So the last couple of months have just flown by and trying to keep up with all the happenings has confused even ME so I wanted to do a little recap of all the goings on and updates all in one post. This is an abbreviated version of all things that I will expand on more after the new year!

First up: CULTIVATE

You may have seen some marketing promos floating around on the internet already. I am so excited to finally announce the launch of this new endeavor! I have been dreaming and planning and finalizing details for months and months and with the help of the incredibly and ridiculously talented Heather Dunnigan, it has all come together!

As most of my photography clients know, I wear a few entreprenaural hats and one of them is a business consultant. Before I stepped into photography as a career, my consulting clients consisted of restauranteurs, hotels, musicians, private business owners and the always fun – IRS. Over the course of the past couple of years I have been wanting to translate what I did for the larger service based businesses into the photography industry.

Last year I launched The Photographer’s Business Toolbox as a way to offer helpful digital products to photographers whose strengths were more artistic than business oriented. Products in a box. Ready to download and go to town for you and take the brainwork out of a lot of everyday business systems. After launching these products and offering promotions, many photographers found themselves totally equipped and ready to hit the ground running. Several months later I was getting phone calls and emails that went like this:

“I love these products. I truly do. But I have found that I just hate doing this kind of ‘work’, can I hire you to just do it for me?”

Why, yes, yes you can. ha! But…

The motivation to streamline their business was there, but the drive and determination to implement and keep up with these systems were just too easy to ignore.

This feedback has been mixed and extremely helpful. I totally get it.

So before throwing in the towel and outsourcing the whole thing to me, I thought there must be a better way to bridge that gap. So … the Workshop was born.

But having been to many workshops myself, my #1 issue was that I always came away with loads of ideas an inspiration – that at the second I got home I never had time to implement them to my fullest potential. So THIS workshop was going to be hands on. And I mean, hands on, like we’re going to hold hands and do it all together step by step until it’s done, hands on. So there is no list to go home to. It’s done. It’s just finished.

But I found two problems with that….

#1 – How boring is a straightup workshop just on business? Holy cow **I** might not make it all the way through! I mean – these are photographers and creatives and to talk about taxes and systems and all things “business” might just kill us all.

#2 – “Business”, especially a creative one, cannot be sucessful without a well thought out brand and vision. So I partnered with the amazing Heather Dunnigan of Denim + Grace Magazine and Heather Dunnigan & Co., who is a talented Brand Development Expert and phenomenal Graphic and Visual Designer to bring her expertise to this endeavor.

When the two of us put our heads together and started dreaming really big, Cultivate was born. It went from just a workshop to a whole movement – that starts the moment one registers for an event and basically never ends, ever. Building on the Fundamentals of Education with prep kits and support and events and community, Cultivate was designed to equip creative entrepreneurs with practical stewardship and creative core brand strategies to build long-term life & business success through hands on training, practical tools and a supportive and empowered community.

To read more about Cultivate, feel free to visit our website here: www.wearecultivate.com

I am so excited to be branching out on this journey with Heather. It’s amazing how much we have been able to learn from each other in just the short time we have been working together. Personally, Heather’s influence has already been such a blessing to me and has helped me connect some dots in my own brand. I can’t wait to apply some of the tools she has to my own business.

For 2014, The Photographer’s Business Toolbox will offer all new product line to support the new Fiscal Year. It will also be incorporating Cultivate specific products for go-to business needs.

 

Next UP: ALL NEW COACHING SESSIONS

 

This industry changes fast. And the needs of newer business owners are far and wide and diverse. In the past, I have offered personalized coaching sessions via Skype only and specialized in Business Operations and Quickbooks Training. Often these topics have turned to marketing, photography fundamentals, client relationships and even darkroom basics. And I LOVED all of that!

Starting in 2014 all one time “Mentor Sessions” will now become “Coaching Sessions”. With new options for in-person, online, 1/2 day, full day, one time, and long term subscriptions. With expanded topics for you to choose from: Training Interns to Quickbooks. From Photo Editing to Marketing & Promotions. Totally customized for what you are needing in YOUR business based on my 15+ years experience that includes business consulting and being a full time photographer. This will also NOT be limited to photographers and creative entrepreneurs, but available to all small business owners.

Coaching spots will be limited per month so if this is something that interests you, contact me right away.

With the wise advice of the incredibly talented Katelyn James, she has helped me to define some things that will take my brand to a whole new level. It will be a huge game changer in my life and business and I am just not ready to share that with the world just yet. So, stay tuned for that BIG GIANT ANNOUNCEMENT in the New Year. Katelyn, I am forever grateful for you my dear and for helping me to define such a profound decision. Steve and I are really excited about implementing these changes.

