Latest / Wedding Pros who are ready to grow - with Becca Pountney / How to diversify your wedding business income with Georgia Mcgilley

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How to diversify your wedding business income with Georgia Mcgilley · Wedding Pros who are ready to grow - with Becca Pountney

0:00
Georgia: But I like to try and put aside a percentage of what I know I'm going to
0:03
earn to invest back into the business.
0:05
So that's firstly how I get the money in the first place.
0:08
I think when I first started out, I didn't want to spend any money and I definitely
0:12
noticed when I started to spend money on the business carefully, I grew quicker.
0:17
So it's definitely worth investing in courses or workshop days or
0:22
networking events, or even if it is you just need more equipment or
0:26
gear, but really planning out exactly what are my goals for the year.
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What do I want to develop in?
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Yeah, I think my process is, is basically like that.
0:36
Becca: I'm Becca Poutney, wedding business, marketing
0:38
expert, speaker, and blogger.
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And you're listening to the wedding pros who are ready to grow podcast.
0:43
I'm here to share with you actionable tips, strategies, and real life
0:47
examples to help you take your wedding business to the next level.
0:50
If you are an ambitious wedding business owner that wants to take your passion
0:54
and use it to build a profitable, sustainable business, doing what you
0:57
love, then you're in the right place.
0:59
Let's get going with today's episode.
1:03
Today I'm chatting with wedding photographer and all around
1:05
great person, Georgia McGilley.
1:07
Georgia and I first met a couple of years back when we realized we had a
1:10
number of mutual friends, both inside and outside of the wedding industry.
1:14
Since then we've worked together, I've spoken at her event, she's been a student
1:18
on my signature program, and she's taken some fabulous branding photos for me.
1:22
Georgia is the queen of multiple income streams and has many strings to her
1:26
photography bow, some of which we're going to dive into later in today's episode.
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I know you're going Absolutely love her.
1:33
Georgia, welcome to the podcast.
1:35
Hello.
1:35
Thank you for having me.
1:36
I am so happy to have you on here.
1:39
I know, as I said in the intro that people are going to
1:41
absolutely love hearing from you.
1:43
You've got so much to offer, but before we get into all of those details,
1:47
let's go right back to the start.
1:50
So first of all, as I mentioned in the introduction, you
1:53
are a wedding photographer.
1:54
How did you end up in the wedding industry in the first place?
1:58
Georgia: Yes, so I ended up in the wedding industry kind of almost
2:01
by fluke, slightly fell into it.
2:03
So I got married in 2014, so nearly 10 years.
2:07
Yeah, so I, I kind of I've enjoyed photography my whole life, I
2:11
did photography throughout my school years, but kind of never
2:14
considered it as a career.
2:16
Married very young, fell into kind of having children young,
2:20
and all that sort of thing.
2:21
So I ended up just kind of getting a job to make ends meet, basically, initially.
2:28
And was just photographing things in the background.
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And then, quite quickly after I got married, a few of my
2:34
friends got married, and...
2:36
A couple of them asked me to photograph their wedding because
2:38
they knew that I had a decent camera and that I enjoyed photography.
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So I thought, yep, why not help them out with their DIY weddings, which was
2:46
brilliant and very quickly I realized I loved it and I was spending all my
2:50
spare time watching every possible YouTube video and every possible
2:53
thing to learn more about becoming a better wedding photographer.
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So that's how I started off.
3:00
Becca: That is definitely a common story.
3:02
People always say to me that they fell into the industry.
3:05
So what were your next steps then?
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Because obviously you worked and you did some weddings for friends.
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At what point did you realize, okay, this is actually going
3:14
to become a business now?
3:16
Georgia: Yes.
3:16
So I think I did that for nearly two years where I was kind of Doing
3:22
some I did my first two weddings.
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I did for completely for free.
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They were for really close friends Just to kind of help them out because I had
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very low wedding budgets and things and obviously at that point I wasn't a
3:33
professional photographer So I didn't feel like I was ready to start charging But
3:37
then as I started to learn and develop my skills in the background, I thought right
3:41
I can start charging for this So I started Getting a few sort of family photo shoots
3:46
again, mostly friends, but then as that started to grow, I thought, you know what
3:51
I can actually make a business of this.
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So I, I dropped my hours down to part time in the job that I was in just so
3:59
that I could focus a little bit more on building the business and sort of started.
4:05
Instagram account, started building a website and all that sort of thing and,
4:09
and then just continuing to grow in that.
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And I worked part time for nearly three years before then
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I decided to go to full time.
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So it was quite nice because it meant that I had quite a few weddings under my belt.
4:22
I'd been able to work with other photographers and get to the point
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where I felt really confident to charge a decent amount and, and put myself
4:28
forward as a professional photographer.
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Becca: I love that.
4:30
It's a really organic journey from being in a business working for
4:34
someone else through to dropping down your hours to part time through
4:37
to just being totally independent.
