How to Take Advantage Of Slow Booking Season

As a virtual assistant for photographers, one of the things I hear the most from my clients around this time of year is that it’s a slow booking season. And yep, that tends to be true…

Most every niche of photographer has a quiet couple months at the beginning of the year…
Newly engaged couples are just starting the planning process.
Spring family photos haven’t started yet.
Boudoir tends to slow down until after the holiday slump has worn off.
Not to mention your ideal client is probably just in recoup-mode from the busyness of the holidays.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t use this slower booking season to your advantage. In fact, this is the time to buckle down, get strategic and set an amazing foundation for the rest of the year.

I want you to think of the year as a whole and zoom out. If you are wanting to magnetize ideal clients, make more $$, and align your business to your desires - than having a strong foundation is really going to help you. Not to mention, just because bookings might have slowed down doesn’t mean SHOPPING has slowed down. Your dream clients are scrolling through online, taking mental notes about what photographers to talk to for their 2023 photos. Now is the time to get strategic and make a good impression.

(And no, I’m not talking about hustle culture here. You know how I feel about that around here haha.
I’m talking about strategy, efficiency, and creating ease for yourself later in the year).

Here are my top 3 ideas on ways to capitalize on this time of year:

USE your blog:

This is a unique time where you can start serving your ideal clients right out of the gate. Use your blog to start talking about educational topics & show off your FAV recent work. Think about what your dreamy clients are considering right now, and start talking about that. DON’T OVER COMPLICATE IT.

Wanting to book weddings + engagement? Publish a blog about “how to pick an epic engagement location”. Or “the first 3 steps to consider when wedding planning”. If you are a boudoir photographer, share all about the process of booking a shoot with you (that makes it a low barrier for them to reach out!). A family photographer? Publish one about “how to coordinate instead of match for family photos!” The possibility are endless.

The goal here is to SERVE your future client. There are people out there who want to book someone just like you. So you’re using your blog as a way to show up, and put your expertise on the table. They don’t know you are the expert if you aren’t showing them. Your blog is a GREAT place to do that.

ALSO: Blogs also have the capacity to get Google searches to notice your site. Once I started using SEO and blogging in my business, almost all my inquiries started coming from google searches. Slow booking season is NOT the time to stop blogging.

(I wouldn’t be a good VA without plugging that I have a blogging team that will literally do all this for you. Click here!)

CRAFT AN AMAZING CLIENT EXPERIENCE:

Now is the perfect time to set the stage for all the super cool clients who will be reaching out over the next couple months. You want to be able to wow them with your customer service, which means you need thoughtful automation in your life.

Now is the time to overhaul those dusty CRM systems, get clear on the client’s journey through your business, and align your automations to support you.

I recommend starting with pen & paper, to write out exactly the steps you want your client to experience. Every touch-point is an area you can “wow” them, and create raving fans/repeat clients. Then translate that process to your CRM!

As a virtual assistant for photographers, I help my clients set up automations all the time. I highly recommend either Honeybook or Dubsado if you are wanting to really be able to customize your client’s experience (Dubsado is my fav!)

Book a creative shoot:

At the end of the day, you are a business owner. Yes. True. BUT you are also an artist. And finding that balance between your business brain & artist brain is something you will always be juggling. Take a mental note that later in the year, you are going to be in the hustle & bustle of busy season (which, like it or not, is a lot of business owner hat-wearing) and will be craving some playful, artistic time.

Lay the foundation for that balance by putting together a styled, creative shoot for yourself (or joining one another photog is hosting!)

Fun fact? I used to host styled shoots when I was a photographer. I loved getting together all the details and executing a creative vision. Whether you do it yourself with models & fellow industry vendors, or pay to join a styled session, give yourself space to create without inhibitions. Get out of your comfort zone and play around. You’re an artist, you need this time.

That’s it! If you are a photographer navigating a slower booking season, I hope these tips & tricks helped! As your friendly neighborhood VA - I can’t wait to see you thrive this year!

Come join me on IG so we can connect!

My Burnout Recovery | Virtual Assistant

Hi and welcome to my burnout recovery.

I recently realized how burned out I had become. It took some close friends pointing it out to me for me to slow down enough to notice. I had been working my ass off non-stop for years. All the solutions I kept trying to make my life slow down over the last year never stuck, and I was frustrated I couldn’t find the answers.

Once I googled symptoms (yes I’m one of those people), I realized: ta-da…I had every single one. Fuuuccckkk.

