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This Can't Be That Hard

Annemie Tonken

You love photography, but running a business? That's a different story. If you've ever thrown up your hands trying to figure it out yourself and said "This CAN'T be that hard!!!" you've come to the right place. Host Annemie Tonken's secret superpower is cutting through the confusion to give you actionable, step-by-step strategies and systems that will help you build a business that reflects your values, serves your needs, and thrills your clients. Tune in to find out why thousands of photographers around the world love Annemie's simple, you-can-do-this approach to everything from pricing to marketing to customer service... and so much more! Whether you're still just dreaming of starting a photography business or have years of experience under your belt, you'll find ideas and inspiration every week to help you run a profitable, sustainable business you love.

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#383
Tuesday · 35 min
383 - Playing the Long Marketing Game with Tiffany Crenshaw
Here's something see all the time (and have fully been guilty of myself): you run a marketing campaign, it does what it does, and by the time it's over, you don't want to think about it any more... you're just onto the next thing. You skip the debrief. You promise yourself you'll remember what worked. But then six months later you're reinventing a wheel you've already built two or three times. To close out our back-to-school marketing challenge, I brought on my friend Tiffany Crenshaw from Animal House Photography and Tiffany Crenshaw Education. Tiffany - a business owner and homeschooling mom of three - coaches photographers on building a business that fits their life instead of swallowing it whole. In this conversation, we get into: Why starting a campaign with the end goal in mind, before you touch a single email, changes everything downstream How to block off your personal calendar before you set a booking goal, so the plan actually fits your life The "hand raiser" email and multiple-choice poll that gets real answers out of leads who didn't book Why Tiffany schedules a quarterly planning day and an end-of-year "SHE-EO weekend" to turn this season's data into next season's roadmap Tiffany is one of our speakers at the Consistency Club's live marketing summit on September 1st, and she's sharing a free quarterly mini planner to help you map out your own goals and action steps. LINKS: Connect with Tiffany — see the storytelling, authentic-moments style she talks about in this episode Follow Tiffany on Instagram Resources: New to the podcast? Go to thiscantbethathard.com/welcome to get access to 3 of Annemie's best free resources. Join our community! We'd love to welcome you into our supportive, business-focused private Facebook group. Go to facebook.com/groups/thiscantbethathard to request access. Long-time listener? Leave a review!
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#382
August 18 · 36 min
382 - The BTS Marketing Challenge: Manage your Messaging with Melody MacDonald
You know that feeling when you get a client email, a phone call, or even just an inquiry and your heart starts racing... Maybe it's excitement, maybe it's fear, or maybe it's a combination of the two, but according to our nervous system, it's all the same. We talk a lot on this podcast about what to say to fill your calendar. What we don't talk about enough is how what's happening in your body when you respond tends to show up in your words whether you mean it to or not. That's exactly why I wanted to bring Melody MacDonald back on the show. Before becoming a full-time photographer, she spent 21 years in 911 dispatch, and now she's built an entire teaching practice around the thing dispatchers know better than almost anyone: how to stay regulated when everything in your body wants to go into panic mode. In this conversation, Melody and I get into: Why automation should remove repetition from your business, never the humanity, and how to keep it that way The "pause" practice she uses to keep cortisol spikes from writing her emails for her Why every no, yes, and silence is just information, and how to use it instead of spiraling from it A simple way to respond to a no that keeps the door open, sometimes for years Melody is one of our two guest speakers at the Consistency Club's live marketing summit on September 1st, and she's also sharing a free five-minute reset for photographers, worth grabbing before your next hard conversation. Resources: New to the podcast? Go to thiscantbethathard.com/welcome to get access to 3 of Annemie's best free resources. Join our community! We'd love to welcome you into our supportive, business-focused private Facebook group. Go to facebook.com/groups/thiscantbethathard to request access. Long-time listener? Leave a review!
