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Mel and Dave discuss IPS for international photography studios.
0:03So I’m Mel. We both operate Angel Eyes Professional Photography. But our sole business at the moment is Boudoir by Angel Eyes. Been in business about 15 years. Yeah. I’m.
0:03So I’m Mel. We both operate Angel Eyes Professional Photography. But our sole business at the moment is Boudoir by Angel Eyes. Been in business about 15 years. Yeah. And I’m.
0:03So I’m Mel. We both operate Angel Eyes Professional Photography, but our sole business at the moment is Boudoir by Angel Eyes. Been in business about 15 years. Yeah. And I’m.
0:17Dave, her partner in crime. Yeah, everything well said.
0:17Dave, her partner in crime. Yeah, everything well said.
0:17Dave, her partner in crime. Yeah, everything well said.
0:21And you guys are in a husband and wife team.
0:21And you guys are a husband and wife team.
0:21And you guys are. You guys are in a husband and wife team.
0:26We are. Yes. We are.
0:26We are. Yes. Yes, Yes, we are.
0:26We are. Yes, yes, we are.
0:28Started off the business with Mel running the show. I was the financial support. And I slowly worked myself out of my job into the business gradually and became more behind the scenes. So marketing and marketing website stuff. Trying to get the bookings, things like that. And we’ve just evolved to where we are now over a long period of time.
0:28Started off the business with Mel running the show, basically. I was the financial support. And I slowly worked myself out of my job into the business gradually and became more behind the scenes. So marketing and marketing website stuff. Trying to get the bookings, things like that. And we’ve just evolved to where we are now over a long period of time. Yeah.
0:28Started off the business with Mel running the show, basically. I was the financial support. And I slowly worked myself out of my job into the business gradually and became more behind the scenes. So marketing and website stuff, trying to get the bookings, things like that. And we’ve sort of just evolved to where we are now over a long period of time. Yeah.
1:05How long have you been in business and what got you started in Mel?
1:05How long have you been in business and what got you started in Mel?
1:05How long have you been in business and what got you started, Mel?
1:10So it was 2009. It was mostly my father-in-law who said to me, I had small kids at the time, and he said, Oh, you’ve actually got a really good eye for photography. And I said, Oh, okay, thanks. And he literally said to me, You need to go and do that full time. I went, okay. And that’s how Angel Eyes was created. So I started doing family photography. Did that for about 12 years. We brought in Dave to do sports, so dramatic sports photography back in about, I think it was 2018 from memory.
1:10So it was 2009. It was mostly my father-in-law who said to me I had small kids at the time and he said, "You’ve actually got a really good eye for photography." And I said, "Okay, thanks." And he literally said to me, "You need to go and do that full time." I went, "Okay." And that’s how Angel Eyes was created. So I started doing family photography. Did that for about 12 years. We brought in Dave to do sports dramatic sports photography back in about, I think it was 2018 from memory.
1:10So it was 2009. It was mostly my father-in-law who said to me, I had small kids at the time, and he said, 'Oh, you’ve actually got a really good eye for photography.' And I said, 'Oh, okay, thanks.' And he literally said to me, 'You need to go and do that full time.' I went, 'Okay.' And that’s how Angel Eyes was created. So I started doing family photography. Did that for about 12 years. We brought in Dave to do dramatic sports photography back in about, I think it was 2018, from memory.
1:4517 or 18.
1:4517 or 18.
1:4517 or 18.
1:46And then 2020, we released Boudoir and have been solely Boudoir since then.
1:46And then 2020 we released Boudoir and have been solely Boudoir since then.
1:46And then 2020 we released Boudoir and have been solely Boudoir since then.
1:52Okay. So walk me through that. What was business like when you guys did all the other genres then? How did Boudoir even come about?
1:52Okay. So walk me through that. What was what was business when you guys did all the other genres then? How did Boudoir even come about?
1:52Okay. So walk me through that. What was business when you guys did all the other genres then? How did Boudoir even come about?
2:01So I was looking at my figures last night and I’m absolutely astounded at how far we’ve come. I was working every weekend. It was every Saturday. Every Sunday. At 4 or 5 shoots a day, Sorry. In an in-and-out thing. I was burnt out. Just nonstop work, work, work, work, work. And then not getting anything from it. Looking back now, the average sale was $600 and in 2019, I went back to 2019, which was my profitable year, I did 151 clients and made $93,000. That’s a start. Yeah. Going forward, we introduced Boudoir in 2020, the year of COVID. That was interesting. And we were still doing family and sports. Average sale for those two genres was still $600, which just Boudoir in January of 2020 and instantly. File $2,900. On average, you said 2900. 2900. Went from 600 to 2900. Yeah, that particular year, families and sports brought in about $53,000. Boudoir brought in 193. So we went from 93,000 in 2019 to 150,000 in 2020. And then going forward, 2021, we. Did two family shoots. That was it. And we brought in 299,000. So Boudoir. And that was 88 sessions. That was it. 88 and 22. 88 sessions. Yep. For Boudoir only. And 2022 was solely Boudoir. We did 103 clients and $494,000. So that’s our growth.
2:01So I was looking at my figures last night and I’m absolutely astounded at how far we’ve come. I was working every weekend. It was every Saturday. Every Sunday. At 4 or 5 shoots a day. Sorry. In an in-and-out thing. I was burnt out. Just nonstop work, work, work, work, work. And then not getting anything from it. Looking back now, the average sale was $600 and in 2019, so I went back to 2019, which was my profitable year, I did 151 clients and made $93,000. That’s a start. Going forward, we introduced Boudoir in 2020, the year of COVID. That was interesting. And we were still doing family and sports. Average sale for those two genres was still $600, which with Boudoir in January of 2020 instantly, sales were $2,900. So on average, you said 2900. So went from 600 to 2900. That particular year, families and sports brought in about $53,000. Boudoir brought in $193,000. So we went from $93,000 in 2019 to $150,000 in 2020. And then going forward, 2021, we did two family shoots. That was it. And we brought in $299,000 for Boudoir. And that was 88 sessions. That was it. 88 sessions. Yep. For Boudoir only. And 2022 was solely Boudoir. We did 103 clients and $494,000. That’s our growth.
2:01So I was looking at my figures last night and I’m absolutely astounded at how far we’ve come. I was working every weekend. It was every Saturday, every Sunday, 4 or 5 shoots a day, sorry. It was an in-and-out sort of thing. I was burnt out. Just nonstop work, work, work, work, work, and not getting anything from it. Looking back now, the average sale was $600 in 2019. I went back to 2019, which was my profitable year, I did 151 clients and made $93,000. So that’s a start. Yeah. Going forward, we introduced Boudoir in 2020, the year of COVID. That was interesting. And we were still doing family and sports. Average sale for those two genres was still $600. Just Boudoir in January of 2020 instantly brought in $2,900. So on average, you said $2,900. $2,900. So went from $600 to $2,900. Yeah. That particular year, families and sports brought in about $53,000. Boudoir brought in $193,000. So we went from $93,000 in 2019 to $150,000 in 2020. And then going forward, 2021, we did two family shoots. That was it. And we brought in $299,000, solely Boudoir. And that was 88 sessions. That was it. 88 sessions. Yep. For Boudoir only. And 2022 was solely Boudoir. We did 103 clients and $494,000. So that’s our growth.
4:02You said 494.
4:02You said 494.
4:02You said $494,000.
4:04$494,000. Yeah. Wow, that is. So in four years, we went from $93,000 to $494,000.
4:04$494,000. Wow, that is in four years we went from 93 to 494.
4:04494,000. Yeah. Wow, that is in four years we went from 93 to 494.
4:12That is a really big jump. And I will say, for us, I’ve been doing marketing for different studios for a long time now and the way I fell into Boudoir might be similar to yours was that I would market so many different genres: newborn, maternity, surprise, style, glamour, weddings. And while we had success, it wasn’t the same level with Boudoir and the amount of work it took to get Boudoir clients, the amount of work it took to create good creatives to get people interested was so much lower and we could generate so much more on Facebook and video than we could for any. We can’t force people to have a baby, right? So a lot of those other ones were kind of timeline dependent or they’re just not as exciting where Boudoir is super exciting. It’s it’s I don’t know, it’s almost a new shiny object and it’s really so much easier.
4:12That is a really big jump. And I will say, for us, I’ve been doing marketing for different studios for a long time now and the way I fell into Boudoir might be similar to yours was that I would market so many different genres: newborn, maternity, lifestyle, glamour, weddings. And while we had success, it wasn’t the same level with Boudoir and the amount of work it took to get Boudoir clients, the amount of work it took to create good creatives to get people interested was so much lower and we could generate so much more on Facebook and video than we could for any. We can’t force people to have a baby. So a lot of those other ones were timeline dependent or they’re just not as exciting where Boudoir is super exciting. It’s it’s almost a new shiny object and it’s really it’s easier.
4:12That is a really big jump. And I will say, for us, I’ve been doing marketing for different studios for a long time now, and the way I fell into Boudoir might be similar to yours was that I would market so many different genres: newborn, maternity, surprise style, glamour, weddings. And while we had success, it wasn’t the same level with Boudoir. The amount of work it took to get Boudoir clients, the amount of work it took to create good creatives to get people interested was so much lower, and we could generate so much more on Facebook and video than we could for any. We can’t force people to have a baby, right? So a lot of those other ones were kind of timeline-dependent, or they’re just not as exciting, where Boudoir is super exciting. It’s I don’t know, it’s almost like a new shiny object, and it’s really so much easier.
5:09It’s so much fun. So I even got into Boudoir is a different story. So I had a client, one of our family clients, who reached out to me and said, Oh, can you do a Boudoir shoot for me? And I went, Oh, what? I had no idea what it was. So that was a bit of a, let’s look into this. So I did some research and I showed Dave and I said to him, This looks cool. I should do something. He’s this with you. So that’s how it was created. So we did a lot of education prior to jumping in and releasing because we wanted to do it right. So that was leading up into. Let’s say September 2019, and then we launched in 2020, January 2020.
5:09It’s so much fun. How I even got into Boudoir is a different story. I had a client, one of our family clients, who reached out to me and said, 'Oh, can you do a Boudoir shoot for me?' And I went, 'Oh, what?' I had no idea what it was. So that was a bit of a 'let’s look into this.' I did some research and I showed Dave, and I said to him, 'This looks cool. I should do something.' He’s like, 'This with you?' So that’s how it was created. We did a lot of education prior to jumping in and releasing because we wanted to do it right. That was leading up into, let’s say, September 2019, and then we launched in January 2020.
5:09It’s so much fun. I even got into Boudoir is a different story. I had a client, one of our family clients, who reached out to me and said, "Can you do a Boudoir shoot for me?" And I went, "What?" I had no idea what it was. So that was a bit of a "let’s look into this." So I did some research and I showed Dave and I said to him, "This looks cool. I should do something." He’s like, "This is you." That’s how it was created. We did a lot of education prior to jumping in and releasing because we wanted to do it right. So that was leading up into September 2019, and then we launched in 2020, January 2020.
5:59So, how did you get your clients before in 2019? You said you had 151 clients, 93,000. How were you generating clients? What were you doing for marketing? What was your how was your time spent?
5:59So, how did you get your clients before, in 2019? You said you had 151 clients, $93,000. How were you generating clients? What were you doing for marketing? What was your, how was your time spent?
5:59So these, how did you get your clients before in 2019? You said you had 151 clients, 93,000. How were you generating clients? What were you doing for marketing? What was your how was your time spent?
6:15The fetes. School fetes, long hours on the floor doing school fetes.
6:15School fetes. So school fetes, long hours on the floor doing school fetes.
6:15The fetes. So school fetes, long hours on the floor doing school fetes.
6:20So this was with the families, families and sports. We’d be at school fetes doing market type store things.
6:20This was with the families, families and sports. We’d be at school fetes, doing market-type store things.
6:20So this was with the families, families and sports. We’d be at school fetes doing market type store things.
6:28And that was through until 2018. And then when I’m not doing any more of them, "What is that?" "School fete. School fete." So school expos in Australia, all the schools have shows and everything that. So you go there and be a stall holder. And the sole way that we did that was giving away a collection. You run a competition, get leads, and then you offer those leads for something, a backup prize, a runners-up prize. But that being said, a lot of our, I don’t know the figures on it, but we had a lot of no-sales. Because we would offer them things free prints or something that, we did get quite a lot of people coming through doing the photo shoot and then going, "No, just the free one. Thanks." That there was a lot of those, which is very disheartening to work your ass off and get.
6:28And that was through until probably 2018. And then, 'I’m not doing any more of them.' 'What is that?' 'A school fete.' School fete: school expos in Australia, all the schools have shows and everything. So you go there and be a stall holder, basically. And the sole way that we did that was giving away a collection.
6:28And that was through until probably 2018. And then when I’m not doing any more of them, what is that? And then a school fete. School fete. So school expos in Australia, all the schools have shows and everything. So you go there and be a stall holder basically. And the sole way that we did that was giving away a collection.
6:50Competition, get leads, and then you offer those leads for something, a backup prize, a runners-up prize type thing. But that being said, a lot of our, I don’t know the figures on it, but we had a lot of no sales, if you will. Because we would offer them things free prints or something that, we did get quite a lot of people coming through doing the photo shoot and then going, Oh yeah, no, just the free one. Thanks. That there was a lot of those, which is very disheartening to work your ass off and get.
6:50Competition, get leads, and then you offer those leads for something, a backup prize, a runners-up prize type thing. But that being said, a lot of our, I don’t know the figures on it, but we had a lot of no-sales, if you will. Because we would offer them things like free prints or something, we did get quite a lot of people coming through, doing the photo shoot, and then going, 'Oh yeah, no, just the free one. Thanks.' Yeah, there was a lot of those, which is very disheartening to work your ass off and get.
7:26Nothing in return. We stepped away from the actual in-person expos and did a lot of Facebook ads. And it was the same thing. It was, "enter a competition, win this" and then we give them a backup prize and then hopefully aim to upsell. It was effective. It worked, but it didn’t give you the numbers that you needed. There was always that insecurity, "what are they going to buy?" Whereas Boudoir, I know they’re going to buy.
7:26Nothing in return. Yeah. We stepped away from. The actual in-person expos and did a lot of Facebook ads. And it was the same thing. It was, enter a competition, win this and then we give them a backup prize and then hopefully aim to upsell. So it was effective. It worked, but it didn’t give you the numbers that you needed. There was always that insecurity, what are they going to buy? Whereas Boudoir, I know they’re going to buy.
7:26Nothing in return. We stepped away from the actual in-person expos and did a lot of Facebook ads. And it was the same thing. It was, 'Enter a competition, win this,' and then we give them a backup prize and then hopefully aim to upsell. So it was effective. It worked, but it didn’t give you the numbers that you needed. There was always that insecurity, 'What are they going to buy?' Whereas Boudoir, I know they’re going to buy.
7:56So what were you selling as products? Was all digitals or did people get physical?
7:56So, what were you selling as products? Was it digitals, or did people get physical?
7:56So what were you selling as products? Were digitals or did people get physical?
8:01We’ve always done IPS, so our collections were, $300. That was our lowest.
8:10Range from about $300 to about $1500. I think that was the highest we raised it to through the period.