But as soon as I admitted I was burned out, everything started clicking. All the failures I was personalizing suddenly became symptoms I could heal. My burnout recovery began.

As women small-business owners, we have enormous pressure on us to do all the things. Keep up. Push our business forward. (And according to Brene Brown, pressure to look good while doing it. Blah.)

We are typically really good at multi-tasking. At telling ourselves, ‘when things slow down I’ll start taking care of myself’, and putting ourselves on the back burner.

The truth is: I KNOW ALL THIS STUFF in my head and I didn’t even realize I wasn’t practicing what I was talking about.

I was trying to do it all.

Burnout is a slow burn, and I’m not sure when my burnout started, but I know the pandemic didn’t help. In March of 2020, I was hospitalized for preeclampsia one week before the world shut down. I watched from inside a hospital room (that I couldn’t leave) as everything stopped.

I spent two months in lockdown in that room. Yes, I broke the rules and walked the hallway outside my door a few times but other than that I was confined to that little purple room.

After I delivered my son, I was discharged home to an isolated postpartum experience. My parents wore masks and gloves to meet my son. And other relatives met him through a window or across lawns.

After weeks in a hospital, I came home and life did NOT resume. I didn’t step foot in a store for months. I rarely left the house. My high-risk self, and newborn baby, stayed in the safety of our home. But that meant I didn't have access to the same support moms deserve in those early weeks.

After maternity leave I jumped back into my photography business, hustling HARD to make the income I needed during the pandemic. Cautiously opening my in-home studio with hefty sanitation protocols. Shooting anything and everything. All the while, not feeling good about my business or how it aligned with my life.

The pandemic lingered longer than any of us wanted. Putting limitations and conflict and loss into our laps. Keeping a small business afloat during this time was no small feat, as you probably know if you’re reading this.

After about a year of trying to manage everything, and feeling like I was misaligned as fuck -- I finally admitted I needed a major change. My burnout recovery didn’t start at that point, but the pre-recovery did (haha). I started examining the parts of my job that I loved versus the ones that caused me stress. Shooting didn’t fit into my schedule with a now-toddler & very little childcare due to the pandemic. And I kept gravitating towards the backend of business: marketing, systems, market research, SEO etc.

I decided to listen to that, and became incredibly clear I needed to pursue Virtual Assistant work.

I hadn’t had a gut feeling that strong in a long time. I stayed up late and poured all my extra hours into developing this business and making it something I was proud of. After months of hustling, I felt ALIGNED and it felt so good.

So it was validating when within the first week of launching, I was sold out with full time work as a Virtual Assistant for Creatives. Like WTF and heck yes.

This was the first step in my burnout recovery, I just didn’t know it yet. I’ve spent the last 6 months building this business and growing my team. I now have a thriving business, making triple my previous income, and providing for my family in ways I used to dream of. But I hadn’t fixed the root issue.

Burnout.

I still felt exhausted, and not like myself. I couldn’t find time for the things I loved like exercise or being outside or hanging out with friends. Every new schedule or system failed. And I felt like I was running in circles.

One of my best friends told me: you are trying to do more in one day than there is physically time for. You can’t sustain like this.

I finally admitted that while pivoting businesses was the first necessary step, it wasn’t the final solution.

Moving to virtual assistant work opened the door for me to start burnout recovery, but I had yet to take steps in that direction.

So that day I decided that getting my equilibrium back was my top priority. And I’ve been shifting my energy towards healing, and already seeing a total change. I feel like myself again, and I’m slowly getting back to balance and the things that I love. And the ironic part is, even though I’m outsourcing & paying more $$ for people to support me, I’m actually earning MORE than before. Let that be a sign that outsourcing is WORTH IT.

So what am I doing to aid my burnout recovery? Let me share my focus and hopefully it sparks some ideas for you!

• I cut my work hours! This was the hardest one to accept, but I knew it was vital. I needed more hours in my week, so I hired someone to help me on the backend of my business and took a step back. It was a night and day difference.

• I started exercising regularly. I love working out, but I struggled to find the time. Plus movement discharges stress from the body so it’s a really effective way to heal from burnout. I decided to do lower impact, gentle cardio to not further stress my system, but that also aligns with my health issues. Everyone has different needs!

• I prioritize sleep. This one I am still working on, but nothing can change how I feel faster than a good night’s sleep. It’s not always possible with a toddler, but I do my best to get 8 hours.