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Was there some fear along the way?
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Because I know a lot of people really struggle with the thought of dropping
4:45
hours in their regular job, as it were, because they're scared about losing money
4:50
or not getting their business to work.
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Did you feel that along the way, or did you feel confident
4:55
that you could make it work?
4:56
Georgia: Yeah, I definitely felt, had moments of feeling a bit, I guess,
5:00
intimidated, that kind of imposter syndrome, seeing other photographers in
5:04
the industry being really successful, or at least looking like they're
5:06
really successful, and, me not really feeling 100% sure of what I was doing.
5:12
But I did really, really enjoy it, and I saw, I think, a lot of us in the wedding
5:16
industry being naturally creative.
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you realize that that's your passion.
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And I, I realized kind of whatever spare time I was, I had, I was using
5:26
to try and build the business and to try and grow my expertise and stuff.
5:30
Whereas if, if I wasn't spending all that extra time on it, I think I
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wouldn't have grown as quickly as I did.
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So yeah, I, I definitely did have moments of feeling nervous and not sure.
5:40
And then when I did drop my hours going, Oh, what am I going to do?
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But, but yeah, I was very blessed to.
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Have great support from my husband who's self employed himself and very
5:50
good at running his own business.
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So lots of kind of the behind the scenes he helped with, with kind of building
5:56
the business side of things and me learning how to do my accounts and all
6:00
the boring admin stuff that we have to do.
6:04
So that really helped as well.
6:05
Yeah.
6:05
Becca: Yeah, all of the fun things that come along when you
6:08
realize, Oh, this is my passion.
6:09
I want to make money from it.
6:10
Oh, and now it's a business and I've got to do all of the exciting stuff that
6:14
comes with running a business as well.
6:17
Now, I know there'll be people listening that are thinking that they want to
6:21
get into photography or they want to.
6:23
turn their passion into a business.
6:25
Do you have any advice for up and coming photographers around how they
6:29
should start getting that experience?
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Do you think the route you took was right?
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Do you think they should second shoot for other people?
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If there's people listening that are kind of wanting to go on this
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journey, but not quite sure about it, what would you say to them?
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Georgia: Definitely.
6:41
So if I could go back again, I would definitely do it very differently.
6:45
I don't, I didn't have very much awareness of the industry at
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all when I first started out.
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Now, knowing what I know, I think I would go back.
6:52
I would.
6:53
Yes, exactly like you suggested.
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do as many second shooting jobs as I possibly can.
6:58
I still second shoot very regularly for a couple of photographers that I've actually
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met, mainly through you, I think, Becca.
7:06
And, and I still regularly photograph for them because I just love working with
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other photographers and learning from them and seeing how they do things because
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we all do things slightly differently.
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So I've learned more, probably more.
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from second shooting than I have from specific photography courses and things
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because you're really there in the action learning how the wedding day
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works, learning how other photographers kind of plan out their day, making
7:30
sure that they're successful and organized and all that sort of thing.
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And then I would also, if I was starting again now in 2023, go
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to as many styled shoot workshops as I possibly could to build my
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portfolio in a relaxed environment.
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So when I started in Well, I probably didn't fully start until about 2015,
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and then I went full time in 2018.
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They didn't really exist.
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I think there was probably a few out there, but very few and far
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between, and I wasn't aware of them.
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Whereas now, there are so many styled shoot workshops, and if you don't want
8:03
to do that, you can even start connecting with other businesses and create your
8:07
own styled shoot as well, where you can.
8:09
Get a model couple and set up a kind of fake wedding and build your portfolio that
8:14
way in a way that's not as pressured in the environment as a real wedding day.
8:18
Becca: Yeah, really, really great tips on both counts.
8:20
I think again, lots of people start and think, yeah, I can take photos, but
8:24
people don't realize the ins and outs of the wedding day unless they been to a
8:28
few wedding days and kind of experienced it and definitely with the styled
8:32
shoots building that portfolio as well.
8:34
One of the barriers I come across myself when I talk to people who are starting
8:37
out in their business is that they don't necessarily see the value in attending
8:42
something like a styled shoot workshop or they're scared about investing money.
8:47
Obviously now you're looking back, you're saying you can see the value
8:50
in those things, value in education.
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Why do you think it's important or why do you wish you'd invested
8:55
in that kind of thing earlier?
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Georgia: There's several different reasons for, definitely for
8:58
the styled shoot workshops.
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You don't just gain your portfolio, you're obviously learning from other
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photographers who are there because you're likely to have a photographer running the
9:07
workshop themselves who is experienced and knows what they're doing and can kind of
9:11
share their expertise, but then there's usually several other photographers
9:14
who are quite experienced who have paid for a ticket and are attending as well.
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So you can pick people's brains, you can find out how they do things on a
9:21
wedding day, but then also the thing that I found really valuable from Styled
9:26
Shoot Workshops is building relationships with other wedding suppliers.
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And I think in our industry, we can be very lonely, can't we?
