Ready to Wander Season 2 – Episode 19

Hey, hey! I’m Sydney Breann, and welcome back to the Ready to Wander Podcast. I’m joined once again by my sweet friend, Laura Burns of Laura Burns Photography! Laura was on the pod not too long ago where we spilled some real wedding day advice. If you haven’t listened to that episode, I highly recommend it if you’re in the midst of wedding planning. But today’s episode with Laura is a business chat dedicated to prioritizing yourself to better serve your clients as a wedding photographer. 

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Tips for Wedding and Elopement Photographers

As two full-time wedding photographers, we know just how many highs and lows come from working from home and being entrepreneurs. And while Laura and I reside in different areas of the US, the one thing that is most consistent between us is the value we place in our clients’ experience. So whether you’re a photographer, another wedding professional, or an entrepreneur in a different field completely, the experience you give your consumer is what keeps folks coming back. The experience begins with your website and the first communication exchanged. 

While Laura and I could absolutely sit here and chat about how to set up your business for success, we’ve got other things in store. Today, we’re chatting about the importance of taking care of yourself and how doing so can elevate your clients’ overall experience with you. By prioritizing your mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual health, you’ll be able to give your clients 100% knowing that you fill fulfilled. If any of those areas do not receive enough attention, you will end up feeling burnt out and leave your clients wanting more from you. 

Prioritizing Yourself as a Business Owner

Prioritize a Solid Work-Life Balance

Making more room in your life for hobbies and relationships might be a no-brainer. But so many entrepreneurs (like myself) find themselves wanting to work, work, work. I find myself guilty of this during certain seasons of life or if I’m anticipating a new project coming my way. But you are more than a business owner: you’re a person first. Your relationships and hobbies deserve space in your life.

Establish Set Work Hours

Working for yourself is amazing. The flexibility and freedom to work whenever, wherever is such an incredible feeling. However, for the sake of your sanity, you need to establish set work hours. Put office hours in your contract, your email signature, and as an auto-reply. Additionally, when you are out of office, turn your notifications off! If you’re like Laura and me, you probably love the “Do Not Disturb” feature on your phone. Log out of social media, set your out of office, and just embrace being disconnected. 

Value Self Care

Whether you feel the most relaxed enjoying a massage, going on a vacation, or jamming to worship music on a scenic drive, self care is everything as an entrepreneur. In the world of comparison and hustle culture, it’s easy to feel like you need to do more. But the cliche saying about not being able to pour from an empty cup couldn’t be more applicable. 

Learn to Say “No”

If you’re also a certified people-pleaser, I want to encourage you to set up some boundaries for your business. Set a goal number of weddings, elopements, or shoots. And then: stick to that goal! You do not need to take every inquiry that comes your way. If you hop on a consult call and don’t feel like you’re vibing, don’t be afraid to (kindly) express that. Every couple deserves a photographer who is excited to document their day. If you’re not giddy just thinking about a couple’s day, it’s probably not a good fit. 

Additionally, if an opportunity overlaps with events that are important to you, don’t be afraid to say no. Sometimes a paycheck isn’t worth missing out on important moments with those most important to you. I’ll be the first to admit that it is hard to say no (especially when focusing on growing your business). But every decision comes with a cost. 

Prioritizing yourself is the best way to effectively elevate your client experience. Once you’ve established healthier boundaries within your personal life, you’ll have more time to dedicate to creating timelines, answering emails, creating guides, and more. BUT, just as there are ways you can prioritize your personal wellbeing, there are ways you can run your business more efficiently. 

Best Practices for a Healthy Business

Delegate and Outsource Tasks

Not to sound like a broken record, but I cannot recommend outsourcing tasks that do not bring you joy enough! I even have a FREEBIE to help you learn how to outsource in your photography business, too. Freeing up valuable time to dedicate to other areas of your business or life will leave you feeling far more fulfilled than any joyless task will. Laura and I both outsource portions of our business to the same virtual assistant! CP Productivity takes care of my blogging and Pinterest, and Laura’s social media. 

Time-Block

Divide your days by work and leisure to ensure a well-rounded day. Maybe you spend the morning running errands, reading, and walking the dog. Whereas your afternoon and evenings are dedicated to editing or shoots. It can also be super helpful to split your days up by task as well. Monday-Wednesday are dedicated editing days, Thursdays are for administrative tasks, and Fridays are completely off. Heavy emphasis on taking Fridays off – but it’s truly whatever works best for you.

