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Welcome to Keeping it Candid – Wedding Photography Unfiltered for photographers who want to keep it real. I’m your host, Sandra Henderson, international wedding and family photographer and educator with a Marie Kondo-style approach to running a business – you know, keeping things simple and getting rid of anything that doesn’t bring you joy!. More importantly, I’m a strong enneagram 3w2 who is obsessed with tacos, and my love for travelling is one of many things that drives my passion for all things systems, workflows, and beating burnout as a business owner. Join me twice a month for a candid, behind-the-scenes look at what it’s really like working as a wedding photographer – where I’ll give you actionable steps to take your business to the next level. Absolutely no fluff here, friends! So grab your favourite notebook and pen, and let’s dive into this week’s episode.
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I hope you’re ready to celebrate because it’s our 10th episode of Keeping It Candid!! I’m all about celebrating wins, no matter how small they may seem – and hitting 10 episodes is the small win in my books today.
I can’t tell you how much I’ve loved every bit of creating this podcast. It was something I had joked about doing with my friends for years, but I decided to take a leap and incorporate it into my business at the start of 2022 and everything fell into place in a way that was almost kismet, honestly.
I’ve learned so much already in such a short time and thinking about all that’s to come is so exciting. But before I dive into all the goods about to come your way today, let me just take a quick second to say thank you to everyone out there who has listened to Keeping It Candid. All of your reviews and feedback truly mean so much, so thank you for coming along on this adventure with me!!
To celebrate this milestone, I’m so happy to have my very first guest on the show! I had the chance to connect with my friend Sarahna from Simply Organized Solutions a couple of weeks ago and trust me when I say, you’re going to love this interview.
Sarahna is a business systems architect who helps wedding professionals get their time back by helping them create better client experiences and work experiences by improving their systems and processes. She got her entrepreneurial start more than a decade ago when she worked as a wedding planner, and two years ago she pivoted her business to become a go-to expert on systems. If there’s one person who can really understand the importance of creating an efficient, organized system within your wedding business that works for YOU, it’s Sarahna.
She joined me to talk all about intuitive systems and what that looks like for a business within the wedding industry, why it’s so important to implement these types of processes ASAP no matter how long you’ve been in the industry for, and how to get started with creating intuitive systems yourself.
(Interview)
Sandra: Well, thank you so much for being here, Sarahna, I’m so excited for our conversation today!
Before we get started, I would love if you would just take a second to introduce yourself and let everybody know your story and what you’re all about.
Sarahna: Not a problem. And thank you for having me. I really appreciate it. Um, so my name is Sarahna Fernandes and my company is Simply Organized Solutions and I was, I am, a retired wedding planner, 12 years strong, and now I’m a business systems architect.
So that’s my own little title, ‘cause I really wanted to be a real architect, and then I was like, nah, it’s way too hard! haha
So when I got the chance to name myself, I went with business systems architect. But it is really what I do in the premise. I design and create and implement business systems for small female business owners. Um, I serve the wedding industry. That’s my jam, ‘cause I have so much experience in that field, but I also work with a ton of other creative entrepreneurs.
Like I love the other businesses ‘cause I get to learn, like, a fresh industry, and I dive into it and then I can be like, oh, that was fun! And then I bounce out and go into my other industry, which was pretty much my dream job. I knew in my life, whatever I wanted to do, I wanted to get immersed in a new thing and then change out and do another one and another one so it is the perfect job for me.
So now I build systems for business owners, I design the strategy behind it. I, my main objective is to build intuitive systems and systems that work for the real – for your real life.
So I’m a mom of two. I built this business during COVID basically. Weddings got shut down in, where I live, which is in Trinidad and Tobago, weddings got shut down. I now have no source of income. I’m at home with two small kids and a husband, who’s also an entrepreneur. He’s a landscaper. And I said, right, well, this is the right time to dive into this.
So I built this business two years now and, um, it had to work with my life because now I was at home with a four year- a toddler and another kid and doing all of the things.
So I did that poorly initially. So I was working late and hours and wasn’t sleeping and doing everything and driving myself insane. Then I had to stop and be like, okay, how do we do this smart? How do we do this intuitively? How do we do this so that it works with being a mom who’s gotta be in kindergarten class for two hours every morning and then do i- and then do client work and then stop to do lunch and play, and do all of the things.
So that is actually what my objective is when I work with clients. I understand their style of organizing, um, the psychology behind what’s driving them. I understand what their actual day-to-day life is. So sometimes I work with moms with small kids, sometimes I work with moms of very older kids, sometimes I’m working with single people who have no children and all of those things run different dynamics in your life.
And I believe that a business should never overwhelm you. It should never feel draining. You’re in this to share your gift and your passion with the world to help other people.
You’re also in it to earn money, which is a resource that helps you live your life, but you wanna live that life. And, um, I’ve got a ton of friends who are photographers and I love them. Like, I always wanna be like, their assistant. I was like, can I second shoot. Is that a thing? Do you have an extra camera?
Sandra: If only we lived closer!
Sarahna: I know! I would so do it, right? And um, so I always was like, I get you, I get photographers. Like I’ve sat there with her girlfriend who had to bring her computer to a weekend at a beach house because she had to cull images and she had to start editing. And I’m like, this takes a lot of time! Haha So you’re doing this, you’re shooting on the weekends. And then what, what else? What else do you do? And she’s like, you know, this is it. This is work. And I’m like, no, this is not sustainable. We’ve gotta figure out a way, ‘cause also you’re running this business.
So you’re the CEO who needs to nurture each client and each lead while doing galleries and editing while preparing for the wedding ahead and remembering where the rain location is for this wedding of many.
And, you know, there’s just a lot of balls in the air. And you also need to enjoy your life and be able to go on vacation and be able to rest and be able to sustain an emergency. ‘Cause that’s another thing. That’s my, that’s my sub-objective – building every single business that will be able to take a sudden pause for an undisclosed amount of time.
Sandra: Yes. I love that.
Sarahna: That’s a big thing to ask, but I’m like no that’s life.
Sandra: Exactly. I know that all too well.
Sarahna: Ya. And this can be, and I tell people, I don’t, I don’t say it to scare you, but like I have to use the examples. What happens if you get physically injured? What happens if you get mentally injured? What happens if somebody else who’s not you, but you have to stop your life to help that person needs you? What happens if you just freaking need a break?
You have to be like, look, I’m out, I’m gone. Off the grid and I’m gone. But your business can’t stop and you don’t want it to stop. Your business is you. It’s an extension of you. It’s your passion. It’s your life, part of your life, I mean. But you need, you can design a business that can just wake up tomorrow and be like, oh, I gotta go. And it’s for one day, three days, three weeks.
How do we work through that for your business? It may not be perfect. It’s not a little switch and it, you know, you switch over, but there’s ways for you to set it up so that that can happen. And you can take that weight off your shoulders, ‘cause I’ve been there. And I know a lot of us feel that way. If I stop – dun dun DUN – like, everything stops and clients aren’t, the clients are gonna be mad. I’m gonna lose money. And so I can’t. And I’ve lived in that, that feeling of can’t stop. That feeling drove me to work through the night and not sleep and be doing things and doing things and doing things. And telling my kids just now, just now, I need to finish this.
And of course, and you know this well, all that – your body will, your body will shut you down eventually. Some way or the other it’ll find a way to do it. It’ll start off kind of gentle and subtle first. So, you know, like your tummy will hurt, your skin will start doing odd things. And then it’s like, oh, you’re not listening. Okay, cool. We’ll wrap this up.
Sandra: Right! I saw something on Instagram that was like, take time off before your body takes time off for you. And it’s so, so true!
Sarahna: Because your body is so gangster about it too. It’s not like, oh, you wanna do that? Okay, cool. I’m gonna shut you down for three months. Bye!
Sandra: Yeah, exactly!
Sarahna: You could have just nudged me a little more! Thank you! Nope. We’re going down.
Sandra: No, it’s not messing around!
Sarahna: So that is my mission. That’s my vision. That’s my purpose. To help other people create the types of businesses and dream businesses that lets them earn income, share their gift with the world, and do it in a way that doesn’t overwhelm them. That gives them space. That gives them time.
And especially within the wedding industry, I have looked at so many vendors who have to do administrative work, and client servicing work and they’re glancing over at their actual gift, which is photography or florals or cake. And they’re squeezing how much time they’re getting to just do that. And you start to build up this resentment for one thing or the other or all of it.
So you start being annoyed of client leads and your brain is like, how could you, how dare you do that? But I understand where that comes from because I experience it every so often. The client work, which is paying you, is taking you away from the thing you wanna do. And now you’re mad at the client work and you’re missing the thing you wanna do. And you’re like, I’m so angry. I have to do work!
Then, then there’s the other voice that’s like, (gasp) don’t talk about the source of income. Shh. Do everything to service, the source of income. Like what do you, what are you even saying here?
And you, you, you do it and you’re pouting and you’re typing that proposal and you’re like angry because all you wanna do is go outside and shoot or go focus. Because then you feel like your, your little time that you have to do those things gets shorter and shorter and shorter because you’re in your inbox. And because you’re sending through agreements and you’re doing design proposals and you’re like, ugh, and it starts to just weigh on you. Right. And not everybody out the gate can hire a team. And in fact, not everybody’s ready to hire a team. And I see like, if you see people hire, cuz that’s what you’re hearing, just hire help. And you’re absolutely not prepared to hire help. And then it goes badly and then you get a little scar and you have some trauma from it. And you’re like, I don’t need help. I don’t want help. And you go back into octopus mode of doing everything and it just, it’s a perpetuating cycle.
And I’m a person that took a while to hire help because of past traumas with employees and stuff in another business. And there was no way I could have done it before I was ready. That’s also a thing I like to teach with my clients and that word intuitive. That’s what it means. It’s got to work for you in a genuine way, right? Not what you’re hearing, not what you’re seeing on social media, and not what you’re being mentored and coached to do.
You have to sit down quietly and dig deep and figure out, like, what works for you. There are a couple of people who a team will never work. It just won’t. That doesn’t mean they have to do everything themselves. That means we look at outsourcing certain things to a provider.
So it’s not a team member that you have to manage. It’s another high-level service provider, a colleague on your, on your kind of plain, that handles your editing, your accounting, because that’s, that’s their zone of genius, not yours, saving your time. But you don’t have to build a team. You don’t have to be the boss lady or whatever, of everything, but you need to pick and choose what’ll work for you.
So that’s what that word intuitive means when I’m using it. Figuring out what matches your organization style, your way of existing, and kind of fills you up with what you need. ‘Cause people need different things. Um, some people need to have a lot of company around them and life and mg and some people don’t like, they need solitude, they need calm. And they need quiet so you gotta figure it out.
Cause again, I feel like we kind of listen to advice and we go, oh, apparently I need a team. And we run out and we hire a team and then we’re like, not ready to lead. Don’t like interacting. It’s not working. The person was a poor, not aligned choice and it just kind of spiraled, or sometimes it’s magic and this person now Takes things off of your shoulders, on your plates, and you’re over here, magically writing a book haha and, and, you know, your team is handling that over there. So it’s really about digging deep and figuring out what do you need to get to that dream business? Because we all have the dream. Sometimes it’s fuzzy, but we already really have that dream in our heart of what we like our, what we like our business to look like, how we like it to feel.
I dunno about you, but Fridays off is a thing in my world. Like, that’s my job.
Sandra: I love that. And I do love a good Friday – as I’m heading into a Friday wedding tomorrow, but I do love a good Friday off. I try to keep them low-key if I have wedding on a Saturday.
Sarahna: Exactly. I love Fridays off, the objectives of Fridays off. How many Fridays have I taken off? Not many, but not in that resentful way. In the way of like, you know what, it makes more sense to do that on Friday. We’ll do it. But then I’ll take another day off. I went, I had to get up to that permission. Um, fantastic book Finish by Jon Acuff helped me get over that sort of, like you said, Friday, you have not taken Fridays, shut this whole project down. That’s it. We failed. Move on with your life.
Sandra: I’m definitely gonna have to check that out.
Sarahna: Please. It, it was permission ‘cause I’m that way. I’m a bit like focused on certain things. So like I’ve gotta start a new thing on the first of the month or on a Monday or like picking up and starting something on a Wednesday. Uhuh. No, no worse yet. Like, uh, I have a thing with like numbers. Like it’s gotta be an even number. Or a zero haha like, so if you like, send me something and you’re like, I’d had this discussion. If the volume is on like 23. Oh no, no haha gotta go two or zero or 25, 25 will work.
Sandra: I used to drive my husband crazy, ’cause I’d go to the microwave and I’d put something in. Like if it had to be a minute, I would put it in for like 57 seconds. And he’s like, like why? And I’m like, I just felt like doing something different. I don’t know! Haha
Sarahna: haha I would have to train to be in your presence. I’d have to be like, (inhales deeply) it’s okay!
Sandra: Deep breaths!
Sarahna: She’s allowed to exist at fifty-seven seconds. Oh my forehead!
Sandra: That’s so funny. I love that.
Sarahna: So it, so, you know, things like that, like, okay. I did not take this Friday off. Cool. Let’s not abandon the whole project. Let’s look at next week. K, you know what? Wednesday apparently is a good day. We’re off, we’re doing something else. Right? Um, but yes, this is, this is where I live. This is where I exist – sitting with a client and figuring out what’s actually going to work and how do we get that done? So that’s my little spiel about all that.
Sandra: I love that. And I think in a time where, especially with platforms like Instagram and TikTok, there’s never been so many, you should be’s coming our way. Like everybody is telling us we should be doing X, Y, and Z. And I learned after trial and error of so many things, I was like, I can’t organize my work week. It doesn’t work for me. I’ve tried every system that everybody says I should be using and nothing works. But when I took the time to just, like, Stop trying to do what everybody else said and think about what I needed and what was gonna work best for my energy levels, for my health, for everything like that, and just put together my own schedule… A lot of people look at me like I’m crazy when I tell them how it’s built. Like, I edit on Wednesdays and that’s it. If I feel like it a different time of the week, I will. But other than that, I’m editing on Wednesdays. And I am, I have better turnaround times with my photos now than I ever have in almost 10 years in business with only editing one day a week, as opposed to editing every day. and then getting to a point where like, I’m so sick of editing that it’s the last thing that I wanna do, and I’m gonna be over here watching the same thing on Netflix for the hundredth time because I just don’t wanna edit.
Sarahna: That is perfection. So I, I had, I was working with a mindset coach who I adored, and one day she came up with the term she’s like, you need Flexible structure. Now we live in an era where we make stuff up haha words up, life up, jobs up, whatever, but it was one of those epiphanies to me.
Sandra: Yeah. I love that!
Sarahna: Flexible structure because that was where my core existed. So I’m one of those people. I’m an enneagram two with a wing three. If you’ve not done an enneagram test, it means that first and foremost, I’m a helper – enneagram two is helper. With anything. without instance. Like I, it’s almost, I have, I almost have little control over it. Like I would be holding five bags. And I would see a lady at the grocery who needs help with her groceries. And I’d be like, do you need help? And she’s like, you would say, and then I’d be like, hold on. I could manage. Hold on, gimme your one bag on this finger.
Sandra: I’m the opposite. I’m a three wing two.
Sarahna: Oh. And then I have that wing three thing, which is like, oh yeah, I’m gonna get shit done.
Sandra: Ya, exactly. I’m get shit done with a little bit of the helper where you’re the helper with like a side of get shit done.
