Latest / Real Estate for Real Life / Episode 12 • From Mom Blog to Creative Movement: How Curiosity Turned Into a Photography Career with Sarah Driscoll

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Episode 12 • From Mom Blog to Creative Movement: How Curiosity Turned Into a Photography Career with Sarah Driscoll · Real Estate for Real Life

• 0:00
  On Real Estate for Real Life podcasts, we sit down with
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  standout business leaders to unpack what's actually working.
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  How they scale, lead teams, win clients and build businesses
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  that last. We're your hosts.
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  I'm Courtney Gauchman. And I'm Ryan Wilson, thanks for
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  tuning in. We're back on Real Estate for
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  Real Life and we have a new Co host with us today filling in
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  for Ryan Wilson. We have Ashley Kinney.
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  She's, yeah, she's an agent at Wilson Group and an absolute
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  rock star on the podcast, so we're happy to have her back.
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  I'm excited to be here today. Our special guest is a dear
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  friend of mine and the founder of Sarah Driscoll Photography
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  and Unraveled Academy. Sarah, welcome.
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  Hi, thanks for having me. We're excited to have you here.
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  We're thrilled to have you here. You have such an amazing story.
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  And everybody today knows what bloggers are and influencers and
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  people who have businesses online.
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  But you started 20 years ago as a Blogger.
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  Yeah. And then accidentally kind of
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  stumbled across and became a photography business, right?
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  Yes. So we want to dive into kind of
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  a little bit more about that story.
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  Absolutely. And tell us to the names of your
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  because it's amazing. You're building a lot of
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  different a lot of escorts, so so.
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  Basically, it all began when I had my baby a little young and I
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  really was like trying to figure out how I was going to be home
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  and make money. And it was that was the time of
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  like where mummy blogs were like the thing that was like, the
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  only thing I knew was like Pinterest was just getting
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  started. Social media.
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  I don't even know about Instagram.
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  Like it was barely. No.
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  Yeah, I think it was. It was just really there.
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  Yeah. And like, I know I started
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  posting on Instagram, but maybe it was a few years later.
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  But yeah, so it was like I was just trying to figure it all
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  out. And, like, I was home and I was
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  like, well, I got something to say.
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  And I was an English major in college.
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  Well first I was supposed to be a teacher but I failed my mtel
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  so my teachers test by one point stop in math.
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  How did I not know this? Yeah, by one point in math and
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  like I had to student teach, but I already had a baby so I
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  couldn't student. It was the whole thing.
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  Yeah, you would. Be an English teacher.
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  What did that math? Yeah.
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  Really. Yeah, I'm just going to do
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  English writing. And I always wanted to be like a
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  journalist or a writer or like something in that field.
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  So I was like, I'm just going to start writing.
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  And I did and I just started following a bunch of people and
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  I was like, these, these people are saying things that I could
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  say better. You know, I was just like, I'm
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  competitive. I'm a very competitive person.
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  So I was like, if these people can do this and get like
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  followers, I was like, I can, I could say this smarter and like
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  a little more badass, you know, like, and that was kind of my
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  approach. So I just kind of started saying
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  like random things on my blog and sharing them and like making
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  things happen. And it turned into like a great
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  career. I had advertisers.
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  I was making money on Pinterest. Like it was awesome.
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  Tell me a little bit about that. So it was Diapers and Daisies is
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  the blog Diapers and Daisies. And how did you start realizing
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  you could get advertisers? Basically on Pinterest you would
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  learn like I would click on everything or I would Google
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  things like just seeing like other people doing like and you
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  know the sidebar of a vlog, like they'd have like advertise here
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  for $200 and things like that. Or you would just learn how to
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  code and put like Google Ads in and you know how to code.
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  Yeah, I can code 'cause I had to figure it out.
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  I had to figure it out. Like I was like, I have no
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  money. Yeah.
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  And like, yeah, like I was pregnant.
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  I well, I had like one or two kids by then.
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  I was pregnant. I was constantly pregnant.
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  So I was just always pregnant. So I was like, I'm home.
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  I got to figure this shit out. And so I would just be like
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  coding, like putting in my, you know, website, making it better,
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  making it cooler, figuring out how to get Google ads and then
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  just having people like start paying me to advertise.
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  It was, it was all like just fun because it was like so
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  interesting like to figure out how the hell people did that and
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  like that it's actually possible.
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  So. There's also no pressure at that
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  point, right? Like it's like you're kind of
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  just like trying things, paving the way.
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  Also, I think what's interesting as a mom of twins, everyone
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  always acts like that must have been so hard.
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  I'm like, it is. But it's also, I think one of
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  the hardest things is not having anything for yourself during
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  that period of time because you are just.
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  Any young mom? Yeah, you're just selflessly
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  taking care of these little humans.
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  Some sort of of like recognition, yeah.
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  Right, and some sort of like outlet, right?
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  And to me, I also feel like I always need a creative outlet.
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  I'm always either decorating something in my house or
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  creating the next event we're going to host on our team or
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  coming up with the next business development idea.
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  And for you, it's obviously you're a creative person, right?
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  So this is especially the writing piece, like that's an
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  outlet that you were able to have during these weird hours
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  too. I found I'd be up at like 2:00
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  in the morning and my brain would be non-stop moving.
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  But to be able to just sit there, type a couple things
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  things and like make progress towards something amazing that
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  you were building. Absolutely.
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  It's it's such a smart idea. And when you're like home with
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  your kids, like doing nothing and just feeling like I'm, I'm
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  nobody, you know, like you just feel like so drained all the
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  time. Like I was like, the only thing
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  that I found like powerful, inspiring, like giving me what I
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  needed was like recognition of somebody being like, I just read
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  your blog and it like changed my life.
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  Or I just read your blog and like for the first time, I felt
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  like somebody was saying what I, I've been thinking.
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  And I was like, this is awesome. It only took one person, you
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  know, like one person to say. And I was like, next one.
