Shownotes
If you’ve been doing brand photography for a while but feel stuck at that $1,200–$1,500 price point, this episode is for you!
Catie has been a pro photographer for 15 years—weddings, seniors, and then a pivot into brand photography when her son started preschool. Even though she was booking solid sessions, she knew her work was worth more. She just didn’t know how to get clients to see that.
In this episode, Catie breaks down:
- How she restructured her packages so price wasn’t tied to time
- The pricing differentiator that made discovery calls effortless
- The confidence shift that turned a $1,500 average into a $3,500 booking—without a single pushback
- What happened when she leaned into positioning herself as the expert
- Her top networking move (it wasn’t cold-DM’ing!) that brought in referrals
- How the Rebrand community and coaching kept her accountable and inspired
00:00 Introduction & Catie's journey from weddings to brand photography
02:15 The “good but not great” plateau at $1,200–$1,500 sessions
04:10 The moment she decided she needed more than referrals
06:05 Why she finally joined Rebrand—trusting a current photographer, not a retired one
08:22 Restructuring packages: moving off “hourly” pricing
11:45 Discovery calls that sell strategy—not just pretty photos
14:30 Booking her first $3,500 session in just 4 weeks
17:50 Leveraging referrals and coffee chats for client attraction
20:05 The mindset and positioning shifts that made it all click
22:40 How the Rebrand community fueled her momentum
25:15 Advice for experienced photographers on leveling up
Links & Resources:
- Join Rebrand (doors close Friday!): https://maddiepeschong.com/rebrand
- Catie Ronquillo Photography: https://catieronquillo.com/
- DM Catie about her Rebrand experience: https://www.instagram.com/catieronquillo/
Transcripts
You are listening to take it
personally, a podcast for photographers
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:about the personal side of business
and the art of standing out.
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:Here.
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:I'll help you build a business and a
brand that is uniquely you if you want to
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:attract dream clients and stop looking at
the competition to decide your next move.
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:If you are ready to show up as a
confident branding authority to help
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:you serve your clients and consider
your goals and priorities too.
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:If you want to make your mark in a
new, underserved niche of photography,
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:then this is the place for you.
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:I'm your host, Maddie Ashong, South
Dakota brand photographer and educator.
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:I'm a straight shooting
Instagram obsessed.
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:Diehard Swifty who has built a multi-six
figure business on the back of brand
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:photography all while raising a
family, and I know you can do the same.
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:Let's get ready to take it personally.
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:maddie--she-her-_1_05-08-2025_152157:
Katie, welcome to Take it personally.
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:catie_1_05-08-2025_152157: Thanks
for having me back, Maddie.
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:maddie--she-her-_1_05-08-2025_152157: Yes.
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:I'm thrilled to chat with you today
about booking your highest paid
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:session, just to kind of tease
what we're chatting about today.
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:But go ahead and first tell everyone
who you are and what you do.
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:I.
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:catie_1_05-08-2025_152157:
My name is Katie Lio.
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:I am a Dallas based brand photographer.
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:I've been to.
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:Been a professional
photographer for 15 years.
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:Started with weddings, then went to
senior portraits, and then it was
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:like, what am I doing with my life?
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:Had my first baby.
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:I was like, am I done with photography?
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:I am not.
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:And that was kind of the moment
that, personal brand photography
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:kind of entered the chat.
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:And it was the perfect combination
of, um, the things I liked about
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:weddings, which was the details, the
things I liked about senior portraits,
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:which was like the one-on-one, like
little bit of empowerment type stuff.
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:And then the last piece was the
networking piece that you get to
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:talk to other, um, business owners.
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:And as a new mom, I was desperate
to talk to other grownups again.
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:so when my son was finally old enough
to go to preschool, that was kind
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:of like when everything start, got
the ball rolling, and here we are.
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:He's about to be in second
grade, so here we are.
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:maddie--she-her-_1_05-08-2025_152157:
I love it.
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:Okay.
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:Yes.
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:So what challenges were you facing
before you decided to come into rebrand?
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:Because you were one.
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:We, we, we tend to kind of have two
tracks of people who come into rebrand.
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:We have the track of people who are
just pivoting into brand photography.
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:They're portfolio building.
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:They're very talented photographers.
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:They've been doing the photography thing.
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:Um.
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:But they're new to brand photography.
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:And then we have another track
of people like you who have
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:been doing brand photography.