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#381
August 11 · 25 min
381 - Creating an Appetizing Offer Menu
Most restaurant menus have a handful of apps, a handful of entrees, and a handful of desserts: enough to give people choices and accommodate dietary restrictions, but not so many that people get overwhelmed. So why do most of us limit our photography "menu" to one or two items? When your business only has one package, one price, the offer is take it or leave it: you're handing hesitant clients an easy way to say no by saying nothing at all. In this episode, I'm breaking down: Why a single, rigid offer might be costing you bookings How to navigate your public-facing pricing so it signals flexibility (without being overwhelming) How to develop an off-menu "special" that you can bring out in special cases, and Why figuring out what's actually causing someone to hesitate matters more than guessing and discounting This is part two of our back-to-school marketing series. And if you haven't grabbed your ticket for the September 1st marketing summit yet, a Consistency Club membership gets you in. Resources: New to the podcast? Go to thiscantbethathard.com/welcome to get access to 3 of Annemie's best free resources. Join our community! We'd love to welcome you into our supportive, business-focused private Facebook group. Go to facebook.com/groups/thiscantbethathard to request access. Long-time listener? Leave a review!
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#380
August 4 · 36 min
380 - The Back-to-School Marketing Challenge: Organizing Your Leads with Dayna Schaaf
It's August, which means it's probably feels way too early to think about Black Friday, holiday cards, or filling your calendar for Q4... but that's exactly why now is the time to do it! Every year I watch the same thing happen: photographers coast through summer, and then the second Starbucks rolls out everyone's favorite seasonal latte, panic sets in: empty calendar, no plan, reactive scramble. This month on the podcast, we're running something we're calling the Back to School Marketing Challenge, and this episode is step one: getting organized. My marketing director Dayna and I get into: Why proactive marketing beats reactive marketing, every single time The hot, warm, and cold lead system, and why sorting your contacts into these three buckets changes how marketing feels How to go on a "lead scavenger hunt" through your DMs, comments, and email to find people you forgot were even interested Why and how this up-front organization step will increase the effectiveness of these conversations If you're in the Consistency Club, this sets you up for our marketing summit on September 1st, where we turn all of this into an actual plan. If you're not, you're still going to walk away from this one with a spreadsheet and a plan for filling it. LINKS: Learn more about Consistency Club Resources: New to the podcast? Go to thiscantbethathard.com/welcome to get access to 3 of Annemie's best free resources. Join our community! We'd love to welcome you into our supportive, business-focused private Facebook group. Go to facebook.com/groups/thiscantbethathard to request access. Long-time listener? Leave a review!
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July 28 · 18 min
379 - 20 Steps in One Direction
Here's a pattern I've noticed: photographers spend months chasing a version of growth that sounds right, but never actually sits right. Typically this is because they've heard advice or purchased a course that may be well-intentioned, but doesn't really align with their unique circumstances or goals. Before they know it, they've spent their valuable time, money, and energy heading in the wrong direction, and now have to spend more of each of those things to get themselves back on track. I'm wrapping up our Beyond the Bottleneck series this week, and although this episode may sound a bit like a contradiction to our other episodes, I meant it more as a reminder: Being organized is important. Building systems is crucial. Bringing in help is a big step on the road to growth. But all of it requires a clear sense of direction. In this episode, I'm sharing: The three questions I'd ask any photographer before they start optimizing A breakdown of when outsourcing actually makes financial sense Why the math can work perfectly and still not be the right answer Growth is a strategy, not a goal. This episode is about making sure you're growing in the right direction. LINKS: Grab Buy Back Your Time by Dan Martell Get The Photographer's Business Plan Glow Up Resources: New to the podcast? Go to thiscantbethathard.com/welcome to get access to 3 of Annemie's best free resources. Join our community! We'd love to welcome you into our supportive, business-focused private Facebook group. Go to facebook.com/groups/thiscantbethathard to request access. Long-time listener? Leave a review!
