Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Empowered Coaching Sessions with Casey Louise Thornton
0 Plays2 seconds ago
Episode Summary:
In this episode, Elena Blair sits down with Casey Thornton, a motherhood photographer who successfully transitioned from a career in dental hygiene to a thriving, six-figure photography business in less than four years. Casey shares her journey of embracing a micro-niche in "intimate motherhood," the power of community over competition, and how she manages the delicate balance of growing a business while raising young children. Whether you are just starting out or looking to pivot into a more soulful, aligned business model, Casey’s story offers a roadmap for fast-tracking success through intuition, specialization, and mindset work.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
- The Transition: How Casey moved from a "safe" healthcare career she wasn't passionate about to a creative business she loves.
- Community as a Catalyst: Why joining a mastermind and finding photography "camaraderie" can collapse time and fast-track your success.
- The Power of Specialization: Why Casey decided to focus exclusively on moms with toddlers and babies to stand out in a crowded market.
- Mindset and Business: The role of meditation, intention setting, and overcoming limiting beliefs in scaling a business.
- Realities of "Career Mothering": Honest talk about breastfeeding, childcare boundaries, and the guilt associated with being a working mom.
- The Next Chapter: Casey’s journey into education, hosting in-person workshops, and her dreams of global photography retreats.
Links & Resources:
- Casey’s Website: photosbycaseylouise.com
- The Aligned Photographer Collective: Casey's upcoming educational platform
- Elena's Mastermind: Learn more about the programs Casey used to scale her business
Connect With Me:
- Follow me on Instagram
- Join my Facebook Community
- Visit my Website for More!
Subscribe & Review:
If you loved this episode, make sure to subscribe and leave a review! Your support helps the podcast reach more photographers like you. 💛
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Casey Thornton
00:00:01
Elena Blair
All right, empowered listeners, welcome back to another empowered coaching session. And today I am excited to have Casey Thornton, who is a local photographer in my area. I guess you don't actually live in Seattle, but I think that you work with a lot of Seattle families and Casey specializes in motherhood, intimate motherhood photography.
Casey's Career Shift to Photography
00:00:21
Elena Blair
And she and I met, I'd like to tell everyone the story of how I met my students because i feel like I have a little story for everyone, um at a local studio monthly meetup. And I was speaking about newborn photography, I believe.
00:00:34
Elena Blair
i don't even remember. i've but I've done a couple talks there. And she was asking all of these questions. She was green in her business, like brand new. And I went up to her after and I said, you remind me a lot of me at your age because she does. I'm, you know, I have kids that are grown up. She's got, you know had a baby and was starting a business and was working as a dental hygienist at the time. And I was like, you remind me of me and I think I can help you. And I literally like solicited her for my mastermind because I really believed that I could help her. And cut to she took level one. She has taken level two um because she's embarking on the educator journey. And I was right. I could help her. And I've been very proud and excited to see your growth.
00:01:17
Elena Blair
And um so I want you to just go on in with your story a little bit, Casey. Tell everyone a little bit more about you and um where you are now.
Finding Passion in Photography
00:01:26
Casey
Yeah, sure. Thank you so much for having me. And I remember very clearly when I met you at the studio meetup, you were there at that time, you had your youngest with you on the couch and you were there and you were doing just like an open Q and a which was amazing.
00:01:38
Elena Blair
Oh, yeah.
00:01:43
Casey
and it was my first time attending one of those meetups as well. And I just thought you're such a wealth of information. I did. I asked you so many questions I remember. And I also remember just seeing you there like with your young child older than mine, but still young and thinking like, wow, whatever she's doing, that's what I want to figure out.
00:02:03
Casey
um And you did, you were incredibly helpful. And at the time I was a dental hygienist. So back in eighth grade, I decided I was going to go into dental hygiene. It was either nursing or dental.
00:02:14
Casey
And I decided the nurse for teeth instead. because it was like a safe career. You know, it made a good amount of money. And most importantly, I knew it was a flexible career that would allow me to spend a lot of time with my children because I actually always really wanted to be a stay-at-home mom.
00:02:30
Casey
And, but knowing, you know, living that, knowing that we live in the greater Seattle area, a lot of times we have to bring in a little bit of extra income. So I wanted something that brought in a good amount on a flexible schedule.
00:02:43
Casey
And I really love caring for people like that, that aspect of healthcare care was really personal to me. And um so yeah, so I became a dental hygienist. I worked incredibly hard to become one. It's extremely competitive.
00:02:57
Casey
And then I realized that I did not love it. I really was not passionate about it. I would count down the minutes, the hours until lunchtime or until it was time to go home. And it really ended up being something that I was there to make money and leave.
Community Support and Mentorship
00:03:14
Casey
And especially working in healthcare, care like that's not what you, that's not what you want to do, right? and You never want to just be there to make money and go home. So I had my first daughter and it was pandemic. And I really thought to myself, like,
00:03:29
Casey
what, what am I going to do? And I was passionate about traveling, photography and breastfeeding and traveling was out the window at the time because of the pandemic. And I wasn't ready to go back to school at a time for lactation education. It's like, I'm going to give it a go.
