Hey guys! Welcome back to the podcast. If you’re new here, welcome to my crazy little corner of the world. Come on in. I’m so glad you’re here. I’m a bride to be in less than a month, mama to my own 3 boys & now 2 bonus boys. I love working with seniors. I love coaching my photography students. And most recently, I am totally loving flipping a 1950’s house with Brian, my fiance. We are about 2ish weeks from being done & getting this thing on the market! It’s been a wild couple of months working on that project together & we have learned so much.

One more life update. I can finally officially say that I am a 100% certified life coach. I am so excited about this y’all! Brian & I both actually did this program together & he passed his certification too. This has helped us both so much that we just invested again into a Master Certification Program that is way more intense than the first one we just completed. But we are up for the challenge & I can’t wait to see how all of this works into the business coaching I’m already doing.

Ok, enough life stuff. Let’s get to today’s topic - asking better questions.

Alright, it’s easy to get frustrated with business. It just seems to be part of the process. Sometimes that frustration can lead to a little venting. Be honest. You know you have. I have too! We’re all human here & it gets the best of us sometimes! Haha!

Here’s the problem with just venting. It gets us nowhere. We just start spinning out of control & begin to question everything. Honestly, it puts us into and keeps us in this victim mentality. And that’s usually because we are asking the wrong questions

We want a positive solution. But the questions we’re asking lead us down a negative path.

You’re never going to get to the solution you’re looking for like that.

So today I want to talk to you about how asking the right questions & better questions will actually get you to the solutions you’re hoping for AND make you more money in the long run. No, it’s not all about money, but my guess is that since you're listening to this podcast you are running a business, not a charity.

Here’s a real world example. It doesn’t have anything to do with business, but I think it will drive home this point.

Gaining weight

It’s frustrating, right? I’m right in the middle of it. Loving my 40’s y’all. I can look at a cookie & gain weight now. I’ve been fighting it for about a year now, frustrated & really bummed out. Why is this happening to me? What am I doing wrong? Why are these clothes shrinking?! Total victim mentality. Those questions weren’t getting me anywhere.

So, I started asking better questions. What causes women in their 40’s to gain weight? Is it a change in metabolism, hormones or is it stress? I stopped fussing & I got really curious. This is a discussion for another day, but it turns out that I’m going into good ol’ menopause. Bet you didn’t think you’d be hearing that today! Now I’m making headway. Now I’m getting the right answers. Now I’m getting the results that I want.

I changed the questions I was asking. I have a better understanding & now I can get closer to my goals.

Questions are awesome. You should always be analyzing your business, evaluating what’s going right and what’s going wrong.

Here’s the kicker - asking from a place of lack will get you a totally different answer than asking from a place of abundance.

Let me explain. Here are some common questions that come up with my students and others online in Facebook groups.

Why won’t they just read what I send them?

How can I make this more fun and enjoyable to consume?
Can I create short videos instead?
Can I add visuals & examples?
How can I make this easier for my client to understand?

Why are people so cheap?

How can I educate my audience better on the value of what I offer?
How can I better show the client experience so they understand exactly what they are paying for?

Why are they all bringing the same boring outfits?

What are some ways I can encourage my clients to bring a variety of styles?
How can I inspire them to feel comfortable making bold choices with their outfits?

Why do they just want digitals?

What can I do to show how beautiful and important a custom album is?
How can I better prepare my clients for their ordering appointment to encourage product sales?

Why do they only want an 11x14?

How can I show them the beauty and importance of showcasing their children in a custom wall gallery in their home?
Am I only showing small wall art? If you think bigger and more abundantly, so will your clients.

Those were all client examples, of course. Let’s go through just some business ones.

Are there any free website hosts that are good? With paying for equipment, adobe, logo/brand, and a website, I'm just wondering where I can save.
Why is this course so expensive?
What’s a good cheap lab for prints?
Are there any free or affordable mentorship resources available for beginners?
Where can I get free grad card templates?

Do you notice anything about these questions? I’ll tell ya if it isn’t sticking out like a sore thumb right now. Every single one of these questions I jotted down are coming from a place of lack and scarcity. They are full of fear and doubt. Fear of investing in their businesses, fear of investing in themselves.

What if we flipped those around & thought about websites, labs, templates, mentorships as investments instead of expenses? Those are assets & amazing resources for your business that will pay you back again & again & again. That’s abundance. That’s faith.

And that’s where you should be asking the questions from.

What can I do better?

How can I make sure my clients have an exceptional client experience?

How can I take this $1000 course and make it $5000 this month in sales?

You will be amazed at how many ideas will start flooding your mind if you just ask the questions like this.

I could do this . . .

Ask questions that are focused on what you want instead of running away from what you don’t want.

When you focus on “why is this happening to me” type of questions, you are going to find all this evidence that you aren’t good enough, that this will never work, that it’s not going to happen for you.

Why? Because what you focus on you will find.

If you are focused on your purpose, the reasons why you want something to work & all the reasons that it will work, you will create completely different results for yourself.

Instead of the downward spiral of despair, you will create new & exciting ideas, new & efficient ways of doing things.

Get curious. Where is this showing up in my own life? How can I make this better? What if it didn’t have to be like this? What if this is happening for me instead of to me?

You can’t be frustrated & curious at the same time.

You can’t be depressed & curious at the same time.

It doesn’t work.

One is full of lack, doubt, shame, guilt and the other is full of hope & abundance.

Curiosity helps you get that bird’s eye view instead of focusing on yourself. It removes you from the situation & makes it a little less personal.

When we wallow in self-pity or self-doubt, we can’t see solutions.

When we get outside of that & ask these better questions, you will be amazed at what you come up with. When you get better answers, you will create such a better situation for yourself and for your clients. Adn what does that mean? You & what you offer will be seen as more valuable. Your sales will increase naturally.

You don’t have to focus on the money. It will come when you make it about them & not about you.

Here’s a strategy I want you to try. Pretend that you’re on the other side of this problem. It’s solved. It’s finished. You figured it out.

And you’re talking to a photographer friend that you really appreciate & she’s asking you “how did you do it?” How did you make that happen? What are the things you did to fix it? Give that person advice. What would you tell her if she’s in that place where she’s frustrated beyond belief & wants to give up? If you really love her & care about her & her business, what advice would you give her in that situation?

Now, tell yourself the same thing. Sometimes we just have to get out of our own way. We have to remove ourselves from the equation to know what we really need to be asking & doing.

From today forward, I hope you can start to see things a little differently - from a place of abundance & faith instead of from this place of scarcity & fear. If anything, you are aware of it. Notice it when it comes up & remind yourself that there is a better way to ask those questions.

Let me know that you were listening today. If you had any aha moments, I want to know what they were. My DM’s are always open. And I do love it when you share! Your sharing is why I am able to continue this podcast every week. You getting the word out about what I do here on the podcast and in the business coaching space is how I am able to keep bringing you content week after week. My goal is to help you & photographers just like you build more profitable, productive & purposeful businesses so that you can spend more time doing what you love with the ones you love.

Ok. Let's continue the conversation over on the Senior Studio Success Facebook Page. I’m always up for a good business chat there. Or you can send me over on Instagram. Have a great week y’all!