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:You and I had actually been
connected on Instagram for a while.
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:You were a brand photographer, but you
still decided to come into rebrand.
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:What was happening in your business
that made you make that decision?
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:catie_1_05-08-2025_152157: So at the
time of coming into or deciding, I
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:had seen you launch Reran maybe two
times before I'd on your email list.
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:And, you know, listen, if you're
a lurker on someone's list,
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:you might be buying one day.
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:I can attest to that.
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:maddie--she-her-_1_05-08-2025_152157:
Yeah, same honestly.
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:catie_1_05-08-2025_152157: um,
I was like, is this for me?
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:Because, like you said, like I, I've been.
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:A brand photographer for a while, I like
kind of know, you know, what's going on.
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:I know how to run a business and all that.
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:But for me and my business, where I was
at and what intrigued me was getting
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:to a higher average session, getting to
that next level type session that wasn't,
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:you know, just, you know, calculated
based on time or that wasn't like.
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:You know, just an extra, an extra fancy
portrait session or something like that.
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:Like it actually delivered on
the value that we promised.
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:And um, I think in part of your marketing
at the time, you were talking about one of
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:the larger bookings that you got the, like
project with the corporate company or.
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:A project with that company that hired
you for $30,000 or whatever it was.
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:Um, and so that, that
made me pay attention.
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:And I was
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:maddie--she-her-_1_05-08-2025_152157:
You were like, I would also like that.
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:Thank you so much.
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:catie_1_05-08-2025_152157: yes.
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:Thank you so much.
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:I'll take two.
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:maddie--she-her-_1_05-08-2025_152157:
Yes, same honestly.
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:catie_1_05-08-2025_152157: Yeah, yeah.
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:And so I was like,
okay, so she's not just.
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:Teaching about the
thing that she once did.
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:'cause I think especially in the
photography industry, you get a lot
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:of educators who used to do the thing,
but they're not currently doing the
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:maddie--she-her-_1_05-08-2025_152157:
Yeah, for sure.
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:Mm-hmm.
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:catie_1_05-08-2025_152157: one
of the trust building things that
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:I found with you is that you're
still currently a photographer.
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:You're not like a retired photographer
who's then teaching stuff that
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:worked for you once upon a time.
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:You're teaching the stuff that's
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:maddie--she-her-_1_05-08-2025_152157:
Right.
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:catie_1_05-08-2025_152157:
what's currently working and.
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:Evolving with, you know, as things
change and as things, um, as
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:marketing shifts and AI becomes
more prevalent and stuff like that.
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:maddie--she-her-_1_05-08-2025_152157:
So wanting to not just obviously
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:get started with brand photography,
but kind of kick it up a notch.
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:Do you remember, 'cause I remember, um,
like some of the first conversations
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:that we had before you came into
the program and you were charging a
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:price and you were like, I wanna, I
want my average booking to be hired.
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:Do you remember?
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:I should, I should have looked
it up, but do you remember what
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:you were charging when you came
in and like what the goal was?
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:catie_1_05-08-2025_152157: Yes.
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:So I was very comfortably charging between
like:
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:maddie--she-her-_1_05-08-2025_152157:
Mm-hmm.
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:catie_1_05-08-2025_152157: what
I wanted to take it to, I wanted
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:to take my entry level or like my
average booking more to like 2,500
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:maddie--she-her-_1_05-08-2025_152157:
Yeah.
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:catie_1_05-08-2025_152157: um.
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:one of the things that I was running
into, and I think it was like on the
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:episode that I listened to today of
the podcast was about like, you know,
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:basing your pricing solely on time
and how that backs you into a corner
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:and, 'cause that's what I was doing.
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:Um, I had, I have a package that
was like 2,500, but I found myself
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:on discovery calls because the.
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:The potential client would ask,
well, do I need that much time?
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:And I would talk myself out of it because
I wanted to book over, you know, knowing,
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:you know, leaning into my own expertise
and knowing what I actually need.
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:so after joining rebrand,
uh, we worked on my packages.
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:The differentiators is no longer time.
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:And like literally, I wanna say like
four weeks after that, I booked my.
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:Package ever.
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:Joe was
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:maddie--she-her-_1_05-08-2025_152157:
Okay.
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:Yes.
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:You.
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:Hmm.
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:Interesting.
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:Okay, so let's talk
about that a little bit.