00:03:46
Casey
with this photography thing and it worked really well. And I feel like because of community, things lined up for me really quickly. I feel so thankful, you know, that I found that studio that does their monthly community meetups and just like a wealth of that. And then right away, the first time I attended was you speaking. And then I got into connection with you and joined your mastermind, which is just like the most incredible supportive community of photographers. And that's just really been a huge catalyst for
00:04:19
Casey
You know, i I know lots of people say like, there's no quick route to success or there's no like success overnight or anything like that. And i have worked my ass off.
00:04:29
Casey
I hope it's okay to swear justlet a little bit on you.
00:04:31
Elena Blair
Yeah, yeah, of course.
00:04:31
Casey
I worked so, so super hard through starting my business when my daughter was one. Now I have a second baby and it's been less than four years, you know, to get where I am now. But it it's been such a short road to success for me.
00:04:48
Casey
because of the community that I found, because of the photographers and for you for mentoring me and doing things the right way from the start. So yeah, now I have a thriving, profitable photography business that's very deeply aligned for me and the intimate motherhood space that i love and I'm passionate about.
00:04:57
Elena Blair
Mm-hmm.
00:05:07
Casey
it And I have to remind myself to like clock off to spend time with my family and yeah.
00:05:13
Elena Blair
Yeah, because you love it.
00:05:15
Casey
And now helping other photographers do the same.
00:05:17
Elena Blair
What you ah one thing that I want to um touch on and maybe focus a little bit on that you said that I think that a lot of people don't realize how valuable it is, is community. And if you're new to me and you're this is the first episode you've ever listened to community over competition, I always say it is a business model for me. And um if you're not new to me, you'll hear me say it till I'm blue in the face. But it's ah the mastermind.
00:05:47
Elena Blair
i wish I was the best part
Balancing Family and Photography Career
00:05:49
Elena Blair
of it. i I know that I have a lot of knowledge and experience to share and that I can now because I've helped hundreds of people do it, go from where they are to where they want to be. And that looks different for everyone, by the way.
00:06:00
Elena Blair
But the community aspect is so valuable. And you were a hygienist. I used to be a registered nurse. So that was the other part of her that I saw in me. I was like, oh, I know exactly what you're doing right now. I remember what it felt like to like have those shifts and be growing your business and have a baby at home. That's literally exactly what I did. i started my business when my second, who is going to be 16 this year, was a newborn. That was when I launched my business. And, um,
00:06:28
Elena Blair
you're all of the sudden working by yourself, all of the sudden you're you're kind of figuring it out as you go. There's the internet now. So you do have, you know, the online space or whatever, but you don't have that camaraderie that you get when you are a dental hygienist or a nurse. Like I, that was one thing I really missed.
00:06:43
Elena Blair
Like being a nurse, I had my, my nursing colleagues that I saw and we talked and we met and whatever, you know, you had that camaraderie where you didn't have that as a, as a photographer. Yeah. And so I went out seeking it for myself. And when I became an educator, i really was like, I'm going to create this community for people because our industry does actually, unless you get into my community or others like it, it it can be a little bit um ah competitive and a little bit cutthroat and people will hold back information and they're afraid going to take their clients. And it's like, it's none of that is true. That's all just like such lack of mentality. It really isn't true. But I wanted to create that community, that space because
00:07:21
Elena Blair
people do thrive and have faster success when they engage in community. And it's also because when you engage in community or you hire a mentor, you're going to collapse time because you are going to be able to learn from these people's mistakes. You're going to be able to learn from their wins. You're going to be able to take some of the things that they're doing and implement them in a way that works for you. And that will fast track your success. It really will. The other thing that you did, since I've had a front row seat to your success, which I'm honored to even have be able to say that is that you were in the beginning
00:07:58
Elena Blair
not afraid. Well, you you had a little hesitation about it, but once you decided to go all in, you weren't afraid to specialize. And um i if I remember us having a conversation, maybe it was in our one-on-one where you're like, I think I just want to specialize in motherhood, intimate motherhood. And if you aren't following Casey, we're going to link all of her stuff. She has a very distinct standout style.
00:08:21
Elena Blair
It's she you're incorrect. If I'm wrong, her genre is moms with like toddlers and below. She doesn't really go out of that. She stays very, very micro focused. And I do believe that when people are very clear on what they do, things happen faster because you're able to really set yourself apart and and be able to call in the right people who need what it is that you're offering. And you were a you were um brave enough to do that in the beginning where a lot of people, myself included, it took me a couple of years to like weed out all the other stuff. A lot of people will...
00:08:58
Elena Blair
Well, I want I just need to make money on this. So I'm going to take every type of genre, do all this stuff. And that really just muddies your brand and and your earning ability, honestly. But so for some people, that's their journey and they got to do that. But you were able to really do that. And I think that that made a big difference. Do you agree with me?
00:09:13
Casey
Yeah, absolutely. And I think I just was able to listen to what felt really good right away. And I am thankful that, you know, I had dental hygiene. It wasn't like I was in a hurry because i didn't want to do dental hygiene anymore.
00:09:28
Casey
But it wasn't like I didn't have it to fall back on at the same time, right? So I could lean into it faster, take a little bit of time. But I think, like you said, because I did that, it didn't actually take so much time. If anything, it kind of sped it up for me.