Sarahna: Get shit done, get shit done. And nobody messes with me. Like nothing, nothing scares me in that realm. I’m that person that’s like, oh, we have never, you, I need help editing video. And I’m like, uh, this can’t be hard. Let’s stop. Let’s figure this out. Let’s Google some stuff. Let’s go to YouTube. Let’s, let’s read a book. What are we doing here? What are we doing here? I, you, you, we need this done. It’s done. Right.
Um, but. In that same vein, like, I love energy. I am recharged by energy. So all my little life I was being trained to focus on one thing. do one thing at a time and do this. And you can’t do the other thing until you finish this one thing. And I got it done, but something felt hard about it. Right. And I always had this guilt. It was like, I really wanna read three books, but I’m not allowed to read the three books. And I started reading the three books and now I feel weird.
And this goes on and on until I, and then, so I would have all these beautiful ideas. I wanna do all these different things and I was then being told, you know, you’re gonna get burnt out if you don’t do one thing at a time and let’s slow it all down. I reluctantly complied ’cause that was the best way to do things, until I reached to this beautiful mindset coach who was like, uh, no, because she looked at me and understood me, and was like, that’s how your batteries recharge. And it’s not flaky. It’s not jumping from, flitting from, thing to thing. It’s not a distraction. It’s not all those negative words that you’ve been told. It’s simply because you need this sort of flexible structure. Because at different times, certain – your passion and your gifts kind of rev up on one area and then another.
So again, I was like, you, I am a queen at creating a schedule down to like day, minutes and six o’clock and then it’s six 30 and I’m doing this. And I would do it for a couple days, maybe a week, and then something would go wrong and I would blame myself for not being disciplined and not be in all these other big words.
Sandra: Yes, I’ve been there.
Sarahna: Not being organized, ‘cause Lord helped me. I have built maybe three brands with the word organized in it. simply organized weddings, simply organized homes. When I was, I am, a professional organized as well, cuz I love it. Simply organized solutions, which is my business arm. And there was so much guilt around that.
But the reality was that this week my brain needs me to write down on a notepad every minute of what’s going to happen tomorrow, in order for me to follow it. next week, my brain needs to lose the goddamn notepad. I don’t even know where it is right now. and wake up and be like, cool. So I have one thing today. Yeah, that’s good. All right, cool. And move on.
And until I settled into that and realized that all of it is disciplined, all of it is organized because I don’t, I don’t generally drop balls even when I’m in my zone of like I have not opened my, my planner. I – because I’ve built systems that protect me in all-the-things.
So we talk about that, where I have a planner, I love paper. I adore paper. I have notebooks, pens, everything about that, tactile sensory sort of feeling of writing things. I love it. My brain needs it, cuz it’s like casting a spell for me. Like if I write this down, it is written into existence, right?
Sandra: Yeah. It’s so true.
Sarahna: I also love Asana. I love Asana because it’s this beautiful myriad of little blocks of tidbits of information that I can drop and drag and click and the celebration shoots across my, my screen, those little touches make – they’re, they’re, they’re designed for people like me, but I then have calendars, Google and people are like, that’s redundant. How many things do you have? And I said, those things are what keep me moving and flexible within my structure. So if, if this is a week that I have not opened my custom-designed planner – I have a lady that custom designs it for me. If I don’t open that planner this week, my watch will tell me that I have an interview with Sandra and I’ll be like, oh shit, hold on. Got it! With it! There are weeks when everything tells me. And then there’s weeks where it’s one thing that says by the week you have X. So I build systems like that. We talk about, there’s not a one, there’s not a one fit for everyone. And even in that person, you have days, like you’ve got days when you’re not feeling great and everything has to change. Like we’re not editing this week. I’m not sitting down here in pain because Wednesdays it’s my editing day.
Sandra: Exactly.
Sarahna: And you, so you’ve gotta have these modes where cool. I went through a phase where I was like, I gotta be in bed by nine. I have to be in bed by nine. The sleep, my sleep health is. Not good. Let’s fix this. And then there’s other nights where I’m like, it’s actually advantageous for me to stay up, pump hard, get this done so I can get some freedom tomorrow to go to the park with my kids all day, but I don’t have to do that every week. And that’s not how I work now. But it’s okay if I hit a one night where it’s really, really late and I get stuff done and it’s not the lack of discipline and it’s not breaching protocols and not following my systems. It’s now the flexible structure that I need to give me the life that I really want. Which is freedom and joy and fun. And sometimes it’s quiet and easy. And then other times it is intense. And I am doing four back-to-back clients in the day while getting snacks for my kids every 30 minutes. So.
And that’s what I like people to understand about businesses and systems. They’re organic, they’re living and breathing. They’re not these boring, strict confines that you kind of, those words sort of illicit. When you say systems and processes, you feel there’s a manual somewhere and you can’t do it differently and you can’t be creative.
And I feel a lot of creative people think that that a system is going to,,, automation and systems and processes are going to make my existence robotic and confined and boring and cookie cutter. Like when people tell me like, no, I don’t like to use email templates. I like, you know, I’m like, you don’t even know that my email is an email template.
Sandra: Right? Exactly!
Sarahna: I was like, it’s beautifully written. It’s written as hug. That I changed the name out, then I changed some tweaks and other stuff, so, okay. Hi Sandra. It was great to talk to you yesterday. Hi Jeanine. It was great to talk to you last week. All of the hugging and the warmth and the happiness is in that same email. And I go through it each time, but again, it does not take me 10 minutes to type out a whole email. It takes me two minutes to edit an existing, beautifully written email.
And today I don’t feel for that graphic so I can switch out that graphic. It took me three minutes.
Sandra: Yeah, exactly. Right. All those little tricks can make such a difference
Sarahna: Such a difference! There’s ways. And I’m – I tell you what, you infuse your personality, you infuse your brown voice. You infuse the warmth that you want this individual to feel and to receive.
But – I don’t sit next to the lady who got the same email from me. This, this, we get locked in these things that there’s somehow like a point of comparison that you’re like, (gasp) did you get the same email as Lisa? And also I’m like, come on! You, you really think the emails you get from companies are individually written. You are aware that 250,000 people got this email today. you are not mad at them. You are not mad at these mailing lists that you’re on and be like, how dare you not customize. And there are some that I’ve received where the customization field didn’t work so you see the coding.
But you’re not mad! you’re – you don’t sit there expecting this from people, but we put that pressure on ourselves because we think this is what’s gonna get somebody through the door, right? Not feeling like our brides, our couples, or grooms, all these people that we deal with. Yes. This is their specialty. And they want you to hold their hand and they’ve invested resources to get that service back. Great. But these are not scary boogie people who are there to be like, mm-hmm that email seems a bit templated. No, no. Do it again. it’s like –
Sandra: Oh my gosh. Could you imagine?!
Sandra: So when it comes to photographers who are just starting out in their businesses, how important do you think it is to get started with intuitive systems and setting those boundaries right away? Because I think a lot of the time when the conversation does come up, it’s people who have been in the industry for a little while who have burned themselves out, who have seen the other side, and who are now coming back to fix these things. And I do think that it requires a little bit more time when you’re first starting a business than it does when you have been in your industry for 20 years. But I’ve always wondered, as someone who did start it with the hustle culture, I love just kind of like talking about if you think it’s possible to set those boundaries right away, Um, or if you think that there’s room for a little bit of hustle culture in there and what that kind of looks like from your end
Sarahna: You know what, that’s a, it’s actually a really fantastic question. And I vacillate between two schools of thought. The sort of experience that I’ve gained, that I know you’ve gained, from going through, like going down a particular path – I don’t, I don’t genuinely think I could have come out of it having not taken that path. I came back from it, but I learned a lot about myself.
But then the other school of thought there is, this is sort of the cycle of life. And as a parent, I get this. I’m not here to make sure my kids do make mistakes, but I’m here to assist with a couple of the lessons so they don’t have to experience every single lesson. So that’s their little foot up. Right. Um, if, if we’re almost thinking of the analogy of being in a university.
So basically – okay. You can come into your first year having taken certain courses in high school, so you then don’t have to take. Biology 101 – you’re, you’re past that. Right? Um, you can prepare yourself for certain things.
And, and again, similarly with a business, this is why mentors are great. This is why education and just reading is in fact, fantastic. You can learn from us. You’re gonna go through your own trials and your own stuff, but you don’t have to experience everything from scratch.
So, if you are a brand new business owner and you have the resources and again, each gen each, each year more resources get added. I started my business back in February of 2020. I was in business before that. So I’ve gone through that realm of – before there was this easy access to a lot of information and beautiful books, And now where it’s just at hand and there’s these beautiful conferences, nice different things.
Use all of those as stepping stones. you don’t have to do every single thing. Right? So I think setting up businesses, setting up systems and boundaries from the beginning, now that you have access to information that can teach you the why and the how about these things is the best course of action.
However, this is coming back to the intuitive parts. when we design systems and businesses, and we are doing sort of like a piecing together based on other people, and based on advice versus based on what we personally need right now, that’s when the whole thing is unstable and it’s probably not gonna work.
So you’ll see somebody say, um, you know, charge what your worth and all these different things. Yes And no. So you’re new in this game. And especially for photographers, this works. You’re new in the game, and there’s a delicate balance between well, I’m new, So I’m gonna charge thousands less than the rest of the industry so I can grab work. Right.
You and I know that when you have that bottom out in an industry, it’s that spread is a problem, right? But at the same time, you have to then understand the respect of, I am now starting to shoot. I cannot come in matched to Sandra. It just can’t work. Right? Because there is a hierarchy. there is value with, I’ve been shooting weddings for forever, and you and I know, being able to take beautiful images and being able to navigate through a wedding day – two vastly different skill sets. Right.
Sandra: So true.
Sarahna: So, you know, that’s – when I do a timeline, my, and when I was a wedding planner, my timeline was based on photography, on your timeline. So I had to anchor when they, when we lost light, we had to – so this is the cutoff point. Everything has to happen before we lose light In terms of portraits. I have to, you have to understand the dynamics of a bride and groom who start like shutting down mid-portraits. And then your, the people who are paying you go, we’re done. We’re tired. We don’t wanna do it anymore. I have been the wedding planner who was like, excuse me, stand there and start smiling. But Sarahna, we’re done! I do not want to hear your words! Now, it seems mean, but I know the backside of that. You’re tired now. But later when you’re looking through your 300 images and you’re like, why don’t I have 600 images? It’s like, well, you stopped shooting haha and now you’re sad. Okay. We can’t recreate the day. We can’t go back out. so suffer through it!
Sandra: So true.
Sarahna: Respectfully, because you’re gonna want it. So to recap, new business owners, I definitely want you to start off on the right foot, with a beautiful foundation, because it sets you up for success, but I need you to really dig into where you are on the journey.
And, but there’s also some common things – at all times, what your systems are there to do is to make life easier for you and to make life easier for your client. And to also the, the bonus is that those systems become part of your marketing, right? There is a difference between, and I’ve definitely experienced it. I’ve gotten jobs as a wedding planner, mainly because I responded well and time in a timely manner.
Sandra: Yeah. I hear that all the time in photography as well.
Sarahna: And also what the response was, what the response was. Again, I was not there waiting. I was never that person, but, because I had a very simple system in place and systems are this simple: I had a nice pre-written, um, message that was on my phone that I could copy and paste into anything and anywhere. So if you sent me a DM on Instagram, I could just go boop-boop, there. If you sent me an email, it was There. There was a way for me, I checked certain messages at a certain time. It’s not me being glued to something 24 hours. But in that message, it hit certain points. I once had a bride told me “you were the first person that said, congratulations on being engaged.”
I did it because I just, it was natural for me in a conversation. And that’s how I write. I write as if I’m talking. But I didn’t, until that day, realize how impactful it was. So now it’s a part of my thing. Like if you are coming to me and you’re engaged, this is joyful time. You’re excited. First thing, even if I’m telling you I’m booked, congratulations. There’s that, that, that little moment of respect and humanity, because again, that’s what we lose. We think, because everything’s digital, it doesn’t have to be human. Absolutely not. Right? But because that message was always sweet and personal and real. “Hey, you’re excited. I get it! This is what’s gonna happen next. I will -”
And this is also not to give information. This was literally to be like, I’m gonna check you back in two days haha But again, the difference between silence and no response and somebody being like, “oh my God, so excited. Congrats! Can you give me a day or two to get back to you with X, Y, Z?” That made a difference.
So these are the little systems that I, I want everybody to put in from the get-go. You are not here to be on call. I had to explain to my own daughter who’s eight. Who says, when I grew up, I’m gonna answer every email, like immediately. And I said, um, and I asked her like, why? “Cause I don’t like waiting for responses, so I don’t want to do that to anybody.”
I said, okay. And we had a long discussion for my poor eight-year-old about like two o’clock in the morning, two in the afternoon. Like you, you can’t be on call all the time. Most of our jobs aren’t emergencies, unless you are in an ER, where time is critical, everybody can wait. Every single person can wait.
And the more we practice it, and the more we train people is the more we will all chill out. And I said, and even the ER, doctors and nurses have to work shift because it cannot be sustained to just be responding to people immediately all the time.
Sandra: I’ve had colleagues talk about, um, pulling over to the side of the road because they got a new inquiry email came in while they were driving. And like, if that person can’t wait for you to get to your end destination for a reply… Then it’s like… They’re, they’re not the client for me! That’s for sure. Because like, there, there’s tons of photographers out there. Maybe they’ll find someone who has no boundaries or that is within their boundaries, but for me, like, absolutely not. I remember the days of replying to emails and inquiries at 11 o’clock at night, and I was getting the names wrong and I was missing details. And like, it was just creating more problems. It wasn’t actually doing anything beneficial for me.
Sarahna: It was. And actually now I have a, I did a proposal for a client the other night and it was 11 o’clock and I was done and I was like, no, I cannot send this. I cannot. And I, I scheduled it to go out at eight in the morning because I was like on principle, I’ve got to slow this down. And I was like, she’ll understand, she’ll get it. And I’m like, until you run into the person that doesn’t and that simple act of sending that proposal at 11 sets off… Sets a precedent that is now expected.
Sandra: Exactly.
Sarahna: And you don’t always know that about clients, right? You think they’ll be reasonable and then you’re like, oh, apparently. Okay, cool. So I have a, I now that’s when I made boundaries, like I don’t send things at strange times, even if I have to schedule it to go out at 5:00 AM so it looks like this was in your inbox before you woke up. I would rather take the hit of saying you got this the next morning, rather than just to be like, I did tell her I’d get it back today. It’s also a thing. These are part of your systems. The system is you nah, I don’t tell people you’re gonna get this back today. What I will do is I’ll say ‘I’m gonna work on it and try to get about you today, tomorrow for the latest.’ And I give myself time. And, I mean, these are based on life experiences. Like I’ve had, bobbin’ along your day and something just explodes it and you’re like, well, that was not planned for. Okay. It is about boundaries. It’s about pouring into the, the system and the world of slowing down. A lot of these cultures, that when you have other traumas, you get trapped in, right? Because again, if I’m pulling, pulling over the side of the road and we start to really dig deep on that, we’re probably dealing with some scarcity mindset issues. We’re probably dealing with some people-pleasing issues. This thing of like, what will make me a good business owner is if I am super responsive. What will make you a good business owner is being a good business owner and a service provider. And respectful of people.
Sandra: Yes. I love that so much.
Sarahna: And also demanding that respect because that’s how you respect people. Like you can’t be respectful of other people and then letting… And then taking shit. Being like, sure. You can do that to me, but I won’t do it back to anybody. And I preached about this because I have lived it. I’m living it. This is not because I’m an expert. This is because I am that person haha, who’s like, okay, I’m gonna be great to everyone. And every other people can treat me like crap, but that’s okay! I’m recovering from this. I am learning. There are days I’m super good at it. There are days I am not good at it. And I go (sigh).
