With Laura Esmond

Welcome back to the podcast You're with Laura Esmond. We all just enjoyed hopefully a week of relaxation for Thanksgiving. Last week I had a pretty quick short podcast episode that was mainly about gratitude, and that's just looking back on the year and being thankful for how far we've come. No matter where you are in your business, no matter how many goals you checked off your year, you have done probably more than you give yourself credit for.

So I hope you took a moment to really just feel grateful for where you are. Putting those blinders on, not looking at how far everybody else is, but just your business. And I am about to roll into step two of this series that I have around planning for your year. It started with gratitude. This next one is gonna be based on reflection.

I know that sounds the same. It's not. So wait for that. That is coming next. And then after that, I have had, a lot of conversations lately. with a lot of photographers, we've got get rooted open, for application. If you haven't had a chance to check that out, go to laura esmond.com/get rooted. We're gonna be starting at the beginning of 2026 to just have the most successful year.

I'm really excited about that, but because of that, it has come to my attention that there is a very common mistake with photographers starting out with IPS and they will hold tightly to this mistake and repeat it over and over and over again.

then they've got a couple mistakes that they think are going to happen. So I wanted to clarify those things. So, after the reflection piece, that I am sharing with you after that, I wanna dive into these three mistakes that people. Think they're going to make when they're doing IPS and then the actual mistake that I see happen over and over and over again as people are getting started.

And that is something again, I'm gonna talk about, get rooted here. That is one of the things that we are really going to be, honing in on in January is what is your sales strategy and how do you make sure. You stay on that path because it is one of, it is one of the most important things that you can do for your business is once you start with a very specific sales strategy for your business, everything is built around it.

So it's important that you stick with it. Just one of the many things that you would learn inside get rooted. Okay. Thanks so much. Let's get started.

This is step two in a four part series for planning your 2026 photography business with intention. That was a mouthful. So last week we started with gratitude, and I hope you really gave yourself permission to slow down. Reflect on what's really good, you know, like what's really working in your business, what are you really proud of?

And maybe not even in your business, but in your personal life. And I hope you got in lots of snuggles, saw lots of family, drank a lot of wine, if that's your thing. And ate a lot of Turkey because. When you come from that place of enough, then we can move into this next step reflection. Now, I wanna be clear, this isn't going to be about rehashing every mistake or beating yourself up for what you didn't do, for what didn't happen.

Can I tell you the number of goals that I set over this year that I tabled because it just wasn't the right time? You cannot build Roman today, and I have to remind myself of that. All the time. This reflection isn't about judgment, it's about awareness. It's about getting honest about how the year really felt, how your business actually functioned and where your energy went, so that you can move forward with a lot of clarity.

So let me explain a little bit more about that. Here's why this matters. Too often we skip this step and we go straight into planning. You pull out your calendar, what do you wanna do for next year? We look around at what other photographers are doing and we die by comparison. We're scrolling Instagram, we hear what worked for someone else.

We hear their year in review and think, okay, I just want my year to look just like that. We start reacting and we set goals that look really impressive. We're like, I'm gonna have the best year ever. But where you're not setting goals that are rooted in your reality and the business that you actually have right now, you could be looking at somebody's business that's 10 years ahead of yours, or even 1, 2, 3 years ahead of yours.

You need to build based on your current reality. Because if you don't, before you know it, you're gonna build a business based on someone else's version of success. And at some point through the year, probably towards the end of Q1, next year, you're gonna be like, wait a minute, why does this not feel right for me?

Why does this, why does it not click? I know I've been there. I remember a year when I set a revenue goal just because someone else I admired had shared theirs. I didn't ask if that number made sense for my life or for my schedule, or even for the types of sessions that I wanted to shoot. I just thought.

That's what success looks like. And you know what happened? I hit the number and felt burned out and unsatisfied because it wasn't my definition of success. And I'll also tell you this, that number was actually too small. I needed something that was actually bigger, but I hadn't connected those dots yet.

It wasn't connected to what I actually wanted and needed for my family. But when you pause to reflect with more honesty and with curiosity, you get to build your next steps from a place of knowledge and not noise, not the noise that somebody else is making that sounds like beautiful music to them, but it's really just noise for you.

So this starts by asking the right questions. It's not just saying, how did the year go and journaling about it. It's very, very specific. I actually have a worksheet that I created for you. You can get that at lauraesmond.com/reflection for now, though, let's go over a handful of these questions. How much money did my business actually make this year?

