Her personality, her laugh, and her drive to get shi* done. (LOL)
Ashley and Erubiel had their fair share of obstacles when it came to wedding planning during a pandemic. (Can you imagine!?) But, even still — they persisted, and created the most charming scene to exchange their vows in. Their Arkansas small intimate wedding; nestled in the woods at Erubiel’s parent’s house, was one of the most perfect days I’ve witnessed.
Ashley & Erubiel met while working at Tamolly’s. She had just started the job a few weeks before Erubiel had come back for summer break. (He was schooling at HSU in Arkadelphia at the time.) But, their first impression of each other wasn’t even good! But as time passed, they became really good friends. For their first date, Ashley was working a double shift that day, and they we went to wingstop during their break. (Sounds like a perfect first date to me.) 😍
They officially started dating on November 22, 2015. One of their more memorable dates was when they went to dinner along the river walk in San Antonio during the holiday season, but their favorite will probably a weekend trip to Dallas. They had just bought their first home together and in celebration, (and NEED of relaxation) they took a mini getaway. They went kayaking together for the first time, and Erubiel was so good to her, (well… except when he kept trying to tip over their kayak. Ashely didn’t like that too much.) 🤣
Later, they got engaged on December 22, 2018. Ashley & Erubiel LOVE Christmas, so they went to Garvan Woodland Gardens for a date night. They ate at the purple cow (which is one of their favorites,) before going to see the lights. Following, they were walking around and he found a spot that didn’t have many people and he told her that he loved her, and then got down on one knee and asked if she would marry him. (He’s the sweetest ever.) 😭
As time passed, they crossed obstacle after obstacle when it came to wedding planning. They had originally planned a large wedding at a venue near Texarkana, but because of the state of uncertainty regarding large gatherings. Alternatively, they opted for a smaller celebration instead. Looking at these photos, I don’t think they regret it one bit. 😉 (In fact, I recommend small celebrations over large ones any day!)
For their engagement session, we opted for an adventurous waterfall session at Lake Catherine State Park. It was the perfect setting, because they LOVE water. Previously, she had mentioned on her questionnaire I sent over that she’d love to get in the water, so I made sure it happened. 😉 In addition, I asked them to tell me what they love most about each other. Let’s see what they answered! 💕
His gentle touch, his sense of humor, and he has a HUGE heart. He cares deeply for those he loves and it shows. I know you said 3 but he is also a family man and it just makes me excited to think of him as a future dad.
Her personality, her laugh, and her drive to get shi* done. (LOL)
Without a doubt, I’ll think they’ll be a pretty good fit for life. 😉
So without further ado, I introduce to you Mr. & Mrs. Erubiel Basurto! 🥂
bride’s dress: justin alexander at gracyn elizabeth bride • bridesmaids’ dresses: lulu’s • cake: sugar and spice catering • furniture rentals: twin city conference and event center • groom’s tuxedo: gracyn elizabeth bride • groomsmens’ tuxedos: gracyn elizabeth bride • hair: brittni layne • invitations: tori frey • linen: twin city conference and event center • makeup artist: kimberly bearden beauty • officiant: shawna watkins wedding coordinator: • yolanda chism • floral design: albertson’s
Or anywhere for that matter? I’d love to help! As an elopement and intimate wedding photographer, I do a LOT more than just take photos. I can help be your outdoor guide, makeup artist, and professional bouquet transporter to the top of a mountain. You name it, I’ve probably helped do it. 😉 Just click the button below to get the conversation started! 🎉
2020 has been a year hasn’t it?! Thanks for hanging in there with me on this rollercoaster ride of a life update! I’m excited for you to read my final life update because I’m sharing what’s been happening on the JVP end! If you missed the first two parts, you can read them here: our journey back to the states & our house hunting adventure. Ready for my JVP Business Update?
The past seven chapters covered January through August, it’s currently the last week in October as I’m writing this, and you’re finally reading this in November. So, what else happened? Glad you asked, because now I get to share all about my JVP business update. 😉
I was finally able to get into a workflow after SO long. I’d been working a ton, don’t get me wrong. But, I would finally be able to have my own office and not be dealing with the dog-tango situation, so I could make major progress on the big project I’d been working so hard on. (More on that in a bit.) 😉
A few weeks after moving into the new house, I got a message from my virtual assistant of two years at the time. She told me she was going a different direction with her business and was letting me know this would be the last month she’d be able to serve me, (and all the rest of her retainer clients for that matter.) She’s transitioned into becoming a copywriter/brand message strategist over the last year or so, and wanted to go full-time with that, which I totally understood. I’d been feeling about a month prior that I was going to need a VA that could do more for me, and provide more hours for me to use.
However, it was disheartening considering I’d be gearing up for a big launch in January and needed ALL the help I could get. It felt like the bottom was falling out from underneath me, and that I didn’t have time to replace her or figure out where to go from here. After crying it out, and talking to Clay, he said it was going to be okay. God was in control of this too, and we’d figure it out.
I remembered a company I had wanted to reach out to back when I was in Japan called “Rock Solid Virtual Assistants,” that specializes in pairing you (the business owner) with the perfect VA using their proprietary matching system. I knew I wanted to use a company that had it all together, and I knew this one did. (Plus the owner was a Christian, which really put me at ease.)
The only problem? At this point, I was SO completely booked that I couldn’t take on more work, because of the building of a program I’d been working on for the past year. Therefore, I couldn’t get more money coming in to hire a new person at the rate it would cost, until after my big JVP 2.0 launch in January. Clayton said,
“I want you to do whatever you’ve got to do, and I’ll help however I need to to make sure you have help for this big project.”
(This man was sent from heaven, ya’ll.)
I reached out and set up a call, and after speaking with Tracy, I knew I’d made the right decision. We had so many “God moments,” and I had so much peace surrounding the whole thing. A few days later, she messaged me that she’d paired me with the perfect person, a girl named Janine out of Navarre, Florida. (That’s the exact town I used to live in when I lived there, strangely enough!)
After mine and Janine’s first call, I was in awe. She had the sweetest spirit, and kindest heart. She’s a go-getter that thrives off of helping other women succeed, and she LOVES the Lord with all she’s got in that tiny Italian frame of hers. 😉
Again — God knows my best.
He knew that for the substantial growth my business would be seeing in 2021 and beyond, that I was going to need more help. He knew there was a perfect person out there to come alongside me, that would share the vision and values of my company, and help to see things through. He knew I needed Janine, and He made the space necessary for her to come in.
Simply put, she was the girl for the job — and He made it happen.
I just had to trust him with my JVP business, and my life. Easier said than done sometimes, but after the year I’d had, I knew He’d come through for me. He’d done it too many times already. 🙌🙌🏼
So, without further ado — meet Janine! The new set of helping hands over here at JVP. You’ll be seeing and hearing from her here and there. Most of what she does for me is behind-the-scenes, well… for now anyways. 😉🥂
Remember the part where I said I’d been working on a huge project all year long? As of now, October 29th, it’s been over a year in the making.
Last August, I hired a business coach and met her in Bali to work together. (She’s from Atlanta, but she was going to be in Bali for a few weeks, and it was much cheaper for me to meet her there!) Plus, Clay and I had wanted to visit Bali at some point anyways, so we just made a vacation out of it.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
The specific purpose for our working together was to come up with my “signature offer.” A signature offer is essentially your “thing.” I knew I’d wanted to teach other photographers (and had been already doing it for two years at that point,) but I didn’t have a system in order to do so. I didn’t have a framework or a curriculum built out to use, and I needed one. There are so many things you can do with a framework once you have it, and I knew it was the next big step.
The problem is, you’re just too close to your genius. It’s extremely difficult to pull the good stuff out of your mind, because you already know it all. So, the best thing you can do is hire someone that specializes in doing just that — pulling out your genius and helping you package it into a premium offer.
I worked with Maya Elious, and it was the best decision I’d ever made.
In two days we extracted and laid out a framework that I was PUMPED to teach. What she did for me in two days, I couldn’t have done for myself in months, or maybe even years. It was the jumpstart I needed to really do this. I was shooketh.
You see, most photographers that offer mentorships to others don’t have a plan. They charge you anywhere from $500-2000 for a day (or even half a day,) just for you to pick their brain, and ask any questions you may have.
The problem with that? You don’t KNOW the questions you need to be asking. You don’t know what you don’t know. It’s just left up to you to ask them all that you need to. And, if you come up with a question later that you forgot to ask, good luck! 😬
Due to being home for the Holidays in December of 2019, and spending January of 2020 with my mom and aunt in Japan, I didn’t get a chance to officially start building the program yet. February was spent packing and preparing to move back to the U.S., and in March I was getting the dogs and myself back to Texarkana. So, I was finally able to start building the program out in April. I haven’t looked back since then, and I’ve spent every week writing the curriculum for it. (Sometimes 60+ pages a week!)
I’ll announce what it’s called, and all that it includes really, really soon. 😉
Throughout the three years I’d spent in Japan, the biggest lessons I learned were:
These lessons had taken such deep roots in my heart, because I walked through them myself. I had to do hard things, and learn hard lessons. But it was necessary for me to be able to fully understand what God was teaching me, and one day share it with others.
In October of 2019, I’d started to feel misaligned with my business and brand overall. The visual representation (my branding and website) was no longer “fitting” for where I was going. There was a misalignment, and I just couldn’t ignore it any longer.
The lessons I’d learned in Japan needed to take their place in my business, and I didn’t know how… but I knew they had to. It was just too big of a shift in perspective.
I told my biz-bestie, and we began brainstorming on a new brand for me that would fit the new direction. We came up with one, and it was beautiful, but after some time we both came to the conclusion, this one wasn’t it. Something was missing. We had gone too far to the black-and-white editorial side, and we needed something “out of the box.” Something that hadn’t been done before. There wasn’t quite another brand or site like it out there, it just simply didn’t exist yet.
So, we started from scratch. This time, I gave her complete creative control, and when she showed me what she’d drafted next — I was speechless. It was it. And we’ve been heading in that direction since.
My current site, (the one you’re on,) I loved for a season… but I always knew there was something more out there for JVP. This new brand has been a LONG time in the making, and we’ve come across so many obstacles, but I can’t wait to share it with you all very soon. 🥂
The new brand will tell my story, and reflect my heart for life, marriage, education, and photography. This time, I’m chasing the call God’s placed on my life with reckless abandon. I’m holding nothing back, and I’ll be calling you to do the same — too. Because it’s worth it, and it’s why we were put here in the first place. ✨
I’ll be over here continuing to put my head down, and I may not surface on social media for a bit longer. It’s been a really good year of “doing the work” over here, and I don’t plan to stop anytime soon. 😉
Until I surface from under my rock *again*,
– Jess
Then, if you decide it’s a fit and you NEED us to work together stat, we can totally proceed with mentorship and get this education party started!
I wholeheartedly believe that if you’re here and reading this page, it’s not by accident, girl. I’ve been praying for this years mentoring clients, and for God to truly equip me with the knowledge and resources, tailored just for you, to project you into your next season and help you to be more confident – because THIS is your year.
It’s time. No more excuses. Let’s do this, and rise up to who God has called us to be in both our lives and businesses.
If you’re short on time, follow me on Pinterest – and you’ll get these kinda tips delivered straight to your feed! You know… when you’re scrollin’ through Pinterest with coffee in hand, ready to take on the day… or, procrastinate.
Whatevs. Pinterest biz sesh, anybody!?
Last week I broke my social media silence and let you in on how 2020 has been going and what I’ve been up to this year. If you missed that post, you can catch up here! 😉 This week I wanted to take you along our journey of house hunting and what happens when God’s plans are bigger than the ones we have for ourselves.