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#378
July 21 · 33 min
378 - The Nuts & Bolts of Building an Associate Team with Ali Leigh
You can streamline and automate every last thing in your business, but there are still only so many clients you can take on because there's only one of you... unless you build an associate team. This week, I'm sharing my conversation with Ali Leigh, a Minneapolis-based wedding photographer who has been running an associate team for almost a decade. Ali was an open book, sharing the actual nuts and bolts: How and why she got started with associates (mostly by accident) How she finds and vets associates that represent her brand well How she pays them and handles the legal stuff How she talks to clients about the fact that she won't be behind the camera The honest trade-offs - especially the editing workload Who this model is and isn't right for This is a practical, no-hype conversation from someone who has been doing this for nearly a decade. If you've ever thought "I wish I could book more, but there's only one of me" - or the flip side, "I'd love to shoot less but I can't afford to earn less" - this episode is for you. LINKS: Find Ali at https://alileigh.com/ On Instagram at @alileighco. Resources: New to the podcast? Go to thiscantbethathard.com/welcome to get access to 3 of Annemie's best free resources. Join our community! We'd love to welcome you into our supportive, business-focused private Facebook group. Go to facebook.com/groups/thiscantbethathard to request access. Long-time listener? Leave a review!
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#377
July 14 · 42 min
377 - Get It Out of Your Head with Colie James
My dad had a "system" for organizing his office. You could ask him for anything - any book or file or piece of paper - and he'd be able to locate it in 30 seconds. The problem? No one else had any idea what his system was, and if he wasn't available, nothing could be located. Maybe your office is super organized, maybe your desktop is as clean as the day you got your computer, but I'd be willing to bet that somewhere in your business, there are "systems" that only you have the keys to. Colie James is back on the show, and today we're getting into the practical side of what it actually means to get your business systems ready out of your head and into a format that you can hand off - to a person, a tool, or AI. Here's what we're getting into: Why "getting everything out of your head" is the first step Colie's "and what happens next?" method for mapping your client process The booked-and-busy trap: why the moment you're too busy to build systems is exactly when you need to build them How to use feedback forms as a data source - and how to utilize AI to make this easy (and objective) Colie's story about not outsourcing anything in her business until she went blind is one I keep thinking about. You don't want to be forced into building systems by a crisis. Today's episode makes it easy to get started today without the overwhelm. LINKS: Find Colie at coliejames.com Be sure to check out her podcast, Business First Creatives Resources: New to the podcast? Go to thiscantbethathard.com/welcome to get access to 3 of Annemie's best free resources. Join our community! We'd love to welcome you into our supportive, business-focused private Facebook group. Go to facebook.com/groups/thiscantbethathard to request access. Long-time listener? Leave a review!
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#376
July 7 · 16 min
376 - Getting Out of Your Own Way
There's an old story about a fisherman who keeps going out every day with holes in his net. Even though he knows the net leaks, he doesn't think he can afford to take the time off from fishing to mend the holes. I've been that fisherman more times than I'd like to admit, and I'd be willing to bet there's a good chance you have been too. At some point in business, most of us will get in our own way. Of course that bottleneck isn't obvious - instead, it shows up as exhaustion, as the feeling that you're working harder than ever but not getting further ahead, as that sense that success is always just around the next bend... but somehow you never quite arrive. This month on the podcast, we're digging into how to recognize those bottlenecks in your own business, and covering three strategies to get yourself out of that stuck place: systems, outsourcing, and adding capacity. Today's episode sets the stage for all of it. Resources: New to the podcast? Go to thiscantbethathard.com/welcome to get access to 3 of Annemie's best free resources. Join our community! We'd love to welcome you into our supportive, business-focused private Facebook group. Go to facebook.com/groups/thiscantbethathard to request access. Long-time listener? Leave a review!