But let, don't stop there. Was it enough? So reflect on that. Was it enough for you, for your family? Was it enough for you to step out of your house and do that work? Did my pricing support my income goals? Or did it actually leave me stretched too thin? Did I have to take on too many sessions to actually reach that goal?

How many sessions did I shoot and which types lit me up creatively? What was the, what were the ones that I was like, I can't wait to get to this session. I can't wait to download it. I can't wait to share it. But also, which sessions drained me or felt like a poor fit? But don't stop there. Why did it feel that way?

Why did they drain you? Was it just a specific client or type of client, or was it the actual session, um, or the session type that you did? Was it the location that you didn't enjoy being at? Did my workflow feel smooth and support me, or did it feel messy and reactive? How was my client communication this year?

Where did I overdeliver over and over and over again, and where did I drop the ball? How did I market my business this year? How many people are on my email list right now, and what did I actually do to grow it? Did you do anything to grow it or were you just kind of hoping people would sign up? Where did I show up consistently and where did I disappear because it felt too hard or confusing?

I always imagine like a, the ostrich with the head in the sand, uh, with that question. So these aren't just numbers or stats, and it's not just journaling. I want you to really dig into these questions. These are clues. They help you see what your business actually needs next, not what you think you should do, but what's going to support the life and work that you want to build your business around.

This isn't about getting every answer right. It's really about just getting honest, because when you make, you know, when you connect the dots between your calendar. Your creativity, your capacity, the money that you need to make, then your 2026 goals will start to make a whole lot more sense. These aren't just somebody else's goals.

You're not just randomly choosing things. You're not saying, well, I just want more sessions, or I want more money. You're creating actual concrete goals for your business based on the things that you really need. So to help you go deeper on this, like I said before, I created a free reflection worksheet that you can download.

It's totally free. Lauraesmond.com/reflection. It'll walk you through all of these questions, plus a few others. I ask myself every year there's actually, it's like a seven page worksheet or 11 I think, page worksheet. It is deep and it will help you get clear on what's really working in your business and what's not.

So carve out about an hour this week. Go light a candle, grab a cup of coffee, like give yourself a second and sit with these questions. You don't have to relive every single detail, but just scan the year with some curiosity. Look at January, look at February, look at March. Look back at what was in your calendar.

What did you spend your time doing? If you keep a journal, this is the best time to go back and reread some of those pages. This is actually one of the reasons I like. Doing a journal because there have been a lot of times where I have not recognized how far I came or I forget, you know, that I'm talking about you reflecting on something that was almost a year ago and trying to remember how did it feel to be in that moment.

I actually, the other day just there's been this journal just sitting on a bookshelf in my living room and I needed something to, to jot some down, jot some ideas down on, so I went and grabbed, I just grabbed that off the shelf. I didn't realize how old it was, and I flipped to a blank page and I was journaling.

And then for whatever reason, I started flipping through the journal and I realized, oh my gosh, this journal was actually from like three years ago. I was kind of blown away by all of the work that I've done, the things that were pain points then that I had overcome, but also some pain points. I was like, oh, I'm, I'm still dealing with that.

I should probably do something about that. It was actually. Really fascinating, and it's one of the main reasons I like having journals. So grab a journal, grab a piece of paper, download that worksheet, start to figure out, you know, what are the patterns that you're noticing? Where did things start to fall apart?

What gave you unexpected energy? What? What are things that happened this year that you're like, oh my gosh, I did that and it was actually really fun. Maybe that's something you wanna lean into in 2026. Most of all. I want you to start to get clear on what do you want to carry into next year and what are you ready to leave behind?

And, and I mean, ready. Maybe there are some things that you did because you are a newer photographer, or things that you've been holding onto for years that you started out doing because you felt like you had to, and you're still doing it because you still feel like you have to, but maybe you don't.

Maybe you're actually ready to take that next step, that next level, and leave that thing behind. We are going to move into planning soon. I, I literally feel like I'm like, it's December. I wanna like just dive into this. I wanna jump in, I wanna start planning the year, but. This step is really too important to skip that clarity.

That's where the confidence will come from because you'll know, you'll really know exactly what you need to do by doing this step right now. So personally, I'm very proud of you for showing up to this work. If you choose to do it, it is. You'll get so much out of it, and I will. See you next week. We're going to take that next step in this process where we start putting together those plans, and then the next step after that is action.

