Hey guys! Welcome back to the podcast. I hope you enjoyed last week’s interview with my friend, Jeff Wenzel. We had a great chat about creating multiple income streams and so many other things that all of us face. If you haven’t had a chance to listen, it’s a good conversation to hear.

Well, it’s mid April. The pollen has arrived, the taxes have been paid & spring sessions are on the books. This time of year we’re coming out of the winter blues & it makes you want to do a little spring cleaning too.

I’ve done that at home, in the studio & behind the scenes I’ve done that on the coaching side of my business too.

In January I laid out this beautiful plan for the year. It was extraordinary. I was so in love with it or so I thought. Two weeks ago, I burned it to the ground. When I looked back at it with fresh eyes I could clearly see that I had strayed far from what I said my dream business would be. I want simplicity and that wasn’t what I had created for the year. So, I started over with a blank sheet of paper and I couldn’t be happier about the plans moving forward.

In the middle of that, I did a lot of evaluating what was currently working & what wasn’t working for my business. I condensed roles. I hired new people. And I made some really big girl decisions.

In business, you have to know your numbers and you’ve got to be able to analyze those numbers. You have to measure how much time and energy you’re putting into something and you’ve got to know the return on that investment. And sometimes, you have to let something go, even if you love it.

So, in the middle of my spring cleaning & plan moving forward, I’m letting go of the Senior Studio Success FB Group. This was a tough decision for me. This was where it all started. It’s where I met so many of you, learned so much about what this industry needs & has been a fantastic place to hang out with so many great people!

And then all the thoughts started running through my head. What will people think? Will they be mad? Disappointed? Will they think I’m not coaching anymore? Will my children starve? Will I need to go work at Chick Fil A? At least I’d have Sundays off.

All the thoughts! All the emotions! And then I checked myself & all those stories in my head. That was indecision. And I don’t play that game. You can’t stay in indecision as a business owner. Sitting on a fence gets you nowhere. All it does is delay progress.

So I made the decision & I’m good with it. While I love that group & the people in it, it has been tough to maintain. Have you ever played that game where you have to keep a balloon up in the air & not let it touch the ground? That’s kinda what it felt like for me each week. I had to keep the conversation going just like that balloon in the air. And that takes a lot of time and energy.

And I also started to realize that it didn’t align with what I teach. I tell you guys to get rid of distractions. Turn your notifications off. And at the same time I was asking questions, distracting you really, to play the algorithm game. I’m not about that.

I want to truly help you in your business. I want to get you real results. I want to work with you. I want to make an impact on you & your family’s life. Asking random questions to get engagement is not how to do that.

It also frees me up to do more interviews like I did on last week’s episode, to create better content, to coach my students better. I knew I was on the right track when those things started to become aware to me.

So as much as I hate to do it, that Facebook group will be closing at the end of April. I’m gonna post a video in the group & I’ll be in there for a few more days. That doesn’t mean I’m going anywhere. Remember that blank sheet of paper? It’s got a few new things on it that I’m pretty stoked about. And there’s always Instagram, TikTok and the Senior Studio Success FB Page. I’d love it if you’d go follow that one for updates. I’ll be sharing some good content there.

I hope this encourages you to look at your business. You don’t have to keep holding onto something because it’s what you’ve always done, because that’s the way everyone else in the industry does it or even because you love it. We have to make tough decisions as business owners. It’s ok to change. It’s ok to pivot in a completely different direction if that lines up with what you want in life.

One of my core values is excellence. It’s what I’ve built my businesses on. If I can’t deliver with excellence, then I don’t want to be doing it. I believe that’s how I’ve found success. That’s what led me to build the systems I’ve built in my photography business, in my coaching business, now with real estate & flipping houses (if you’ve been following along on that journey lately).

As hard as I tried, I just couldn’t get to a level of excellence with that group. And that’s ok. I came to terms with that. I can honestly say I tried like crazy & it didn’t pan out. So it’s ok to say goodbye to things if it’s not working out.

I bet you’re thinking of something right now that you should probably do the same thing with. In your business. This is not relationship advice! Is it a certain type of session that you offer that isn’t profitable? Is it weddings? Is it your model team? Is it a product or service you offer?

Don’t put your head in the sand & keep doing the same things over & over in your business just because you always have. Evaluate, evaluate, evaluate.

And then pivot and purge if you need to. When you let something go, it makes room for something even better. That’s what I’m doing. I’d challenge you to do the same thing.

Let me know what you think & that you were listening today. If you had any aha moments, I want to know what they were. I love it when you share! Your sharing is why I am able to do this. 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 always 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. Or you can send me over on Instagram. Have a great week y’all!