00:09:43
Casey
But listening to to my intuition when it was like, oh, I went and did a session and that that felt really good. I want more of that. I'm excited about these images. I enjoyed that experience versus like, okay,
00:09:56
Casey
Well, I took some headshots, got some money. Not really, like that wasn't the experience that I wanted.
00:10:00
Elena Blair
Mm-hmm.
00:10:02
Casey
That was like going and doing a job, which is exactly what I was trying to get away from. So anytime it felt like I was going to do a job, I went away from that.
00:10:13
Casey
And anytime it felt like this is time is disappearing, this is exciting, this is aligned. I went more towards that just all the way.
00:10:24
Elena Blair
Love, love, love, love. This is one of the things that in in the Mastermind that we we, the very beginning, we spend a lot of time on this on this piece and there's a lot of ah soul searching involved in that part. And you...
00:10:41
Elena Blair
We're able to listen to that voice. Most of us, I was actually i could I could guarantee that every person who becomes a photographer gets into it for something that is passion driven, something that is something that is heartfelt, something that, you know, this is an art form. You are an artist. This is something that is coming from within you. But what happens to a lot of people Is now they're doing it to make money and it becomes a job. And that you said it exactly. And by the way, one thing I want to make really clear, sometimes it is a job. OK, there are definitely times when you're like, wow, I am like grinding right now and it doesn't feel you know like wine and roses every day. That happens. This is a job. It happens. But for the most part, though, most of us know inside if we do the right soul searching, what we want to be creating. But a lot of people, ah when they start taking money for it, that that kind of muddies their their vision because They're just wanting to make it work from a financial standpoint. But the truth is, is that when you align your why really, really well with what you're doing, it becomes easy. It really does. And i a lot of people take some longer than it did you to get to that point. But for the most part, when that realization is made and that clarity is found, big things change. You start attracting the right people who don't question your prices. You start... um
00:12:02
Elena Blair
Marketing becomes easy because you're not you're you're not making anything up. You're really just sharing the heart and soul of your business with the right people who could benefit from that. But um it takes a little bravery.
00:12:13
Elena Blair
and i But I think what you said, and i and I want anyone who's listening to really take this to heart, if you're doing something, you're like, that felt like a job. or if you're doing And then the next shoot that you do, you're like, wow, that felt amazing.
00:12:24
Elena Blair
Listen to that. That's like that's your secret sauce right there.
00:12:29
Casey
Yeah.
00:12:29
Elena Blair
That is your secret sauce. um that's i love i love that i love that about you because it was very clear to me that that was a big reason why you had such fast success in in the industry would you and you agree with me on that that that was probably
00:12:46
Casey
Definitely. And one thing I wanted to mention for sure is that like, I was drawn to like, yes, you definitely, you know, reached out to me. And I was like, she says this to all the girls, like she's trying to swoon me into her mastermind. But um what really drew me into like taking the leap and joining your mastermind, the level one was because i am really into like,
00:13:11
Casey
in a broader sense, like the woo-woo stuff, right? The law of attraction, alignment, like listening to your intuition, getting clear, like your why things like that. And I felt like I found you in a time where my life was really transitioning from like what I thought it was going versus like, what do i want it to be? Like, what am I becoming as a mother, as like an entrepreneur?
00:13:35
Casey
It was like a big shift in my life. and you, you know, shared that like you start with meditation, you start with intention setting, you get really clear on your why marketing
Mindset and Personal Development in Business
00:13:46
Casey
from like a place of, um,
00:13:47
Elena Blair
Thank you.
00:13:51
Casey
can't think of the words, right? But it's like when marketing is easy because it's just authentic and it's from what you actually care, like helping people, reaching the right people who are trying to find you, all of that stuff is where I was like, this is great. This is going to be a weekly reminder for me as I'm building my business. And as I go through all of these things to not get distracted or carried away with the task list of things that need to be done or the imposter syndrome of seeing all these other photographers as I entered this world.
00:14:19
Casey
that was a huge part of your mastermind that I was really attracted to. And in the end feel like was incredibly beneficial.
00:14:27
Elena Blair
yeah Yeah. And, you know, i I don't forwardly speak about that enough. i don't know why, actually, about the about the mindset piece, but I think it's because I feel like everyone is talking about it all the time.
00:14:38
Elena Blair
You know, like it's become ah very loud on the Internet where, people you know, it.
00:14:44
Casey
a fad right now. Yeah.
00:14:45
Elena Blair
Yeah, it's but but it's but it's not been a fad for me. It's always been a thing. I think most successful people, and I know successful people in lots of different industries, all of the successful people that I know in any industry have a very clear wellness and personal development path. That was that was part of of why they're successful. like You can strategize your way to anything, but if you don't work on...
00:15:13
Elena Blair
ah your internal dialogue, your limiting factors, the things that are getting in the way of your within your subconscious, you will always hit your own ceiling, you'll create your own ceiling. But when you simultaneously work on the strategy and the mindset part, things really change. And that is a big part of the mastermind that Casey is mentioning. I start almost every meeting with um whether it be a little meditation, visualization, mindfulness, and we do full meetings on taking up space, money mindset, um you know really feeling like you're deserving of of this life that you're calling in. And I think that that is that's probably one of the things that makes my program different than one that's just strategy-based, but it's I don't believe that the two can exist separately. that there are and Some of you who are listening to this have probably
00:16:04
Elena Blair
downloaded somebody's marketing strategy, downloaded somebody's business plan that we all put it out there step by step, follow this. And you're like, why isn't it working? Like I actually will see people in the Facebook group that I'm like, everyone's giving them their giving them advice and they're so frustrated. They're like, it's not working. It'll never work for me. And the missing link is probably two things that Casey and I are talking about here.