8:01We’ve always done IPS, so our collections were, I’m going to say this one, my God, $300. That was our lowest.
8:01We’ve always done IPS, so our collections were, I’m going to say this one, my God, $300. That was our lowest.
8:19And we’re always payment plans. There was nothing paid in full. We’re always living on the cuff, people bringing $50 a week, $50 a fortnight. It was hard yakka.
8:10Range from about $300 to about 1500, 1500. I think that was the highest we raised it to through the period.
8:10Range from about $300 to about $1,500. I think that was the highest we raised it to through the period.
8:19And we’re always payment plans. There was nothing paid in full. So we’re always living on the core people bringing $50 a week, $50 a fortnight. So it was, it was hard yakka.
8:19And we always had payment plans. There was nothing paid in full. We were always living on people bringing $50 a week, $50 a fortnight. It was hard yakka.
8:32I think at one stage when we looked at the figures, had over $100,000 owed to us through payment plans and a lot of failures.
8:41That got written off.
8:32I think at one stage when we looked at the figures, had over $100,000 owed to us through payment plans and a lot of failures. So a lot of.
8:32I think at one stage, when we looked at the figures, we had over $100,000 owed to us through payment plans and a lot of failures.
8:41That got written off.
8:41That got written off.
8:43Just paid the bills. It kept us going, but it wasn’t pushing us ahead by any means.
8:43Just paid the bills. It kept us going, but it wasn’t pushing us ahead by any means.
8:43Just paid the bills. It kept us going, but it wasn’t pushing us ahead by any means.
8:49Definitely.
8:49Definitely.
8:49Definitely.
8:51So, $100,000 or $93,000 is a lot in the industry. Most photographers, just because there’s a low barrier to entry. A lot of people consider themselves professional. That’s still a very high number. But yeah, describe to me, yeah, were you able to, I know Dave, you were probably still working. Yeah. Full time. So how did that go? What was the transition to Boudoir came into the picture and then how did you start knowing, "okay, this is really going to take off?"
8:51So, $93,000 is a lot in the industry. Most photographers, just because there’s a low barrier to entry, a lot of people consider themselves professional. That’s still a very high number. But yeah, describe to me, were you able to, I know Dave, you were probably still working full-time. So how did that go? What was the transition to, Boudoir came into the picture, and then how did you start knowing, 'Okay, this is really going to take off?'
8:51You know, 100 or 93,000 is a lot in the industry, most photographers, just because there’s a low barrier to entry. A lot of people consider themselves professional. That’s still a very high number. But yeah, describe to me, yeah, were you able to, I know Dave, you were probably still working. Yeah. Full time. So how did that go? What was the transition to, Boudoir came into the picture and then how did you start knowing, okay, this is really going to take off?
9:22I think the figures spoke for themselves. And initially it was, we made some good sales and you don’t know if this is going to be a one-off thing.
9:22I think the.
9:22I think the figures.
9:32It was COVID times. So we’re, "is this going to stick?"
9:23The figures spoke for themselves. And initially, it was like we made some good sales, and you don’t know if this is going to be a one-off thing.
9:23The.
9:36So I think when we got into Boudoir, I was working casually. I had cut down a lot by then. And I think I was, one day a week type work. So I was already in the process of cutting right back. And it was in that within that first year that I resigned completely, I think I.
10:05I had to make him because it was, "You’re now costing us working." That was the.
9:23The figures spoke for themselves. And initially it was we made some good sales and you don’t know if this is going to be a one-off thing.
9:32It was COVID times, so we’re like, 'Is this going to stick?'
9:36So I think when we got into Boudoir, I was working casually. I had cut down a lot by then. And I think I was working one day a week. So I was already in the process of cutting right back. And it was within that first year that I resigned completely. I think I...
9:32It was COVID times. So we’re, is this going to stick?
10:12It got down to one day a fortnight and I think I was doing that more because I didn’t want to let the guy I was working for down because he’d have to find a replacement and we went, "No, we’ve got to think of ourselves here." And yeah. Step back completely and, full steam ahead in the business.
10:30What’s your favorite part about now that you’ve transitioned to Boudoir? What’s your favorite part about it?
10:05Made, I had to make him, because it was, 'You’re now costing us working.' That was the.
9:36So I think when we got into Boudoir, I was working casually. I had cut down a lot by then. And I think I was. Until one day a week type work. So I was already in the process of cutting right back. And it was in that within that first year that I resigned completely, I think I.
10:05Made, I had to make him because it was. You’re now costing us working. That was the.
10:36No working weekends.
10:12It got down to one day a fortnight, and I think I was doing that more because I didn’t want to let the guy I was working for down, because he’d have to find a replacement. And we kind of went, 'No, we’ve got to think of ourselves here.' And, step back completely and, full steam ahead in the business.
10:30What’s your favorite part about now that you’ve transitioned to Boudoir? What’s your favorite part about it?
10:12It got down to one day a fortnight and I think I was doing that more because I didn’t want to let the guy I was working for down because he’d have to find a replacement and we kind of went, No, we’ve got to think of ourselves here. And yeah. Step back completely and, yeah, full steam ahead in the business.
10:38Photograph at all.
10:39On the weekends?
10:30What’s your favorite part about now that you’ve transitioned to Boudoir? What’s your favorite part about it?
10:36No working weekends.
10:36No working weekends.
10:38Photograph at all on the weekends?
10:40Not working at all?
10:42No. We had an offer come through a few days ago to do a christening or something on a Sunday. And we’re just, "well, no, we don’t want we haven’t done that thing in a long time." And too, that’s on a Sunday. So we get our weekends, which is great because we have four kids. Two of them are almost one of them’s 18, so he’s an adult and the other one is under 18 and we have two younger kids as well. So the older kids grew up with us working weekends. And we just feel it’s really cool that the younger kids that we have don’t have to go through that. They can have some weekends. That’s definitely a bonus. I’d say getting paid is having. We don’t have that financial stress that we used to have. We, our clients now see the worth in what we’re doing and reward us with that in terms of money.
10:40Not no working at all.
10:38Photograph at.
11:49So and what has changed day to day? Because, some people have daydream about more money and it’s, "oh, I can get a nicer car. I can." But day to day, real life. How has it affected you guys?
10:42No. We had an offer come through a few days ago to do a christening or something on a Sunday. And we’re just like, 'Well, no, we don’t want to. We haven’t done that sort of thing in a long time.' And that’s on a Sunday. So we get our weekends, which is great because we have four kids. Two of them are almost—one of them’s 18, so he’s an adult, and the other one is almost 18. And we have two younger kids as well. The older kids grew up with us working weekends. And we just feel like it’s really cool that the younger kids that we have don’t have to go through that. They can have some weekends. So that’s definitely a bonus. I’d say getting paid is having—yeah. We don’t have that financial stress that we used to have. Our clients now see the worth in what we’re doing and reward us with that in terms of money.
10:39All on the weekends?
10:40Not no working at all?
12:02So we joined the High Rollers Club in March 2020. It was. Two weeks before lockdown happened. We were living at our studio house and we had some people in that house at the time, so it was very crowded. It was our home that we would never thought we’d ever leave. Fast forward to November 21st. We bought our dream home. It’s got a pool. We just put a fireplace in. It’s got a spa coming in the next month. It’s got an acre block, a five-bedroom house. It’s our dream home. Then fast forward to right now. We’ve just purchased an additional investment property. We had two options with our accountant. He said, "hey, a hell of a lot of tax or buy a property." So we went, "okay, let’s buy a property." That’s the physical reward that we’ve achieved just by implementing everything that we’ve been taught and tweaking things and making it work for us.
11:49So and what has changed day-to-day? Because some people daydream about more money and it’s like, 'Oh, I can get a nicer car. I can…' But day-to-day, real life, how has it affected you guys?
13:18I think also, just when we started the business and we shot families we were young. 20. We’re still young. We’re 40. So you don’t really think of your future as terms of your superannuation, retirement, all that stuff. That stuff’s way ahead. That’s future me problem. And being self-employed, I’ve when I was working full time, obviously I had superannuation put away. From the employer. It wasn’t much, but we’ve never really. Been able to do anything for our future. And as we’ve crept into our 30s and then. Our 30s slowly got towards our 40s, it gets a bit more scary to think what does our future look like as far as retirement and what do we have behind us? What’s our portfolio look like? What’s going to happen? And just, in the last few years, being able to get into property and actually put some stuff behind us is a very reassuring to know that we actually have something to fall back on now. So there’s a lot of that stress that’s gone away. I think also day to day with me because I was very much in charge of the marketing and getting us the leads to get the work. We’d go through an influx of leads, we’d run a competition or something that. We’d have a lot of leads, it would be booming, we’d be booking people in, all good, and then it would die off a lot. And that stress would be, "What’s next month going to look like? How are we going to book out? How are we going to get bookings in so we can keep paying our bills? How are we."
10:42No. We had an offer come through a few days ago to do a christening or something on a Sunday. And we’re just, no, we don’t want we don’t we haven’t done that thing in a long time. And too, that’s on a Sunday. So we get our weekends, which is great because we have four kids. Two of them are almost one of them’s 18, so he’s an adult and the other one is on 18 and we have two younger kids as well. So the older kids grew up with us working weekends. And we just feel it’s really cool that the younger kids that we have don’t have to go through that. They can have some weekends. So that’s definitely a bonus. I’d say getting, getting paid is, is having, yeah. We don’t have that financial stress that we used to have. We, it’s our clients now. See the worth in what we’re doing and reward us with that in terms of money.
12:02So we joined the High Rollers Club in March 2020. It was two weeks before lockdown happened. We were living at our studio house, and we had some people in that house at the time, so it was very crowded. It was our home that we never thought we’d ever leave. Fast forward to November 21st, we bought our dream home. It’s got a pool. We just put a fireplace in. It’s got a spa coming in the next month. It’s got an acre block, a five-bedroom house. It’s our dream home. Then fast forward to right now. We’ve just purchased an additional investment property. We had two options with our accountant. He said, 'Pay a hell of a lot of tax or buy a property.' So we went, 'Okay, let’s buy a property.' So that’s the physical reward that we’ve achieved just by implementing everything that we’ve been taught and tweaking things and making it work for us.
13:18I think also, when we started the business and we shot families, we were young. You know, 20. We’re still young. We’re still young, we’re 40. So you don’t really think of your future in terms of your superannuation, retirement, all that sort of stuff. That stuff’s way, way ahead. That’s 'future me' problem. And being self-employed, when I was working full-time, obviously I had superannuation put away from the employer. It wasn’t much, but we’ve never really been able to do anything for our future. And as we’ve sort of crept into our 30s and then slowly got towards our 40s, it gets a little bit more scary to think what our future looks like as far as retirement, and what do we have behind us? What’s our portfolio look like? What’s going to happen? And in the last few years, being able to get into property and actually put some stuff behind us is very reassuring to know that we actually have something to fall back on now. So there’s a lot of that stress that’s gone away. I think also, day-to-day with me, because I was very much in charge of the marketing and getting us the leads to get the work, we’d go through an influx of leads. We’d run a competition or something. We’d have a lot of leads, it would be booming, we’d be booking people in, all good, and then it would sort of die off a lot. And that stress would be like, 'What’s next month going to look like? How are we going to book out? How are we going to get bookings in so we can keep paying our bills? How are we…'
15:16Going to take time off?
11:49So and what has changed day to day? Because, some people have daydream about more money and it’s, oh, I can get a nicer car. I can, but day to day, real life. How has it affected you guys?
15:18Whereas now we’re in a system where we can actually. We know that we’ve got a good system in place that’s consistent. And we’ve got leads, we’ve got bookings, all the gears are working together properly so that again and again it’s less stressful. We don’t have that stress we used to have of worrying and everything that. In some ways it’s still there. You’re always going to be thinking, "let’s make sure we’re ahead. What’s next month look like? It’s the month after that look like." But it all pans out. So it’s less stressful day to day. That would be my overall response to that.
12:02So we joined the High Rollers Club in March 2020. It was. Two weeks before lockdown happened. We were living at our studio house and we had some people in that house at the time, so it was very crowded. It was our home that we would never we never thought we’d ever leave. Fast forward to November 21st. We bought our dream home. It’s got a pool. We just put a fireplace in. It’s got a spa coming in the next month. It’s got an acre block, a five bedroom house. It’s our dream home. Then fast forward to right now. We’ve just purchased an additional investment property. So we had two options with our accountant. He said, Hey, a hell of a lot of tax or buy a property. We went, okay, let’s buy a property. So that’s the physical reward that we’ve achieved just by implementing everything that we’ve been taught and tweaking things and making it work for us.
15:16Going to take time off?
13:18I think also, just when we started the business and we shot families we were young. 20. We’re still young. We’re still young. We’re 40. So you don’t really think of your future as terms of your superannuation, retirement, all that stuff. That stuff’s way, way ahead. That’s future me problem. And being self-employed, I’ve when I was working full time, obviously I had superannuation put away. From the employer. It wasn’t much, but we’ve never really. Been able to do anything for our future. And as we’ve crept into our 30 and then. Our 30s slowly got into towards our 40s, it gets a little bit more scary to think what does our future look as far as retirement and what do we have behind us? What’s our portfolio look? What’s going to happen? And just, yeah, in the last few years, being able to get into property and actually put some stuff behind us is very reassuring to know that we actually have something to fall back on now. So there’s a lot of that stress that’s gone away. I think also day to day with me because I was very much in charge of the marketing and getting us the leads to get the work. We’d go through an influx of leads, we’d run a competition or something. We’d have a lot of leads, it would be booming, we’d be booking people in, all good, and then it would die off a lot. And that stress would be, What’s next month going to look? How are we going to book out? How are we going to get bookings in so we can keep paying our bills? How are we.
16:06And before you guys were doing the expos, you were running Facebook ad giveaways. What is bringing stuff in now? What makes you guys so comfortable that leads and bookings and what’s bringing the consistency?
15:18Whereas now we’re in a system where we can actually. We know that we’ve got a good system in place that’s consistent. And we’ve got leads, we’ve got bookings, all the gears are working together properly so that it’s not stressed. We don’t have that stress like we used to have of worrying and everything. In some ways, it’s still there. You’re always going to be thinking, 'Let’s make sure we’re ahead. What’s next month look like? What’s the month after that look like?' But you look at the numbers and figures and everything, and it all pans out. So yeah, it’s stressful day-to-day. That would be my overall response to that.
16:06And before you guys were doing the Expos, you were running Facebook ad giveaways. What is bringing stuff in now? What makes you guys so comfortable that leads and bookings, what’s bringing the consistency?
16:20Our group is our pot of gold. To put it simply, that’s how we started. So we implemented our Facebook group. I think it’s got 2500 in there. I haven’t checked, making those connections and talking to people. And then of course we’ve paid advertising. So Google Ads, Facebook Ads, all that stuff. And then, when we were confident enough that.
15:16Going to take time off?
16:20Our group is our pot of gold. To put it simply, that’s how we started. So we implemented our Facebook group. I think it’s got 2,500 in there. I haven’t checked. Making those connections and talking to people. And then, of course, we’ve paid advertising: Google ads, Facebook ads, all that sort of stuff. And then, when we were confident enough that…
16:51When do we switch? Why did we switch to somebody?
