Pat Miller sits down with Tiffany Crenshaw, owner of Animal House Photography, who has found a way to successfully balance a growing photography business with a busy home life.

Episode Highlights 🎤💡:

(04:52) - Creating a Business That Supports Our Lives, Not Defines Them.

(12:45) - Boosting Focus and Productivity with Brain Dumps and Time Blocking.

(14:12) - A client management system enhances service and streamlines communication.

Connect with Pat Miller ⬇

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Connect with Tiffany Crenshaw ⬇

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I'm Pat Miller, and this is The Professional Photographer Podcast. I want you to imagine a world, imagine a world, in a world where you only have one obligation. All you need to do is build your photography business. You have all day every day just to make a great photography studio. Now I asked you to imagine a world because most likely that's not the world you're living in. You've got family. You've got children. You might have a side hustle. You've got a spouse that has obligations. You might have aging parents. You may have an illness or an illness in the family. You've got life. Life gets in the way of this imaginary world where all you have to do is build the photography studio. So how can you build a great studio when it's not your only obligation? That is today's topic we're talking with Tiffany Crenshaw. She's someone that's doing that right now. Three beautiful children, a successful studio, and she's sharing her secrets on systems and delegation and her definition of success. It's moving and it's inspirational, and something you need to hear. If there's not enough hours in your day to get it all done, maybe you need to redefine what getting it all done means. How can you build a successful photography studio when it's not your only obligation? We'll talk with Tiffany Crenshaw next. Tiffany Crenshaw, welcome to The Professional Photographer Podcast. How are you today?

I am awesome. Doing great. It's Friday, so.

Oh, gosh. Doesn't it feel good just to have a weekend of relaxing or being with family or taking pictures? And that's kind of the theme of this episode. We've got families. We've got clients. We've got all of the stuff going on. And I love this topic because I know that you have a lot of obligations in addition to your business. So let's set the table that way. Tell us about your family and your time when you're not taking pictures.

Okay. Yes. So, my husband and I live in Huntsville, Alabama. We moved here at the start of 2020. That's another, that's another story. But, so we live here with our 3 kiddos. We started here with 2 kiddos. We had 2 daughters, 11 and 7, and then we got a surprise last year. So we now have a 1-year-old boy. And so, you know, life is not the same, but it's great, but it is a roller coaster ride every day. And we're just enjoying watching them grow. We're just enjoying being in the thick of it and the adventures, the ups and downs, all of it. So, oh, and they're behind me. Actually, those are my 3 full of personality kiddos, so.

They're beautiful. Congratulations on the blessing last year. That's gotta be amazing, where you're building a business. You've got 2 kids, and I'm what? Like, that had to have been an interesting experience.

It was. It was an interesting experience. You're right, Pat, that was an interesting experience. But a good one. It's a good one, so.

Fantastic. So with the balance between family and business, how do you define success in the grand scheme of things?

Yeah. And so I love that question because I feel like in our industry, there's a lot of push right now in terms of success looking like, you know, multi-six-figure businesses and, you know, scaling and different things, and while I think, you know, there's nothing wrong with that, for us, we just kinda, and I say we because even though this is my business, my husband and I are a unit. And so for us, I feel like success is raising happy, healthy children that love life, love people. And so this business allows me to do that. And so for me, being able to book clients, being able to run a very successful family photography business, all funneled back into that ultimate goal of raising those happy, healthy, kind children, so.

That's a great definition. And the business, if I heard you correctly, the business feeds into the bigger goal, which is happy, healthy children. Did I hear that right?

Right. Yeah. So, you know, this business, I love it. It's like my 4th baby. It was my 3rd baby, but then we know that kinda how that hierarchy changed suddenly. And so, you know, the business is amazing and I love it, but it's not, it doesn't run our lives. It can at times, and I know we'll talk to them about that, but the goal is not for us to be driven by the business but for it to be driven by us and by what we want out of it.

Do you find it hard to keep your eyes on that definition, your personal definition of success, when you look around social media and you hear from competing photographers in your space and they may seemingly define success differently?

