194: Q2 2026 Business Bestie Chat with Colie James

Sabrina: On today’s episode of the Shoot It Straight podcast, we have another episode of the quarterly Business Bestie Chat. This time it’s a little bit different because Cole and I are actually sitting in the same room, so the energy, the vibe, it’s a little different. It’s very fun. Of course, as always, we have a lot of fun things to talk about and we actually just got back from spending several days together at a conference.

So we’re gonna kind

Colie: of rehash our thoughts and our takeaways. Yet again, it’s another great episode. So let’s dive in.

Sabrina: Welcome to Shoot It Straight, the podcast for women building businesses and lives they actually want. I’m Sabrina Ebhart, and around here we believe in clarity over hustle, alignment over burnout, and giving yourself permission to want more, more ease, more beauty, more income, more space to live. So if you are ready to grow without losing yourself in the process, you’re in the right place.

Colie: Hi, friend.

Sabrina: Hi.

Colie: Okay guys, we are currently here for the biz bestie chat of Q2 2026, and Sabrina and I are coming live to you from Fort Worth

Sabrina: from my office. So this is going to be a very fun experiment. We don’t know how this is gonna turn out. I think there’s gonna be a lot more off the cuff here, because I’m literally touching you.

Colie: Yes, I mean, we’re snuggled up real close if you’re not watching on YouTube.

Sabrina: I’m excited about this though. I can’t wait to see where this goes. I told Cole Lee when she got here that I. Did not do my homework and listened to our last chat, so I apologize listeners, but we’ve been together for a few days and our minds are swirling with things as it does coming off of a conference. So we’ve got a lot to talk about.

Colie: We do have a lot to talk about. So first, let’s say why we’re here together. So I am here at the DFW area because Creative Educator Conference was this weekend held by the amazing Layli Imma, um, and we were both attending, this is my fourth year and it’s your.

Sabrina: Second.

Colie: Yeah.

And it’s a conference that we enjoy. I feel like I, it was like pulling teeth to get you to come and, but once you’ve come, I feel like you’re now addicted.

Sabrina: Oh, addicted.

Colie: And you are never going to leave. Never going to leave. And I feel like we’ve now gotten many of our other friends to come. Yes. And join us as well.

Sabrina: Yes. And I know the same goes for you, but I have a whole list of people that I want to pitch for my podcast and for to come be guest experts in places. And it is really such a great room. To connect in and meet people and. Honestly, everybody in that room is just a total badass. So it’s a real fun conference,

Colie: total badass.

And last year I did that. I made a list and some of the people that I invited to come to the podcast weren’t even people that I had like longer conversations with at the event. I was just like, I’m so sorry. I really wanted to connect with you and we didn’t. Will you come on my podcast please? Thank you.

Sabrina: Yeah, it’s, so my list is people that I connected with. If you’re a listener of the Shoot It Straight podcast, you know that I kind of have this unwritten rule where I will only have you on my podcast if I’ve like, connected with you somehow, way, shape, or form. It’s like a little bit of a filter. So I, but I do have a list and I had a list after last year’s conference and did not follow through, did not pitch a single person from that list.

I’m going to do better this time.

Colie: Or I’m going to make you

Sabrina: Yes, that

Colie: works. Soon we, we can go with that. Yeah. I am here as like your accountability partner. Yes. Hello. And I mean, I think one of the funniest things that happened to us at the conference was yesterday we’re all on stage and we’re taking like the conference picture of everybody and Alex Collier, who is an amazing designer, I’ve actually known her for a few years.

She got between Sabrina and I and then it was like she realized her. She was like, oh my gosh, like do you want me to move so that you guys can stand together? And I’m like, no. Sabrina and I are capable of like not being neck and neck, I mean, but we did sit together.

Sabrina: We did. And

Colie: both days of the conference

Sabrina: it was really fun because we had so many friends this year.

Coley, just rule of thumb, she knows more people than I do. Okay. She’s just very well connected. And I kind of stick to my group, but because I went last year, I saw a lot of familiar faces and got to reconnect with people even deeper, which was really fun. But we invited some new friends this time that are like starting off in their education journey, and so it was really fun for them to get to be there too.

It was, I mean, it was a blast. Honestly,

Colie: I had a lot of fun, and this time I do feel like I did way less connecting than normal. I mean, you know, anime, anime loves to go to a good conference with me because I will literally take her around the room and introduce her to every single person. And this year I didn’t have to do it that much.