We’d been living with my parents for about 4 months at this point, and it was GREAT. Well, for the most part. The only issue we had was that our two huskies, plus my parents’ two dogs were all in the same house. And it wouldn’t have been that big of an issue, except for the fact that they didn’t all get along. (Like, major fights would break out if the crossed paths.) So we were constantly playing dog-tango. And due to the fact that my dogs couldn’t just be “let outside” since we didn’t have a fence, they had to be taken out on leashes every single time they needed to use the bathroom, (which is a lot.)
I was struggling with getting any work done, because I was constantly being asked to take my dogs out, (because Keira, my female husky, ) is such a territorial thing that she wants to pee on anything that smells like another dog. 🙄 She would take it upon herself to mark my mom and dad’s border collie, Shasta’s, bed. So annoying.
Aaaaanyways, I was getting really tired of not being able to have uninterrupted work days. I started thinking, “what could we do to have our own space?”
Clay and I had decided that we’d wait to relocate to the area, to see if he liked his new job first. By staying with my parents, it would help us to accumulate cash much faster, and really be able to save for building our first house. We were so excited to be able to plant roots. I really wanted to stay and build in Texarkana, so we began thinking,
“What if I stayed, and we worked on building the house we’d always wanted, here?”
It was only two hours, so he could commute back and forth weekly. With this job, he was able to make his own hours, so he could leave on a Monday morning, and be at work by 9am, and then come home on Thursday night and spend the weekend with me there. My dad did that for 8 years with my mom, (quite literally the same thing, he commuted to Little Rock for his job,) so I knew it was doable.
So we decided, Clay would commute back and forth and I would stay here and hold down the fort with the dogs. We’d be able to save money and get started on building our house. My dad had a travel trailer Clay could use and live out of while he was on the road, so we wouldn’t have to spend any money on it. Clay was fine with it, and honestly he can live in any scenario. (He’s had to sleep under trucks overseas for crying out loud, so this was livin’ high on the hog.) 🤣
So that solved the issue for him. But I was still having such a hard time working or getting anything done while at my parents, so I started to brainstorm options for an office space that wouldn’t require me driving all the way into town and renting a building. I really needed to be focusing on what God was calling me to do in my business, and it became increasingly hard to make any progress on the project He had me working on.
So I had an idea. I could get one of those portable buildings that look like a tiny farmhouse, and could use it as an office space while I was there. This would give me a space separate from the house to be able to get into a workflow in, and would also allow the dogs to be able to be with me there, so there wasn’t as much chaos. I could also have a fence built alongside it, to be able to let them in and out throughout the day. Bingo. FINALLY.
I began researching, and found some that I loved. (They were the same company that built the shed that now lays on the grounds of Magnolia in Waco )It would be around $20k to do, so that became my first goal to save up for. A plan. YAS.
But the more I thought about it, the less peace I had about it. I had convinced everyone around me that it was a good idea, and honestly they all agreed; because it was. I measured the grounds and came up with numbers to have the dirt laid to level it. I figured out what the electricity would cost to do, and came up with solutions for the internet. All of it.
But there was no ignoring it, I didn’t have complete peace. My heart longed to be with Clayton, all the time. I mean, we’d done long distance for 7 years, and a bunch more while married in Japan. I was tired, and I couldn’t ignore it.
I was driving home one day, and I heard God say in my spirit, “Just because your parents did it… doesn’t mean you have to.”
He was right. Just because my dad did the commute from Little Rock, and my mom and him did long distance for years, doesn’t mean we had to.
So my next question was, “Okay God, but how can I be with him?”
We didn’t want to plant roots in Little Rock by any means, so we started thinking… “what about a portable home?” We had friends who bought travel trailers/fifth wheels that were super nice, and lived out of them to save money while they were being stationed all over the U.S. It didn’t seem like a bad idea.
We could do that, get a really nice one, and be able to take it to and from Little Rock, and everywhere else for that matter, when we wanted to. That way, the dogs could be with us and we could all be united.
This became the new plan, and I scoured the internet for days at a time to find the perfect one. (Can’t you tell I am a go-getter and love making plans!?) 😂 #icrackmyselfup
I found one I loved, and wanted it super bad. The only problem? We’d need to get a loan, (it was super pricey,) and Clayton’s paychecks from his previous job were cutting off in a couple of weeks. In order to get a loan, you need 30 days of pay stubs and a history of two years being employed. So if we didn’t do it now, it wasn’t going to happen. I was trying SO hard to make it happen. I began to get desperate and cry out to the Lord, “why is this SO HARD!?” I remember trying to get Clayton to hurry up and fill out the application to get a loan, and none of it working the way we wanted.
There was no peace.
But I was ignoring it because I wanted a solution to all of our problems, and I wanted it NOW.
After Clayton had talked me down and calmed me, I began to realize something. God doesn’t rush, and He doesn’t pressure. He doesn’t add stress to your life. He is stilling, reassuring, and calming. His path is always the path of peace, and I didn’t have even an ounce of it with this.
I knew it wasn’t God’s plan trying to get us to buy that fifth wheel, it was the enemy.
As I started coming to my senses, I realized… fifth-wheels depreciate the moment you drive them off the lot. You can’t ever get your money’s worth out of them, kind of like cars. So although we thought we would be getting out ahead financially and be making a smart move, we really wouldn’t.
Back to square one.
I surrendered. I said “Lord, what do YOU want? … Because obviously what I want is totally not working out, so I give up.”
It took me a solid year to get there, but I did. Thank God for His patience and for dealing with me. 😂
It was memorial day weekend, and we had just spent the weekend visiting with family that came in from out of town. I remember crawling in the bed with Clay that night, and asking “What if instead of getting a fifth-wheel, we just bought a house there? You have to be in Little Rock anyways, and if we had a fifth-wheel, we’d be there anyways. What are we fighting? We have a VA loan we can use because of your service, we really could do this.”
In case you didn’t know, it’s way easier to use a VA loan to buy a house, than to build one. VA construction loans are hard to come by, so this was just an easier process to go through, all around. Plus, building a house is a whole thing, and would take up to 2 years to do. (The opposite of easy.)
Clayton told me that he wasn’t opposed to it. That he hadn’t been feeling peace about us getting a fifth-wheel either.
It was me. It was me fighting planting roots. Little did I know, that by me fighting what God wanted for me, I was making my life harder.
I wasn’t pursuing God’s best for me. I was pursuing what I thought the “best for me” was.
Only GOD knows my best, and His plans are bigger than any I could have on my own.
I mentioned it to my mom, and at first; she seemed a bit upset. (Rightfully so, considering we had planned to finally get to be together again. My mom is my best friend, and Okinawa was HARD for us.
But after just a few minutes, we both knew. She started to come to, and mentioned, “Two hours really isn’t that bad. We can do this.”
I knew it. This was what God intended, and I had to go. Again. At least this time, it wasn’t as far. It was only a two hour drive, and I’ve lived a nine hour drive away in Florida, and a three-plane trip in Japan. Two hours, I knew I could do.
So I started looking for houses online. Zillow became my best friend. (Don’t act surprised. 😂)
Before too long, I found a few I loved. I could really start to see myself living there. They were in the Benton/Bryant area, which was on the closer side to Texarkana, and about 25 minutes from Little Rock. I started to get my hopes up, and showed them to Clayton. He ultimately just wanted me to be happy, so he was honestly fine with whatever at this point. God love him. 🤣
We reached out to a realtor, and set up a showing for both of the homes we were interested in. They were exactly the same price, so we’d just have to see what we thought when we got there.
I remember telling Clayton about a week before we went to see the houses, “I don’t want this to be an “up-and-down” roller-coaster kinda thing. I don’t want to constantly get my hopes up, and then get let down because a house sold out from under us, or we didn’t qualify for it, or whatever.”
We decided the best route was to get in touch with a mortgage broker, and find out how much house we could even qualify for, so we weren’t wasting anybody’s time. Long story short, every house I was interested in, we did in fact qualify for. YAY. Crisis averted.
I kept searching, (because buying a house is a huge thing, and I didn’t want to miss out on anything. There were SO many options.) But I also didn’t want to spend forever doing this, because I wanted to get into a home asap.
I ended up finding another house before our showing date, and when I saw it— it felt different. This one really felt like I could live in it, for a long time. I just felt something in my spirit when I stumbled upon it. It quickly became my favorite, but I didn’t want to say anything to sway Clayton. I wanted to wait until we saw them in person and could really make a decision and weigh the options. It was about a 40 minute drive from Little Rock, so I wasn’t sure if it was too far out or not, (but I sure was hoping he’d be okay with it.)
I showed it to my mom, and she said, “Oh yeah. This one’s just different. I love it. It’s SO beautiful.”
I emailed our realtor and asked if there was any way we could add this house to our showing date also. It was about 35 minutes from the other two houses, but we were starting our day early; so I figured it could work. She said she’d be able to show us this house as well. Yay!
My mom and I continued talking that night, and she mentioned a few things that she was looking for when her and my dad were house-hunting, years ago. She said she wanted a house with character, a house that had a story to it.
That really stuck with me, and I realized that was something I wanted, too.
Clay, my mom, my aunt, and I all headed out for Bryant early on the morning of May, 30th. Our first stop: a cute, new-construction home in Benton.
When we first pulled up, I realized the house was much closer to other homes than the pictures made it seem. Once we made it through the door, everyone split up and started to check things out. Eventually I made my way back around to Clayton, and I noticed him inspecting things in much more detail than I had been. (Totally understandable, because he’s a super detail oriented guy.)
He pointed to a door-frame and said “This is crooked.”
Uh oh.
He found so many issues with the house, it was pretty much a no-brainer. It wasn’t going to work. Remember that part I said about Clayton being super thorough and doing everything to the best of his ability? Yeah, he expects that out of others too. (And especially for houses at the price range we were looking at.)
So, we were on to the next one, and I was okay with it. I knew my favorite house was last, but it was still disheartening to see the issues with the first new-construction home. I hoped the next, and the last, wouldn’t be the same.
We arrived at the second house, another new construction, and thankfully; it wasn’t as bad as the first. The kitchen was stunning, and it overlooked a shared lake. However, it had carpet all upstairs, which I wasn’t a huge fan of. (I have two huskies, remember?) It was also in a neighborhood that had an HOA, which I also wasn’t crazy about. (Again, huskies. They tend to let out a “call of the wild” in the morning and in the evening, as well as when we leave the house… really thinking about starting the Kona Chronicles.) We also noticed an unfinished basement-situation, that was collecting a ton of water underneath the house. We definitely didn’t feel so comfortable with that.
Unfortunately, this house was also super close to the ones next to it. Having grown up in the country, both of us realized we didn’t want to do the whole “neighborhood” thing. We love to sit out on our front porch in the mornings, drinking coffee and reading our bibles, and it would be really hard to do that with cars buzzing and lawn-mowers running and all the things that come with neighborhood life. (Seriously, once you live in the country you’re spoiled. There’s a reason people don’t retire and move to the city.) 😂
We liked the second house, and definitely were more drawn to it over the first. But I knew the last one was still going to be my favorite, I just hoped it would be Clay’s too. He primarily just didn’t want to see the issues with this next house that he saw in the first two.
We pulled into the driveway, and it felt like pulling into a little slice of heaven. There was a peaceful presence in and around the whole house — it was just different. As we were walking through and touring it, I couldn’t help but see how much character, intentionality, and personality this house had. It was designed immaculately, paying very close attention to detail. This house was a custom build, and the first two were new-construction. Let me tell you, there’s a big difference. I realized the first two houses felt so “cookie-cutter” in comparison to this one. Like model homes… with no life in them. They were gorgeous, don’t get me wrong. But nothing could compare to this one; again, God’s plans are bigger.