Sandra: But those are the days that remind you why you work so hard towards being good at it
Sarahna: and why I, why I’m forever learning and I’m forever training. And it’s also what makes me able to work with people from a place of deep empathy. Like you could come and tell me anything, like the first thing, and women I have observed, we’ve 0 society has this very comfortable talking shit about ourselves, like entering conversations, talking shit about ourselves. And you’re like, why?! Why was that called for?
So I’ve got to tell you, I, I live in Asana. I love Asana. I introduce people to Asana. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a man use the words “I’m not good with tech!”
Sandra: It’s it’s so true!
Sarahna: And I’m like, but you are no, no, no, no, no. I’m like, okay, let’s break this down. Logically, if you are on the zoom call with me, we can tick off ‘good with tech.’
Sandra: Right. My husband has been out of the tech industry for about 15 years now and he still talks about it like it was yesterday.
Sarahna: Good, again, you see these little connections. I have so many to tell me I’m not good with tech. You’re fine. You’re okay.
Sandra: Exactly. You’re using a high-tech thing to run your life in your hands all day. Every day.
Sarahna: I, when I see people who are good at Instagram and TikTok, and then tell me they’re not good with technology I’m like, you are bat-shit crazy.
Sandra: Yeah. It’s so true.
Sarahna: Nothing is more convoluted and illogically designed, illogically designed!! Than social media platforms. Nothing is more illogically designed. It’s not intuitive. It’s not, they by nature of moving shit every five weeks. I’m like, where did they move the button? Where did you move the new button? Oh my gosh haha it’s never like an improvement. It’s always like, why would you put it there?
Sandra: Right. Yeah. Everything goes crazy. It’s never, like, anything to be excited about.
Sarahna: This is it. No. So this is it. People love to be like, oh, I’m not good at running a business. Oh, I’m not this. I’m not that. Yeah. You tell yourself that and you will believe it. Other things made you think that it’s true. Um, but I always think of it in very basic terms. I love basics. Most of my life is run by who, what, where, when, how, like I am literally writing. That’s how I write. I’ve created documents that literally have who, what – I love that basic fundamental principle because it covers everything you ever need to know.
So when you’re building your systems, that’s how I build my systems too. We answer all of those questions. So everything feels simple. Everything feels natural to you, but I work very hard to understand my clients and what is gonna work.
Because if you build systems, if you people say I have this, I’ve done this, I’ve tried this, it doesn’t work. And like, it doesn’t work because it wasn’t designed for you.
Sandra: Exactly.
Sarahna: All the time. Every time. Like I’ve looked at people’s, like I’ve used Asana, it didn’t work for me. I was like, can I see your Asana? And they’re like, yeah, sure. Go ahead. And I’m like, well, because you didn’t build it for you, you built it for somebody else. I don’t know who’s using this version haha but it’s not you. That’s why it didn’t work because Asana is logic. It’s logic on a computer screen. So it’s just that you’ve got to build it to like how your brain works. So my brain works very differently to a lot of other people and I’ve built for people where I’m like this isn’t how I would’ve designed it. But I do know that this is how Sandra’s brain is gonna wake up every morning and read it and receive the information and be able to continuously use a thing. And that’s what you need to dig deep on. And, and whatever it looks like – fine. I’ve had people tell me like, oh no, no, no. I hate paper. I can’t write things down on paper.
I respect you. That’s okay. But I’ve also had people that I’m like, no, you need a paper. Where’s your book. And it’s like, oh, well, if, if I put in Asana, it’ll be fine. I can’t put nothing in Asana alone –
Sandra: Ya, I’m the same!
Sarahna – that I haven’t written down somewhere else. Certain things.
Sandra: Yeah. I just forget about it when it’s only in Asana.
Sarahna: Because my brain isn’t plugged into technology like that, where it’s like I’m guided by the computer. No, I gotta write that. I gotta feel it. I gotta do certain things. So that’s one of my main objectives, especially when you’re new.
It’s beautiful to be new. There’s tons of perks of being new. A lot of it is energy and this beautiful wonder. You gotta hustle because you gotta learn and feel what that feels like in order to kind of figure out what works for you and what doesn’t work for you. Cause there are people out here who need that, that rush of hustling.
And then there are people who it will disturb their whole soul. That feeling. Like, I was in a workshop with. Shanna Skidmore. And she said the words “I do not have Instagram.”
Sandra: Right?! Yes. I was in that with you. It was like mind-blowing.
Sarahna: Boom!
Sandra: And I think she said she got rid of her account in 2017, which was like peak business on Instagram.
Sarahna: It’s like, what is happening with my whole life right now?! There are people who don’t have Instagram!
Sandra: Right!
Sarahna: I have a love, hate relationship with that app.
Sandra: Me too.
Sarahna: Um, and it’s cuz I don’t like being told what to do. Under zero circumstances do I like being told what to do.
Sandra: Um, so to wrap things up, I wanted to ask, if you can think of like one piece of advice or one starting point that would be a key takeaway for anyone wanting to get started in business, or, sorry, not get started in business, get started in business systems, um, whether they are new to the industry or if they’ve been around for a while, if there’s two different starting points that you would recommend, I’d love to hear your thoughts on that.
Sarahna: Okay. Let me think through this. Instinctively, I wanna say your client’s experience, right? Because that’s your money maker. And actually, I, I have, I think I’ve either done a post or something about this. If you start with your client experience, that actually is the heart of all of your business systems, ‘cause it will now branch out to all your other things, even like how you run your accounting based on your client experience. And what I mean, my client experience is go back to some basic-basic questions. Like, how do I want my client to feel at all points? Like if they had to describe working with me. How does that, what does that sound like? What, how does that feel?
And so that client experience, I talk about five different, um, phases – nurturing. This is when they’re checking you out and they’re asking their questions. Onboarding when they’re like, yeah, I need to pay you. Where do I sign? Work in progress. So while you are working, be it before you shoot, when you’re shooting, anything like that. when you’re wedding planning, all these different things. Um, offboarding, like how do you wrap up and release this person? Get your money. Give them back their shit. Be like, cool, bye-bye. But leave them loving you!
And then legacy. So for a lot of people, they’re like, oh, do I really have a legacy phase? You do, and you don’t, if you’re not gonna shoot, like I had a rule, I’m not being your wedding planet twice. Like Uhuh. Unless you’re renewing some vows, don’t call me. I don’t, sorry. But legacy is about – how do I keep my name at the top of that person’s list and in their brain for years to come. That person needs to choose you for their wedding, and literally decades later, when their kid is getting married, be like, I wonder if Sandra still shoots weddings?! haha Let me call her, let me check her out. Right. But if you sit there and you start to build each of those phases, what happens – and I’m talking real simple things – a person can find me how? And you write out ‘well there’s IG’, there’s Hey, there’s wherever. And what, what happens next? Well, they might message me. And what happens next? And you just kinda build a system that covers those few bases. Nice and easy. When you’re working with someone you’re a human and you want them to feel loved. You want to re – you wanna reinforce and reassure them that they made a great choice financially as another person.
What little touches do you send off? And that can be, instead of only doing business emails or here’s your homework, or here’s what I need from you. It’s a person. There can be an email that comes from your wedding photographer that says, “Hey, I’m just checking in on you. You good?” Part of your system. Are you, you good? How you feeling? Doesn’t have to be anything else. It doesn’t have to type out to anything. But imagine somebody saying like ‘my photographer is the sweetest. I got these sweet little emails from her checking in on me.’ That’s where you want people to live, as opposed to like, well, to my photographer, so she asked me photography questions. I send her payments. We good. Sure haha
Sandra: It’s two totally different vibes!
Sarahna: Two totally different vibes! And you know, as a photographer, it’s so intimate. Like people don’t get how intimate photographers are. I am with you for the whole day. I’ve had grooms be like, Ew, photographers gonna be up in my face all day. And then they’re like, I never knew she was there. And you’re like, then that’s what she does. But during that wedding date, you might be there to see and do all the things – that mother-in-law tripping out on you. One of your bridesmaids trying to be the center of the show. Your groom crying, like straight up, breaking down crying. Like so many random things happen in that intimate space.
Sandra: It’s so true.
Sarahna: But then you have to let them go. And that’s the way I think about our job, we are like forever in your family and then there’s Sunday. And then you’re like, peace. What’s your name? Which one were you? And I don’t mean that in a bad way, but that is part of the experience that we provide.
We can’t be best friends with every single human we work with. It feels like that. I, I promise you and you know, this, some of them you’re like, oh my God, like that person – we’re family now. But we can’t be! Right?! But you need that feeling in between. And if you build a system that helps you think through that, and it may not do it for you, and this is the thing, all systems aren’t automated, they aren’t running in the background.
That’s, that’s beautiful. Certain things can do that. Certain things can. But what it does for you, a system eliminates decision making and it’s, it sets your quality. If every client gets treated with a high level of quality, it does not matter if you are whatever part of your cycle. It does not matter if you’re feeling sick. It does not matter if you’re going through a phase where you are. You have no brain capacity. You are so – that system now – you log into your own system and you’re like, what happens next? What do I send this person next? Okay, cool. That’s what I love about systems. If you are down on a day and I will give an example, I had a dear friend, one of my best friends, possibly suddenly, heart attack at 42. Right? And your brain’s in a fog. You’re screwed. So like you’re functional, you could do things. But the last thing I needed my brain to spend any energy on was what happens next with this client? And what email do I send and what do I do this? So I love that I could just mindlessly open up a computer and be like, you get this, you do that. And now I can go back to doing whatever I need to do and focus on.
That’s what saves you. Having the things decided, checked through. That’s the emergency protocol that I want for people. Even if you have to still physically send the email and still do the things manually, the decision-making has now been removed from you. And you can trust that it sounds good. There’s no typos. There’s no, I forgot half the information. Like you, if you have a wedding Friday and something happens today and you cannot cancel on the person’s wedding. So you’ve got to muster up the strength to do said wedding. If you’ve got a system that has a checklist of what the hell you pack in your bag, you’re good. ‘Cause your brain can’t think through, I need these lenses. I need this. I need that. I need to make sure I pack so and so. I need to do this. So you wouldn’t have to be like, what do I need? What do I need? What do I need? If you’ve got a set checklist night before that goes out to that client that says here’s what. This is the venue. This is the, this that you don’t have to now think of, What do I normally do? That’s where I want you to live, in that capacity. So if you are new to this business, put it in from the beginning so that you’re not playing this constant catch-up.
Sandra: Yeah, exactly.
Sarahna: Because that, that catch-up part… A lot of the times and you, and I can say this, when we eventually put shit in place – was something went wrong!
Sandra: Ya, for sure. And that, it’s so hard to get caught up in negative head spaces. When you are in that catch-up mode. You start to internalize it all and blame yourself for things. And I can’t tell you the relief that I’ve felt on days when I haven’t been feeling well, I’ve had to get outta the office. And at some point something. I’ll think of something, an email that was supposed to go out or something like that. And I still, I kind of like get this little bit of panic and I rush to my computer and then I’m like, oh wait, it was already done, because my system was built out and that was taken care of days ago. And I didn’t really even have to think about it. And then I can just kind of like go back to resting and recovering so that I can come back faster instead of having to take more time out because I’m not giving myself the time that I need.
Sarahna: Completely. And at the beginning, what it does for you is it also sets you up to look fantastic. If you’re a new photographer and you’re sending out proper ass emails, you’re a boss. And it sets that too. The exact thing you’re trying to scream at the world. I’m good. Give me a chance, I’m good at this. Your systems help you be like, oh, this girl’s okay.
Sandra: Yeah. It’s not just about what you’re doing with your camera.
Sarahna: Yeah. And again, the world has, we have to do a little filter for people now. Like it is unfortunate, but it is a reality. This feeling of, I was just home and came up with an idea and now I’m a business owner. That’s how a lot of businesses start, granted, but there are a ton of people who are doing that, who can’t do it, who aren’t good at doing it, but there’s no distinction at the beginning of the race, right?
This is how you distinguish yourself. The difference in a well-written email – and well-written does not mean elaborate and long and dramatic. Put together, efficient, thoughtful email versus here – here’s your proposal. See proposal. Oh my God. And again, people are like, oh, people don’t make decisions on that. You don’t, you’re not even aware that you make decisions based on that. My husband and I have this fight all the time, ‘cause he’s like, I’m a landscaper. Just say, here’s your proposal. I’m done. I’m like, yes. And that works. But imagine the extra impact of, and imagine if somebody else sent a proposal, and their shit had a little more polish on it.
Sandra: Mm-hmm.
Sarahna: They could get that job above you simply because the communication and how it was received was more impactful. And that’s it. You’re new to business. You’ve gotta make a little splash in the water. The way to do that is by creating impact. It’s by showing a couple things: a well-designed system says communicates to a client, “I am organized. I am thoughtful. I’m focused on my business. I also want to do it well. I have that passion behind it. I have that desire.” That helps me translate to this person will work hard to take care of me. This person will work hard to honor the investment I’ve made in them. I can trust this person. That’s what systems do on the client-facing side.
On your side, it gives you freedom. It gives you time. It lets you breathe. It lets you have a life without having to pull over the side of the road to answer an inquiry from your phone. Right. So I definitely think if you’re near in the business, focus on your systems. Focus, focus, focus. Focus on the system that you need, then not your future “I’m 10 years in this game and I’m the hottest photographer out here” system. No, no, no. You will grow. And your systems change constantly. My systems change constantly, right? Because I want them to do different things at different times in my life.
Um, but you’ve gotta start with building a nice foundation. And if you’ve gotta pick a system to, to go into, start with your client experience, just move through. I am a person – and get a friend to help you. If I inquired and if I needed to sign the documents and I needed to do this. And again, we all think these are big fancy things that I need to spend a ton of money on that to me is a fallacy.
If you’re new and you’re only processing a certain small amount of proposals and clients, a CRM may not be for you, right? Because you’re still in the volume of being able to pull up that proposal and email it in a beautiful email and respond to the person as opposed to being like “click through to here and that’ll send you the auto brochure” – and that again, you are nurturing in this phase. You – ‘cause you need your personality to come through. If your volumes are high, then get a damn CRM because individual personal touch ain’t helping you when you can’t get through 40 inquiries per day. Right. Just not. Like then let it go out automatically and be okay with that. ‘Cause again, the actual decision-making comes in, different things. People think, oh, if you just get an automated brochure, I’m probably shopping six of ya’ll. Getting the information and making the decision is fine. If you know getting them to a call stage is where you’re at, get the other things quickly, get them on a call, get them on a call. Don’t blackmail them into a call! I cannot stand with people blackmail me into calls.
Sandra: Right?! I know.
Sarahna: It’s like you get nothing until you speak to me, and like, but I can fast-track this if I know you’re not the right fit for me. I’m smart. I can assess this. It’s not price shopping all the time, but sometimes I need to assess the situation. I don’t need to call you to assess the situation. Right.
So it’s to think through those things and keep them simple. We think things need to be elaborated and fancy. Most times just need to be connected and human. So all the bells and whistles are big CRMs, are big this, are schedulers, and all these things. They are lovely. But if they’re not used properly, they then create issues. If I have to sign up 14 different things, just to find out if you’re available for my date, I’m out. I’m just gone. Too much stuff! You think it’s fancy, but it’s like, no, just. You available for my date? Sweet. Let’s talk now, you know. But that’s it, that’s my advice.
Sandra: Um, I love that. That is amazing. I think that’s so helpful regardless of if you’re just starting out or if you are just looking to get more organized and get some more freedom back in your business. So thank you so much for that.