15:18Whereas now we’re in a system where we can actually. We know that we’ve got a good system in place that’s consistent. And we’ve got leads, we’ve got bookings, we’ve all the gears are working together properly so that again and again it’s less stress. We don’t have that stress we used to have of worrying and everything. In some ways it’s still there. You’re always going to be thinking, let’s make sure we’re ahead. What’s next month look? It’s the month after that look. But you look at the numbers and figures and everything and it’s, it all pans out. So yeah, it’s stressful day to day. That would be my overall response to that.
16:06And before you guys were doing the Expos, you were running Facebook ad giveaways. What is bringing stuff in now? What makes you guys so comfortable that leads and bookings and what’s bringing the consistency?
16:51When did we switch? Why did we switch to somebody else?
16:56That was around March last year? April last year we.
16:20Our group is our pot of gold. To put it simply, that’s how we started. So we implemented our Facebook group. I think it’s got 2500 in there. I haven’t checked, making those connections and talking to people. And then of course we’ve paid advertising. So Google ads, your Facebook ads, all that stuff. And then, when we were confident enough that.
16:56That was around March last year? Yeah, April last year, we…
17:02Were in a position that the leads were constantly coming in and couldn’t keep up with them through Facebook. And I wanted another avenue. So that’s why we hired you to do all our Google Ads and Facebook Ads so that Dave could focus more on the retouching side and Mel can focus more on the admin side.
17:22It was also because we had our hand in one pot, so the Facebook group was our one source of lead generation. And it’s while it was working, it was if it just stopped, what if Facebook just canned groups or something that happened and we were, "We can’t just rely on this prospecting and dipping into the group and looking from the group as our only lead generation." So we thought, "we got to do something." I had dabbled in I had a lot of experience in doing Facebook Ads, not as a professional level, but just enough to get us by. And. We had some leads coming through. Ads were running. A lot of our ads were just group grow ads so that we then again do what we were currently doing, dip into the group. So we decided that we needed to do something. We had hired. A campaign group prior to joining your team, Humberto. And we were with them for maybe six.
16:51When do we switch? Why did we switch to somebody?
17:02Were in a position that the leads were constantly coming in and couldn’t keep up with them through Facebook. And I wanted another avenue. So that’s why we hired you to do all our Google ads and Facebook ads so that Dave could focus more on the retouching side and Mel could focus more on the admin side.
16:56That was around March last year? Yeah, April last year we.
17:22It was also because we had our hand in one pot, so the Facebook group was our one source of lead generation. And while it was working, it was like, 'What if it just stopped? What if Facebook just canned groups, or something like that happened?' And we were like, 'We can’t just rely on this prospecting and dipping into the group and looking from the group as our only lead generation.' So we thought, 'We’ve got to do something.' I had dabbled in, I had a lot of experience in doing Facebook ads, not as a professional level, but just enough to get us by. And we had some leads coming through. Ads were running. A lot of our ads were just group grow ads, so that we then again do what we were currently doing: dip into the group. So we decided that we needed to do something. We had hired a campaign group prior to joining your team, Humberto. And we were with them for maybe six…
18:40Months, longer than that.
17:02Were in a position that the leads were constantly coming in and couldn’t keep up with them through Facebook. And I wanted another avenue. So that’s why we hired you to do all our Google ads and Facebook ads so that Dave could focus more on the retouching side and can focus more on the admin side.
18:42Almost a year. And the results weren’t good. So, we’d get an increase in traffic and stuff that was pages performing better and things that. But at the end of the day, the inquiries weren’t coming in, which was the end goal. So after about a year with them, we had to go somewhere different. We were, "This isn’t working." And I don’t even know how we decided.
18:40Months, longer than that.
18:42Yeah. Okay. Almost a year. And the results weren’t good. So, we’d get an increase in traffic and stuff, what pages were performing better and things like that. But at the end of the day, the inquiries weren’t coming in, which was the end goal. So after about a year with them, we had to go somewhere different. We were like, 'This isn’t working.' And I don’t even know how we, when we decided…
19:18That it was me, probably you.
17:22It was also because we had our hand in one pot, so the Facebook group was our one source of lead generation. And it’s just while it was working, it was if it just stopped, what if Facebook just canned groups or something happened and we were, We can’t just rely on this prospecting and dipping into the group and looking from the group as our only lead generation. So we thought, we got to do something. I had dabbled in I had a lot of experience in doing book ads, not as a professional level, but just enough to get us by. And. We had some leads coming through. Ads were running. A lot of our ads were just group grow ads so that we then again do what we were currently doing, dip into the group. So we decided that we needed to do something. We had hired. A campaign group prior to joining your team, Humberto. And we were with them for maybe six.
19:18That it was me, probably you.
19:21Put it forward and we went, "Well, let’s get on the phone and go down that avenue and see what everything is." And remember.
18:40Months longer than that.
18:42Yeah. Okay, almost a year. And the results weren’t good. So, we’d get an increase in traffic and stuff was what pages were performing better and things. But at the end of the day, the inquiries weren’t coming in, which was the end goal. So after about a year with them, we had to go somewhere different. We was, This isn’t working. And I don’t even know how we. When we decided.
19:33When we first spoke, we talked about it because while we do templatize a lot, because we work with one industry, we work with mostly 1 or 2 genres. For us, a lot of it is processes and just following a given, a template. But then we have to figure out the business owner themselves and maybe focus a little bit more or skew depending on what works for them. And one studio we worked with was in New York and for some reason for them, they told us, similarly our Facebook group is gold and we try to force call schedulers and everything. But the Facebook group, it was still a priority, but didn’t realize it should have been the 100% priority. So now you’re getting leads through your website, through forms and stuff that and off Facebook, but. Are people still joining the group? Are you still prospecting or do you still have those habits going? At the same time and do you just have new people in the group as well?
19:21Put it forward, and we went, 'Well, let’s get on the phone and go down that avenue and see what everything is.' And remember…
19:18That it was me, probably you.
20:38So we got to a stage that we could not, just us, do all the work ourselves. There was so much going on. Prospecting dropped off because there were so many leads coming on. So thank you. But then we just, we thought we’ve just switched from solely Facebook to solely Google and all that.
19:33When we first spoke, we talked about it because while we do templatize a lot, because we work with one industry, we work with mostly 1 or 2 genres. For us, a lot of it is processes and just following a given, almost a template. But then we have to figure out the business owner themselves and maybe focus a little bit more or skew depending on what works for them. One studio we worked with was in New York, and for some reason for them, their Facebook group is gold, and we tried to force call schedulers and everything. But the Facebook group, it was still a little bit of a priority, but we didn’t realize that it should have been the 100% priority. So now you’re getting leads through your website, through forms and stuff and off Facebook, but are people still joining the group? Are you still prospecting, or do you still have those habits going at the same time? Do you just have new people in the group as well?
19:21Put it forward and we went, let’s get on the phone and go down that avenue and see what. What everything is. Yeah, and remember.
20:38So we got to a stage that we could not, just us, do all the work ourselves. There was so much going on. Prospecting dropped off because there were so many leads coming on. So, thank you. But then we thought we’ve just switched from solely Facebook to solely Google and all that.
21:03In one bucket. We took that hand out and put it in another bucket and we.
21:05Went, "We’ve got to combine both to make this work. Otherwise, what’s the point?" So we actually hired out. So in October this year we had an admin lady, so she does all of our calls. And she does all the admin for me. So she’s transitioned to all the calls. Now we were doing both and I’ve turned that over. "You handle it. It’s all yours now." And she and we’ve hired someone to solely look after the Facebook group. So in essence, we’ve got two now, a team now of six. So we’ve got three the social media team plus the admin and two as well. So going back to your question is we had to, we didn’t have enough time to do everything ourselves, so we had to outsource it.
21:03In one bucket. We took that out and put it in another bucket, and we…
19:33When we first spoke, we talked about it because while we do templatize a lot, because we work with one industry, we work with mostly 1 or 2 genres. For us, a lot of it is processes and just following a given, almost a template. But then we have to figure out the business owner themselves and maybe focus a little bit more or skew depending on what works for them. And one studio we worked with was in New York and for some reason for them, they told us, similarly, our Facebook group is gold and we try to force call schedulers and everything. But the Facebook group, it was still a little bit of a priority, but didn’t realize that it should have been the 100% priority. So now you’re getting leads through your website, through forums and stuff and off Facebook, but. Are people still joining the group? Are you still prospecting or do you still have those habits going? At the same time and do you just have new people in the group as well?
21:55So, but you are, you guys do keep up on the Facebook. Prospecting that is a big.
21:05Went, 'We’ve got to combine both to make this work. Otherwise, what’s the point?' So we actually hired out. In October this year, we had an admin lady, so she does all of our calls. And she does all the admin for me. She’s transitioned to all the calls. Now we were doing both, and I’ve turned up, 'You handle it. It’s all yours now.' And we’ve hired someone to solely look after the Facebook group. So, in essence, we’ve got a team now of six. We’ve got the social media team, plus the admin, and two others as well. Going back to your question, we didn’t have enough time to do everything ourselves, so we had to outsource it.
20:38So we got to a stage that we could not as just us to do all the work ourselves. There was so much going on. Prospecting dropped off because there were so many leads coming on. So thank you. But then we just, we thought we’ve just switched from just solely Facebook to just solely Google and all that.
21:55So, but you guys do keep up on the Facebook prospecting? That is a big…
22:02Sherry actually does some prospecting as well, so she’ll help me in that side of it. And out of our hair and makeup team will actually do the reels for us because we don’t have the time to do that we used to do. We used to do everything ourselves. Now we’ve time.
21:03In one bucket. We took that hand out and put it in another bucket and we.
21:05Went, We’ve got to combine both to make this work. Otherwise, what’s the point? We actually hired out. We in October this year we had an admin lady, she does all of our calls. And she does all the admin for me. She’s transitioned to all the calls. Now we were doing both and I’ve turned up. You handle it. It’s all yours now. And she and we’ve hired someone to solely look after the Facebook group. In essence, we’ve got two now, a team now of six. We’ve got three, the social media team plus the admin and two as well. So going back to your question is we had to, we didn’t have enough time to do everything ourselves, so we had to outsource it.
22:02Sherry actually does some prospecting as well, so she’ll help me in that side of it. And our hair and makeup team will actually do the reels for us because we don’t have the time to do that like we used to. We used to do everything ourselves. Now we have time.
22:19And they’re really good at it and they’re actually better than us at it. So that makes plenty of sense.
22:19And they’re really good at it, and they’re actually better than us at it. So yeah, that makes plenty of sense.
22:25It’s funny because a lot of times I talk to photographers and some people are die-hard. They know, for some reason, they just know that prospecting is just the basic principle of the more people you know, the more people you connect with genuinely, the more sales conversations that are going to pop up from that. Not all of them, but a lot of them will. And then some people are just, "Nope, I don’t want to talk to anybody. They have to submit a form on my website. Otherwise I’m a spammer and I don’t want to be scammy." For you guys, I feel you guys, maybe it’s your personality, but you are never in the "not talk to people."
21:55So, you are, you guys do keep up on the Facebook. Prospecting that is a big.
22:25Yeah, it’s funny because a lot of times I talk to photographers, and some people are die-hard. They know, for some reason, they just know that prospecting is the basic principle: the more people you know, the more people you connect with genuinely, the more sales conversations that are going to pop up from that. Not all of them, but a lot of them will. And then some people are just like, 'Nope, I don’t want to talk to anybody. They have to submit a form on my website. Otherwise, I’m a spammer, and I don’t want to be scammy.' So for you guys, I feel you guys, maybe it’s your personality, but you are never in the 'not talk to people' camp.
23:03No.
22:02Sherry actually does some prospecting as well, so she’ll help me in that side of it. And out of our hair and makeup team will actually do the Reels for us because we don’t have the time to do that that we used to do. So we used to do everything ourselves. Now we’ve time.
23:03No. Yeah.
23:04I’ve always thought of it as a conversation. Someone reaches out through Google and they’re inquiring. So it’s our duty to provide that customer service of the information. Same thing is why are they in our Facebook group? It’s a Boudoir photography group. They’re interested in some way. So let’s make that connection and give them the information.
22:19And they’re really good at it and they’re actually better than us at it. So, yeah, that makes plenty of sense.
23:27And in a face-to-face situation, you walk into a shop, they usually have a door greeter or someone there that says, "How are you? Can I help you today?" But they’re not trying to put pressure on you, but it’s customer service. So you’ve entered our group. You’re going to get a message to say, "Hey, thanks for joining the group. What’s got you interested? Blah, blah, blah." It’s no different than a door greeter in a shop. In my opinion.
23:04I’ve always thought of it as a conversation. Someone reaches out through Google and they’re inquiring. So it’s our duty to provide that customer service of the information. Same thing, why are they in our Facebook group? It’s a Boudoir Photography group. They’re interested in some way. So let’s make that connection and give them the information.
22:25Yeah, it’s funny because a lot of times I talk to photographers and some people are die-hard. They know they for some reason, they just know that prospecting is just the basic principle of the more people you know, the more people you connect with genuinely, the more sales conversations that are going to pop up from that. Not all of them, but a lot of them will. And then some people are just, Nope, I don’t want to talk to anybody. They have to submit a form on my website. Otherwise I’m a spammer and I don’t want to be scammy. For you guys, I feel you guys, maybe it’s your personality, but you are never in the not talk to people.
23:56That’s a good point.
23:29In a face-to-face situation, you walk into a shop, they usually have a door greeter or someone there that says, 'How are you? Can I help you today?' They’re not trying to put hard on you, but it’s customer service. So you’ve entered our group. You’re going to get a message to say, 'Hey, thanks for joining the group. What’s got you interested?' It’s no different than a door greeter in a shop, in my opinion.
23:03No. Yeah.
23:04I’ve always thought of it as a. It’s a conversation. Someone reaches out through Google and that they’re inquiring. So it’s our duty to provide that customer service of the information. Same thing is why are they in our Facebook group? It’s a Boudoir photography group. They’re interested in some way. So let’s make that connection and give them the information.
23:56That’s a good point.
23:57What have you guys, as you guys have grown, what is the biggest challenge you’re experiencing now or what are you trying to solve?
24:05Work-life balance. Did a 14-hour day yesterday. It’s been a big week with five shoots, four ordering appointments. The hours were long so trying to get that downtime. I think that’s very important for us to not work weekends for that reason. That’s a struggle.
23:57What have you guys, as you’ve grown, what is the biggest challenge you’re experiencing now, or what are you trying to solve?
23:27And in a.
24:05Work-life balance. I did a 14-hour day yesterday. It’s been a big week with five shoots, four ordering appointments. The hours were long, so trying to get that downtime, I think that’s very important for us not to work weekends for that reason. Yeah, that’s a struggle.
24:26Yeah.
23:29In a face-to-face situation, you walk into a shop, they usually have a door greeter or someone there that says, How are you? Can I help you today? But they’re not trying to put hard on you, but they’re just it’s customer service. So you’ve entered our group. You’re going to get a message to say, Hey, thanks for joining the group. You know, anything? What’s got you interested? Blah, blah, blah. It’s no different than a door greeter in a shop. In my opinion.
24:26Yeah.
24:27Mel, workaholic.
23:56That’s a good point.
23:57What have you guys, as you guys have grown, what is the biggest challenge you’re experiencing now or what are you trying to solve?