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#375
June 30 · 16 min
375 - Your Clients Don't Know What They Want
This last episode in our Summer Essentials series dates back to 2021, but don't let its vintage fool you: it's message is as true - and important - now as it was then: most of your clients don't actually know what they want. Here's what we're chatting about: Why you need to replace "give people what they want" with "show them what they need" The importance of showing (only) what you want to sell - a rule most photographers break constantly The value of connection: what listening, educating, and handling objections actually looks like in a real conversation The benefits of being picky - why the clients who still don't want what you offer after you've made your case are not your clients If you've ever taken on a session you knew wasn't the right fit, or caved on your packages because someone said they "just want digitals," this one is for you. Resources: New to the podcast? Go to thiscantbethathard.com/welcome to get access to 3 of Annemie's best free resources. Join our community! We'd love to welcome you into our supportive, business-focused private Facebook group. Go to facebook.com/groups/thiscantbethathard to request access. Long-time listener? Leave a review!
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#374
June 23 · 28 min
374 - The Four Types of Buyers with Courtney Fanning
This conversation with copywriter and brand strategist Courtney Fanning changed how I think about copywriting. The premise is simple (if a little uncomfortable): we all instinctively write for the type of consumer we are, and if there are four types, that means we're only effectively speaking to maybe 25% of our potential clients. Courtney shares a framework she adapted from Spanx founder Sara Blakely that breaks buyers into four types: the director, the socializer, the relator, and the thinker. Each one needs something different from your website and your copy in order to feel confident enough to reach out. Here's what we're getting into: What each of the four buyer types is actually looking for when they land on your page How to do a copy sweep to catch what's missing - without starting from scratch What testimonials, FAQs, marketing receipts, and imagery are actually doing for each buyer type Courtney's take on voice (and why it's not the be-all end-all most people think it is) LINKS: Take Courtney's quiz to find out what your buyer type is. Find Courtney at bigpicturecopywriting.com and on Instagram and Pinterest Resources: New to the podcast? Go to thiscantbethathard.com/welcome to get access to 3 of Annemie's best free resources. Join our community! We'd love to welcome you into our supportive, business-focused private Facebook group. Go to facebook.com/groups/thiscantbethathard to request access. Long-time listener? Leave a review!
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#373
June 16 · 24 min
373 - Double Your Marketing Mileage
There's this cookbook my mom had when I was growing up called More With Less. The whole premise was: here are big, satisfying meals made with humble ingredients. It was on her shelf my entire childhood, and honestly... it's basically how I think about business strategy too. This episode is one of our most popular ever, and I'm re-sharing it as part of our Summer Essentials series because right now - in this slower-before-it-gets-busier stretch - is a great time to re-engage your most valuable marketing asset: your past clients. In this episode, I’m sharing four simple, relationship-focused ways to bring people back in, get them talking about you, and build more consistency and sustainability into your schedule and revenue. We’ll cover: How to re-engage past clients with new or expanded offers A smart way to use client stories and testimonials that builds trust and drives bookings What it looks like to partner with clients to grow your network The membership model that keeps your best clients coming back, year after year LINKS: If you want to go deeper on the membership piece, check out my course Revenue on Repeat Resources: New to the podcast? Go to thiscantbethathard.com/welcome to get access to 3 of Annemie's best free resources. Join our community! We'd love to welcome you into our supportive, business-focused private Facebook group. Go to facebook.com/groups/thiscantbethathard to request access. Long-time listener? Leave a review!
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#372
June 9 · 22 min
372 - Marketing in Hard Times
This month, we're taking a little break from new episodes and digging into our (big) archive to reshare some of our past faves. Today's replay originally aired in 2022, but if anything, it feels MORE relevant now than it did then: how do you keep showing up and promoting your business when the news is heavy. How do you send out a sales email or post about your upcoming mini sessions when those things seem trivial at best compared to what's happening in the world? Here's what I'm covering: Why remembering your "why" isn't just a motivational exercise - it's the actual calculus that makes continuing to show up make sense when it doesn't feel right The permission structure most photographers need to hear - both to take a beat when you need one, AND to come back, even if things still don't feel "normal" Why consistency is the thing that earns you the right to keep marketing even when timing feels off How to acknowledge the elephant in the room without making it the only subject of conversation Balancing the need to book work with our genuine sensitivity can be tricky... no one wants to be an insensitive jerk, but we all have bills to pay, too. Today’s episode gives you a strategy for how to stick to your marketing plan while remaining tactful and tuned in to the bigger picture. LINKS: Looking to make consistent marketing easier? Join the (literal) club! Resources: New to the podcast? Go to thiscantbethathard.com/welcome to get access to 3 of Annemie's best free resources. Join our community! We'd love to welcome you into our supportive, business-focused private Facebook group. Go to facebook.com/groups/thiscantbethathard to request access. Long-time listener? Leave a review!