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  Now I have my next idea. You know, it was just like.
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  You're creating a community. Yeah, it was awesome, Yeah.
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  Now unbelievable. Back to the advertising part of
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  it. Because did someone reach out to
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  you first? Yeah, so you would put like, I
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  mean, now you would use Canva. I think back then, God, I don't
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  even know what I was doing. There was like like a monkey.
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  I don't know. There was like some random like
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  thing where you would make graphics.
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  I forget what it's called now because Cam, I only use Canva.
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  I don't know if you guys use Canva.
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  Oh yeah. And like Photoshop, but there
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  was like you'd make graphic you'd like, input it into the
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  site, your side blog and be like advertised here for $200, you
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  know, like ridiculous things. And I'm sure people still do
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  that. But yeah, it was just like, you
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  know, put it there and then people would reach out because
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  actually I, when I was in the hospital giving birth to my
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  second daughter, Delaney, I realized I'd posted a like it
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  was 25 rules for mothers of daughters.
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  And I woke up the next morning and it had like 2,000,000 hits.
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  And I just posted it like the day before.
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  And I was like, holy crap. Like I did it like this is it.
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  And and then she was born. So it's like this really like,
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  pivotal moment where I was like, wow, it's amazing.
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  Yeah. It's like, oh, my shit went
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  viral. How are you?
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  Had a millionaire right now. Eight years.
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  Eight years. You know what my problem is is
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  I'm I'm a compulsive, like I always have to build something
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  new. I'm not good at ever staying
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  still. So I literally just like got rid
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  of all of my blog stuff and like that, that one post, like people
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  stole it and like it was all over everybody else's blog.
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  People claiming to be the person that write it and like, I just
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  didn't even care. Yeah, but I could still be
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  making money off that blog if I just wasn't an idiot.
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  But I was like, constantly like, yeah, whatever.
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  Yeah, my next 2 million views will come to my next one.
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  You know, I'm like, yeah, I always think like, the next best
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  thing's coming, so I'm always screwing myself over like that.
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  But. That's fine.
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  But yeah, but I mean, it's it's also, like you said, that's kind
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  of what fills your cup though, is like chasing the next best
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  thing. It's kind of, you do have that
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  entrepreneurial spirit, which is chasing a high.
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  Absolutely. And that's, hey, that's a good,
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  good personality trait to have, right?
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  You're always working towards big goals, really big, lofty
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  ones. Tell us what happened next after
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  the vlog. So then I realized the best
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  thing for a blog is to have good pictures.
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  So I I had a moment where I had posted because I used to go to
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  on Pinterest and I would like just like left click save other
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  people's pictures and put them into my blog.
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  Like my 25 rules for mothers of daughters was like, that was
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  like my biggest post ever. And I put, I remember putting
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  somebody, somebody's random photo in it.
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  And it was like her with, on the bed with her daughter.
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  And I didn't know at the time because I wasn't a photographer
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  that like you can't just take people's pictures and like use
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  them as your own. And she reached out to me.
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  I think it was like on Facebook or something.
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  I was like, Hey, you used my picture on your blog And I was
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  like, oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know that would bother you.
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  It's a beautiful photo, you know?
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  And she was actually really cool about it.
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  Wasn't a thing, but it like clicked where I was like, oh,
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  well, that's sketchy. Like if I don't want people
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  taking my words, I shouldn't take photos.
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  So then I was like, I guess I got to start taking my own.
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  So then it just, I just started learning how manual, like how to
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  shoot photos. And I had a daughter at the
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  time, Delaney, who was like, look at me.
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  Yeah, your little muse. Yeah, my little muse.
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  And so it's just like it. I just figured it out.
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  And then sooner or later I started posting them on my blog.
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  I started posting them on my Facebook.
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  And then I started getting mostly people who I grew up with
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  or like family being like, oh, take our photos and like mostly
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  wanting it like for free and cheap and all that crap.
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  But and then I totally lost interest in like, once I got a
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  couple sessions, I was like, I can make way more money, like
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  with one photo shoot than I could in like a couple weeks
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  with my blog. So it's like, why wouldn't I
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  transition? And then that took off, Yeah.
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  So your photography is absolutely stunning.
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  Thank you. Your Instagram account is.
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  I could get lost in it. It is absolutely beautiful.
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  Thank you. You clearly have such a gift.
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  And then now you took that and you have another business.
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  Yes. So.
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  Tell us, tell us what happened there.
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  Branches. Yeah, yeah.
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  But this is incredible. Well, OK, so then photography is
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  like incredible and like you have to be really passionate
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  about it, but it's also you have to be a people person.
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  And I'm not a people person. I actually really like people
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  drain me unless it's like my comfort people.
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  So it was like I would have to go to photo shoots and, you
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  know, at the in the evenings and I'd be like dealing with dads
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  who hate their lives. Like literally there's not a dad
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  who doesn't hate fucking life at a photo shoot.
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  Like they're literally like looking at you like you caused
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  this. And I'm like, this isn't like
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  your wife paid me, bro. Like I don't know what to tell
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  you. Like, you know?
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  Shut up and smile. So like I, I would leave and I
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  had at one point I was making so much money with photography, so
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  much money. But I was like, I hate this.
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  I was burnt out and I just could not stand it anymore.
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  I could not stand like the feeling, like the, the ick
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  feeling. There was like an ick feeling.
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  I'd get in my car and like basically cry because I was
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  like, you, you have to perform. It's so performative because
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  like the kids, like in order to get the kids to behave, you have
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  to be like, look at me, you know, like it's so ridiculous.
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  And I'm like, yeah, that shit. Part clown, part photographer.
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  It's terrible. And then the.
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  Dad giving you dirty looks? Yep.
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  Who's this girl? And the only one happy is Mom,
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  you know? And so I was like.