I feel like there were a lot of people in the room that already knew each other and almost the only new people were like the ones that we brought along, at least from my perspective.

Sabrina: Yeah, yeah, I agree. It was really, really fun. And so it was definitely. Uh, there was a lot of heavy lifting mentally as far as like, especially day two, the, the speakers and, I mean, furiously taking notes and having ideas and stuff like that, but a lot of, just great conversations and a lot of them, yes, are about business and potential and ideas and problem solving, but also just humans connecting with humans.

A lot of moms in the room, a lot of people that are, you know, nervous about things or excited about things, and it was just, it was really, really fun.

Colie: Do you know what the like hidden participant of yesterday’s Actually both days, I really enjoyed how many times people from the stage and honestly off stage talked about therapy.

Sabrina: Oh, a hundred percent. It should have been like a take a shot for every time you hear the word therapy.

Colie: No, I would’ve been so drunk.

Sabrina: Yeah. Yeah.

Colie: I mean, and not just. Conference drunk. I would’ve been real drunk if I took a shot every time someone mentioned therapy. I mean, I was on stage, I was a panelist and I only mentioned therapy one time when I thought I was gonna mention it multiple times because I was up there talking about scaling your business and.

What that means to you and what that means to different people. And like, one of the things that I feel like everybody needs when they are growing their business is some therapy. You need some business coaching and you need some therapy. And the two of those together are like the perfect mix to get you and your business where you need to go.

Sabrina: Yes, a hundred percent. And. I feel like in the past, let’s call it seven years, therapy has become more and more talked about. And so it’s not this like elephant in the room where you’re like, do they have a therapist? You know? And it really is assumed that if you are going to be leveling up in your business, you, you will have a therapist.

Like it needs to be part of the lineup. And I feel so strongly about the personal development and the business development. That’s the entire premise of my, like main program route rise. Because not that I’m a therapist, but because. You cannot rise as a business owner without doing that inner work and.

Facing those things that you have. The, the like analogy that I give is, it’s like you’re in the ocean trying to swim and you got a brick attached to you. Can you swim? Sure. Is it gonna be hard? Yes. So you’ve gotta get the brick released so that you can go farther, faster and easier.

Colie: I mean, and that was a couple of people told me later, after I was on the stage, they said, the one thing that you said that really stuck to me is that I shouldn’t try to grow a business like everybody else.

And I’m like, if I’m here to tell you anything about creating a business for yourself, yes, Maddie mentioned, you know, you should pay attention to your clients, but I’m actually more focused on you as the business owner now because I know how important it is. Basically for you to keep your own eyes on your own fucking piece of paper and make sure that you aren’t trying to hit six figures, multiple six figures, just because your bestie did it like it should be based in what you want as a human, as a business owner.

And then what you actually have capacity for, because we don’t all have capacity to be all things in all seasons of life.

Sabrina: Yeah. And that goes back to just definition of success, right? Yes. Like everyone should be totally different. You should not be copying it off the internet from anybody else.

Colie: I mean, if it was only so easy for someone to give you a piece of paper and do step one, do this, step two, do this, bam.

You have a six figure business. That is absolute fucking bullshit.

Sabrina: Yeah.

Colie: Alright, so again, we didn’t do our homework guys, but let me throw it to you and ask you at the end of Q1, where are you now in the things that were important to you as goals and that, you know, we kind of chatted about? ’cause Oh, that’s the other thing.

I will mention this real quick. Sabrina and I are actually chatting every other week on Zoom for an hour. So I feel like that’s even like. More accountability for each other now than we’ve ever had in the time that we’ve been doing these BIBE chats. So, I mean, I feel like we’re gonna have to dig deep.

Remember the things because we’ve already talked about them, right. Versus in previous episodes it might be that we were kind of saving it for y’all, but that’s not happening right now, so, sorry. Yes.

Sabrina: It’s a structured, like recurring event on our calendar and so instead of it being like one week where we have a lot going on and we’re ving constantly and then maybe we don’t talk for 10 days.

This is like every other week we’re talking and we have that like recurring touch point, which is fabulous. Um, okay. So, and Q1 ended, Q2 has begun. The big thing right now for me is, and again, didn’t do the homework, don’t know if I mentioned it on the last episode, so this may be new news altogether, but, um, I launched something brand new and it’s already over 50% full.