Something I'm going to go into is about. A hot topic, I think for the last few years has been manifestation, but what does manifestation really mean? Manifestation is not just making a list and hoping that it happens. Manifestation is actually putting plans into motion that is manifesting, and we're gonna dive into that next week.

So I hope I see you there.

Before we wrap, I wanna break down something really important. Lately, I've been talking to a lot of photographers about the fact that they've maybe tried out IPS. They've tried selling products, but they're getting stuck. I wanna talk about the three mistakes photographers think they're going to make when they start offering IPS.

And the one mistake. That's actually costing them everything. Mistake number one is, and I hear this all the time, I'm going to come off too pushy. You're not, in fact, you are more likely coming off too passive. Most photographers struggle to even talk about products, let alone. Pushing them on clients.

That's a pretty big pendulum swing to go from scared of even selling products and talking about them to suddenly being a pusher. Selling artwork is not pressure, it's service. Your clients already know the point isn't the digitals. The point is putting memories in their home. They just don't know the next steps, and that's where you come in.

Mistake number two, I'm going to look unprepared or unprofessional. I understand this. but you just won't. I, I don't know how to put it another way. You just won't. And even if you do have tiny mishaps, that's totally normal. I mean, I've shown up to ordering meetings and forgotten my reading glasses and had to keep pointing at the screen.

What size is that and what does that price say? That's the cost. And you know, my client just laughs at me or. I click the wrong button or double click on the wrong thing in Fundee. All the time. All the time. And I always have to say to my client, hold on, hold on. I can get back to where we were. Just gimme a second.

And they just laugh because what they're looking at, and seeing me do, they're like, oh my gosh, this is magic. This is so much easier than me trying to visualize what this should look like. So even if I have a misstep. That's okay. They don't expect me to have robotic perfectionism.

They expect a human who knows how to guide them, and if I do make a mistake, like order something wrong, that I'm going to fix it. And that's really the point. It's how we respond to a mistake. That's where their opinion will really be formed of us. And the mistake number three is what if they ask a question?

I don't know the answer to it, Then you just say, great question. Let me double check that for you. Clients don't penalize you for not knowing something. They only remember how you handle it. You learn IPS by doing IPS. Not by showing up.

Perfect. On day one, you'll make little misstep missteps. You'll, you'll make little mistakes and that's totally fine. You'll learn from them and your client will be fine. 90% of the time they won't even notice that you have made a mistake. Here's the actual biggest mistake, the one that I see happen all the time, and this is the one that derails IPS for most, for almost everyone starting out.

They don't set the meeting. That's it. That's the villain. Not being too pushy, not being unprepared, not getting asked a scary question. The real mistake is simply not booking the ordering meeting. And the irony about this is that by the time most photographers get to this point where they could do an ordering meeting, they've already done 90% of the work.

They've set up the pricing. They've talked about products on their website, they've posted about it on Instagram. They've created brochures. They've chosen vendors, they've got samples. They mentioned it even in their inquiry emails, and maybe even on the phone call when they're planning. But then when it comes time to say, let's get your ordering appointment on the calendar, they freeze.

And instead of actually booking the calendar. They give their clients an out by saying, would you like an ordering appointment? Or do you just wanna view these images online? And a lot of times when I hear a photographer say that sentence or say that question, they make the online piece feel so much better.

They're like, I wouldn't. You rather just, I mean, you can just view these online if you want. The client's like. Perfect. Yeah, sure. I guess, you know, but they're also a little confused because this whole time you've talked about the importance of the products and, and having these heirlooms in the home and then suddenly you give them an out servers are also waiting for the perfect client.

They assume if someone really wanted products, that client would magically ask for the meeting themselves and they know exactly what they want and they don't hem and haw and, and they're totally sure of themselves. But I am telling you. In the 25 years that I have been hosting, ordering meetings for clients, very few come to the table saying, I know exactly what I wanna do.

I have a wall in mind. I know how many I want. I have a budget. Those things just don't happen. It's always kinda like, oh yeah, I've kind of thought about it. I don't know. It might just get digitals. I, I, I don't know. Like it's, honestly, it's a lot of. I don't know, and I'm like, well, I will not walk away from you.

I am going to keep serving you until you know exactly what you want. So let's go ahead and book a meeting. You are responsible for guiding your clients. You are responsible for putting that appointment on the calendar just like a dentist appointment, just like your client booking their Botox appointment.