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  If the kids smile, yes. If they don't smile and then the
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  moms lose their shit. And then I'm just like, mom, you
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  need to calm down. And then I'm like, I'm like,
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  this mother's abusive, this fun. Then I'm just diagnosed.
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  The fives are down. She photographed my kids and
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  Kieran wanted nothing to do with it.
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  And so we just gave him a chocolate chip cookie and Sarah
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  just photographed him and it was just smeared all over his face.
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  And that was the only time I was happy.
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  Yeah. So you truly just got to go with
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  the. Photo Just got to make it.
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  Work. We tried real hard though, yes.
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  Yeah, I probably cried after. Yeah, please leave my house.
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  Thank you. So anyway, that's when so
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  blogging was like a big thing and then photography was a big
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  thing. And then I could see this
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  transition happening online, that it was like education and
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  like presets, which are like things you use to edit your
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  photos. I don't know if you know that.
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  So like I could see what was happening with like the
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  transition and how people were going to be making, making money
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  in the future. Now everybody's doing education,
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  but we were like, let's start this.
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  Like, let's start doing like retreats and building
• 12:42
  communities because it's like, photography has always been like
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  online, especially like a popularity contest where like
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  photographers are mean to one another.
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  Nobody wants to share their locations.
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  Nobody wants to like tell them what preset they're using
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  because then they're going to use the same preset and their
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  edits are going to look the same.
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  Like it felt very like competitive.
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  Nobody was nice to each other. So I was like, let's make a
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  community where we can like collaborate, build each other up
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  and like, who cares if somebody edits like you because they
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  probably live in Arizona and you live in Massachusetts.
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  It doesn't matter, you know? So we did that.
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  And like, that was kind of like our premise was like, we're here
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  for like the bold people, the weird ones, like the, the people
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  who aren't afraid to share. And, you know, like it.
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  It became a community of like misfits, kind of, you know.
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  Well, every photographer has a little bit of a different eye
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  too, so it's like, you know. So you're coming at it with a
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  similar mentality that real estate agents have to have too,
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  or a lot of different industries, right?
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  Like personal trainers, like anything where there's a massive
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  quantity of people in your field, you have to look at it
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  from an abundance mindset versus scarcity.
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  Yeah. And I think that you felt like
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  there was a lot of your competition had that scarcity
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  mindset that they had to hold everything close to the best.
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  And there are definitely people in our industry that have that
• 14:00
  similar mindset. And there's like this like
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  edginess of constantly trying to compete and constantly trying to
• 14:07
  hide what they're doing and what they what works.
• 14:11
  And I think for us, it's very similar and it like aligns so
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  much as we come at it from an education standpoint.
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  We want to educate our peers. We want to educate our clients.
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  We want to actually truly just like share our knowledge with
• 14:24
  people because to us, the more we do that, we know that like
• 14:28
  that abundant stuff does come from there, right?
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  Like so that's how it got. Me.
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  Yeah, but it was from one of your seminars.
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  From the seminar, because also it's like, I think, and you
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  probably know this too, from being in the education space of
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  your industry, there's a very small percentage of people that
• 14:43
  are actually going to use what they learn from you.
• 14:45
  Right, 100%. You can sell your knowledge all
• 14:49
  day long, but most people don't want to do the work to actually
• 14:52
  use the knowledge. So for me, I'm like, I'll give
• 14:54
  this to anyone because I know the chances of them doing it and
• 14:57
  at the level that we do it at slim because we have that like
• 15:01
  high threshold of accountability, right that
• 15:04
  we're. That is like the greatest point
• 15:06
  you could ever make. Literally is like that's the
• 15:09
  facts. Like you can give every single
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  thing and we do. We're like this is this is
• 15:14
  exactly how you make this photo. Like we have like 300 plus
• 15:20
  courses in the Academy now at this point and like we will show
• 15:23
  exactly and people are still like, well, how do you make it?
• 15:25
  It's like I just posted a all behind the scenes and editing
• 15:29
  video to show you exactly how I did this.
• 15:31
  But you don't even have 10 minutes to like give to that.
• 15:35
  But it's like they'll but they'll still get something from
• 15:38
  it, but they won't like fully commit to it.
• 15:40
  But it's just like the creative brain and just like learning
• 15:43
  slowly and taking what you want. But it's so, it's so true.
• 15:47
  It's like you can give everything you know and people
• 15:50
  still will. You need to have grit.
• 15:53
  You need to have follow through to like actually take what you
• 15:56
  learn and make it a reality. Right.
• 15:59
  It's also one so our core values, you just actually said
• 16:02
  like a couple of them as a team. Grit is one of them.
• 16:05
  But the other part is find a way, right?
• 16:08
  And for us, I think one of the most interesting and also
• 16:13
  disturbing pieces right now is that there are people out there
• 16:17
  that understand there is a way right now easier than ever
• 16:22
  before to figure things out. Yep, we have AI, right?
• 16:25
  Yep, we have Google. We have all these things.
• 16:27
  I talk about the fact that my mother raised me.
• 16:29
  She was a single mom. She didn't have Google.
• 16:31
  She didn't have Agps, and yet she still would scour the
• 16:35
  newspaper to find cool activities to bring me to.
• 16:37
  She would print out a map, and she would somehow still get me
• 16:40
  to all these things. When she wanted to make dinner,
• 16:42
  she would pull out her recipe book.
• 16:44
  She had to drive to a grocery store and get the ingredients
• 16:48
  and she would make me dinner, right?
• 16:50
  For me, it's like we have delivery groceries.
• 16:53
  I have recipes on my phone very handy, right?
• 16:57
  You have convenience at all hours of the day, right?
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  I had twins. I could get Amazon to drop ship
• 17:03
  all my diapers at the door. My mother had to get out there
• 17:06
  in the car and go get it, right? With a baby in the car, right?
• 17:09
  And had to go Take Me Out of the car and go into the store and go
• 17:12
  get all the stuff, right? It's just, and everybody has a
• 17:16
  different hard because back then it didn't have as much pressure.