24:29And how do you guys split the tasks? Are you photographing it all day?
24:27Mel, workaholic.
24:29And how do you guys split the tasks? Are you photographing all day?
24:34Yeah.
24:05Work-life balance. Oh, did a 14-hour day yesterday. It’s it’s been a it’s been a big week with five shoots for ordering appointments. The hours were long so trying to get that downtime, I think that’s very important for us to not work weekends for that reason. Yeah, that’s a struggle.
24:34Yeah.
24:35So it’s always a team. So it used to be Dave would get leads, I would follow them up. Now they just come to us. But I’m the admin side of it, so I’ll do all the calls, all the admin contracts, anything to do with getting the client to the door. We both shoot. So Dave does more of the photo side as I do more of the posing. Dave will do the retouching. I will do the sales, he’ll do the order, and then the order comes back to me for a final proof before he sends off to print and I send off digitals. So it’s a team effort the entire way start to finish.
24:26Yeah.
24:35So it’s always a team. It used to be Dave would get leads, I would follow them up. Now they just come to us. I’m the admin side of it, so I’ll do all the… Well, I used to do all the calls, all the admin contracts, anything to do with getting the client to the door. We both shoot. Dave does more of the photo side as I do more of the posing. Dave will do the retouching. I will do the sales, he’ll do the order, and then the order comes back to me for a final proof before he sends off to print and I send off digitals. So it’s a team effort the entire way, start to finish.
25:16Who is responsible? Because, the first touch we had when we were working together was the High Rollers, which is group coaching program accountability through the Facebook group and even the cohorts and then the video library and all the assets there. But who was responsible? What was your methodology for going and implementing all that?
24:27Mel, Mel, workaholic.
25:36We each had our own parts to play. So I did all the emails. Dave did all the marketing, so I don’t think I watched a single marketing video because I’m, "Nah, that’s."
25:16Who is responsible? Because the first touch we had when we were working together was the High Rollers, which is a group coaching program, accountability through the Facebook group, even the cohorts, and then the video library and all the assets there. But who was responsible? What was your methodology for going and implementing all that?
24:29And how do you guys the how do you guys split the tasks? Are you photographing it all day?
25:36We each had our own parts to play. Mel did all the emails. Dave did all the marketing, so I don’t think I watched a single marketing video because I’m like, 'Nah, that’s…'
25:48You didn’t understand.
24:34Yeah.
25:50I had too much else on my plate. And he didn’t look at the emails. So implementing all those email processes, that was not him at all.
24:35We it’s always a team. It used to be Dave would get leads, I would follow them up. Now it’s just they just come to us. But we, I’m the admin side of it, so I’ll do all the. I used to do all the calls, all the admin contracts, anything to do with getting the client to the door. We both shoot. So Dave does more of the photo side as I do more of the posing. Dave will do the retouching. I will do the sales, he’ll do the order, and then the order comes back to me for a final proof before he sends off to print and I send off digitals. So it’s a team effort the entire way start to finish.
25:48You didn’t understand.
25:16How Who is responsible? Because, the first touch we had when we were working together was the High Rollers, which is group coaching program accountability through the Facebook group and even the cohorts and then the video library and all the assets there. But who was responsible? What was your methodology for going and implementing all that?
25:50I had too much else on my plate. And he didn’t look at the emails. So implementing all those email processes, that was not him at all.
25:59But then there were a lot of, one of the things we used to do. So when we’d drive to work in the morning, we would, the video.
25:36We each had our own parts to play. Did all the emails. Dave did all the marketing, I don’t think I watched a single marketing video because I’m, Nah, that’s.
26:08Library was playing.
25:59Were a lot of, one of the things we used to do: when we’d drive to work in the morning, we would, the video…
25:48You didn’t understand.
26:09We’d put on instead of listen to music or something that, we’d be watching some of those Q&As and that where you listen to people talking and asking questions and stuff that and you pick up on stuff, it spark a conversation between us in something we could implement or change. And, there was lots of videos, things that we would watch together because they.
26:08Library was playing.
26:37Anything to their roles.
25:50I had too much else on my plate. And he didn’t look at the emails. So implementing all those email processes, that was not him at all.
26:09Yeah. We’d put on, instead of listening to music or something, we’d be watching some of those Q&As where you just listen to people talking and asking questions and stuff, and you just pick up on stuff. It would spark a conversation between us in something we could implement or change. And, yeah, there was lots of videos, things that we would watch together because they kind of…
26:38Anything that involved both of us. So Jen's sales, all that stuff. And that was predominantly both of us. We would watch together or I’d watch and go, "You need to watch this part."
25:59But then there.
26:37Applied to their roles.
25:59Were a lot of, one of the things we used to do. When we’d drive to work in the morning, we would, the video.
26:54Yeah.
26:38Yeah, anything that involved both of us. So 'Gems to Sell,' all that sort of stuff. And that was predominantly both of us. We would watch together, or I’d watch and go, 'You need to watch this part.'
26:56We’re before you even joined. Did you guys have any hesitations? What was the biggest thing? Because, everyone makes promises. What was the biggest hesitation you had or concern?
26:54Yeah.
26:08Library was playing.
26:09Yeah. We’d put on instead of listen to music or something, we’d be watching some of those Q&As and that where you just listen to people talking and asking questions and stuff and you just pick up on stuff, it spark a conversation between us in something we could implement or change. And yeah, there was lots of videos, things that we would watch together because they kind of.
27:08It was the biggest hesitation.
26:56Before you even joined, did you guys have any hesitations? What was the biggest thing? Because, of course, everyone makes promises. What was the biggest hesitation you had or concern?
27:10Biggest hesitation because I’m the most skeptical of anything and everything.
27:08The biggest hesitation was the…
26:37Anything to their roles.
27:10biggest hesitation because I’m the most skeptical of anything and everything.
26:38Yeah, anything that involved both of us. Gems to sell, all that stuff.
27:14We’d gone through a few marketing teams in our careers and nothing ever worked. I think the first thing I did was buy Jen’s price list. All I did was, "okay, let’s try this." I implemented, I tweaked it a little bit. And my first sale, using that price list was with a newborn client and she bought $5,000 and went, "Whoa!"
27:45And prior to that our highest collection was 1500.
26:54Yeah.
27:14Yeah. So we’d gone through a few marketing teams in our careers, and nothing ever worked. So I think the first thing I did was buy Jen’s price list. All I did was, 'Okay, well, let’s try this.' I implemented, I tweaked it a little bit. And my first sale using that price list was with a newborn client, and she bought $5,000, and I went, 'Whoa!'
27:45And prior to that, our highest collection was $1,500.
26:56We’re before you even joined. Did you guys have any hesitations? What was the biggest thing? Because, of course, everyone makes promises. What was the biggest hesitation you had or concern?
27:49That was a.
27:49So that was a…
27:50Huge jump to a five grand sale.
27:08It was the biggest hesitation was the.
27:10Biggest hesitation because I’m the most skeptical of anything and everything.
27:53And paid in.
27:50huge jump to a $5,000 sale.
27:53And paid in full.
27:14Yeah. We’d gone through a few marketing teams in our careers and nothing ever worked. I think the first thing I did was buy Jen’s price list. All I did was, okay, let’s try this. I implemented, I tweaked it a little bit. And my first sale, using that price list was with a newborn client and she bought $5,000 and went, Whoa!
27:53Full.
27:45And prior to that our highest collection was 1500.
27:54It opened our eyes and I guess opened my eyes, especially being the skeptical one, to say, 'Okay, so this actually might work. This may not be full of crap.' We had signed up for other marketing things before. Even little things, like certain ad type goods where you pay a couple of hundred dollars, and this is going to show you how to do a Facebook ad, and you’d get some template and you’d be like, 'Well, this doesn’t help at all. I could do that myself. Not relevant.' And all this information I already knew anyway. So when Mel got the price list, implemented it, and straight off the bat we had success with it, that really opened the doors up for us to say, 'Well, we need to do this.'
27:54Opened our eyes and I guess opened my eyes, especially being the skeptical one, to say that, "okay, this actually might work. This may not be full of crap." We had signed up for other marketing things before. Even little things like certain ad types where you. Pay a couple of hundred dollars. And this is going to show you how to do a Facebook ad and you’d get some template and you’d be, "Well, this doesn’t help at all. I could do that myself. Not relevant." And all this information I already knew anyway. And when Mel got the price list, implemented it and straight off the bat we had success with it. That really opened the doors up for us to say, "Well, we need to do this."
28:49He still sat on the fence for a long time. I think I spoke to you, I spoke to Jen, I spoke to Nikki. And I’m like, 'Dave, come on, we’ve got to do this.' And I think I spoke to another friend who, I said, 'This is how it is. This is what it’s going to do.' And he’s like, 'Well, just do it.' I said, 'Can you tell Dave?' Because convince him I’m ready. And then I think it wasn’t that long after I just went, 'Let’s just do it. Look, I’ve made $5,000 already. I think I’ve made another couple of $5,000 by then.' And I said, 'All in all, if it doesn’t work, we’ve covered our costs with one sale. Don’t stress.' So I think that was the justification.
28:49He’s still sat on the fence for a long time. I think I spoke to you. I spoke to Jen, I spoke to Nikki. And I’m, "Dave, come on, we got to do this." And I think I spoke to another friend who was, "I said, 'this is how it is. This is what it’s going to do.'" And he’s, "Well, do it." I said, "Can you tell Dave?" Because, "convince him I’m ready." And then I think it wasn’t that long after I went, "Let’s do it. Look, I’ve made five grand already." I think I’ve made another couple of five grand by then. And I said, "All in all, if it doesn’t work, we’ve covered our costs with one sale. Don’t stress." I think that was the justification.
27:49So that was.
27:50A.
29:27I think that’s how we justified it was. "Well, if we can do this price list and we can make that money off a couple of sales, then it’s paid for it."
29:27I think that’s how we justified it. 'Well, if we can do this price list and we can make that kind of money off a couple of sales, then it’s paid for it.'
29:36Exactly. So the risk wasn’t there in his mind?
27:50Huge jump to a five grand sale.
29:36Exactly. So the risk wasn’t there in his mind?
27:53And paid in.
29:38Yeah.
29:38Yeah.
29:39And then I just kept reading the testimonials, going, 'Yes, let’s just do it. Let’s just do it.' Then we went and got a loan. Yeah, right before COVID shut us down. So that was fun. We just went, 'Oh, my God, what did we just do?' But we made back our investment in session fees prior to even shooting. We came back shooting in July, and we had, I think, 60 clients on the books without even…
29:39And then I kept reading the testimonials going, "Yes, let’s do it. Let’s do it." Then we went and got a loan. Yeah, right before COVID shut us down. That was fun. We went, "What did we just do?" But we made back. Our investment in session fees prior to even shooting. We came back shooting in July and we had, I think, 60 clients on the books without even.
27:53Full.
27:54Kind of opened our eyes and I guess opened my eyes, especially being the skeptical one, to say that, okay, this actually might work. This may not be full of crap. Yeah, we had signed up for other marketing things before. Even little things certain. Ad type goods where you. Pay a couple of hundred dollars. And this is going to show you how to do a Facebook ad and you’d get some template and you’d just be, this doesn’t help at all. I could do that myself. Not relevant. And all this information I already knew anyway. And yeah, when Mel got the price list, implemented it and straight off the bat we had success with it. That really opened the doors up for us to say, we need to do this.
30:04Yeah, we had leads popping in from prospecting left, right, and center.
30:04Yeah, we had leads popping in from prospecting left, right and center.
30:08Because I had the time.
30:08Because I had the time to sit there and do video calls.
28:49He’s still sat on the fence for a long time. I think I spoke to you. I spoke to Jen, I spoke to Nikki. And I’m, Dave, come on, we got to do this. And I think I spoke to another friend who was, I said, this is how it is. This is what it’s going to do. And he’s, just do it. I said, Can you tell Dave? Because convince him I’m ready. And then I think it wasn’t that long after I just went, Let’s just do it. Look, I’ve made five grand already. I think I’ve made another couple of five grand by then. And I said, All in all, if it doesn’t work, we’ve covered our costs with one sale. Don’t stress. I think that was the justification.
29:27I think that’s how we justified it was. If if we can do this price list and we can make that kind of money off a couple of sales, then it’s paid for it.
30:09To sit there and do.
30:10Doing video calls. Yeah. I was in the process of building one of our studios, and while I was doing that, Mel was in the next room just on the video calls, booking people in. Bang, bang, bang. And it was like, 'Alright, this is good. It’s working.'
29:36Exactly. The risk wasn’t there in his mind?
30:27Yeah, because we…
30:10Video calls.
29:38Yeah.
30:10Doing video calls. I was in the process of building one of our studios and while I was doing that, Mel was in the next room on the video calls, booking people in. Bang, bang, bang. And it was, "all right, this is good. It’s working."
30:28We did a model call and had five clients prior to shutting down, so that’s all we had. That’s all we had to show.
29:39And then I just kept reading the testimonials going, Yes, let’s just do it. Let’s just do it. Then we went and got a loan. Yeah, right before COVID shut us down. That was fun. We just went, Oh, my God, what did we just do? But we met up back. Our investment in session fees prior to even shooting. We came back shooting in July and we had, I think, 60 clients on the books without even.
30:27Yeah, because we.
30:37Yeah. That was a big concern for me and Jen, actually. It was a debate, 'Should we do the price list?' Because the price list is $7, and then there’s some upsells. And my thought was hoping that we would have stories like yours, someone’s going to be blown away by this. They’re going to see they’re going to make their money, and then they’re going to be like, 'Yeah, let’s buy into the whole system.' Whereas sometimes initially a lot of educators think, 'Oh, if you give anything away for free, then they’re going to steal it, and then they’re going to run away with it,' not steal it, you bought it, but then they’re never going to need anything from you again because they took your secret recipe. And it’s like, 'No, if you put a lot of value into them, then hopefully you gain their trust.' So it’s really good to hear that.
30:04Yeah, we had we had leads popping in from prospecting left, right and center.
31:20That meant that was…
30:28We did a model call and had five clients prior to shutting down, so that’s all we had. That’s all we had to show.
30:37Yeah. That was a big concern for me and Jen. Actually. It was a debate, "should we do the price list?" Because the price list is $7 and then there’s some upsells. And my thought was hoping that we would have stories yours, someone’s going to be blown away by this. They’re going to see they’re going to make their money and then they’re going to be, "Yeah, let’s buy into the whole system" where sometimes initially a lot of educators think, "Oh, if you give anything away for free, then they’re going to steal it and then they’re going to run away with it and never need anything from you again" because they took your secret recipe. And it’s, "no, if you put a lot of value into them, then hopefully you gain their trust." So it’s really good to hear.
30:08Because I had the time.
31:21One piece of the pie. Yeah, there’s so many other aspects that grew our business exponentially. Having the time due to COVID shutting down, we were able to implement so much so quickly. We already had our emails done before we were shooting, they were all done. Images from our first five shoots were all in there, so we had to redo them again. But we were able to go through, I think we went through about 70% of the course in that time, so that helped. It’s not juggling anything else.
30:09To sit there and do.
31:20That means that was.
31:57Yeah.
