So often when were starting our photography journey, the order of events is something like this: passion>job>lose passion>burn out. How do we keep the heart in what we do? How do we keep the passion?
It starts with us and how we're doing.
In this episode, Adam and Benj Haisch talk about how they avoid hiccups in weddings, how to find your niche, and how Benj strategies his Instagram into his business and marketing strategy.
Follow Benj Haisch on Instagram
@benjhaisch
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Jeremy Cowart is a fantastic mix of an idea master, but also someone who can execute on those ideas. From photographing Taylor Swift, the Kardashians, Garth Brooks, Tim Tebow and more celebrities than we can list, to launching the first hotel that gives back to those in need around the world, Jeremy is an incredible inspiration to me and many others.
In this episode, Jeremy and I talk about the beginning of his career, finding his first agent, different ideas that have failed and succeeded, and how to keep chasing ideas.
Follow Jeremy Cowart
@jeremycowart
Find out more information about The Purpose Hotel
https://www.thepurposehotel.com/
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Mike Morby of Morby Photography is one of my heroes. His Business Workshop was the first workshop or education I ever paid money to. I had heard so many good things about his business and how he helped others get their numbers straight, I had to attend. It changed my business forever and I'm excited to have him on the podcast!
In today's episode, Mike & I chat to discuss how vendor and venue relationships changed his business, how he runs his associate program and most importantly WHY he runs his business the way he does.
Follow Morby Photography on Instagram:
@morbyphotography
Mike Morby's Business Workshop (Only a few spots left!!!)
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If you do not plan your calendar, your calendar will plan you. Creatives who run their own businesses have ultimate freedom, which is both beautiful and debilitating. Marirosa has been a photographer for 13 years and manages a family, 35 weddings a year and a full-time job in Washington DC. She knows her calendar!
In this episode, learn the tips and tricks to managing your time and making sure you have a healthy hold on your business, what success means to you, and how to start now.
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@photobymarirosa
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After a few years of running your own business, many entrepreneurs wonder "what's next?". For Gavin Wade, founder and CEO of CloudSpot, a lightning fast photo storage and delivery app, it was making the move from full-time wedding photographer, to software creation and sales.
In this episode Adam speaks with Gavin about how he started, what made him switch careers and how he gives back in his free time.
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The photography industry has been divided for years over weddings. Many photographers I talk to say “I could never shoot a wedding nor would I want to”, while I and many others go to work every weekend telling stories in our own way of amazing people.
But shooting weddings can be beneficial to you as a person, and a photographer. In this episode, Adam talks through the proper steps, prep and mindset to successfully photograph your first wedding.
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Kathryn & Devin Robinson of Anchor & Veil Photography have created a successful and sustainable business through their passion for integrity, loving on their clients and their incredible work.
In this episode, we dive into how their business started and how they keep it running well now while always innovating on their work.
Follow Anchor & Veil on Instagram: @anchorandveil
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Shooting your first destination wedding is no easy task. Becoming a destination photographer, or running a business from two different locations 3,000 miles apart is even more difficult. Doing that, while starting a new relationship and eventually getting married? James & Jess have done it.
In this episode with the incredible James & Jess, they share how they started shooting together, the boundaries they put in place to run a successful destination wedding photography business as a couple, and their inspiration for taking on this bold challenge.
Follow James & Jess' work here:
@jessfairchild
@jameswitty
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The Bearded Tog podcast is created by mashed potato lover Adam Mason
Ever sold a wedding album? Even in my years of business, I've sold less than I've wanted to. My friend Alicia has always seemed to sell a ton. Turns out, about 80% of her clients buy her albums! That is insanity! I wanted to interview her on how she achieves numbers like that and runs her business with intention.
I met Alicia Candelora Daw from Alicia Ann Photographers on my second wedding ever! It was so long ago that I was shooting video of the wedding! She's always been an open book with how she runs her business, loves her team and her family. After being in business for years, she possesses a wealth of knowledge about many subjects, but selling more albums is my favorite secret of hers!
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@aliciaann_daw
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The Bearded Tog podcast is created by mashed potato lover Adam Mason
No matter what stage of business you're in, you need to have a system. A system or process can outline anything from the client onboarding process, to how many steps from shooting to editing an event. When you have a system or process, it'll help you not miss particular steps and make certain pieces of your business repeatable which can help if someone else helps you with your business. Your systems are how things work internally for the brand, but your systems affect your brand which affects how your clients feel.
Someone I look up to in their systemization and branding is Lauren Miller of Lauren Louise Photography, out of Washington DC. Her brand is colorful and consistent. That's her first impression alongside her work. In addition, she's got great systems setup for managing multiple clients and processes to help her business grow and be more streamlined.