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:What specific things did you work
on or have you worked on in your
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:business since joining rebrand?
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:What did that process look like?
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:Like what was all of
that stuff that we did?
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:I.
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:catie_1_05-08-2025_152157: Um, so we
looked at what, uh, you know, what was
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:in like the signature session, building
that out, and then, um, you know, creating
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:the like more higher level session.
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:And for me, I.
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:Like to keep things super simple
and it makes it, like when I'm on a
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:discovery call, it makes it super easy
to be like, here's A and b basically.
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:because, uh, the, the signature session,
which is like what everybody needs in
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:most cases, if they've never worked with
me before, um, is the photo component
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:and then the differentiator for the
other package is that I add on video.
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:maddie--she-her-_1_05-08-2025_152157:
Mm-hmm.
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:catie_1_05-08-2025_152157: and so video
is such a value add that it, you know.
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:Pretty much if they're like
looking for video, it sells
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:itself because they're like,
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:maddie--she-her-_1_05-08-2025_152157:
Yeah.
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:catie_1_05-08-2025_152157:
It commands a higher price.
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:'cause
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:maddie--she-her-_1_05-08-2025_152157: Yep.
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:catie_1_05-08-2025_152157: takes
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:maddie--she-her-_1_05-08-2025_152157:
Yeah, it's a thing for sure.
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:catie_1_05-08-2025_152157: Uhhuh.
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:Yeah.
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:maddie--she-her-_1_05-08-2025_152157:
cool.
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:So Differentiator was a big one.
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:catie_1_05-08-2025_152157: Yes.
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:So positioning it as like, here's
the signature session and then
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:here's signature session plus,
or here's like photo and video.
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:So one package became o photo only, and
the other package was photo plus video.
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:And it made it really easy to understand
the differences versus how I had it
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:before, which like, here's 90 minutes,
here's three hours and here's, you know.
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:hours potentially.
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:I've never booked a six hour session.
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:And when I think about it, I'm
like, do I really want that?
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:But it's there to anchor a price.
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:By restructuring and just like
making it super simple of like, do
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:you want photo or do you want both?
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:The conversation shifts.
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:maddie--she-her-_1_05-08-2025_152157:
We've talked a lot, you and I about how,
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:like what you said, how you used to go get
on discovery calls and almost kind of like
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:downsell people as opposed to being able
to really speak, like almost kind of talk
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:up to them and speak to like, you know.
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:If you're at this point of business
or it, you know, this package that
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:is my larger package and it is my
more expensive package, but could
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:be a really good fit for you.
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:How do you feel like discovery calls go
now versus, you know, a few months ago,
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:a year ago, having those differentiators
that are not just time in your packages
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:and just really being able to stand
behind the services that you're offering.
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:Like how do you feel about
discovery calls now versus then?
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:catie_1_05-08-2025_152157: Like now,
like, because it's so simple and it's
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:like photo and or photo plus video.
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:Like it's just easier to say like,
and then you practice saying the
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:numbers out loud a little bit before.
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:maddie--she-her-_1_05-08-2025_152157:
You look in the mirror, you,
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:catie_1_05-08-2025_152157: yeah.
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:maddie--she-her-_1_05-08-2025_152157:
totally.
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:catie_1_05-08-2025_152157:
And like I just had a call.
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:Tuesday and you know, I was explaining
the same thing and I was like,
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:well, for photo only it's 2,500
for photo plus video, it's 3,500.
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:And it kind of like rolls off
the tongue and it's not so scary
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:anymore because also like they see,
like, it's not just, they're not
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:just getting time and pictures.
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:It is what you usually get.
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:Like for a portrait session, but like
when I'm talking to them like, oh,
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:tell me more about your business.
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:Like where are you taking your business?
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:What are you launching?
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:Like what projects are you working on?
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:Like where are you using these photos?
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:And like if you're marketing like.
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:Just in that conversation, I can,
um, they can hear my expertise
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:and they're like, oh, okay.
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:Like this is not just,
uh, a photography session.
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:This is marketing, uh, strategy.
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:And then like, how am I using these
so that you can promote and market
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:your offers and make more money?
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:And ultimately that's what
we're helping our clients do.
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:maddie--she-her-_1_05-08-2025_152157:
Absolutely.
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:I think that we have so many
people who come into rebrand.
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:Who are kind of overlooking,
understandably, the importance
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:of that discovery call in.