• 17:18
  Sure. Like there it was definitely a
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  different world too. Right.
• 17:22
  And we always say choose your hard.
• 17:23
  Yeah. But ultimately, the inability to
• 17:26
  figure something out, I think it's just something I don't have
• 17:29
  a lot of tolerance or patience for now because that's one thing
• 17:33
  that it's like, you don't even actually have to use your own
• 17:35
  brain power for that. You just have to type in a
• 17:37
  prompt. Yeah, like figure it out and
• 17:39
  you'll be able to figure it out. Like I so I that's like remember
• 17:43
  earlier, I don't think we were talking on the podcast, but we
• 17:45
  were talking earlier that like I can code.
• 17:47
  Was that now or it? Was on the Yeah, okay, it's 5
• 17:50
  minutes ago, yeah. Tommy Okay, cool, I don't know.
• 17:53
  Like 3 years. Ago so yeah like it's like stuff
• 17:56
  like that so I can do like basically anything on a website
• 17:59
  at this point like I'm a ninja yeah but it's like it's like
• 18:03
  everybody's always like how do you do that I'm like.
• 18:06
  How did you learn how to code? Yeah.
• 18:09
  Well, like, I mean, back then it was like you watched a YouTube
• 18:11
  tutorial or like you, I don't, I don't know, like you, you
• 18:16
  googled. Yeah, you know, you have to
• 18:17
  read. It was not as easy like you have
• 18:19
  to Google and like go from multiple point of views and
• 18:23
  figure it out and one wouldn't work and then you have to do
• 18:25
  another. Now it's like ChatGPT.
• 18:28
  I'm like, like, what's, what is the code to add a yellow side,
• 18:33
  you know, like something random like sidebar to my whatever.
• 18:37
  And like, it's like, oh, here it is.
• 18:39
  And this is exactly where you put it.
• 18:40
  And what platform are you using? And like, it's literally telling
• 18:43
  you. So when people are like, oh, how
• 18:45
  do you, how do you do that? Because I actually build
• 18:47
  websites for people now too, like photographers and stuff,
• 18:50
  because it's just another way to make money.
• 18:52
  And I'm just like, tell me, yeah, like don't hire me.
• 18:56
  Don't pay me 400 five, $100 to like, I know, but like Courtney
• 19:01
  saying, but nobody's gonna do it.
• 19:04
  Yeah. So it's like you dumb, dumb,
• 19:06
  like you're gonna pay me fine. I'm just gonna ChatGPT it like
• 19:11
  I'm just taking my time and you could just be taking yours but
• 19:14
  you're too lazy. Some people just don't.
• 19:16
  They'd rather you can either throw time at the problem or
• 19:18
  money at the problem. And you know, there's only so
• 19:21
  much. Time the money, you know so.
• 19:23
  I am all for delegating because I do actually think that that's
• 19:26
  really smart move. I remember when I first had kids
• 19:29
  and was, you know, a working mom and everything you really are
• 19:32
  supposed to actually figure out like what is your hourly rate
• 19:35
  like in terms of work? What's more important to you and
• 19:39
  to me and my husband? You know, we, we had this
• 19:41
  conversation where we had had a yard for the first time, right?
• 19:44
  We lived in the city. We all of a sudden have 1/2 an
• 19:47
  acre of land, not a ton of land. But like we, we said, do we buy
• 19:51
  one of those lawn mowers? And is he going to get out there
• 19:53
  every weekend for one to two hours and during the nicest,
• 19:57
  only good months of the year in New England, right?
• 20:00
  And is he going to give up time with our two children to go mow
• 20:02
  that lawn? And I remember my father who was
• 20:05
  the type of guy that could calculate out every little
• 20:07
  detail of things and tell you what was worth it and not worth
• 20:10
  it. And he said he's like.
• 20:11
  Like you're ridiculous, just pay a landscaper.
• 20:13
  Why would you buy all that equipment?
• 20:15
  Why would you waste his time? That's not a good use of his
• 20:17
  time as a new dad. And I loved hearing that from a
• 20:20
  different perspective. So there are times where it's
• 20:23
  like, hey, building a website wouldn't be worth it to me or
• 20:26
  someone else if they have to learn it too.
• 20:28
  And if they're not going to pick up as quickly, spending that 400
• 20:31
  five, $100 is going to be the best money they spent, right?
• 20:33
  So there's a lot of ways that that's important.
• 20:35
  I think when it comes down to it though, when you were talking
• 20:37
  about people in your industry hiding their trade secrets, I
• 20:42
  get it to a degree because you want your secret sauce.
• 20:44
  However, I think that there is just this other piece of knowing
• 20:47
  that your secret sauce will always be your secret sauce
• 20:49
  because it is you. And the difference is the way
• 20:51
  you execute the high level of standards that you have for your
• 20:56
  work. The eye for detail, right?
• 20:58
  Like all those different things. So that's why I think it's
• 21:00
  amazing that you were willing to share all your trade secrets to
• 21:03
  sell them at a price of course, because it does come at a cost.
• 21:06
  That's years and years of you learning, you know, mistakes and
• 21:10
  from wins and all those different things.
• 21:11
  So it's like, that's expensive. Yes, that's why I look at it
• 21:14
  like that too. I'm like, if we sell all of our,
• 21:17
  what, 90 years worth of experience as a team, that's
• 21:22
  valuable. We learned from making mistakes.
• 21:25
  Yeah, but that cost us money. We learned from really, really
• 21:28
  amazing experiences as well, too.
• 21:30
  But that is a cost. That's why you found a niche.
• 21:33
  You found an opportunity. You found something that people
• 21:35
  are willing to pay money for. And education right now is
• 21:38
  really important. I think the funny aspect is how
• 21:41
  little they use the education they just paid for.
• 21:43
  Yeah, right. People have degrees.
• 21:46
  We're constantly looking at accounts.
• 21:47
  We're like, oh, this person has been with us for five years.
