EPISODE #097
Erasing the Board – Creating a Future Vision for Your Business
Guest: Lesa and Gregory Daniel
Gregory Daniel Portraits
Titusville, Florida
gregorydanielportraits.com
DATE: September 28, 2023
How often do we get in our own way?
It happens all the time, especially as a photographer.
- We look for inspiration from other photographers (a little too much)
- We make changes based on trends instead of our gut (“What’s everyone else doing?”)
- We get stuck in a rut because we don’t slow down long enough to be intentional about our work and how we are doing or delivering it to our clients
We do all of this when what we really need to do is erase the board.
Erasing the board is a concept from the brilliant minds of Gregory and Lesa Daniels who have had a thriving, successful photography business for many years. Through the years, there have been many iterations of their business and each time they’ve needed to pivot and make a change – they “erase the board;” starting over, if you will from a place of “what if?”.
They’re currently entering a new phase of their lives (hello grandkids!) but they still love what they do. So they have a decision to make, keep working the same way they always have, or reimagine their schedule and their lives to incorporate what is most important to them both at work and in their personal lives.
If you are a portrait photographer trying to figure out how to keep paying the bills with your work, while maintaining some personal freedom, this conversation is exactly what you need.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How to give yourself permission to dream about what’s possible.
- When to slow down and erase the board.
- Why you should look outside the industry for inspiration.
Here’s a glance at this episode:
- [2:51] – There have been many iterations of Gregory and Lesa’s business. They share some of the things that go into making decisions to change.
- [5:38] – For Gregory and Lesa, a lot of the changes they’ve made in their business have lined up with their kids.
- [7:39] – The shift from weddings to portraits is very common.
- [8:43] – You have to give yourself time to dream about a change.
- [10:50] – There are some questions to ask yourself when you feel the itch to make a change.
- [12:01] – What would it look like if it could look different?
- [15:54] – The first step is to just give yourself permission to dream about what is possible.
- [17:09] – You don’t dream and then make a massive change. You need to learn the skill before implementing something.
- [21:22] – While maybe you sell one or two things, you can offer many other things that you don’t have to market.
- [25:21] – Clients have been trained to only want 8x10s and 5x7s. We need to open their eyes to what is possible.
- [31:32] – Gregory and Lesa explain how their dreaming turned into making a change.
- [34:08] – The vision doesn’t have to be completely clear before you start to create it.
- [36:08] – When making big decisions, there are a lot of things to consider. It has to clear a lot of “gates”.
- [39:20] – Your brand really comes first.
- [41:56] – Your brand is built by what you know. But you can intentionally decide what you want your brand to become.
- [43:28] – You can give yourself permission to stop and start over with your brand in mind.
- [45:57] – When you erase the board, you aren’t erasing yourself.
- [48:04] – To find inspiration, you need to look outside the industry.
- [50:03] – With the busy season coming up, take the time to dream now.
- [53:07] – Gregory and Lesa share the changes they have come up with to ensure that they have time for the things they love and their grandkids.
- [56:54] – After dreaming about their “hibernation,” they had to figure out all the little things.
- [60:09] – The key is to be intentional.
Links and Resources:
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Gregory and Lesa Daniel
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