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#371
June 2 · 15 min
371 - Three Signs You're Doing Better Than You Think
I was talking to a photographer friend who - by every outside measure - is killing it. On the inside, though? She admitted she was struggling with feelings of self-doubt and stress about the future of her business. I think a lot of us carry around a mental image of some summit - a destination that we will reach where things in our business will finally feel settled and all the hard work will be behind us. But the longer I do this, the more convinced I am that there is no such destination. And in a weird way, I've made peace with that. In this re-release from last summer (an episode I wanted to bring back because it feels even more relevant right now), I'm sharing three specific signs that you're further along the trail than you realize: You've shifted from focusing on more to focusing on better You've stopped fighting the slow seasons and started planning for them Things that used to eat hours now take minutes If you're feeling behind or worried that your numbers aren't where they should be, this one's for you. Short, direct, and hopefully a little bit of a relief. Resources: New to the podcast? Go to thiscantbethathard.com/welcome to get access to 3 of Annemie's best free resources. Join our community! We'd love to welcome you into our supportive, business-focused private Facebook group. Go to facebook.com/groups/thiscantbethathard to request access. Long-time listener? Leave a review!
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#370
May 26 · 27 min
370 - Navigating the AI Scaries: Your Concerns are Your Compass
Having concerns about AI isn't a bad thing: it means you're thinking critically about an issue that warrants critical thought. But nor do concerns mean you have to (or should) avoid AI altogether. The issues surrounding this world-changing technology are big, and I didn't want to gloss over them: What does "authenticity" mean in the AI era? What happens to your brain when you outsource thinking? What is the environmental cost of data centers? Are the companies building these tools considering anything beyond their bottom line? So in this episode, I'm opening the whole can of worms, diving straight into the complex, nuanced, and evolving conversation. I'm using the AI triangle framework from last week's episode (episode 369) to work through each concern honestly, so if you haven't listened to that yet, start there. Here's what we're getting into this week: The authenticity question: what it actually means to use AI and still have the work be yours Brain rot - is it real, and what the CEO/attorney/editor framework actually does to your thinking Ethics and tool choice: why not all AI companies are the same, and why that matters more than people realize The environmental impact of AI, and what "intentional use" looks like in practice I'm also sharing the 5-Day Content Challenge we just launched - a free way to test the same AI content system that powers the Consistency Club, with almost no setup required. Try the 5-Day Content Challenge: https://www.thiscantbethathard.com/5dcc Resources: New to the podcast? Go to thiscantbethathard.com/welcome to get access to 3 of Annemie's best free resources. Join our community! We'd love to welcome you into our supportive, business-focused private Facebook group. Go to facebook.com/groups/thiscantbethathard to request access. Long-time listener? Leave a review!
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#369
May 19 · 24 min
369 - Manual Mode: Using AI Without Losing Yourself
I remember the exact moment I first heard about ChatGPT. I was walking my dog, talking to my dad on the phone, and he mentioned this thing he'd heard about on NPR - some AI tool where you could just type any question and get an answer. My reaction? "Huh. Why would I need that when I have Google?" That was not that long ago. Wild. Just a couple of short years later, and AI is literally everywhere. But a lot of photographers I talk to are genuinely conflicted about using it - and I think that conflict is worth taking seriously! So in this episode, I'm sharing the framework I personally use to make sure the work I do with AI tools feels aligned with my values. Here's what I'm covering: Why I think of AI the same way I think about switching from auto mode to manual on your camera (and why that analogy actually holds up) The three things you need every single time you sit down to work with AI Where AI genuinely moves the needle... and where it needs to stay out of the way The real gift AI gives you (which probably isn't what you think) If you've ever gotten AI output that felt like beige content that could have come from anyone, this is for you. Resources: New to the podcast? Go to thiscantbethathard.com/welcome to get access to 3 of Annemie's best free resources. Join our community! We'd love to welcome you into our supportive, business-focused private Facebook group. Go to facebook.com/groups/thiscantbethathard to request access. Long-time listener? Leave a review!