I am doing my first ever standalone retreat where it is not attached to a mastermind of any sort and. I’m real excited because it’s open to not just photographers, and it is called Route to Rise summer Camp, and it is in coastal Maine this June, and it is going to be the same bougie, fantastic vibe that I do.

But also like working weekend mixed in with incredible community and all the vibes. And we’ve got a really exciting guest expert coming, my friend Brooklyn Grotte, and she’s a meta ads expert, Brooklyn. I actually met at Creative Educator last year. Last year, so it has been one year and I’ve become fully obsessed with her and she’s become fully obsessed with me and I’ve just circled her right into my girl gang.

She’s been on the podcast, she has been an expert in one of my, in my membership, and she’s gonna be our guest expert. For summer camp. So that’s been really fun. Launched it first to my membership. No, that’s a lie. Launched it first to a wait list, then to my membership. Now it’s open to the public and it’s, I’m really excited about how it’s shaping up.

So that’s the big thing. That’s new.

Colie: I know. And summer camp guys, I mean, who wouldn’t wanna go to summer camp? And I mean, you, you chose a location and if you guys are unfamiliar, I mean your audience isn’t, I guess I’m talking to the business first, creative like listeners here. Sabrina’s retreats are nothing less than bougie.

Like I was wondering if I was gonna be the one to say that word, but she said it first. It’s okay. But like everything about Sabrina’s events are very luxury and I think it’s hysterical because technically listening audience, that’s how I met Sabrina. She came to one of my events in 2018 and I think back and I’m like, I mean, I thought my event was good, but it’s nowhere near.

Like the level of the private chef and the swag and just all of it. So I mean, if you, if there are any spots left and if you are like, I wanna go hang out with some really awesome women in Maine this summer, you should go check it out. It’s linked in the show notes of both episodes.

Sabrina: Yes, yes. Come join us at summer camp and if not, get on the wait list for next year because I can already tell you there will be a next year.

Colie: Ah, there will be a next year. Yeah. So for myself, I had a pretty exciting couple of weeks. At the time of this recording, when this is published, it will be over, but I was doing my second live run of email. Like you mean it. And we actually made a decision as a group, and when I say we, I mean me, my fractional CMO, Chelsea, who I’ve mentioned on the podcast.

And then Emily Williams decided that we are going to shelf the public version of email. Like you mean it for right now. It is not going anywhere. I still feel very passionate about client communication and mapping your customer journey, but you guys are just not eating it up in the way that I need you to eat it up.

And so we are firmly putting it inside of systems in session. And so like right now, I literally have one thing to sell you and one thing only, and that ship feels real, real weird,

Sabrina: but also so freeing.

Colie: I mean,

Sabrina: I mean, you talk about one thing, you lead to one thing. I can’t even. Cannot even fathom. I

Colie: never

Sabrina: feel like

Colie: know, and I mean, we had this discussion, so Emily, if you’re, you’re listening, like, you’re welcome.

We’re sitting there and basically her and Chelsea started having a conversation. Like I wasn’t even in the room. She was like, but Chelsea, does she really need like another offer? Like why can’t Coley just sell one thing over and over again? And they were like discussing the merits and, oh, but it’s so good and these are all of the results that people get.

And I was like, yeah, it, it’s good with me in case anybody cares.

Sabrina: I’m over here guys. Hi. Still in the room.

Colie: But I mean, we’ve decided to do this and we’re just gonna see how it goes. ’cause you guys know everything about business. I am willing to take as an experiment, and if I do it and it doesn’t work, maybe I’ll bring it back.

But as of right now, that’s what we’re doing.

Sabrina: Yeah, so a current thing that I’m kind of tweaking right now, and actually this isn’t real time, I haven’t even told you this. This is as of like last night, this morning. So I’ve got a membership and for those of you that are on the business first creative listening side, I’ve got a membership that’s called First Cross Lounge, and it is a rebirth of an old membership that I had that used to live in a Facebook group and no longer lives there because.

You know, Facebook, Facebook is dead. Yeah. So

Colie: that

Sabrina: was

Colie: not planned.

Sabrina: Yeah. So, but I have, one of my longtime OG members sent me a message in our Instagram group, which is where we live now, and she said, you know, I’m, I’m loving the way that you coach over here and the guest experts, but I am missing the community piece where I can drop in and ask a question anytime.