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:You're positioning honestly, because
the discovery call is such a great
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:opportunity to be able to have that
FaceTime or voice time with your client
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:and really set yourself apart as an expert
by simply asking the right questions.
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:Like you don't have to do anything super
impressive, but to them asking those
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:really thoughtful questions and making
sure that you're coming at the session
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:with so much strategy, it like makes them
look at you differently from day one.
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:catie_1_05-08-2025_152157: Oh, for sure.
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:And like I just had, um, a call
with a client, like a planning call
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:with a client yesterday, and at the
end of the call she's like, we're,
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:we're just gonna follow your lead.
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:Like we gonna, uh, you know,
uh, lean on your expertise.
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:And I'm like, okay.
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:So this is one of the things that
I've also noticed with the clients
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:with who are booking at the higher
packages or who are in like.
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:stages or later stages of their business.
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:Like this is not, you know, they're
not in startup, um, or they are in
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:startup, but this is not their first
business, is that they are looking for
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:an expert, not just a photographer.
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:Because Sure, any photographer
can take pretty photos.
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:But like you say, like, you know, brand
photography is pretty with a purpose.
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:'cause the whole intent is to actually
use the photos to market your business.
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:And not everybody does that
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:maddie--she-her-_1_05-08-2025_152157: Yep.
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:Exactly.
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:So many people talk about wanting
those inside of rebrand, we call them,
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:and other people refer to this too,
as like champagne clients, right?
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:Like those clients who are, they're
easy to work with and they refer
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:your business and they're okay
with paying higher price tags.
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:Like that's what we want as photographers.
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:But in order to attract those
people, we, you do have to do
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:business differently, right?
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:You need to approach it from strategy.
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:You need to make sure that you're
offering something more than just.
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:Photography can't just slap a high price
tag on something and be like, no problem.
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:It sells itself.
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:Like there's more that has to
happen behind the scenes, and
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:that's exactly what you're doing.
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:So can you share any numbers or
concrete examples of how this
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:has impacted your business?
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:Like what that, what that session was?
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:You've actually been booking some
like crazy kick ass sessions lately.
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:So just like talk about that.
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:catie_1_05-08-2025_152157: So, well,
I think this probably will help
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:somebody out there to just kind of
like put things into perspective.
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:So I started April, 2025, really strong.
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:I had sessions.
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:I was busy.
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:And then after I finished
those sessions I was like.
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:Huh?
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:What am I doing next?
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:I did not have anything on the books
and uh, you know, part of me was
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:ready to spiral and then I was like,
okay, let's, you know, go back.
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:Let's follow up.
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:Let's do the things.
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:Let's continue to market.
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:We don't need to panic yet.
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:And then happened was, um, I
actually ended up having, by the
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:last day of April, I booked the.
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:booked four sessions, um, and so far
in:
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:maddie--she-her-_1_05-08-2025_152157:
My gosh, that's so killer.
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:catie_1_05-08-2025_152157: Yes.
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:A recent session that I had, this
client asked her friend who lives in
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:another state for a brand photography
referral, she said, how do I find someone
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:who does what you do where I live?
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:So this other photographer in another
state went to an online community
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:that I am also a part of asked there.
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:So one of my mentors, she tagged me.
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:Then I guess that photographer looked
up at my website and then referred
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:me based on what she saw this client.
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:And then I had the call with the client
and I suppose she had seen my pricing and
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:I, you know, and it wasn't a big deal.
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:She's like, oh yeah, I'm
looking for video too.
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:And so what is that gonna be?
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:And I was like, you know, it's
gonna be 3,500 for your team and,
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:and.
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:She booked and it wasn't a question
of like, you know, I think that
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:when you move into a higher price
package, it's suddenly, and especially
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:if maybe you're not in a place to.
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:Pay that yourself.
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:You kind of
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:maddie--she-her-_1_05-08-2025_152157:
Yeah,
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:catie_1_05-08-2025_152157: into
like, why would anybody pay this?
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:maddie--she-her-_1_05-08-2025_152157:
totally.
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:Mm-hmm.
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:catie_1_05-08-2025_152157: Um, but like
when you find these clients and they
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:see the value, and I think people talk
about that a lot, and you don't really
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:understand it until you see it yourself.
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:But when I was explaining it
to this client on the phone.
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:And she had told me how she had tried
to do a little bit of research herself,
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:as far as like other photographers.