• 21:49
  They've logged in and looked at things for two hours.
• 21:52
  Yeah. You know, we're like what to
• 21:54
  like? But it's of course because like
• 21:56
  our community, we have like a private Facebook group.
• 21:58
  Like that's where it all happens.
• 22:00
  And or like we do tons of events and stuff.
• 22:02
  Like even more so now because that's what's really taking off
• 22:05
  his events. Well, you do really cool things.
• 22:08
  We. Do really cool things do.
• 22:09
  You think that that's something where the events are a huge
• 22:12
  piece of your business because people are looking for a space
• 22:15
  to connect with others and. What we have found is that
• 22:19
  anybody who has ever come to our event is a life time subscriber.
• 22:22
  Yeah, like they don't leave because they, and like that's
• 22:26
  what we want is like people who stick around and our monthly
• 22:29
  subscribers for years. But yeah, when they come to our
• 22:33
  events, it's like usually like between 20 and maybe 50 people
• 22:37
  Max that are events. And but so you get to know
• 22:41
  everybody and it's like just creative and wonderful.
• 22:44
  And that's like where you find like the core of your community
• 22:47
  and that, and that's where those those people then go out and
• 22:50
  they share. And a lot of photographers have
• 22:52
  a good following. So and like especially the young
• 22:54
  ones, the young ones have huge followings.
• 22:56
  It's. Like Rachel and her.
• 22:58
  Yeah, right. Yeah.
• 23:00
  So the young kids, they know what's up.
• 23:02
  Yeah. And so like they they share
• 23:04
  about. Well, they've been collecting
• 23:05
  friends since they were in 6th grade.
• 23:06
  Yeah, right. Right like as I.
• 23:08
  Share and you're like, now we got 10,000 more followers.
• 23:12
  You know, it's like constant people just like it's, it's
• 23:15
  great. Have you learned from the
• 23:18
  younger ones that come in? Like, have you grown?
• 23:20
  Try to like Melissa and I, who runs unravelled with me.
• 23:25
  We we're like, you know, we're constantly like making fun of
• 23:29
  ourselves. Like we're like, we're such old
• 23:30
  ladies now, like we're like just hanging out with these young
• 23:33
  bucks cuz like, you know, we'll get like a 25 year old and she's
• 23:35
  the coolest or whatever. And like she's just like
• 23:39
  teaching us like, oh, well, you got to, you got to make more
• 23:42
  like reels where you like show your face or Tik Toks.
• 23:45
  You got to get on TikTok and like we try to get on TikTok,
• 23:47
  but we're like, because that's like cringy to me.
• 23:50
  That's like one thing I'm I really struggle with is like
• 23:53
  showing up, like talking with my face.
• 23:57
  I know it's what I need to do to like that's like, literally
• 24:00
  that's like actually was my pep talk on the way here was like,
• 24:02
  you need to get your shit together because that's your
• 24:04
  next step. Because I need to be, I need to
• 24:07
  like step into the influencer realm because it's fucking time.
• 24:11
  Yeah, Because everybody needs to.
• 24:13
  But so like, that's what we learn from the younger kids.
• 24:15
  It's like, it's not, it's not hard.
• 24:17
  Yeah, yeah, it's not hard. You just gotta wake up every
• 24:20
  single day. Just like with my blog, just
• 24:22
  like with my photography, just like with Unraveled, you gotta
• 24:25
  wake up every single day and do one thing that makes a
• 24:29
  difference, you know? And so like, that's I just I,
• 24:32
  that's me. That I'm pep talking, yeah.
• 24:34
  You. Are honestly, you're talking
• 24:36
  dirty to me to be honest because you should to go no, but I'm so
• 24:40
  obsessed with the get up and just do one thing to move your
• 24:42
  business forward because no matter what, we're all going to
• 24:45
  have tough days. We're all going to have days
• 24:46
  where our kids drive us crazy or, you know, you're just not
• 24:49
  motivated. Yeah, you're lazy.
• 24:50
  But if you just do one thing and just move it forward, right?
• 24:55
  And for you, I don't think you ever struggle with that because
• 24:57
  you're constantly coming up with like what's going to be the next
• 24:59
  thing for you and how you're going to evolve like personally
• 25:02
  and professionally. But I do think that that's the
• 25:05
  biggest piece is like just take it one step at a time, one step
• 25:09
  at a time, right? And if you do those things,
• 25:11
  you'll see this massive movement forward and. 100% it's.
• 25:15
  To me, my favorite book is The Compound Effect because I think
• 25:18
  it's actually the most simple way to put how you actually can,
• 25:23
  can just like have a great life, right?
• 25:25
  Like, so it's like whether you're trying to lose weight,
• 25:27
  whether you're trying to get in shape and run a marathon, right?
• 25:29
  It's like you don't just go out there and run 26 miles, Like
• 25:32
  that's insane, right? You have to just start to like
• 25:35
  make it digestible and make it these small little ways that you
• 25:38
  can move things forward. And I, I just think that that's
• 25:41
  a good philosophy on things is to kind of look at it that way.
• 25:44
  And then going back to the idea of the young kids and like
• 25:46
  things we can learn from them. I think that's what I love about
• 25:49
  our team as well too, is like we have a good diverse group of
• 25:51
  people. You can learn so much from the
• 25:54
  people that have been in the industry a million years, but
• 25:56
  you can also learn so much from this fresh, brand new
• 25:58
  perspective because you either hear the way that they're asking
• 26:01
  questions and even getting to teach makes you better at your
• 26:04
  craft. But which is another reason why
• 26:07
  we strongly believe in education too.
• 26:08
  The more we teach somebody something, the better we become
• 26:11
  at what we're doing. And then on top of it, I also
• 26:14
  feel like it's like that they are also teaching us.
• 26:16
  And I think opening my eyes to ideas of like, wow, they did
• 26:19
  grow up with social media their whole lives.