Yeah. I do. It's very hard to say, to kinda stay grounded and true to what, you know, why you started this. I always like to ask people, you know, why did you start this business? Because for most of us, you know, it wasn't just to build an empire or build, you know, a very, you know, like I said, multi-6-figure business. Most of us started off because we loved it, and we wanted a way to do the art we loved but also have the life at home that we loved. And so I know for a lot of moms, a lot of, you know, working parents in general, we wanted a break from that 9 to 5 to where our time is so restricted, to be able to kinda curate our own schedules and run a business that let us really live our lives. But it can be really hard to stay true to that because we're so, you know, just there's like a flood of pressure from social media like you're saying. Every day I have ads popping up all the time, like, do you wanna, you know, make 6 figures this year? Do you want, you know, a $20,000 month? Do you want, and it's constant, like that, you know, seeding in from all of the platforms. And so it can be very tempting to steer from what, you know, I've set out to do and to even become discouraged when I see others, you know, posting what seems success and feeling like, ah, like, I wish I was traveling to Europe all the time and going, you know, all these places and forgetting, like, that's not really what you want in this season of life, you know?

So you're building this healthy family in this season of life, which is a beautiful phrase. I love that phrase. And you're also building this thriving studio. So the question that comes is, okay, how do you get it all done? Because there's a lot of stuff that's gotta get done. How do you go about getting it all done?

Yeah. And so that honestly, I think is kind of the core, as a business owner is learning how to get it all done because things have to happen, to run a business. It's not, it's actually very small. A small amount is really about you and your camera. Right? Like, when you started, it was just about you and your camera, but as you build a business, there's so many other facets to it other than shooting. And so for me, one of the big things that I've learned is to outsource. I outsource a lot of things that help me to be able to homeschool our kids, run our household, but also give the business the attention that it needs.

I've heard you talk a lot about systems. And people automatically think systems means systems in the business. Like, we have workflows, and we have automation, and we have all these things that make the business systems work in concert. But I've heard you talk about systems at home. Can you give us a few examples of some of the systems that you use at home that helps you get everything done?

Yeah. So about a year ago, I sat down and I laid out what are all of the things that I have to do for this business. And I encourage anybody to do that to really, like, write out every small detail of what requires your attention as a business owner, and what requires your attention at home. And then looking at that list and starting to figure out where can you outsource things that don't need your hands on them. For me, I love shooting. I love editing, and I love interacting with my clients. And so those were things that I didn't want to offload to someone else, but things that I don't love are keeping my house disinfected and cleaned. And so that was one of the first things on that list as things that has to happen that I decided to outsource. And I felt, yes. I said goodbye to scrubbing things for now. There will come a day where I will be back on my workload. But, you know, I felt a lot of guilt. And I don't know if anybody, I'm sure others can relate to that, feeling like, oh my gosh. Like, I don't want people to know that we have a cleaner and I don't want people, you know, to think that we are the type of person that feels like they can't do things themselves. You know, there's a lot of that social pressure. But at the end of the day, when you go to these companies, when you go to Target, when you go to these different places, they have businesses that take care of all these things. They have office managers and they have, you know, a janitorial staff and they have all of these things. And so as small business owners, we can't think we can do everything and so when I finally decide to let go that guilt, I was like, you know what, this will put more time back into me doing my business, which then will put more time back into me being with my family. And so that's just one of the ways that we have decided to outsource things, and it's going amazing.

I've heard someone say that proper delegation can be a profit center. Is that a good way to look at it?

Right. Yeah. Because think of the time you can spend with your clients if you're not doing those other things that really don't require your talent. And that's gonna be different for everybody. Some people love cleaning, and that's, and so they might want to outsource editing because they don't like editing. And so it's really figuring out who you are and what things you really find joy in in your business and then figuring out a way to let those other things go. It requires budgeting. It requires, you know, some planning. But bringing in a client for me is much more profitable than the small losses of outsourcing that one thing.

Outsourcing cleaning. Oh, man. I hate cleaning. I hate it. I hate it. I gotta delegate it. I absolutely hate it.

Just delegate it. Yeah.

So You're running this great business. You're raising 3 kids. Walk us through an average day for you. How do you break up the day? Are you working a little while you're parenting? Is it all work then parenting? Like, how do you go about doing it?