Sarahna: You’re so welcome.
Sandra: Um, before we end things off, I wanted to just ask where everybody can find you on social media so I can make sure they go give you a follow.
Sarahna: Sure, absolutely. No problem. So, um, I’m gonna sound like I, you, you can find me on IG. That’s where I hang out. It is really where I am though. So on Instagram, I’m actually Simply Organized by Sarahna – S-A-R-A-H-N-A. Um, and then you can always check out my website. That’s simplyorganizedsolutions.net. So there’s two different things, but I had to get over that. Domains be damned.
Sandra: Been there. I totally get it.
Sarahna: I’m okay with it. My name’s Sarahna and my company has solutions in it. It’ll be okay. Your brain can do it.
Sandra: And next step will be doing 57 seconds on the microphone, or, microphone. Microwave.
Sarahna: Yeah. Yes. Slow slowly easy. But, um –
Sandra: Baby steps!
Sarahna: If you go to my website, I’ve got a beautiful freebie section that you can actually, and I really recommend this – I’ve got, um, a business audit workbook, so you can do a little audit on your own systems to figure out where you need your attention. ‘Cause that’s a big thing. People are like, uh, it’s all I need help with all. And where the hell do I start? And that sounds long and ex exhausting. So I’m not gonna start. It’s okay.
Go do the quick audit. It’s a nice little PDF. It basically puts your shit in little quadrants of what you like and you’re good at. Which you don’t like, and which you’re not good at. And the two other versions in between there, and you kind of rank things and you figure out cool. My marketing actually needs the most help, not my client experience. So let me start there and get to client experience later.
But that is a great freebie. Um, that’s anybody can, and I think it’s actually in my bio for my Instagram as well. You can just click and go directly to that.
Sandra: Perfect. I’ll make sure I include a link in the show notes for the episode as well. So that way everybody can easily go and find it.
Sarahna: Thank you. I do appreciate that, but yeah, it’s a really good resource to kind of figure out where the hell to start and put things in perspective, ‘cause there’s stuff that we think is a problem. Like Ill help people who’ll be like, oh my, my accounting, my accounting. It’s like, that’s actually lower down. You’ve just realized that it’s the like general admin of your business and the admin of your business is important. Especially if you have plans for team members and other humans, um, you gotta get that in check and laid it out somewhere. And that’s, I, that’s my focus, lay it out somewhere so you can see it and then other people can see it.
And then you kind of know what your business looks like. Cause a lot of people don’t know, they, ‘cause they’re busy working in the business. They don’t really have a macro view of how they’ve set up their business and how it runs and how to access stuff. And again, in my, in my beautiful preaching about emergency and planning for emergencies, first thing you do is lay out your whole business so you can see what it all looks like and where you need to tweak, where you need help and how somebody else could ever help you and step in and help you. Like that’s the first step. Like they’ve gotta learn what it is. It’s like walking into a shop, and you look around. There’s a counter with a cash register. These are some shelves. Product goes here. Storeroom is there. This is where the cash is. This is where the bill book is, you know, just things like, and I’m like that.I think about everything in real-life terms. And then I build and create things based on like, okay, how would this feel in real life? How would this sound in real life? How would this work in real life? Um, so yeah, go check on that freebie. It’ll help you out a lot.
Sandra: Yes, absolutely. Definitely. Make sure you go and grab a copy. Like I said, I’ll make sure the link is in the show notes and Sarahna will also have it on her website as well.
Well, thank you so much again for joining! This interview was absolutely amazing. I am so, so excited to get this out there so everybody can listen to it. And I look forward to many more connections with you.
Sarahna: Of course, you’re my girl. So I’m happy to come back and chat and we clearly can chat about so many things.
Sandra: Right. I love it.
(Interview Ends)
Ohmygosh. That interview was so, so good! I hope you loved listening as much as I did. Like I mentioned at the end of that interview, I’ve included the link to Sarahna’s freebie in the show notes for today’s episode, so head over to my website – simplysandrayvonne.ca/keepingitcandid – to grab your copy of the Business Systems Audit workbook and don’t forget to check out everything else Sarahna has available there as well.
On the next episode of Keeping It Candid, I’m chatting with my friend Cindy from Harborview Studios. She joined me to talk about why we shouldn’t be “giving 110%” to our clients as business owners, so make sure you check back in two weeks for that!
(Outro Music)
Thanks so much for listening to Keeping It Candid: Wedding Photography Unfiltered with Sandra Henderson! You can find full show notes from today’s episode at simplysandrayvonne.ca/keepingitcandid. In the meantime – let’s connect! You can find me on Instagram @simplysandrayvonne, and on Facebook in the Wedding Photography Unfiltered community! If you’re loving this podcast, I’d be so honoured if you’d go ahead and hit that subscribe button and leave me a review!
Until next time!
About Sarahna
Sarahna Fernandes was a Wedding Planner for 12 years before she launched Simply Organized Solutions – a company dedicated to getting wedding pros and other creative entrepreneurs their time back Sarahna pivoted into her current role as a Business Systems Architect because she recognized a great opportunity to serve the industry she had fallen in love with in an even more impactful way. To date, she has had the amazing opportunity to work with entrepreneurs from several fields other than the wedding industry, and she has been successfully helping entrepreneurs create better client experiences AND work experiences by improving their systems & processes. She loves eclairs, reading, and spending time enjoying her family and friends!
(Intro Music)
Welcome to Keeping it Candid – Wedding Photography Unfiltered for photographers who want to keep it real. I’m your host, Sandra Henderson, international wedding and family photographer and educator with a Marie Kondo-style approach to running a business – you know, keeping things simple and getting rid of anything that doesn’t bring you joy!. More importantly, I’m a strong enneagram 3w2 who is obsessed with tacos, and my love for travelling is one of many things that drives my passion for all things systems, workflows, and beating burnout as a business owner. Join me twice a month for a candid, behind-the-scenes look at what it’s really like working as a wedding photographer – where I’ll give you actionable steps to take your business to the next level. Absolutely no fluff here, friends! So grab your favourite notebook and pen, and let’s dive into this week’s episode.
(Episode 009)
Hello hello hello and Welcome back to Keeping It Candid!!
Like it said in the intro, I’m your host, Sandra Henderson, and on today’s short and sweet episode I’m diving into a crazy unsexy topic – but it’s one I’m super passionate about – using auto-responders! If you’re feeling tired of being tied to your inbox, this episode is for YOU! And I’ve got some news about what to expect in upcoming episodes of the podcast coming at the end so make sure you stick around until then.
Ok, so let’s talk auto-responders! Specifically for email. You can set up auto-responders for your social media business accounts like on Facebook and Instagram, but for today’s examples and takeaways I’m only going to be talking about email.
Using auto-responders as a regular part of my workflow in my photography business is something I wish I had done years earlier than I did.
I know what you’re thinking. Auto-responders can be SO impersonal, right?! At least, that’s how they used to be. But when you’re building a personal brand, it gets easier and comes naturally to incorporate that into every aspect – even your auto-responders. You can also use them to start compiling information about your clients without ever being at your computer.
So let’s talk more about what that looks like for me over at Life is Beautiful Photography:
First, my general auto-responder. This is the easiest place to get started if you’re wanting to start implementing these into your email workflow, too!
My general auto-responder is built into my Google email platform, and it gives anyone emailing me the information they need to set their expectations from the very beginning. I say hello, let them know when I’m typically in my inbox, and most importantly – when they can expect to hear back from me.
If you head over to my website – simplysandrayvonne.ca/templates you can get your hands on a free email template. This is the exact email auto-responder I’ve been using for the last three years! All you need to do is copy and paste it into places like with your email provider and inside your CRM system, and adjust it to include your business practices.
I let people know to expect 1-2 business days for a response from me. This timeframe suits my needs because navigating a chronic illness as a business owner means I need a built-in emergency plans wherever I can. I don’t always know when to expect a bad day so having 1-2 business days to respond lets me step away from my inbox guilt-free, and makes it easier to pop back in quickly to take care of anything that might be time-sensitive.
By getting specific about replies going out on business days, I’m also letting people know not to expect a reply over the weekend. I’m either out behind my camera or taking time off, and in either scenario I’m not popping into my inbox.
Now, I do want to mention that this doesn’t mean I NEVER reply faster than 1-2 business days. If something is urgent or if I have time to be in my inbox, I will definitely reply sooner. But the important thing is that the boudary has been set, client expectations have been set, and anything that happens to exceed those expectations only improves the experience my clients have during their time with me.
Now before we get into the other way I’m using auto-responders, I think it needs to be said:
Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to reply to an email right away.
If someone can’t wait 1-2 business days for a reply for a non-urgent question, we aren’t the right fit. Plain and simple. I can’t be in my inbox all day, every day, readily available to every single client I have at a moment’s notice. It’s just not possible.
I once had a colleague ask me if I was worried about losing out on new business because someone else replied faster than me, and the simple answer is, no. I’m not worried. At all. It’s happened before and I’m sure it’s going to happen again.
The reality is, that person ultimately wasn’t invested in hiring ME. They were looking to hire any photographer that was available. I would much rather work with couples who are as invested in working with me as I am with them.
What’s more important than replying right away is setting boundaries that work for you. You’ll find the people who work the same way, too! You’re going to be able to show up and deliver a much better experience every time if you work within your limitations and not anyone else’s.
That goes double for my chronic illness friends! You need to build flexibility into your schedule to help you prepare as best you can for those unexpected flare ups and off-days.
Ok – so the other way I’m using auto-responders is for wedding photography inquiries from potential clients. I have a different auto-responder that goes out, and this one built right into a Honeybook automation.
So anyone inquiring for photos through my contact form on my website not only receives a more detailed email where I’ve included the same information about when to expect a response, and my mission statement so they know what we’re all about, they also receive a link to a questionnaire so I can start collecting important information from them right away.
I ask some get-to-know you type questions, where they’re getting married and what their wedding date is.
I also ask if they have a budget for their wedding photos.
Questions like this are so important to make sure my team is available, and to make sure we aren’t wasting anyone’s time – ours or the couples’ – if their budget is significantly lower than what our collections are starting at.
It helps me personalize my actual response to them, too, and I can start getting ideas for what collections and options will suit them best, which will help with my sales process down the road.
If you’re looking for a quick and easy way to get started with automations and workflows in your business, implementing auto-responders is the perfect place to start. It takes 5 minutes to put together a general auto-responder withing your email provider! And according to GetResponse and Hubspot, single-reply auto-responder emails have a 98% open rate. Which is huge! In email marketing you are not going to get numbers that high, so you can see the benefit of this.
It’s the easiest tweak you can make to the way you do things to start gaining more peace in your life and still continue to serve your clients in the best way possible along the way.
Don’t forget to head to simplysandrayvonne.ca/templates to get your copy of my auto-responder template!
And before we wrap things up, I mentioned at the beginning of the episode that I had some news about what’s coming up on Keeping It Candid!
We’re celebrating our 10th episode in September and I’m so excited to be changing things up a little bit… I have some amazing guests lined up and I can’t wait to share their interviews with you! That’s all starting on the next episode, so make sure you check back in two weeks!
(Outro Music)
Thanks so much for listening to Keeping It Candid: Wedding Photography Unfiltered with Sandra Henderson! You can find full show notes from today’s episode at simplysandrayvonne.ca/keepingitcandid. In the meantime – let’s connect! You can find me on Instagram @simplysandrayvonne, and on Facebook in the Wedding Photography Unfiltered community! If you’re loving this podcast, I’d be so honoured if you’d go ahead and hit that subscribe button and leave me a review!
Until next time!
(Intro Music)
Welcome to Keeping it Candid – Wedding Photography Unfiltered for photographers who want to keep it real. I’m your host, Sandra Henderson, international wedding and family photographer and educator with a Marie Kondo-style approach to running a business – you know, keeping things simple and getting rid of anything that doesn’t bring you joy!. More importantly, I’m a strong enneagram 3w2 who is obsessed with tacos, and my love for travelling is one of many things that drives my passion for all things systems, workflows, and beating burnout as a business owner. Join me twice a month for a candid, behind-the-scenes look at what it’s really like working as a wedding photographer – where I’ll give you actionable steps to take your business to the next level. Absolutely no fluff here, friends! So grab your favourite notebook and pen, and let’s dive into this week’s episode.
(Episode 008)
Hi friends! Happy Tuesday – or whatever day it is that you happen to be listening to this episode!
Before I get started, did you catch the last episode of Keeping It Candid? It was all about the importance of a pre-wedding questionnaire, and I dove into some of the specifics that I ask my clients in order to prepare for their wedding. You’ll definitely want to go give it a listen if you missed it! And then head over to the Shownotes to get your hands on my brand new Wedding Day Questionnaire template!
It includes 9 pages of questions, broken down into each section of the day:
1) Day-Of Contact Information
2) Getting Ready
3) First Look
4) Ceremony
5) Family Formals
6) Wedding Party Photos
7) Newlywed Portraits
8) The Reception
9) Additional Details, and
10) Vendor Info
The questions within each section cover every bit of information you could possibly need to ensure a successful wedding day and create a photography timeline with ease. You’ll walk into every wedding with a new sense of confidence because you know all of your bases are covered to keep things stress-free no matter what! And the best part?
It’s only $17! YES FRIENDS – just $17! Head over to simplysandrayvonne.ca/keepingitcandid and check out the shownotes for Episode 7 to get your copy today. (or CLICK HERE!!)
Ok – now, as they say, back to our regularly scheduled programming! It’s already AUGUST, and for so many wedding photographers out there, that means endless days of doing all the things now that busy season has really settled in. Weddings, engagement sessions, editing, blogging, posting to social media, going to meetings… It’s the best but it’s also a LOT.
If you’re anything like me, creating content and posting to social media actually gets harder during busy season. You’d think it would be the time when it was easiest – with how often I’m behind my camera, I have constant access to fresh new photos to share. But when I’m having to do so much client-facing work, I just don’t have the mental capacity to show up on socials as often.
Which, is a total catch 22, right, because I’m sure it’s no secret to any of you listening, showing up on social media consistently is important.
I want to be clear though that I’m not a supporter of the quote/unquote “rules” that exist surrounding posting. I truly believe you should use social media apps in a way that works for you, whether that be posting once a week or twice a day. Figuring out what consistency means to you and creating a schedule you can stick with is far more beneficial than trying to do what everyone else is saying or doing.
One thing you can do to make it all a whole lot easier is to start repurposing your content. What I mean by that is, re-using your written content, like blog posts and captions, as well as your photos, across multiple platforms at different times.
There are a few different ways you can do this:
I use each of these in my own business and it’s honestly been one of the biggest game changers. So let’s take a look at what each of these is all about:
Reposting old content is the easiest place to get started. Scroll back through your posts on Instagram and find content from 2019 or 2020 that could still be relevant to your audience today. Copy the caption, and then decide if you want to re-use the same photo or if you want do something like turn it into a Reel instead.
If you’re creating a Reel you’ll need to post manually, but if you’re using a static image, you can use an app like Reposta, which will pull the caption and image from any post on your Instagram account. No matter the method you choose, you’ve now got a brand new post without having to generate a new idea of what to say.
You might be thinking, but what if someone recognizes it? Won’t people notice if they’ve been following me for a long time?
The short and simple answer is – no, people won’t notice. Even your most engaged followers aren’t going to remember. The Instagram platform is generating more than 95 million posts each day, and we can easily consume hundreds of them within 10 minutes of scrolling. When you’re scrolling, you’re SEEING the content, but it’s not actually resonating with you most of the time.