• 26:21
  I avoided it forever, right? Like I finally got, I got
• 26:25
  Facebook and college. I avoided Instagram for as many
• 26:28
  years as I possibly could. And I think I got Instagram at
• 26:32
  like 29 years old. And I kept myself private
• 26:34
  because I was like, I don't want people following.
• 26:35
  I'm still. Private, yeah, like only VIP
• 26:37
  people, but this is. What happened to me?
• 26:39
  Follow me. So we didn't grow up that way.
• 26:42
  Yeah, Like we didn't grow up publicly, like every, you know,
• 26:45
  posting everything we've ever done, right?
• 26:48
  Like I live a whole life and no one on social media knows I'm
• 26:51
  doing these things, right. Whereas, like, the younger
• 26:54
  generation, you can't even. Yeah, like they had a matcha
• 26:58
  today. And you have to know, right?
• 26:59
  Like you have to know that they had that.
• 27:03
  Obviously why I paid $12.00 for the matcha.
• 27:06
  They're not going to. Post it right?
• 27:07
  You weren't going to post it, and we're not.
• 27:10
  We're not making fun of the younger generation.
• 27:12
  You guys are super cool and we learn a lot from you.
• 27:15
  We're not ageists. And they're passionate.
• 27:17
  That's why I will say like it, if anything, like it reignites
• 27:21
  something inside of you to hear somebody asking questions and
• 27:23
  like loving what you do 'cause sometimes I'm like, I hate
• 27:27
  photography. I'm in the zone where I hate
• 27:29
  photography. And then somebody comes in and
• 27:31
  they're like, look at what I just made or like, look at like
• 27:34
  what my business is going to be like.
• 27:37
  And it's and I'm just like, oh, like that's what it should be
• 27:41
  about is like the beginning and like the feeling of like growing
• 27:45
  and not just being like too good for this because the we we get
• 27:49
  stuck in that like because it's just hard.
• 27:51
  It's just. Hard.
• 27:52
  And it's a grind, Yeah, you know.
• 27:54
  Do you ever find that you feel like your business gets
• 27:57
  stagnant? All the time.
• 28:00
  Yeah, yeah. I mean, especially now, like the
• 28:02
  economy, it's hard like it's, we're constantly just trying to
• 28:06
  come up with new ideas and, and just like overpopulation of the
• 28:12
  same thing happening. Like we had, there's so many
• 28:16
  education platforms and there's so many photographers.
• 28:18
  So all of my businesses and wedding photography I also do
• 28:22
  and that's super saturated and it's, it's constantly just like
• 28:27
  you, we, I, we wanna just let it just flow.
• 28:30
  But it's like if we do that, then we can't continue to grow.
• 28:34
  So we constantly have to like remind ourselves to just keep
• 28:37
  pushing and trying new things, new branding, new colours, new
• 28:41
  text on our posts. Like it's just, yeah, it's.
• 28:45
  Your industry, because you guys don't have to be licensed, I'm
• 28:47
  sure you don't have stats like we do.
• 28:48
  Like we have massive stats that tell us on a regular basis how
• 28:53
  many people are getting licensed and how many people actually
• 28:55
  survive in the industry. So what's kind of interesting?
• 28:59
  And also, out of all the licensees, how many people
• 29:01
  actually sell a house, right? So you kind of think like
• 29:04
  everyone's licensed and then you realize, oh, like 50% of the
• 29:07
  people that have a real estate license don't actually even sell
• 29:09
  a home. And I think it's even higher
• 29:11
  than that, right? And for the past three years,
• 29:12
  we've had one of the most challenging markets in real
• 29:15
  estate that they keep predicting year after year, 30% will leave,
• 29:19
  then it was 40% will leave. So we knew that our competition
• 29:22
  was actually becoming smaller and smaller.
• 29:25
  However, that being said, the infopreneur, which is kind of
• 29:29
  what you do selling things online, right?
• 29:32
  That whole like selling education and selling your
• 29:35
  platforms and selling your, your secret sauce, right?
• 29:38
  That's become a huge thing in real estate as well too, because
• 29:40
  people have learned that the physical aspect of having to be,
• 29:45
  you know, for you physically at photo shoots at the worst hours
• 29:49
  of the night on weekends, right? Same exact thing with real
• 29:52
  estate. Everyone goes to see homes
• 29:54
  during dinner time, right, Right.
• 29:56
  When you normally would be seeing your own children come
• 29:59
  out of school. And those early Saturdays,
• 30:01
  Saturdays and Sundays, right. They all want to write offers.
• 30:04
  Yeah, they all want to write offers at 9 O clock at night
• 30:06
  after they've thought it through and like they put their kids to
• 30:08
  bed. And and this is not a complaint,
• 30:10
  right? I love that part of our, our
• 30:12
  business because I do love that we don't have to get up and be
• 30:15
  at an office at 9:00 AM if we don't have to, right.
• 30:17
  So there's so much benefit to the flexibility.
• 30:20
  However, there is also this like just reality of OK, as I go
• 30:25
  through different milestones in life, as I continue to create my
• 30:28
  path of what's next, selling your education and selling your,
• 30:36
  you know, kind of playbook of how to how to build this career
• 30:40
  to the younger generation who is actually very much craving that,
• 30:44
  craving that mentorship and someone who's going to teach
• 30:47
  them the ways. It's like, there's a lot of
• 30:49
  value in selling that. So even though it's saturated, I
• 30:52
  also look at it like maybe there's a seat for every ass
• 30:55
  too, though, right? And if you're a hard worker and
• 30:57
  a hustler, like. And there's like a voice for
• 30:59
  everybody. So like, you know, some
• 31:01
  education communities are very like high strung and
• 31:05
  professional and like pretty, you know, like photography that
• 31:10
  like is more like studio and whatever.
• 31:12
  And then like, there's us who are more like, you know, we
• 31:15
  curse and we like. A little more raw.