And for the love of all things, schedule that vacation! Don’t wait until you’re in the midst of busy season to find a random week here and there to do something. Prioritize time off and use just like you would with a 9-5 day job. There’s literal science behind the anticipation of an event releasing equivalent amounts of dopamine as the actual thing we are looking forward to. So many of us work best knowing that we have something to look forward to. 

Take Breaks

I know we just touched on the importance of vacations, but taking breaks during your work day is also important. Set timers to avoid hyper fixation (where my ADHD girlies at?!) or utilize the Pomodoro Technique. If you’re not familiar with that technique, it’s a method of mixing work with another task. You’ll set a time for 25 minutes of uninterrupted work. When those 25 minutes are up, give yourself a 5 minute break to switch laundry or play a quick game of fetch. And the cycle continues! This can be a super great tool to utilize if you find yourself low on motivation. 

As entrepreneurs, it can also be tough to take a dedicated lunch break. It’s way too tempting to just eat your lunch at your desk. But the feeling of closing your laptop for an hour and enjoying a meal on your patio is unmatched.

Utilize To-Do Lists

Laura and I both love our to-do lists. I personally use 4 lists to keep my life on track. I have a to-do today, this week, this month, and “all time” list. This helps me easily divvy up my tasks to avoid overwhelm. Laura is a big fan of the “brain dump”. At the beginning of the week, she writes everything down that she needs to do. Once it’s all on paper, she’s able to organize it by priority (and cross off some no-brainers like walking the dog). 

Invest in Wellness Activities

Personally, I decided that this year was going to be the year where I valued on my hobbies. For my business, this looked like setting the boundary of not working on weekends. I bought a piano and started playing again. I’ve planned camping, backpacking, fishing, and rafting trips. AND I’m going on one business retreat. By mixing in a hobby like travel with a business retreat, I just feel even more accomplished and fulfilled. There’s a gal I follow on Instagram (Menstrual Mogal) who also has a podcast I listen to. As a fellow business owner, I love her motto: “the more I take care of myself, the more money I make.” By keeping that mantra in mind, I have been able to shift my relationship with my work-life business into one more sustainable. 

Laura loves to spend time walking on local trails, bird-watching, and reconnecting with nature and the Lord. In this last year, Laura has also made goals to read more books and cook more. Since she has started to truly romanticize her life again, she’s discovered enjoyment that she never thought was possible. 

Manage Client Expectations

This is a huge one that can be tough for so many business owners. Even as Laura and I sit here and chat about the importance of prioritizing yourself to better your client experience, it can sound counter-intuitive. While we absolutely want to pour into our clients, it’s important to establish boundaries and manage those expectations upfront. Put your work hours in your contract, communicate your response times, and any additional limitations to ensure each party has realist expectations moving forward. 

Investing in a solid client management system is an invaluable resource for lightening your load and continuing to provide a stellar client experience. The flexibility to automate responses or just make the response experience easier is such a game-changer. 

Importance of Self-Care as a Business Owner

Having solid, healthy business practices in-place can make all the difference in your life. Combining those healthy business practices with self-care will provide you with thriving relationships both in your personal and business life. Knowing that everything is taken care of will allow you to give 100% to all areas in your life, rather than divvying your priorities up. Prioritizing yourself to better serve your business is worth all the upfront work.

Establishing these healthy practices is important whether your’e a full-time business owner or you’re just getting started. Even when Laura’s time was divided, she leaned into creating a healthier lifestyle to avoid burnout. Outsourcing was the most important thing she noted. Because her days were already stretched thin between her day job and photography business, something had to give. Additionally, establishing boundaries and setting clear expectations with her husband was something that also paved the way for her success. 

Outsourcing in Your Photography Business

I know we just had an episode not too long ago about the importance of outsourcing in your photography business, but I loved picking Laura’s brain on the impact outsourcing has had in her life. One of the most impactful things Laura mentioned to me was that just because she is the one person running the business, doesn’t mean she has to be the ONLY one behind it. In discovering parts of her business that were unenjoyable, Laura decided to take the leap and outsource. 