After we’d looked all throughout the house, we’d fallen in love with every corner and crevice. Clayton could tell a big difference in the quality and build, and was much more pleased all-around. As him, my mom, my aunt and I were all standing in the kitchen, my aunt made the statement,
“Now see, this house is a home.”
She was right, the others weren’t designed by a mother who wanted to raise a family in them, they were just builder-grade, cookie-cutter designs. I was so glad my mom had mentioned that she searched for a house with personality and character, because that very concept was at the forefront of my mind now during the house-hunt.
As we were leaving the house and heading back to Texarkana, Clayton and I kept talking about how much we liked this last house. It was a cottage-style house in the country, on 5 acres. With the other houses, you could basically touch your neighbors house from your yard, but this one had space and room to breath around it. It was in the woods, outside of city limits, (so, no HOA.) The house lay on the outside of a small, quiet town in Grant County. There truly wasn’t anything about this house I didn’t love, not one thing.
We didn’t get but maybe 15 minutes down the road, and we’d decided. We wanted to make an offer. Was it crazy? Maybe. We just couldn’t deny the peace and the “easiness” of it. So we called our agent and told her what we were thinking, and what we wanted put in the offer. She helped us decide on what we could ask for, and we had an offer placed that night. The next day, they gave us a counter-offer, which was extremely close to our original offer, so it was just about perfect.
We’d reached an agreement, and the “buying a house” festivities began. (Ecstatic was an understatement.) However, we had to do an extended closing, because we had to have 30 days of pay-stubs from Clayton’s new job in order to officially “close,” and he’d just started. So from the day we placed an offer, to the day we moved in — it was a total of 70 days.
I spent 69 of those 70 days at Kirkland’s, Target, and HomeGoods. Kidding. (Or am I?) My mom and I had a BLAST visiting all the flea markets around, (that’s kind of our thing,) and picking up things here and there. We shopped non-stop the entire time we had to wait to move in, and it was some of the most fun I’ve ever had. My mom is so good at decorating, and I enjoyed every minute of that time spent with her. We even went as far as driving to Shreveport to pick up a MASSIVE highland cattle cow portrait one day, it was definitely one of my favorite shopping trips. 😂
The day finally arrived for us to move in after what felt like centuries, and as we pulled up to the house I couldn’t even believe it was going to be ours. (Spoiler alert: I’m lying in bed right now writing this, and I still can’t believe it’s ours.) My mom still feels that way after 20+ years about her house, so I think we’re onto something good. 😉
Oh, and just in case you wondered…
It’s a modern farmhouse, with tons of windows and the most beautiful natural light. It has a U-shaped floor plan, and a breezeway that connects the house to the garage. It has both a front, and back porch made out of concrete. It’s exterior is white vinyl, with a black roof and black industrial accents. The porch ceilings are painted a light, haint blue. The master bedroom is on the first floor, and it has a clawfoot tub and a large rainfall shower. The kitchen has marble countertops, a large rectangular island, tons of storage, a gas range and a big farmhouse sink. It has an open floor plan between the kitchen and living room, with a double-sided fireplace, that is connected to a dining room. It has three bedrooms, a bonus room, and a three car garage. It’s on some land in the country (5 acres to be exact,) and I regularly see deer out my window while I cook and clean. God’s plans are truly bigger.
He truly cares about the desires of our hearts.
If there’s anything I’ve learned this year, it’s that God knows my best. And if he says “No” at the time, it’s because He’s got something way, way better in store. He’s a really good Dad.
We’ve got one last update for you coming next week! I’m catching you up on all things business, and let me tell you- I am so excited and cannot wait to share it with you!
Then, if you decide it’s a fit and you NEED us to work together stat, we can totally proceed with mentorship and get this education party started!
I wholeheartedly believe that if you’re here and reading this page, it’s not by accident, girl. I’ve been praying for this years mentoring clients, and for God to truly equip me with the knowledge and resources, tailored just for you, to project you into your next season and help you to be more confident – because THIS is your year.
It’s time. No more excuses. Let’s do this, and rise up to who God has called us to be in both our lives and businesses.
If you’re short on time, follow me on Pinterest – and you’ll get these kinda tips delivered straight to your feed! You know… when you’re scrollin’ through Pinterest with coffee in hand, ready to take on the day… or, procrastinate.
Whatevs. Pinterest biz sesh, anybody!?
Turns out, I haven’t posted on my Instagram since May. Whoops. But given the year it’s been, I think you probably understand my absence from social networking. 🙈 So today, I’m sharing a 2020 life update from all of us over here at JVP. (Okay, me & my husband Clay, my dogs, and my virtual assistant.) 😂
I wouldn’t be the first, (or even the millionth,) to say this year has been quiiite the year, and most of us are beyond over it. But to be honest with you? I have a SUPER unpopular opinion about 2020.
2020 has actually been one of the most rewarding years of my life. 🙈
Now, I wouldn’t say it was the “easiest,” by any means. Clay and I had some cards dealt to us this year that most won’t deal with in their lifetime. But we’ll get to that in a bit!
To start this 2020 life update, you should know that for the past three years I’ve been living on a tiny island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean called Okinawa, Japan. My husband is in the military, and we got orders to this small archipelago in October of 2016. Funny… because we were both sooo sure we’d get orders to North Carolina. Turns out we couldn’t have been any further off. 😂
SO, we stepped off the plane with bags in our hands, (and equal parts fear and excitement in our hearts) on May 28th, 2017.
Living in Japan, alone, (well, with just Clay, but no friends or family for thousands of miles,) has been the wildest, hardest, and most challenging… (yet simultaneously the most beautiful and most fulfilling) adventure of my entire LIFE.
We actually spent the first years of our married lives together there. We got married on December 16th of 2016, and had about six months together in Florida, then took off for the journey of our lives.
I wouldn’t trade it for anything, and in case you wondered… I miss it terribly. Which brings me to my first 2020 life update.
The year was off to a great start. Phenomenal, really. My mom and aunt flew all the way from Texarkana to Japan to visit me! I couldn’t believe it, considering my mom hasn’t ever even been out of the U.S. (Well, except for Mexico, but that doesn’t really count.) 🤣
After three years of no family or friends visiting me or knowing the world I lived in, I was SO ecstatic to get to share the island I’d been calling home with those I love most.
I spent every day taking them to our favorite restaurants, and taking them to all the hidden gems only locals knew about. It was a BLAST. We drove every ounce of that island, laughing and eating our way all the way through it. One day we got to drive up Mount Yaedake and see the Japanese Cherry Blossoms in their prime bloom, head to a waterfall, and finish the day off standing on the cliffs of the edge of the island. It was remarkable.
Unfortunately, the time came for them to make the two-day journey back home. I went back to working, and tracked them through “find my friends,” the whole way home. I’d noticed I never received word from my mom when she landed and arrived at the house, which I thought was strange.
I texted her and she responded pretty short-winded. I knew something was up. Before too long, she was calling, and the first words out of her mouth were, “Your dad is okay, but a tractor bucket fell on him and he had to be rushed to the ER for emergency surgery.”
Long story short, he was helping a friend use his tractor for something and the bucket fell and pinned him to the ground, cutting through his leg deeply. My dad and his friend are both in their mid-60’s, so his friend couldn’t pick him up.
My Dad told him, “You better get this bucket off of me. You have to, or I won’t make it”.
His friend finally mustered up the strength and got it off of him, and when my Dad saw how deep the cut was, he called one of my aunt’s to come get him and take him to the hospital. They agreed not to tell my mom, because they knew there was nothing she could do, so, they took care of it and he was home and recovering when my mom walked in the door.
As my Dad reflected over the situation, he realized there were two propane bottles that were holding some of the weight up and off of him; which kept the bucket from slicing his leg off completely and him bleeding out. (Totally a God thing.) My mom said had he not been wearing the type of jeans he was wearing (the tough, Duluth fireman-proof jeans,) the rust from the tractor bucket would have likely infected him, and it would’ve been even worse. (Also God.)
So, 2020 started off interesting, to say the least. I figured that situation, and God’s faithfulness through it, would be my “story of the year.”
Little did I know — I was in for much, much more.
As if an intercontinental move isn’t stressful enough in and of itself, we also happened to do it at the height of a worldwide pandemic. *Thanks Covid.* – in the voice of Alexis Rose. Fun fact: Covid actually hit us in Japan before it ever affected anyone in the U.S., thanks to a cruise ship.
I vividly remember calling my mom, and being like “So this is going to sound really weird. But for whatever reason people are buying up toilet paper and hand sanitizer like crazy. 😂 So if you need any, I’d go grab some now to make sure you aren’t out. And maybe a bit extra to be safe.” I kid you not, two weeks later you couldn’t get it anywhere. It was ridiculous. 🤣
But the problem was, because we were trying to travel across the world… in the middle of Covid… we hit some major roadblocks. We had originally planned for me to fly back to Arkansas a month before Clayton, so I could be there to pick the dogs up from the airport when he sent them.
But because of Covid, they placed restrictions on all military personnel traveling, and they shut down all travel two days before my flight was supposed to depart. I was flying on what’s called the Patriot Express, a plane that flies between military bases and commercial airports to transport military members and their families. There weren’t any travel restrictions for flying commercial at that point, but we wanted to save the $2,500 on a plane ticket since we were shelling out so much for the dogs already. (We’ll get to that later.) 🙈
Thankfully, because Clayton was permanently separating from the military, and not just transferring to another duty station, we were among the VERY few that were allowed to still leave. So I was able to board the flight and made it through, but it was tight. All of my friends I’d made in Okinawa had to stay a whole ‘nother six months.
Then, a few days after I’d left, Clayton had the dogs ready to fly from Naha, Okinawa all the way to Houston Intercontinental. You see, in order to ship your pets across the world, there is SO much you have to do; paperwork, rabies tests, favn tests, more paperwork, fees, etc. Then, you have to use a third-party pet shipping company if you want to not completely lose your mind, (or worse, risk doing it wrong and your dogs being stuck in customs and denied.) 😅 We decided to use a pet shipping company both to get them there, and get them home.
We were familiar with the process from importing our dogs to Japan, (which cost us a hefty $7,000 to do.) But then, we had to do it again in order to get them back to the U.S. This time it was around $6,500. And that’s just for the plane tickets, so in total, including all the vet bills and tests, we probably spent around $16,000. 😅 (Yes, we call them the million-dollar pups. LOL.)
I’m always an emotional basket case when my dogs are traveling, (or when they’re in the care of anyone else but me or Clayton to be honest.) Koda and Keira are both Siberian Huskies; (re: escape artists that don’t come when they’re called and if they get out you’ll likely never see them again. #gonewiththewind) Kiera escaped our house the first day we got her, and Koda has escaped numerous times.
When we lived in Florida, Koda dug a hole under our fence and then proceeded to dig a hole under two of our neighbors fences, and created a path to play with both of their dogs. (Thankfully our neighbors were okay with it and left the fence posts down, and it was a blast!) 🤣
Koda also managed to break out of the dog board-training school in Okinawa while we were home in the U.S. for the Holidays, and an Okinawan policeman rescued him. I was freaking out, of course — but God was watching over him. 😅 I’m thinking it’s about time I start a blog called “The Koda Chronicles.”
Anyways, back to the dog transport situation. They flew from Okinawa to Tokyo, stayed the night in a boarding facility, and then flew from Tokyo to Houston.
Wildly enough, not TWO days after the dogs landed in Houston, ALL pet transport from Japan to the U.S. was cancelled. Banned. Stopped. Halted. Done for. And there wasn’t any way around it.
Hopefully you can tell from this first chapter of my 2020 update that God truly was ordering our steps, you guys. I give all the glory to Him.