• I drink less caffeine. Like most entrepreneurs I had started to consume and ungodly amount of caffeine. Before I had a kid, I would regularly take coffee-fasts for a week or two, to make sure to reset my system. But now I’m chasing a toddler + running a business, I was relying heavily on my caffeine. So I cut way back, and despite the headache the first day - it has been nothing but good for me.

• I sleep with my phone in the other room. It’s really easy for me to scroll TikTok at night, or find myself aimlessly shopping for stuff I don’t need. I put my phone in the other room and just that little disconnect makes me feel more centered when I wake up, and don’t automatically have my phone in my hand.

• I am creating systems in my business to hold me. I am getting serious about systems in my business so that I can rely on them, instead of self-generating all the time. It’ll take time to implement but it’s important for longevity so I don’t get burnt out again.

• I hired a business coach. She specializes in working from pleasure and rest versus hustle culture. I invited someone in to challenge my narratives and help me replace them with more well-rounded thinking.

So that’s my burnout recovery in a nutshell (who am I kidding, nothing about this post was brief haha)

If you are working through burnout, just know that it is possible heal & feel better. It is possible to have equilibrium. I’m rooting for you!

Clients Can't Read Your Mind | Virtual Assistant for Photographers

Here is something to realize as a small business owner: your client can’t read your mind.

Sound basic? That’s because it is. But sometimes it’s those most basic things that we miss. 

As a small business owner you have spent hours and hours pouring over your workflow, your offers, your client experience…all of it. 

And then you go to show up online, display your portfolio of work, and wait for clients to effortlessly sign up. I get it, I’ve been there too. 

But the frustrating reality is, your portfolio is not your biggest selling point. 

I know, it fucking suck and I truly wish that what you’re creating was the catalyst for everyone to hit the “contact me” button and submit an inquiry. And while some people will immediately resonate with your art and hire you on the spot, the reality is that most people need more information. 

I know I do as a buyer! I don’t go to make a large purchase and buy the first one that looks good. That’s part of your pain point as an artist in a saturated industry: there are a lot of people who are good at what you do.

BUT. It’s not all bad news. 

What sets you apart is you

and

the way you run your business. 

I don’t know about you, but I would pay good money for someone who would save me time. 

I will invest with someone who is prompt with emails rather than waiting in the dark after a large purchase. 

I will throw my money at someone who shows me they know what they’re doing & can handle problems that arise. 

I won’t think twice about purchasing once I know all the other perks I’m getting alongside my purchase.

Do you tell your clients about those things? clients can't read your mind, so it is literally your job to share those things.

Yes, your art is front and center. But maybe you offer 24hr sneak peeks. Do you have prep guides? Do you respond within a few business days? Do you show up with snacks and drinks? Do you offer ANYTHING custom? Do you have a Facebook group? Do you offer styling advice for sessions? 

If the answer to any of these things is yes, you need to be talking about them. Why? Because clients can't read your mind. 

I want you to sit and think through your client experience. Your workflow. Your WAY of doing things that plays to your strengths. 

Start talking about it in your Instagram stories. Make a funny reel. Share a post going through your process.

And this isn’t a one-and-done situation either, these are pieces of content you are going to regularly blend through your social media presence. So when your new ideal, dreamy customer lands on your page: they are enthralled not just with your work but with how great it would feel to be YOUR client. 

You gotta start thinking about your offers as a whole, and start talking about them because again,

clients can't read your mind. 

Boundaries for Entrepreneurs | Virtual Assistant for Creatives

You’ve dreamed of owning your own business for years. You love the work, and feel so inspired when creating. On paper, everything looks like a wonderful lifestyle. In reality? You’re running around trying to keep up, your to-do list feels cyclical, you constantly feel like you’re failing in one area or another, and wonder when it’s all going to “click”.

If this is you, I’ve been there. And it’s time to talk about boundaries for entrepreneurs.

We all need boundaries as human beings, but ESPECIALLY as small business owners. The whole vision of what we want for ourselves falls apart with lack of boundaries.

Rewind a year ago, and I was burnt out. I was squeezing work around everything else, constantly feeling pulled in every direction, and eventually just equally numb and upset. I felt stuck by the limitations of the pandemic & the learning curve of motherhood. I felt powerless, so I did nothing. After a couple months I finally said ‘enough’, and started setting boundaries around my needs.

Everything changed.

I started asking for support, being clear about my capacity with those close with me, and making business decisions that felt good instead of forced.