00:16:28
Elena Blair
Lack of clarity. though they don't really know what they want to do. They don't really have that vision that hasn't been solidified yet. And the next piece is that they haven't worked on their mindset. And you really like Casey and i live in the same town. We both have six figure, multiple six figure businesses like there's plenty of business for everybody.
00:16:47
Elena Blair
But if you don't work on your mindset, you don't believe in yourself, you're constantly comparing yourself, you're worried about underpriced competition, all of the things it won't work. You have to really figure that stuff out on a personal level. You can't just copy somebody's business plan.
00:17:03
Elena Blair
It won't work for you unless you have worked on all of those other things. And it's a practice, by the way, you have to work on it forever.
00:17:07
Casey
Yeah.
00:17:09
Elena Blair
Like I will feel great and things are going amazing. And then I don't know, something comes in and my confidence goes to the toilet and I got to like back it up and I got to get back into my practice. So it's, it's forever.
00:17:20
Casey
Yeah. And it was something that I, I probably been aware of it, you know, just mindfulness and mindset practices and all of that since probably high school, I think is when I was probably introduced to it.
00:17:35
Casey
And then, like you said, but it's a practice. It's an everyday thing. And I think when at a time of the mastermind, for me, it was like I had become so overwhelmed with early motherhood myself and all of these life changes that I think I had fallen out of practice and I knew that I wanted to get back into it And so I don't know how I heard about that being a big part of your mastermind, but somehow I heard about it.
00:17:58
Elena Blair
Oh, I talk about it in the interview. i probably told you about it when we did the interview, but I don't talk about it like I should more.
00:18:00
Casey
Okay. Okay.
00:18:04
Elena Blair
i i i don't like give like mindset advice, I guess, like on social media. You know, like that's I talk more about the transformation and then I'm like, OK, we're going to get you there, but we're going to have to do some meditating and in order to get there.
00:18:09
Casey
Yeah.
00:18:15
Casey
But it was great for me. but For me, it was something that was like, good, this is, this is going to be an accountability for that type of work as well, which I knew that I needed alongside the business. So.
00:18:26
Elena Blair
One thing I think that you and I could talk about that I know that listeners would um really love to hear, um and you mentioned it, that you saw me bring my daughter with me to that talk. She was nine, I believe, at the time, probably, maybe eight.
00:18:41
Elena Blair
She might have been eight. She's 11 now, so it was a couple years ago, two or three years ago.
00:18:45
Casey
Yeah.
00:18:46
Elena Blair
um is that I have very much grown my business alongside my babies. my and My passion for photography started because I was taking pictures of my son, who's 18, and I launched my business that when Fina was like two months old, so 16 years ago. Crazy. She's not 16 yet. She'll be 16 in July, but it was the fall after she was born that I launched my business and have very much grown it right in their kitchen.
00:19:14
Elena Blair
Like they so they have seen me. I actually, I'm in my college daughter's bedroom. I made it into like a temporary office. My my daughter that's still here is like, that's so messed up that you turned her room into an office.
00:19:25
Elena Blair
I'm like, I'll move out when she comes home for the summer.
00:19:26
Casey
Thank
00:19:27
Elena Blair
But but um the funny thing is about that, the reason I'm mentioning that is that my my girls, Both said they miss me working at the dining room. They're like, we don't like they we don't they don't like that I'm up here with the door closed because they there until like October, like literally until this year, I have never had an office. I just work in the dining room. And I think that they have seen me grow a business right alongside them, growing them.
00:19:55
Elena Blair
And they know very much about what I do. And I think that they're very proud of me. And that's why I brought Marlo with me to that talk. um ah It was a summer evening and I don't work. I don't do a lot of shoots in the summer, or all of July. I don't do any shoots anyway.
00:20:09
Elena Blair
And so she wanted to come. And so I brought her with me and she sat there quietly and listened or whatever. And I think that i'm they there is something to be said for kids seeing moms working. And I think that we we talked about this at the retreat couple of weeks ago. There's a lot of guilt about it for us sometimes. Those of us that are like, I mean, I breastfed everyone until they were three. They slept in my bed until they were three. Like I'm very much an attachment parent, but I'm also very much a career mom.
00:20:34
Elena Blair
And um so you're you're you're me 10 years ago or whatever. you're I think your little one, your oldest is five. Is she five?
00:20:41
Casey
Almost so close.
00:20:42
Elena Blair
must Yeah.
00:20:43
Casey
Yeah.
00:20:44
Elena Blair
So I did it, what you're doing 10 years ago. And I want you to to share a little bit about what that feels like in the early. i i mean, I can remember it very clearly, but I have pictures of like my laptop and a sleeping baby.
00:20:55
Casey
Wow.
00:20:57
Elena Blair
You know, i I definitely grew it with them. So how does that how does that feel for you? How is that working out for you?