And I told her, I said, well, you know, like we still have three Zoom calls a month. You still can ask questions of me. And she goes, I know, but I don’t always wanna bother you. I miss that group space to just drop into. And I said, well, tell me more. So we kind of had a little bit of a back and forth conversation and she gave an example of another group that she’s in that has like a WhatsApp chat.

In a channel, and she was like, I was able to drop in there, but I, I wanna be able to drop in somewhere with, with our people. And I told her that it’s, it’s a struggle. Like the struggle is I recognize that this is a missing piece. And it’s hard because there’s some channels that just automatically won’t work because of the volume of people inside.

Right. If you put 60 people in a group chat, like that’s gonna get real messy really, really fast. I

Colie: would ignore it very quickly.

Sabrina: Yes. And especially when the goal is to grow first class lounges. So I’m trying to figure out. A way that I could bring that back in and something that we had discussed at the conference over dinner one night with our friend Maddie, is potentially bringing in a new app called Circle that can have the Facebook group vibe of drop in and ask your questions.

So I’m considering that I was already considering that for another, for my Mastermind route to Rise. Then now I’m considering it maybe for both. My only hesitation listener is that it’s another app. I want to poke my eyes out with how many apps there are and how many, and it’s not just business wise, right?

Like sure. I have like one coach that’s in WhatsApp and one coach that’s in Telegram, and then one coach that’s in Boxer, but also all of my children’s sports and school and my God, all the apps. And God forbid you don’t check one for a day because then you’re like drowning in things and you’ve missed something huge.

So it’s hard ’cause I hate to do that to my audience and say like, you gotta get another app. But I, I kind of don’t see another way around it.

Colie: Now I’m curious, are you going to try to replace the Instagram aspect with Circle or are you only going to use Circle for the community part?

Sabrina: Right now I’m only considering it for the community part.

But I mean, it could. To the listeners that don’t know, the reason that we moved to an Instagram space is it’s meant to be ease. Like you’re already on the app, you’re already there. And so it’s not, it’s the whole thing of not having another place to check. And the way it runs currently is on every Monday I drop a question box and everyone in the group can ask whatever burning question they have.

They’re struggling with something. And it can be, you know, a client situation or a very quick like, Hey, I got stuck on how to name this file, whatever. And then I coach to every single question every single week, and they get saved as reels with a cover photo that has the question on it. So essentially when you go to the profile of that group, you can scroll and there is like a whole library of questions.

Mm-hmm. And you can just watch the video that pertains to you. So it’s meant to be like a little mini vault in a place that you, most of the users already are. So my hesitation is if we move that again over to circle again, it’s like. They have to think about checking it to get plugged in as opposed to anytime they log into Instagram, they’re already seeing what’s over there.

Colie: That’s true. But then I feel like then they’re gonna feel like they’re going into another space to get a question. And if Circle is not somewhere that people are actually actively participating, they’re gonna post a question and it might go dead for several days until people actually go over there and read it.

I mean, is there no way to post something on Instagram? Is it because you have to post it. That’s what it is. Yeah. It’s because you have to post it. I mean, I’m wondering, is there a way to do like a weekly q and a where people post their questions and then when people are responding to them, they just tag them?

I’m wondering if there’s anything we could try like that before we try and jump tools.

Sabrina: Yeah. It’s hard because the way that the page is set up, you have to set it up as a private page so that people can’t just freely jump onto the page and join it. Right? If it’s a, if it’s behind a paywall, it has to be locked, so it’s a private account.

Because it’s private, it’s not a business account. You cannot have a private business account, so it’s a private personal account, and because of that, you automatically lack, like, I can’t go live in that group. You cannot go live with a personal account. Which is, didn’t know that when I made that decision ’cause my plan was to go live and so there’s certain things I can’t do wi within the functionality of having a private account.

So you see what I mean? So listener on either podcast, if you have an idea. Yeah. On either podcast, you come find me in DM me at xo dot Sabrina Gephart and. I’m all ears. I, I live by the same rule as Coley. It’s all a game. Like we’re all just figuring stuff out and some things are gonna work and some things are gonna fail.

And I’m willing to try anything at this point, but I don’t wanna move my group around too much because then that’s asking so much of them Yes. To constantly like, follow me around, like, that’s crazy. So that’s my current real time as of today.

Colie: Ask.

Sabrina: Ask. Yeah.

Colie: I mean, I don’t, is there anything else that you wanna address from Q1 that like worked or didn’t work for you?