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:She's like, oh yeah, I saw
this other photographer.
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:But she just, like, I didn't see the
value there because it was kind of
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:like you mentioned, slapping a high
price without, you know, the, the,
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:the everything else to back it up.
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:It, she was like,
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:maddie--she-her-_1_05-08-2025_152157:
Yeah.
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:catie_1_05-08-2025_152157:
understand why a session.
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:She's like, it's.
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:Like an hour and a half and it's $2,500.
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:She's like, they can
charge whatever they want.
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:I just don't see the value there.
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:She's like, but based on what
you told me that you're offering,
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:that totally makes sense.
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:I was like, okay, thank you.
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:Can I record that?
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:maddie--she-her-_1_05-08-2025_152157: I
think this is really interesting and one
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:of the things that you said that I kind
of wanna go back to is like, you kind
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:of, you mentioned something about, um,
when you find these, like really high
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:value clients, but I wanna point out
that the high, that when you have like
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:a really high value client like this.
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:More often than not, they're
actually finding you.
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:You're not having to find them.
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:You're not having to pitch them,
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:catie_1_05-08-2025_152157: Mm-hmm.
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:maddie--she-her-_1_05-08-2025_152157:
they're finding you because of the
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:networking that you have done, right,
like the, the Facebook groups that
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:you're in, the communities that you're
in, they're finding you because of your
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:website and that you've got good SEO
and that you've got the information
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:that you need on your website.
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:They're finding you because of
your socials, because of referrals.
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:Like all of these things
are working together.
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:And helping you sell before you
even ever get on a call with them.
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:Then you get on the call with them,
you're able to ask the right questions
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:and it's like, oh my gosh, this is
a no-brainer to hire this person.
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:But all of those things
have to be working in sync
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:You have to have that like
lock solid positioning.
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:catie_1_05-08-2025_152157: For sure.
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:A good number of the clients
that I've just booked.
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:Two of them came from referrals
from like my web designer, strategic
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:partner, and they're just ready.
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:They're like locked in.
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:They're just like, tell me what to do.
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:And I'm like, okay, dream.
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:Hello.
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:maddie--she-her-_1_05-08-2025_152157:
One of the things that you're doing
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:to kind of encourage that, which I
think is great, is you've been like
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:setting up coffee meetings with
these people, haven't, you know?
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:Yeah.
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:So talk a little bit about that.
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:'cause I think that that
is such an underrated thing
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:that people are not doing.
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:catie_1_05-08-2025_152157: Yeah.
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:So, you know, like people can book
you if they don't know you exist.
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:That's, that's for everybody.
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:Um, and so one of the things that I
wanted to do, and one of the things that I
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:noticed was like, okay, who are the other.
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:You know, businesses out there who
are benefiting from my services.
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:And so, um, when I did my own rebrand
last year, um, my brand and web designer.
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:We started working together a lot and
you know, she was telling me like,
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:oh, I'm always looking for, like, she
refers me a lot, but like also she's
370
:like, I like to refer you because
you do more than just take photos.
371
:You actually walk the client
through all the things and
372
:I'm like, okay, there has to.
373
:To be more people like you.
374
:You can't be the only one in this area.
375
:And so I started doing my research on
like, who are the other, you know, local
376
:brand designers, web designers who, you
know, may have clients who can benefit
377
:from this so that they can have the
photos for the websites that they're
378
:designing that are actually gonna work.
379
:And it's not just gonna be like, oh, I
guess we're gonna have a default to stock.
380
:so, you know, I did some reach outs and.
381
:My email saying, Hey, like, you
know, I'm a brand photographer.
382
:I'm always looking for, you know, brand
and web designers who, you know, do
383
:what you do because I know that you,
uh, you know, benefit from having good
384
:photos from your clients for the websites
that you design more or less in, in
385
:a more coherent way of saying that.
386
:And, um, hey, would you be interested
in either, you know, getting together
387
:for a coffee or we can do it over
Zoom and have like a coffee chat, a
388
:virtual coffee chat, and just like I.
389
:pitch, like nothing like that.
390
:Just like get to know each other.
391
:Um, like what kind of clients
do you like to work with, where
392
:are you located, kind of thing.
393
:And um, like, how can I help?
394
:you know, I don't know
where any of this is like.
395
:long it's gonna take for it to
have an ROI, but at least now
396
:that person knows who I am.