Military life is all Clayton and I have ever known. (Well, he’s been the one in it, I’ve just been supporting behind the scenes on the home front.) We were in a long-distance relationship for 7 years, because of his military involvement and training schools all over the world. We were able to end the distance once we got married, because I was finally able to go with him.
I vividly remember one morning when Clayton was home on leave during the Holidays. We were at church and were talking to our pastor after the service. He said something that neither of us have ever forgotten. He said, “Don’t be afraid to come home.” At the time we didn’t fully understand what he meant, but we never forgot that statement.
After being in Okinawa for about two years, we started to think about what our plans were going to be once our time there was up. Clayton was on a three-year tour, but not only that, his enlistment contract was up. So he either had to re-enlist, and we’d be sent wherever the military wanted us to go for the next four years (which could’ve been overseas again,) — or we’d jump ship; out of the comforts of a guaranteed job and steady paycheck.
About a year before we left Okinawa, Clayton’s leadership started asking what our plans were. They needed to know in order to start processing it, whichever decision we made. We weren’t sure yet, because of the severity of what each choice would mean. If we chose the military route again, we’d be sent who knows where and for who knows how long. If we chose to get out completely, he’d be ending a 10 year career that he’s shed blood, sweat, and a whole lot more sweat over. (The job he had in the military only 5-10% of the guys who trained for it ever actually made it through!) He’d also be jumping into the unknown, and in a major “what now” situation.
We thought long and hard, and ultimately decided we’d see what his orders said, when we got them. We knew he’d be due for them soon, so we waited and simultaneously started exploring other options outside the military. We landed upon one that interested us quite a bit, it would be a 4x pay raise, and would be a job that was contracted out by the military, but not officially “in” the military. He would work two months overseas, and then be home for two months. It would also mean we could live wherever we wanted, which was a HUGE deal for me. You don’t get to choose where you go in the military, and are often thousands of miles away from family. So this was huge. The thought of him being home for two months at a time was also super intriguing, because with his current job at the time he would be gone for months on end, back to back.
So, he sent his resume in, assuming to hear back — but never did.
We then found out that some guys didn’t hear back about their resumes for 2-3 years. So naturally, fear started to creep in on my end about what was going to happen. 😅 We started exploring what it could look like for him to transition into the National Guard, but in a full time position. (I really wanted him to have a job where he didn’t deploy.) Turns out, he’d have to deploy with a Guard position, and we’d have to live in Kentucky. After living away from family for four years, I was way past living in a completely different state. So still, no peace about anything yet.
I remember looking at Clay and saying, “Remember those words our Pastor spoke to us years ago?” He knew exactly what I meant, and was just thinking it, too. (That’s when you know you’ve received divine revelation.) #praiseGod
A few days later, I vividly remember Clayton walking through the door, and the first words out of his mouth were, “Well… I got orders. It’s Cannon.” Cannon is the ONE place everyone prays not to get orders to. We both looked at each other and laughed in a “you’ve got to be kidding me,” way. We sure as heck weren’t going there. So I guess God made the choice pretty easy for us in the moment, out of the military it was.
We both knew in our hearts, we wanted nothing more than to finally plant roots. And we knew we wanted it to be near my parents. For the last year, we’d been dreaming of building a house on the back part of their property. They have 21.5 acres in the country, and the back portion has a field that a house would sit perfectly on. And my Dad said he’d be more than happy to deed us that land, so we could start our lives together near them and finally have some solid ground.
So in my free time, I began drafting up house plans, researching meticulously on all things “building a farmhouse.”
I knew I wanted a modern farmhouse, with tons of windows for natural light. I wanted a U-shaped floor plan, and a breezeway that connected the house to the garage. I wanted both a front, and back porch made out of concrete. I wanted the house to be white vinyl, with a black roof and black industrial accents. I also knew I wanted the porch ceilings would be painted a light, haint blue. (It’s a southern tradition.) I wanted the master bedroom to be on the first floor, and wanted it to have a clawfoot tub and a large rainfall shower. I wanted a kitchen with marble countertops, a large rectangular island, tons of storage, a gas range and a big farmhouse sink. I wanted an open floor plan between the kitchen and living room, with a double-sided fireplace, that connected to a dining room on the other side. I wanted two, or three, additional bedrooms and a three car garage. And I wanted it on some land in the country, so I could see deer out my window while I cooked and cleaned.
Since our minds were set on getting out, one of Clayton’s teammates mentioned a job to him that he may be interested in. It was for a company called T3i; and was yet another job that was contracted out by the military. But the problem was, there were only locations in either San Antonio, TX or Arizona. So again, we wouldn’t be able to be near family, which was quickly becoming one of my top priorities. But for fear of not hearing back from any of the other jobs, Clayton went ahead and submitted an application. At this point, it couldn’t hurt.
As our departure date off island grew closer, my anxiety wasn’t taking the transition as easily as I’d hoped. I’d like to act like I had it all together and trusted the Lord, but I was scared. Fear took over more times than I care to admit, and my emotions tried (and succeeded,) to control me time and time again. The enemy tried again and again to make me doubt the goodness of God, because I couldn’t see or feel it yet (in the way I planned to.) 🙈
As a type 6 on the enneagram, I’m a type-A planner. And I simply couldn’t plan for what was ahead.
A few weeks after arriving in Texarkana, and getting off the “my little family is finally back and safe and re-united during this pandemic” high, fear started to creep in harder about what Clayton’s future would hold; on the career-front in particular. We still didn’t have any answers, and we hadn’t heard back from any of the places he had submitted resumes to; (Clayton is INCREDIBLE on paper, like… next level,) it literally made no sense.
I realize now it was just God’s way of saying, “Not yet. I have something better for you. Trust me.”
We were staying with my parents during this transition, which was such a blessing; both physically and financially. I was making enough to sustain both of us financially, but I didn’t want to have to. We’d been comfortable being a dual-income household for so long, and we have so much more to give when we are.
One afternoon, Clayton finally received a response from the company his friend had mentioned to him. After months and months of hearing nothing, we were SO excited. It was a glimmer of hope.
Originally the company only had available positions in San Antonio or Arizona, but they were in the process of trying to get a contract approved for a city that was much closer to Texarkana. The only problem, he couldn’t work for them living in Texarkana. We’d have to relocate to Little Rock. (Granted, Little Rock was only 2.5 hours away, but I think I’d had my mind so set on getting to live in Texarkana, and that’s what I thought God had planned for us.) Emphasis on, “I” thought. 🙈
We thought long and hard about it. It didn’t seem like a terrible option. But our pastor said “home,” and home was Texarkana. So could this still be God’s plan? Even if it’s not the home we thought?
… I now realize he specifically said, “Don’t be afraid to COME home.” Not, “Don’t be afraid to come home and STAY home.”
Whoops. 😂
We talked to family and friends, and they all came to the same consensus: we’d be crazy not to take it. I was fighting it, because after living thousands of miles, (it took two days and three planes just to get home,) I just wanted to be in the same town as my family.
I knew we’d be looking at having children in a few years, and I just wanted to be close to family during that season of my life. It’s all I really wanted, and I didn’t feel like it was too much to ask for. (For Clayton to have a normal job where he wasn’t gone all the time, and for us to be in the same city as my parents.) But I was starting to realize it may not be a possibility with Clayton’s job experience. There just weren’t any jobs available that he could use his skill set for in the tiny ole’ town of Texarkana.
So we decided to pray over it, and ask God to shut the door if it wasn’t of Him. The more we prayed, the more peace we had surrounding the idea of him taking a job in Little Rock; even if it meant he had to travel back and forth to Texarkana.
But the catch? The contract wasn’t approved for the job yet. So it wasn’t a “sure” thing. It was just a possibility. An option. At this point in my emotional journey, I wanted stability. I wanted concrete. I wanted “for sure.” My heart couldn’t handle much more “unknown” after the last three years. My spirit was tired.
The communication between Clayton’s contact for the job became sparse, and we’d go weeks not hearing from him when he said he’d be in touch soon. I started to spiral. I asked myself, “God, if this is of you why isn’t there more movement? Why isn’t it happening yet? We’re SO tired.”
I’m a control-person, (if you can’t tell 😂) and I was wondering why Clayton wasn’t moving. Why wasn’t he submitting more resumes? Making more calls? That’s what I’d be doing, exploring ALL my options and making. something. happen. Right!?
Well, Clayton felt differently. Regardless of the lack of communication, his spirit told him this job was going to work out, and we didn’t need to stress.
There’s a reason God designed the hierarchy he did, for husbands to be head of household; and by God, I am THANKFUL for it. Clayton is the greatest leader I could’ve ever asked for.
God used Clayton to carry me through this hard season, and it isn’t the first he’s had to get me through.
Praise be to the Father for His blood covenant, and the beautiful, transforming gift of marriage.
Clayton finally received the call, after a month of hearing nothing. The job was a go. The position was to be posted online soon for him to be able to apply, and they intended for it to be a direct hire. He was who they wanted. The contract was officially approved.
Provision.
God created a job for Clayton out of thin air. It didn’t even exist until he inquired about it.
Divine favor.
For the first time in a year, I felt like I could breathe. Pretty soon after praising God, I was moved to worship. And the first words out of my mouth were, “Jesus, forgive me.”
I felt so deeply sorrowful for not trusting God all that time. For saying I did, but living as if I didn’t. For being a woman of little faith. That’s not who I am, and I saw how hard the devil fought for my mind and heart that season.
But God.
God didn’t punish me for my lack of faith. He didn’t get upset with me. He just showed me grace upon grace. He’s truly a good, good Dad; and He’s never not been faithful to me.
There’s still so much more to come, this was just “Part One” of my 2020 life update. In Part Two, I’ll be sharing about how God’s plans are better than our own — and can’t wait for you to read all about that!
Then, if you decide it’s a fit and you NEED us to work together stat, we can totally proceed with mentorship and get this education party started!
I wholeheartedly believe that if you’re here and reading this page, it’s not by accident, girl. I’ve been praying for this years mentoring clients, and for God to truly equip me with the knowledge and resources, tailored just for you, to project you into your next season and help you to be more confident – because THIS is your year.
It’s time. No more excuses. Let’s do this, and rise up to who God has called us to be in both our lives and businesses.
If you’re short on time, follow me on Pinterest – and you’ll get these kinda tips delivered straight to your feed! You know… when you’re scrollin’ through Pinterest with coffee in hand, ready to take on the day… or, procrastinate.
Whatevs. Pinterest biz sesh, anybody!?
2020 has been a year hasn’t it?! Thanks for hanging in there with me on this rollercoaster ride of a life update! I’m excited for you to read my final life update because I’m sharing what’s been happening on the JVP end! If you missed the first two parts, you can read them here: our journey back to the states & our house hunting adventure. Ready for my JVP Business Update?
The past seven chapters covered January through August, it’s currently the last week in October as I’m writing this, and you’re finally reading this in November. So, what else happened? Glad you asked, because now I get to share all about my JVP business update. 😉
I was finally able to get into a workflow after SO long. I’d been working a ton, don’t get me wrong. But, I would finally be able to have my own office and not be dealing with the dog-tango situation, so I could make major progress on the big project I’d been working so hard on. (More on that in a bit.) 😉
A few weeks after moving into the new house, I got a message from my virtual assistant of two years at the time. She told me she was going a different direction with her business and was letting me know this would be the last month she’d be able to serve me, (and all the rest of her retainer clients for that matter.) She’s transitioned into becoming a copywriter/brand message strategist over the last year or so, and wanted to go full-time with that, which I totally understood. I’d been feeling about a month prior that I was going to need a VA that could do more for me, and provide more hours for me to use.
However, it was disheartening considering I’d be gearing up for a big launch in January and needed ALL the help I could get. It felt like the bottom was falling out from underneath me, and that I didn’t have time to replace her or figure out where to go from here. After crying it out, and talking to Clay, he said it was going to be okay. God was in control of this too, and we’d figure it out.
