clients/customers are!

80%  OF YOUR NEW CLIENTS/CUSTOMERS ARE REFERRED OVER BY 20% OF YOUR CURRENT CLIENTS/CUSTOMERS

Who are your top 20%? They bring in over 80% of your NEW clientele/customers!

80% OF CLIENTS/CUSTOMERS COME FROM 20% OF THE BUSINESS REACH 

What is your top 20% business outreach strategy? It is bringing you 80% of your clients/customers!

80% OF COMPLAINTS COMES FROM 20% OF YOUR CLIENTS/CUSTOMERS

Unhappy clients are hard situations to deal with but realize that it’s only 20%. (Although in the moment it might feel like 80%)

SALES & SESSIONS

80% OF SALES ARE GENERATED BY 20% OF YOUR CLIENTS/CUSTOMERS

This is KEY – Who are your most loyal clients/customers? They generate 80% of your sales!

80% OF PRODUCT SALES COME FROM 20% OF YOUR PRODUCTS

What are your BEST sellers? Those items account for 80% of product sales!

80% OF REVENUE COMES FROM 20% OF YOUR CLIENTS/CUSTOMERS

Again – Who are your BEST clients/customers? They account for 80% of your entire business revenue!

TIME MANAGEMENT & OFFICE WORK

80% OF BUSINESS IS DONE IN 20% OF THE TIME (YEAR, MONTH, WEEK OR DAY)

Know when your busy season is and make sure work extra hard during that time – it brings you 80% of your business!

80% OF RESULTS ARE ACHIEVED BECAUSE OF 20% OF THE TASKS

KNOW what your important tasks are – 80% of results come from those tasks alone! Don’t waste so much time on the little things.

80% OF EMAILS ASK 20% OF THE QUESTIONS

Do you get a lot of repeat emails from a lot of people? Save yourself time by creating email templates. 80% of ALL your emails are looking for the same information!

80% OF YOUR TABS OPEN IS 20% OF WHAT YOU SHOULD BE DOING

How many search browser tabs do you have open right now? 80% of them are unnecessary!

SOCIAL MEDIA & BLOGGING

80% OF YOUR INTERACTION COMES FROM 20% OF YOUR FOLLOWERS

Who are your most AWESOME fans? They make up 80% of all your interactions!

80% OF YOUR TRAFFIC COMES FROM 20% OF YOUR KEYWORDS

Know what your TOP keywords are – they bring in 80% of all your traffic!

80% OF SOCIAL SHARES COME FROM 20% OF THE SOCIAL UPDATES

What posts get the most shares and attention? They get you 80% of all shares!

MARKETING & ADVERTISING

80% OF SALES COME FROM 20% OF YOUR ADVERTISING 

What advertising method works best for your business? It brings in 80% in sales!

80% OF BOOKINGS COME FROM 20% OF YOUR MARKETING

What marketing method works best? It brings in 80% of your bookings!

Hope you enjoyed this post! And always remember the most important rule of all:

80% OF SUCCESS IS SHOWING UP

If you’re ready to start focusing on the right things, it starts by figuring out what your 20% is first. Once you know what that is, you’ll be able to focus on the pieces that move your business (or life) in the right direction. The best thing about the 80/20 principle is that you can apply it to literally anything in life and business. Looking to learn a little more about this? There’s a ton of books on it, but I highly recommend reading The 80/20 Principle: The Secret to Achieving More with Less by Richard Koch.

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.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING WORKBOOK

Since launching our Social Media Membership, we’ve had numerous requests for a workbook, and I’m thrilled to finally release this pretty little thing. It’s a 29-page workbook covering our marketing strategy. We even made sure to include 10 ready-to-go captions so you can jump right in and put this strategy to use!

Social media marketing has proven to be an effective means of boosting traffic and brand awareness for businesses of all sizes, which means that more and more companies are looking to get in on the action. The only problem? Creating a social media marketing strategy can seem like a daunting task, especially if you’re not sure where to start. But by following these three steps and using the Social Media Marketing Workbook, you’ll be able to create a great social media marketing strategy that works for your business.

The best social media marketing strategy is all about connecting with people—specifically, it’s about identifying who you want to reach and then how you want to reach them. Defining your target audience will help inform what content you should share (and when), how you interact with your followers, and which networks are right for your business. So start by defining who exactly you’re trying to reach before getting started with this social media marketing workbook.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING WORKBOOK

DOWNLOAD INCLUDES:

29 Social Media Guide
Social Media Strategy
10 Curated Captions
Social Stats Page
Goal Plan Page

Here’s a quick look at some of the pages;

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD WORKBOOK

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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! 