It's simply part of the workflow and the truth is your gut about who will buy. Is often wrong. Remember how I said a lot of times photographers are waiting for that perfect client? They're like, okay, now I'm finally, she seems like somebody who's gonna buy. I've had clients I assumed were budget clients come in and then they spend three, $4,000.

Very happily. I've had clients tell me they wanted this kind of experience, but would never have known to ask for it. Or even past clients that I worked with who just bought digitals. I offered an ordering meeting a couple years down the line when they had baby number two. I offered that ordering meeting thinking, oh, they might just get digitals again.

That's okay. And they end up buying artwork, not just from that session, but from the last session. I had a client actually say to me, you know, at that point, the first baby, we just didn't really have the money for it. But now we do, and I'm so excited to have these products in our home. So none of that happened without the meeting being successful with selling products.

It's not about being perfect. It's not about, you know, perfectly knowing your software or knowing every answer to every question they ask. It isn't about waiting for that. Perfect client because honestly, you don't know. Uh, speaking of that, I've had people talk about how much they wanna buy and in the end just get digitals because in the end, that's what worked for them or their budget changed.

This is about two things. Okay? Number one. As an heirloom maker, this is about serving your clients and not assuming you know what they want. This is about setting aside your fear so you can provide a service more people want than you realize. And number two, for your business, this is about shots on goal.

You won't make a hundred percent product sales from every session because the purpose of this meeting is to help them find out what they need. And for some that truly will be a set of digitals, and that is okay, but you won't sell any products if you don't take the shot. So if you've done the work, you've got the pricing, the products, the packages, the brochures, all the things, but you're stalling on this last step.

I want you to ask yourself why. Figure that out. But then go set the meeting anyway your clients need, the guidance your business needs, the revenue, your future self. We'll look back in a year and be able to see the difference, this one habit made in your income. So take the shot, book the meeting.

Everything else gets easier from there.

Now if you're listening to all of this and thinking, okay, but I don't have my pricing dialed in. I don't know which products to offer, I don't have brochures, I don't have supporting emails, and I don't even know where to start, then I want to personally invite you into Get Rooted because that's exactly what this program is built for.

You can get all the details lauramond.com/getrooted. But here's what you need to know. Get rooted is where you stop guessing and start building a real profitable photography business. In January, we are going to kick off with an intensive high touch month. Together we meet every single week on live coaching calls.

They are recorded if you have to miss it, but I encourage everyone, get a sitter, set the time aside. Make it happen. Uh, alongside those calls, you get the full get rooted online course that backs up. Everything we do together, step by step, in order with clarity, inside get rooted. We're going to refine and finalize your pricing.

We want it to be profitable. We want it to be sustainable and aligned with the life you actually want. So not based on what somebody else did, but on what you really need for your life and your business. We're going to design your product, offering the exact products, the exact collections, the exact incentives that make sense to your clientele,

We are going to build out your brochures and also any other supporting material that you will need to ensure your clients have a really good experience. We're going to shape your full client experience so that every touchpoint matches what you're promising. We will create your email sequences, your workflows, your scripts, and all of your kind of prep materials, everything your client sees.

Plus everything they don't see, so that everything just runs really smoothly. And then very importantly, we will build out your marketing plan because it's one thing to build a business, it's another thing to drive people to it. And get rooted gives you both. After January, we continue with biweekly calls through, uh, the end of April.

So you're supported while you implement everything. You also get access to a private Slack community where I'm in their. answering questions, reviewing your work, giving feedback, cheering you on, and this group is really special. I think one of the, one of the pieces of feedback I have received from all of the alumni has been the connections and the friendships and the encouragement that they felt.

It's one of the most powerful parts of Get Rooted, aside from building the business piece piece of it. These women support each other in a way that. Still amazes me every single round. So if you're feeling that pull. If you know you need direction, if you are looking for clarity and things, just feel a bit scattered right now and you're not really sure where to point your arrow.

Uh, plus you also want some accountability and a system I'd love for you to apply. Again, that's lauraesmond.com/getrooted. When you apply, we will schedule a quick call. Uh, it's scheduled for 20 minutes, although I'm a bit of a chatter box, so don't be surprised if you get a mini coaching session in there too.

Happens all the time. Uh, I just wanna make sure that it's the right fit for you, that you are ready for the investment, for the support and the transformation that January will bring. I would love to see your name pop up into my inbox. Apply today, lauraesmond.com/getrooted and let's root your business in something strong, sustainable, and profitable.