I remembered a company I had wanted to reach out to back when I was in Japan called “Rock Solid Virtual Assistants,” that specializes in pairing you (the business owner) with the perfect VA using their proprietary matching system. I knew I wanted to use a company that had it all together, and I knew this one did. (Plus the owner was a Christian, which really put me at ease.)
The only problem? At this point, I was SO completely booked that I couldn’t take on more work, because of the building of a program I’d been working on for the past year. Therefore, I couldn’t get more money coming in to hire a new person at the rate it would cost, until after my big JVP 2.0 launch in January. Clayton said,
“I want you to do whatever you’ve got to do, and I’ll help however I need to to make sure you have help for this big project.”
(This man was sent from heaven, ya’ll.)
I reached out and set up a call, and after speaking with Tracy, I knew I’d made the right decision. We had so many “God moments,” and I had so much peace surrounding the whole thing. A few days later, she messaged me that she’d paired me with the perfect person, a girl named Janine out of Navarre, Florida. (That’s the exact town I used to live in when I lived there, strangely enough!)
After mine and Janine’s first call, I was in awe. She had the sweetest spirit, and kindest heart. She’s a go-getter that thrives off of helping other women succeed, and she LOVES the Lord with all she’s got in that tiny Italian frame of hers. 😉
Again — God knows my best.
He knew that for the substantial growth my business would be seeing in 2021 and beyond, that I was going to need more help. He knew there was a perfect person out there to come alongside me, that would share the vision and values of my company, and help to see things through. He knew I needed Janine, and He made the space necessary for her to come in.
Simply put, she was the girl for the job — and He made it happen.
I just had to trust him with my JVP business, and my life. Easier said than done sometimes, but after the year I’d had, I knew He’d come through for me. He’d done it too many times already. 🙌🙌🏼
So, without further ado — meet Janine! The new set of helping hands over here at JVP. You’ll be seeing and hearing from her here and there. Most of what she does for me is behind-the-scenes, well… for now anyways. 😉🥂
Remember the part where I said I’d been working on a huge project all year long? As of now, October 29th, it’s been over a year in the making.
Last August, I hired a business coach and met her in Bali to work together. (She’s from Atlanta, but she was going to be in Bali for a few weeks, and it was much cheaper for me to meet her there!) Plus, Clay and I had wanted to visit Bali at some point anyways, so we just made a vacation out of it.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
The specific purpose for our working together was to come up with my “signature offer.” A signature offer is essentially your “thing.” I knew I’d wanted to teach other photographers (and had been already doing it for two years at that point,) but I didn’t have a system in order to do so. I didn’t have a framework or a curriculum built out to use, and I needed one. There are so many things you can do with a framework once you have it, and I knew it was the next big step.
The problem is, you’re just too close to your genius. It’s extremely difficult to pull the good stuff out of your mind, because you already know it all. So, the best thing you can do is hire someone that specializes in doing just that — pulling out your genius and helping you package it into a premium offer.
I worked with Maya Elious, and it was the best decision I’d ever made.
In two days we extracted and laid out a framework that I was PUMPED to teach. What she did for me in two days, I couldn’t have done for myself in months, or maybe even years. It was the jumpstart I needed to really do this. I was shooketh.
You see, most photographers that offer mentorships to others don’t have a plan. They charge you anywhere from $500-2000 for a day (or even half a day,) just for you to pick their brain, and ask any questions you may have.
The problem with that? You don’t KNOW the questions you need to be asking. You don’t know what you don’t know. It’s just left up to you to ask them all that you need to. And, if you come up with a question later that you forgot to ask, good luck! 😬
Due to being home for the Holidays in December of 2019, and spending January of 2020 with my mom and aunt in Japan, I didn’t get a chance to officially start building the program yet. February was spent packing and preparing to move back to the U.S., and in March I was getting the dogs and myself back to Texarkana. So, I was finally able to start building the program out in April. I haven’t looked back since then, and I’ve spent every week writing the curriculum for it. (Sometimes 60+ pages a week!)
I’ll announce what it’s called, and all that it includes really, really soon. 😉
Throughout the three years I’d spent in Japan, the biggest lessons I learned were:
These lessons had taken such deep roots in my heart, because I walked through them myself. I had to do hard things, and learn hard lessons. But it was necessary for me to be able to fully understand what God was teaching me, and one day share it with others.
In October of 2019, I’d started to feel misaligned with my business and brand overall. The visual representation (my branding and website) was no longer “fitting” for where I was going. There was a misalignment, and I just couldn’t ignore it any longer.
The lessons I’d learned in Japan needed to take their place in my business, and I didn’t know how… but I knew they had to. It was just too big of a shift in perspective.
I told my biz-bestie, and we began brainstorming on a new brand for me that would fit the new direction. We came up with one, and it was beautiful, but after some time we both came to the conclusion, this one wasn’t it. Something was missing. We had gone too far to the black-and-white editorial side, and we needed something “out of the box.” Something that hadn’t been done before. There wasn’t quite another brand or site like it out there, it just simply didn’t exist yet.
So, we started from scratch. This time, I gave her complete creative control, and when she showed me what she’d drafted next — I was speechless. It was it. And we’ve been heading in that direction since.
My current site, (the one you’re on,) I loved for a season… but I always knew there was something more out there for JVP. This new brand has been a LONG time in the making, and we’ve come across so many obstacles, but I can’t wait to share it with you all very soon. 🥂
The new brand will tell my story, and reflect my heart for life, marriage, education, and photography. This time, I’m chasing the call God’s placed on my life with reckless abandon. I’m holding nothing back, and I’ll be calling you to do the same — too. Because it’s worth it, and it’s why we were put here in the first place. ✨
I’ll be over here continuing to put my head down, and I may not surface on social media for a bit longer. It’s been a really good year of “doing the work” over here, and I don’t plan to stop anytime soon. 😉
Until I surface from under my rock *again*,
– Jess
Then, if you decide it’s a fit and you NEED us to work together stat, we can totally proceed with mentorship and get this education party started!
I wholeheartedly believe that if you’re here and reading this page, it’s not by accident, girl. I’ve been praying for this years mentoring clients, and for God to truly equip me with the knowledge and resources, tailored just for you, to project you into your next season and help you to be more confident – because THIS is your year.
It’s time. No more excuses. Let’s do this, and rise up to who God has called us to be in both our lives and businesses.
If you’re short on time, follow me on Pinterest – and you’ll get these kinda tips delivered straight to your feed! You know… when you’re scrollin’ through Pinterest with coffee in hand, ready to take on the day… or, procrastinate.
Whatevs. Pinterest biz sesh, anybody!?
A lot of photographers have websites, but not all of them have a website that converts their browsers into buyers.
In fact, you might even be reading this blog post because you’ve noticed your website isn’t doing its dang job, and you’re just not sure where you went wrong or how to fix it.
Luckily for you, this is one of my all-time favorite topics. So, today we’re going to audit your site and make sure you’ve got the right sections goin’ on so you can close your laptop at the end of the day knowing your website can pick up the slack as your sales secret weapon.
We’ve got 3 parts of your website to cover, and as we do make sure to keep a running checklist of changes you need to make along the way of after you’re done!
As a photography biz coach, one of the things I help my clients with is developing their taglines for their photography business, which we then translate to their website.
Because, here’s the thing — you have about ten seconds from the time your potential client lands on your website to capture their attention before they peace out.
This means that the very first line on your website needs to capture their attention and be crystal clear AKA easy for them to understand.
So, it’s a pretty big deal.
While there are lots of ways to create a tagline, one of my favorites is by revealing the transformation they’ll experience by working with you.
Here’s a formula you can use:
Helping [ who you help ] achieve [ what they want most ] without the [ whatever they’re trying to avoid].
For example:
I help busy photographers turn their website into a sales-converting secret weapon so they can book more clients without working 24/7.
Your turn! Comment below and let me know what you come up with.
Now that we’ve got a tagline nailed down, we want to make sure we optimize our website’s prime real estate and pop it “above the fold”.
This term comes from the newspaper industry and describes the text that you see when a newspaper is folded in half (face up). All the important headlines and attention-grabbing stories are still visible so you snag the newspaper and keep reading.
Here’s an example of a brilliant tagline and above the fold placement:
Takeaways:
1) Create your clear and compelling tagline.
2) Place it above the fold.
*Chef’s kiss*
One of the most common mistakes people make when they create their website is that they forget their call-to-action buttons.
Ya know, the buttons you click to “book/buy” a product or service.
How can you expect your reader to engage with you if you hide the dang button, am I right?!
So, here are all the places where your call-to-action buttons should live on your website’s homepage. Jot ‘em down.
All those yellow buttons on her site are her CTA’s, and they’re strategically placed so her reader can easily take action when they’re ready to buy.
Takeaway: Make sure your CTA buttons are in 3 major places:
– top right-hand corner of your website
– under your tagline and above the fold
– under every major section
I know this tip sounds simple, but you’d be surprised, my friend.
I’ve lost count of the blog posts and even captions I’ve read where I find myself looking up words that were probably used so the author sounded smarter (guilty).
So, when I say, “write like you talk”, I literally mean: write the way you’d speak to a friend, contractions and all.
Trade “cannot” for “can’t” and “do not” for “don’t”, is what I’m trying to say. Don’t catch your reader off guard by trying to sound like something you’re not.
This will also help them get a taste for your personality, too. Be the same person on your website as on the discovery call they’ll talk to you on.
Takeaway: Talk to your readers like they’re a friend, contractions and all.
Then, if you decide it’s a fit and you NEED us to work together stat, we can totally proceed with a mentorship and get this education party started! 🥂
I wholeheartedly believe that if you’re here and reading this page, it’s not by accident, girl. I’ve been praying for this years mentoring clients, and for God to truly equip me with the knowledge and resources, tailored just for you, to project you into your next season and help you to be more confident – because THIS is your year.
It’s time. No more excuses. Let’s do this, and rise up to who God has called us to be in both our lives and businesses. 🙌🏼
If you’re short on time, follow me on Pinterest – and you’ll get these kinda tips delivered straight to your feed! You know… when you’re scrollin’ through Pinterest with coffee in hand, ready to take on the day… or, procrastinate.
Whatevs. Pinterest biz sesh, anybody!? 😎🥂
Have you ever had such a difficult time making a decision that you made no decision at all? *Raises hand*. That’s called analysis paralysis, my friend.
When it comes to our businesses, this can be a terrible condition to leave undealt with being as we are the sole decision-makers for our biz. No one knows it as well as we do, therefore we’re responsible for advocating for it.
The vision? We decide what it is.
The mission? Same.
The why? You guessed it.
Not to mention all the other decisions like what email marketing platform we’ll use, how to set up our websites, what our brand colors should be, etc.
It’s been researched and noted that the average adult makes about 35,000 “remotely conscious” decisions a day, but I’ve found that the hardest decisions for me are the ones related to my biz. Can you relate?
If you’ve been dragging and dropping items from your to-do list to the next day for about a week now because you “just can’t decide” — you’re gonna want to keep reading.
First, let’s define what we’re dealin’ with here. Analysis paralysis by definition is…
“The state of over-analyzing (or overthinking) a situation so that a decision or action is never taken, in effect paralyzing the outcome.“
So what causes us to pause and ponder most if not all of our decisions? Expert Herbert Simon says we make decisions from two places:
1. Satisfice — These are the people that make a gut punch decision based on what will most likely meet their needs at the given time of decision-making.
2. Maximize — (This is gonna sting a little). These are the people who never settle for the first, second, or possibly even third option, but instead, keep searching for the better (or best) alternative.