Laura outsources editing and social media. Over the years, Instagram lost its appeal, but she recognized the importance of still showing up on social media. By outsourcing her social media, Laura still maintains an active presence without having to sacrifice her mental health. Even though outsourcing costs money, Laura has been able to see the value in what outsourcing means: buying back your valuable time. 

Additionally, outsourcing culling and editing has made a huge impact in Laura’s business. Even though the love for editing remains, a time came when she realized how quickly editing a full wedding drained her. Editing takes time! So by outsourcing the culling and editing process, Laura has been able to eliminate hours spent toggling between photos and staring at her computer until the wee hours of the morning. 

Prioritizing Wellness as a Wedding Photographer

Like I mentioned earlier, I made the decision earlier this year to stop working weekends. That alone made an instant difference in my mental capacity. I’m very fortunate that the majority of my work is elopements – which frequently occur on weekdays. So, knowing that I have weekends free to spend with my husband (who works Monday through Friday) has given me a joy a didn’t know I was lacking. I also enjoy slower mornings to set myself up for success. By taking time to read, workout, and make nourishing meals, I feel more rejuvenated to tackle my day. 

My workday starts around noon, which has been such a blessing! I’ve also started to plan my schedule around my life, rather than my business. Rather than waiting to schedule vacations or trips back home, I block time off in advance. My blocked off time is also used for hobbies, relaxation, and just enjoying my life.

While Laura photographs elopements too, she can most often be found photographing large, traditional weddings. And as we know, 95% of those occur on weekends. So Laura has prioritized her mental wellbeing by listening to her body. Because Laura has ADHD, her work-life balance can take a different kind of effort than someone who is neurotypical. By giving herself grace and space, she has been able to discover what works best for her life. Sometimes, the mental block wins — and that’s okay. Self-care is productive. 

How to Set Healthy Boundaries as a Business Owner

If you’re a photographer or business owner who is struggling to establish boundaries with clients, we’ve gotchu covered. Establishing a sustainable system is the most effective first step towards setting boundaries. By building a routine, and starting small, you are far more likely to succeed than if you try to make a huge lifestyle shift overnight. Here’s Laura and my best tips for setting boundaries:

• Start small. Write down what you want your days to look like. Whether it includes a walk or meditation, slowly start implementing those changes.
• Habit stack. I highly recommend habit stacking – which is adding a new goal on-top of something you already do. If you want to journal in the morning for 15 minutes, but you already sit outside with a cup of coffee, consider adding journaling to that time. 
• Give yourself grace. Something Laura mentioned is the importance of shifting her mindset towards grace. In the past, if she strayed from her goals, she’d get discouraged and give up. But by reminding herself that off-days are okay, she’s been able to accomplish far more goals.

Self Reflection Exercise for Photographers

Before we up this week’s episode of the Ready to Wander Podcast, we wanted to leave our photographer friends with a little exercise.

1. Take a moment to write down 5 things you love to do outside of photography. It could be reading a book, going on a nature walk, cooking, or practicing a creative hobby like painting.
2. Commit to integrating what you enjoy into your schedule. Write down 5 specific ways you could allocate time for these self-care activities regularly. Be realistic about the time you can dedicate and choose strategies that will work for you. This might look like setting aside 30 minutes each morning, or dedicating one weeknight each week for your activity.
3. Reflect on your commitment. Take a moment to reflect on your commitment; try to actually internalize your desire to prioritize yourself. Think of the positive impact each addition could have to your life.
4. Optional: share your commitments with an accountability partner. We are far more likely to accomplish a goal if we have someone to keep us accountable. Confide in your partner, friend, or mentor about your goals. 

Eduction for Elopement Photographers | Sydney Breann Photography

UFFDA! That was such a good, fulfilling episode with my sweet friend, Laura. We truly hope this episode about prioritizing yourself to better serve your clients makes a positive difference in your life. We are so excited for you to start chasing (and choosing) JOY. Take care of yourself is productive and pivotal to a well-rounded life. 

Be sure to check out Laura on Instagram (@lauraburnsphotography). And while you’re over there, feel free to check out my latest adventures (@sydneybreannphoto). If you’ve missed any of the latest episodes of Season 2 of the Ready to Wander Podcast, you can check them out HERE! But until next time, are you ready to wander?