Can you remember the photo and caption of every single post you’ve seen on Instagram just today alone? Probably not. After your viewers have consumed thousands upon thousands of other Instagram posts, they’re not going to remember that what they just saw crossed their feeds years ago, either. Studies have shown that we need to see something an average of seven times before it truly resonates with us. Given the average Instagram post reaches less than 10% of your followers, it’s pretty likely that a large chunk of your audience never saw the content at all the first time around. It’s a frustrating statistic but with the right marketing plan, you can flip the script and use that to your advantage.
2) The second way you can use repurposing content to your advantage is one of my favourites. Create a system that takes one piece of content and generates five week’s worth of posts from it across multiple platforms. I know – big surprise, one of my favourites is a SYSTEM! I just can’t help it. Anyway –
To get more specific, I’m going to break down what that looks like for me:
So, first comes the blog post. This is the longest piece of content I’ll need to write, so it just makes sense to start there!
A week later, week 2, an email goes out to my email list. I tweak the content from my blog a little bit to be more personalized, like adding in a field that will automatically input someone’s name so I’m able to speak directly to them when I land in their inbox.
On week three, the content gets condensed for Instagram. There’s a limit of 2200 characters in an Instagram caption, but SEO experts recommend a minimum of 300 words in a blog post! So what I’ve written on the blog or in an email is likely significantly too long to post as-is in a caption. I go through and figure out the best way to make sure the most important details are being shared, and delete anything I’ve written that isn’t absolutely necessary.
This step actually has a little bonus option – If the original content I wrote for my blog was something like sharing three tips for dreamy sunset photos at your wedding, for example, I could actually create three different Instagram posts by sharing one tip in each post.
Next up comes posting to Facebook on week 4, and this is definitely the easiest step in this repurposing system. For a standard post, very little needs to be changed between Instagram and Facebook. The caption doesn’t need to be shortened further, and there are no limits to characters or the number of images I can post on Facebook. But, I do want to make sure I’m always respecting the platform I’m posting to. I remove hashtags, Instagram handles, and anything else that isn’t a native feature of the Facebook platform. This way I’m not overwhelming my viewers with useless information and they’re more likely to pay attention to what I’ve shared.
If my Instagram post was a carousel or Reel that included several photos, I turn them into an album on Facebook to utilize all the features my business page has available.
Lastly, on the fifth week, my content lands on Pinterest. This is the most condensed version of what I originally wrote, with just a small paragraph of space available for a caption. BUT, this is where everything comes full-circle. Pinterest is a search engine and not only gives me opporunity to utlitize keywords and search terms to increase my reach, any content I post can be directly linked back to the original full blog post I posted on week one, generating more traffic for my website as well.
That’s it! Five weeks worth of content without having to generate something brand new for each platform. If I wasn’t using a system like this and wanted to show up on those five platforms every day, I would have to generate 7 pieces of content for each platform each week. That’s 35 pieces of content a week in total. That’s a LOT, especially considering all the other things I need to be doing to keep my business running. I don’t have the time for 35 pieces of content a week! With this system though, I can focus on a week’s worth of blog posts, and then use that content to fill in everywhere else I want to be showing up consistently.
OK – Before I move onto the final way to repurpose your content, I wanted to talk a bit about this five-week schedule, and why I’m not just posting to all five platforms at the same time.
Remember I mentioned earlier, that studies have shown you need to see something an average of seven times for it to fully resonate with you? Scheduling the content further apart increases that likelihood. Thanks to things like the algorithm and people’s general browsing habits of hopping from one platform to another, it’s more likely your audience will see – and pay attention to – the content when it’s not all being posted at once. You can also use the analytics available to you on each platform to find out the times your audiences are most engaged to fully take advantage of what the algorithms can do for you.
Now we’re onto the final way you can repurpose your content so you can keep showing up consistently while doing entirely less work along the way –
When creating new content specifically for Instagram, try using the same content for both static posts AND Reels. Think something like sneak peeks – you could post the static images to your feed the first time. Then, create a Reel that includes some behind the scenes footage from the wedding day along with the sneak peek images to post later. And don’t forget to include some trending audio to maximize your reach and engagement!
I did this recently as an experiment, and I was genuinely surprised by the results. I posted 8 sneak peek photos in a static post in the morning. Then, that evening, I posted a Reel that included the exact same caption, and the exact same 8 photos in a different order, and a song that was trending. Both posts performed well, of course with the Reel reaching a larger audience thanks to the algorithm. But the people that were interacting with each were completely different. My followers who were commenting on the Reel, which was posted almost 12 hours after the static post, were seeing the photos for the first time. I was able to leverage two totally different parts of my audience with, essentially, the same piece of content.
With all the changes underway behind the scenes at Instagram, making short-form video content the main goal of the platform, the idea of content creation is feeling more exhausting than ever. As wedding photographers, we signed up to create with our cameras. Most of us are not on the path of becoming famous influencers who create viral Reels all the time. Repurposing your content is the perfect way to take some of that pressure off yourself so you can spend more time behind your camera without worrying about finding the time to act out the latest trend and learning how to edit video content, too. You’ve got enough editing to do already!!
Another reason why I’m so invested in repurposing my content is that chronic illness life can be unpredictable at best. I never know when things are going to take a turn and leave me without the mental or physical capacity to do something. When it comes to things like portrait sessions and wedding days, I’ll push through and rely on my medication and heating pads that I can wear under my clothes to get through the day if I need to. But on office days, I give myself the grace to rest, and the more I’m able to streamline through different systems – like repurposing my content – the less guilt I have about things I quote/unquote should be doing. Whether you’re also living with a chronic illness, or if you’re a parent or a caregiver or just have a LOT on your plate right now – you deserve the grace to rest, too. I hope today’s tips help you give yourself permission to do just that. Rely on your systems to keep things running smoothly so you can come back tomorrow or the next day feeling like your best self!
(Outro Music)
Thanks so much for listening to Keeping It Candid: Wedding Photography Unfiltered with Sandra Henderson! You can find full show notes from today’s episode at simplysandrayvonne.ca/keepingitcandid. In the meantime – let’s connect! You can find me on Instagram @simplysandrayvonne, and on Facebook in the Wedding Photography Unfiltered community! If you’re loving this podcast, I’d be so honoured if you’d go ahead and hit that subscribe button and leave me a review!
Until next time!
(Intro Music)
Welcome to Keeping it Candid – Wedding Photography Unfiltered for photographers who want to keep it real. I’m your host, Sandra Henderson, international wedding and family photographer and educator with a Marie Kondo-style approach to running a business – you know, keeping things simple and getting rid of anything that doesn’t bring you joy!. More importantly, I’m a strong enneagram 3w2 who is obsessed with tacos, and my love for travelling is one of many things that drives my passion for all things systems, workflows, and beating burnout as a business owner. Join me twice a month for a candid, behind-the-scenes look at what it’s really like working as a wedding photographer – where I’ll give you actionable steps to take your business to the next level. Absolutely no fluff here, friends! So grab your favourite notebook and pen, and let’s dive into this week’s episode.
(Episode 007)
Hello hello hello friends! Welcome back to another episode of Keeping It Candid. Before we get started you’re going to want to pause and go back to episodes 5 and 6 if you haven’t listened to them already. In episode 5 I talked about how to create a stress-free timeline for a wedding day, and in episode 6 I talked about how to prep your clients for their wedding photos ahead of time – today’s episode goes hand-in-hand with each of these. I’m talking all about what I call “The Wedding Day Questionnaire” – what it is, why it’s so important, what kind of information you should be collecting from your couples, and how to make sure no detail gets missed.
The Wedding Day Questionnaire is a questionnaire that I send out to my clients three months ahead of their wedding day to get every detail I can that will contribute to the photos that need to be taken.
Let me tell you – it’s INTENSE at first glace. It’s the only piece of homework I really give my clients during our time together, and it’s not something that can be filled out in a few minutes. It’s 12 pages of questions, information, and inspiration to help paint a picture of what the wedding day will look like for both me and the couple.
It’s such an important part of the planning process because if I didn’t ask my couples these questions or give them information about their photos ahead of time, I’d be showing up on a wedding day without any idea of what was to come. I’ve worked with photographers who, the night before the wedding, had no idea what time they were supposed to be on-site the next day because the couple never gave them the information. Or, who will wait for their couples to tell them what’s happening next on the wedding day, which always led to a lot of muffled whispers from the couple and the guests asking, “what are we supposed to be doing right now? what are we waiting around for?” because no one was taking the lead to keep the day flowing. Like I said in the last couple of episodes – this is likely our couples’ first time getting married and planning a wedding, and they’re relying on us, the vendors they’ve hired, to be the experts and guide them along the way to create the wedding day they’ve been dreaming of. Using a questionnaire is such a great way to avoid unnecessary headaches on the day of because you’ll have all the details you need to keep serving your couple no matter what comes your way. Because let’s be real – we all know, anything can happen on a wedding day! But it becomes a hell of a lot easier to roll with the punches when you’re thoroughly prepared.
So let’s dive into what my wedding day questionnaire looks like. I mentioned already that it’s 12 pages long! I’ve built it right into Honeybook, which is my CRM system. It’s designed with my brand colours and photos from my portfolio, so my clients aren’t just receiving a hella-boring list of questions that takes them back to their worst memories of high school. NOBODY wants that. It gives them space to type in their answers, but the best part is that it actually auto-saves as it’s filled out, so they can go back to work on it as their schedules allow. Life gets busy and I totally respect that so I want to make it as easy as possible on my couples to get this information to me!
I know that a lot of the small details of the wedding day haven’t been finalized three months beforehand, but that’s ok. They can fill out the information they DO have, and come back to the rest later. But there’s another reason why I send it out three months in advance – the questionnaire is FILLED with information like the average amount of time a certain event of the day takes to photograph, why I recommend a first look, and so much more. It gets my couples thinking about how their wedding day is all going to come together in a way that makes it all seem more real. It guides them with my expertise to ensure they’re getting the wedding photos they were expecting when they decided to hire me.
The questionnaire is broken down into different segments of the day, starting at the very beginning, and I’m going to give you some highlights from each right now!
To start things off, I ask for contact information from my couple, someone in their wedding party, and a VIP that would be best to contact for each side just in case there’s any sort of emergency and I’m not able to get ahold of the couple or the wedding party.
Then, we get into the photos. I ask if we’re going to be doing getting ready photos, and for who. If there’s a wedding dress involved in the day, I ask how it gets done up, because a zipper and a corset take significantly different amounts of time to do. I also like to ask if any gifts will be given during this time so we can ensure the moment is captured as well.
Next comes the first look – will the couple be doing one? As much as I’m on team First Look, it’s not my wedding day, and I’m never going to force my couples to structure their day in the way that I, specifically, think is best. I’m there to tell the story of THEIR day and if they don’t want to do a first look after reading the information I give them about the benefits, then that’s ok. It’s their day and their story and that’s what matters most of all.
If they are doing a first look, I ask if there’s a specific place they’d like it to happen, and if they’d like to do any other photos between the first look and the ceremony, like their newlywed portraits, wedding party photos, or family formals.
To plan for the ceremony, I ask what time the ceremony is starting at – super important detail! How long the officiant is expecting the ceremony to be, and if there are any guidelines, restrictions, or limitations set out by the venue that I need to abide by while taking photos. This is especially important because, for example, some churches don’t allow flash photography. The more information like that I have ahead of time, the better prepared I am to do my job.
I ask if we’re going to be taking a group photo after the ceremony and if we need to allow time for a receiving line afterward as well.
And then comes family formals. I give recommendations for the main groupings of people – basically, photos including immediate family. Then I ask if there are any other important guests that they would like included, too.
Most importantly, for family formals, wedding party photos, and newlywed portraits, I’m asking questions to make sure what we’re doing is accessible and comfortable for every person involved. I ask for everyone’s pronouns to ensure we’re addressing everyone appropriately. I ask if anyone requires flat surfaces to accommodate mobility limitations; if quiet, sensory friendly spaces are needed; if they’d like to request poses without kneeling, lifting, or anything else that we can do to make sure everyone can participate, have fun, and feel safe with us along the way.
As we head into the reception, what time dinner is being served at is one of the most important pieces of information I need to know, so I can make sure any photos taken between the ceremony and reception don’t cause a delay with the caterers and venue who are getting ready to serve the food that’s been prepared. I also like to ask when speeches are happening, when the first dance and any parent dances or significant events are happening, and if the couple would like to sneak away for sunset photos before it gets dark. Who doesn’t love a chance to take advantage of that golden hour glow, right?!
To make sure no detail gets missed, think about a wedding day you’ve photographed in the past. Run through the entire thing from start to finish, and write down any details you’ve encountered throughout the day. I’m talking, from the second you arrive at your first location to the last second as you leave the reception that night! What kind of information will help you to do your job to the absolute best of your ability? Write it down, then turn it into a questionnaire!
My wedding day questionnaire has been a work in progress over the almost ten years I’ve been in business, because each wedding season brings it’s own unique moments and challenges to learn from. Keeping the template designed in Honeybook allows me to go through to make any changes or add in additional questions and information any time I need to.
If you don’t have a CRM system like Honeybook that allows you to create templates like this one, I recommend using something like Google Forms. Though it won’t save along the way and your clients will have to fill it out all in one sitting, it will give them an easy, user-friendly experience and, once it’s submitted, it will keep all of the information they’ve provided organized in one place where you to easily access when you need to.
Now, as a wedding photographer with a chronic illness, this wedding day questionnaire has an extra bit of importance for me. Having all the details of the day allows me to prepare for what my health needs will be. I want to know ahead of time if I’m going to need to bring my own food to accommodate my dietary needs. I want to know where I can build in a quick break throughout the day so that I can take a few minutes to sit and rest my body while my assistant takes lead capturing things like candids. And, if I’m being totally honest, it gives me an idea of how bad the “wedding hangover” is going to be that’s inevitably coming my way. If it’s a low-key six hour wedding, I might be able to salvage some of my afternoon the next day. If it’s a non-stop twelve hour wedding, I know I’m going to be a complete write-off for at least a couple of days afterward. Finding ways to accommodate my needs is the key to making sure I’m able to make it through the day – or days, if we’re counting that wedding hangover – while still providing an amazing experience for my clients.
If you’ve been listening to this episode and you’re thinking… great, more work to add to my plate… make sure you head to simplysandrayvonne.ca and scroll to the bottom of my homepage to get on my email list. I’ve got an announcement coming your way next week that you’re not going to want to miss! Spoiler alert, it may or may not be a template… But that’s all I’m going to say!
And on that note – I’ll be back with a new episode in two weeks! Come hang out over in the Wedding Photography: Unfiltered community on Facebook until then!
(Outro Music)
Thanks so much for listening to Keeping It Candid: Wedding Photography Unfiltered with Sandra Henderson! You can find full show notes from today’s episode at simplysandrayvonne.ca/keepingitcandid. In the meantime – let’s connect! You can find me on Instagram @simplysandrayvonne, and on Facebook in the Wedding Photography Unfiltered community! If you’re loving this podcast, I’d be so honoured if you’d go ahead and hit that subscribe button and leave me a review!
Until next time!
(Intro Music)
Welcome to Keeping it Candid – Wedding Photography Unfiltered for photographers who want to keep it real. I’m your host, Sandra Henderson, international wedding and family photographer and educator with a Marie Kondo-style approach to running a business – you know, keeping things simple and getting rid of anything that doesn’t bring you joy!. More importantly, I’m a strong enneagram 3w2 who is obsessed with tacos, and my love for travelling is one of many things that drives my passion for all things systems, workflows, and beating burnout as a business owner. Join me twice a month for a candid, behind-the-scenes look at what it’s really like working as a wedding photographer – where I’ll give you actionable steps to take your business to the next level. Absolutely no fluff here, friends! So grab your favourite notebook and pen, and let’s dive into this week’s episode.