 

 

Now for some FUN CURRENT EVENTS!

In November the Tri-State gals and I from Pursuit 31 organized what we dubbed the “EPIC” Styled shoot consisting of a Bride & Groom, Mommy & Baby, High School Senior,  Married Couple and more! We had a fantastic time and were able to help each other with some tough topics such as Off Camera Flash, Posing and what to do in frigid temps! Someday I will be able to edit and post more images, but for now hopefully you can enjoy a few of my favorites here. The theme was “Beloved” and it encompassed all of the intimacy, vulnerability and love that we were created for. It was truly an amazing day. And yes that sounds sappy because it really was that amazing. There were tears and everything. Well scroll down and you’ll see!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SOME super personal but totally BUSINESS related GOALS FOR NEXT YEAR:

Not that this post isn’t long enough or anything, here are some goals that I am planning to implement next year. Some I am ready for, some I am like a baby crawling through this phase, but I hope to accomplish them – so I am blogging about it to keep myself accountable:

#1 Blog consistently. I am terrible at this. I feel like with each post, I have to push it around Social Media just so people and clients know it’s there. Even Facebook has become so unreliable these days I know I need to blog more consistently so people can check in on certain days and find new content and updates. This is a MUST and I finally accept it. It’s not that I don’t love writing, I do, but even with a list of 30 topics ready to go, having the motivating to stick with that particular topic of the day, when your heart is telling you to write something else instead is hard. Or having a cluster of sessions to publish, and not wanting to stagger them through personal posts or updates. So, I guess I’ll just have to get over this. Get disciplined about it, and stop making excuses.

#2 The dreaded newsletter. I need one. I get it. If I had a dollar for every email or comment that read, “OH I WISH I KNEW….”. There has got to be a better way to communicate with my clients and future clients and for now, it looks like a newsletter it is. This scares me because I can barely keep a blogging schedule, so HOW in the world and I going to keep up with a newsletter?!! AND – does anybody really read them anyway? Well, I guess there is only one way to find out. So if you sign up for my newsletter, I promise not to flood your emails more than necessary. I’ll have to sweeten it up with some exclusive content so people will be motivated to sign up. I wonder what that could be….. lol

#3 Saying NO to my distractions. Yikes. This was a biggie, but I am slowly starting to peel away the layers that they were. I will get there. Baby steps. Thank you Lara Casey. No, like THANK YOU. Big time. BIG.

#4 Saying YES to being 100% committed to God’s will for my business. Getting there. Day by day. Thanks again to the amazing Katelyn for really helping me in this area as well. (Why is the obvious always so hard to see at times!?) Yikes.

#5 Pursue more personal & artistic projects and separate them from my current brand. I get it. Not everyone wants to see that cool picture of a tree when wanting to book portraits of their baby. lol I’m still learning, ALWAYS, so, this will be like ripping off a bandaid for me and I just need to be more intentional with my “business” work, and my “personal” work and where all that goes.

#6 Personally handcraft and implement unique items for my product line. (YES! Super SUPER excited about this one!) Here are some sneak peeks of some items I have been working on!! My love of bookbinding, paper crafting, DIY and craftsmanship all incorporated into my photography business has long been on my BIG SCARY list of dreams things to do.

There are LOTS of companies that sell the same things for the same purpose and there are LOTS of ways that clients can showcase their final images. Since clients are so unique I wanted to be able to offer items tailored to their tastes so my product line had just about everything, in every color, in every option, in every size. Seriously, I think I have an account with just about every photography manufacturing company on the planet. And I have placed an order with each of them at some point. I wish I were joking.

They are talented wholesalers and retailers and as photographers we contract with them to get clients a great price on a premium product.

However – that is not from me.

And while I am grateful that will always be available to me should I need it, I wanted to find a way to offer a very unique experience to my clients next year. Using my personal influences, and implementing more of my personal tastes and hobbies into my business. Not to make excuses of why I had no time for hobbies.

Last year I became of huge, no, gigantic fan of these Nostalgia Boxes and have been offering them to clients ever since.  I loved everything about them. What they represented, how they were made, WHY they were made, and what their purpose was. I have really fallen in love with the idea of personal hand craftsmanship and have been researching unique ways to be able to bring more items like these into my brand.

