What does success look like for you in 2024? In today’s episode, I am sharing three mindset shifts that will allow you to achieve that success in your life and business this year. I’m diving into key tips involving your goals, your time, and your money.
The Shoot It Straight Podcast is brought to you by Sabrina Gebhardt, photographer and educator. Join us each week as we discuss what it’s like to be a female creative entrepreneur while balancing entrepreneurship and motherhood. If you’re trying to find balance in this exciting place you’re in, yet willing to talk about the hard stuff too, Shoot It Straight Podcast is here to share practical and tangible takeaways to help you shoot it straight.
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This episode is brought to you by Root to Rise, a mastermind and retreat for female photographers where personal development meets business growth. During the four-month experience, students have weekly calls focused on goals, boundaries, money, and marketing. The program also includes incredible guest teachers, a private Facebook community, and weekly Voxer hours with individualized guidance and mentorship. Sign up today to join the waitlist.
Review the Show Notes:
From Worry And Fear Into Possibility (1:49)
I Am Not Available For Overwhelm (7:25)
My Time Is Extremely Valuable (15:27)
Episode Links:
Review the Transcript:
Welcome to the shoot it straight podcast. I’m your host, Sabrina Gephardt. Here I will share an honest take on what it’s like to be a female creative entrepreneur. while balancing business, motherhood and life myself along with my guests will get vulnerable through honest conversations and relatable stories because we’re willing to go there. If you’re trying to find balance in this exciting place you’re in yet willing to talk about the hard stuff to to shoot it straight podcast is here to share practical and tangible takeaways to help you shoot it straight.
Welcome back to the shoot it straight podcast my friends. Today, I’m trying something a little bit new. I am sharing three mindset shifts that you might need to make or want to make for some success this year. And I’ve got air quotes around the word success.
Because if you’ve been in my world for a hot minute, you know that success can be whatever you want it to be, it doesn’t need to be this industry standard of what success should be. Okay. So these are three mindset shifts, let’s say to make this year better for you to see some growth for you. Okay, you might resonate with all three of these, or maybe only one of them. But I bet there’s something here for you today. The mindset part isn’t what’s new this week? What’s new is the fact that I’m going rogue, and I’m totally winging it. I don’t have any notes in front of me which SPOILER ALERT I normally do. Did you know that I normally have some pretty solid notes and bullets in front of me before I record a podcast episode, but not today, I just have a couple of thoughts jotted down. And so we’re gonna see how this goes. So the first mindset shift that I want to talk about is regarding goals and growth. So we’re near the beginning of the year, and that energy is often how can I better myself this year? What goals can I achieve? What kind of growth? Can I see? How can I scale my business? How can I lose weight? How can I be better in relationships? How can I start to be organized, how can I see higher revenue, all of those things.
And oftentimes, we get really excited in the setting the goals in the choosing what we’re going to work towards and committing to growth. And then what happens is, fear creeps in. And it’s it can be for a lot of different reasons. Sometimes it’s fear of not being able to do the thing, fear of failure, or fear of doing it well, but not perfectly. Okay, that’s where the perfectionist come in. This fear, this fear of failure, this fear of not being perfect of not doing it well of just not being able to do at all or to work hard and not see something come to fruition. This fear causes us oftentimes to stop before we start, okay? It puts this unneeded intense pressure to perform on ourselves. And it makes us think sometimes, why bother? Why even start who am I to think that I can hit that revenue goal or lose that much weight, or transform the way that I parent my children, or save for that big thing, or pay off our debt, or transition into this new niche or whatever it is, fill in the blank, we start to have that that fear that imposter syndrome that doubt creep in. And it causes us to be paralyzed, it causes us to abandon ship before we’ve even started the journey.
And that’s such a bummer. Because if you abandon ship, if you decide not to even go after the thing, if you let fear, get in the way, you’re definitely not going to make any progress, you’re definitely not going to have any growth. Because you’re not going anywhere. You’re just staying right where you are. And the thing of it is, our brain is telling us to be afraid. Our brain is sending off these alarms, these signals that say, Okay, you’re trying to aim towards something new and new is scary, because we don’t know what new feels like. And that’s true to a point. Right? When you’re working towards something new, a goal, a type of growth, you do have to make changes, things will change. They have to It’s inevitable. It’s a part of the process. Otherwise, these goals this growth is not going to happen, right? Because it would have happened already, obviously. So change is necessary for goals for growth. For the kind of success that you have in this vision of your best self change is necessary but change just scary to our brains, because it’s not what we currently know. Right? Even if it’s good change, even if it’s let’s go back to the losing weight thing, even if it’s, you want to lose weight by drinking more water and moving your body and eating well, and all these things, those are all great changes. But it’s still scary because it’s not what we’re living in right now. It is outside of where we are right in this exact moment.