(Episode 006)
Welcome back, friends!! I took a quick break from the podcast a couple of weeks ago because I was in Cleveland for a conference, and I wanted to give it my full attention to take in everything it had to offer. But I’m back! Refreshed and inspired and so, so excited for today’s episode.
If I could go back to the beginning years of my photography career with the knowledge I have now, there’s one major change I would make – and that’s making sure that my clients are prepped for their wedding day photos ahead of time. It just makes everything so much easier! And also gives my clients the experience that they deserve. It helps them get excited and helps alleviate any anxiety they might have – it’s likely one of their first times ever being in front of a camera like this and that can be nerve-wracking! Anything I can do to support them ahead of time truly does help everyone.
Today I wanted to share a few things you can do to prepare your clients for their time in front of the camera too:
First – Answering questions before they’re asked is the simplest way to get started, but it’s also a really broad statement to make, right?! How do we answer something that hasn’t even been asked? We aren’t mindreaders!
Well, you want to start by putting together a list of questions relating to your service. What questions have you been asked by previous clients? Are there any that have popped up a few times? Those ones will definitely be really important. Try putting yourself in their shoes, too, and think, what questions would I have? What information would help me prepare for my engagement session or wedding photos if I was the one in front of the camera?
Think things like “when is the best time to schedule our ceremony?” and “can we do engagement photos with our dog?”
Just simply getting yourself in the headspace of what your clients want and need will give you invaluable perspective on how to best serve them beforehand!
Now that you have this list, the next thing you can do is decide what the best method of delivery is going to be to actually get this information to your clients. I recommend something like a guide you can send as a printed magazine or a digital PDF, or even a series of emails that you can schedule to send out throughout the planning process. Whatever method you choose, use this space to creatively display all the answers to those questions you have on your list! You can put everything on an FAQ page, or you can create some short-form articles based on some of the answers that are a bit longer.
Your prep guide or email series are also a great opportunity to educate your clients on things like the best time of day for wedding photos or when to expect their photos to be ready afterward. The opportunities are endless! And you’ll now have an easily accessible, on-brand spot to direct your future clients to any time they have a question that you’ve already got an answer for.
**BONUS TIP!!!** Repurpose all of this to create content to use on social media, too! There’s nothing better than doing the work once and getting to indefinitely reap the benefits from it, amiright?!
My last suggestion is that once your clients have decided on a location for their session, or start thinking about the possibilities their wedding venue has to offer, consider sending them a gallery of photos you’ve done there in the past. If you’re heading to an entirely new location, send them a similar gallery instead. As wedding photographers, building the ‘know like and trust’ factor with our clients is SO important, and giving them access to galleries like this will help them get to know your work better, they’ll start thinking about what they like and don’t like in terms of posing and locations, and they’ll trust that you’re capable of doing more than just the highlights on your Instagram. They’ll be able to start daydreaming about what their own photos could look like, too, and hopefully, they’ll start getting even more excited to work with you!
Ok, so, to summarize – three ways you can prep your clients for their time in front of the camera are:
You’ll feel so great when your clients are doing things like getting ready in bright, neutral locations, or having all of their details in one spot ready-to-go so you don’t have to rush around to find it all at the beginning of a wedding day – because you’ll have used your time leading up to the day preparing them!
Now, as I begin to talk more about what I’m doing behind the scenes in my photography business here on the podcast, especially when it comes to systems and workflows, I’m going to be sharing more about what that looks like for me, from the perspective of a business owner living with a chronic illness. So, for all of my listeners out there who are living with a chronic illness themselves or who maybe have someone in their close circle like a friend or family member that they want to support, I’m going to be diving into some topics a little bit further, because things can be a little more complicated when you’re running a business and navigating chronic illness life. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve listened to a podcast or watched a webinar and thought to myself, “Those tips sound great, but it’s not that easy, that won’t work for me when I have so much else on my plate…” and that’s why I think this aspect of the conversation is so important.
Let me take things back for a minute, though, and tell you a little more about me and my story:
On June 24th, 2017 I was photographing a wedding, and while we were doing the bride’s getting ready photos, I was suddenly hit with period cramps so severe I could barely stand. I started sweating, felt nauseated, and looked at my assistant with panic in my eyes as I silently motioned for her to take over while I got myself out of the room without anyone noticing. I grabbed some water and some Advil, and 5 minutes later I pulled myself together to fight through the pain and get back to work. That was the day I knew something was wrong.
Over the next two years, I saw countless doctors, was sent for endless tests, tried treatment after treatment after treatment, and each time I left with no answers. Then I finally met a doctor, who, after listening to my story, said some pretty life-changing words:
He said – you have endometriosis. I have to go through the proper procedure to be sure, but I can say this pretty confidently.
I finally underwent laparoscopic surgery on Christmas Eve in 2019, and the biopsy results confirmed what my doctor had said. I was officially diagnosed with stage 4 endometriosis.
For anyone who isn’t familiar – endometriosis is an incurable disease where tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows in other places throughout your body. If you could see inside me with a camera right now, you’d find that tissue in multiple places from the organs in my pelvis all the way up into my chest. It causes chronic pain, severe inflammation, nausea, scar tissue, organ failure, infertility, and so much more – there is a seemingly endless list of other symptoms. In fact, I’m even snuggled up with my heating pad right now as I record this episode to help manage pain in my hips and lower back while I get through the recording process.
Endometriosis affects approximately one in ten women and a countless number of trans and non-binary people who are underrepresented in studies. That’s more than 176 million people worldwide – and yet there are only about 200 specialists appropriately trained to treat this disease. The more I learned about endo, the further I was able to trace back my own experiences, and it turns out I had been managing symptoms on my own since I was 13 years old, not long after I had my first period. And it would be another 20 years before a doctor would ever acknowledge something was, in fact, wrong. I could do a whole episode on the absurdity of it all – but I’ll save that for another day!
When the pandemic hit in early 2020, I was 3 months post-op and still not feeling great. I was told after my surgery that I would be in ‘remission’ for at least a few years now that the tissues they found had been removed. Instead, things started spiraling pretty quickly. Between the stress of the pandemic, lack of access to my healthcare team, and a somewhat unsuccessful surgery, by May I was in more pain than I’ve ever felt in my life. Over six weeks my symptoms flared up three times for more than a week each time. I couldn’t walk more than a few feet without help. Getting up my stairs to go to bed sometimes took me more than 20 minutes. On the rare chance I was able to muster up enough energy to get outside, I needed help getting up the two steps from my back patio into the house. I was nauseated all day, every day, and started losing as much as 5lbs a week because I couldn’t keep anything down.
It never really feels less surreal to talk about. I’ve never been so scared in my entire life. For four months I didn’t know what to do, where to go for help, or how I was ever going to find a way to keep living my life, let alone run this photography business I’d been dreaming of since I was 17 years old and had spent my entire adult life building.
Every day, I kept going through the motions. I just didn’t know what else to do, honestly. Then one day I decided that I had given up enough of myself, my body, and my life, to this disease. Enough was enough. My business was NOT going to go on that list, too. I didn’t come this fucking far to stop now.
I had to find a way to start actually answering the question – “how am I going to do this?”
First came getting some help from my doctors. After four months of living in my own personal hell, I was finally able to get onto a new symptom management plan, giving up my fertility in the process due to the medications I needed to take. But, I started getting other parts of my life back in the meantime.
I could walk again. I could eat a full meal again. I started to get some of my strength back.
I never went back to how I felt physically before the surgery, but I’ve had time to make peace with that. This is my new normal. I had to find a way to stop fighting against it; to embrace this new life instead and start building a new version of what it could look like instead.
On the personal side, rebuilding that new version is still a work in progress. I think it probably always will be and I’m okay with that. Therapy and doing a lot of internal work will help me heal mentally and emotionally along the way.
But on the business side of things – I knew that streamlining every aspect of my business was going to be my key to success.
There were the obvious places to streamline, like within my systems and workflows in Honeybook, but as I started piecing this new puzzle together I saw that there were so many other areas with streamlining potential.
Prepping my clients ahead of time was one of them.
Creating a system that keeps my clients prepped and excited for their time in front of the camera became even more important when I had to start making these shifts in my business. Chronic illnesses like endometriosis can be unpredictable on their best day, so that means I’m not always able to be at my computer doing all-the-things.
There was nothing worse on those off-days than not feeling well, trying to focus on my health and getting the rest I needed, but being weighed down the entire time with guilt and anxiety because I had sessions and weddings coming up that needed my attention… it made already hard days feel unbearable.
Setting up an email series to send out to my clients throughout our time together helped me rest easier knowing they were being taken care of and were getting excited about what was to come, all without me having to be actually present at my computer.
Honeybook automations let me schedule everything so I never miss a beat. Everything that I talked about in the beginning of this episode – sending out galleries, answering questions, and educating my clients on what to wear, where to meet, and how to reach me.
Instead of pushing myself past my limit to stay on top of things, I’m able to rest when I need it, so when I do need to get behind my camera I’m showing up as the best version of myself, focusing my energy on capturing memories for my clients. And my clients are showing up excited and ready to go because they know what ot expect, which takes a lot off my plate mentally as we get started. If you’ve ever experienced chronic illness, I know you understand when I tell you that taking even one decision or one task off your to-do list on a day when you don’t feel well is everything!
No matter what your day-to-day life looks like, chronic illness or not, I hope today’s tips help you start creating a dream client experience that takes some of the work off your plate in the process.
That wraps up today’s episode, friends! Make sure you head over to my blog at simplysandrayvonne.ca/blog to check out the show notes from today’s episode- there is a little bonus tip that I didn’t mention earlier and you definitely don’t want to miss out!
(Outro Music)
Thanks so much for listening to Keeping It Candid: Wedding Photography Unfiltered with Sandra Henderson! You can find full show notes from today’s episode at simplysandrayvonne.ca/keepingitcandid. In the meantime – let’s connect! You can find me on Instagram @simplysandrayvonne, and on Facebook in the Wedding Photography Unfiltered community! If you’re loving this podcast, I’d be so honoured if you’d go ahead and hit that subscribe button and leave me a review!
Until next time!
(Intro Music)
Welcome to Keeping it Candid – Wedding Photography Unfiltered for photographers who want to keep it real. I’m your host, Sandra Henderson, international wedding and family photographer and educator with a Marie Kondo style approach to running a business – you know, keeping things simple and getting rid of anything that doesn’t bring you joy!. More importantly, I’m a strong enneagram 3w2 who is obsessed with tacos, and my love for travelling is one of many things that drives my passion for all things systems, workflows, and beating burnout as a business owner. Join me twice a month for a candid, behind the scenes look at what it’s really like working as a wedding photographer – where I’ll give you actionable steps to take your business to the next level. Absolutely no fluff here, friends! So grab your favourite notebook and pen, and let’s dive into this week’s episode.
(Episode 004)
This week’s episode is sponsored by Honeybook! Do yourself (and your business) a favour! Get 50% off your first year by starting a trial – all you need to do is visit share.honeybook.com/sandra. You’ll wonder why you didn’t do it sooner!
Picture this:
You wake up in the morning, make yourself a cup of coffee, and take your time getting ready for the day. When you get into your office, you check your email. You reply to every single one until you’re at the infamous ‘inbox zero’ with the click of a just few buttons. You draft up proposals for three new clients and send them out. Then, completing your to-do list for the day, you finish editing a wedding and send the gallery out to your client…
… when all that’s done, you look at the clock, and it’s only noon.
You grab yourself some lunch and enjoy eating it away from your computer. You start brainstorming for a passion project you’ve been working on. You meet up with friends for dinner and drinks. And when you crawl into bed that night, you’re not weighed down with worries about the next day ahead.
This isn’t a “too-good-to-be-true” scenario.
It’s what your life can actually look like with one of the most important systems you’ll ever have in your business – a CRM System.
If you’re not familiar with the term, CRM stands for Client Relationship Management. There are so, so many options out there for CRM Systems, but when Honeybook finally launched to Canadian residents, I jumped over immediately and have never looked back!
Without Honeybook I wouldn’t have been able to successfully grow my business over the last three years. Period. I was too burnt out trying to do all-the-things on my own.
It gave me the ability to seamlessly run things behind the scenes, which also meant my client experience was up-leveled, too. Being able to give my clients an incredible experience in every aspect, not just when they’re in front of my camera, is a major factor in getting rave reviews, and more importantly, referrals. It creates a chain reaction, because the happier my clients are, the more confidence I gain as a business owner. It’s truly a win-win!
Honeybook let’s you create a project for each individual client you have, and has an amazing feature called Automations that allows you to apply a workflow to any of those projects. Within an automation you can include anything from general to-do tasks, template emails, questionnaires, and so, so much more. You set a date or timeframe for each, and from there, there are two options:
The first – triggering a notification on that date you’ve set to remind you to do a task or to send a questionnaire, for example
Or, two – triggering an email, questionnaire, or whatever you may need, to auto-send on a specific date without you ever having to be at your computer.
It’s fully customizable to suit your needs as a business owner! The first option is what I use, myself. Honeybook will automatically populate whatever task I have built into my automation, but it won’t send send anything on my behalf. I have to go into the platform and look after it myself! This gives me the ability to customize my templates if needed and just puts my Type-A, control-freak mind at ease knowing that everything is going out as it should be.
It frees up so much mental space, too, because it takes all of those items in all of my automations, and puts them into a single task list. Then, it sends me notifications based off of the all the dates I have set for every single client. This means no little things fall through the cracks because I’m not having to remember every detail for every client at all times. Everyone is getting the same, consistent, experience from start-to-finish each time because it’s built into my automations. This is especially important during peak busy seasons when I can often have 30-40 active clients at a time.
Since I’m saving so much time by not having to type up every individual email myself thanks to things like templates, and I’m not scrambling to fix problems because I forgot to do something important, I’m able to focus on booking more clients, taking time off, and working on personal projects!
Honeybook is also fully customizable in so many other ways, like keeping things on-brand with my other spaces like my website and social media platforms. Combined with the automations feature, my clients aren’t just receiving boring, corporate-looking documents. They’re receiving user-friendly and aesthetically pleasing digital brochures, pricing guides, contracts, invoices, and questionnaires.
I love getting feedback from my clients about how much they appreciate such an easy experience. Their contracts can be signed online, payments can be made through their invoice, questionnaires auto-save as they’re filled out so they can be referred back to later – I always tell my clients that I want our time together to be simple and enjoyable for everyone, and that includes the times we have to take care of the things that are typically not so fun.
Now, speaking of those invoice payments – being able to accept credit card payments is definitely one of the top ways my business has grown since I started using Honeybook. I know a lot of business owners stray away from accepting credit card payments because of the processing fees associated with it. But here’s the thing – on average, businesses that accept credit card as a method of payment receive upwards of 12% higher sales revenue after processing fees than those that don’t. So, for example, in a year where you’ve generated $50,000 in sales, you have the opportunity to grow that to $56,000 just by accepting credit card payments. That’s $6000 more revenue annually without having to do a single bit of extra work.
And isn’t that the dream, friends?! To be doing less work and be generating more revenue?! I know it is for me.
Now, if you’re already using a CRM system but want to make the switch to Honeybook, or if you’re new to the world of CRM’s and are ready to get started, I have some good news for you!
