If you follow me on instagram, you know that I have 3 of the most adorable dogs ever! Annie & Maggie are my 2 miniature labradoodles & Lucy is my little rescue. They are constantly making an appearance in my stories, reels and an occasional Facebook Live. If you’re a dog person, you know how it is.

Because they are such a big part of my life and have taught me so much, I wanted to see if I could create a podcast around that. This one should be fun. It’s stretching me a little bit, but you get better when you’re a little outside your comfort zone, right?

Before we get started, I want to mention 2 things to you. First is something I’m very excited about & in fact, by the time this episode is live, I will have hosted my first Business After Hours. I pre record the episodes so I’m just gonna say we had an amazing time because there’s no doubt we did!

So what is Business After Hours?

Well, this is complimentary, no strings attached small group business coaching with me. And yep, it’s after business hours. These are hosted every other Monday evening for a small group of photographers who want to get a little help in their businesses. I’ll focus a lot on mindset & strategy to help you solve a small issue you might be dealing with. This is completely complementary, absolutely free, no strings attached. It’s a way for me to meet some of you guys, see what’s up in the industry and give back to my community.

So if that sounds like something you might be interested in & you’d like an invitation to grab a seat at the table, let me know at www.seniorstudiosuccess.com/afterhours.

I’m so excited to get to put faces with names & talk to y’all.

Ok, I want to brag on a few of my students inside Studio Secrets. They don’t know I’m doing this, but I am just so proud of them & the progress they are making. And it’s not just in their businesses. It’s in their personal lives too. It’s in the way they think about themselves. It’s in the way they show up in the world. It’s in the way they have started to master their minds to believe that they can actually do this thing.

On Fridays I ask them to share some of their wins in our private facebook group and I want to highlight a few of those here today. We share the big stuff, little stuff, personal & business, so you’ll hear a mixture of it in these.

How awesome is all of that?! I love Fridays in Studio Secrets! All that hard work starts paying off. Spring is almost here & they are about to start putting into practice all that we’ve put in place in their businesses over the winter. That means we’ll hit some more walls to tear down & some more obstacles to get over. But that’s what is so awesome about doing this as a group. All of those photographers are in a room full of other business owners moving in the same direction. There’s power and momentum in that.

If you want to be in a room where your success is inevitable, get inside Studio Secrets for the next round. You can join the waitlist at www.seniorstudiosuccess.com/studiosecrets.

Ok! Let’s do this episode! All the business lessons I’ve learned from my dogs.

It's ok to have a slow morning.

My girls are sometimes bouncing out of bed, but most of the time they enjoy a slow start to their mornings. And it’s always the same thing - stretch, potty break, water, back to the office chair while I get my morning started. It’s funny that they have their morning routine too. I’ve learned over the years that I don’t have to hit the ground running. I used to do that. Caffeine & full on work mode. I am loving a slower morning now - caffeine, calendar, journal, read, vitamins. Then I’ll work on a current project, get in a quick workout, shower & get ready for the day.

Be quick to forgive.

It’s really easy to get bent out of shape as a business owner. We work with all sorts of people and when money is involved, people do weird stuff. We can be taken advantage of or at least that way. We get no shows, late clients & every excuse in the book about why they should be treated differently. And over the years that can start to get under your skin, right?

Guess what I do to my dogs - I no show when I tell them “I’ll be right back”. I’m late to feed them sometimes. I get frustrated when they make a mess or when they won’t come when I call them. I put off throwing the ball “just one more time” because I have work to do. And you know what? They don’t hold grudges. They forgive.

So let’s do that with our clients. People are people, and we’re all just trying to do our best.

There’s nothing wrong with an afternoon nap or taking a long break.

These were so funny to come up with, but for real, my dogs love an afternoon nap. And guess what?! If I need one, I will sneak one in too! No shame in that. If my body is telling me that I need to rest, I try to listen to it. Sometimes that’s not possible in the moment, but we can build that time in if we need it.

The first thing I plan on my calendar each week is my personal time. Wanna know why? Because if it’s not blocked off, it will get eaten up by something else. I block off lunch breaks, workouts, afternoons off, time with my kids. If we aren’t taking care of ourselves, then we can’t take care of our businesses. So take the naps, take the long breaks. Schedule days off & vacations. You deserve it!

Greet everyone with excitement.

My dogs love visitors, except for the UPS and Amazon drivers. What is up with that?!! If you come to my door carrying a box, they will let my neighbors 3 doors down know that I have a package being delivered. But other than that, they pretty much love everyone & they are overly excited to meet them. They don’t wag their tails. Their whole bodies wag. Why? I guess because they assume that the visitors are only coming to see them & give them some attention.