00:21:04
Casey
It has been constant adjustment, I think, right as my kids grow, they need different things for me. But same, you know, like gay birth at home, breastfeeding, like all the things being at home with them. Like I mentioned before, i always wanted to be a stay at home mom. And then it was like, Oh, well I have to go make some money. And then it was like, Oh, well I love what I do now. And I'm very passionate about this. And this is for me, but I still want to be with my kids all the time. And like, I know that I've texted you at different moments being like, how do I do, you know, both things. I don't even know what I've said, but
00:21:42
Casey
you know, and you've encouraged to seek additional childcare. And for me, it's hard. It's been hard at times. Right. And I'm sure you probably also felt this. And i love when you kind of remind me the positives of them seeing me work and,
00:21:58
Casey
doing, doing this business, pursuing it. But it's sometimes it's like, I know how sacred this time in their lives is. And they're so young for such a short period of time, like next September, not even a year from now, she's going to be at school five days a week, all day long. I cannot even imagine this, right? Like she's been with me all the time. Just until this last year, it was like, okay, she's just going to daycare or what is it? Preschool like three days a week, just three and a half hours.
00:22:32
Casey
We've been really fortunate with family and when with my husband, alternating schedules where it's really just like tag teaming, like, okay, now you're with Noni or now you're with your dad and I'm going to work. But then most of the time I'm working from home. So they still have access to me. and I feel like it's been overwhelming. Like it's been overwhelming at times. There's times where I think, okay, first of all, right now i am hiding in our guest bedroom.
00:22:57
Elena Blair
Yeah.
00:22:58
Casey
told her that I've left for a coffee shop and I hope she doesn't hear me because my children, they're like super attached to me too, where like they want all of my attention hundred percent of the time. So that's where it becomes very challenging to me where it's like, gosh, sometimes would it be easier if I just left and went to work and then came home and was fully present. But I know we've talked about, you know, even at the retreat setting boundaries around that, right? Like my computer does not follow me throughout the house. I have a separate work phone that lives at my desk, right? So when I am clocked off,
00:23:34
Casey
I can be fully present aside from the household responsibilities. um But even when I'm like clocked in my children, because they physically can access me, really want that and will like demand
00:23:39
Elena Blair
Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Growth and Future Expansion
00:23:50
Casey
it.
00:23:50
Casey
um And so that's where it's been more challenging for me at times. And I have just recently, literally just in December, finally did invest in some additional like consistent paid childcare.
00:24:04
Casey
Again, it's still very minimal. It's like twice a week, like four. So it's like eight hours a week. It's like four hours on Monday, four hours on Thursday.
00:24:09
Elena Blair
Yeah.
00:24:11
Casey
i still can take my daughter to and from preschool. i can still breastfeed my son and lay him down for his naps. um But at least it's like some additional help.
00:24:22
Casey
But that's been hard for me. It's been really hard to It feels like I'm choosing the time with them during this young age or time for myself and my business at times.
00:24:35
Casey
And then I have to remind myself or you remind me that
00:24:35
Elena Blair
yeah
00:24:39
Casey
it It's both. right And then at the end of the day, the very end of the day, i always think to myself, well, what would i would I rather do anything else? Absolutely not. And I'm so lucky that I'm not leaving i'm not leaving five days a week, nine, 10 hours a day to go do a job that I don't even love.
00:24:49
Elena Blair
Yeah.
00:24:57
Casey
you know like there There is no better situation that I could imagine for this time in my life or running my business. But that doesn't mean that it's always easy either.
00:25:07
Elena Blair
I think one one thing you know that helped me or that i i or at least that I know was true was my growth has been organic and steady.
00:25:21
Elena Blair
I didn't ever, you know it took me a couple years to get to six figures and then you know going going from there and and adding things and all of the, ah my my business is multifaceted. But I think that The way that i saw it, it was, some you can't, there's a there's a phrase, you can have it all, but you can't have it all at the same time.
00:25:43
Elena Blair
And sometimes you'll have seasons where you just have to realize, okay, my business is doing fine and it maybe isn't going to have a major acceleration this this season because I'm focusing more on my kids.
00:25:56
Elena Blair
They're little still. and my My business did take off a lot more I was
00:25:57
Casey
I'm
00:26:02
Casey
so sorry. I'm so sorry. That be silenced.
00:26:07
Elena Blair
and but it went It took off a lot more, ah ironically, when I got divorced because all of the sudden i had 50% it wasn't quite. they He had them 20% of the time or something at the beginning, but I had ah ah i had more time. And um that was also, I did co-op preschool with everybody and did, I just did a podcast episode on this. Actually, everyone, if you're listening, it's going to be two episodes before this one. We haven't launched it yet currently, but by the time this is out, um I talked about this because it was, so when Fina, when my 16 year old was a newborn, I did not have any help for about 18 months. And when she turned 18 months, so my second kid and my business was 18 months old.
00:26:50
Elena Blair
I was like, something has to happen here. Like I'm work. I was still working a little bit as a nurse. I was still working like 24 hours a week as a nurse. I was growing this business. It was really taking off. my My ex-husband worked quite a bit and I was like, I need more help. And it felt for us, it actually was more of like, can we afford it?
00:27:07
Elena Blair
Because like Seattle is a very expensive place to live. Everybody, if you're listening to us, it's it's actually silly. Sometimes I'm like like, it's actually ridiculous. Like what it costs to live here, gas, groceries, whatever. It's always been that way. And so for us, it was a but it wasn't ah even less about guilt for me because I really knew I could always be present enough. It was like, can we afford...