Yeah. When I started doing both of these things side by side, especially with the homeschooling, it was really kind of a train wreck. I was always trying to go help the kids and then run back to answer an email and then go help the kids and then run back, and I would feel frustrated. I'd get frustrated with them when really they're not doing anything but being kids, but then I'm trying to do this task that requires my attention, you know, my focus. And so I realized I've gotta separate these things. I need to time block. And so that way when I'm with them, I can be with them. And then when it's time for me to work, I can work and communicating that with them as well that, you know, from 10 to 12, I'm gonna sit with you. And then from 12 to 2, I'm gonna go into my studio and I'm gonna do these things. And that was really working well for us. Then we got the baby. So I know it's a surprise to you, but he didn't decide to follow along with our plan that we had going on here.

What? Come on.

He doesn't, old enough to read a clock. So, and so he does go to, like, a mother's morning out, 2 mornings a week, Tuesday Thursday. And so from 9:45 until 1:15, I am focused locked on business. And I've already made my list of things I need to get done for the week. And so when I sit down, I'm not just you know how when you sit and you don't, you're so overwhelmed and you just kinda like, you know, you just sit there. And so starting the week with what I call a brain dump is very helpful where I write all the things that I that are on my mind that need to get done. And then I go through and I pull out what really has to get done this week as priority, and I work from that list. And so, time blocking, brain dumping, that has really helped me be a lot more focused, in my business. And so, a typical day, Pat, you know, we wake up, we have, like, our morning meeting time as a family, you know, devotional talk to the kids about the day and kinda get everyone on the same page. And then if it's a homeschool day, it's a fully, like, I don't hold in my laptop. I don't wanna be tempted to be distracted. But if it's a workday, then I'm focused, and I'm getting these tasks checked off the list and really trying to just maximize that time that I have, so.

Do you know how valuable this conversation is to other people who work with the studio?

I thought it was super valuable.

This is so valuable to hear others going through what they're going through. This is fantastic. Okay. So let's talk about the business systems for a second. So what kind of systems do you use for the operation of the studio? Because I love the way you've got the time blocking setup. But when you're in the studio, what kind of systems are you running there?

Yeah. So, I have, like, my client management system, through Sprout. And so all of, and I highly suggest if there's, like, one thing that people starting are gonna invest in, it would be a client management system because having to address all of your inquiries and all of your emails and schedule everything by hand is such a time consumer. And, honestly, it's not serving your clients best because so much gets missed just because we're human and we're distracted. And so, having that system where when those inquiries come in, there's a workflow that happens. I do call my client or my potential clients on the phone. That's just my personal brand is that face to face and really connecting with people. But then when they're ready to book, it all starts on a workflow. And it's like everything happens behind the scenes without need of me. And so that would be something I would definitely suggest, a gallery system where you could deliver galleries and have plans order their images unless you want to do IPS, which I love IPS, not in this season of life. The time away from, it's one more thing that's like time away. Right? And so for us right now, that's just not the, that's not the most feasible model, but there's still ways to really sell wall art and to really be able to produce quality work for your clients even from a non-IPS standpoint. So, those are some of the systems. And then I will say I just took on a virtual assistant, and that is priceless. She is like, has been just a godsend because she just does all the, she handles my social media now and goes in and, like, does this post and things that really for her probably take 10 minutes. But for us, when it's our business, it ends up taking so much longer because we're, like, way too invested in it and then we start scrolling things and it's just, like, to not have to open Instagram or Facebook is gonna give so much time back into your life, so.

I firmly believe that virtual assistants are the cheat code for small business owners. And I can't believe that on your first day of being a photographer, they don't give you a camera and a VA. There are people walking around that have never heard of having a virtual assistant. So as someone that has one now, and as someone that preaches time balance and systems and delegation, just give us the 30-second pitch on why we need to have one. Because I'm a big fan, but I'd love to hear it from you.

Yeah. And I resisted having one for a long time because, and I'm sure a lot of people relate to this, we think about the financial cost of hiring somebody, and that is a deterrent, especially if we're not priced profitably. And so it starts with making sure that our prices are at a place where we can sustain some help. You know, it may not be full-time, but even 10 hours a month can take your social media off your plate, which can free you up to be with family or to work on some creative projects, or for me, when I really decided this is, I need to do this, I've been wanting to write some courses. I've been wanting to create some content for educators for a long time, but I never get to it because my to-do list is all, like, right here and right now, on this, on client. And so just taking some of those tasks off my plate, she does my ordering and she does my social media for me. Taking those things off my plate, I've been able to start writing my courses, which is super exciting. So, yay.