31:21One piece of the pie. So there’s so many other aspects that grew our business exponentially. Having the time due to COVID, shutting down, we were able to implement so much so quickly. So we already had our emails done before we were shooting, they were all done. Images from our first shoot, our first five shoots were all in there, so we had to redo them again. But we were able to go through, I think we went through about 70% of the course in that time, so that helped. It’s not juggling anything else.
30:10Video calls.
31:58So tell me about that, because obviously the price list was the big one. A lot of people don’t think that internationally you can sell like that. I’ve heard, I’ve been on sales calls for our coaching clients and our agency clients. And a lot of people have said, 'Humberto, you don’t understand. In London, no one spends like that.' I’ve even heard people say, 'In Dubai, everyone’s cheap, and they don’t pay for that.' So now I’ve heard that about any—insert any city or any country—and people will say that. So what did you guys think about that before you took this price list? Did you have the same thought process, 'Oh, that’s an American thing?'
31:57Yeah.
30:10Doing video calls. Yeah. I was in the process of building one of our studios and while I was doing that, Mel was in the next room just on the video calls, just booking people in. Bang, bang, bang. And it was, all right, this is working.
32:33Yeah, absolutely.
30:27Yeah, because we.
32:35So we thought population-based too. If you look up the population of an American city compared to an Australian city, we’re small, tiny. And it’s like, 'Well, will it still work when you’re advertising everything to such a smaller audience?' And it does. At the end of the day, you walk outside or you go for a drive, and there are people driving BMWs or Mercedes-Benz passing you, or Lexuses. They’re not cheap cars, and people still justify and can afford those. They had the option to buy a Toyota; they went for the Lexus. Yeah.
31:58So tell me about that, because obviously the price list was the big one. A lot of people don’t think that internationally you can sell that. And I’ve heard, I’ve been on sales calls for our coaching clients and our agency clients. And a lot of people have said, "Humberto, you don’t understand. In London, no one spends that." I’ve even heard people say in Dubai, "everyone’s cheap and they can they don’t pay for that." So now I’ve heard that about any, insert any city or any country and people will say that. So what did you guys think about that before you took this price list? Did you have the same thought process, "that’s an American thing?"
33:17People have money for what they want to spend. That’s as simple as that. Honestly, in my personal opinion, our family side didn’t have it. We tried to do, I think our clientele knew that we were, 'Let’s give away something.' So that’s what they were always waiting for.
30:28We do model calls and had five clients prior to shutting down. That’s all we had. That’s all we had to show.
32:33Absolutely.
30:37Yeah. That was a big concern for me and Jen. Actually. It was a debate, should we do the price list? Because the price list is $7 and then there’s some upsells. And my, my thought was hoping that we would have stories like yours, someone’s going to be blown away by this. They’re going to see they’re going to make their money and then they’re going to be, Yeah, let’s buy into the whole system where sometimes initially a lot of educators think, Oh, if you give anything away for free, then they’re going to steal it and then they’re going to run away with it and never not steal it. You bought it, but then they’re never going to need anything from you again because they took your secret recipe. And it’s, no, if you put a lot of value into them, then hopefully you gain their trust. So it’s really good to hear.
32:35So we thought population-based too. So if you look up the population of an American city compared to an Australian city, we’re small, tiny, and it’s, "well, will it still work when you’re advertising everything to such a smaller audience?" And it does. So at the end of the day, you walk outside or you go for a drive and people drive BMW or Mercedes-Benz past you or a Lexus, and they’re not cheap cars and people still justify and can afford those. They had the option to buy a Toyota. They went for the Lexus.
33:44Because the industry is really saturated with upcoming photographers getting their hands on the gear and going, 'Alright, I want to do this, and how am I going to do it? I’ll give stuff away and I’ll be super, super cheap.' And the family photography, I’m not sure what it’s like over in the US, but over here is absolutely saturated with people doing that. So it becomes a very recognized normal that if you want to go and get photos of your family, you just hit up a photographer or find one that’s giving stuff away, and it makes it so much harder for those family photographers to actually make some decent coin.
34:29Saying it’s not possible. But I wasn’t willing to put in work to get the no-sales anymore. So in my mind, I was sick of families. I didn’t want to deal with them anymore. I’d done 12 years of chasing it, and I went, 'No, I’m done.' We hired a family photographer to help us. She did five shoots and went, 'I’m done.' We went, 'Okay, we’re closing that side.' There are definitely photographers in Australia, Boudoir photographers specifically, who will charge absolutely nothing. It’s like $150, $350 for everything, just like the family industry. But I think there’s a big difference. The confidence of you charging $5,000 as an average sale as opposed to $350. We have clients who travel eight, nine hours to see us because they know and trust us. They like our work, and they go, 'I will drive past all those other ones to come and see you.' So in essence, it’s not hard to get the high-paying clients in Boudoir. In family, I wasn’t sold, but that was just my personal experience.
33:17People have money for what they want to spend. That’s as simple as that. So. Honestly, in my personal opinion, our family side. Didn’t have it. We tried to do, I think our clientele knew that we were, "let’s give away something." That’s what they were always waiting for.
31:20That was.
35:51If that makes sense. There are others that do it, but I think the average sale is only about $2,000.
33:43And I think.
31:21One piece of the pie. Yeah, there’s so many other aspects that just grew our business exponentially. Having the time due to COVID, shutting down, we were able to implement so much so quickly. We already had our emails done before we were shooting, they were all, all done. Images from our first shoot were first five shoots were all in there, so we had to redo them again. But we were able to go through, I think we went through about 70% of the course in that time, so that helped. It’s not juggling anything else.
35:56To me, it’s also you’ve got to get over that imposter syndrome. I mean, 'Okay, I’m going to charge $5,000. I’m going to charge $8,000 for a collection.' So, yeah, I know that I need my work to be up to standard. I need to make sure that it’s top quality because otherwise I shouldn’t be charging those prices. So it does keep you accountable personally and as a business to make sure that your quality is high and your standards are high. So if you’re charging ridiculously low prices, then maybe your standard’s not very high, maybe not holding yourself to that high standard. And it comes down, obviously, with Boudoir. A lot of it is about the experience as well. And again, you go, 'Okay, so we’re charging these prices. I’m not going to feel right if they’re not getting an A-grade experience.' So…
31:57Yeah.
33:44Because the industry is really saturated with upcoming photographers getting their hands on the gear and going, "All right, I want to do this and how am I going to do it? I’ll give stuff away and I’ll be super cheap." And the family photography, I’m not sure what it’s over in the US there, but over here is absolutely saturated with people doing that. So it becomes a very recognized normal that if you want to go and get photos of your family, you just hit up a photographer or find one that’s giving stuff away and it makes it so much harder for those family photographers to actually make some decent coin.
37:02Yeah, I think it…
34:28It’s I’m not.
31:58So tell me about that, because obviously the price list was the big one. A lot of people don’t think that internationally you can sell that. And I’ve heard I’ve been on sales calls for our coaching clients and our agency clients. And a lot of people have said, Umberto, you don’t understand. In London, no one spends that. I’ve even heard people say in Dubai, everyone’s cheap and they can they don’t pay for that. Now I’ve heard that about any, insert any city or any country and people will say that. What did you guys think about that before you took this price list? Did you have the same thought process, oh, that’s an American thing?
34:29Saying it’s not possible. But I wasn’t willing to put in work. To get the no-sales anymore. So in my mind, I was sick of families. I didn’t want to deal with them anymore. I’d done 12 years of chasing it and I went, "No, I’m done." We hired a family photographer to help us. She did five shoots and went, "I’m done." We went, "okay, we’re closing that side." There are definitely photographers in Australia, Boudoir photographers specifically, who will charge absolutely nothing, it’s $150, $350 for everything, just the family industry. But I think there’s a big difference. When the confidence of you charging $5,000 as an average sale as opposed to $350. It’s. We have clients who travel eight, nine hours to see us because they know and trust us. They our work and they go, "I will drive past all those other ones to come and see you." So in essence, it’s not hard to get the high-paying clients in Boudoir. In family, I wasn’t sold, but that was my personal experience.
37:03sort of helps you as a business perform better as well to be charging those prices.
32:33Yeah, absolutely.
37:10What was that like the first time? Because I know you said your highest package was $1,500, to go into a sales session with bigger packages. What was that like the first time?
35:51If that.
32:35We thought population based too. If you look up the population of an American city compared to an Australian city, we’re small, tiny, and it’s, will it still work when you’re advertising everything to such a smaller audience? And it does. At the end of the day, you walk outside or you go for a drive and there’s people drives, people drive BMW or Mercedes Benz pass you or Lexus or Lexus, and they’re not cheap cars and people still justify and can afford those. They had the option to buy a Toyota. They went for the Lexus. Yeah.
33:17People have money for what they want to spend. That’s as simple as that.
37:21Scary. Very scary.
35:51Makes sense. There are others that do it, but I think the average sale is only about two grand.
33:43And I think.
37:24That imposter syndrome was huge because you’re like, 'Is it right?'
35:56To me, it’s also you’ve got to get over that imposter syndrome. I mean, "okay, I’m going to charge $5,000. I’m going to charge $8,000 for a collection." So, yeah, I know that I need my work to be up to standard. I need to make sure that it’s top quality because. Otherwise I shouldn’t be charging those prices. So it does keep you accountable personally and as a business to make sure that your quality is high and your standards are high. So if you’re charging ridiculously low prices, then maybe your standard not very high, maybe not holding yourself to that high standard. And it comes down obviously with Boudoir. A lot of it is about the experience as well. And again, you go, "okay, so we’re charging these prices. I’m not going to feel right if they’re not getting an A grade experience." So.
33:44Because the industry is really saturated with upcoming photographers getting their hands on the gear and going, I want to do this and how am I going to do it? I’ll give stuff away and I’ll be super, super cheap. And the family photography, I’m not sure what it’s over in the US there, but over here is absolutely saturated with people doing that. So it becomes a very recognized normal that if you want to go and get photos of your family, you just hit up a photographer or find one that’s giving stuff away and it makes it’s so much harder for those family photographers to actually make some decent coin.
37:02Yeah, I think.
37:28I remember our…
37:29First year going, 'Oh my God, these are really bad.' But she bought, I think, a first Boudoir sale was $5,000. I went, 'Oh, okay.' And then when that becomes the norm, it’s like, 'Okay, I expect it.'
34:28It’s I’m not.
37:03It helps you as a business. Perform better as well to be charging those prices.
34:29Saying it’s not possible. But I wasn’t willing to put in work. To get the no sales anymore. In my mind, I was sick of families. I didn’t want to deal with them anymore. I’d done 12 years of chasing it and I went, No, I’m done. We hired a family photographer to help us. She did five shoots and went, I’m done. We went, okay, we’re closing that side. There are definitely photographers in Australia, Boudoir photographers specifically, who will charge absolutely nothing, it’s $150, $350 for everything, just the family industry. But. I think there’s a big difference. When? The confidence of you charging $5,000 as an average sale as opposed to $350. It’s. We have clients who travel eight, nine hours to see us because we, they they know and trust us. They they our work and they go, I will drive past all those other ones to come and see you. In essence, it’s hard to get. It’s not hard to get the high paying clients, in Boudoir in family. I wasn’t sold, but that was just my personal experience.
37:45But then, because we knew we were going to charge these, we wanted these price points to be our collections. We wanted to be making that kind of money. We weren’t just going to wing it. As Mel said much earlier, we invested into a lot of training and education with the photography side, the posing and the editing and stuff. So we went, 'We can’t just wing it and charge these prices. We can’t just pick up a camera and start shooting, trying to find angles and what works. We need to know what we’re doing. We need to know how to pose properly and everything.' So, yeah, it was definitely scary. And getting over that imposter syndrome was probably the first hurdle, I think, with our own personal confidence as photographers. But I think once we did that, we started to see our worth, and people were showing us that worth. So we were like, 'You know what? It’s okay. It’s great.'
37:10What was that the first? Because I know you said your highest package was 1500, to go into a sales session with bigger packages. What was that the first time?
37:21Scary. Very scary.
38:45That’s awesome. Yeah, that’s really cool. And then, after that, you just stuck to that price list and didn’t go back?
35:51If that.
35:51Makes sense. There are others that do it, but I think the average sale is only about two grand.
37:24That imposter syndrome was huge because you’re, "is it right?"
38:51No, no, we’ve tweaked it a few times.
38:53Oh, but did you…?
35:56To me, it’s also you’ve got to get over that imposter syndrome. I mean, okay, I’m going to charge $5,000. I’m going to charge $8,000 for a collection. Yeah, I know that I need my work to be up to standard. I need to make sure that it’s top quality because. Otherwise I shouldn’t be charging those prices. It does keep you accountable personally and as a business to make sure that your quality is high and your standards are high. If you’re charging ridiculously low prices, then maybe your standards not very high, maybe not holding yourself to that high standard. And it comes down obviously with Boudoir. A lot of it is about the experience as well. And again, you go, okay, we’re we’re charging these prices. I’m not going to feel right if they’re not getting an A grade experience.
37:28I remember our.
37:02Yeah, I think.
37:29First year going, "Oh, these are really bad." But she bought, I think a first Boudoir sale was $5,000. I went, "Oh, okay." And then when that becomes the norm, it’s, "okay, I expect it."
38:54Keep increasing it, or what did you do?
38:56Well, we do have a $13,000 collection that I have sold once. I was very happy when I did that. I sold four Bombshells this week, so pretty happy with that. $8,000.
37:03It helps you as a business. Perform better as well to be charging those prices.
37:45But then because we knew we were going to charge these, we wanted these price points to be our collections. We wanted to be making that money. We weren’t just going to wing it. We, Mel said much earlier that we invested into a lot of training and education with the photography side, the posing and the editing and stuff that. So we went, "we can’t just wing it and charge these prices. We can’t just pick up a camera and start shooting, trying to find angles and what works." We need to know what we’re doing. We need to know how to pose properly and everything. So, yeah, it was definitely scary. And getting over that imposter syndrome was probably the first hurdle, I think, with our own personal confidence as photographers. But I think once we did that, we started to see our worth and people were showing us that worth. So we were, "You know what? It’s okay. It’s great."
39:10Holy smokes. Yeah. So tell me about that $13,000 sale. How did that even come about? Because that’s…
38:45That’s awesome. Yeah, that’s really cool. And then, after that, you just stuck to that price list and didn’t go back.
37:10What was that the first? Because I know you said your highest package was 1500, to go into a sales session with bigger packages. What was that the first time?
38:51No, no, we’ve tweaked it a few times.
39:16Well, that was actually the first shoot of the year, and it was a guy.
37:21Scary. Very scary.
38:53But did you.
39:18The first shoot of the year, and it was a guy. He was a male stripper wanting to build a portfolio and get out internationally to some stuff.
37:24That imposter syndrome was huge because you’re, is it right?
39:32And he wanted everything. And I went, 'Alright, well, the best, easiest way to get everything is this is the price.' And he went, 'Okay.' So that’s the easiest.
38:54Keep increasing it or what did you do?
37:28I remember our.
38:56Well, we do have a $13,000 collection that I have sold once. I was very happy when I did that. I sold four Bombshells this week, so pretty happy with that. $8,000.
37:29First year going, Oh my God, these are really bad. But she bought, I think a first first Boudoir sale was 5000. I went, Oh, okay. And then when that becomes the norm, it’s, okay, I expect it.