397
:Whereas before they didn't.
398
:And, uh, one of the responses I got from,
um, one of the people I met up with or,
399
:you know, met virtually, she's like.
400
:Oh my gosh.
401
:Like, I'm so glad that you reached
out to me because I've been looking
402
:for someone like you, or I've been
looking for, you know, a photographer
403
:who gets it and, um, and so, yeah,
like if anything I've, you know, made
404
:a new friend or made a new contact
and it's just expanding my network.
405
:So if somebody's thinking about
it, like they can think of me.
406
:maddie--she-her-_1_05-08-2025_152157:
I love that.
407
:I saw a quote the other day that I
had, I think I had heard it before, but
408
:forgotten about it, but I saw a quote the
other day that said, the more contacts
409
:you have, the more contracts you have.
410
:And I was like, God, that's so true.
411
:Like.
412
:catie_1_05-08-2025_152157: good.
413
:maddie--she-her-_1_05-08-2025_152157:
And I, and I think that what
414
:you're saying is so important
to go into it without an agenda.
415
:Like I genuinely like, I know that
the more people I know and the
416
:more people that I'm connected to,
the better my business will be.
417
:I know that for a fact.
418
:I have seen it happen and when I'm
getting coffee, I just wanna connect with
419
:somebody else who is in a similar boat to
me and who has a similar business to me.
420
:Like it is purely connection based.
421
:And some really great things and
really great projects and high
422
:paying projects have come out of it.
423
:And I think where people kind of
get it wrong is either not doing
424
:that at all, just kind of forgetting
about that piece of networking or
425
:going into it with this agenda of
like, please refer everything to me.
426
:And it's like, no, I don't like,
there's gonna be people who are
427
:a fit and who are not a fit,
but I want you to know who I am.
428
:catie_1_05-08-2025_152157: Right, right.
429
:I wanna know you as like a person and
430
:maddie--she-her-_1_05-08-2025_152157:
Right.
431
:catie_1_05-08-2025_152157: just
check the vibe because like,
432
:maddie--she-her-_1_05-08-2025_152157:
Yeah.
433
:catie_1_05-08-2025_152157: it's
not there, like no harm, no foul.
434
:This is a one time deal.
435
:maddie--she-her-_1_05-08-2025_152157:
Totally.
436
:Yes, I totally agree.
437
:Um, okay, so we talked about the concrete
stuff, the numbers beyond the measurable
438
:results, how has working together
changed your approach to business,
439
:your confidence level, those things?
440
:catie_1_05-08-2025_152157: since coming
into rebrand, I think like there's a
441
:bunch of things, but, um, one of the
things that I don't think I expected but
442
:was like a pleasant surprise was just
like the community that you have, um.
443
:Like within Slack, within like
the rebranded group and just how
444
:everybody is super supportive.
445
:Cheers.
446
:You on, gives you feedback
is like the community exists.
447
:Like, 'cause sometimes in other programs
there's a community, but it's crickets.
448
:And like
449
:maddie--she-her-_1_05-08-2025_152157:
Yeah, for sure.
450
:catie_1_05-08-2025_152157: it's like
very active and you know, and I, and I
451
:also believe that like, you get what?
452
:You get what you put in.
453
:So like you have to participate
or put in your 2 cents.
454
:And, um, one of the nice things I think
about just like the overall kind of
455
:like feeling and vibe of the rebrand
community is that everybody's very,
456
:like, and, um, kind and non-judgmental.
457
:And everybody's kind of in their
own journey, but they're like,
458
:oh, like when, when I can see.
459
:Evidence of the thing that I'm
working towards, like all the better.
460
:Like let me get some insight from, not
just from Maddie, but also from people
461
:who are farther ahead than me or who
have experienced doing this thing.
462
:So there's that part I think.
463
:Um.
464
:One of the things that I've also
learned in this time was like,
465
:okay, like I think the messaging for
like who I'm targeting is evolving.
466
:And so, um, like my messaging is going
more towards like the entrepreneur who's
467
:in a, like a growth mode, who's like
entering their next era, as you would say.
468
:maddie--she-her-_1_05-08-2025_152157:
Yes, I would.
469
:catie_1_05-08-2025_152157: And,
uh, like be like, who's the next
470
:thing that they are becoming?
471
:Like who, who is the person
they are stepping into?
472
:And I, I just like posted
some content about that.