That is exciting. And look at that. And now that you're writing your courses and all this work that they're doing for you, when the bill comes, I find that that's the bill I'm the happiest to pay. What? This much? Fine. Do you feel that way too?

Yeah. Absolutely. Yep. I will not regret. I will not, just like I don't regret that someone disinfects my house every other week. I won't regret it. I don't.

That’s right. Yes.

I know. So, and this is something else. This is unconventional maybe, but I think finding ways to really include your family in your business as well when you can. I always tell my kids, this isn't just my business. This business is for our family. And so I think through bringing them along, and I don't mean necessarily to sessions, but I mean, when I'm editing, having them coming and sitting with me, and now they'll come and be like, “Oh, that's out of focus, mom, or that's a little too dark. You need to, you know,” and I'm like, “Okay. Yeah. I know. Thanks. Thanks.” But just getting them invested to see this is what mom is doing or dad is doing. Like, they're not just off somewhere just not with me, but this is what they're doing to help take care of our family. And so my 11-year-old actually has just told, this is recently since the last time we talked, has decided that she wants to be a photographer. That's what she says she wants to do. So I'm like, okay. And so she, I have been training her to call and sort images, and she's doing a great job.

Wow.

And so when I get home from a session, she calls those. And while she's doing that, I'm cooking something or sitting with the baby or anything for the next, you know, 20, 30 minutes. Just having that little bit of time that I'm like, “Oh, I get to be mom right now, is great and she's learning skills that are gonna help her as she grows, as she wants to have her own business one day and so, I don't know. I think finding ways to pull in the people in your house, I don't think it's a bad thing though.

No. Not at all. That's really, really neat. So here's where it gets hard. It's really easy to be tempted by staying late or scheduling a session that looks like it's gonna be really good, but it's gotta be on Saturday and it conflicts with family time. How do you keep your decisions in alignment with your business and your family?

And that is hard. And I think sometimes, we have to learn the hard way. And I remember in 2021, I remember that fall of 2021 sitting in my car before a session and just crying because I physically felt like I could not take one more picture. Like, I just, I was so burnt out. I was gone every night of the week shooting and because I didn't say no, because every time one came in, you get this feeling of, like, “Oh, but if I say no, like, they're gonna find someone else,” and that's, you know, future business is lost and but then you end up feeling, at least for me, like, this, like, weird resentment about your job and about, you know, this family that have nothing to do with your poor management skills, but you're just not happy. And so I think going through that, that was the season that I said, “Okay. I'm gonna map out for the year,” and you can do it quarterly or, you know, 6 months at a time, but I'm gonna map out how many sessions that I need in order to hit my financial goals for the quarter. And so you have to know what those goals are. So it takes some goal planning and figuring out what is your salary that you need. And so then when I looked and saw, like, okay. So this month, I only need 6 sessions. But if I don't map that out, then in the moment, I'm just saying yes, yes, yes, yes. And then I'm like, wait, why do I have 14 sessions? And I only needed 6. And so doing that mapping has really helped me be able to say to look at that calendar and say, “Oh, like, I'm full. Like, I'm full for, you know, this month.” And so, I highly encourage people to do that.

Relationships between a photographer and their client, It takes energy to build those, to have great relationships, to give yourself and your presence to the people that you're working with. Is that a struggle when you have so much going on in your life to make sure that you have great relationships and enough energy for everyone, both business and personal?

Yeah. I think, now that I have started to scale back in terms of volume, not in terms of busyness because there's still, in some ways, it's actually busier now that we've got the addition, and now that I'm moving into more of the education space, but I think putting those boundaries on the sessions that I'm accepting and also, Pat, to your earlier question, not taking everything, like, really deciding, is this a session that is going to fill me artistically and then I'm gonna feel great about and be able to give my best to this person? And if not, then referring to someone that can meet their needs, and both the photographer and the client are gonna be happier. And so I think being more, choosy and selective about the work I take on and making sure that the people that I work with align with where I'm at in life. And my clients are amazing. Like, I don't have horror stories. Maybe one every couple of years, there's like a rough patch. But for the most part, they're great. But that's because I've already connected with them up front, and they know about these 3 people that are behind me and I tell them up front, like, I'm mom first. I will give 100% of what I would want in images to your family, but you've gotta know this is who I am. This is who you're working with. And most of them are like, great, because I don't know what day it is. And so we're like, great. We're in this together. And so, I think building those relationships has actually been pretty easy for me with my client.