Sabrina: So the only other thing happening in Q1 is I’m running a, a round of route to rise. This is the seventh round of the program, which is amazing and humbling. Um, and it’s going great and I have learned some things in this round that need to change going forward. I’m not quite sure what that looks like either.

So I am in this place of like, I’m recognizing that in some programs, changes need to be made and there’s a lot of gray area, and so I don’t really know what that looks like yet. Luckily, I have a lot of. Awesome businesswomen in my corner that do their programs differently. So I’m currently like picking the brain of Maddie.

Mm-hmm. And picking the brain of Coley and picking the brain of a coach over here. Just to kind of get some feedback on like, Hey, what’s working for you? And then sitting with, would that actually work? It’s hard because. Specifically with Root to Rise, again, it’s my seventh run. This is a successful program that works in the format that it’s in.

So I’m, I wanna be real careful with Yeah.

Colie: To not break it.

Sabrina: To not break it, to make sure that whatever change I make is going to make it better, not worse.

Colie: Agreed. And I mean, I don’t run a mastermind, but I treat systems in session the exact way. And I think I mentioned on the last podcast, again, we didn’t do our homework, but I’m pretty sure that I told you guys that I was making changes instead of just making the call.

Scheduler always available. Your first four calls are now pre-scheduled for the first four weeks. That has worked amazing. But I did realize that I feel like. I am making them reliant on a call in the way that they weren’t before. So I told them I’m pre-scheduling for the first four weeks, and then some people panicked, like, what happens after four weeks?

Like, do I lose access to talking to? And I was like, no, like, you know, you get to schedule a call on a Friday if you need one. But then I was like, I feel like this time they might just be waiting for the call in a way that they haven’t previously. I’m still not getting rid of prescheduled calls because the overwhelming majority were like, Coley, this is awesome.

I mean, I have one or two people that literally when they see my name on their calendar, they get frightened because they have not done what they were supposed to do. And so I, I, I can sense their panic because I can see the support tickets coming in and thank God they’re not doing it like the night before.

It is honestly like two to three days before, which I think is great lead time. But I feel like that was giving them a push this time that I haven’t seen before. And so I mean, that is going amazing. Support tickets are still going. Super awesome. I mean, it’s always how can I make this better for people?

And so I’m constantly looking for ways, and in case you haven’t heard me say this on the podcast, collecting feedback from your clients is the most important thing that you can do, not only for yourself, but for them. Because if you don’t provide the opportunity for them to give you feedback before the end of a project, some people feel like there is no space for them to do that.

And so I, I’m gonna out one of my clients, I’m not gonna say her name because she would be mortified. One person ended up filling out a midpoint feedback form, and I didn’t see it because I went on my cruise.

Sabrina: How dare you.

Colie: I know, but what that meant was I saw it 10 days later and when I looked at it I was like, oh my God.

Like she’s worried about this thing and she didn’t need to be worried. And so I immediately sent her a note and was like, would you like an hour call on Friday so we can kind of work this out? Like I felt bad. I mean she of course wasn’t thinking about it one way or the other, but I was like, yeah, I missed it ’cause I was on my cruise.

And so then, you know, that was again one of the things about the weekly calls kind of disappearing and them not like knowing that they had the option on the Fridays. I mean, guys, it is said multiple times in the resource hub, but it was my responsibility to communicate that to them. And I totally intended to do it, and I’m pretty sure I had an email draft somewhere and I didn’t send it.

And so now it is timed inside of Airtable. When someone is approaching the 30 days, they get a note that says, just so that you know, your pre-scheduled calls are done, but you can continue your calls on any Friday, and here is the scheduler. And then when that particular person gets emails after. It also includes the Friday scheduler.

Amazing. Just so that they know where it is.

Sabrina: Amazing. That’s so organized.

Colie: I try.

Sabrina: Um, I know that another thing we talked about was ads.

Colie: Oh, she’s gonna put me on the spot. I’m gonna drink some water

Sabrina: Listener. How many times has Coley said that she was going to start running ads? How many quarters are we into this conversation?

Um, she’s still not, that’s okay. I will start with myself. A really big goal that I have for this year is to really double down on my ad strategy for the past, I don’t know, let’s call it five years. Basically, my entire ad strategy is ads to lead generation. That’s it. Ads to freebies, and that’s great. That is, goes great.