Don’t think, just answer: Out of the two decision making places, which do you resonate with most — the satisficer or maximizer?
You may have already guessed it, but out of the two, the maximizer is the one who struggles with analysis paralysis the most.
Don’t worry, friend, good news is comin’.
As a maximizer you might be wonderin’ what’s so bad about making sure you make the best decision, right? Well, there wouldn’t be anything wrong with it if you actually wound up making the decisions on time or from a place that didn’t cost you your peace, am I right? Maxmizing actually just creates a habit for putting off decision making more than anything.
But, just like any bad habit, maximizing is something you can break. Before we break it, we have to know why we do it and why it’s not helpful for our business.
We already know that maximizing comes from a place of wanting to make the very best decision for our business as possible — but why do we take so long and put so much pressure on ourselves to do it?
And all the biz owners said: “fear of failure”.
Oof, that’s right. Studies show that in order to avoid making the “wrong choice”, maximizers will put off making a decision at all in fear that they’ll choose the wrong thing.
This is where the paralysis part comes in. We fill the space between decision and indecision with so many options that are brain goes into “information overload”. A place that doesn’t allow it to process any more info causing us to be paralyzed and unable to make a decision. (Hence the term analysis paralysis.)
Now that we’ve got all the facts and you’ve probably had a few “come to Jesus” meetings with yourself, it’s time to break this habit.
Now that we know more data doesn’t equal better decision making, we can move to what does.
Here’s how to beat analysis paralysis and make bold decisions like the brave biz owner you are:
1) Link your decision to a goal.
For example, let’s say you have a website launch coming up and can’t decide which platform to use: Squarespace or Showit. It’s a pretty common problem.
Ask yourself what the goal of this decision is.
If it’s to get your website up and running as quickly as possible so you can start marketing your services and make money, then this decision is on a deadline. Analyzing it for too long will put your website project off for two, three, even six months (not that I can speak from experience or anything 😉).
Go to Google, type in Squarespace vs Showit (tons of blogs will populate), choose a couple you like, compare opinions and make your decision right after you’re done reading. Boom. Decision done.
2) Interview the decision.
Decisions can paralyze us because we don’t ask the 3 necessary questions before acting on them. So, next time you’re facing a decision that already has you wanting to put it off until you can do some thorough research, ask yourself this:
1) On a scale of 1 to 10 how important is this? 1 being it will barely affect my biz and 10 being it will severely affect my biz.
2) Do I have to make this decision right now? See tip #1 on goal setting. If it’s going to prevent you from reaching a time-sensitive goal, prioritize it. If not, attach it to a deadline.
3) What’s the worst that could happen? Sometimes our worst fears simply live in our heads and seem a lot bigger than they actually are. Let’s take the website platform decision for example. Could choosing Squarespace over Showit ruin my biz? Heck no. In that case, let’s choose one and move on.
3) Ditch perfectionism.
Most of the time we put off a decision it’s because we’re striving for perfectionism. I really hate to burst your bubble, but perfection doesn’t actually exist. The truth is, every decision is going to have its downside. Even if you researched it for hours, got twenty opinions, and mulled it over for a month. That’s just life.
Remember that done is better than perfect. You can always go back and tweak, but you have to move away from analysis paralysis first and make the dang decision.
So, there you have it. Head over to your to-do list and use these tips to start moving the needle in your biz and making decisions like the boss you are, friend!
Then, if you decide it’s a fit and you NEED us to work together stat, we can totally proceed with a mentorship and get this education party started! 🥂
I wholeheartedly believe that if you’re here and reading this page, it’s not by accident, girl. I’ve been praying for this years mentoring clients, and for God to truly equip me with the knowledge and resources, tailored just for you, to project you into your next season and help you to be more confident – because THIS is your year.
It’s time. No more excuses. Let’s do this, and rise up to who God has called us to be in both our lives and businesses. 🙌🏼
If you’re short on time, follow me on Pinterest – and you’ll get these kinda tips delivered straight to your feed! You know… when you’re scrollin’ through Pinterest with coffee in hand, ready to take on the day… or, procrastinate.
Whatevs. Pinterest biz sesh, anybody!? 😎🥂
Creating a brand message can be overwhelming for small business owners. The reason being is that the majority of us aren’t marketing experts, we’re experts in what we do, which leaves us playing the guessing game when putting together our brand’s marketing strategy.
So, naturally, we follow the lead of everyone else starting a small business:
We hire a graphic designer to create our logo and color palette. Check.
Then, we spend thousands on a web designer to create a beautiful website for our brand. Check.
Because that’s the fun stuff, right? The marketing materials we like to show off.
But, what happens next is something new and old business owners alike soon come to terms with – they realize their logo and website isn’t selling their products or services.
Which, is exactly why in order to create a successful marketing strategy, we need to first cover what a marketing strategy is not.
As you may already be able to guess, your brand’s strategy isn’t just your logo, color palette, website, or business name. While these components are necessary visual elements of your brand’s marketing strategy, they’re not the only elements that help you effectively market what you do.
In fact, waiting to invest in these creative elements until you’ve fleshed out your full marketing strategy will save you hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars in the long run.
Let’s dive in.
What A Marketing Strategy Is
Your brand’s marketing strategy is simply:
01. Your brand’s message and how you’ll communicate it (via brand voice).
02. Knowing your target market (get specific).
03. How you position your brand in the marketplace (the marketing platforms you’ll use).
04. How you’ll measure those results.
For today’s 101, we’re going to hone in on your Brand’s Message, aka the foundation of all great marketing. Establishing this piece will give you a serious competitive advantage in the marketplace while saving you time and money before investing in any design elements.
The Importance of Your Brand’s Message
To create a successful marketing strategy, we first need to start with the way you communicate your brand’s offer to the world – in other words, your brand’s message. This is the most important thing you can do in terms of marketing. Why? Because the goal of a strategy is to position your brand to get noticed in a crowded marketplace so you win more business and increase your revenue (aka people buy what you sell).
We accomplish this through clear and compelling communication, aka our words.
Remember the problem we talked about above where business owners invest thousands of dollars in their logo and website only to realize that’s not what sells their product/service?
This is why we start with our brand’s messaging. Words sell things, period. Using the right words on our websites and marketing platforms produces lots of commas – catch my drift?
In order to create a brand message, you first need to start by identifying these main elements that make up your brand’s story.
*Keep in mind – our brand’s story is where our customer’s desires and our ability to help them meet.
Open up a new document or notebook and answer these questions:
What does your customer/client want as it pertains to your brand?
What problems does your brand solve for them – physically, emotionally, and philosophically?
What is your brand’s solution to those problems (your product/service)?
How will you deliver that solution (a plan or sales process)?
What words will you use to call them to action (“buy now”/”book now”)?
What failure do they risk in not engaging your brand?
What is the success they’ll experience if/when they engage your brand?
What transformation will they experience after engaging your brand (ex: from frustrated to confident)?
Take time to answer the bullet points above before investing in a website or writing any sales copy for landing pages, ads, or even your blog posts and Instagram captions. Put it all together and you’ll have a brilliant brand message that helps you get noticed in the marketplace.
Remember, your brand’s message is the way you’ll communicate your offer and why it matters.
It’s the foundation of all great marketing. It helps you stand out in a crowded marketplace so you can increase your sales. Remember, always start with your words and go from there!
Then, if you decide it’s a fit and you NEED us to work together stat, we can totally proceed with a mentorship and get this education party started! 🥂
I wholeheartedly believe that if you’re here and reading this page, it’s not by accident, girl. I’ve been praying for this years mentoring clients, and for God to truly equip me with the knowledge and resources, tailored just for you, to project you into your next season and help you to be more confident – because THIS is your year.
It’s time. No more excuses. Let’s do this, and rise up to who God has called us to be in both our lives and businesses. 🙌🏼
If you’re short on time, follow me on Pinterest – and you’ll get these kinda tips delivered straight to your feed! You know… when you’re scrollin’ through Pinterest with coffee in hand, ready to take on the day… or, procrastinate.
Whatevs. Pinterest biz sesh, anybody!? 😎🥂
How to tell if you’re ready to outsource certain parts of your photography business can be tough. I mean obviously you love your job photographing clients, so you don’t want to give that up, but how about the rest of your work?
Do you love it?
Do you have time from it?
Are there certain parts that you procrastinate or even loathe?
I get it. I’ve been there and as a proud outsourcer of work, I cannot wait to help you discover if you’re ready to trade doing for delegating.
Let’s get started.
I know this story all too well, friend. You’re performing a task that you absolutely cannot stand doing nor do you have the time for, and you tell yourself you need to hire help.
You huff and puff, do the thing anyway, and make a mental note to find a virtual assistant afterward.
But, you don’t. You convince yourself that it’s not the right time or you want to save money and do it yourself. Maybe you’ll revisit this thought in a few months.
So, let’s dive into some free biz coaching, and I’ll ask you the same thing I ask my coaching clients:
How much is it costing you not to outsource?
Your peace?
Time with your family?
Your mental health?
Oof, am I right?
Now let’s get practical and see where you can start.
We’re going to break this down into 4 separate parts:
1. What you like + what you’re good at
2. What you don’t like + what you’re good at
3. What you like + aren’t good at
4. What you don’t like + aren’t good at
Grab a sheet of paper, open up a Google Doc, and created these 4 sections and let’s get started.
With each section, we’re going to start with a brain-dump like session. Pretend it’s just you and me sitting across from one another (probably via Zoom) chatting this out coffee style.
Under this section, I want you to jot down at least 5 things you like doing and that you’re good at. Being as you’re a photographer, you already have a few like photographing clients, but this is your time to get really specific on the photography you really like and are really good at.
Weddings?
Engagements?
Take your time and under ‘photographing clients’ list your niche.
After that, list out at least 4 more tasks you actually like doing and that you’re good at. Get specific.
These could be:
Editing, client communication, timelines, etc.
So, here’s where it gets fun. I know there are some tasks in your day-to-day that you’re good at. Maybe it’s writing, maybe it’s your sales calls, whatever it is.
But, you cannot stand performing this task one more time.
Am I right?
However, you’re incredibly afraid that if you don’t do these particular tasks that your biz will crash and burn.
It’s okay, it’s just us here – you can be super honest.
Alright, now that you’ve mentally identified those things, it’s time to list them out.
Jot down 3 to 5 tasks now.
You know all those things you wish you were good at but don’t have the time to practice?
Making and creating presents.
Pitching yourself to podcasts.
Teaching in Facebook groups.
Starting a digital shop for photographers.
It’s time to get dreamy and list those out, too. Do me a favor and leave nothing on the table here. If you’ve ever spent time mulling over how you wish you had time for “xyz” but have put it off because of lack of time in your schedule – write it.
List 3 to 5 things for this section.
Then, I want you to look at that list and ask yourself if your business would benefit from you being able to execute these tasks.
Yes? No? Which ones specifically?
This will by far be the easiest section for you to fill out unless there aren’t may things you don’t like doing and aren’t good at.
Earlier we talked about what you don’t like plus what you’re good at, now it’s time to list ou tall the things you don’t like and you’re not good at.
Is it your inbox?
Or your lack of systems and SOPs? (Standard Operating Procedures)
Do you loathe creating your own Pinterest or blog graphics?
Whatever it is, it’s time to jot down at least 3 to 5 tasks here as well.
Starting with ‘What you don’t like + aren’t good at’, circle everything you’re ready to delegate. Better yet, what you wish you could have delegated 3 months ago.
Here’s the rule: you have to circle at least 2 things.
Now, if you’re really ready to scale your biz and get your time (and life) back, make a 30-day plan to outsource one of those 2 things.
Let’s say you decide on a virtual assistant to help you with some organization and daily client communication tasks.
