Hey guys, welcome back to the Senior Studio Success Podcast. My name is Jena. I’m your host here, founder of Senior Studio Success and my signature program, Studio Secrets. I’m so excited to be bringing you this one today & I’m even more excited because this time next week I’ll be packing my bag for the best senior photography conference, SYNC. I’m teaching a Jump Start class there all day on Friday & then I get to soak up all sorts of education and hopefully a little sun too! Can’t wait to see all my old friends & meet some new ones too. And I get to finally hug some of my students' necks that I’ve never met in person before. Ahhh. Can’t wait to get down there! Go to www.syncrocks.com and make sure you get to this conference next year. We’re one big family there. It’s just a really special place & it’s forever changed my business.

Ok, speaking of business, let’s get into today’s episode . . .

We’ve all heard no. A lot. We’ve all been ghosted. A lot. We’ve all been told “that’s a little outside our budget” or “I need to talk this over with her dad”. Honestly, this used to really get to me. I took it personally, like I wasn’t enough in some way. Sometimes I would get mad. Sometimes I would get depressed. Sometimes I would go eat lots of chocolate. Sometimes I would just go work long hours into the night.

None of that really did me any good. And it took me years before I could start seeing the big picture and the truth behind not getting booked. So I’m hoping that I can shed some light on this topic today as we start gearing up for booking more spring & summer sessions. I want you to be ready and be totally ok when someone decides on another option for them.

Here’s why I don’t get my panties in a wad anymore when an inquiry doesn’t book me.

It doesn’t mean anything about me.

Literally, it means nothing. That no belongs to them, not me. It is their no. I’m just over here waiting for my yesses so that I can spoil those clients. We all make purchase decisions every single day. When you put something back on the shelf, does it mean anything about that store you’re in? When you decide to watch a show on TV instead of going to the movie theater, does it mean anything about that theater? Do those managers get mad or depressed? Do they go complain in a Facebook group about people? Nope. They aren’t concerned with that. They are too busy taking care of the customers they do have - the ones who said yes. So detach yourself from their decision. Don’t let it mean anything about you, who you are or how good your business and your work is.

It’s not my job to convince someone to value working with me.

If someone cannot see the value in what I do, that’s on them too. It doesn’t mean what I do is less valuable. It simply means that they can’t see the value in it. Some of you listening might own designer bags. Guys, no judgment if that’s you. That’s awesome if that’s what you love & value. I don’t have any of those fancy bags & that’s ok too. It doesn’t make those beautiful handbags, so carefully crafted, any less valuable. They still hold the same value. They are just as valuable whether I buy one or not. Versace, Saint Laurent, Dolce & Gabanna don’t chase me down to justify their $3000 price. That’s their price & they aren’t concerned about the people who don’t buy them. They aren’t worried about me not buying one.

As much as I think people are absolutely crazy for not booking a session with me, I trust that the right people will.

Here’s the thing. I know what I do is freaking awesome. We have one of the best client experiences around & I am so proud of what we’ve created. I think people are absolutely crazy when they choose to not book a session with me or when I see images come up on my feed that they had created by someone else. They live in crazy town in my opinion, because what we do here is amazing! Do I believe they are bad people? Heck no! Just a little crazy in my opinion. I believe that much in what I do & offer my clients. At the same time, I still trust that the right people will come. The ones who said no just weren’t the right people. My clients will come no matter what. I trust that. I’m gonna touch more on that in just a few minutes.

I don’t want to work with clients who are not 100% committed to what I do.

Honestly, there’s not much worse than a wishy washy client. I want to work with people who are fully bought in, fully committed to the process & what we do here. They are in the story & here for the full experience. They are the absolute best clients to work with! So if they aren’t all in, I’d rather not work with them anyway & save room for the ones who are.

There is only so much time & I only have so much capacity & energy. I give everything to my clients during our time together & I make it easy for my clients to be fully prepared & know what to expect while working with us. I don’t want to drag a client along who isn’t committed to the process. I’m dealing with that right now, in fact. I wish I had cut ties with this particular client a while ago when I knew in my gut that we weren’t a good fit. Now I’m suffering the consequences of not doing that. The time that we’ve spent on her could have been spent spoiling the clients who are all in or on marketing to more potential all in clients. Lesson learned.

My results are not dependent on the ones who don’t hire me.

My results are dependent on me. I create the results in my business. And if I’m so busy focusing on the ones who told me no, I cannot create the results I want. What we focus on will grow. If I sit around & pout about it, question everything, overthink everything, shut down, go clean out my pantry . . . I might have a pretty organized pantry, but I’m not going to book the clients I want to book.

The way I think about & react towards losing a potential client directly affects how many clients I will ultimately book and how much money I will make each year. When I don’t let it mean anything, when I trust that the ones who value me will come, when I give the ones who said yes the most amazing experience ever . . . that’s when I continue to see results in my business.

I trust that I am completely capable of booking out my calendar (without them).

My business is built on trust - trust in myself, trust in my clients & trust in my Creator. I was not given this passion for no reason. It is a part of my purpose here & I am doing what I have been called to do.

I show up as best as I can even when it’s tough, when I’ve heard no a whole lot, even on the really long days because this is not all about me. To sit in self pity because I didn’t get booked would be selfish. I was given a gift & a passion for this business & to not use it would be selfish of me, to not impact the lives of these teen girls would be selfish, to not help these parents freeze time would be selfish, to not create something for their own children to sit down & look at in wonder one day would be selfish, to not help others with the profits from my business would be selfish.

To not believe & trust fully that my business will flourish would be crazy. I can’t doubt the One who gave it to me because He’s been faithful. So yeah, I trust fully that I am completely capable of booking out my calendar, no matter how many no’s I hear each year.

The right ones are going to search for me and they are going to find me. They are going to book me. And the ones that said no to me are going to be perfect for someone else.

Guys, don’t let the no’s get you down this year. It doesn’t mean anything about you. It’s not your job to convince someone to value working with you. Trust that the right ones will find you. Don’t settle. Work with clients who are fully committed to your process & what you do. Know that your results are not dependent on the one who didn’t hire you. And trust that you are fully capable of booking out your calendar.

It’s gonna be a great year y’all.

Hey do me a favor. I would love it if you would share with me your biggest takeaways from this episode. DM over on Instagram & let me know.

If you need help with your business, reach out to me. You can always email me at heythere@seniorstudiosuccess.com. You can reach out to me on Instagram too. You guys know where to find me. If you're on my email list, just reply back. If you’re overwhelmed, need to get your systems in place, need to get your mindset worked on a little bit, I’m here for you. If you’re ready to say YES & make a commitment to build a business you love, let’s do that. I’d love to work with you!

Alright, y'all have a great week. I'll see you soon :)