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Because we're, most of us are sole traders, most of us run our own
9:37
businesses and are just kind of at a computer at home day to day and then out.
9:43
setting up our own things at weddings but not necessarily interacting with
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other people within the industry.
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So days like this is purely for that, for building your portfolio and then building
9:52
those relationships as well and they are so valuable for general support in the day
9:58
to day knowing that you have friends who do jobs similar to you and you can kind
10:02
of speak to them and pick their brains but then also for future ventures if you
10:07
wanted to do a styled shoot in the future Got some relationships there with people
10:12
who might be up for working with you and kind of collaborating on different things.
10:16
So, yeah.
10:17
Becca: And as I always say, you've got to speculate to accumulate at some point,
10:21
you do have to invest in different areas.
10:23
Yes.
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It's about making wise investments.
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Actually, if you don't have that portfolio, then it's worthwhile
10:29
investing some time, some money, some energy, some effort into
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getting those incredible images.
10:34
Now I was fortunate enough to come and speak at your recent style
10:38
shoot workshop and It was fabulous.
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Like the amount of work that you and all the other suppliers have put
10:44
in to creating that day for new and upcoming photographers who wanted
10:49
to grow their portfolio was amazing.
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And having seen it on the day and then being privileged enough to see the
10:55
photos that have come out of that event.
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Afterwards from the various photographers, like you can really see why it's
11:02
worthwhile being at one of those things.
11:05
Now, why do you think just generally, not necessarily inside of a workshop, but
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just generally when we're talking about style shoots, why do you think they're so
11:13
beneficial to people and how can people be making the most of those images?
11:17
Georgia: Yeah, definitely.
11:18
So for photographers, for the photographer who's doing a style shoot, I think.
11:22
It's huge for building your portfolio.
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If you're at the point where you don't, haven't had many weddings, or maybe
11:28
you've had some quite small, low budget weddings, and they're not necessarily.
11:32
Who you want your ideal end client to be.
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They're really good opportunity to get some imagery of.
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You get a chance to just, like I've already said, build those relationships.
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For other suppliers, you can use those images that have come from that
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style shoot in so many different ways.
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You can use them on your social media.
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You can create reels with them.
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You can put them on your website.
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You could use them in...
12:00
Brochures or welcome guides, anything that you're kind of creating for your
12:04
clients, they're a really good way of getting those, those kind of wow
12:08
images into your portfolio, onto your website so that you kind of look like
12:13
that a slightly more high-end supplier.
12:15
Becca: Absolutely.
12:15
And the other great thing about it is the collaboration.
12:18
So the amount of different people that were involved in your style shoot
12:21
workshop and all of the different people that you're tagging in those images,
12:25
if you wanna get seen on social media, then that's a great way to do it.
12:29
Because if you're tagging other people, other people are sharing you,
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it's all kind of working together to get more visibility on your brand.
12:36
And I don't know if this is your experience, Georgia, but I definitely
12:40
find that people don't make the most of being part of those shoots.
12:43
So they might be part of it.
12:44
They put a lot of work in upfront.
12:46
They supply their dresses or their makeup services or whatever it is for
12:51
the shoot, their photography skills.
12:53
And then those images just sit on a hard drive somewhere and they're
12:56
just not making the most of it.
12:58
Is that a similar experience that you've seen?
13:00
Georgia: Yeah, 100%.
13:01
And I think as, as I've kind of grown over the last couple of years in doing
13:05
styled shoots and built the team that we work with regularly on the styled shoots,
13:10
I think people have started to kind of.
13:13
understand how valuable it is.
13:14
And so I've got a few.
13:16
So my hairstylist for my workshops, Bridal by Coral, she's absolutely
13:21
brilliant at using all the images.
13:22
And I think that's kind of grown from day one, day one, getting the images
13:25
and thinking, ah, maybe not necessarily using them straight away to the point
13:29
where she now uses images from the first ever styled shoot we did years
13:32
ago, still on different reels, where she's going, look at the examples of.
13:37
these different hairstyles you could have or you can use them
13:40
in so many different ways.
13:41
They don't just have to be, hey guys, look, I did a styled shoot last month.
13:44
Here's the picture.
13:45
You can use them for so many different things like giving your
13:49
couple's tips and inspiration and all that sort of thing as well.
13:52
So yeah, like you said, if you can.
13:55
keep using the images as much as you possibly can, then that's brilliant.
13:59
And especially if you come to a styled workshop, a style shoot workshop like
14:03
ours, we tend to try and have more than one model couple at most of them.
14:07
So again, you're just expanding the kind of possibilities of what
14:12
you can do with your images because then it looks like it's more than
14:15
one wedding or that sort of thing.
14:17
Becca: Yeah, absolutely.
14:18
And if you're listening to this and you are thinking, I am guilty of this.
14:21
I've got all of these styles, shoot photos.
14:23
I've been part of, and they're just sitting on a hard drive somewhere.