Take the keyword ‘virtual assistant’ and pop it into Instagram. Find 3 to 5 candidates and set up Clarity Calls with them. Then, make your first hire!
Boom, your first coaching session is over and you’re about to make your first hire. Way to grow.
You got it, friend! Click the link below to schedule a discovery call to see if we’d be a good fit to work together! I’ll start prepping your strategy in a Google doc now! 😉🥂
If you’re short on time, follow me on Pinterest – and you’ll get these kinda tips delivered straight to your feed! You know… when you’re scrollin’ through Pinterest with coffee in hand, ready to take on the day… or, procrastinate.
Whatevs. Pinterest biz sesh, anybody!? 😎🥂
If you’ve been around the biz world for any amount of time, then I’m sure you’ve heard the word lead generator or “freebie”. Just in case you’re like, “Um, Jess, what are you talking about?”, I’ll define the term.
A freebie is a free piece of content that you offer potential clients or customers in exchange for the email address as a way to build trust and establish authority.
Some common examples of freebies are ebooks, a branded PDF, mini video trainings, or honestly any free piece of value that you can create and exchange. Catch my drift?
If you want to see one in realtime just hop on over to my site’s home page after you’re done reading this blog and right below the header you’ll find mine. It’s titled ‘4 Steps to Becoming A Confident & Successful Photographer”.
Alright, so now that we have a clear idea of what we’re working with, I want to teach you how to create one for your photography biz. Now look, you might be like, “Jess, I already have a freebie..”, and that’s amazing, I love it. BUT, 99.99% of the time, they can always be updated or reworked because there’s a lot more to a freebie than it just being “free”.
Let’s audit your existing freebie and go over what it should actually be doing in the next section. Cool?
Whether or not you have an existing freebie, we need to make sure it does 3 important things. Remember, business is about building relationships, and if you can offer your potential clients something for free and of value, then you’ll start to earn their trust. People who trust you, hire you. Let’s dive in.
1. Your freebie needs to position you as an expert.
Now, I know you’ve heard this a million times, but we’re putting a different spin on it today. The way we’re going to build your expert persona is through a very special recipe called empathy and authority.
Before you even deliver the value, let your readers know that you understand the problem you’re about to help them solve & demonstrate why you’re qualified to help them solve it. So many times, I “opt-in” to a freebie and it’s just the free content, which is great because after all, that’s what I asked for. However, including a page or some copy before you deliver the goods is a great way to express empathy for the problem (that you’re about to help them solve), and demonstrate your authority.
Expressing empathy and demonstrating authority can look something like this:
This the very first page you’ll read when you download my freebie. In the second sentence, I immediately empathize with my photographer by telling her I know she’s feeling overwhelmed and burnt out trying to grow her successful photography biz.
Now hop down to the very last sentence for some authority. I tell her that because I’ve been exactly where she is right now and I’ve come out on the other side of it successfully, I’m now qualified to help her figure out how to set herself apart, focus on what really matters, and pursue her God-sized dream.
Boom! Empathy and authority on one beautiful page. Doesn’t it make you feel so much better when the person who is guiding you takes time to speak to what you’re feeling?
One last thing I want to mention in this section is if the content you’re about to share with them has given others incredible results – MENTION IT!
This will get them even more excited about you, and if your FREE content gets them results, they’ll have no trouble paying for your PAID services! This will also help build trust before they even hand you their credit card.
2. Share your USP (unique success proposition, in this case).
This piece of content is your chance to prove to your audience why and how you can help them become successful.
Now listen, I know you have a ton of value to share with your audience, but before you do, I want you to think about how you can share it with them in a way that makes it unique to you.
For instance, can you create and deliver your free content via a branded formula or system that is distinctive to you and your biz?
What I’m trying to say is a lot of photographers can craft up a posing guide and give it away for free, but can if you give your specific posing method a fun name, then you’ll be remembered for it!
Our customers associate our biz with solving a problem for them, so name your problem-solving solution freebie something that’ll stick, and then remember forever!
3. Last but not least it should QUALIFY your audience.
Woo, we could be on this topic for a minute, y’all, but I’ll stay off my soapbox and just get you the good stuff.
A lot of biz owners create a beautiful freebie, don’t think too much about the content, slap it on their website and IG profile, and hope as many people as possible sign up. After all, it’s one of the best ways to build your email list.
Here’s my spicy take on this: your freebie should be intentionally created for the audience you’re trying to attract and eventually work with.
For example, if you’ve niched your biz down to “elopement photographer”, then the goal of your freebie should be attracting clients who want to travel or elope for their wedding. Seems simple enough right? But so many people hyper-focus on creating something “free” that they forget all about who they’re trying to attract and build a relationship with!
Make it clear, and make sure it attracts and qualifies your ideal audience.
Once you’ve decided on your freebie topic and written out all the content, it’s time to design. Your first option is handing it off to a designer. If you don’t know of one off the top of your head, you can always use freelance sites like Fiverr.
It’s basically a search engine for creative freelancers, and it’s affordable!
If you’d rather DIY your own, then I highly recommend using Canva‘s free service. They have tons of pre-designed templates to choose from, which makes plugging in your content simple. You can even upload your own branded photos, logo, colors, fonts etc. It’s a dream!
Alright, now it’s your turn to go out there and create the best freebie in all the land. If you implement these 3 simple tips then you’ll already be lightyears ahead of the business owners marketing themselves right now.
Remember: express empathy, demonstrate your authority, determine your unique success proposition, and make sure you keep your ideal customer in mind.
You’ve got this. Happy freebie creating!
You got it, friend! Click the link below to schedule a discovery call to see if we’d be a good fit to work together! I’ll start prepping your strategy in a Google doc now! 😉🥂
If you’re short on time, follow me on Pinterest – and you’ll get these kinda tips delivered straight to your feed! You know… when you’re scrollin’ through Pinterest with coffee in hand, ready to take on the day… or, procrastinate.
Whatevs. Pinterest biz sesh, anybody!? 😎🥂
When it comes to marketing your photography businesses online, Instagram is typically the first platform the photographers I coach reach for, and I don’t blame ‘em.
For me, Instagram is queen, and teaching my coaching clients how to market themselves on this platform is one of my favorite parts of what I do.
In my biz, I’ve seen amazing results from using the platform such as:
– building an amazing, engaged community
– connecting with photographers from all over the world
– creating relationships with my ideal clients from sharing my work
– landing and booking clients, and much, much more!
Plus, it’s a free way to market yourself! All you have to do is show up, right?
You’d think it’d be as simple as that, but what “showing up” really means is:
– Curating and editing content
– Batching that content
– Scheduling the content
– Oh, and …. writing the caption (my client’s least favorite)
And, as I photographer, I completely get it. We’re amazing at what we do – taking photos – not necessarily writing.
Psst, that’s OKAY! You don’t have to be amazing at everything just to show up and put your biz out there. So, if writing captions has been stopping you from showing up and sharing your amazing work on the ‘gram, I’m here to help ya out.
Keep scrollin’.
Here’s a little secret about me: I actually love to write, but I don’t always have the time for it. So, if that’s you, too, then these formulas are about to save you all the time in the world. If you loathe writing captions, then you’re going to love these formulas even more. Either way, it’s a win-win.
And just in case you’re wondering if these formulas “really work”, they were recommended by a StoryBrand Certified Guide. So, if you’re a fan of all things StoryBrand, you know you’re in great hands. I’ve seen amazing results by using them, too! Just go take a peek over on ‘the gram so you can trust me when I say they’re tried, tested, and true.
Alright, let’s dive into the formulas so you can start writing engaging captions for your photography biz!
Instagram Caption Formula #1
[Make a scroll-stopping statement.] [Present a counter-intuitive way of thinking or new information.] [Engage them in the solution.] [Present the call-to-action.]
I actually used this formula in one of my most recent IG posts and it blew up, literally. I had more engagement and shares on this post than on previous posts with the same “look” when it comes to the photo content.
Take a look at how I opened the caption using the formula above.
Scroll stopping statement = I almost didn’t post this photo because…
Counterintuitive way of thinking = But I did, because…
And the formula flows on beautifully from there. Catch my drift?
We see a lot of these on Instagram, and it’s because it works! Grabbing your reader’s attention with a bold statement and following the formula produces great results. Give this one a try soon, and let me know how it goes!
Instagram Caption Formula #2
[Make a statement of a commonly held belief/thought/experience.] [Intrigue with a solution.] [Provide a call-to-action to get it.]
Before we dive in, here’s another example of how I used this formula in real life:
This caption formula is definitely one of my favorites because it presents such a beautiful paradigm shift for your readers and shakes up their mentality.
For my “make a statement of a commonly held belief or thought”, I used: Think you don’t have anywhere to take awesome photos for your brand or business…?
I went with this particularly because this is what so many of my clients struggle with no matter if they’re booking a session or on the other side of the lens as an actual photographer.
My “intrigue with a solution” started with a slightly snarky little “Think again 😉.”,… and into the solution we went.
Tell me you wouldn’t want to keep reading that?!
Instagram Caption Formula #3:
PAS (Problem + Agitate + Solution [Concisely present the problem or pain point with empathy.] [Remind them of how painful that problem really is.] [Provide your solution.]
This formula is my go-to because it’s an “oldie but a goodie” that gets the job done. Ya know what I mean? If all else fails and you need to get a caption up ASAP, this formula is your bread and butter, got it?
Here’s how it works:
Step 1: You present the problem.
Step 2: You agitate it by talking about how that problem makes them feel.
Step 3: Present your solution and save the day!
Boom. Here is it in action:
Now let’s break it down.
Problem: There’s a difference between work and productivity – did you know what?
Agitate: How many times have you busted your but allll day long… only to feel like you accomplished 1 of 10 things you were working on? (Oof, tell me that doesn’t hit you in the feels?!)
I even dig a little deeper into the next paragraph about unsent emails and unpaid invoices.
Solution: My entire productivity system!
I’m tellin ya, it’s a piece of cake and it works every single time!
Now that you have my top 3 IG caption formulas, I encourage you to put them to work asap.
If you post 3 or 4 days a week, rinse and repeat them through a cycle! The best part? No one will know! Formulas are amazing, friend. I hope this makes your caption-writing so much easier and more enjoyable!
Ya gotta send me a DM and let me know if it works, too, okay?
You got it, friend! Click the link below to schedule a discovery call to see if we’d be a good fit to work together! I’ll start prepping your strategy in a Google doc now! 😉🥂
If you’re short on time, follow me on Pinterest – and you’ll get these kinda tips delivered straight to your feed! You know… when you’re scrollin’ through Pinterest with coffee in hand, ready to take on the day… or, procrastinate.
Whatevs. Pinterest biz sesh, anybody!? 😎🥂
Last week on the blog, we talked about an extremely important part of your business’s marketing plan: your email list! We went over how to start one, my all-time favorite email marketing service provider, and more! If you haven’t read it yet, click here to catch up, and then head right back here so I can help you with the emails you’re going to send to that list aka your email nurture campaign 😉
Wanna know the truth about email lists, though? It’s going to sting a little so prepare yourself…
Now, let’s press pause for a second so you don’t start feeling bad.
We’re all (including me) guilty of doing this, so if you felt that truth in your soul, don’t panic because I’m about to give you the jump-start you need to get back in the game and get excited about sending emails again!
Ya ready to build your welcome sequence? I thought so.
So, you’ve created a beautiful freebie, popped it on your website, added it to your Instagram bio, and asked people to sign up in exchange for their email address so you can build that list. But how often have you kept in touch with them?
Once to deliver the freebie (and that was automated), right? It’s okay, it happens.
But before we move on, I need you to know why sending consistent emails is such an important aspect of your marketing plan.