00:27:30
Elena Blair
childcare because childcare is very expensive.
00:27:32
Casey
Yeah.
00:27:32
Elena Blair
And so when she was about 18 months old, I started with about four hours a week. In addition to the co-op that my older son was at, I was like, okay, if I can have somebody pick him up, you know, watch her pick him up. and then I get a full four or five hours, ah two days a week or whatever that'll work. And so I started with like four hours a week and then went to eight hours. And I think the most I ever had, her name was Jenny. She was like part of our family. Um, the most I ever had was probably 12 hours a week. But when, um,
00:27:58
Elena Blair
Marlo was four, I put her in real preschool. And that was the first time I had ever put one of my like non-school age kids into like a preschool. And so she would then at that point, she started going to school like eight to three, just like the other kids.
00:28:12
Elena Blair
And that was when I was like, wow, I have five days a week to just like work.
00:28:16
Casey
Yeah.
00:28:17
Elena Blair
And things did change. Things got I was able to like do a lot more during with that. And ah my point of this whole long story is that when they're a little, it's OK if you can't where if you're you know, like this. If your career isn't like skyrocketing because you're spending more time with their kids, that's that's time well spent. There will be a time when you can put more time into school. the business and and grow it. And that's why when if you're watch if you're listening to this and you are online and you see some young photographer with no kids talking about how she's making a million dollars a year, well, it's probably because she doesn't she's not spending time with she doesn't have kids that she has to worry about. so it's definitely a balancing act. um
00:28:54
Elena Blair
And you just have to know that in good time that they will be a little bit older and you'll have more time to do those things. It just comes with time. it just comes with time.
00:29:05
Casey
The ambitious part of me sometimes has to remember that, you know?
00:29:11
Elena Blair
definite Yeah, unless you're going to have more childcare, that's not something you want to sacrifice. There are only so many hours a day. but Another thing for me too, um i never have been the person that like works late into the night.
00:29:19
Casey
Me
00:29:26
Casey
neither.
00:29:26
Elena Blair
Even in college, like I didn't like stay up all night in nursing school studying or whatever.
00:29:26
Casey
I can't.
00:29:30
Elena Blair
So I've never been one to like work after they go to bed really once in a while if I really had a lot of editing or whatever back in the early days, but I've never done that. So I just, um you just have to find what works and trust the process, you know, it's.
00:29:43
Casey
Yeah, definitely.
00:29:43
Elena Blair
You have to trust the process. It's it's challenging, but most, a lot of, I shouldn't say most, but a lot of photographers who start because they're moms will deal with that pull of like, where should I be spending my time?
00:29:57
Casey
And you there's that saying of like, choose your heart, right? And so that's what I end up coming back to.
00:30:01
Elena Blair
Yes.
00:30:03
Casey
It's like, well, I would choose this heart over any other kind, so.
00:30:06
Elena Blair
Yes. That was how I felt too. I mean, when I was a nurse, I would i worked 12-hour shifts. And so I was gone for 14 or 16 hours. like you It's not just 12 hours that you're gone. I would miss their entire day. And that never happens as a photographer. like And I think that that actually might be why i don't feel bad if I have to leave for four hours because I used to have to leave for 12. So it didn't it just never felt the same. It never felt as intense.
00:30:33
Elena Blair
But yeah, it's challenging. You'll get through it. They're there're still so little. Your baby is like a year old. Like it's going to, it
Casey's Journey into Photography Education
00:30:41
Elena Blair
takes time. So and another thing that Casey is embarking on and she and she mentioned it. So we should I think we could talk about it. She did my level two mastermind, which is about education, which is actually now a course. I turned it into a course. We have 20 people going through it right now and it's going really well. i like I'm actually really liking that structure of it. So if that's something that you want to explore, I can link that in the show notes. But um tell me about your journey for, because when you start an education platform, it is a whole other business.
00:31:11
Elena Blair
It really is. So that's why I always really recommend having a very stable photography business before you embark on the education side or your photography business will suffer because you have to you have to give its this is the time thing again. It's going to take time. So tell me about that journey and how that's going for you.
00:31:28
Casey
Definitely. So, you know, after saying that I wanted to be a stay at home mom and not work at all, and then decided to start my own business, then I decided to start a second business and do even more, you know, like I mentioned, the ambitious side of me, but I've always been someone who really likes to share, like share my experiences. um I'm really like an open, and honest book about anything that I've experienced in life, if it can help anybody in any other type of way. So And like throughout my life history, I've done that and sought that out. So when it came to photography and things did go so well, so quickly, you know, relatively just in a couple of years, I knew that the next natural step was for me to share and help other people do the same.
00:32:18
Casey
And so it was fitting when, ah of course, when you were like, having your level two mastermind, and I already seen your level one, I very much wanted to learn from you on how to go down that path as well.
00:32:30
Casey
And I will definitely say like the education side of things has been a slower burn for me. And I'm sure that part of that is because I'm so relatively new to the field in general. I don't have like, you know, 10, 15 years behind me of like,
00:32:48
Elena Blair
Thank you.