14:25
Let me encourage you take George's advice, take them out of that hard drive
14:30
and start using them in blog posts.
14:32
You can still pitch them to other wedding blogs, get them featured right.
14:35
about them on your own, your own website, put them on Pinterest, put
14:39
them on Instagram, use them for tips.
14:41
Don't let them just sit there.
14:42
It's an absolute waste of your time and effort, and you really
14:44
should be getting them out there.
14:46
Now, Georgia, some people might be thinking, well, why don't I just
14:48
go and organize my own style shoot?
14:50
Why do I need to do it via a workshop?
14:52
What do you say are the main benefits to someone coming to a workshop?
14:56
over just organizing something themselves?
14:59
Georgia: Yes.
14:59
So the first benefit is the really obvious one is that you
15:02
don't have to do any planning.
15:04
You can just turn up, which is brilliant.
15:06
So that's obviously very obvious and that's what you're paying for.
15:09
But the other things are things like building relationships with suppliers
15:13
that you've never worked with before.
15:15
So if you are creating your own styled shoot, it's, you're more
15:19
than likely to work with people that you already know, that you already
15:22
think are going to probably say yes when you present them with the idea.
15:25
So if you are reaching out to different suppliers at a workshop,
15:30
then they're usually going to be people that you haven't met before.
15:33
So again, you're just expanding that network.
15:35
And then from a photographer's point of view, again, just building
15:39
relationships with other photographers.
15:40
So if you do your own styled shoot, you'll very rarely have another photographer
15:45
there that will be the only photographer.
15:46
So being able to come and attend a workshop.
15:50
There'll be several other photographers there that you can build relationships
15:52
with and I think in our industry we need to be, we need to support each other
15:57
and I think people can very easily go I don't want to get to know another
16:00
photographer because I don't want them to steal my work or or that sort of thing
16:04
but actually having strong relationships within, within that industry who people
16:08
who've got the same job role as you is so valuable when it comes to needing a
16:13
second shooter or if you have a couple who approach you and you've already
16:16
got that date booked and you want to recommend somebody you can trust.
16:20
All those sort of things are really, really good when you already have
16:23
some great friendships that are built upon and days like this
16:26
are a great place to start those.
16:28
Becca: Yeah, they absolutely are.
16:29
As I said, I thought your workshop was fabulous when I came along to it to speak.
16:33
It was great.
16:34
The models were great.
16:35
The people there were great.
16:36
And I think just the fact that people can turn up and not have to do all
16:40
that work is just like we said earlier on about, you know, you think you
16:43
can take photos, but then you go to a wedding and then you realize there's
16:45
a whole lot more involved in it.
16:47
It's the same with style shoots.
16:48
People don't realize the amount.
16:49
of work and effort that comes with building a concept, with
16:53
finding great model couples, with coordinating everyone together.
16:57
And if you come to one of your workshops, all of that is done for you.
17:00
And you can literally just pitch up on the day and get the best
17:03
bit, which is all of the photos.
17:04
I know you've got another workshop coming up, Georgia, just give us some
17:07
details about when that is and what.
17:09
is the theme.
17:11
Georgia: Yes, so we've got a workshop coming up in September.
17:13
It's on a Monday afternoon into evening.
17:17
It is one model couple for this one, but we are aiming to have a
17:21
golden hour, if the weather permits.
17:23
It's at Floor House in Northamptonshire and the whole theme is.
17:27
It's based on Golden Hour, so we're going to have lots of lovely oranges and
17:31
yellows and golden colours all set up.
17:33
The house is a really beautiful house, it's sort of a grand staircase,
17:37
huge chandelier, big halls, there's a billiards room that's kind of
17:41
your very much your, your gent's parlour cigar room with your leather
17:45
Chesterfields and things like that.
17:47
So it's a really beautiful venue that we're able to use with gorgeous
17:50
grounds, but then also we've got a fabulous team who are going to
17:53
set up some beautiful styled areas.
17:56
in the house and then a lovely model couple as well.
17:59
Becca: So exciting.
18:00
I love golden hour.
18:01
I really keep thinking I should get some branding photos taking golden hour.
18:04
Maybe I'll just pitch up and see if any of the photographers want
18:07
to take my photo while I'm there.
18:08
Definitely.
18:09
Georgia: Just turn up.
18:10
You'll be fine.
18:12
Becca: Love that.
18:12
I will make sure that I put the links to that workshop in the comments.
18:15
So if you are interested in finding out more about being part
18:18
of that, you can find out more.
18:20
In the show notes below now, Georgia, I think it's really important to say
18:23
at this point I'm hoping you don't mind me going here, but with with the kind
18:28
of honesty hat on when we're having this conversation about investment, I
18:32
know, because me and you have spoken a lot over the years that you yourself
18:36
are very careful about what you invest in, in your business, and that you
18:40
make really kind of informed decisions.