And so fear comes in, okay, because it’s technically unknown. So when we get stuck in this fear in this, I can’t achieve that I could never do that. That can’t be for me. How dare I think that big, that mentality, we don’t even move forward? We stay right where we are. Which is not where you want to be. Right? So the mindset shift I have for you, is shifting from worry and fear into possibility, instead of letting yourself think I could never do that, I could never be that person, I will never be able to save that much money. I could never charge that much for my clients, whatever it is, instead of the worry and fear shift into possibility by saying, but what if it all works out? But what if everything works out? What if all of the details go right? What if everybody does say yes? What if I do hit those revenue goals? What if I do lose that weight? What if I do start parenting differently? And what happens is, when we change it into a question of possibility, our brains are allowed to be creative. Our brains are allowed to see, oh, well, what would that be like? And what would my life look like? And what are the things I would need to do day to day to be that person, and possibility starts to open up and blossom. Possibility allows change to happen. So that’s the first mindset shift I have for you. When you’re thinking about your goals, and the growth and the things that you want to see happen this year. If you find yourself struggling, and falling into fear, or failure, or perfectionism, try shifting your mindset from worry to possibility by asking, but what if everything worked out? The second thing that I want to touch on in this episode is time. Okay, we are always so busy. I feel like I say this in every single episode. Regardless of what I’m talking about, or who I’m talking to. We are busy. And we have very busy lives. Our to do lists are long, our responsibilities are long, sometimes we’re working hard towards something. And sometimes we feel trapped in a spiral of overwhelm.
I have this discussion with my coaching clients and my mastermind students. So Dang, often, we have so many things on our mind. And it becomes what I like to describe as a tornado of overwhelm. Because that’s what it feels like. It feels like we have so much to do. So many ideas, so many daily tasks, so many humans to take care of so many relationships to nurture so many commitments of time, where we need to be somewhere at a certain time, there’s so many things floating around, it can feel absolutely overwhelming. And there are times when that overwhelmed can get the better of you. And you literally feel like you can’t even think straight because you’re standing in the middle of a tornado. Right? Everything is spiraling. And you are quite literally paralyzed where you are, you are not able to even move forward. Because you’re so overwhelmed. You’re so anxious by how many things you have going on. I’m sure you’ve heard either me touch on this before or you’ve read it somewhere or heard somebody else say it, but the best way out of overwhelm, is to take one step forward. Okay? It’s not to complete a project. It’s not to completely overhaul your life, it’s to just take a step forward. And when you have this visual of a tornado, okay, how do you get out of it slowly, one foot in front of the other, you just have to go sideways to get yourself out of it.
Okay, so the mindset shift that I would love for you to try if you are feeling this currently, or if you know that you are susceptible to feeling like this. This is actually a mantra that I kind of carry around with myself when I’m feeling this way. And I’ve shared it with friends and students before and it’s very, very valuable and it sounds so simple. But instead of letting your mind constantly race and you you doing that Whole thing where you’re pacing around the house not really doing anything but trying to touch a million tasks, or you’re just constantly looking over your your to do list at your desk and feeling like you’re spinning your wheels and not really checking anything off, and your brain just won’t stop. This is what I tell myself, I say, I am not available for overwhelm. And I have an abundance of time. And I literally carry that statement with me around throughout the day. And I just say it on repeat. There is something about saying this out loud, mind you, I’m saying this out loud, there is something about saying the statement over and over and over again, out loud, that gives you the boost to take one step forward. And then take one another step forward. And then take another step forward. And I will tell you that this mantra has has been magical for me. On certain days, there have been days where I have had a lot of moving parts, whether it’s a lot of coaching calls and podcast interviews, or a lot of moving parts with my kids, or maybe contractors coming to my home, or appointments.