00:32:48
Casey
um maybe not as much experience for sure, but also just people in my and community, right? Who are like looking to me, seeking out education naturally. So, and another part of that is also sharing or trying to figure out just like I niched down in photography, wanting to find, you know, my zone of genius or expertise in education, because,
00:33:14
Casey
I've done all the things to like build a business and I specialize in a certain amount of sessions. But with all of that information, you know, what am I going to be the best at talking about or sharing or speaking on you know, i might know things about SEO, but I will always direct people to Mary Beth.
00:33:36
Casey
I might know things about, you know, general setup of business, but same thing. So I think that's where it's been slower for me to kind of navigate. So one thing that i knew that I wanted to do right off the bat was in-person events. So I mentioned before travel is my other like really great passion. And so someday, I think I just messaged you that someday what I really want is to um host photography retreats all around the world. Like if I could combine travel and photography, that would be ideal for me. And so hosting photography retreats around the world someday would be amazing, but of course I want to start local. So I started when I was in your level two mastermind.
00:34:19
Casey
by hosting my first like in-person all day workshop.
00:34:19
Elena Blair
you
00:34:22
Casey
And it was, hi puppy. It was centered around motherhood photography, of course. And, um, I've since then hosted two full day in-person workshops and one golden hour workshop.
00:34:37
Casey
And then I'm actually hosting my third in-person full day workshop this upcoming weekend. Um, And i want to be hosting retreats. I also back in July started doing one-on-one personalized mentorships.
00:34:51
Casey
And so I just take three people at a time and That's been something where it was nice to have more like the personal one-on-one make progress in real time together, which I'm really enjoying and loving. But then I have these guides that I created. There's a maternity session guide, a newborn session guide. And I think that's what I want to ask you about too is I have these and I put them out in the world, but then I didn't really do anything with them.
00:35:17
Casey
And so he anyways, I think in general, it's just me still trying to navigate what, how can I best serve the photography community as an educator. Like I want to make sure I'm actually helping people actually making a difference, you know, and helping people grow. And I think for me, a big thing is, of course, helping photographers, especially mothers grow these aligned profitable businesses without having to sacrifice their values. So that's kind of what I'm leaning into now, because of course it's personally relatable, you know, to what I've gone through.
00:35:53
Casey
And yeah, I love the in-person community touch points, retreats and workshops, but it's pretty important trying to navigate them.
00:35:58
Elena Blair
Yeah, I mean, if you're asking, if you're asking what I think you should do.
00:36:03
Casey
yeah
00:36:04
Elena Blair
so with So as an educator and as having been doing it for, i actually can never, when I think about how long it's been, I'm like, I was very, so again, you remind me a lot of me because I had i started my photography business in 2010.
00:36:19
Elena Blair
And I became an educator in 2012. And it was sort of by chance, you know, somebody asked me, a big company asked me to write, ah they called them breakout sessions, but like an e-book for them. And I was like, me? Like, I don't even know what I'm talking about. like but But there's a little bit of luck in success, I think. And I was doing family photography in a way that was successful.
00:36:39
Elena Blair
very mainstream. Everyone's a lifestyle photographer now. We didn't even call it that then, though. It was like natural light, candid family photography, right?
00:36:44
Casey
Mm-hmm.
00:36:47
Elena Blair
On location is what those were kind of the words we were using. Now it has a genre. It's it's but that's how old I am. It literally didn't exist. Like people didn't call it lifestyle in those days. And um anyway, cut to i i feel like there was a lot of trial and error for me as well in the beginning, figuring out how I wanted to deliver things, figuring out how I wanted to host.
00:37:09
Elena Blair
um A memory came up when well when we were doing that. Everyone was doing the 2016 recaps, I realized that I hosted my first in-person workshop in 2016, similar to what you're talking about, like a one day, 10 people, you know, in-person workshop about family and newborn photography.
00:37:16
Casey
Yes.
00:37:29
Elena Blair
So all that to be said is that I think that just like with your photography business as an educator, you're in what I would call the discovery phase where you're really just trying to figure out what makes the most sense. But really what's happening is that you're growing your credibility as an expert. And sometimes that takes just different modalities of teaching, which you're doing in person, online. As far as those opt-ins that you have, that's what she her downloads. She called them downloads, but they're called opt-ins.
00:37:55
Elena Blair
what What that's doing is validating for you that people are interested in this area of expertise that you have, which is motherhood photography. And I see your your downloads, like shower sessions, breastfeeding, all of that. like They make sense.
00:38:08
Elena Blair
For now, until you build a if you're going to build an online class, use that as a very warm audience to continue
Building an Online Presence and Educational Content
00:38:15
Elena Blair
to nurture. So I would email them somewhat regularly, keep them engaged, so that when you do, if you do create something online, you already have that engaged audience to launch to. And I would say for you with your time constraint, like online education would be very profitable and beneficial for you, but you do have to create it, you have to write the class, but that would be something that people would buy and it takes no time from you after you've created it. and So it would be smart to do that.
00:38:42
Elena Blair
But the in-person stuff is amazing. It's very hard for in-person to be very profitable, though. it just is I mean, we were just going over the numbers from the retreat, and it's like the hidden costs that come up are insane.