18:44
So, I know we've just talked a lot about your workshop and why people should
18:47
invest, but I think it's important people understand that you yourself are
18:51
really careful about what you invest in.
18:53
So, just talk to me a little bit about that process.
18:55
How do you decide what you should invest in?
18:57
What's worth your time and money?
18:59
Georgia: Yeah, definitely.
19:00
I think for me, I...
19:02
I like to be organized and I found during the years that I've run my
19:07
own business, the times when I'm not organized and I allow everything to
19:11
kind of speed over me, if that makes sense, I kind of fall into chaos and
19:16
then, and then things get dropped.
19:18
And so I'm quite clear at the beginning of the year, usually
19:21
sort of November time, I will plan.
19:25
ahead for the following year, plan what my goals and kind of aspirations are
19:30
going to be for the each quarter and kind of really look at what are the things
19:34
that I want to develop in myself and in the business in the following year.
19:38
And so that's a really big part of Where I then choose to invest my actual
19:43
physical money because I'll have decided right okay this year I really want to
19:49
learn for example how to use Photoshop better So I'm going to sit and research
19:54
and find the best possible Photoshop course out there for exactly what I want
19:57
to learn And then I'm going to spend my money on that or for example any
20:01
any business I might need to upgrade my equipment and that's the thing that I'm
20:05
going to spend my money on that year.
20:06
So I do tend to budget out my year.
20:09
Obviously you can't always guarantee what's coming in
20:11
when you're self employed.
20:13
For me with my branding, a lot of my branding only gets
20:15
booked in a month in advance.
20:17
So you're not, you don't know in November what you're going to be
20:20
getting in July the following year.
20:22
But I like to try and put aside a percentage of what I know I'm going to
20:26
earn to invest back into the business.
20:28
So that's firstly how I get the money in the first place.
20:31
I think when I first started out I didn't want to spend any money on
20:34
the business and I definitely noticed when I started to spend money on the
20:39
business carefully I grew quicker.
20:42
So it's definitely worth investing in specific courses or little workshop
20:48
days or networking events or even if it is you just need More equipment
20:53
or gear, depending on what you do.
20:55
But really planning out exactly what is, what are my goals for the year?
20:59
What do I want to develop in?
21:01
Say for example, you know your website has needed redoing for years and you've
21:06
always done it DIY and then suddenly you think actually, this year I'm
21:09
going to invest in hiring somebody to design a new website for me.
21:12
Whatever it is.
21:13
Yeah, I think my process is, is basically like that.
21:16
Hopefully that helps.
21:17
Becca: Yeah.
21:17
I think that's a really wise way of people doing it.
21:20
I think so often people can just come across something and get involved in the
21:23
hype online about something launching or a new course or a new program or a
21:27
new event and just book it or pay for it without even really thinking about.
21:31
Why they're doing it.
21:32
And I think your approach is really sensible.
21:34
And I think lots of people can learn from that to actually sit down.
21:37
And this is an exercise.
21:38
If you're listening, you could do right now where you sit down and you think,
21:41
okay, where are the gaps in my business?
21:42
What is it that I need help with?
21:44
Do I need help with the foundations?
21:46
Do I need help with a certain social media kind of account?
21:49
Do I need better portfolio images?
21:52
Do I need help with Google analytics?
21:54
Do I need help building a network and actually work out where the gaps
21:57
are and then find the right fit for you rather than the other way around.
22:01
So Georgia, thank you for sharing that.
22:02
Cause I think it really is smart and I think more people
22:05
should be doing it that way.
22:07
Now that being said, it makes me even more thankful that you chose to invest with me.
22:12
So a couple of years back you did my signature program at the
22:15
wedding pro business builder and.
22:17
I know you enjoyed going through that.
22:19
How did that help you in your business?
22:22
Georgia: Yeah, it massively helped.
22:23
I think for me, I've always enjoyed doing my social media and marketing.
22:27
And that's something that I think naturally I'm, I'm all right at, but
22:31
your course was so good in getting me to practically walk through
22:35
the steps of exactly figuring out, okay, Who, what's my ideal customer?
22:40
Who, who are the people that I want to reach?
22:43
Where do they start and how do they gradually get to the point where
22:46
they're going to invest in me or buy from me or whatever, whether
22:49
you've got products or services.
22:50
And just kind of walking through that process and making sure I met the deadline
22:54
each week and I filled out the workbook and I did all those sort of things.
22:58
That, that is absolutely brilliant for me.
23:00
And sometimes that's the motivation that I need.
23:03
I've invested in something, I'm not going to waste the money, and I'm going to sit
23:06
there and make sure that I've set aside time each day or each week, depending
23:09
on what the course is, to complete those tasks and actually come out the
23:13
other end with my business being better.
23:15
And I think a lot of people can quite often invest in a course like yours.
23:20
And go, oh, I'll just watch it on catch up and then never kind of work
23:24
through all the individual steps and then I think, well, what was the point?
