5 Steps to Finding the RIGHT Photography Mentor
A few weeks ago, I dropped $15k to join a coaching program.
That's a lot of money. But I'm not one to shy away from learning the skills I need to in order to become a better business owner and serve my clients at the highest level. Often times, that means investing in education and mentorship of some kind.
But I wasn't always so quick to invest in myself. In fact, I remember the very first business coach I hired years ago.
At that point in time in my photography business, I was booked solid. There were literally no openings in my calendar for months in advance and I was making a good deal of money. On the outside, everything looked perfect.
But it wasn't perfect.
For one, I was working way too many hours. I had too much on my plate. I was on the brink of burn out. And I knew that if I didn't get help soon, it was just a matter of time before things would implode.
So I hoped on the phone with the coach I was considering to hear more about her program. It sounded wonderful.
She then told me the price: $5000.
And my heart sank. Although my business was making quite a bit of money, my costs were way too high. I wasn't wisely managing what I was making so it felt like I didn't have enough.
So even though I knew in my gut I needed this person's help, I said that I couldn't move forward in working with her in that moment.
For the next six months, I continued to work around the clock: shooting, editing, ordering appointments, marketing, sales, admin, and on and on.
Though bookings and sales continued to come in, I wasn't happy with the business I created. I knew it could be better, but I didn't know how to make it happen on my own.
So six months later, I finally got fed up enough with where I was that I messaged that coach and told her I was ready to move forward with her ASAP.
I still didn't have the money, but I knew in my gut that by not learning from her, I'd be losing money in the long run. So I decided to move forward with PayPal credit hoping and praying that I could have it paid off as quickly as possible.
We dove in working together. From her I learned better pricing strategies, automated marketing systems, productive client workflow and so much more.
Working with that coach was so pivotal that within the the first two months of hiring her, I was able to completely pay off the loan I took work work with her plus over $11,000 we had in medical debt at the time. And that was all ON TOP of my normal business expenses and salary.
Not only that, but my business became FUN again. I was able to enjoy more time with my family WHILE having a profitable business!
After getting results like that so quickly, I was kicking myself for having waited six months to actually sign up for coaching. That was six months of wasted time, stress I didn't need to experience and sleepless nights I could have been resting.
Thankfully in the end, I decided to move forward and to this day, it is still one of the best business decisions I've made.
And just recently, as I said, I paid $15k to take part in another program....this time I didn't wait six months to move forward. I have learned that the best, most fun and fastest way to get what you want, in other words a fully booked and profitable photography business, is to find someone who has done just that, helped others do the same and has a proven pathway for helping you get there, too.
If you have big photography business goals and would like some help, accountability and support reaching them, here are 5 tips to find the RIGHT mentor for right now:
1 . Set specific goals for what you want to achieve in business.
There are a ton of resources, programs, mentorships and coaches available today. Each one will have its unique stand, expertise and solutions. In order to figure out which option is best for you, it is imperative you first define what is the thing you most want to learn or achieve in your next phase in business.
2. Find someone who has achieved the goals you want to achieve or has had success in teaching others what you want to learn.
You can never be too careful these days. Anyone can portray anything they want online so how do you really know they have the solution to the problem you're looking to solve? Personally, I look at the track record of the coach I'm considering hiring or the program I'm considering joining. Do they offer helpful and valuable insight on their social media or in their emails? Or are they constantly pitching way too much and come off as salesy? Has the coach achieved what they say they teach? Do they have a lot of testimonials backing up their process? Success leaves clues so whomever you are considering learning from ought to have something to back up what they say they can do.
3. Get comfortable being uncomfortable.
Investing in yourself can be uncomfortable. Even when you find the right coach or program, you may still feel nervous or anxious pulling the trigger. That's normal and to be expected. The uncomfortable moments usually point you in the direction you need to go in order to experience growth.
Another helpful thing is to imagine your future self who has the success you want. What would that future, successful, fully booked person tell you to do when it comes to investing in your education?
When we get in the habit of making decisions and investments based off of where we want to go and not necessarily where we currently are, we'll get to where we want to be a lot faster.
4. Hire the coach or join the program that offers accountability.
This may be a personal choice on my part, but I think this is SO VITAL! It's statistically proven that you show up more, will work harder and go further when you have an accountability system in place. Self study programs are ok. I'm in a few, but I've also noticed that I see a much greater return on my investment when I join programs and hire coaches who offer some sort of accountability to help me stay on track, as well as a place to ask questions when I get stuck.
Little side note here: I believe so much in personal accountability that we most definitely offer it in our mentorship. It’s one of the best ways we can come along side, support and encourage the photographers we work with so that they get maximum results in the shortest amount of time. If you’re curious to learn more about our mentorship and the accountability we provide, schedule a call to speak with our team here!
And finally 5. Don't limit your learning to just one coach or mentor.
Again, there are a lot of great mentors you can choose to learn from! Why limit yourself to just one? Though investing in a program and getting personalized attention is where you will see the most ROI, spend time listening to podcasts, reading business books or watching free videos from a trusted coach off of YouTube.
So let me know in the comments below: What do you look for when it comes to investing in your business or hiring a coach to work with?
Cheering you on!
Heather
P.S. If happen to actively be looking for a coach or program to help you confidently attract your ideal photography client create consistent income every month, perhaps The Booked Photographer Mentorship might be the right fit for you! With hundreds of photographers inside, we have the proof that our method works PERIOD, plus it comes with personalized accountability and support (remember from #4 from above - this is super important)! So if you're interested in learn more, check out more details here and apply. At this time, we only have 6 open slots.