We’ve been doing a “Make More Money with Photography Series” in the last 4 weeks and this week we’re going to dive into how to improve your money mindset.
I’m still working on my money mindset y’all and I haven’t conquered anything in this regard, so I’ve put off doing this episode because I didn’t feel qualified. But I have done a lot of mindset work around money over the last 5 years, so what I’m sharing here isn’t like an end-all-be-all episode when it comes to money mindset. I just want to share what I’ve learned along the way in this journey so far.
What is Money Mindset?
Money Mindset is the way that you feel about and the way you use money. It’s your relationship with money. Our society assigns morality to money and time (and food actually, but that’s a whole other conversation)! But that doesn’t mean money itself is good or bad!
Think of money as a pen. You can use a pen to write someone or stab someone in the leg. But the pen itself isn’t good or bad. It’s the person using the pen that makes it good or bad. In the same way, money inherently isn’t good or bad. Just the people that use that money that makes it good or bad.
How Does Your Money Mindset Affect Your Life?
Money mindset affects your life in many different ways. For example, you might find yourself not wanting to charge “a lot” for a session because you yourself can’t afford to pay that much. That is a mindset about money. That mindset will hold you back from charging what you need to charge and of course that isn’t serving you or your business.
You might think it is awkward to talk about money with your clients, this is also a money mindset. And what’s going to happen if you believe this to be true? Well…it’s going to be awkward!
Think about it like this: how differently would you live life if you believed you are well taken care of financially versus you could lose it all at any moment?
Believe that both of those are true. If you believe one or the other was true, I’m taken care of financially—how would you show up in your business, how would you price yourself, how would you live your life if you’re like, “No matter what happens, I know I’ll be taken care of”?
Or the opposite: what if you truly believe that “in any moment, I could lose it all?” Think about how you would operate in your business, how you would price yourself, how you would spend money?
The mindset that you have around money makes the difference.
Simple Ways to Improve Your Money Mindset
Money is a tool. It’s an exchange of value. Like we talked about before, if you think about money as without morals like the pen, then you start to think, “Okay, what STORIES have I created in my head around money?”
And this likely will come from how you grew up (not to get too deep here):
If you grew up being told that “money doesn’t grow on trees,” you might have a scarcity mindset around money like it’s hard to come by. If you grew up believing you had to work hard to make money, then you might still believe that as an adult. And if money comes easily to you, then you might feel guilty or like you did something wrong.
Or if you grew up believing rich people were bad or evil or did something wrong to get their money, no wonder you don’t want to charge a lot right?
Beliefs vs Reality About Money
If it’s not universally true about money – it’s a belief about money. The truth about money is, it’s a piece of paper that has value, right? That’s universally true.
I asked in our Facebook Group for some of you to share your money mindset blocks or problems. I’m going to take 3 of them and evaluate whether they’re true or not here with you today:
Belief #1: “If I charge what I need to charge for birth photography, people won’t think it’s worth the price and I won’t get hired.”
First of all, where will your business be in 12 months if you keep believing this? Let’s think about that! You won’t charge what you need to charge, so you’ll keep getting hired for this low price, which will eventually burn you out and cause you to quit all together. Is QUITTING serving your ideal client? I think we both can agree that it’s not!
It’s not a matter of EVERYONE not thinking you’re worth your price. It’s a matter of finding the FEW RIGHT people who are willing to pay it.
In this question of “am I worth my price” I hear a lot of self-doubt, insecurity and maybe some Imposter Syndrome, which is TOTALLY normal, so don’t feel badly about that! But if you’re having Imposter Syndrome, it’s usually 1 of 3 things causing that belief and we need you to ditch that feeling ASAP because you’re absolutely NOT an imposter! If this is you, go listen to an episode we released in May called 3 Mindset Shifts That You Need to be Successful When You Have Imposter Syndrome (it’s a pretty good one if I say so myself!)
So if your belief is “If I charge what I need to charge for birth photography, people won’t think it’s worth the price and I won’t get hired,” I want to challenge you with this final thought before we move onto the next belief:
Don’t you think it’s more important to find the people willing to pay your higher price, so you can continue to refine your skill, stay fresh and, motivated and continue to find more clients like THOSE? The ones who will happily pay your prices? They’re out there!
Belief #2: “If I talk to clients about money it will be awkward and they will notice my awkwardness and spend less money and/or not hire me.”
We addressed this earlier in the episode when we talked about if you think talking about money is going to be awkward, it will be awkward!
But why are YOU feeling awkward talking about money? That’s the real question here. I’d be willing to bet it’s because you’re talking to them about spending more money on photography than you yourself would be comfortable spending. Am I right?