23:28
Whereas for me, you physically having like, get this in by this day, get a
23:32
screenshot of you having finished this.
23:35
page and put it on the, on the thing by this day.
23:38
That really, really helped me to kind of get my bum in gear and make sure that
23:42
I completed each task and came out the other end with the result that I wanted.
23:46
Yeah.
23:47
Becca: Yeah, absolutely.
23:47
There's no point taking or paying for something and then not completing it.
23:51
And for me, you know, as the person who runs these things, I don't want
23:56
students that are going to pay, pay me for it and then never do it because.
24:00
That's kind of not why I do it.
24:01
I'm running these things because I want you to have more success in your business.
24:04
And I actually have now, I don't know if you've seen it,
24:06
Georgia, I have a new bonus.
24:08
I always include in all my programs and I call it the Ohana bonus,
24:11
which is from Lilo and Stitch, which is Ohana means family.
24:14
Family means nobody gets left behind, which basically is where I
24:18
incentivize people to complete it.
24:20
together within kind of six to eight weeks of buying the course.
24:24
And then I send them something in the post to say, well done, because we
24:27
all need to complete these things.
24:28
If you've got courses out there that you've paid for, whether it's with me
24:31
or with someone else put in time into your diary and go ahead and complete
24:35
them because you're not going to see any results unless you take that action.
24:38
Georgia, you were a model student.
24:40
You got everything done.
24:42
Georgia: Thank you.
24:43
Yeah, you're exactly right.
24:44
I think, I, I think that's the danger in when you jump onto free
24:49
courses, which there's some incredible free courses out there that some
24:52
brilliant masterminds have created and allowed people to access for free.
24:55
But if you haven't invested in it, sometimes people just.
24:58
Just kind of let it fall by the wayside.
25:00
And that, that, that planning and scheduling is where
25:03
it, what it comes down to.
25:04
Same with me planning my goals for the year and knowing what I
25:07
want to invest in for the year.
25:09
Also, when you know you've got a course coming up, planning in specific
25:12
days to work on those individual things are what's going to mean
25:17
that it was actually successful.
25:19
And there's been a few times where you've had a course pop up.
25:22
that's kind of a limited time only or run over a certain amount of days.
25:25
And I thought I would love to do that, but I know that this is a really
25:28
busy season for me and I'm not going to be able to give the time to it.
25:32
So I'm not going to do it right now.
25:33
I'll wait until the following year or whatever.
25:35
Becca: Yeah, absolutely.
25:36
Very, very wise advice.
25:38
Now, Georgia, at the beginning, I introduced you and said, you're the
25:41
queen of multiple streams of income.
25:44
Because whenever I look at your Instagram or your website, you're
25:48
always doing something different.
25:49
And I love that about you've got not just your wedding photography, you've
25:52
got lots and lots of different arms to your business, lots of things that you
25:56
do all in the world of photography.
25:58
Why?
25:59
Is having those different streams of income important to you?
26:03
Georgia: I think COVID really helped me with that.
26:07
So before COVID, I was focusing mainly on weddings and then
26:11
I did a bit of lifestyle.
26:12
So I did some family shoots, maternity, newborns, what a lot of photographers do.
26:17
And then COVID hit and all of that stopped.
26:20
So I think, The reason I kind of then started branching out into branding
26:25
and I started to get some product based businesses invest and they were
26:30
kind of sending me their products.
26:31
I was able to photograph them from my home studio and then send the images back.
26:36
That was brilliant during COVID because it meant that I didn't drop
26:39
from a decent wage to zero pounds in my bank, but it also meant that.
26:44
it kind of opened my eyes to the fact that it's really good to diversify your income.
26:50
And so from, from then onwards, really, is where I've kind of grown the different
26:55
aspects of the business, or actually, some of them are kind of completely
26:58
separate businesses, but all they all kind of relate with each other.
27:02
But yeah, I think having different businesses really,
27:06
really helps you know that kind of be more secure in your income.
27:10
So especially when you've got online businesses or businesses that are
27:14
slightly more passive, then they're not bound by your physical time.
27:18
So when I do my wedding photography or when I do my branding photography,
27:22
they are bound by the specific dates that I have available that
27:25
I can provide for my clients.
27:26
Whereas when it comes to things like my workshops, I can decide how many
27:31
tickets I want to sell for that one day.
27:32
So it's the same amount of work, but it's then going to provide multiple
27:37
amounts of income in for the day.
27:39
And then I also have a stock photography subscription service, which again is a
27:44
huge amount of work to set up initially.
27:46
But then once it's sorted, I just top it up, keep it going, keep advertising it.
27:52
And the kind of, almost the limits are endless, because you
27:55
could have thousands subscribe to it for the same amount of work.
27:59
I've definitely learned to find different ways of kind of sourcing
28:04
my income so that if something goes wrong, I've also had things go wrong
28:08
with my health in the last couple of years as well, and that can get in the
28:12
way of being able to do physical work.