39:43ones was…
39:10Holy smokes. Yeah. So tell me about that $13,000 sale. How did that even come about? Because that’s.
37:45But then because because we knew we were going to charge these, we wanted these price points to be our collections. We wanted to be making that kind of money. We weren’t just going to wing it. We, Mel said much earlier that we invested into a lot of training and education with the photography side, the posing and the editing and stuff. We went, you know, we can’t just wing it and charge these prices. We can’t just pick up a camera and start shooting, trying to find angles and what works. We need to know what we’re doing. We need to know how, how to pose properly and everything. And, yeah, it was definitely scary. And getting over that imposter syndrome was probably the first hurdle, I think, with our own personal confidence as photographers. But I think once we did that, we started to see our worth and people were showing us that worth. We were, You know what? It’s okay. It’s great.
39:46Yeah, we definitely didn’t expect it.
39:16Well, that was actually.
39:50Always been open to shooting men, but when you put your ads out there, and our experience when we put ads out there, we just get creepy guys being weirdos. So we sort of went, 'Well, let’s just keep pushing what is working for us.' And, yeah, out of the blue, a legitimate guy. He wants photos and wants to spend money for them. So yeah.
38:45That’s awesome. Yeah, that’s really cool. And then, after that, you just stuck to that price list and didn’t go back.
38:51No, no, we’ve tweaked it a few times.
39:18The first shoot of the year. And it was a guy. He was a male stripper wanting to build a portfolio and get out internationally to some stuff.
40:15So a few tweaks that we made to Jen’s pricing. I think our minimum investment was $750. That gave them five printed images. That is still a little bit of our hook when we talk to people on the phone. Then we jump up to $2,000. That gives ten digital files and a box of prints. So there’s no albums or anything like that. Then we went $3,500, $5,000, $8,000. That’s where we stopped. Then I sold one loss leader, and I went, 'Right, that’s got to come off the menu. I don’t want to advertise it.' So it got removed to the little bits of extra stuff.
40:59It went into the price list where you spend your credit and stuff like that.
39:32And he wanted everything. And I went, "All right, the best, easiest way to get everything is this is the price." And he went, "okay." That’s the easiest.
38:53Oh, but did you.
41:06So that was our first step.
39:43Ones was.
38:54Keep increasing it or what did you do?
38:56Well, we do have a $13,000 collection that I have sold at once. I was very happy when I did that. I sold four bombshells this week, so pretty happy with that. $8,000.
41:07Our second step was adding that $13,000 collection. I think that’s been in there for about a year now.
39:46Yeah, we definitely didn’t expect it.
39:10Holy smokes. Yeah, but. Tell me about. Tell me about that $13,000 sale. How did that even come about? Because that’s.
39:49I was we’ve.
41:16So we took the album out of the $2,000 collection as well. Yes.
41:21So I kept selling the $2,000. I’m like, 'I don’t want to sell this, so get rid of the album.'
39:50Always been open to shooting men, but when you put your ads out there and our experience when we put ads out there and that we just get creepy guys being weirdos, so we went, "Well, let’s just keep pushing what is working for us?" And, out of the blue, a legitimate guy. He wants photos and wants to spend money for them. So yeah.
39:16Well, that was actually.
41:27So it was a small, smaller album and cheaper, if you will. But we thought, 'No, if they want an album, then they’re looking at three and a half as a minimum.' So that’s another thing that pushes them up.
39:18The first shoot of the year. And it was a guy. He was a male stripper wanting to build a portfolio and get out internationally to some stuff.
40:15So a few tweaks that we made to Jen's pricing. I think our minimum investment was $750. That gave them five printed images. That is still a bit of our hook when we talk to people on the phone. Then we jump up to $2,000. That gives ten digital files and a box of prints. So there’s no albums or anything that. Then we went 3500, 5000, 8000. That’s where we stopped. Then I sold one loss leader and I went, "Right, that’s got to come off the menu." I don’t want to advertise it. So it got removed to the bits of extra stuff.
41:40But then I was selling the $2,000 still, and I’m like, 'No, don’t want to sell this.' So I got rid of that off there as well. So all our collections now are $3,500, $5,000, $8,000, and $13,000. They’re all on… We have little booklets. I don’t have one here. And I open them up at the shoot, and I show them, 'These are our most popular collections.' And there’s four on one page, and the two middle ones are the $8,000 and the $5,000. And I say, 'These are the most popular. This is the reason why.' Our Bombshell is the only one, and the $8,000 and the $13,000 are the only ones that actually have color and black and white in their collections. The Vixen and the Sirens ($5,000 and $3,500) have only got eight per image. So you either get color or black and white, or if you want to get both, you have to pay for them. So this week, all of my clients have gone, 'Well, I’m up in the Goddess or the $13,000.' So I say to them, 'You’re in the Goddess now. The easiest option for you is if you wanted to stay there, you can get all of them, no problem, but don’t force it.' It’s more of, the easiest option is to go down to your Bombshell. 'I’ve got to take out a certain amount of images.' For example, yesterday’s client, she had 147 images sitting in her pile when she started. And essentially, it was only 78 individual images. So in order for her to get the Bombshell, she only had to take out eight images.
39:32And and he wanted everything. And I went, okay, the best, easiest way to get everything is this is the price. And he went, okay. That’s the easiest.
40:59It went into the price list where you spend your credit and stuff that.
41:06So that was our first step.
39:43Ones was.
43:23How many photos are you showing?
41:07Our second step was adding the $13,000 collection. I think that’s been in there for about a year now.
43:28Average is only from 100 to 130 individual images. But we sell the black and whites and colors separately.
39:46Yeah, we definitely didn’t expect it.
39:49I was we’ve.
41:16So we took the album out of the $2,000 collection as well.
43:36So they’re doubled. Most…
39:50Always been open to shooting men, but when you put your ads out there and our experience when we put ads out there and that we just get creepy guys being weirdos, we went, let’s just keep pushing what is working for us? And, yeah, out of the blue, a legitimate guy. He wants photos and wants to spend money for them. Yeah, yeah.
41:21So I kept selling the 2000. I’m, "I don’t want to sell this," so get rid of the album.
43:39Of the time they’ll choose one or the other. Sometimes they’ll double up, and in an order where you might have 50 images selected, they might have 4 or 5 of those images as doubles. So ten images being sold where there were five.
40:15So a few tweaks that we made, to Jen’s pricing. I think our. A minimum investment was $750. That gave them five printed images. That is still a little bit of our hook when we talk to people on the phone. Then we jump up to $2,000. That gives ten digital files and a box of prints. There’s no albums or anything. Then we went 3500, 5000, 8000. That’s where we stopped. Then I sold one loss leader and I went, that’s got to come off the menu. I don’t want to advertise it. It got removed to the little bits of extra stuff.
41:27So it was a small, smaller album and cheaper, if you will. But we just thought, "no, if they want an album, then they’re looking at three and a half as a minimum." So that’s another thing that pushes them up.
43:57Yeah.
41:40But then I was selling the 2000 still and I’m, "No, don’t want to sell this." So I got rid of that off there as well. So all our collections now, three and a half, five, eight and 13. So they’re all on. We have little booklets. I don’t have one here and I open them up at the shoot. And I show them these are our most popular collections. And there’s four on one page and the two middle ones are the 8000 and the 5000. And I say these are the most popular. This is the reason why. So our Bombshell is the only one. And the 8000 and the 13,000 are the only ones that actually have color and black and white in their collections. The Vixen and the Sirens. The 5000 and the three and a half have only got one per image. So you either get color black and white, or if you want to get both, you have to pay for them. So this week, all of my clients have gone, "well, I’m up in the Goddess or the 13." So I say to them, "You’re in the Goddess now. The easiest option for you is if you wanted to stay there, you can get all them, no problem, but don’t force it." The easiest option is to go down to your Bombshell. I’ve got to take out a certain amount of images. And so, for example, yesterday’s client, she had 147 images sitting in her pile when she started. And essentially it was only 78 individual images. So in order for her to get the Bombshell, she only had to take out eight images. 78 because that’s.
43:57So yesterday’s client, she said, 'Well, you can either get rid of 100 images to get down to the Vixen, which is what she wanted, or you can take out eight.' And she went, 'I’ll take out eight. That’s easier.' And then there you go. There’s your Bombshell.
40:59It went into the price list where you, where you spend, you spend your credit and stuff.
43:2270.
41:06So, that was our first step.
44:13It’s so cool that, at one point, you were a beginner at this. You were just learning. You’re like, 'Don’t like the daunting price list.' And now you’re a hotshot expert. I just did your sales average.
43:23How many sessions are you? How many photos are you showing?
44:25one. 'This is easier.'
41:07Our second step was adding that. $13,000 collection. I think that’s been in there for about a year now.
41:16We took the album out of the $2,000 collection as well. Yes.
43:28Average is only from 100 to 130 individual images. But we sell the black and whites and colors are separate.
44:27Yeah, I…
43:36So they’re doubled. Most.
44:27just said the average. It probably includes retainer fees, but getting…
41:21I kept selling the 2000. I’m, I don’t want to sell this, so get rid of the album.
41:27It was a it was a small, smaller album and cheaper, if you will. But we just thought, no, if they they want an album, then they’re looking at three and a half as a minimum. That’s another thing that pushes them up.
44:31No, that doesn’t include retainer fees.
43:39Of the time they’ll choose one or the other. Sometimes they’ll double up and in an order where you might have 50 images selected, they might have 4 or 5 of those images as doubles. So ten images being sold where they were. Five.
41:40But then I was selling the 2000 still and I’m, No, don’t want to sell this. I got rid of that off there as well. All our collections now, three and a half, five, eight and 13, they’re all on. We have little booklets. I don’t have one here and I open them up in our. At at the shoot. And I show them these are our most popular collections. And there’s four on one page and the two middle ones are the 8000 and the 5000. And I say these are the most popular. This is the reason why. Our bombshell is the only one. And the 8000 and the 13,000 are the only ones that actually have color and black and white in their collections. The Vixen and the Sirens. The 5000 and the three and a half have only got eight per image. You either get color black and white, or if you want to get both, you have to pay for them. This week, all of my clients have gone, well, I’m up in the the goddess or the 13 and. I say to them the most, You’re in the Goddess. Now. The easiest option for you is if you wanted to stay there, you can get all them, no problem, but don’t force it. It’s more of a the easiest option is to go down to your bombshell. I’ve got to take out a certain amount of images. And for example, yesterday’s client, she had 147 images sitting in her her pile when she started. And essentially it was only 78 individual images. In order for her to keep the to get the bombshell, she only had to take out eight images. 78 because that’s.
44:33Oh, that doesn’t?
43:57Yeah.
43:57So yesterday’s client, she said, "well you can either get rid of 100 images to get down to the Vixen, which is what she wanted, or you can take out eight." And she went, "I’ll take out eight. That’s easier." And then there you go. There’s your Bombshell.
43:2270.
44:34So what’s the average?
43:23How many sessions are you? How many photos are you showing?
44:36Right now on…
44:13It’s so cool that, at one point you were beginner at this. You were just learning. You’re, "Don't like daunting price lists." And now you’re hotshot expert. I just did your sales average.
43:28Average is only from 100 to 130 individual images. But we sell the black and whites and colors are separate.
44:40I did it with the gross year, and then I divided by the sessions. So the gross…
44:25At this.
43:36So they’re doubled. Most.
44:25One. This is easier.
44:45$4,800 was 2022. And right now for this month, I’m at $7,400.
44:56Holy smokes. Oh, yeah. A lot of Bombshells, right? Yeah. And the big one.
44:27I just said the average. It probably includes retainer fees, but getting.
43:39Of the time they’ll choose one or the other. Sometimes they’ll double up and in an order where you might have 50 images selected, they might have 4 or 5 of those images as doubles. So ten images being sold where they were. Five.
44:31No, that doesn’t include retainer fees.
45:00Yeah.
43:57Yeah.
43:57So yesterday’s client, she said, well you can either get rid of 100 images to get down to the vixen, which is what she wanted, or you can take out eight and she went, I’ll take out eight. That’s easier. And then there you go. There’s your bombshell.
44:33That doesn’t.
45:01One Vixen and four Bombshells in one week.
44:34What’s the average?
45:04So what’s that like? Because obviously, someone reading this or seeing this is like, 'What the hell? I can’t get there. It’s too late.' Or sometimes you feel if you’ve been doing something for four years and to switch over, it’s a big knock on your head that you’ve been doing things wrong, and people don’t want to admit that. So for you, what’s it like now? As I just said, you’re kind of an expert now. And you did exactly what I coached people on: 'Take it. Do it the way we teach. Don’t second-guess it. Don’t go ask 400 Facebook groups.' Because those people are going to tell you this is unreasonable. They’re all going to give you doubt. But when you do it yourself, you’re going to learn ten times more in one, even if it’s a bad sales session, than you would asking for advice. Mhm.
44:13It’s so cool that, at one point you were beginner at this. You were just learning. You’re, don’t daunting price list. And now you’re hotshot expert. I just did your sales average.
45:54What was the question? Sorry.
44:25At this.
44:36Right now.
44:25One. This is easier.
45:56Oh. So the question is, what is that like for you now? Do you feel the difference in the sales? I know you said you feel a lot more confident, but yeah, there’s a big contrast from before. Yeah, it’s…
44:40I did it with the gross year and then I divided by the sessions. The gross.
46:08My thought in the back of my mind is, 'Please pay in full. Please pay in full. Please pay in full.' That’s always, I want the cash flow. We have a finance company that we use over here who can do the Bombshell, the $8,000 collection for $102 a fortnight. So that’s my selling point.
44:27Yeah, I.
44:454800 was 2022. And. Right now. For this month. I’m at 7400.
44:27Just said the average, it probably includes retainer fees, but getting.
44:56Yeah. The lot of Bombshells, right? And the big one.
46:31After the photo shoot, I’ll start cleaning up the rooms and sorting them out. And Mel will be with the client for about ten minutes, just talking to him about all the products and things. And that’s one of the big indicators she gives them. So when she shows them the investment menu and goes through, 'These are our most popular ones,' with the $5,000 and the $8,000 one, she breaks it down for how much it would cost a week in finance.
45:01One Vixen and four Bombshells in one week.
44:31No, that doesn’t include retainer fees.
47:03So it’s not so big of an investment.
44:33Oh, that doesn’t.
47:06It does depend on the client’s credit rating. And unfortunately, some of them don’t have good credit ratings, and they don’t qualify for finance. So that’s where we cross our fingers because we can’t control that. That’s entirely on the client. But if they do qualify for finance, they’ll go finance. We’ve had a few that have just paid in full. Yeah, it doesn’t happen often, but the finance is definitely…
45:04So what’s that? Because obviously, someone reading this or seeing this is, "what the hell? I can’t get there. It’s too late." Or sometimes you feel if you’ve been doing something for four years and to switch over, it’s a big knock on your head that you’ve been doing things wrong and people don’t want to admit that. So for you, what’s it now? I just said, you’re an expert now. And you did exactly what I coached people on is, take it. Do it the way we teach. Don’t second-guess it. Don’t go ask 400 Facebook groups. And then because those people are going to tell you this is unreasonable. They’re all going to give you doubt. But when you do it yourself, you’re going to learn ten times more in one. Even if it’s a bad sales session, then you would asking for advice.