I’m going to tell you something someone told me a long time ago that stuck with me (because I totally used to have this belief and still fight it sometimes). Here it is:
“It’s not my business how my client chooses to spend their money.”
I have (and you have) a skill. Something that I can do for them that they cannot do for themselves and THAT is valuable.
If it helps you, and it sure helped me, the next time you’re talking to a client about money, just imagine they recently received a $1 million inheritance and money is a non-issue. They just need to understand WHY they should spend that money with you. I don’t know if that’s the healthiest of all mindsets, but it’s sure helped me in big money conversations with clients!
Belief #3: “If I charge the same or more than a photographer who is better than me, I won’t get hired because the clients will just go hire the other photographer.”
I hear this one a lot and I definitely dealt with it in the beginning of my career.
I’m assuming the people asking this have the basics down: your galleries are consistent, you know how to shoot in manual, your clients know what they’re getting from you as far as your work goes. So, this belief is disguised as a money issue but it’s actually a worth issue.
Art is art. It’s subjective. The worth is in the eye of the beholder.
Let’s review that belief again: “If I charge the same or more than a photographer who is better than me, I won’t get hired because the clients will just go hire the other photographer.” That photographer being “better” than you is your perception. You’re perceving that photographer to be better than you and you’re assuming that everyone else has that perception and that might not be true.
Let’s take out the middle of the belief, “a photographer who is better than me,” it starts to look like a scarcity mindset of thinking that as long as there are other photographers out there, you won’t get hired, right?
Let me tell you something, I’ve never claimed to be the best photographer. I know what I’m doing, I know how to deliver a consistent gallery, but I am quite sure that there are “better” photographers out there my clients could’ve hired who probably charge less than me.
So why did my clients hire me?
- Did they connect with me on another level?
- Was it a glowing referral from a past client?
- Did they like that I had experience as a mom with VBAC or homebirth?
There are so many reasons someone might hire you in addition to the quality of your work. I think as artists, we put EVERYTHING into our work and see that 100% the reason why people are hiring us and that’s just not true. There are other reasons that people connect with and hire you.
Successful photographers and business owners think differently. We’re intentional with our thoughts and mindsets specifically around money.
Next Steps
Your next step is to create a plan for how to change your belief system around money by replacing these old beliefs with new ones that will help you succeed! If you’re a student inside Marketing School for Birth Photographers, check out module 1 for help with this.
I’d love to know your biggest take away from this episode! Shoot me a DM on IG and tell me what you learned and what you are going to implement!
If you’re enjoying this podcast, please hit SUBSCRIBE wherever you’re listening and thank you so much for leaving the show a review on iTunes! I read each and every one and it helps this podcast reach more people so thank you!
My friend, if you have a passion – it’s not an accident. Not everyone loves photography, or event planning, or real estate… whatever your passion is, it’s there for a REASON. What are you going to do with that passion? Get out there and make it happen! Have a great week y’all!
EPISODE ON IMPOSTER SYNDROME
Episode 44: 3 Mindset Shifts That You Need to be Successful When You Have Imposter Syndrome
MAKE MORE MONEY WITH PHOTOGRAPHY PODCAST SERIES
Episode 49: How to Create a High-Touch Experience for Your Clients to Get More Referrals
Episode 50: 6 Ways to Make Extra $2k-$3k in Your Photography Business in 30 Days
Episode 52: Why is Your Marketing Not Working? Listen Up If You Have No Idea What’s Wrong!
Episode 53: Simple Ways to Improve Your Money Mindset
Episode 54: How to Get Started with Paid Ads in 2021
THE BEAUTY IN BIRTH CERTIFICATION COURSE FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS
If you know that you are supposed to be a birth photographer, but you get tripped up with all the ‘what ifs’ that come along with photographing such a big day, The Beauty in Birth Certification Course for Birth Photographers is currently open for enrollment!
Inside the certification, you are going to learn:
- How to set up your business to become the go-to professional birth photographer
- To master your birth photography camera skills
- How to fearlessly conquer any lighting situation
- Confidently know when to arrive at the birth each and every time
- Learn how to craft stunning birth images
- Learn how to post-process images to give your clients the best results
PLUS, $2000-worth of bonuses including The Beauty in Birth’s Birth Photography Model Call Process so that you can book up to 5 photography clients in 30 days.
To know more about the course, go to certifiedbirthphotographer.com
QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, AND REVIEWS
Do you have a question? Submit it here: www.taviaredburn.com/ask and I might answer it on the podcast!
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