Let's talk about some of the things we don't see coming. What are some of the traps that might suck us into the business and consume a bunch of our time that we didn't expect?

That is a good question. So one thing I think social media can be one of those things that we don't realize how much time we devote to that in our business. And there's apps actually that you can use that will track what you're doing for your business on this on your phone, which is very eye-opening for anybody that wants to know, like, how much time am I actually spending on editing and you can kinda start and stop those timers and see. And so that would be, you know, the one thing. And then, I think in terms of the client side of things, I think the after process of really making sure that they've got their print orders, that everything is installed the way that they want. Like, sometimes we can account for the session itself and the planning, but what we're not accounting for is how much assistance our clients might need on the back end. And so, you know, thinking through that as well because that can be that can take a lot of our time.

Right now, there's someone watching that isn't winning this battle. They're overwhelmed. They feel like they're not serving their family. They feel like they're at the same time not serving their business. They feel like they're just not doing enough to take care of the investments they've made in their life. If someone's watching this and they feel like they're drowning, they don't have it together like you do. What would you say to them at that moment?

Well, first, I would just give them a hug because I think we've all been there, and I don't think that we vocalize that enough. I think we try to paint our best selves on, on social media and we don't always share, like, how hard it is or that we were up till 2 AM doing something or that our kids are having a meltdown or, you know, that we're not making the money that we've, like you said, put in to this and, and so I think just saying that ,one, that you're seen and that, you know, you're not alone in this, but I would also say to do an audit of your business. And so to sit down and just really write out, like, what do you want out of this business? What are, not just financially, but that's part of it. What do you want financially, but also what do you want just emotionally out of this business? And then look at all of the where all the places you're spending money and start checking off those things that they don't fit into what you want. Because there's a lot of subscriptions and a lot of presets and a lot of things that we can pay for, but maybe if we're struggling, pulling back on some of those things and finding what really is needed. And for me, I don't know if this, if you're gonna ask this, but investment-wise, a business coach, I think is one of those things that is invaluable. And I've had several that have gotten me out of those places when I felt like I'm overwhelmed and I'm stuck. And I think as photographers, we can get drawn into a lot of presets and actions and Photoshop this and client closets and all of those pretty things, but we never learn how to run a business. And so we're out there just taking pictures and drowning because we don't actually know how to run a business. And so, I am very passionate about having somebody whether they're photographer or not, that somebody that you like their business model, you like the success you've seen, you like who they are as a person that you can connect with, that you feel like can help train you on getting your business out of the hole that it's in, so yeah.

It's an important discussion that's gonna help a bunch of people, and I really appreciate you sharing everything you did. Tiffany Crenshaw, thank you for coming on The Professional Photographer Podcast. I appreciate it.

Thank you. I'm so excited to be a part of it.

Thank you for tuning into this week's episode of The Professional Photographer Podcast. I'm already excited to share next week's episode with you. Before you go, you gotta do me a favor. You've got to hit the like and subscribe button on this podcast. We have seen, this is so cool. We have seen our subscriber counts start ticking upwards, Like that's really cool. I just want you to picture when you click subscribe that I go, woo, because I want you to hit subscribe. Are you ready? Find subscribe. Are you ready? Are you ready? Okay. 3, 2, 1. Click it. Woo, thank you. Also, if you could leave a comment wherever you're watching or listening, that's also helpful. Because that way, we know if this topic is on track and if you want us to do more, and what stuck with you from our conversation with Tiffany, really would appreciate it. Also, it's time to encourage you. If you're not yet a member of Professional Photographers of America, you're missing out. PPA offers incredible resources like equipment insurance, top-notch education, and a supportive community of photographers ready to help you succeed. It's perfect for photographers who are serious about growing their business in a sustainable and profitable way. At PPA, you belong here. Discover more about membership at ppa.com. That's ppa.com. I'm Pat Miller, the founder of the Small Business Owners Community. Thank you for joining us on this journey, and we appreciate your support. We'll be back here soon with more tools to help you build your business with The Professional Photographer's Podcast. See you next time.