28:14
And so actually being able to have those other streams of
28:17
income has really helped with.
28:18
my financial security.
28:20
Becca: Yeah, really smart.
28:21
And I think the pandemic was a wake up call for lots of people with
28:24
service based businesses when they realize, Oh, if something happens,
28:27
I can lose everything overnight.
28:29
And, you know, you always hear millionaires saying that if
28:32
you're a millionaire, you've got seven different streams of
28:34
income and all this kind of thing.
28:35
But I think there's something in that, in that it's smart to just.
28:38
diversify.
28:39
And also, if you're anything like me, you get bored of doing
28:41
the same thing all of the time.
28:42
So it's quite fun to have your fingers in lots of pies and to create new ideas
28:47
and be creative in different outlets.
28:48
Now you mentioned your stock photography membership.
28:53
Just explain to me, what is this stock photography membership?
28:56
What, like, what is it and why do people need it?
29:00
Georgia: Yeah, of course.
29:00
So I think I kind of started to see that there's a big gap in our
29:04
wedding industry for a huge amount of suppliers who are not photographers.
29:08
to be able to have decent imagery for their social, especially social media,
29:12
because social media, we're expected to put several posts out a week to
29:16
keep being consistent, keep being seen, and if you're not a photographer...
29:21
you're not going to have necessarily regular images unless you happen to
29:25
have excellent relationships with all the photographers that you work
29:28
with and they always send you all the images which I know isn't the case.
29:31
So yeah, so my stock photography subscription service it's Styledstock.
29:37
co.
29:37
uk and it is aimed purely at wedding business owners.
29:41
So it's a huge library of images, little video clips that are real orientated, so
29:47
their portrait form and then also Canva templates for social media graphics.
29:54
huge library over a thousand images on there and you just pay a monthly,
29:58
quarterly or annual subscription and you just have access to all of it.
30:01
There's no contract or anything so you can cancel whenever you need
30:04
and you just have access to this huge library of professional images
30:08
that have been photographed by me.
30:09
Becca: Fabulous.
30:10
And what kind of things are in these images then?
30:12
Is it like pictures of people working?
30:14
Is it pictures of weddings?
30:15
Give me more information.
30:17
Georgia: Yes, all sorts.
30:18
So there's a lot of wedding content on there, which is also always
30:21
great for every wedding business.
30:23
But then there's also office pictures, pictures of hands working,
30:27
so they could be anybody's hands.
30:29
There's pictures of people having consultations.
30:33
There's pictures of other lifestyle sort of things.
30:36
So if you're, you and your business talk a little bit more about yourself and
30:39
things that you enjoy, we've got a package that is coming out very soon, which is
30:44
kind of healthy eating and nutrition.
30:46
And so it will be photos of smoothies and clean eating things
30:50
that are going to be cooked.
30:51
We've got some collections coming out over the summer that are
30:54
all about summer celebrations and summer picnics and things.
30:58
And so if you want to talk about your kind of life at home, but
31:02
still have professional images.
31:04
That's a really good way of being able to access that.
31:06
Becca: So I could pretend that I'm really healthy and I could just share all of
31:10
your gorgeous pictures of smoothies whilst eating my McDonald's drive thru.
31:14
No, seriously though, Georgia, like how do we make these work
31:19
from an ethics point of view.
31:21
So obviously we need stock photos.
31:23
There's definitely a need for it because I see the same photos that people
31:26
use off of Canva all of the time.
31:28
People need a portfolio.
31:29
But how do you suggest ethically people use the photos wisely
31:34
whilst not making it look like it's their work, if that makes sense?
31:38
Georgia: Yeah, definitely.
31:38
So with all of these images, I think they're a really, really good way to give
31:43
inspiration to your couples or provide tips and tricks and things like that.
31:48
So then you're not saying, hey look at this wedding that I created and
31:52
these are my flowers, even though you didn't create those flowers.
31:55
You're able to kind of do a reel that has several different images of
31:59
several different bridal bouquets.
32:00
Yes, you didn't create them, but it's giving inspiration to your, your brides
32:03
and just saying, hey, look, here's some inspiration of different bridal bouquets.
32:07
You could choose which one's your favorite.
32:09
And I think things like that.
32:11
It's really really helpful to have that extra content and in the
32:14
library you can just type in bridal bouquet and that loads will come up
32:17
from loads of different weddings.
32:18
Yes they were made by loads of different florists but I have permission to use them
32:22
and give them out to you guys and it's a good way that you can kind of just...
32:27
Encourage your, your couples to interact more on social media and,
32:31
and that sort of way without actually saying, pretending that it was yours.
32:35
And like you say, you don't want to start pretending that you're really
32:38
healthy if you're not really healthy.
32:39
You don't want to start pretending that you have some like luxury manor house
32:44
when you don't or, or that sort of thing.
32:46
But those Those images are really helpful as long as you use
32:49
them within the right context.
32:50
Becca: Yeah, absolutely.