Follow Lauren Louise:
Instagram @laurenlouisephoto
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The Bearded Tog podcast is created by mashed potato lover Adam Mason
Search Engine Optimization or SEO for short is one of the big topics that's bound to come up during the life of your business. Often times overlooked or taught poorly, making sure your SEO is solid is the difference between staying busy and hoping for leads. After a few years of ranking in Google for a few of my favorite keywords, I too can attest to this.
Dylan Howell is an incredible photographer based out of Portland, Oregon. Not only is his work fantastic but his SEO is super strong and he's learned how to share the basics with us on The Bearded Tog. We talk about Google Analytics and Search Console, Squarespace vs Wordpress, and the best plugins and apps to setup and track your SEO rankings.
Follow Dylan Howell
Instagram: @dylanmhowell
Join Dylan's Patreon: SEO for Photographers
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The Bearded Tog podcast is created by mashed potato lover Adam Mason
Following the rise of the #MeToo movement, stories coming out of Hollywood, news organizations, and other places of power have caused an uptick in much-needed awareness regarding how devastatingly widespread sexual harassment and assault are in today's society, including creative fields.
The leadership at Rising Tide Society and Honeybook wanted to collect data on how widespread these acts are specifically amongst Rising Tide Society members. There was an anonymous survey sent out amongst the members where people could share their stories, how these acts affected their work/creative environment, and other information.
Many entrepreneurs don't have an HR department or someone they can go to from a business perspective but hopefully this episode will shed some light on how widespread sexual harassment and assault are in the occupations of Rising Tide Society and Honeybook members and some advice on what you can do if you or someone you know has been hurt by these acts.
This one is a tough but necessary episode for The Bearded Tog audience. You are not alone. Here are some of the helpful links Kait Masters shares in this episode:
Results & Insights from Sexual Harassment & Assault Survey
Sexual Harassment in the Wedding Industry (Honeybook Blog)
Back Off: How to Confront and Stop Sexual Harassment and Harassers by Martha Langelan
Connect with Rising Tide Society & Kait Masters:
Instagram @RisingTideSociety & @larkspurandlaurel
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The Bearded Tog podcast is created by mashed potato lover Adam Mason
Ever attend an Instagram meetup and feel like you're not good enough? Carl and I have both been there. You don't have enough followers, your work isn't cool and you leave the meetup wishing you'd have never even attended.
That was before Walk With Locals existed. Carl Maynard or @carlnard founded Walk With Locals organically with friends and a few strangers. From there, he wanted it to simply be about community. No one was ever asked for their social media handle or how any followers they had. Even after a few years of growth and success, Carl still doesn't leverage the influence of Walk With Locals for anything other than the sake of the community.
I chat with Carl about how he launched Walk With Locals and what inspired him to do so. We also discuss feeling lonely or unappreciated when someone asks us "what's your handle?" and we don't have "enough" followers.
If you're looking for community, or simply want to hear a hopeful and optimistic take on Instagram friendships, this episode is for you.
Follow Carl Maynard & Walk With Locals
@carlnard
@walkwithlocals
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The Bearded Tog podcast is created by mashed potato lover Adam Mason
For 2018, The Bearded Tog is diving into topics that may make us feel nervous, embarrassed, or even make us cringe. Despite how we feel, we should always hope to learn perspective and engage with others to help make our creative community a better place.
In this episode, I talk with Gary Williams Jr, founder of the Creative Agency out of Washington, DC about racism and prejudice in the creative industry. From movie nominations, the failed Pepsi commercial to personal stories from Gary's career, we discuss what we can do as creators to help move this world forward.
I'm inspired by Gary and hope you are too.
Follow Gary Williams Jr @masterwilliams
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The Bearded Tog podcast is created by mashed potato lover Adam Mason
Over this year I've read almost 20 books, some of which were business related and other just personal. Of the business books I read, these FIVE incredible books changed how my business was this year but will exist the next decade!
Books take time, but the knowledge is worth it! I'd encourage you to read at least one of these books within the New Year to really take your business to the next level. Here are some affiliate links to the books:
How to Win Friends and Influence People
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The Bearded Tog podcast is created by mashed potato lover Adam Mason
Every year around this time, creatives and especially wedding photographers wonder what next year will be like. Some are confident and prepared for the next year: finances are in order, lots of clients are booked for next year, and they can rest easy during the holidays.
For others, it's not that simple. Maybe it's an inconsistent year or you haven't booked what you thought or what you need to make life work. The emails come in, but you're not hearing back from clients after you send them your pricing or maybe they've decided to go with someone else. You feel hopeless.
In this episode, I discuss why you're not being booked, reveal data from over 600 photographers and where they're at for next year and what you can do now to level up during the holiday season.
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The Bearded Tog podcast is created by mashed potato lover Adam Mason
When you first start any hobby or business, you begin ironing out your processes. Everything from how you collect payments to prepping for a particular gig. Surprises happen and then you learn from those surprises. Eventually, you get into a groove.