00:38:53
Elena Blair
Like, I'm like, what is this? And where did this come from? And even though we are very organized, we've got a bookkeeper, I got a team helping me, where we have a contact and stuff still. I mean, it was a lot it's much larger than just five or 10 people.
00:39:04
Casey
Yeah.
00:39:05
Elena Blair
But in-person stuff is always like that. It adds up. It's good for credibility, not great for profitability. So I would say that if you don't have something online to sell, i would make it a goal to do that because that will be, you can scale that. You can scale that a lot faster.
00:39:23
Elena Blair
And you have these mentees that you've worked with. Now, you know, that's the what of doing small one-on-one mentoring or small group mentoring it makes you money in the in the interim, but it also gives you such valuable feedback on what people really need. You're able to really meet them where they are. Because we kind of think that this is what they want, but I'm sorry, I forget this is going to be a podcast, not a video for most people. I'm holding my hand up. We think people want to be at point B, and but they...
00:39:51
Elena Blair
They don't know how to get there and you don't really know where they are until you start working with them. And then you realize, okay, these are the things that they're asking me about. Maybe it is about balancing motherhood and and the photography business. Maybe it's more about profitability. Maybe it's more about marketing. You'll learn that when you're working one-on-one with people and then you're able to kind of craft something that is scalable, like a class that will meet more needs based on that information that you're getting.
00:40:18
Elena Blair
So and that one-on-one mentoring is really great for that.
00:40:18
Casey
Yeah.
00:40:21
Casey
That's been really fulfilling. I've really enjoyed doing that.
00:40:25
Elena Blair
you're You're getting there though. it's all It's all solidifying.
00:40:27
Casey
I
00:40:27
Elena Blair
It's all coming together. And I think people do think of you as an expert in motherhood photography. I really do. Or at least it would it would appear that way in our in the communities at large.
00:40:37
Casey
hope so Yeah, I definitely want to be I want to be helpful. Like I want to share my knowledge and my experience to help other people also, you know, have a,
00:40:49
Casey
have a fulfilling career and business and do something that they love.
00:40:52
Elena Blair
Yeah, good. I know you do. I love that about you. And that's in if you're listening and hearing like what she and I are saying is it's so true that if if you feel that photography is your ticket to whatever the next thing is in your life, whether it be financial success, schedule freedom, or just plain fulfillment, listen to that.
00:41:14
Elena Blair
Listen to that little voice because that is the reason I started and that's the reason you started. i was like, there's got to be more then leaving my kids for 12 hours at a time, making barely enough what it seemed to survive. Like, unfortunately, nurses and dental hygienists are underpaid and work their butts off.
00:41:36
Casey
Yeah.
00:41:36
Elena Blair
And um I just had a feeling there was more. And I and i listened to that. And there was. Spoiler alert. The water is warm. Like jump on in. Like there's there is more if this is something that you think you want to do for sure.
00:41:49
Casey
yeah
00:41:51
Elena Blair
Well, Casey, how can people find you?
00:41:55
Casey
Right now, you can find me photosbycaseylouise.com or on my Instagram photography. It's kind of long photography underscore by underscore Casey Louise. think that was all that was available. And I'm in the process of building my educational website. It is there, but it's under construction called Aligned Photographer Collective.
00:42:16
Casey
So that will be moving forward how people can find me and connect with the photography community that I'm hoping to build.
00:42:23
Elena Blair
Cool. And I think you should definitely build an online course so that the people who are listening who want to learn about motherhood photography can access that.
00:42:31
Casey
Yes, definitely.
00:42:32
Elena Blair
I'm going to put that to the universe.
00:42:33
Casey
On my list.
00:42:34
Elena Blair
I'm going to put that out there. And you already have the validation for that. If people are downloading your downloads, your opt-ins, that's like such a, in the current class I'm teaching right now, I'm like, your opt-ins are serving them and they're valuable for the people that are downloading, but it's also like such validation for you.
00:42:53
Elena Blair
Okay. People want knowledge about this.
00:42:56
Casey
Mm-hmm.
00:42:56
Elena Blair
People want to learn about this. I can provide that for them now. Now I will build that for them, what they need and what they want. So it's very validating. Yeah.
00:43:07
Elena Blair
All right, Casey. Well, thank you for talking to me today She is a rising star. You'll be seeing her speaking at events, I'm sure, and teaching classes and all of the things. I'll be retired and she'll still be going. So.
00:43:21
Casey
I don't know. Are you, I don't think you'll you're long, long, long from retirement.
00:43:26
Elena Blair
No, yeah, I've got wait. I have to kids going to college.
00:43:28
Casey
even.
00:43:28
Elena Blair
So yes, i'll be um I'll be working for a while. Let me tell you a college is a college is insanely expensive.
00:43:32
Casey
um even
00:43:35
Elena Blair
So I will definitely be working for a while.
00:43:40
Casey
Well, thank you so, so much for having me and thank you for all of your guidance and education throughout the years now.
00:43:42
Elena Blair
You're welcome.
00:43:46
Casey
And yeah, I very much feel like I would not be where I am today if it weren't for you. So I really appreciate you.
00:43:52
Elena Blair
Well, thank you for trusting me. I believe in you. It's fun to watch. It's fun to watch you succeed. So, all right.
00:43:57
Casey
Thank you.
00:43:59
Elena Blair
All right, everyone. We'll see you on the next episode.