The official Business Planner every business owner needs to have!

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD BUSINESS PLANNER

Our goal was to have a printable planner that is beautiful, functional, and inspirational for business owners. Every aspect of this planner has been created to help you organize your business and help you accomplish your biggest goals in 2021!

We’re sure many of you can relate to searching for the perfect planner to. Help you stay organized with all your business tasks. Only to be left finding planners that are beautiful…but lacked the functionality.

This planner is here to help you stay on task, organized, and, most importantly, set goals that you’ll be able to check off one at a time each month. Thousands of photographers and creatives ordered their Business Planner in the last years, and we’re so excited to launch a brand new updated version. 

PLANNER INCLUDES Download with 148 Printable Pages for 2021

• Printable planner download
• Yearly Overview Page
• Yearly Events Page
• Monthly Cover Page
• Monthly Overview Page
• Monthly Income Page
• Social Media Growth Page
• SMART Goals Page
• Monthly Goals Page
• Business Tasks Page
• Monthly Do-Do List Page
• Week One Schedule Page
• Week Two Schedule Page
• Week Three Schedule Page
• Week Four Schedule Page

Ready to get your dream business planner?

It’s as easy as downloading your planner, and getting it printed! 

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD BUSINESS PLANNER

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.

Many business owners out there struggle with feeling guilty about charging what they’re worth. More than likely, you know the feeling of having to put a price on your service, art, and time, or skill. Wanting to charge what you’re worth but fear that others won’t see the value behind what you do.

The struggle between wanting to build a strong business with an income you can live on and deserve, doing what you love while at the same time wanting to give your clients everything they want for next to nothing because you love what you do.

Here’s what makes it hard: Most likely, you got started pursuing your passions not because of the money but because you love what you do. The truth is that many business owners out there are valuing their client’s feelings over their own business goals.

If you calculate how much you need to charge to reach your income goals, that number you might end up coming up with might very likely be out of someone’s budget. It might even be out of many people’s budget. That number might be higher than you feel comfortable with at the moment, and the idea of someone paying those higher prices for your services might be terrifying for you. 

The goal of this post isn’t here to tell you that you need to raise your prices; raising prices is easy. It’s something I had to learn with my own business, and something I hope to pass on to others who might be struggling with charging what they are worth.

I WANT YOU TO REALIZE ONE THING;

YOU ARE WORTH

EVERY PENNY. 

Stop being scared of charging what you are worth and calculate your numbers like a business. You put so much heart into your business so when you sit there calculating how much you need to charge, use your head and a calculator. Put your heart aside just for a little while, so the numbers behind getting your business to become sustainable long term are in your future.

Stop overthinking pricing and putting other people’s feelings above what you are worth.

I can promise you this; by Charging what you are worth you will;

COME ACROSS PEOPLE WHO CAN NOT AFFORD THOSE PRICES.

And that is ok! What someone else can afford doesn’t have anything to do with your worth. You might even find people who think you are worth every single penny, but you still won’t fall into their budget. Accept that not everyone will be able to book with you.

YOU WILL COME ACROSS PEOPLE WHO SAVE UP TO FINALLY INVEST IN YOUR BUSINESS

Because the investment is worth it to them. Working with people who believe you are worth it is one of the best feelings you’ll have as a small business owner.

YOU WILL FIND PEOPLE WHO THINK YOU ARE CRAZY FOR CHARGING THOSE PRICES.

You might even make a few jaws hit the ground. Be proud of your pricing!

YOU WILL FIND PEOPLE COMPARE YOU TO OTHERS BASED ON PRICES ALONE.

And you’ll have no problem wishing them good luck if they would rather work with someone else simply because they have lower prices because you know deep inside that there’s a reason they reached out to you. That they contacted you because they see the quality in what you offer. 

YOU WILL START TO MANAGE YOUR TIME BETTER.

You’ll quickly see what things waste your time and the things that are worth pursuing. Knowing how to manage your time correctly will also help others not take advantage of that good heart you have. I get that when you pursue the thing you are most passionate about, it’s hard to make that a business. To separate wanting to do it all the time for free, for everyone. And finally, turn it into a business where you are spending valuable time doing something you love while also bringing an in income that you can depend on and deserve. 

The beautiful thing about charging what you’re worth and shifting your mindset to realize that you are worth it is that you’ll instantly see your business transform and find those dream clients and customers more often.

When you work with people who don’t question your worth and genuinely understand the amount of work you put into your craft, it validates what you knew all along;

YOU ARE WORTH IT.

It’s time to stop feeling guilty about charging what you’re worth.