• 31:18
  Yeah, we're a little, but you're like more real.
• 31:20
  Yeah, we like, we like welcome the people who feel like they
• 31:24
  don't fit in, you know, and then there's people in the middle.
• 31:26
  So it's it's like important that like there is a place for
• 31:29
  everybody. It's just you gotta keep
• 31:32
  reminding yourself that cuz it's hard because.
• 31:35
  But I would wonder the stats on your industry of like out of all
• 31:37
  the people selling these courses, out of all the people
• 31:39
  that are photographers, right, all these up and comers too.
• 31:45
  I think that so many people in their 20s now, they come out of
• 31:48
  college and there's, it's not the way it was.
• 31:51
  Whereas you have to get into a corporate job or you have to get
• 31:53
  into a nine to five type situation.
• 31:55
  A lot of people know that they have the ability to become
• 31:58
  entrepreneurial because there's so many easy ways to do it
• 32:01
  without opening up a brick and mortar and taking on this
• 32:04
  massive overhead. You can actually at a low cost,
• 32:07
  start your own business. But I do wonder with very little
• 32:10
  life experience, very little understanding in business in
• 32:13
  general, are they going to last and survive?
• 32:16
  And I think that that's just where it's like, we probably
• 32:18
  don't have the facts on that, but that is why they're willing
• 32:20
  to spend money on education, right?
• 32:22
  Right. Because they do need that.
• 32:24
  Like you need some guidance if you're going to be 22 fresh out
• 32:27
  of college, starting a business. Yeah, to to me, I'm like, I
• 32:30
  worked for 12 years in an industry that taught me
• 32:32
  everything. So to then go and figure out how
• 32:35
  to grow a business and develop a business, I'm like, well, I had
• 32:38
  12 years of experience to go into that, right?
• 32:40
  Like you started at 20, zero experience.
• 32:43
  You've taught yourself every single thing you've done right,
• 32:45
  So you kind of understand the value, too, of you're giving
• 32:48
  them a head start on their career.
• 32:50
  Yeah, that's kind of hard to put a price tag on.
• 32:52
  It is. Yeah, that's why they're willing
• 32:53
  to pay. Exactly.
• 32:55
  And it's nice to like see people start from not a lot and then
• 32:59
  end up bigger than me, you know, like actually, that's a lot of
• 33:02
  the time. It's like I'd unraveled.
• 33:04
  Like we'll have somebody come in and be like nobody.
• 33:07
  I don't want to post. I don't want to share my work.
• 33:09
  Like I, I just need somebody to support me and tell me I'm doing
• 33:12
  a good job or there's potential here, you know, and everybody's
• 33:15
  like, there's potential here. And then they grow and grow and
• 33:19
  grow. And it's usually like the 25
• 33:21
  year old who just has like this incredible eye and just like
• 33:24
  puts her decides like, I'm going to put myself out there.
• 33:27
  And then she's like double us with followers like, you know,
• 33:31
  has so many, so much business and it's the best, Yeah.
• 33:35
  So cool to see somebody do that. So.
• 33:38
  Thanks to you, that must be really it's great rewarding.
• 33:41
  You love the behind the scenes like aspect of it.
• 33:43
  Yeah. So I feel like that must make
• 33:45
  you feel. I love, I love the behind the
• 33:47
  scenes stuff. Like that's that's where like I
• 33:49
  thrive is like doing things that nobody else notices because I
• 33:53
  don't like to be seen. But you had that pop talk this
• 33:57
  morning. Yeah.
• 33:58
  So you're gonna become an influencer?
• 34:00
  Yes. Yeah.
• 34:00
  All right. Gonna start here.
• 34:02
  What's next for Unraveled and what's next for Sarah Driscoll?
• 34:06
  What are you planning? God, I mean, well, we have tons
• 34:08
  of events coming up. So those are that's what's
• 34:11
  keeping me alive right now is just and like, it's what like
• 34:15
  revitalizes me is like our events and stuff.
• 34:18
  So like I think and, and we're finding that less people are
• 34:21
  hosting events within the photography industry because
• 34:24
  they cost so much money. So that's like something that
• 34:26
  we're transitioning into is like, let's do more in person
• 34:30
  stuff like more teaching in person.
• 34:33
  So we're going to be doing all that.
• 34:35
  That's what's next for me that I'm excited about.
• 34:38
  And then my photography is like, we're relaunching our wedding
• 34:42
  business. We stopped doing that for a
• 34:43
  little while 'cause it was really overwhelming.
• 34:46
  Weddings are intense. So we're doing that again.
• 34:50
  And I'm kind of taking more clients more than I ever have in
• 34:53
  the past again, because my kids are older, like my baby's 12.
• 34:58
  No, it's crazy. My baby's. 12 Oh my God.
• 35:02
  So like now I'm just like, I have time, OK, So I can't just
• 35:05
  like pretend like I don't anymore.
• 35:07
  So now I'm like, now I'm ready to, I'm ready to hustle.
• 35:10
  Do you feel coming back into the space that you were in for so
• 35:14
  long and like diving back in, you have a different perspective
• 35:17
  of how you're going to operate? Yes, because when you're growing
• 35:22
  your business, you have to say yes to everything and people
• 35:25
  take advantage of you. People who know you take
• 35:27
  advantage of you. People want discounts.
• 35:29
  Everybody thinks like it's. You're my friend, you can do it.
• 35:32
  Yeah, you're my friend. Or I, I went to high school with
• 35:36
  you or like, I know your husband.
• 35:39
  Whatever it is, it's like, or my daughter's on your daughter's
• 35:42
  soccer team. Like whatever it is, it's like,
• 35:44
  no. So now, yeah.
• 35:46
  My now my goal is to like say no when I want to say no, but like
• 35:50
  allow myself to have opportunities that like not like
• 35:55
  I would never have said yes to this.
• 35:57
  You wouldn't have. I would never.