As someone who grew up learning that needs don’t matter (thanks evangelical culture haha), this was hard to accept. But one day I wrote out every need I could think of. The length of the list made me uncomfortable. But it also made me realize that no one was going to be protecting those needs for me. Put a whole ass business into the blend, and I had a recipe for continued burnout if I didn’t do anything.

I realized how important boundaries for entrepreneurs really are for sustainability, and I started off being open to the process of saying “no” and cultivating out a lifestyle I loved.

So first things first,

What are boundaries?

For a long time I thought a boundary was telling others what behavior is okay/not okay for you. But implementing boundaries that way still felt off. What happens if they ignore your boundary? It still felt centered around other people’s behavior, and that didn’t provide me with the autonomy I craved.

I stumbled across a different angle on boundaries, and it’s this:

Boundaries are what YOU are willing to do (or not).

When you’re presented with a business opportunity or a family obligation or WHATEVER that brings up that tension of overwhelm inside of you, simply ask yourself what you are willing to do.

It makes it pretty fucking clear, and leaves all the responsibility with you - which is where you have control. I promise it’s a much more empowering way to go about setting boundaries for entrepreneurs.

When you set boundaries, you are crafting your lifestyle. You’re building your dream business because you’re saying ‘no’ to the things that don’t align. We’ve all been there saying yes to everyone when first starting out. And most likely that didn’t lead you far. As you grow as a creative entrepreneur you learn to start only saying Yes to the things that feed your dream work/life balance and career.

But beyond clients, projects and collaborations, there are boundaries you need to set with yourself too.

Maybe you need to hold yourself to a routine, or start creating more than you consume. You need to get real fucking honest with yourself about the ways you might be getting in your own way and find doable strategies to make changes. And I say “doable” because I don’t think sheer will power is a sustainable strategy & often leads to shame. Not here for it.

When it comes to boundaries with yourself, I highly recommend the book Atomic Habits. He talks about how our choices are votes for the person we want to be. And gives practical strategies to make changes in an effective and sustainable way. And we know how much I love practicality. haha

Okay so all this is well and good, but if you are still struggling to think about what boundaries might look like, here’s a list to get you brainstorming:

• take email off your phone

• have set office hours or set days off

• stick to your policies! (have a good contract)

• stop personalizing business things

• create a routine for yourself (this has been so essential in my experience)

• stop saying yes to projects that are draining

• set up automations and systems so you aren’t doing repetitive tasks & wasting time

• sleep with your phone in the other room

• create an AM/PM routine that feels good to you

• add some sort of movement to your daily routine

• practice habit stacking

• ask for help

• have a clear client experience, so that you can communicate well with clients & not have to make up the rulebook every time

• set a timer when you scroll social media

• take up your space with your loved ones & say your needs outloud

• set screen limitations

• limit your coffee intake if it’s making you anxious

• use a habit tracker (I have a FREE one for you HERE)

Okay but how do you take that list and get clear on what YOU need?

Everyone is different and you better not just copy/paste that list and think it will work for you. I dare you to remove “should” from the equation and think about what YOU need (no one else). That’s the only way this is effective for you .

Here are three ways to go about setting boundaries for entrepreneurs:

• how do things feel? when you feel tension about something ask yourself if you need a boundary. how does it feel when you have good boundaries in place? keep it simple.

• assess your needs, and align with your goals: this one is the “meatiest” part of understanding your boundaries. get really clear on your lifestyle and needs. I highly suggest writing out a list of your needs. at the very least it will help you get a clearer picture. just be honest and try not to judge yourself. then look at your goal-lifestyle. and align the two things to come up with tangible things that need to change.

• what are your limitations? this one is worth asking yourself because it’s different for everyone. I am someone with chronic health issues, so my limitations are very obvious. I need to spend more time, money and energy on my health than a lot of my peers. If I don’t factor those things into my equation, I won’t have proper boundaries. but we all have limitations. get clear on yours and honor those things. you will only thrive once you do.

Having boundaries allow your business to serve your life, not the other way around.

We started working as creatives for a reason. Being intentional and setting up our lives with boundaries is the way to reach those goals. Even if it means difficult conversations, disappointing others, or losing the occasional ill-fitting client. It’s ALLLL worth it when you start actually enjoying and loving your life.

Your time becomes so much more free, rich and joyful when you start honoring your desires and living with room in your capacity. As a recovering hustler, this has been very new and very liberating for me. I hope these tips and tricks help!!