First – you don’t have to worry about doing all the leg work yourself. As my amazing business coach, Candice Coppolla always says, you shouldn’t have to do business alone. Honeybook has a team of Pro’s who can help you get your systems and automations up and running exactly the way you need them to, including onboarding information from other CRM’s. You can also book a clarity call with me! I’m a Honeybook Educator and there’s nothing I love more than helping other wedding photographers gain clarity in the backend of their businesses. And the cherry on top? You can save 50% on your first year with Honeybook by visiting http://share.honeybook.com/Sandra
So friend, I hope this has inspired you to start fully utilizing your CRM systems, whether it be Honeybook or something else, to really start growing your business this year. The specifics I talked about can be applied to most, if not all, CRM systems. But, if the system you’re working with doesn’t offer any of these features, like branding, online payments, automations and workflows – it might be time to consider moving on to something new. I promise it will be worth it! Streamlining doesn’t just mean making things easier for your clients – it means making things easier for you, too, and as always – you absolutely deserve it.
(Outro Music)
Thanks so much for listening to Keeping It Candid: Wedding Photography Unfiltered with Sandra Henderson! You can find full show notes from today’s episode at simplysandrayvonne.ca/keepingitcandid. In the meantime – let’s connect! You can find me on Instagram @simplysandrayvonne, and on Facebook in the Wedding Photography Unfiltered community! If you’re loving this podcast, I’d be so honoured if you’d go ahead and hit that subscribe button and leave me a review!
Until next time!
Sponsored by Honeybook. Get 50% off your first year by starting a trial! https://share.honeybook.com/Sandra
Join the Wedding Photography: Unfiltered Community – https://www.facebook.com/groups/weddingphotographyunfiltered
(Intro with music)
Welcome to Keeping it Candid – Wedding Photography Unfiltered for photographers who want to keep it real. I’m your host, Sandra Henderson, international wedding and family photographer and educator with a Marie Kondo style approach to running a business – you know, keeping things simple and getting rid of anything that doesn’t bring you joy!. More importantly, I’m a strong enneagram 3w2 who is obsessed with tacos, and my love for travelling is one of many things that drives my passion for all things systems, workflows, and beating burnout as a business owner. Join me twice a month for a candid, behind the scenes look at what it’s really like working as a wedding photographer – where I’ll give you actionable steps to take your business to the next level. Absolutely no fluff here, friends! So grab your favourite notebook and pen, and let’s dive into this week’s episode.
(Episode 003)
For some wedding photographers, spring season is already underway, but for all of my Canadian and northern US friends, we’re just about to get started!
I don’t know about you, but I’m SO excited to get behind my camera again. The last two years had me under lockdown restrictions in the spring because of the pandemic, so I haven’t been able to host my spring mini sessions or get a ‘normal’ start to my season since 2019! It’s so crazy to think about, and I’m so glad this year is starting to look a little more like it should.
I always start getting pre-busy season anxiety as we get closer and closer to the spring. It’s a huge adjustment after a relatively quiet and slow-paced winter where I spend most days working behind the scenes, doing things like making sure my systems and workflows in Honeybook are all in order, updating my website, planning my calendar for the year ahead… All the things I know I won’t have as much time to get to once all that snow melts. And then, come May, it’s like a night-and-day difference, waking up one morning to a fast-paced “busy season” that couldn’t be more opposite than those winter months!
Anyone who struggles with anxiety knows it’s not always rational – I’ve been doing this for more than nine years now and it still starts the same way every year. I worry about showing up as my best self to serve my clients. I worry about managing my workload while also navigating chronic illness life. I worry about work/life balance. I worry about all the unknowns.
All of those worries and the negative thoughts and feelings all eventually lead to the same road – the absolute dread of feeling burnt out at the end of the season.
Burnout is a serious struggle for wedding photographers. Really, all business owners. We wear 20 different hats on a daily basis and the mental capacity it all requires takes more out of you than the physical requirements of the job most days, without us even realizing it. You just keep going and going and going, until one day, you hit a wall. You’re exhausted. You’re feeling uninspired and like you’ve been doing the same poses at the same locations for months with no way to really express yourself creatively. You don’t want to show up on social media because you keep getting lost in the comparison game, and the idea of having to spend another minute in your inbox is making you want to delete your inbox altogether.
You might even wonder, why am I doing this?
Eventually, though, you come out the other side and remember your why. You remember all the things that make you love your job and that led you to a career in wedding photography in the first place. You come up with new ideas, and the idea of creating gets exciting again. You confidently handle emails in your inbox and start finding the fun in social media again too.
Sounds MUCH better, right?! And if you’ve ever struggled with burnout, I know you can relate.
Going through severe burnout myself more than once, along with my own personal struggles with anxiety and depression, led me to almost closing down my business a few years ago.
I literally vowed to myself that it was never going to happen again and that I NEEDED to make some changes to ensure it stayed that way.
So this week, I’m sharing five of those very changes that I made, so you can implement them in your business too, and stop burnout before it happens!
Make this year the first time you get to November feeling confident and accomplished instead of exhausted and burnt out. Start your busy season with intentional, proactive actions to stop the fires from happening altogether so you don’t have to worry about putting them out down the road.
The first change is one I’ve already talked about on the podcast more than once, and I promise you, it won’t be the last time I talk about it either!
Any guesses?
PRIORITIZE taking time off! This year, no more saying “I just need to get through the next few weeks of craziness and then I’ll get a day off.” If you don’t prioritize it and book it into your calendar the same way you would a wedding or a portrait session, it’s not likely going to happen. There will always be one more thing to do until the day you wake up exhausted, overworked, and – you guessed it – completely burnt out.
Most often when we talk about burnout, we talk about how it impacts photographers at the end of busy season, but the truth is, it can happen any time. After a wedding, after launching a new product or service, after writing out a month’s worth of content all at once… It looks different and feels different for everyone. And that’s why I am such a huge advocate for building time off into your schedule to help avoid burnout before it happens. Your body and mind need to rest!
I always think of a quote by the Dalai Lama when I talk about taking time off. He was asked what surprised him most about humanity, and he said “Man. Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health.”
I think it speaks to the conversation around burnout SO well, because as business owners in a seasonal industry, we do typically have less time to bring in our income than someone who works a 9-5 in the corporate world. So what do we do? We fill our calendars with as many weddings and sessions as we can, and put off everything else until we quote-unquote “have time”.
But taking control of your calendar and giving yourself time is one of the most impactful ways you can start fighting burnout.
Speaking of taking control of your calendar… It’s time to get reasonable about the number of clients you’re taking on at one time.
I totally understand the feeling like you have to take anything and everything that comes your way to be able to hit your financial goals. BUT there’s more to running a photography business than physically taking photos, and there’s more to life than just working all the time.
If you have the capacity to do 75 weddings in a year, then by all means, do you friend.
But I’m going to go out on a limb and say, that doesn’t apply to many people.
It sounds great but that kind of workload isn’t sustainable when you start factoring in things like marketing, accounting, editing, and having a life outside of work. All it takes is one thing to come up unexpectedly and all of a sudden everything feels like it’s falling apart.
Remember that it’s impossible to be all the things to everyone all the time – no matter how much that inner people pleaser tries to tell you otherwise.
Start by taking a look at your calendar from last year – were there any weeks or months that you remember thinking, “what have I done? This is WAY too much!”? Count how many bookings you had in that timeframe, and decide how many you can feasibly take on before you hit that point again.
Now, I know you’re thinking – okay Sandra, but I still have bills to pay and financial goals I want to hit… How do I do that if I’m purposely turning away money?
Well, the simplest answer is, raise your prices. If you charged $500 per session and had 10 sessions in a week, you generated $5000, but you were overworked and exhausted in the end. To be able to hit that same $5000 goal, you could do 8 sessions at $625 each, or 5 sessions at $1000 each. If doubling your prices seems too daunting, don’t worry. Try increasing it in smaller increments every few bookings you get. Also consider adding print and album sales into your sales strategy to help offset what you need to charge for a session! 5 sessions at $625, with $375 in print sales per session, will also generate $5000.
By limiting the number of clients you take on at one time, you’re giving yourself the ability to give the clients that you do have an exceptional experience. And more importantly it will give you the confidence to raise your prices so you can continue to support yourself and live comfortably while taking on less work.
Another really simple way you can do less work is by turning on your auto-responder in your inbox!
I turned my auto-responder on one day in 2019 and it’s been on ever since. I literally never looked back! It was such a game changer because it cut the last of the ties I had to my inbox – you know, those unhealthy patterns of checking my emails constantly and feeling like I needed to reply right away.
With my auto-responder on, anyone contacting me knows what to expect, like when I’ll be back in my office and how long it typically takes me to respond. I can relax knowing everyone is taken care of and no one is left wondering what’s going on.
One of the MOST COMMON things I hear from my clients as they are searching for wedding vendors to hire, is that they sent someone an email and weeks had passed but they had yet to hear any sort of reply. This even happened to me when I was planning my own wedding!
If it’s ever happened to you, I’m sure I don’t have to tell you, it doesn’t leave a great lasting impression. And it regularly takes income out of the pockets of a business owner – moreso than intentionally taking on less clients ever could!
Try addding a little personality to your auto-responder – it doesn’t have to be the super formal, impersonal corporate-style response that we used to see in the past. Write in the same way you would talk to someone as if were you having this conversation in person, add some gifs just for fun, and most importantly – add any information that will put their mind at ease. If you use a CRM system like Honeybook, you can even have a questionnaire included in your auto-responder to start collecting information from someone without you ever having to be at your computer.
The fourth change I made is arguably one of the best tech decisions I ever made as a business owner. I set up an online booking system for meetings and sessions! Let me tell you – you don’t realize how much time it REALLY takes to email back and forth with someone until you don’t have to do it anymore. Giving them options for dates and times you’re available, only to then have them reply and say none of those work for them, going through this over and over until you finally find something that works for everyone. An online booking system takes out all of the guesswork!
I use Calendly because I love how user-friendly it is. I set my master availability, AND have it connected to my Google Calendar so I never have to worry about getting double-booked accidentally. You can take a look at how I’ve set it all up in my business by heading to lifeisbeautifulphoto.ca/booking – I’ve used Calendly’s embed feature to build it right into my website, which is great for SEO, too!
My clients can now view every date and time available at a glance, and book whatever works best for them right there.
One important thing I wanted to mention about this is that this booking page is not a page featured anywhere if you’re just browsing through my website for information. I still like to have a chance to personally connect with potential clients first, and then I send them the booking link myself when the time comes. That way I also never get random, impersonal bookings from total strangers either!
The final change I want to share with you today is one I typically get the most pushback on. But stick with me.
If you’ve been listening to this episode and you keep thinking, “Okay, but I don’t WANT to take more time away from my camera to do the backend work. I hate the backend work. I fill my soul behind my camera and that’s what matters most to me,” then this is going to be the strongest recommendation I can make –
It’s time to consider outsourcing.
We can’t make more hours in the day, and we can only do so much ourselves. So whether you want to give yourself more time behind your camera, more time to work in your business, or more time to spend with your family and friends, outsourcing the tasks you don’t personally HAVE TO do yourself is the best way to get more time to do those things you want to be doing.
This could look like outsourcing your editing or wedding album design. It could look like outsourcing your finances to a bookkeeper or an accountant, or even hiring a housekeeper or a nanny to help you out at home.
One thing I want to make abundantly clear –
There is no shame in outsourcing.
It’s not cheating. It doesn’t mean you’re lazy or frivolous or any of the negative things society has tried to make us believe about asking for help.
Like I said, one person can only do so much, and life is too short to be weighed down by all the things you don’t enjoy doing.
For myself, I started outsourcing my editing first. It is truly the thing I like least about being a photographer. For years I came up with reasons as to why it would never work. I told myself I couldn’t trust anyone else to be able to edit the way I do because I had a vision of how I wanted the final outcome to look. I told myself I couldn’t afford it.
And I’ve never been so happy to be so wrong, friends, let me tell you.
It did take a bit of trial and error to find an editor that I meshed with perfectly, but when it happened, it was like pure magic. I edit some photos as sneak peeks, and then my editor uses those as a reference to finish the rest of the wedding. She’s not applying any of her own creative style to it! When I get the gallery back, I love loading up Lightroom and watching the photos edit themselves as the metadata updates. From there I go through to put some of my own finishing touches on everything before I export and prep the gallery to send to my client.
What used to take me literal days now gets wrapped up in just a few hours. And I couldn’t be happier!
My clients have no idea that it’s not me, personally, who is editing their photos. And the ones that do? They truly do not care. When I have mentioned it to a client, they have all responded with overwhelming support. Then when they get their photos even faster than they expected because I only had to do a fraction of the work myself, they’re wowed by the experience, too. As long as the final outcome of the photos they’re receiving is what they’re expecting, it really doesn’t matter who is doing the editing.
To offset the cost, all I had to do was raise my prices by $25 for portraits and $200 for weddings. I pay my editor per image, so sometimes it will work out to a little less, sometimes it will work out to a little more, but overall the cost is TOTALLY reasonable and I definitely regretted not taking this step in my business sooner.
Ok – that wraps up the five changes I made, and you can too, to stop burnout before it happens.
Here’s a quick recap:
It’s time to redefine the word hustle. It doesn’t have to mean 20 hour non-stop, back-to-back workdays at the sacrifice of anything and everything else. That’s not the only way to success. It works for some people but it’s not sustainable for most. You deserve more than that. You deserve to have a full, fulfilling life, and I hope today’s tips will help you achieve that and so much more.
Before I go, make sure you head to my website, simplysandrayvonne.ca/keepingitcandid, to check out the Show Notes – you’ll find some discounts, links, and more for all the things I talked about on today’s episode!
(Outro with music)
Thanks so much for listening to Keeping It Candid: Wedding Photography Unfiltered with Sandra Henderson! You can find full show notes from today’s episode at simplysandrayvonne.ca/keepingitcandid. In the meantime – let’s connect! You can find me on Instagram @simplysandrayvonne, and on Facebook in The Wedding Photography: Unfiltered Community! If you’re loving this podcast, I’d be so honoured if you’d go ahead and hit that subscribe button and leave me a review!
Until next time!
Ok – remember those discounts and resources I promised?!
Here are all of my faves that I talked about this episode:
Honeybook – Get your first year for $1/month!
Calendly – Online Booking System
Google Workspace – A Google service for businesses. Redirect your domain email through GMail for added security and tons of features, like auto-responders and scheduling emails! Use code Y9Q9UGFDTWHW7XE
(Intro with music)
(Intro with music)
Welcome to Keeping it Candid – Wedding Photography Unfiltered for photographers who want to keep it real. I’m your host, Sandra Henderson, international wedding and family photographer and educator with a Marie Kondo style approach to running a business – you know, keeping things simple and getting rid of anything that doesn’t bring you joy!. More importantly, I’m a strong enneagram 3w2 who is obsessed with tacos, and my love for travelling is one of many things that drives my passion for all things systems, workflows, and beating burnout as a business owner. Join me twice a month for a candid, behind the scenes look at what it’s really like working as a wedding photographer – where I’ll give you actionable steps to take your business to the next level. Absolutely no fluff here, friends! So grab your favourite notebook and pen, and let’s dive into this week’s episode.
(Episode 002)
Do you ever feel like you’re running on a hamster wheel in your wedding photography business? Always busy, going through the motions day to day, but never actually getting anywhere? Your to-do list never gets any shorter, that day off you were waiting for never arrives, and you just don’t feel any closer to achieving your goals?
Does that sound familiar to anyone?
Friends, you are not alone! I’ve been there and I know so many other wedding photographers who can relate.
… but does it have to be this way?
Absolutely not!
A few years ago I started feeling a little desperate for some sort of order and routine in my day-to-day schedule. I’ve tried every time management system out there. They all have their pro’s and con’s, but in the end none of them suited my style of working. I was just about ready to give up and stick with my life on that hamster wheel, when I made one small change.