But years from now, you, you may need to make bigger and bolder changes. That entire groove you were in, may need to change. It's scary, but sometimes it determines how successful your business will be in the future.
In this episode, my good friend Sarah Bradshaw is honest about the decisions she thought she was "supposed" to make and how after coaching and researching, she decided against making those decisions. Sarah is an incredibly successful and magical wedding photographer in the Washington DC area.
See Sarah's work on Instagram:
@sarahcbradshaw
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The Bearded Tog podcast is created by mashed potato lover Adam Mason
If you're like me, the word "brand" makes you want to throw up in your mouth a little bit. It gets thrown around and honestly, I think that makes many of us not want to work on it.
But the truth is we can't hide the facts that 1) we have a brand 2) it does have importance and 3) we want the brand to reflect what clients we are looking to attract, so we can continue to enjoy what we do.
In this episode, photographer and food-lover Lauren Carnes describes how her background in branding and marketing has helped shape her photography business as well as shape it over the years to reflect her current passions. If you're dying for a change in your business or simply want to try something new, this episode is for you.
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The Bearded Tog podcast is created by mashed potato lover Adam Mason
Multiple times in my business, my personal work has captured the attention of those who were willing and ready to pay for it. It was awesome. Ashleigh Bing is a master of that now and has even gone viral in doing so.
Ashleigh Bing has been featured on Inside Edition, The Huffington Post, ABC News, CBS, NBC, Good Morning America, and the Today show just to name a few. All of this from one idea, one post, one piece of personal work she decided to take on. She shares about this and more in this episode!
Follow Ashleigh Bing
@ashleighbing
https://www.ashleighbingphotography.com/
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The Bearded Tog podcast is created by mashed potato lover Adam Mason
What would happen if you weren't able to work all of a sudden? Do you have a plan in place? People that you'd trust to continue the work for you?
Like many of us, Katelyn James had built her business to rely solely on her ability to show up and make things happen. But when things happened to her like a surprise tax bill or an urgent surgery, she knew she needed to have a plan in place for her sanity and her family.
In this episode, Katelyn James shares the details of adjusting and planning for transition times in her life, dealing with sticky client situations, and talks about her finance philosophy for both her business and personal life.
Follow Katelyn James:
Instagram: @KatelynJames
Website: http://katelynjames.com/
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The Bearded Tog podcast is created by mashed potato lover Adam Mason
Instagram! Everybody loves Instagram but only a portion of those people are generating actual leads and income from the app. Like many of you, I've been there. I put time into Instagram, the feed, the photos, the captions, even the description, but nothing.
It doesn't have to be that way. Through Tyler McCall's education, he's been able to help small businesses convert followers into paying clients and maximize their efforts. He also gets super real and talks about dealing with struggle and loss in his personal life, and how that affected his business.
Connect With Tyler McCall:
@tylerjmccall
The IG Advantage Facebook Group
FollowerToFanSociety.com
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The Bearded Tog podcast is created by mashed potato lover Adam Mason
New photographers! Want to break into the wedding business? What about second shooting? What if you could use second shooting as a way to grow your own business while still honoring the other photographers in your community?
I see a lot of new photographers make mistakes when they want to start doing weddings and second shooting. In this episode, I'll teach you how to be the most sought after second shooter in your community, make more money, and become a better photographer. From getting second shooting gigs, to maximizing your photos after the wedding, this episode is for you!
Connect With Me:
@masonphotography
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The Bearded Tog podcast is created by mashed potato lover Adam Mason
What do brands like Apple, Nike, and Whole Foods have in common? They all have a group of their customers that are their tribe! A tribe is your most supportive past, current and sometimes future customers that end up doing a ton of marketing FOR YOU.
Hope Taylor has done just that with her photography business. Between weddings, education and a thriving senior spokesmodel program, Hope Taylor has created a group of clients who are so ecstatic about her work that they can't help but share about it. She's also been able to formalize the process of getting potential clients excited about working with her, before they even send their first email.
Hope Taylor is 21 years old. She started her business at just 16 and has essentially skipped college to maintain her amazing business. In this episode she shares tips on how to start your own tribe, how she dealt with malicious people, and encourages people to be authentic.
Connect With Hope Taylor:
@hopetaylorphotography
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The Bearded Tog podcast is created by mashed potato lover Adam Mason
Have you ever used an external hard drive? Is your data safe? If your computer broke into pieces today, would you have all of your client images?
In this episode, I talk about my backup strategy and how I keep all of my data safe. From my computer to my external hard drives and cloud backup, this is a nerdy episode about everything I do to backup and what you should do too!
Dropbox: Sign Up
Backblaze: Sign Up
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The Bearded Tog podcast is created by mashed potato lover Adam Mason