473
:And like, I got like lots
of good engagement from it.
474
:Like a complete stranger like DM me and
was like, Hey, I wanna book something.
475
:And I was like, oh,
476
:maddie--she-her-_1_05-08-2025_152157:
Amazing.
477
:catie_1_05-08-2025_152157:
Yeah, I'll take it.
478
:Um, and so, yeah, and it is like,
just like taking that, like taking
479
:the shift of like, okay, like I've,
I started here, but what got me
480
:here isn't gonna get me over there.
481
:And so like the messaging also has a
shift and that's, that's okay because.
482
:there's more than enough room
for everyone, and there are
483
:businesses at every kind of stage.
484
:And I'm like, okay, this is the new
target and we are going after them.
485
:We are going to speak to them directly.
486
:Um, and I think that the
response has been really.
487
:Good with that too.
488
:maddie--she-her-_1_05-08-2025_152157:
Yeah.
489
:catie_1_05-08-2025_152157: And then just
kind of like leaning into, speaking on
490
:like building, having a personal brand,
building a personal brand, leaning into it
491
:and letting that be your differentiator,
versus your business alone.
492
:I'm like, listen, realtors
are a dime a dozen and, um.
493
:They're like, they're the
easiest ones to target on that.
494
:But like, you can't
just say, I sell houses.
495
:Cool.
496
:Like, so Doess my cousin over there
and my best friend down the street.
497
:So like, but what's
gonna make you different?
498
:And um, yeah.
499
:And so like leaning into a personal brand
allows you to make a pivot later in life
500
:or make a pivot when you're like, ah,
I'm done with this, but it's still you.
501
:And so just kind of like leaning
into that thought leadership, which.
502
:I didn't expect from rebrand,
but it came from that.
503
:Um, like, just like the work I've done
and like the, the lots of, you know,
504
:uh, iterations on like messaging and
who am I speaking to and like what
505
:do I being known for and all that.
506
:maddie--she-her-_1_05-08-2025_152157:
I love it.
507
:You really have you.
508
:I've always enjoyed your content.
509
:Like I said, I followed you for a
long time, but you really have had a
510
:transformation in, you can tell you're
speaking to a different client now and.
511
:With wanting to book higher paid
sessions, but also wanting to have those
512
:champagne clients who trust you and who
are like, you know what, run with it.
513
:Like you can do whatever.
514
:Um, you and I have also talked about
putting together a, uh, like kind
515
:of higher package that potentially
includes like a stylist and other team
516
:members, and like that type of package
is going to appeal to that person who
517
:is maybe a little bit further along.
518
:Or at least sees the value of photography.
519
:So that's exactly who you should
be speaking to, and you can tell
520
:in your messaging that that's like
just getting honed more and more.
521
:I love it.
522
:What would you say to someone
who's considering rebrand
523
:but isn't sure if it's right?
524
:catie_1_05-08-2025_152157: if you're
considering a rebrand and you are like me,
525
:and you've been doing brand photography,
either you've been dabbling or you know,
526
:you've slowly been making the pivot.
527
:Or you've been doing it for a couple
of years and you kind of know what's
528
:going on, but you just kind of feel
stuck or like you're like, I, I know
529
:that I wanna be taking my business
in like that direction, but I'm
530
:not really sure how to get there.
531
:Like, it's time to invest in yourself.
532
:'cause when you want, when you
want other people to invest in you,
533
:you need to invest in yourself.
534
:Like put.
535
:your money where your mouth is.
536
:And um, and part of that is investing
in a coach, investing in a program,
537
:investing in, in yourself, in your
own personal development, um, so that
538
:you, your mindset is ready to take
on those, like higher paying clients.
539
:So you, your mindset is right to.
540
:Be like, yes, I will take my
highest paid session ever.
541
:Um, thank you.
542
:How would you like to pay?
543
:I would encourage you to message
Maddie, or if you wanna message
544
:me, you can do that as well.
545
:I'm happy to share my experience.
546
:In fact, somebody from the last cohort did
just that at the last launch and she was
547
:like, Hey, how has your experience been?
548
:And I was like, and listen, if there's one
thing you need to know about me is I am.
549
:honest.
550
:I will not, I will not BS you.
551
:I will not sugarcoat it.
552
:I will be completely honest and I
can say with full certainty that
553
:investing in rebrand has been one
of the best things for my business.
554
:Like I re-upped as an
alumni and it just like.