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#368
May 12 · 37 min
368 - Airtable for Artists: Tech that Works With Your Brain with Ashley Rose
Okay, I'll just say it: I am an Airtable evangelist. I have been for years. It runs my episode archive, my client data, my business dashboard, my production workflows - honestly, it runs a lot of my personal life too. And I know that sounds like something I'm pitching, but I genuinely make zero money on Airtable. I just really, really believe in this tool. The problem is that what Airtable does can be hard to explain - and that makes a lot of photographers click around in it for a few minutes, get confused, and close the tab forever. That's exactly why I brought Ashley Rose back on the show this week. Ashley was here in February for a conversation about organizing your business (go back and listen to that one if you missed it). This time, we went deeper on Airtable specifically: what makes it genuinely different from a spreadsheet, how it stacks up against tools like Dubsado or HoneyBook, and the kinds of things photographers are actually building inside it that you might not have imagined yet. In this episode, we cover: The real difference between a spreadsheet and a database - and why it matters for your client experience How automations inside Airtable can handle client follow-up, reminders, and team communication without you lifting a finger Why Ashley recommends Airtable even for photographers who have zero clients yet A conversation about whether you should keep your CRM alongside Airtable (or if you can let one of them go) Where to start if the blank canvas feels overwhelming If you've been curious about Airtable but didn't know where to begin, this one's for you. LINKS: Follow Systems Over Stress by Ashley Rose for practical systems, workflows, and business tips and Ashley's masterclass. Explore The Photographer’s Business Dashboard — an all-in-one Airtable system and course designed to help photographers organize leads, projects, finances, and workflows with ease. Resources: New to the podcast? Go to thiscantbethathard.com/welcome to get access to 3 of Annemie's best free resources. Join our community! We'd love to welcome you into our supportive, business-focused private Facebook group. Go to facebook.com/groups/thiscantbethathard to request access. Long-time listener? Leave a review!
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#367
May 5 · 24 min
367 - The System Behind Your Tech Stack
Tech tools and software are an easy thing to accumulate. Most of us add tools when we find them, promising ourselves we'll dive in "as soon as we have time. Before long, we've got a giant tech stack that just kind of happened. In this episode, I'm talking about the costs of "tech debt" - not just the financial expense, but the minutes, hours, even cumulative days that we all spend on workarounds, redos, and tweaks, all the while thinking, "I'm sure I had a tool that was supposed to do that!" We'll also cover the three layers of your business where tech tends to accumulate, along with a simple, three-question audit to help you see your system clearly. The goal here isn't a perfect stack... it's just an intentional one, where you've got all the tools you need (and none you don't). Resources mentioned: Photographer's Business Dashboard Resources: New to the podcast? Go to thiscantbethathard.com/welcome to get access to 3 of Annemie's best free resources. Join our community! We'd love to welcome you into our supportive, business-focused private Facebook group. Go to facebook.com/groups/thiscantbethathard to request access. Long-time listener? Leave a review!