32:52
Well, yeah, exactly.
32:52
We don't want to pretend we're something we're not because we're
32:55
the people that people want to buy.
32:56
But I can see that there's definitely value in it.
32:59
And I think especially if you're looking to add things to your content, which
33:02
aren't necessarily what you're doing.
33:04
So for example, if you're a florist, use the stock photos of
33:07
the stationary or of cars or of a.
33:09
Makeup or all of those things so you can talk about it and give
33:12
tips rather than showing the same thing that you do yourself.
33:16
There's definitely value in it.
33:17
Do go and check out more about Georgia's stock photo membership.
33:21
Again, I'll make sure all of the links are in the show notes.
33:24
Georgia, you have got so many things going on for you.
33:27
I don't know how you have the time.
33:29
As you look over the next couple of years, what's next for you?
33:32
Georgia: I just want to continue building this stock membership and the workshops.
33:37
I'd really love for the workshops to become something that is more
33:41
than just building your portfolio.
33:43
So like you said, you came and joined our workshop and taught our lovely
33:47
attendees back in May, and I'd love to kind of grow the workshops to become.
33:53
More than they are become something that's really educational for photographers so
33:57
that especially photographers who are starting out in the industry that they'll
34:00
be able to attend and kind of come away really feeling like they're so much more
34:03
confident in their job and they've come out with a beautiful portfolio as well.
34:08
So, yeah, the workshops and the stock are things that I've only started in the last
34:12
few years and I just want to continue to grow my also my aim within my branding
34:19
photography is to start getting some more.
34:22
So clients that I can work with who want to have seasonal imagery done every year.
34:27
And those, so I just want to continue to build kind of building relationships with
34:30
my clients so that I can kind of get those people who really want to just continue
34:34
to keep working with me year in, year out.
34:37
Becca: It's exciting to watch Georgia.
34:38
You have so many fresh ideas.
34:40
I love watching what you're up to next and I know you're going to do some
34:43
really great things in the industry over the next couple of years.
34:46
Now I always end these podcasts with the same question, Georgia, which
34:50
is this, what's one thing you wish.
34:55
Georgia: I think, which probably sounds really boring, but the main thing is
34:59
something that you talk about a lot, Becca, is knowing who my ideal client is.
35:04
So from the very beginning, I think I just sort of, because I fell into
35:08
wedding photography, I didn't really know what I needed, what I wanted,
35:11
didn't necessarily have a vision for where the business was going.
35:15
And so then wasn't.
35:17
investing wisely in certain courses or workshops or whatever it may be.
35:22
I think when you know your ideal client, you know how to
35:26
write your copy on your website.
35:28
You know how to write your social media posts.
35:31
You know what they need because you're providing them, you're able to
35:34
provide them with the information that they want to learn and want to see.
35:37
And you also know how to create your, you know, grow your business
35:41
specifically for those clients.
35:43
So yeah, that would be the thing that I wish I'd Learned earlier.
35:47
Becca: Absolutely.
35:48
Get that sorted out and everything else will start to fall into place for sure.
35:52
Now, Georgia, I'm going to ask you a question, which I know is going
35:54
to have an overwhelming response.
35:56
So we're going to give the most simplified response because I know you have so many
35:59
different things I'm going to link to in the show notes, but if people want
36:02
to talk with you, find out more about you, get involved in some of the things,
36:05
or just ask for some advice, where's the best place for people to find you?
36:10
Georgia: Yes, I think my website is probably the easiest place
36:12
because that's where you can see everything, so you'll feel free to
36:16
go and head over to the website.
36:17
You can fill out any of the contact forms on any of the pages and that
36:21
will send an email straight to me.
36:23
You can also find me on Instagram at branding underscore georgiabethphoto.
36:27
And that's my branding photography page.
36:29
Becca: Fabulous.
36:30
As I said, I'll make sure I put all of the links to everything
36:33
we've been chatting about in today's episode in the show notes.
36:36
Do go and reach out to Georgia.
36:37
She's lovely.
36:38
She would love to chat with you more, I'm sure.
36:40
So if you've found this episode interesting, inspiring, if it's given you
36:44
food for thought, or if you want to get involved in any of the things that she is
36:48
doing in the industry, then go find her on Instagram and drop her a direct message.
36:52
Georgia, it's been a pleasure.
36:53
Thanks for being here.
36:54
Georgia: Thank you so much for having me.
36:56
I've loved chatting to you, Becca.
36:58
Becca: Isn't Georgia fabulous?
36:59
I told you you were going to absolutely love her.
37:01
She is so smart.
37:02
I love how wise she is when it comes to making decisions, thinking things
37:06
through, planning ahead, planning where she invests, and making the most of
37:11
each and every one of those investments.
37:13
And she's always forward thinking and thinking about fresh new ideas.
37:16
So do go check out her website, go and follow her on Instagram,
37:20
and let's see what she does next.
37:21
I'll see you next time.