As a photography business owner, every day isn’t meant to be a day behind your camera – there’s a whole other side of your business that needs your attention to ensure your success. So, that’s what inspired me to dedicate Mondays every week to be my CEO Day.
I don’t book sessions, meetings, or appointments on Mondays. I take half the day to work on all of the backend tasks that NEED to get done in order to keep my business doors open. More specifically, admin work like reviewing my upcoming schedules and availability, and financials – like paying staff and bills, updating my bookkeeping records, and making sure I know exactly what’s coming in and going out of my accounts.
When that’s all done for the day, I close out my computer and take the rest of the day off. Especially during wedding season, this is a non-negotiable part of my schedule! Clients aren’t getting the best version of me when I’ve been working all week and weekend without taking any time off to rest and recover afterward.
All of a sudden, Mondays truly became my favourite day of the week. I genuinely look forward to the quiet time behind the scenes where I can make sure everything at Life is Beautiful Photography is running smoothly and it’s given me so much more confidence as a business owner because I know exactly what’s happening in every aspect of my business.
Even though it worked so well, it still wasn’t enough if I’m being honest. I really wanted that feeling of excitement for the day ahead to happen every day of the week – not just on Mondays.
My business coach recommended a book called Free To Focus by Michael Hyatt, and it opened up a whole world for me about how to organize the rest.
Each day of my week now has a theme, and I’m going to go through what each of those look like.
So, I already mentioned that Mondays are my CEO days.
Next up – Tuesdays are Development Days. I think investing in yourself through education and development is SO important as a wedding photographer regardless of how long you’ve been in the industry. So Tuesdays are a day where I do just that. I take courses, practice new techniques, and really pour into myself as a business owner.
Then, Wednesdays are Client Days – a day completely dedicated to client-facing work like editing, meetings, writing timelines, and of course, getting behind my camera!
Thursdays are Marketing Days, where I’m working on creating new graphics for social media, writing captions, blogging, planning new sales and promotions, and updating my website.
Then to wrap up the week, Fridays are Catch-up days! Let’s be real – just because I’ve dedicated time to something, doesn’t mean it’s always going to work out that way. Shit happens. So I leave my Fridays open to catch up on anything that I might have missed or not finished earlier in the week.
Another reason I’ve chosen to leave Friday as a catch-up day, is that I actually scale down throughout my entire week – kicking things off with the tasks that require the most energy and mental capacity – for me, that’s anything involving numbers! – and leaving design and creative tasks for later in the week. I’m intentionally giving myself time to re-energize before the weekend.
Saturdays from May to November are another client day! Like most photographers, I’m behind my camera almost every single Saturday. If I don’t have anything booked? I’ll do a bit of work in the morning before my husband and stepson wake up, and then take the rest of the day off – Saturdays with nothing going on are few and far between and I’m going to take full advantage of them when I can!
Last but not least, that brings us to Sundays. At least three of four Sundays per month, I don’t work in any capacity. No emails, no sessions, nothing.
Notice how I’m intentionally building time off into my schedule every week?
REST is so important and I don’t play when it comes to this! In the end, it doesn’t matter how well we plan or how organized we are, it’s never going to be sustainable if we aren’t making rest a priority.
The final piece of the puzzle that really made these themed days so successful for me, was realizing that just because the day has a theme, doesn’t mean I can’t work on anything else.
Yes, Mondays and Wednesdays are for admin and client work, but I’m still in my inbox responding to clients the rest of the week. And I’m not only taking photos on Wednesdays and no other day. It just means I’m focusing the bulk of my energy on the tasks of the day, and after those are done, I can work on anything else I want. It means I also have the time and capacity to worry about all the other things going on outside of work, too, like doctors appointments, grocery shopping, and watching my stepson’s baseball games.
If this kind of structure is speaking to your soul, you definitely want to check out that book I mentioned, Free To Focus by Michael Hyatt. It’s all about achieving more while doing less, and managing your time and energy while focusing on what’s most important.
My biggest takeaway was Michaels’ approach to choosing a “Big 3” each week – three tasks that are most important to complete, that will drive me towards achieving my goals and moving forward with my business.
Here’s what that looks like for me this week:
*Launch a new episode of Keeping It Candid
*Finish designing graphics for the rest of April’s content
*Deliver two client galleries
I still have that never-ending to-do list, don’t get me wrong, as a business owner there is literally always something else to do – but it’s now in a separate space within Asana, the task management system I use. I’m not staring at this overwhelmingly long list wondering where to start. Instead, I’m picking out the most relevant and needed tasks for the week. My daily to-do list never has more than 10 things on it, and I am actually getting things done and checking them off my list.
The act of physically checking these tasks off has a whole other benefit that has nothing at all to do with accomplishments and everything to do with personal health.
Each time you complete something and check it off a list, a small amount of serotonin is sent to your brain. Serotonin is one of those good chemicals our body naturally creates – it contributes to boosting your mood, helping you sleep better, and keeping your internal organs functioning the way they should be.
It’s literally good for your health AND your business to keep your to-do lists small and manageable so you can actually complete the things you need to do.
Pretty amazing, right?!
So with all those benefits in mind, here are a few quick tips for getting started with creating theme days in your week:
First, decide on any non-negotiables you have, like dates or events you don’t want to miss out on, and times that you will take off work.
Then, pick one day where you will no longer take on any sort of client work. Call it your CEO Day or Admin Day or even something clever to add a little bit of fun into the mix.
Then, lastly, start choosing your “Big 3” tasks each week. Not just three tasks that need to get done, but more importantly, three tasks that, when done, will get you that much closer to achieving your goals.
From there, fill in the blanks how you’d like! And remember, it’s not permanent. If you try it out and it’s not flowing the way you want it to, make some adjustments. I tried moving development days to Thursdays, and marketing to Tuesdays for a few weeks. All that ended up happening was I was adding more and more work onto my plate for Fridays when I had to catch up. It really wasn’t suiting my energy so, I switched back! There’s nothing wrong with trying things out.
That’s it, friends! That’s how easy it is to get started. And while you’re working away at creating your ideal workweek, don’t forget to join the Wedding Photography: Unfiltered Community on Facebook to get support from other wedding photographers just like you who are ready to take control of all of that chaos, too.
I can’t wait to see you there! I’ll be back again in two weeks with our next episode!
(Outro with music)
Thanks so much for listening to Keeping It Candid: Wedding Photography Unfiltered with Sandra Henderson! You can find full show notes from today’s episode at simplysandrayvonne.ca/keepingitcandid. In the meantime – let’s connect! You can find me on Instagram @simplysandrayvonne, and on Facebook in The Wedding Photography: Unfiltered Community! If you’re loving this podcast, I’d be so honoured if you’d go ahead and hit that subscribe button and leave me a review!
Until next time!
(Intro with music)
Welcome to Keeping it Candid – Wedding Photography Unfiltered for photographers who want to keep it real. I’m your host, Sandra Henderson, international wedding and family photographer and educator with a Marie Kondo style approach to running a business – you know, keeping things simple and getting rid of anything that doesn’t bring you joy!. More importantly, I’m a strong enneagram 3w2 who is obsessed with tacos, and my love for travelling is one of many things that drives my passion for all things systems, workflows, and beating burnout as a business owner. Join me twice a month for a candid, behind the scenes look at what it’s really like working as a wedding photographer – where I’ll give you actionable steps to take your business to the next level. Absolutely no fluff here, friends! So grab your favourite notebook and pen, and let’s dive into this week’s episode.
(Episode 001)
Welcome friends, to the very first episode of Keeping It Candid – Wedding Photography Unfiltered with yours truly, Sandra Henderson.
This podcast is all about what it’s really like working as a wedding photographer. An unfiltered, no-fluff, behind-the-scenes look – because keeping it real is what I do best, and I think it’s how we truly grow as photographers and business owners. Sugar-coated half-answers and veiled lessons aren’t helping anyone so you’re not going to find any of that here!
This week, I wanted to start things off with a little ‘get to know you’ episode – sharing a bit about the adventures that led me to where I am today, and all about what to expect this season on the podcast!
I’ve been working as a wedding photographer for more than a decade, and just celebrated nine years as a business owner at the beginning of March. But I’m actually in a life-long relationship with photography. It started with me begging my parents to buy me disposable cameras all the time in elementary school – do you guys remember those?! Talk about nostalgia that I miss some days.
When I went to high school I took a photography class as soon as I could, and that’s where I learned how to develop my own prints and 35mm film. Shout-out to my high school photography teacher, Mr. Stocco, who to this day is still one of the biggest inspirations in my life.
Next came college – a couple of times. When I was 19 and a new student in a new city, I was really struggling with depression and anxiety. Going to class was at the bottom of my list of priorities. I ended up flunking out during my first year, but after a few years of working I knew it was “now or never” and I decided to apply to college one more time. That was the decision that changed it all.
I graduated two years later, worked with some local photographers, and less than a year after that, in 2013 Life is Beautiful Photography was born.
When I started my business, I dreamed of multi-wedding weekends, back-to-back sessions, and hundreds of clients stepping in front of my camera every year.
I shot my first wedding in 2014.
Then two more in 2015.
12 in 2016, including my first destination wedding.
In 2017 I had 27 weddings on my calendar, and by 2019 I had photographed weddings in five different countries.
This was it. This was what I had been dreaming of and I was SO so excited.
But there was a whole other side of things that I hadn’t planned for. Something no one really talks all that much about…
… And that was keeping the back-end of my business going when I was spending every second behind my camera. And not to mention, trying to have a life outside of work.
I’ll be honest – in 2018 almost every session and wedding gallery for my clients was delivered past its deadline. I was constantly apologizing to everyone, regularly putting out fires because I couldn’t stay on top of the work that needed to be done. I wasn’t showing up on social media. I wasn’t blogging. I was avoiding my inbox at all costs. And I definitely wasn’t taking time off to rest and refill my energy so that I could keep showing up to do my best work.
All of a sudden I was working 16 hour days, 7 days a week, and my to-do list just kept getting longer. I wasn’t happy. My clients weren’t happy, and I was completely burnt out. My business was in a downward spiral.
I’ll never forget the day when my husband, Matt, called me from work. I was sitting on my couch crying, ready to give this all up for good. Through tears, I said “I can’t keep doing this. I have to close my business.”
One thing I can always rely on Matt for though is stopping me from making rash decisions. And that’s exactly what he did that day. He reminded me how hard I had worked and how far I had come. He told me to just remove myself from it all and take a break so I could come back with a clear perspective and really decide what was going to be best for me. Which, around these parts, usually means he’s suggested I go take a nap! Naps are one of my favourite things in life and they make everything a little better. I think everyone should be able to work nap time into their days, but maybe I’ll save that for another episode because legit – I can talk about the benefits of napping forever.
Anyway – that takes us to 2020. When everyone’s world was rocked. And on top of all things pandemic, I also had to navigate something that was contributing to my physical and mental burnout.
Less than a month before the whole world shut down, I was diagnosed with stage 4 endometriosis. I could also talk for hours about what that all means – but a little summary for context – endometriosis is an incurable disease that causes chronic pain and inflammation among a myriad of other things.
It forced me to make a lot of changes. Like, a LOT. And within the next year, I changed more than I think I have in my entire life. All for the good though – and it’s what would eventually lead me here, to starting this podcast.
I knew that if I wanted to continue growing this business I’d worked so hard to build, I was going to have to find a way to work differently while still maintaining financial stability.
SURE! That sounds easy enough, right?!
Well, it turns out, it actually was a lot easier than I expected it to be.
I started making small changes to the systems, workflows, and processes I was using behind the scenes. Things like creating a permanent auto-responder, outsourcing my editing, and finding amazing client and task management tools that worked the way I needed them to. I began realizing just how important proper systems are – not only for my health and wellbeing, but for the success of my business, and for the incredible experience that I want each and every client that I work with to have.
Finally, things were starting to fall back into place. I was exceeding deadlines, referrals were back to being one of my main sources of revenue, and even though I was prioritizing myself first, my clients were happier than ever. I realized that the people who want to work with me understand and respect the fact that I’m human and can’t be all the things to all the people all the time. If that’s what a client needs or wants, they’ll absolutely be able to find another photographer who can serve them best. I tried that and like I said – no one was happy! Running a business isn’t a one-size-fits-all kind of deal. I was done trying to do things the way that everyone else was saying that I should be!
And as I was making these changes, I started noticing how many other wedding photographers who, each with their own reasons, were struggling in the same ways I was.
They were saying things like:
“I just need to get through the next couple of weeks and then my life will calm down and I can get caught up.”
“Things are just too crazy right now, I’m exhausted.”
“I’m so behind in editing/emails/blogging/social media.”
“I’m not where I should be at this point in business.”
I’ve said all of that and more myself, so I knew exactly how they were feeling. And if I know you, you can probably relate to some of these, too.
I became so passionate about wanting wedding photographers – my friends, colleagues, and especially newcomers in the industry – to never feel like that again.
So throughout this season I’ll be dropping new episodes every two weeks, and we’ll be talking about things like structuring your workweek, building a network of dream-team vendors, creating systems for social media, giving your clients such an amazing experience that they sing your praises from the rooftops, and so much more. Because you deserve to have the business you dreamed of having long before you ever decided to do the work to make it happen. And you deserve to have the LIFE that goes along with it, too!
I heard a quote years ago when I was first starting out. I’m totally paraphrasing, but it was something along the lines of “No one ever started a business because they wanted to work more.”
We start businesses because we dream of the freedom and fulfillment that comes with pursuing our passions. To escape the 40-hour workweeks inside a cubicle where we have to ask permission for a day off. Trading it in, instead, for the excitement that we get when we’re behind our cameras. To be able to travel the world and be home with our families and spend every single birthday celebrating with the people we love the most.
You deserve it all, friends, and my goal is to give you actionable takeaways in every episode to be able to do just that.
And in between each episode?! Come join me and so many other incredible wedding photographers just like you in the Wedding Photography: Unfiltered community on Facebook! It’s a space to ask questions, get feedback, join in conversations – plus a few perks along the way that I am so excited about, like open office hours where you’ll be able to join me on a video call for one-on-one coaching!
For a link to join, and to stay up-to-date with everything happening here at Keeping It Candid, head to my website – simplysandrayvonne.ca/keepingitcandid/
Ok, before I sign off – Remember how I said there would be actionable steps in every episode?!
This one is no exception!
Go into your calendar right now and set aside at least one day each month throughout busy season that you will intentionally take off work. That means no emails, no editing, no camera – a day where you give yourself permission to lay in front of the tv, go for a walk, scroll through social media for as long as you want to, hang out with your family and friends – whatever it is that fills your heart and soul. Just because you’re a business owner doesn’t mean you’re not entitled to time off – your health legitimately requires it, both physically and mentally. The first step to creating the business and life that you’ve always dreamed of is actually putting yourself and your wellbeing first!
And on that note – thank you SO much for being here, friends!! I’m so excited to have you along on this podcast adventure with me this season. I’ll be back in two weeks with a brand new episode!
(Outro with music)
Thanks so much for listening to Keeping It Candid: Wedding Photography Unfiltered with Sandra Henderson! You can find full show notes from today’s episode at simplysandrayvonne.ca/keepingitcandid. In the meantime – let’s connect! You can find me on Instagram @simplysandrayvonne, and on Facebook in The Wedding Photography: Unfiltered Community! If you’re loving this podcast, I’d be so honoured if you’d go ahead and hit that subscribe button and leave me a review!
Until next time!
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Running a business isn't easy - especially when you're also navigating chronic illness life, too... Read my full story
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