47:36We treat each client like an $8,000 client. It’s as simple as that. We will shoot exactly the same. It doesn’t matter their age, their…
44:34What’s the average?
45:54What was the question? Sorry.
47:47Yeah, treat them exactly the same. So what’s that mean?
44:36Right now on.
45:56So the question is what is that for you now? I know you said you feel a lot more confident but yeah, there’s a big contrast from before. Yeah, it’s.
46:08My thought in the back of my mind is, "please pay in full, please pay in full, please pay in full." That’s always I want the cash flow. We have a finance company that we use over here who can do the Bombshell, $8,000 collection for $102 a fortnight. So that’s my selling point.
44:40I did it. I did it with the gross year and then I divided by the sessions. So the gross.
47:49Was there a time where you didn’t? Because I know that a lot of times in Facebook comments, I see people like, 'Hey, this person’s young, I don’t want to waste my time.' So they always have this…
44:454800 was 2022. And. Right now. For this month. I’m at 7400.
46:31After the photo shoot, I’ll start cleaning up the rooms and sorting them out. And Mel will be client for about ten minutes just talking to him about all the products and things that. And that’s one of the big indicators she gives them. So when she shows them the investment menu and goes through the whole these are our most popular ones with the five and the $8,000 one. She breaks it down for how much it would cost a week in finance.
48:00We’ve had a few surprises.
47:03So it’s not.
44:56Holy smokes. Oh, yeah, the lot of bombshells, right? Yeah. And the big one.
48:03We’ve had a pregnant woman.
48:05Yeah, there’s a 20-year-old who…
47:04So big of a.
45:00Yeah.
48:07paid $8,000 up front. I went, 'Wow!'
47:05Investment.
45:01One vixen and four bombshells in one week.
47:06It does depend on the client’s credit rating. And unfortunately some of them don’t have good credit ratings and they don’t qualify for finance. So that’s where we cross our fingers because we can’t control that. That’s entirely on the client. But if they do qualify for finance, they’ll go finance. We’ve had a few that have just paid out full. Yeah, it doesn’t happen often, but the finance is definitely.
48:09So we’ve always had the experience where if…
45:04What’s that? Because obviously, someone reading this or seeing this is, what the hell? I can’t get there. It’s too late. Or sometimes you feel if you’ve been doing something for four years and to switch over, it’s a big knock on your head that you’ve been doing things wrong and people don’t want to admit that. For you, what’s it now? As I just said, you’re kind of an expert now. And you did exactly what I coached people on is, take it. Do it the way we teach, don’t second guess it. Don’t go ask 400 Facebook groups. And then because those people are going to tell you this is unreasonable. They’re all going to give you doubt. But when you do it yourself, you’re going to learn ten times more in one. Even if it’s a bad sales session, then you would asking for advice. Mhm.
48:10We’ve had brides, if you will. They’re going to get married in the next couple of months, maybe. And they want to do this as a wedding gift. And you think to yourself, you know, they’re getting married. They’ve got all these other expenses loading up. How much room do they actually have for a Boudoir session in their budget? You just mentioned young people. I remember when I was 20 years old, I had no money. And you think, how much room do they have in their budget to spend money on this? And you do have those stereotypes, if you will, in your head of going, 'Okay, this person probably won’t spend much,' but we, I guess our method is to put a block on that and go, 'Well, they’re here, they’ve booked in, they’re here.' So at the end of the day, we can rush a shoot, do a 45-minute shoot or something, and I guess shoot ourselves in the foot if they were going to spend money because we wouldn’t have the images to offer them, and they wouldn’t get the full experience and all that sort of stuff. Or we could do what we normally do. It costs us a little bit extra time than if we cut it short, and we give them the full experience, the full amount of time, the proper amount of photos that they should get. And as Mel said before, sometimes then they’ll buy a Bombshell, and you’ll have someone in their early twenties who’s getting married or they’re pregnant, doing a maternity one, and then still by — bam! — they spend $8,000, and you’re like, 'Did not see that coming.' But thank God we gave them the full proper shoot. We didn’t listen to that little voice that told us they probably won’t. So regardless of what we think, we still do the standard, so you never know.
47:36We treat each client an $8,000 client. It’s as simple as that. We will shoot exactly the same. Doesn’t matter. Their age, their.
45:54What was the question? Sorry.
45:56Oh. The question is what is that for you now. I know you said you feel a lot more confident but yeah, there’s a big contrast from before. Yeah, it’s.
50:07And we are very much systematic shooters. I know exactly what’s coming every shoot.
47:47Yeah, treat them exactly the same. So what’s.
47:49That mean? Was there a time where you didn’t? Because I know that, a lot of times in Facebook comments, I see people, "Hey, this person’s young, I don’t want to waste my time." So they always have this.
46:08My think in the back of my mind is, please pay in full, Please pay in full. Please pay in full. That’s always I want the cash flow. We have a finance company that we use over here who can do the bombshell, $8,000 collection for $102 a fortnight. That’s my selling point.
50:12By the way, I will say this is definitely a compliment, but your work has gotten significantly better than when you first started.
50:19Yes, definitely.
46:31After the photo shoot.
48:00We’ve had a few surprises.
50:20Light-years almost. I don’t even recognize it compared to you. Yeah.
46:36I’ll start cleaning up the rooms and sorting them out. And Mel will be client for about ten minutes just talking to him about all the products and things. And that’s one of the big indicators she gives them. When she shows them the investment menu and goes through the whole these are our most popular ones with the the five and the $8,000 one. She breaks it down for how much it would cost a week in finance.
48:03We’ve had a pregnant woman.
48:05Yeah, there’s 20.
50:25Thank you.
47:03It’s not.
47:04Big of a.
50:27Yeah, what we do is we actually critique most of our shoots as well, so we’ll look back and go, 'Why did we do that? That leg is wrong.'
48:07$8,000 up front. I went, "Wow."
47:05Investment.
50:36Put your ego aside. As I said, I’ll do the photos. We play our strengths. Mel is much better with posing and fine detail. If I had to take care of posing and stuff, I’d miss a twisted strap or a line, or things like that. My strengths are more with the lighting and the camera angles and things like that. So we play our strengths, and then we’ll also critique each other’s work and critique our own work and be like, 'Probably need the head back a little bit more tilted there, or something, or the angles are a bit off and need to be a bit higher, or something like that,' and just trying to improve things. Even when you think it’s brilliant and perfect, you go, 'Okay, now we can do this one better.' Or yeah.
48:09So we’ve always had.
48:10The experience where. We’ve had brides, if you will. So they going to get married in the next couple of months maybe. And they want to do this as a wedding gift. And you think to yourself, "they’re getting married. They’ve got all these other expenses loading up. How much room do they actually have for a Boudoir session in their budget?" You’ve you just mentioned, young people. I remember when I was 20 years old, I had no money and you think, "how much room do they have in their budget to spend money on this?" And you do have those stereotypes, if you will, in your head of going, "okay, this person probably won’t spend much," but we just I guess our method is just to put a block on that and go, "well, they’re here, but they’ve booked in, they’re here." So at the end of the day we can rush a shoot, do a 45-minute shoot or something that. So I guess shoot ourselves in the foot. If they were going to spend money because we wouldn’t have the images to offer them and they wouldn’t get the full experience and all that. Or we could just do what we normally do. It costs us a bit extra time than if we cut it short and we just give them the full experience, the full amount of time, the proper amount of photos that they should get. And Mel said before, sometimes then they’ll buy a Bombshell and you’ll have a. Someone in their early 20s who’s getting married or they’re pregnant doing a maternity type one, and then still by BAM, they spend $8,000 and you’re, "did not see that coming." But we gave them the full proper shoot. We didn’t listen to that little voice that told us they probably won’t. So regardless of what we think, we still just do the standard so that you never know.
51:26Well, that’s really cool, and I’m glad you took that as a compliment. Okay, so we talked about pricing. We talked about your Facebook group, your international, just the fact that you’re international. What is the next big goal you guys have? Obviously, New Year. I’m sure you guys are up from last year already, so…
47:06It does depend on the client’s credit rating. And unfortunately some of them don’t have good credit ratings and they don’t qualify for finance. That’s where we cross our fingers because we can’t control that. That’s entirely on the client. But if, if they do qualify for finance, they’ll go finance. We’ve had a few that have just paid in full. Yeah, it doesn’t happen often, but the finance is definitely.
51:45Yes.
47:36We treat each client an $8,000 client. It’s as simple as that. We will shoot exactly the same. Doesn’t matter. Their age, their.
50:07And we are very much systematic shooters. I know exactly what’s coming every shoot.
47:47Yeah, treat them exactly the same. What’s.
50:12So, I will say this is definitely a compliment, but your work has gotten significantly better than when you first started.
51:45Yes, we are. It’s actually hard for me to do these figures because our financial year is July to January. Sorry, July to June. Yeah. From July to February, we’ve actually done $392,000. So that’s in what?
50:19Yes, definitely.
47:49That mean? Was there a time where you didn’t? Because I know that, a lot of times in Facebook comments, I see people, Hey, this person’s young, I don’t want to waste my time. They always have this.
52:09Seven months.
48:00We’ve had a few surprises.
52:10Yeah. Our goal this financial year is to try and get to $650,000.
50:20Light years. I don’t even recognize it compared to you.
48:03We’ve had a pregnant woman.
52:15Yeah, that’s our stretch goal. I want to crack $500,000.
50:25Thank you.
48:05Yeah, there’s 20.
52:18That’s my crack to $500,000 easy. So $650,000 is where I’m at.
50:27Yes, what we do is we actually critique most of our shoots as well so we’ll look back and go, "why did we do that? That leg is wrong."
48:07Pay, $8,000 up front. I went, Wow.
50:36You’ve really got to.
52:24Yeah.
48:09We’ve always had.
50:36Put your ego aside. It’s, you know, because I said, I’ll do the photos. We play our strengths. Mel is much better with posing and fine detail. Yeah. If I had to take care of posing and stuff, I’d miss a twisted strap or ring out a line or things that. My strengths are more with the lighting and the camera angles and things that. So we play our strengths and then we’ll also critique each other’s work and critique our own work and be, "probably need head back a bit more tilted there or something, or the angles are a bit off and needs to be a bit higher or something that," and just trying to improve things. Even when you think it’s brilliant and perfect, you go, "okay, now we can do this one better." Or Yeah.
52:25So let’s say that is a goal that is an end state. Do you guys have any goals for your habits? Anything you guys are trying to implement, any habits you’re trying to take on, new things, for employees?
51:26Well that’s really cool and I’m glad you took that as a compliment. Okay, so we talked about pricing. We talked about your Facebook group, your international, the fact that you’re international. What is the next big goal you guys have? Obviously New Year. I’m sure you guys are up from last year already.
52:45Our ultimate goal is, at the moment, we travel an hour to our studio because we moved an hour away. We would like to build a studio out here where we are so that we can actually have the associate photographers, we can work, all that sort of stuff that we don’t actually physically have to do. So ideally, I’d like to be shooting 2 to 3 times max and then retire and all that sort of stuff. But we can’t do that at our current studio because our son currently lives there.
48:10The experience where if. We’ve had brides, if you will. They going to get married in the next couple of months maybe. And they want to do this as a wedding gift thing. And you think to yourself, they’re getting married. They’ve got all these other expenses loading up. How much room do they actually have for a Boudoir session in their budget? You just mentioned, young people. I remember when I was 20 years old, I had no money and you kind of think, how much room do they have in their budget to spend money on this? And you do have those stereotypes, if you will, in your head of going, okay, this person probably won’t spend much, but we just I guess our our method is just to put a block on that and go, they’re here, but they’ve booked in, they’re here. At the end of the day we can rush a shoot, do a 45-minute shoot or something and. I guess shoot ourselves in the foot. If they were going to spend money because we wouldn’t have the images to offer them and they wouldn’t get the full experience and all that stuff. Or we could just do what we normally do. It costs us a little bit extra time than if we cut it short and we just give them the full experience, the full amount of time, the proper amount of photos that they should get. And Mel said before, sometimes then they’ll buy a bombshell and you’ll have a. Someone in their early 20 seconds who’s getting married or they’re pregnant doing a maternity type one, and then still by BAM, they spend $8,000 and you’re, did not see that coming. But thank God we gave them the full proper shoot. We didn’t listen to that little voice that told us they probably won’t. Regardless of what what we think, we still just do the standard so that you never know.
53:14And that house just isn’t big enough for it.
51:45Yes.
50:07And we are very much systematic shooters. I know exactly what’s coming every shoot.
50:12By the way, I will say this is definitely a compliment, but your work has gotten significantly better than when you first started.
51:45Yes, we are. So it’s actually hard for me to do these figures because our financial year is July to January. Sorry. July to June. Yeah. So, from July to February, we’ve actually done $392,000. So that’s in what?
53:19Whereas, yeah, a big goal of ours for the future is to purchase a property where we can look at that property and go, 'This will be turned into a studio, the whole house: multiple rooms, multiple sets and stuff like that.' So much more potential than we have now. Not that we don’t have much potential now where we’re at. We sort of looked at it and went, you know, 'We’re pretty lucky with the studio we have. We’ve got three sets, three big rooms that we use, which is a lot of variety already.' But, you know, you can’t help but want a lot more. So that’s definitely a big goal. We have to get that new studio.
52:09Seven months.
54:01Was there any time you guys doubted any of this? Was there any weak stretch or month where you’re like, 'Damn, I’d rather have a regular job?' No, past that we had.
50:19Yes, definitely.
50:20Light years almost. I don’t even recognize it compared to you. Yeah.
52:10Our goal this financial year is to try and get to that 650.
54:13I mean, I’ve been self-employed for 15 years, so I didn’t want to go work for someone else. I don’t think I could. So, yeah.
54:22Yeah.
50:25Thank you.
52:15Yeah, that’s our stretch goal. I want to crack that 500.
54:22Now that we make way more money than we did working our 9-to-5. And it’s flexible. If I want to take a day off, I can. As long as I’m not too far booked out. At the moment, I can’t because I’m too booked out.
52:18That’s my crack to 500 easy. So 650 is where I’m at.
50:27Yeah, we that is that we do is we actually critique most of our shoots as well we’ll look back and go why did we do that? That leg is wrong.
50:36You’ve really got to.
54:38But what’s the last question? What’s the most unique thing that’s happened to you in the last two years? Or a story you can’t even believe has happened to you, or something that nobody knows about?
52:24Yeah.
52:25So, that is a I describe that as being a goal that is an end state. Do you guys have any goals for your habits? Anything you guys are trying to implement any habits. You’re trying to take on new things for employees.
50:36Put your ego aside. It’s, I said, I’ll do the photos. We play our strengths. Mel is much better with posing and fine detail. Yeah. If I had to take care of posing and stuff, I’d miss a twisted strap or ring out a line or things. My strengths are more with the lighting and the camera angles and things. We play our strengths and then we’ll also get critique each other’s work and critique our own work and be, probably need head back a little bit more tilted there or something, or the angles are a bit off and needs to be a bit higher or something, and just trying to improve things. Even when you think it’s brilliant and perfect, you go, okay, now we can do this one better. Or Yeah.
54:54Oh, I don’t know.