• 35:58
  Even the dinner that I hosted, even that I was shocked you
• 36:01
  came. I was shocked you spoke.
• 36:03
  Yes, and you. Floored me.
• 36:05
  So now I'm like, you know what? I know what I can and cannot do.
• 36:09
  I'm going to follow my heart. I'm going to do what feels
• 36:12
  right. And I'm going to say no to
• 36:13
  everything that feels icky. Yeah.
• 36:15
  And that's when I undervalue myself.
• 36:18
  I know my value, and that's what I'm doing.
• 36:21
  I love that. That's what's next for me.
• 36:23
  Valuing yourself? Yeah.
• 36:25
  But still, alright, that being said, right, anyone who is new,
• 36:28
  right, whether they're switching careers and want to get into
• 36:32
  photography or influencing or blogging, right, anything like
• 36:36
  that, what would you give? Or even if they're brand new to
• 36:40
  just the work world, right? Like what would you give for one
• 36:42
  piece of advice, You know, thinking back on your your 20
• 36:45
  year career of doing all of this and evolving into such amazing
• 36:48
  businesses. I mean, I think it comes back to
• 36:50
  like the one thing every day. Like, it comes back to like grit
• 36:55
  and like you, you can't, you can't allow yourself to feel
• 36:58
  judged by other people because that's going to happen no matter
• 37:01
  what. And the best thing you can do is
• 37:03
  actually piss people off. Because if you're pissing people
• 37:05
  off, that means you're finding the people who really love you.
• 37:09
  So never be afraid to like, say something a little bold because
• 37:14
  it's going to like move out every single person that has
• 37:17
  zero interest in you and it's going to bring in like, you
• 37:20
  might lose 50, but you'll get 10 and that 10 is the only thing
• 37:25
  that matters. Like just be yourself, be
• 37:28
  gritty, say what you want to say.
• 37:30
  Don't be like scared of that like.
• 37:33
  Just like, no imposter syndrome, yeah?
• 37:35
  And and swear. Like perks?
• 37:37
  Yes. Like fuck yeah.
• 37:38
  Fucking be yourself, yeah, You know, like that's it.
• 37:41
  And sharp every day as your fucking self and you'll be all
• 37:44
  right, yeah. And push, yeah.
• 37:47
  That's good. That's that is really, really
• 37:49
  good. That's.
• 37:50
  All I got, yeah. That's really good advice,
• 37:53
  though, and I think that the biggest thing out of all the
• 37:55
  people that we've had on here, like everyone gives amazing
• 37:58
  advice, right? But I think the piece of don't
• 38:01
  be afraid to lose people in your world is really helpful.
• 38:05
  I think that so many times people are so worried, like I'm
• 38:09
  gonna, you know, upset someone and then, you know, they're not
• 38:12
  gonna want to be around me or be in my world anymore.
• 38:15
  And there's nothing worse than bringing people along for the
• 38:18
  ride that aren't going to actually stay the course, right?
• 38:22
  Because I think that you're yes. And ultimately it's like those
• 38:25
  people, if they can't handle the good stuff, they certainly
• 38:27
  aren't going to be there for the bad, right?
• 38:30
  And if if they're not the right people for you too, it's also
• 38:33
  like they're going to hold you back.
• 38:35
  Absolutely. I love there's, there's
• 38:37
  something out there that says basically like, you know, the
• 38:39
  five people that you're the closest with are going to be the
• 38:43
  biggest impact in your ability to either succeed or fail.
• 38:47
  And I, I think about that daily, right?
• 38:48
  Yeah, daily run. I come to this office, I'm like,
• 38:51
  do we have the five coolest people in here right now?
• 38:53
  Cuz if not. Yeah, you got rid of them.
• 38:57
  You're. Right, I can only have 5 cool
• 38:58
  people around me and no but I always say.
• 39:01
  Wait, do I make that cut? Yeah, of course.
• 39:03
  Of course you do. Right next to each other.
• 39:06
  Match today. No, but it's one of those
• 39:08
  things. My biggest thing that I say is I
• 39:10
  have these two young girls that I want to spend every minute
• 39:13
  with that I possibly can if I'm going to spend more time with my
• 39:17
  coworkers because just the way that the world shakes out,
• 39:20
  right, Like my kids are in school, I'm here.
• 39:22
  If I'm going to spend more time with my coworkers than I ever
• 39:25
  will with the children who I birthed.
• 39:26
  Yeah. You better be really fucking
• 39:28
  cool. Yeah, You better beat people
• 39:30
  that are gonna help me grow. I wanna help you grow.
• 39:33
  And we have to all be in this fun.
• 39:34
  Yeah, All be in it together. We have plenty of fun.
• 39:36
  Yeah, that's for sure. Yeah.
• 39:39
  We also need to crush both. Yes.
• 39:40
  Crush and then fun. Exactly.
• 39:43
  I love. Celebrate it.
• 39:44
  Well, this has been amazing. I could actually continue to
• 39:47
  talk to you for several more hours, but I feel like Andy
• 39:50
  might fall asleep over there recording us.
• 39:53
  So. For sure.
• 39:54
  Right. But this was good.
• 39:55
  We'll, we'll continue the conversation over some
• 39:57
  cocktails, maybe, Yeah. Absolutely can't wait.
• 40:00
  But thank you so much for coming on.
• 40:01
  Yeah, we're gonna drop all your info for anyone to be able to
• 40:04
  get in touch with you, to be able to get into Unrivaled
• 40:06
  Academy, to be able to book photo sessions with Sarah
• 40:09
  Driscoll Photography. Yes, yeah.
• 40:12
  Book me all the young books. Yeah, exactly.
• 40:15
  More young books, yeah. Exactly.
• 40:17
  But yeah, thank. You.
• 40:18
  For having me, We'll let everyone know where they can
• 40:19
  find you. And we're excited for this
• 40:21
  episode to come out. Yeah.
• 40:22
  Thanks so much. Thank you.