I love it. I’m, I’m here for it. Still gonna do that, but I’m ready to have like an ad ecosystem mm-hmm. Where I’ve got low ticket offers, you know, retargeting ads, all the, all the ads and so that is my goal. However, I have not gotten very far. So just to be totally honest, have not gotten very far. I’m giving myself grace because Q1 is always my heaviest quarter with starting a new mastermind and getting all those women onboarded and, and all of that, and so many Voxer messages.

And then we’ve got, you know, we start conference season and all of that. So I believe that I’m still going to nail it and I’ve got solid time the rest of the year, but I’m not as far along as I want it to be at this point, which, you know, life happens.

Colie: Hi Chelsea. This is your note. So that Sabrina is sitting next to me.

I would like to run ads to systems that sell. So I’m saying it out loud and my ad strategy is going to be to grow my email list.

Sabrina: Okay?

Colie: Because here’s the thing, when we discussed it last time, do you know what I was gonna run ads to? Mm. Email like you mean it?

Sabrina: Yeah.

Colie: They literally just took that away from me.

Yeah. Yeah. So, okay. I mean, I, I feel like part of it is every time I figure out what it is that I want to run ads to, something stops me. Now I will say ads run best when your organic is in place. And so one of the things about my private podcast systems itself, it will be linked in the show notes, um, is that I haven’t had enough organic traffic through yet to kind of see what.

The download rates are the click rates, and we’ve been working on that. So in March I did two different events. I did a promotional email on someone else’s list. And so these were things that I wanted to test the organic things before I put money into ads. So even though it is now April and I am still not running ads, can I just get like a pat on the back for like working on the organic to get me there?

Sabrina: I’m giving you a pat on the back.

Colie: Thank you.

Sabrina: I will say. What my friend Brooklyn says is, yes, organic needs to be in place first, but as soon as you have had one organic download of a freebie. The proof has been made.

Colie: Oh, is that what she says? Brooklyn, shame on you. Okay.

Sabrina: So, and I, you know, we know that Coley’s got an amazing website that just absolutely kicks ass, so that is in place.

Colie: Okay.

Sabrina: And while you’re not the most active on Instagram, you have an account over there that has not happening.

Colie: That’s 4,400 people. Yeah, I know.

Sabrina: Like, you’re ready. You’re ready. And lead generation ads are so cheap and so easy, so it’s like.

Colie: And you know, I have a zillion, my pixel free and all of that is you have a zillion freebie.

I’m like, I think, no, I’m desperately trying to. Okay, so, no, that is. So let’s talk about what Coley has done with her freebies in Q1. Just like my offers, I am desperately trying to pair those down. What I realized is that most of my freebies are. I hate to say the word tactical, but they are literally like, go do this, this, and this.

And the thing that I’m realizing is that I think that I need to speak to my audience in a different way, which is why I created emails that convert my email freebie. It is not telling you a list of emails to write. It is coaching you how to write more effective emails. Systems that sell. Is totally a mindset private podcast, which I mean, I don’t think I really do mindset, but I do a lot of it in systems in session.

Yeah. And so I wanted to put things out there that were beyond, I want you to do A, B, C, D. And then if you need help with them, come find me. I am trying to put you in the mindset of like getting to a place where you recognize the value of doing the things. Then I can help you.

Sabrina: Yeah,

Colie: do them.

Sabrina: Yeah. I think that’s great.

My point was though, you’re not coming from a place of, I don’t have a freebie yet. That’s true. Like you have them and they’re great. So like, we’re ready. Just I have rock. Create some graphics and go. That’s really about it for me. I think we’ve covered kind of where I am now. Where I was Q1. I did just have an idea pop off.

If you’re watching this on YouTube, you probably saw me scribbling. Far scribbling. Um, I’m not ready to open that can of worms yet, but. We’ll see.

Colie: Okay.

Sabrina: Uh, we get ideas on this. We’ve said this every single time.

Colie: I will say we got actual

Sabrina: ideas.

Colie: We got a really awesome idea. I mean, it’s not an idea that I haven’t had before, but we were in the car with our good friend, Maddie.

And listen, this is like not a tiny thing. This is a big thing, but I’m just putting it out there that let’s say next year we’re probably gonna have some, you think it’s a stretch? I don’t think it’s a stretch because of the way that I work now. Maybe I’ll do it and then you’ll make it bougie as fuck, but I will get it done.