555
:It's, it's what I needed in my
season of business right now.
556
:Having someone who's a coach in my, you
know, back pocket who I can ask questions
557
:to, having a community of other people
who are doing the exact same thing as
558
:I am doing and who, you know, wanna
take it to the proverbial next level.
559
:And, um.
560
:And just helps to be able to bounce
ideas off of somebody else who
561
:isn't in your immediate market.
562
:'cause I know sometimes like when you're,
if you don't have like a bestie who is in
563
:your area, but like you know somebody else
who does what you do, but they're in the
564
:same area and you're like, are we friends?
565
:I don't know.
566
:So being able to ask someone
who's in a different market, like
567
:it's completely like no judgment.
568
:If you are ready to kind of like
take your business and book your
569
:highest session ever, 'cause like.
570
:I was skeptical.
571
:I was like, huh.
572
:But I don't know how this would,
you know, happen or whatever.
573
:But like literally, quite literally
four weeks after I joined, I booked my
574
:highest session ever and I was like, I
took the discovery call at Ikea Of all
575
:maddie--she-her-_1_05-08-2025_152157:
Oh my God, I forgot about that.
576
:You did.
577
:catie_1_05-08-2025_152157: I did.
578
:maddie--she-her-_1_05-08-2025_152157:
Listen, coaching is so transformational,
579
:and I do, I think that, um, I, I've
spoken to a lot of photographers in
580
:similar shoes to where you were at
and they have maybe taken courses in
581
:the past, and so I think they look at
rebrand with kind of a side eye because
582
:they're like, well, but I've done the
course thing and I don't need someone
583
:to tell me how to do brand photography.
584
:Like, been there, done that.
585
:And I always tell them like.
586
:I totally understand that, and yes,
rebrand does have a curriculum, but it's
587
:so much more about coaching and meeting
you where you're at and being able to, um,
588
:like you said, kind of bounce ideas around
or talk about your specific business.
589
:And I certainly did not know
how transformational that
590
:would be to my business until
I did it, until I had a coach.
591
:And now I'm like, gosh, I don't know if
there's ever going to be a time in my
592
:business when I don't have a business
coach, because it's just so helpful.
593
:catie_1_05-08-2025_152157: Yes, having
you as a coach has been the best thing
594
:to get me from like point B to point C.
595
:'cause just having like your perspective
and have you thought about it this way?
596
:Or maybe, what about this?
597
:And then just like thinking like.
598
:Bigger and outside of what I thought
like possible of like, oh yeah,
599
:well maybe let's, let's try this.
600
:I really appreciate
that you are accessible.
601
:You're not like a, Hey, we're here for the
coaching call, and then you, you, you're
602
:a ghost and you're like, is she here?
603
:Like,
604
:maddie--she-her-_1_05-08-2025_152157:
Where'd she go?
605
:catie_1_05-08-2025_152157: where'd she go?
606
:You are actively in the community.
607
:You're actively, like in your dms and
you're actively engaging and cheering
608
:us on like elsewhere and stuff.
609
:So I really appreciate that.
610
:maddie--she-her-_1_05-08-2025_152157:
Well, I love having you in the
611
:program and I can't wait to have
you back on the podcast when
612
:you've booked a $5,500 session.
613
:We'll come back and talk about that too.
614
:catie_1_05-08-2025_152157:
right, well, challenge accepted.
615
:maddie--she-her-_1_05-08-2025_152157:
Katie, thank you so much
616
:for being here today.
617
:catie_1_05-08-2025_152157:
Thanks for having me.
618
:Thank you so much for listening
to take it personally.
619
:If you haven't already, would you head
over to iTunes and leave us a review?
620
:This is the best way to let other
photographers know about the show and
621
:help keep us creating content you crave.
622
:And if you want more tips and tools to
build your personal photography brand,
623
:head over to my website, maddie pong.com.
624
:Here you can access my downloadable
ultimate personal brand session shot
625
:list to get your clients singing
your praises and browse my blog for
626
:more trade secrets to help you hone
your craft and grow your business.
627
:Love to learn while you listen.
628
:Visit maddie peon.com
629
:and click on podcast for all things.
630
:Take it personally.
631
:From show notes to recent episodes and
incredible guest profiles, remember
632
:friend, the most important part of
any brand is the people behind it.
633
:Branding and business is personal,
so let's take it personally.