And between the actual time based things I’ve had on my commitment list meshed with the things that I have deadlines for or things that have, you know, absolutely have to get done that day, I have felt completely overwhelmed. And instead of allowing that overwhelm to carry me through the day and push me into a extremely anxious state. I repeat this mantra over and over again, I am not available for overwhelm, and I have an abundance of time. And what that does is it gives me clarity, for the immediate need right in front of me. And I take one immediate need at a time. And I get from the beginning to the end of my day. And I will tell you that it hasn’t made those days any less complicated. But it has made me get to the end of those days and think, oh, my gosh, I did it. And I actually did a really great job, I got to all the appointments, I got through all of the urgent tasks, and tomorrow’s a new day, and it’s going to be even better. And that is such a huge difference to end those crazy days feeling like that. As opposed to in the past, before I carried this monitor with me. In the past, I would have days like that.
And maybe I made it to all of the appointments on time, maybe I was late to some of them. But I definitely didn’t get any of the tasks done in between the appointments, right. Like I was so overwhelmed and so anxious that it took everything I had just to make it to the appointments on time, or at all. There was no getting anything done in between them. And what happens on those days is sure I got to where I needed to be. And I showed up to what I needed to do. But I ended the day still completely overwhelmed. Because all of the urgent things that needed to get done and taken care of didn’t get done and taken care of. And now they’re carrying into the next day. And we all know what happens then I don’t sleep well that night because your mind is spinning with things. You wake up the next morning feeling anxious and overwhelmed right from the get go because you know that you are behind on things on urgent things that matter and you’re behind the ball and now it’s worse. Okay. So if you are prone to feeling this way to feeling overwhelmed by what you have going on, both in actual appointments and also tasks and also your brain and also motherhood and all the things. Try carrying this around for a couple of days and see if it gives you a boost of confidence and a boost of clarity. Okay. It has been really invaluable for me.
Today’s episode is brought to you by route to rise a four month mastermind and retreat for female photographers. That is where personal development meets business growth. During the four month experience, students have weekly calls focusing on a variety of topics that both better their lives and their businesses. Think topics like goals, boundaries, money and marketing and many many others. The program also includes incredible guest teachers, a private Facebook community and weekly Voxer hours where you get individualized guidance and mentoring from me on topics that matter to you and your business. One of the best parts of the experience is definitely the three day in person retreat. Consider this the most fun girls weekend ever. We eat well do yoga photograph three sessions work through portfolio reviews, take headshots and build deep for friendships, I can tell you that the women who have gone through this program have had some absolutely incredible transformations reached massive goals and changed the trajectory of their businesses.
If you want to get on the waitlist to be notified when enrollment opens again soon, you can head over to the link in the show notes and get on that list. And now back to the episode. The third mindset shift that I want to talk through is regarding money. Okay. So something that often comes up as a business owner is, you know, all things money, obviously, I see this both from the perspective of people not wanting to charge high enough rates for something, because they think, Oh, my gosh, I’m not worth that much, I can’t charge that much. I also see it on the other side of not wanting to spend a big investment to make an investment of money for growth or support. Because Oh, my gosh, I could never spend that much on something. Here’s where I see a problem. And I see it both directions. But what’s happening is my students, my clients, the women that I discussed this with, they are missing a huge point. And that is this, my time is extremely valuable.
Okay, my time is extremely valuable. That is the underlying issue with both sides of that coin regarding money, okay? When you don’t think you can charge these crazy high prices, you’re not realizing how valuable your time is. And on the flip side, when you don’t want to invest money for support or growth. Okay, again, you’re not seeing how valuable your time is, your time is extremely valuable. If you are a mother, ask your children. What’s one of their most favorite things to do? What would they love to do more than anything? It probably is something with you. Okay. Ask someone who’s lost a mother, or a sister or a spouse? What the most valuable thing is, if they could have anything in the world, what would it be more time? Okay, your time is extremely valuable. So, as a business owner, I don’t want you to make up your rates. And this is not going to be a podcast episode about pricing. I’ve shared some of those before as a coach about it. And basically every program I do, but your pricing is based on a number, it’s based on your expenses. As a business owner, it’s also based on how much you will pay yourself, okay? That is an expense line item your paycheck. And if you are charging these bare bones rates, you’re not compensating yourself for how valuable your time is. Okay. And even if you’re not barebones, even if you have been in business for a few years, and you do think that you are profitable, and you’re taking a paycheck, and your pricing is sustainable, okay, but when’s the last time you raised it?