By next year. Okay. Okay, so I’m just putting it out there. We planted a little seed between me, Sabrina, and Maddie, and we’re gonna bring one more friend along. You get bonus points if you figure out who it is, and we’re not gonna tell you what it’s today, but. It was a really good idea. Yeah. And then it kind of expanded the next day and I was like, no, this might, this might be my task soon.

Sabrina: Yeah. Yeah. It’s exciting. So, ha ha. Sorry for the spoiler. Uh, or not a spoiler, but sorry for the cliffhanger, but there you go.

Colie: Okay. Let’s quickly talk about where each of us is gonna go in Q2. So I’m gonna start, I’m gonna talk about systems and sessions since it’s literally the only fucking thing that I have to sell anymore.

Um, I had a goal. Getting 40 people into systems in session for 2026, and I am currently at 23, and it is the second day of April when we are recording this. So I’m gonna get beyond 40. I have already changed things to get my capacity beyond 40, but I like that I set my goal of 40 and I’m already more than 50% of the way there.

And so. I am just gonna think of it as a challenge of exactly where can I go because you know me, I don’t like hit my capacity and like struggle with burnout like. 40 was my goal. We’re gonna see what I get to beyond that and still keep the experience amazing for my people and keep it amazing for me because honestly, that’s more important.

Sabrina: Yeah. Oh my gosh. Q2 goal. Um, obviously I’ve said I’ve gotta kind of figure out what’s next for both of my groups. I’ve got a, I’ve got some problem solving to do also. We’ll be heading into summer camp and. So excited to see how that goes and to see who fills the last few seats and to host something with a little bit of a different format.

That’s gonna be new for me. It’s gonna stretch me a little bit, but I’m very excited and I also have a big thing that I was supposed to do next year, and it’s not gonna happen. So we’re aiming for 2028. It’s still in the back of my mind, so you know, I can’t help but ideate on it. And. Ads. Ads.

Colie: Ads. She’s obsessed.

Sabrina: I am.

Colie: Okay.

Sabrina: You would think I would be running more ads with how obsessed I am. It’s really quite funny.

Colie: No. Do you know what it is? You have people to push them on. I think she’s talking to me. You know, Hey. Yeah.

Sabrina: Yeah. I just, I, they’re fun and it’s taking things to the next level and like we said, you’ve gotta have your orga organic stuff in place, but when you do like.

Run to ads.

Colie: I mean, not that I’m trying to tell you to like expand your world ’cause we know you’re not. But have you ever thought about it? Like if you ever stop doing what you’re currently doing, is ads something that you would cont consider? Because it was really funny, I’ve had actually quite a few calls with people recently where I have been helping them, like reformat their offers.

And for those of you that don’t know, it’s literally what my master’s degree is in. It’s in curriculum instruction, I mean, but like I feel like at the conference this week. Coming on the back end of two to three paid calls where people came to me and they’re like, Coley, you know, I love the way that you think about your offers.

Can you help me figure this out? And I’m like, I’m not an offer strategist, but I was like, wouldn’t it be fun? Wouldn’t it be fun? Yeah. So I mean, I’m wondering if you feel that way about ads, like, not something that you would ever do, but it’s so much fun.

Sabrina: Yeah.

Colie: Like how can I just continue to help people do this even if I don’t add it to like my bio?

Sabrina: Yeah. Yeah. I don’t know. I, I definitely need to learn a lot more ads is, it’s a whole thing. Like I know how to get in there for myself, but learning it to the point where I could get in there for other people. Mm-hmm. Is, it’s tricky, but I, it is fun. I am enjoying it. The other thing I’m really, really enjoying that I tell everybody about currently is TikTok

Colie: take, did you guys ever imagine, we’ll take that

Sabrina: for another day

Colie: that Sabrina was gonna be on TikTok.

I mean, literally that is, that is mind blowing.

Sabrina: But it’s fun over there. So if you’re a business first creatives listener, I just did a podcast episode with my content strategist, uh, I don’t know, a handful of episodes ago. You’ll see it if you just scroll for a second. And we talked about TikTok and. She kind of helped me get going in that like, I was like, Hey, I wanna show up over there, what do I do?

And we had a call and that was really it. It is fun. I can’t say that about Instagram anymore, which really hurts my heart because for so many years it was, it’s not that anymore. TikTok is fun. I am not over there for my business. I am over there for my personal brand, and so I’m just having, it’s like a hobby right now, but at time of recording.