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#366
April 28 · 33 min
366 - Lower Prices, Higher Profits with Naomi Boyer
Ever wonder what it actually looks like to build a profitable photography business on lower prices and higher volume? That's what this conversation with Naomi Boyer is all about. After a rough year in 2024 where inquiries were down and the business just felt like an uphill battle, Naomi decided to try going all in on something she'd been developing on the side: school and event photography built on a high-volume, streamlined model. The result? Was so great that she shifted her entire business model. This episode gets into the real mechanics of making a volume model work - not just the vision, but the actual tools, pricing logic, and workflow decisions that make it profitable rather than just busy. Naomi is honest about where volume photographers go wrong (usually by trying to cut costs in exactly the wrong places) and what she's built to make the numbers actually work. We dig into... How Naomi recognized the workflow she'd already built was more valuable than she realized Why volume pricing requires MORE business knowledge, not less The tools that make her system run The difference between "volunteer" clients (like school photos) and popup studio clients - and why the numbers are surprisingly different What she'd tell any photographer considering this model before they dive in Naomi also has a workflow resource for photographers who want to look over her shoulder at exactly how she runs these sessions - details below. Links: Get access to Naomi's School Photographers Playbook Get inspired by Naomi's work. Edit smarter, not harder: ImagenAI Simplify your sales and client experience here GotPhoto Bring your images to life with stunning prints at Color Inc Photo Lab Resources: New to the podcast? Go to thiscantbethathard.com/welcome to get access to 3 of Annemie's best free resources. Join our community! We'd love to welcome you into our supportive, business-focused private Facebook group. Go to facebook.com/groups/thiscantbethathard to request access. Long-time listener? Leave a review!
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#365
April 21 · 37 min
365 - The Low-Ticket Lead-In
What if the most profitable thing in your business isn't your highest-priced offer? That's the question behind this episode - and the answer might surprise you. I brought in two photographers, Jenn Chen and Allison Maxwell, who have each built something I find genuinely fascinating: a lower-priced, accessible offer that sits at the front of their business and funnels clients into their higher-ticket work. Not as a loss leader or freebie, but as an actual profit center that also happens to grow their audience and warm up ideal clients. Jenn runs a family and newborn photography business in California and started doing confetti mini sessions early in her business as a creative list-building strategy. Allison is based in central Arkansas and built her Playful Portraits offer out of necessity after an unexpected relocation. In this episode, we dig into... How both women made sure their accessible offer felt genuinely different from their full work (so it wouldn't cannibalize their regular bookings) The soft, non-pushy way they convert mini clients into full-price clients over time Why Allison says 95% of her full-price work traces back to Playful Portraits - either directly or through referrals What it actually looks like to be a "model mullet" - donkey in the front, unicorn in the back Links: Follow Jenn Chen on Instagram: Explore Allison Maxwell’s Photography Resources See Allison’s Work on Instagram Resources: New to the podcast? Go to thiscantbethathard.com/welcome to get access to 3 of Annemie's best free resources. Join our community! We'd love to welcome you into our supportive, business-focused private Facebook group. Go to facebook.com/groups/thiscantbethathard to request access. Long-time listener? Leave a review!
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#364
April 14 · 25 min
364 - Keeping More of What You Make
You know that moment when you look at your bank statement and realize you're still paying for software you stopped using three months ago? Yep. We've all been there. Profitability isn't just about what you charge - it's about what you keep. And for most photographers, there's money unnecessarily leaking out of the business every single month that a little attention could stop. In this episode, I'll walk you through my strategic approach to evaluating business expenses - not as a slash-and-burn exercise, but as a way to make your spending actually work for your business model. You'll come away with: A clear process for getting every expense out of your head and onto paper (or into Airtable!) Two simple filters to help you decide what's worth keeping and what isn't The "don't starve your business" principle (because cutting the wrong things can cost you more in the long run) A lightweight tracking system to keep expenses from getting away from you again Whether your bank account is looking slim after slow season or you just want to feel more in control of where your money goes, this episode gives you a practical framework to work through it. LINKS: Photographer's Business Dashboard Business model quiz Resources: New to the podcast? Go to thiscantbethathard.com/welcome to get access to 3 of Annemie's best free resources. Join our community! We'd love to welcome you into our supportive, business-focused private Facebook group. Go to facebook.com/groups/thiscantbethathard to request access. Long-time listener? Leave a review!
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