Now let’s compare that to our businesses. The days can be long as a business owner, right? We absolutely love our clients, but sometimes in the moment it’s tough to get excited when the doorbell rings, when another email comes in or when the voicemails start to pile up.

But guess why those people are walking through the door and trying to get in touch with you? Because they value what you do & they do want to spend time with YOU! So, while I would advise against wagging your whole body, I would encourage you to take a deep breath & remember that the visitor or email or voicemail isn’t another “to do” on your list. Remind yourself of how exciting that was at the beginning of your business & try to get there again for your clients.

Establish your boundaries.

One of the first things I did when I closed on my new house was have a fence installed for the dogs. They love being able to run & play in the backyard. And I do too because walking 3 dogs multiple times a day was just not something I was up for. Why am I telling you this? For a few reasons really. Those dogs have walked that fence line a thousand times & definitely marked their territory. Their boundaries are more than established, and they protect their little fortress like crazy anytime another dog comes near that fence. That fence does another thing though. It keeps them safe. It protects them from danger, from getting lost, from getting into trouble, from all kinds of things.

So what does this have to do with business? We need to establish our own boundaries, you guys. And when they are set, they don’t move. Boundaries protect us from ourselves and from clients who want to take advantage of a situation. This is one of the first things we talk about in Studio Secrets. So I’m going to encourage you to set some boundaries of your own - with your business hours, with your session days & with your client communication. Get them set & don’t go outside of them.

Show up full of energy.

This is a tough one because sometimes I’m really tired, you guys. There are session days when I don’t feel like shooting. It’s hard to find the emotional and physical energy needed to create our work some days. But that’s why they hire us, and even if we’ve been to the same location a hundred times or shot the same pose a thousand times or seen the same dress in different colors all season long, we have to show. And we have to show up full of energy. They feed off of that. Our personal problems get shut behind the door & we have to be all in it for them. They get to do this ONE time & it’s our job to make that day very special for them.

So just like my dogs who jump & twirl & have all the energy in the world for someone new, we gotta do the same things for our clients. The only thing I probably wouldn’t do here is lick a client. But other than that, bring the energy y’all!

Repetition is a good thing.

Throw the ball. Throw the ball. Throw the ball. They never get tired of it. How is that even possible? Now, I’ll keep this one short & sweet. But when it comes to social media - just keep going. Post. Post. Post. Make sense? Good!

Get outside just because!

I used to have a doggie door in my old house. I had a love / hate relationship with it. Some days I wish I still had one & then it rains & I’m so glad I don’t anymore! But these dogs love to go outside for some fresh air, roll around in the grass & soak up the sun.

Guess what? We need to do the same thing - except for rolling around in the grass. I probably wouldn’t suggest that. This goes along with taking a break, but don’t let yourself sit in an office all day. Get outside, go for a walk & get a little natural Vitamin D. Pop in some head phones & put on some music or your favorite podcast. Just get out for the change in scenery & to move your body. We all need more of that!

Be all in or be all out.

Have you ever noticed that dogs don’t kinda do things? They are all in on things like going for a walk or a ride or playing fetch. And when they don’t wanna do something, there is hardly anything you can do to motivate them. Ok, well except for treats. That usually works pretty well. But my dogs are either full on doing something or they have collapsed for some lazy time.

In business you have to be the same way. You have to decide. You can’t halfway do things. You can’t kinda run a business. It’s not a business at that point. It’s a hobby. So how about it? Are you all in or are you all out? Only you can make that decision. If you’re all in, but you’re stuck, I can help you with that. Just reach out. You can find me all over social media, in the Facebook group, register to join one of my Business After Hours or if you really want to dive into some one on one business coaching, you can book a clarity call on the website. Again, I’ll leave all these links in the show notes at www.seniorstudiosuccess.com/podcast so you can easily find them too.

Love unconditionally.

Last one. Love unconditionally. We don’t deserve dogs, do we? They love and love and love without ever putting any conditions on the relationship. I leave for trips & they have no idea when I’m coming back. They love me anyway. I forget to feed them. They love me anyway. I go for a walk alone. They love me anyway. I pet & play with other dogs. They love me anyway.

So if we can learn anything about business and how we treat people, I’d say this is the biggest lesson of all. As hard as it is sometimes, people always come first. Just love them, even when they mess up. Your business will grow without bounds if you do that.

Hey if you found this episode or any of the others helpful, would you take 2 minutes to leave a rating & review? It helps so much with getting the word out about what we are trying to do here - create a better situation for all of us, pushing you to build a more profitable, productive & purposeful business so that you can spend more time doing what you love with the ones you love.

As always, let’s continue the conversation over in the Senior Studio Success Facebook Group. I’m always up for a good business chat. Or you can find me over on Instagram. Send me a DM there. Have a great week y’all!