So, I’m starting with this. Little books, big books, accordion books, mounted prints, Linen frames, Linen boxes, etc. We’ll see where this goes, but to personally handcraft part of the finished product that my photographs are displayed in would be the cherry on top for me. Steve has even offered up some of his lutherie/inlay and woodworking skills so perhaps the two of us can create something totally unique to offer this year. Who knows…. baby steps. lol

#7 Be more intentional with my photography business. Pursue the work that matters to me most. Period. And give it 100% of my attention. Say no to the rest. — ack — even typing that is scary. But over the past month or so I have been writing it all down and actually surprised how much sense it makes. Funny how these things happen when you are still enough to listen.

#8 Let go of influences. <— Yikes. Forget the comparison monster that we all know of and try to avoid at all costs. I deal constantly with the “influence” monster. And yes, it’s very high-school, and yes, I am totally guilty and confessing right now, in public.

This industry can be very much like high school at times. It’s very public. VERY public. Every move you make is watched and judged by others constantly (both GOOD and bad) and that influences everyday decisions. It just does. Good and bad.

For example:

If someone steals your tag line, or uses the same shooting locations or labs as you, or puts their home page button on their website on the same top left hand corner as you, you wonder who really did it first. Because the second person is obviously wrong. Obviously. And then a lynch mob goes chasing after them. And it’s terrible.

I am part of the problem. I see this happen to others and I get annoyed at the bully. Or when it happens to me, I totally feel like a victim. I even had one of my pictures recently published in a book with no photo credit. In the credits it read, “thanks to all of the photographers who pictures we found on the internet, this could not have been possible without you.” <– or something to that effect. Steve said I should sue them. Maybe I might someday, but really, I am not the first person to put work on the internet and have someone right click it. Maybe it’s my own fault for putting it out there. Maybe not.

The problem is that I find myself second guessing a decision because I have now been influenced by what I have experienced. What if someone else decides to right click another image of mine? Should I never share anything ever again? Should I drop my tagline because someone stole it?

Sadly, I can’t change any of that. But I can change my attitude and behavior regarding it.

So, my goal for next year is let go of the “what if” influences and just make the best decisions I can. And whatever happens, happens. And if you steal my images, just remember I’m from New Jersey. lol  Annnnddd…… exhale……

#9 Share the journey. The good the bad and the ugly. Perhaps that can team up with #1, but I know that my life, my brand, my business, my photography, my education programs, my children, my faith and my paper products and baked goods all represent a part of who I am as a whole. And if next year is going to be fully intentional on what matters most, then it is all intertwined and woven together, and that starts with sharing more behind the scenes of this journey. Those who are interested will come along for the ride. Those that aren’t will scroll past. And then I’ll refer to #8 and let it go. lol

 

And now for some FUN STUFF!

I can’t wait to have my elbows deep in cookie dough and anxious children waking me at 5 am on Christmas morning! I will be attempting 4, count em FOUR new Pinterest cookie recipies. I truly hope I don’t end up on with a Pinterest fail, but the kids and I will have fun trying that’s for sure!

We are super excited about the upcoming Christmas Concert at Bayside Chapel tomorrow and having the whole family home for a nice long Christmas break! With that, business will be officially “closed” from Monday December 23rd – Thursday January 2nd so Steve and I can enjoy our kids while they are still young enough to appreciate this time with us! lol

There is still time for last minute Christmas product orders, and even a Gift Certificate for a future session. Please email me at angelsea@creativeeyephotography.com for anything you need. ALSO *** I am extending my CYBER MONDAY Gift Certificate Sale until CHRISTMAS EVE! Gift wrapped and ready for shipping or pickup for any of those last minute shoppers out there!

 Here’s to new beginnings, scary goals and christmas cookies! I am really, REALLY looking forward to facing 2014 head on!

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“EPIC” Styled Shoot Credits

Creative Directors: Angelsea Urban & Kathy Bryan Azar – Websites: www.angelseaurban.com & www.katherineazar.com 

Wardrobe Coordinator: Becka Pillmore -Website: www.pillphotography.com

Caterer: Amie Bigelow Falk – Website: www.imagesbyamie.com 

Venue: American Swedish Historical Museum Website: www.americanswedish.org 

Set design: A Styled Fete – Xiomara and Willie Roman website: www.astyledfete.com Provided: Bed, chandelier, settee and other accessories.

Other props: Maggpie Vintage Rentals – Website: www.maggpievintagerentals.com – Provided: Table, chairs, china, glasses, and pillows. 

Florist: Autumn Snow Floral Design – Stacy Franz and Jamie Schrader – Website: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Autumn-Snow-Floral-Design/144540518940168

Hair Styling: Brittany Garro & Stephanie Marceli or Karma Salon & Spa – Website: http://www.karma-salonandspa.com/

Makeup: Amy Guirate and Erica Grisafi Greb of DUO Makeup Artistry -Website: www.duomakeupartistry.com