52:45Our ultimate goal is at the moment, we travel an hour to our studio because we moved an hour away. We would build a studio out here where we are so that we can actually have the associate photographers, we can work, all that stuff that we don’t actually physically have to do. So ideally, I’d be shooting 2 to 3 times max and then retire and all that stuff. But we can’t do that at our current studio because our son currently lives there.
54:55I was just going to say, we’re still going through the hideous process of getting that investment property. But we were at our studio. We had the studio and we lived there as well. We purchased the house we’re in now. So now we have two properties under our belt, and now we’re getting a third property. And we just every now and then, even now, we just look at each other and go, 'We…'
51:26That’s really, that’s really cool and I’m glad you took that as a compliment. Okay, we talked about pricing. We talked about your Facebook group, your international, just the fact that you’re international. What is the next big goal you guys have? Obviously New Year. I’m sure you guys are up from last year already.
51:45Yes.
55:24have investment properties like this. Is this real?
53:14So and that house isn’t.
51:45Yes, we are. We it’s actually hard for me to do these figures because we are our financial year is July to January. Sorry. July to June. Yeah. From July to February, we’ve actually done $392,000. That’s in what?
55:27When did we get in a position where we could actually have investment properties under us? And it’s still a little surreal to think.
53:17It’s not big enough for it.
53:19Whereas yeah, a big goal of ours for the future is to purchase a property where we can look at that property and go, "This will be turned into a studio," the whole house, multiple rooms, multiple sets and stuff that. So much more potential than we have now. Not that we don’t have much potential now where we’re at. We looked at it and went, "we’re pretty lucky with the studio we have we’ve got three sets, three big rooms that we use, which is a lot of variety already." But you can’t help but go a lot more. So that’s definitely a big goal. We have to get that new studio.
52:09Seven months.
55:37But how did it happen in such a short time as well?
54:01Was there any time you guys doubted any of this? Were you any weak stretch or month stretch where you’re, "I’d rather have a regular job" and no past that we had.
52:10Yeah. Our goal this financial year is to try and get to that 650.
55:41Do you guys? I will ask. I’ve worked with people that have done crazy years, right? They’re kind of like you. They maybe made a couple six figures, low six figures. And then the next year, they’re making a huge amount, $400,000, $500,000. And I had a friend that got into really bad financial trouble because they started spending on, do a wedding again, buy a bunch of cars and stuff. And they got into really big trouble by not paying taxes. So do you guys follow the Profit First system? Do you guys follow any financial guidance?
54:13I mean, I’ve been self-employed for 15 years, so I didn’t want to go work for someone else. I don’t think I could. So.
52:15Yeah, that’s our stretch goal. I’m want to crack that 500.
56:16I think because we’ve always struggled with money, we don’t like spending money. We don’t spend money on ourselves. No, it’s hard.
52:18That’s my crack to 500 easy. 650 is where I’m at.
56:26The investment property thing, I probably wouldn’t have even done, to be honest. But it was something that…
54:22Yeah.
52:24Yeah.
56:34Made more sense to do that than pay taxes.
54:22Now that we might just make way more money than we did working our 9 to 5. And it’s flexible. If I want to take a day off, I can. As long as I’m not too far booked out at the moment, I can’t because I’m too booked out.
54:38But what’s the last question, but what’s the most unique thing that’s happened to you in the last two years? Or a story you can’t even believe has happened to you or something that nobody knows about?
56:36Yeah, we got financial help. And they said, 'Well, these are the options. You can pay this much to the tax department, or you can do this.' And it was like, 'Well, we might as well go down that road and not pour money into the government’s pocket, and instead pour it into our own investments.'
52:25So let’s say, that is a I describe that as being an end state. Do you guys have any goals for your habits? Anything you guys are trying to implement any habits. You’re trying to take on new things and for employees.
54:54I don’t know.
56:58The only thing that we have bought recently that’s been quite big is our spa. But that’s something that was always my goal when we bought this house. I was like, 'I need my spa. That’s my downtime.' Every time we’d go away on holidays when we were younger, we’d always find somewhere with a spa, and that’s when we’d brainstorm, we’d brainstorm stuff. I’m like, 'We should do that.' So that was…
52:45We our ultimate goal is to at the moment, we travel an hour to our studio because we moved an hour away. We would build a studio out here where we are that we can actually have the associate photographers, we can work, all that stuff that we don’t actually physically have to do. Ideally, I’d be shooting 2 to 3 times max and then retire and all that stuff. But we can’t do that at our current studio because our son currently lives there.
57:20My goal. We’d be talking.
54:55I was just gonna say, we’re still going through the hideous process of getting that investment property. But so we were at our studio, so we had the studio and we lived there as well. We purchased the house we’re in now. So now we have two properties under our belt and now we’re getting a third property and we just every now and then, even now, we just look at each other and go, "We."
53:14And that house just isn’t.
53:17It’s not big enough for it.
55:24Want investment property. Is this real?
57:21We’d run holidays in a spa, talking business and trying to write things down. But yeah.
57:29We just don’t spend money, so that’s good.
55:27When did we get in a position where we could actually have investment properties under us? And it’s just still surreal to think.
53:19Whereas, yeah, a big goal of ours for the future is to purchase a property where we can look at that property and go, This will be turned into a studio, the whole house, multiple rooms, multiple sets and stuff. So much more potential than we have now. Not that we don’t have much potential now where we’re at. We looked at it and went, we’re pretty lucky with the studio we have we’ve got three sets, three big rooms that we use, which is a lot of variety already. But you can’t help but go a lot more. That’s definitely a big goal. We have to get that new studio.
54:01Was there any time you guys doubted any of this? Were you any any weak stretch or month stretch where you’re, Damn, I’d rather have a regular job and no past that we had.
55:37But how did it happen? Short time as well.
57:32Well, that helps. Yeah.
54:13I mean, I’ve been self-employed for 15 years, I didn’t want to go work for someone else. I don’t think I could. Yeah.
55:41I will ask. I’ve worked with people that have done crazy years, right? They’ve you. They maybe made a couple six figures, low six figures. And then the next year, they’re making a huge amount, 400, 500,000. And I had a friend that got into really bad financial trouble because they started spending on a wedding again, buy a bunch of cars and stuff. And they got into really big trouble by not paying taxes. So do you guys follow the Profit First system? Do you guys follow any financial?
57:33I’ll still go to the shops to buy a shirt and go, 'Oh, $25 for this shirt. Is that… Oh, I don’t know.' And you… I know I can afford it, but I still have that mental block from being very tight with money. Yeah. Still there?
56:16I think because we’ve always struggled with money. We don’t spending money. It’s we don’t spend money on ourselves. No, it’s hard.
57:52Well, it’s a responsible habit to have.
54:22Yeah.
57:54I don’t spend money.
54:22Now that we might just make way much, way much more money than we did working our 9 to 5. And it’s flexible. If I want to take a day off, I can. As long as I’m not too far booked out at the moment, I can’t because I’m too booked out.
56:26The investment property thing. I probably wouldn’t have even done, to be honest. But it was something that it.
56:34Made more sense to do that than pay taxes.
54:38But what’s the kind of the last question, but what’s the most unique thing that’s happened to you in the last two years? Or a story you can’t even believe has happened to you or something that some nobody knows about?
57:57I was in the military for ten years, and my whole career, I didn’t care about my car. And then that’s the one thing that changed. I definitely care about my cars now, but surprisingly, I don’t fly first class almost ever. I always think about it, and I actually asked my daughter. I was like, 'Would you rather sit first class or coach?' And she said, 'I’d rather sit first class.' And I said, 'Okay, let me ask you a different question. What if I put $1,200 on the coach seat and I told you to go sit back there for four hours, and at the end you get to keep the $1,200, but you don’t get to sit in first class?' She’s like, 'Wait, what? $1,200? What can I buy with $1,200?' I’m like, 'Yes, an iPad. You can buy this.' 'I’d rather go sit in the back. Why would I want to sit in the front for a little bit?' I was like, 'Exactly. That’s the question.'
58:42You should always think about what I’m going to spend. 'What do I really need it?' Yeah. And to answer your question, yes, we do the Profit First system. A certain amount of our income will go into our business expenses. And then, the other part goes into our personal, actually goes against our mortgage at the moment because that’s the easiest way to bring it down.
54:54Oh, I don’t know.
56:36Yeah, we got financial help. And they said, "well, these are the options. You can pay this much to the tax department or you can do this." And it was, "Well, we might as well go down that road and not pour money into the government’s pocket and instead pour it into our own investments."
56:58The only thing that we have bought recently that’s been quite big is our spa. But that’s something that was always my goal when we bought this house was, "I need my spa." That’s my downtime. We every time we’d go away on holidays when we were younger, we’d always find somewhere we were a spa and that’s when our we’d brainstorm stuff. I’m, "We should do that." That was.
59:06Nice. That’s really awesome. Well, thank you so much. Got so much insight from you guys. You guys were a really good interview to do, and I’m super excited to hear that you guys have had so much success.
54:55I was just going to say, we’re still going through the. The hideous process of getting that investment property. But we were at our studio, we had the studio and we lived there as well. We purchased the house we’re in now. Now we have two properties under our belt and now we’re getting a third property and we just every now and then, even now, we just look at each other and go, We.
55:24Want investment property. Is this real?
57:20My we’d be talking.
59:16Thank you. Thank you for your help.
57:21We were on holidays in a spa, talking business and trying to write things down and but yeah.
59:18All right, guys, have a happy Saturday. Does this count as work?
55:27When did we get in a position where we could actually have investment properties under us? And it’s just still a little surreal to think.
55:37But how did it happen? Short time as well.
57:29We just don’t spend money.
59:22No, no, that’s all right. All right.
59:25Guys, have a good morning.
55:41Do you guys? I will ask. I’ve worked with people that have done crazy years, right? They’ve kind of you. They maybe made a couple six-figures, low six-figures. And then, the next year, they’re making a huge amount, 400, 500,000. And I had a friend that got into really bad financial trouble because they started spending on, do a wedding again, buy a bunch of cars and stuff. And they got into really big trouble by not paying taxes. Do you guys follow the Profit First system? Do you guys follow any financial?
57:32Well, that helps.
59:27Thank you so much. Bye.
57:33I’ll still go to the shops to buy a shirt and go, "oh, $25 for this shirt." I don’t know. And you. I know I can afford it, but I don’t want that mental block. You still have from being very tight with money. Still there?
56:16I think because we’ve always struggled with money. We don’t spending money. It’s we don’t spend money on ourselves. No, it’s hard.
56:26The investment property thing. I probably wouldn’t have even done, to be honest. But it was something that it.
57:52Well, it’s a responsible habit to have.
57:54I don’t spend money.
56:34Made more sense to do that than pay taxes.
57:57I was in the military for ten years, and my whole career, I didn’t care about my car. And then that’s the one thing that changed. I definitely care about my cars now, but surprisingly, I don’t fly first class ever. I always think about it, and I actually asked my daughter because I asked her. I was, "Would you rather sit first class or coach?" And she said, "I’d rather sit first class." And I said, "Let me ask you a different question. What if I put $1,200 on the coach seat and I told you to go sit back there for four hours and at the end you get to keep the $1,200, but you don’t get to sit in first class?" She’s, "Wait, what? 1200? What can I buy with 1200?" I’m, "Yes, iPad. You can buy this." It’s, "I’d rather go sit in the back. Why would I want to sit in the front?" I was, "Exactly. That’s the question."
56:36Yeah, we got, we got financial help. And they said, these are the options. You can pay this much to the tax department or you can do this. And it was, we might as well go down that road and, and not pour money into the government’s pocket and instead pour it into our own investments.
58:42You should always think about what I’m going to spend. Do I really need it? And to answer your question, yes, we do the Profit First. So a certain amount of our income will go into our business expenses. And then. The other part goes into our personal actually goes against our mortgage at the moment because that’s the easiest way to bring it down.
56:58The only thing that we have bought recently that’s been quite big is our spa. But that’s something that was always my goal when we bought this house was, I need my spa. That’s that’s my downtime. We every time we’d go away on holidays when we were younger, it was we’d always find somewhere we were a spa and that’s when our we’d brainstorm, we’d brainstorm stuff. I’m, We should do that. That was.
59:06Nice. That’s really awesome. Well, thank you so much. Got so much insight from you guys. You guys were a really good interview to do and I’m super excited to hear that you guys have had so much success.
57:20My we’d be talking.
57:21We run holidays in a spa, talking business and trying to write things down and but.
59:16Thank you. Thank you for your help.
57:29We just don’t spend money, that’s good.
59:18Have a happy Saturday. Does this count as work?
59:22No, that’s all right.
57:32That helps. Yeah.
59:25Have a good morning.
57:33I’ll still, I’ll still go to the shops to buy a shirt and go oh $25 for this shirt. Is that. Oh I don’t know. And you. I know I can afford it, but I don’t want that mental block. You still have from being very tight with money. Yeah. Still there?
57:52It’s a responsible habit to have.
59:27Thank you so much. Bye. Humberto Garcia is the world’s leading photography business growth expert. Founder of Photography to Profits and high-performance coach to multiple 6-figure photography businesses. Humberto coaches photographers from his Special Operations military experience and photography sales and marketing experience. After years of high performance in Marine Special Operations and building businesses, he knows what works. Uber Driver Turned Professional Boudoir Photographer | CoreyBrandon.com Building a Successful Boudoir Photography Studio With Evoke Boudoir. $500k+ a year in Revenue! More Like This
57:54I don’t spend money.
57:57I was in the military for ten years, and my whole career, I didn’t care about my car. And then that’s the one thing that changed. I definitely care about my cars now, but surprisingly, I don’t fly first class almost ever. I always think about it, and I actually asked my daughter because I asked her. I was, Would you rather sit first class or coach? And she said, I’d rather sit first class. And I said, let me ask you a different question. What if I put $1,200 on the coach seat and I told you to go sit back there for four hours and at the end you get to keep the $1,200, but you don’t get to sit in first class. She’s, Wait, what? 1200? What can I buy with 1200? I’m, iPad. You can buy this. It’s, I’d rather go sit in the back. Why would I want to sit in the front for a little bit? I was, Exactly. That’s the question.
58:42You should always think about what I’m going to spend. What do I really need it? Yeah. And to answer your question, yes, we do do the Profit First. We a certain amount of our income will go into our business expenses. And then. The other part goes into our personal actually goes against our mortgage at the moment because that’s the easiest way to bring it down.
59:06Nice. That’s really awesome. Thank you so much. Got so much insight from you guys. You guys were a really good interview to do and I’m super excited to hear that you guys have had so much success.
59:16Thank you. Thank you for your help.
59:18Guys, have a happy Saturday. Does this count as work?
59:22No, no, that’s all right.
59:25Guys, have a good morning.
59:27Thank you so much. Bye. Humberto Garcia is the world’s leading photography business growth expert. Founder of Photography to Profits and high-performance coach to multiple six-figure photography businesses. Humberto coaches photographers from his special operations military experience and photography sales and marketing experience. After years of high performance in Marine Special Operations and building businesses, he knows what works. Previous Uber Driver Turned Professional Boudoir Photographer | CoreyBrandon.com Next Building a Successful Boudoir Photography Studio With Evoke Boudoir. 500k+ a year in Revenue! Next More Like This