When’s the last time you got a price increase for the fact that you are more experienced now and you are more educated and you have worked with more clients, and you have worked out more kinks in your business, all of those things add value, your time is extremely valuable. So when you are considering raising your prices, whether it’s by $100, or doubling them, or more, please do not get stuck in the thought of, I can’t charge that much. My product or service is not worth that much. And shift it into how much is your time worth? Okay. And if you’re having a hard time looking at how much your time is worth on the side of your industry, so I know there’s a lot of photographers listening, if you’re having a hard time saying my time as a photographer is worth, you know, X amount k because maybe you don’t think that you are that good yet or you’ve been in business that long yet or whatever. And obviously I disagree with all those statements. Okay. But for the purpose of this episode, regarding time being valuable, if you’re having a hard time saying I can’t charge $1,000 for a family session, okay. clients aren’t going to pay $1,000 for a family session with me. You know, I’ve only been doing this for a couple of years. Think about it on the other side.
Your family, how much time is going into every family session you have not just the hour you’re shooting it. Okay. The inquiry that you’re responding to the prep guide you’re sending the driving to the session shooting the session. riding home from the session calling the session editing this session, uploading the session to galleries, blogging the session sharing the session on social media, all of those hours. Okay, it’s probably eight or more. Okay, per session? What would your family want to do with you in those eight hours? What will a friend your best friend want to do with you in those eight hours? What would your partner who doesn’t get to see nearly enough of you want to do with you in those eight hours? Think about it that way. Think about it from the view of your loved ones, how much time is worth to them? Okay, so that’s talking about it on the side of what you’re charging. Now I want to flip it to the other side of the coin, again, my time is extremely valuable.
That’s the mindset shift that I want you to be trying on. It also goes on the other side, okay, of not wanting to invest money from your business into either support, hiring help, or investing in things that will help you grow better and faster. Okay, again, I want you to look at it from the point of how valuable your time is. Okay, so let’s look at the example of hiring a VA, you love the idea of having a VA helping take tasks off of your hands, so that you’re not having to do all these kind of menial tasks, right, your, your business is starting to grow, and you’re ready to start handing things off. And you’ve interviewed some Bas, and you’ve gotten their package pricing. But you can’t seem to pull the trigger, because you think to yourself, that’s just a lot of money. I just don’t know if I can afford that. I just I could do it myself. So I should just not pay somebody to help me. Instead of looking at it through fear. Okay, I want you to look at it through my time is extremely valuable, and will be better spent doing something else, I should absolutely pay this person to help support my business, because my time is so valuable. I don’t need to be doing those things. The same could be said for coaching or joining a group program.
Okay, hiring a mentor, how much time will you get back from your business later from the growth that they will help you achieve with this investment? Okay, a good coach, a good mastermind, will help you grow so much faster, and so much easier. And with so much ease, like the feeling of ease, compared to trying to do it all alone by Google and YouTube and blog posts. And there’s nothing wrong with any of this free content. There are a lot of valuable things out there. And they’re great stepping stones when you’re starting your business. But if you’re in a place of being ready to really, really grow, there comes a point when it’s time to stop spinning your wheels, and wasting your time and energy consuming free things. And hit the easy button. Pay for the higher investment. Because you are investing in your time and it is extremely valuable. Those are three mindset shifts that I think will really, really help you this year.
Again, it is shifting from worry and fear regarding your goals and your growth and shift into possibility by saying, but what if everything worked out. And then regarding your time, instead of allowing yourself to just stand still in this spiral of anxiety and overwhelm, say to yourself, I am not available for overwhelm, and I have an abundance of time. And then regarding money, instead of thinking that you cannot possibly charge that much for your product or service because it’s just too high and you’re not worth that or not wanting to invest, to have somebody support you in your business. Try on the mindset shift of my time is extremely valuable. That’s it for today, my friend. I hope this rambling episode was a value to you. I hope that you heard something that really landed and that has inspired you to move forward in a positive way. Thank you for allowing me to riff a bit on these mindset shifts that I love so much. I hope you got something out of this episode and I would love to see you share it on Instagram and tag me at Sabrina Gephardt photography so that I can support you and cheer you on. We’ll see you next time.
Thanks so much for listening to the shoot it straight podcast. You can find all the full show notes and details from today’s episode at Sabrina gebhardt.com backslash podcast. Come find me and connect over on the gram at Sabrina calm Apart photography. If you’re loving the podcast, I’d be honored if you hit that subscribe button and leave me a review. Until next time, my friends shoot it straight.