01. Introduce people to your brand in a personal way.
02. Add value to their lives and stay top of mind.
03. Help them get to know you as their go-to expert.
01. Positions your brand as the authority in your industry.
02. Continuously reminds your audience of the problems your brand solves.
03. Offers (free) value to build reciprocity by solving problems & establishing trust.
Sounds amazing, right? It is! Email marketing is one of the best ways to book clients behind the scenes of your business without having to show up on Instagram and sell all the time.
Not to mention, only 6% of your target audience sees your Instagram posts. 99% see your emails.
Okay, okay, I’m not going to keep you waiting any longer – let’s create your business’s nurture campaign.
Okay, so to get started, here’s what I want you to do.
Step 1) Open up your email marketing provider. Mine is Flodesk, and yes, I’m obsessed with it. Take a second to check it out if you’re not loving yours or are shopping around for a new one in general. (You can also save 50% off with my code: JVPHOTO)
OR you can use Google docs if you’d like, too. Either way, open up a blank document because we’re about to get to work.
Step 2) Use the topics below to create 5 emails to start your email nurture campaign.
Step 3) Rinse and repeat! That’s right, you can continue using this format to keep showing up in your future client’s inbox and win them over in no time!
Email 01: Your “freebie” delivery email
Yes, this is exactly what it sounds like. The email you send immediately upon your ideal client “opting in” to your freebie. Make it super simple and short and highlight whatever it is you’re giving them. I know you’ll be tempted to share your website, your social media handles, etc, but I promise you all they’re looking for is their free download.
So, give ’em just that. Don’t worry – you talk to them again soon 😉
Email 02: Introduction + add more value
This email introduces the way your brand is going to focus on solving problems for your audience by providing / pointing them to more value. Ex: free resources, blogs, etc – but make it strategic! Give them a nice “hello”, tell them what you do, how it can help them, and how they can get it! Invite them to hang out with you over on Instagram or any other social media channels, too!
It’s seriously that simple! Don’t overcomplicate it.
Email 03: Daily or weekly tips
This is a weekly or daily tip on how to solve specific problems related to your biz.
Make it simple – go with a theme.
‘Monday Motivation’ – can you encourage them in some way by telling them a story?
‘Tip Tuesday’ – give them a tip about posing or how to choose outfits to wear for their next shoot.
‘Wedding Wednesday’ – all my wedding photographers out there are gonna love this!
… see what I’m doing here?
Pro tip: Brainstorm at least 10 to 20 problems or objections your ideal client has when it comes to choosing a photographer, feeling confident in front of the camera, etc and draft up an email for each one. Boom, now you have at least a couple of months worth of material!
Email 04: Announcements
Pointing your audience to new blog posts, videos, podcasts, etc.
Yes, this is exactly what it sounds like, too. Simple and fun. Have a blog post or podcast? Let your email list be the first to know when it comes out! Email lists are fun because they’re all about building exclusivity!
Email 05: Sneak a strategic sales email
What do I mean by “strategic”? Glad you asked. You see, your nurture campaign isn’t meant to “hard sell” your clients on your services. It’s meant to add value to their lives and position you as their expert so that when they’re ready to make a buying decision, they choose you! But there are ways to “soft sell” to them.
Ex: Do you have a blog post with a “booking” option as your call-t0-action? Perfect! Tease it in the email and invite them to go read it. There’s no rule against sending them to a helpful blog post that might just result in booking a call 😉
Congrats! You have an email nurture campaign! Now I wanna see some emails going out so you can win your clients over like nobody’s business, okay? Questions? Feel free to leave a comment below!
You got it, friend! Click the link below to schedule a discovery call to see if we’d be a good fit to work together! I’ll start prepping your strategy in a Google doc now! 😉🥂
If you’re short on time, follow me on Pinterest – and you’ll get these kinda tips delivered straight to your feed! You know… when you’re scrollin’ through Pinterest with coffee in hand, ready to take on the day… or, procrastinate.
Whatevs. Pinterest biz sesh, anybody!? 😎🥂
Alright, let me paint the scene. It’s post-pandemic and you’re at a business networking event. You’re bouncing around the room making small talk and suddenly you get asked the dreaded question, “So, what do you do for work?”… and you internally panic. You rack your brain for a smooth elevator pitch, you know the one you always said you’d create for situations like this, but never did.
To cut the awkward tension, you utter, “Well, it’s complicated…”. Oof, you just lost them.
You see, the moment you told them what you do is complicated – their brain shut off. You just gave them a one-way ticket to tune out of this conversation because no one’s brain likes to break down anything past “it’s complicated”.
Can you relate? I can. Until I had enough of that mess.
Without further ado, let’s create an elevator pitch for your photography brand.
Marketing is an exercise in memorization. Everything our brand communicates to the world should help them remember who we are, what problem we solve for them, and the positive result they’ll experience once they engage our solution (aka hire us – woot, woot).
Therefore, we want to make it simple for our target market to memorize our brand, and an elevator pitch makes it super simple to do that.
Not only that, but it grabs people’s attention. For example, tell me which of these two answers you’re more interested in when asked the “what do you do question”:
a) I’m a brand photographer.
b) A lot of brands struggle to get high-quality photos of their products, which lowers their sales. I’m a brand photographer who specializes in…
B – the answer is B.
Now that’s an elevator pitch that roped you into a story and got you thinking. Can you imagine if the person you were talking to was a shop owner? They’d hire you in a heartbeat after rattling that elevator pitch off, and we didn’t even finish it.
Let’s get started!
Believe it or not, our clients buy solutions to problems. Therefore, opening your elevator pitch by stating a problem gets their attention.
What I want you to do is take a second and jot down all the possible problems your brand solves for your clients.
Let’s use the brand photography example from above.
Problem: A lot of brands struggle to get high-quality photos of their products, which lowers their sales.
Perfect. Remember, don’t overthink this.
This is where you answer the “what do you do for work” question.
Solution: I’m a brand photographer who specializes in capturing product content.
Enter your solution here. This part might even help you hone in on who you really serve!
We’re about to paint a picture of success, you ready?
Positive Result: So that they can attract customers and increase their sales again.
Ooh, la la. Okay, elevator pitch – I see you.
Imagine you’re back at the networking event. The dreaded question is asked, but this time you’re excited because you have a bomb elevator pitch. Read this aloud and see just how powerful it feels!
Ready? Aaand, go:
A lot of brands struggle to get high-quality photos of their products, which lowers their sales. I’m a brand photographer who specializes in capturing product content so businesses can attract customers and increase their sales again.
*drops mic and casually pulls out a business card*
So, besides droppin’ mics at networking events, where else can we use this amazing elevator pitch of yours? I’m glad you asked.
Here are my favorite places to “place” my elevator pitch:
Now, remember, you can alter, shorten, or condense it for any of these purposes. The point is, having this baby ready to go makes you feel more confident, look more put together, and come off as a gal with a serious solution because you know how to work a problem (and a room, am I right?).
And, if marketing is an exercise in memorization – this is a great way to help people memorize what you do. The more places you put it, the better!
Questions? Send me a DM – better yet – send me your elevator pitch! 😉
You got it, friend! Click the link below to schedule a discovery call to see if we’d be a good fit to work together! I’ll start prepping your strategy in a Google doc now! 😉🥂
If you’re short on time, follow me on Pinterest – and you’ll get these kinda tips delivered straight to your feed! You know… when you’re scrollin’ through Pinterest with coffee in hand, ready to take on the day… or, procrastinate.
Whatevs. Pinterest biz sesh, anybody!? 😎🥂
Let’s face it, nobody could’ve predicted the outbreak of COVID-19 in a thousand years. (Well, except for that crazy article that basically did, have ya’ll seen that!?) Anyways, point is, this has been nothing short of terrifying for us as photographers. Considering our work isn’t classified as “essential,” we’ve all had to shut the doors of our businesses on any upcoming shoots– and have no idea when we’ll be able to grab our bags and head out the door for sessions again.
But, I don’t want you to fear, because there are SO many things you can be doing in the meantime to continue to grow your photography businesses, (and some of them might surprise you!) This info isn’t going to be “basic,” in the slightest. So pull out a pen and paper and start taking notes, friend… because we’re diving deep into some goal setting + biz strategizing stat.
This one is HUGE, and has truly brought in so much revenue for me while traveling and just in general during the slower months in my photography business. Because I believe in transparency, we’re talking like upwards of $10,000. (And this is completely separate from my photography business!) Plus, it’s usually pretty passive. I made that amount just blogging about one of the software I use and love! 🎉
One of my favorite affiliate programs I’m a part of is the Honeybook Referral Program. Once you become a premium referral partner with Honeybook, they literally direct deposit $200 into your bank account for every single person you refer that signs up! I wouldn’t preach about Honeybook if I didn’t literally love the mess out of it, but this just makes it that much better; they really care about us! 🥂
If you don’t have Honeybook or a CRM for your photography business yet, here’s a blog about how and why I use it, and if you already do – get to referring people! Use your insta, blog, facebook, whatever you’ve got! I highly recommend starting a blog and using that for it; that’s how I made the amount below! 😉
* names & emails are blocked out for safety reasons!
If you’re using a gallery delivery service like Pic-time, they have some AMAZING automated marketing options inside! Check out this page, it shows all of the different ways you can upsell clients and make additional money, without having to put in hardly any effort! #winning
* If you don’t have Pic-time, you can use the code “C52JAM” to get a free month after your free trial!
Okay, I guess this is technically still a photography revenue stream, but – probably not in the way you’re thinking.
Sometimes we forget that not everyone knows how to take a great photo. We, as photographers truly do have an eye for this, and we could help out other businesses by taking photos of their products and styling flat-lays, etc. to help them sell their products!
Try reaching out to local boutiques/businesses that you know could benefit from your content creation, and get them on a monthly retainer! 🙌🏼
If you have Pic-time, (and I’m sure other gallery delivery services do it too,) you can open up a store and put your travel + landscape photos in it, where people can buy them right then and there!
Right now is such a perfect time too, because we’re all unable to travel, so you can allow people to “escape” through your work! (I’m preaching to the choir here, I really need to do this!) 🏝
If you’re really experienced in photography, think about teaching moms who don’t know how to use their camera to dust it off, and get to clicking! You can even do this virtually over Skype/Zoom. This would essentially be adding on an “education” facet to your business, and could really take you far depending on the way you spin it!
For example, about three years ago I decided to open up an education/mentoring program in addition to my photography business that specialized in teaching photographers how to start + grow thriving photography businesses. As time has gone on, it’s grown to the development of a signature 1-1 service that is now transitioning to a group coaching program, and will later be offered as an online course! The possibilities really are endless!
Alternate revenue streams truly are so important for the health of your business and help you continue to breathe and grow your bank account even in seasons of uncertainty. The best time to implement these 5 alternate revenue streams was yesterday, but the next best time is today!
Not sure where to even start when it comes to implementing alternate revenue streams in your photography business, (and actually seeing success with them?) I gotchu! Schedule a free discovery call with me to see if we’d be a good fit for a mentorship, where I cover this, and sooo much more! 🥂
Disclaimer: some of the links in this blog post are affiliate links, which means I earn a commission if you sign up with them! They help keep the lights on over here, so I greatly appreciate it! 🙂
I feel you. Did you know you can chat with me for FREE, (no strings attached,) and have me walk you through the process? Then, if you decide you want to have me come alongside you and put in place what we chatted about– we can get you on my books for 1-1 mentoring ASAP!
Click the link below, and I’ll start making the coffee now for our chat! Can’t WAIT!
If you’re short on time, follow me on Pinterest – and you’ll get these kinda tips delivered straight to your feed! You know… when you’re scrollin’ through Pinterest with coffee in hand, ready to take on the day… or, procrastinate.
Whatevs. Pinterest biz sesh, anybody!? 😎🥂