Intro by Skip Cohen
I know a few of you will read this recent post from Sarah Petty and feel like it’s an infomercial for a workshop she regularly does. If that’s the case, then you’re missing the point.
What I love about this post from Sarah is about one of her very best ways to grow her business – step away from it! She focuses on taking a break from running the business and puts in the time to help herself grow as an artist.
As I read the post, I started thinking about the rut I get in myself. I’m spending too much time in auto-pilot mode and not enough focus on things that will help me grow. From emails to phone calls, to follow-up meetings, etc. I’m following the same pattern every day. I’m not doing anything to help grow my skills as a writer, photographer or for that matter spouse or friend.
The answer isn’t just taking a break, a few hours off or even a mini-vacation. It’s about immersing myself in something different that can help me grow.
So, whether you join Sarah in February at her Go Boutique Live conference isn’t the issue. You know how to use selective focus on your camera, but how about what’s in your heart? What are doing just for you this week?
By Sarah Petty
As a mom and a photography business owner, I love when I can slip into autopilot. It’s what gets me through many hours when there’s so much coming at me that it wouldn’t be humanly possible to get everything done. But, when I spend too many of my days on autopilot in my business, it keeps me stuck with little to no growth.
Today, I’m sharing the shortcut I take at least once a year when I notice my business is stalling.
I believe to my core that my business has always shown a profit and has grown so rapidly because when I feel myself slipping into autopilot, I go back to summer camp. Not literally summer camp, but a version of it.
Two Ways To Grow Your Photography Business
I really see two ways to learn and grow your business.
The first way is to commit to consistency, which is great. Working on your business a little here and there and you’ll continue to move your business forward, even if it’s a little slower.
The second way is the one that most entrepreneurs skip, especially when they’re starting. It’s the shortcut. I’m always looking for a shortcut.
And that is immersing yourself in learning for days at a time without the typical distractions of our day-to-day routines.
This is one of my favorite things to do because the results I see after I do it are so powerful. As creatives, we have so many ideas flooding our brains. I’m so easily distracted. I love to chase the next shiny thing and I’ve had to learn how to not let myself get derailed.
I’ve had to learn that to have breakthroughs and gain clarity on where I should put my focus, I need to have that immersion time where I learn, go to sleep, get right back up, and jump back in.
It’s a several-day process without trying to fit clients in, retouching or photographing a session in the middle, or taking care of kids. I have to immerse myself in only learning so that it soaks in. I cannot only see the tactics in strategies, but I can have the space to gain the deep belief that I can do it.
Immersion is the Shortcut to Improve Our Lives in Any Area We Want to Grow
I get it, we’ve got kids who rely on us, parents who need us, and spouses and partners who depend on us. We have so much guilt flying at us, mostly from ourselves, whenever we know we need to invest a dedicated amount of time and money in our business.
But here’s what I realized after looking back at my life over two decades as a business owner.
Those two to three days of immersion were times that I had the biggest growth in my business. They’re the shortcuts because I block everything else out and I focus on making decisions that can change my life instead of operating on autopilot.
As I’ve watched photographers struggle over the years, I realized that they need to have a shortcut, a solution that can shortcut their growth like I had.
And this is exactly why three years ago we created our annual three-day event for boutique photographers called Go Boutique Live. It’s three days of immersion with only boutique photographers. And for three days we will be getting together for a live online education experience.
You Deserve the Gift of Immersion
I knew that if I could get my business running and continue my growth, I would gain confidence and I’d be a happy wife and a better mama. I would be able to help chip away at our debt and begin to have my income help contribute to our family and the fun things we wanted to do.
If I could be with like-minded people who share my core values, who lift as they climb, I could impact more people with my life and in my life.
You deserve a seat at this table. Even though it’s virtual this year, you can have it at Go Boutique Live. It is your time to give yourself the gift of immersion.
Truly if you’ve been struggling, feeling not good enough or feeling alone, come and join us and become a part of our boutique family.
We have the door open for you.