As of this morning, I have something that’s at 1.9 million views,

Colie: 1.9 million views, y’all,

Sabrina: and it’s currently still going viral. Every time I open the app, there’s another 50 comments. It’s wild. And I started in January and I’ve already gone viral five times. Not to the tune of 1.9 million. That’s like a whole other level of viral, but I’ve gone viral five times because it’s not hard over there.

And anyways, go listen to my podcast episode over on, shoot It Straight with Jaden Hamilton about it if you’re interested, and you’ll get to hear more of the story. But if that’s been in, you know, in the back of your mind, I’m just here to raise my hand and say, here I am an almost 46-year-old woman and I’m having a blast.

Colie: Sabrina, I think, I think we can wrap this up. Yeah. Um, this feels short, but also we’ve been together for days, so it also feels like it was a nice little, you know, togetherness. And I loved coming to Sabrina’s house guys. It’s an, it’s as amazing as you would think it is this wall. I mean, all of her other wallpaper.

I just wanna move in. I just want my invite. I will come with my suitcases. It will be a thing.

Sabrina: Can you believe that you’ve never been here before?

Colie: I mean. Sabrina still has not met my husband. Um,

Sabrina: Foley has met my husband and my family multiple times.

Colie: Yeah. Yeah,

Sabrina: so I, we

Colie: gotta fix that.

Sabrina: We do.

Colie: We got, I mean, you guys, you guys come to Colorado and you know what?

It’s not James. That wouldn’t ’cause remember, okay, so Sabrina, I

Sabrina: got Chloe,

Colie: Sabrina was going to meet James this past summer and something happened when we were supposed to come visit. So, I mean, it’s not that we haven’t tried to plan it. But also you guys come to Colorado too much for us to not do something now.

You know what it is, guys? My family are indoor people and Sabrina’s family are outdoor people. We

Sabrina: are,

Colie: and like she goes to the part of Colorado that I’m like, Hmm, no, it’s, it’s too much outdoorsy for me.

Sabrina: Yeah, yeah, yeah. When I come to Colorado, which by the way, when she says too much, it’s once a year.

Colie: But it’s once a year for like weeks.

Sabrina: Yes. Okay. Yes. But when we come, we, we are about 90 minutes from you. So, but 90 minutes into the mountains

Colie: and you guys have all heard me, at least people on my podcast know that I would literally rather eat glass than get on 70 and drive anywhere west like

Sabrina: I am. Seriously considering. This is a hard pivot.

I know we’re wrapping this up. I’m seriously considering flying to Denver to Combination visit you and get photographed by Jordan.

Colie: Okay.

Sabrina: Wouldn’t that be fun?

Colie: That would be so much fun. I actually, so Jordan, what’s her last name? Quinn. Jordan. Quinn is a brand photographer in Denver, and I met her last year and we didn’t really have like much of a conversation.

And this time, I mean, I’m sorry if I’m offending you Jordan, but I was like, bitch, we need like a brunch, like, and she was like, no, like for real. Like don’t just say it. I’m like, no, I really mean it.

Sabrina: Yeah.

Colie: I mean, I will come to Denver to have brunch with anybody. I mean, it’s. I love brunch, y’all. Bru. Brunch is brunch.

Brunch is brunch. But I mean, hopefully by then I will have connected with Jordan and yeah. That sounds like a great time.

Sabrina: Yeah. Yeah, like I think it should happen.

Colie: Okay, so guys, we’re gonna wrap this up. I know that this was not as structured as normal, and to be honest, it’s both of our faults that we didn’t do our fucking homework.

But before we see you guys in Q3, we will make sure that we come with the goods, that we figure out what we talked about. On this episode, we give you an update, and then we tell you where we’re going into Q3, because honestly, Sabrina’s gonna be in a really, really new. And weird place in Q3 in terms of personal life.

I know, I don’t wanna, don’t cry, don’t cry. But when we come to you in Q3, it’s, it’s gonna be different guys like her plans and where she’s going. And I already know this, but you know, I’m teasing. I don’t like to tease. But anyways, we appreciate each and every one of you that listen to our biz bestie chats.

Yes. Because these chats bring us so much joy. And so if you have gotten anything out of this, either of us would love to hear from you. I’m over on Threads Coley James.

Sabrina: I’m not on threads. Instagram xo dot sabrina Gehart. Alright.

Colie: That’s it for this episode. We’ll see you guys next quarter.

Sabrina: Bye. 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@sabrinagehart.com slash podcast. Come find me and connect over on the gram at Sabrina Gehart 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.