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Jasmine Star - Finding Fulfillment and all things social media
236 Plays2 years ago
Happy Woo Wednesdays!
It's been a dream of mine to interview Jasmine Star. My editor said this is the best episode. I'm on fire after this episode. My motivation is level 10.
Register for my masterclass on
I took Jasmine's Stars workshop 13 years ago. She said we are going to turn this generation of photographers upside down and that we did with her help.
She was the 1st photographer to share all her secrets on her blog. Her motivation, intelligence, way that she communicates not over drives her to the top but drive us all to the top. Jasmine started Social Curator, IG Caption tempate, lifestyle photos, sotry sets, a marketing plan. Check out social curator so you will
know what to say.
start posting.
Social Curator gives you Tools and a proven system to enable you to find new customers online, amplify your inner confidence and build your dream business.
Today we talked about how to be fulfilled in life, how to quit the comparison game, and what the next generation of photographers is going to be like. She teaches us about the mindset of how to be successful on social media.
Jasmine Star empowers entrepreneurs to market their business on social media, build a brand, and create a
life they love. After dropping out of law school, she became an internationally recognized creative
entrepreneur before the age of 30 and later founded Social Curator, a social media marketing company in
which she has helped over 35,000 business owners. Her top-rated podcast, The Jasmine Star Show, has amassed millions of downloads since its inception in October 2019, where Jasmine educates entrepreneurs
on how to turn their passion into profits. Some days you'll find her featured in Forbes, Entrepreneur, and INC
magazine, while other days you'll find her going Live for “Coffee and Conversations” on Instagram, hosting
“Ask Me Anything” sessions on Facebook, and interviewing leading business and industry experts on The
Jasmine Star Show.
Connect with Jasmine Star
WWW.JASMINESTAR.COM
WWW.SOCIALCURATOR.COM
Connect with Carissa Woo
Free masterclass for wedding photographers on January 31st
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Transcript
Introduction and Master Class Announcement
00:00:00
Speaker
Happy Will Wednesdays! I have a big announcement. I have a live half day master class coming up on January 31st for wedding and portrait photographers and videographers. It's called 5 Simple Steps to Fill Your Inbox with Enquiries and I'm not just giving you information, I'm giving you the transformation. Link in the show
Jasmine Starr's Industry Impact
00:00:19
Speaker
notes.
00:00:19
Speaker
So today I have the one, the only, Jasmine Starr in the house. I have arrived as a podcaster, woo woo. If you don't know her, you are living under a rock. She is a queen in every way. When I took her workshop 12 years ago, she said we are going to turn this generation of photographers upside down and that we did. Today she talks about what she foresees for the next generation to come. There are so many knowledge bombs in this episode, enjoy.
Carissa Wu's Photography Journey
00:00:52
Speaker
Welcome to Get a Heck Yes with Carissa Wu. I'm your host, Carissa, and I've been a Los Angeles wedding photographer for over a decade. I've traveled the world, built my team, and seen it all. I now coach wedding photographers hit 10K a month and build a thriving business. In this podcast, we are going to deep dive into how top wedding creatives get that heck yes from their dream clients. We are not holding back on the struggles of the business and how to push through the noise. Some healthy hustle, mindset shifts, up-leveling your money story,
00:01:20
Speaker
Time hacks because I'm a mom of two, a little bit of woo-woo, and most importantly, self-love and confidence are just a few of the many things we will talk about. I want to give you a genuine thank you for following along my journey. I hope to inspire you every Woo Wednesday so that you say heck yes to listening to this podcast. See you guys soon.
Jasmine Starr's Career Path
00:01:43
Speaker
Hi, everyone. My name is Carissa Wu. Welcome back to Get a Heck Yes, Happy Wu Wednesdays. My guest today needs no introduction, but here I go. Her name is Jasmine Starpe. She is a photographer and business strategist, pioneer who empowers entrepreneurs to build a brand, market it on social media, and live a life they want.
00:02:02
Speaker
We're on the street. This is from what I'm saying, is that she became a 10K plus wedding photographer in only one year after dropping out of law school. That's crazy. This is about 15 years ago, so maybe aging ourselves a little bit. Sorry, girl. But she's the first in the industry. She doesn't say this much, but she's the first in the industry to share tips and tricks on her blog, believe it or not, before photographers wouldn't tell any other secrets.
00:02:29
Speaker
People don't know that. Jasmine founded Social Curator, a monthly subscription that takes stress out of social media, which has helped over 35,000 business owners get sales from IG, not just like pretty. She has a beautiful daughter named Luna Soul with her high school sweetheart, JD, which are the cutest couple. And I love JD too. He's the best.
00:02:50
Speaker
And I'm sure all of you guys know her, but she has been giving us knowledge bombs for over a decade. There are no limits for Jasmine. Welcome, Jasmine! Hey, I'm so happy. I'm so happy. I feel like, Crystal, we have been going back and forth via Instagram DM for a few years. And so the fact that we get to connect here, it makes me feel so fortunate. So thank you for the time. I appreciate it.
00:03:12
Speaker
I have arrived. You already done arrived. You arrived a minute ago. So welcome to catch up to your own party. Oh my God. Okay.
Impact of Photography Workshops
00:03:23
Speaker
So a little story before we kind of start with questions, but I actually took your workshop member, like, yeah, long time ago. Yeah. So that was about
00:03:33
Speaker
13 years ago and I, it was my first year into photography. And I mean, I could tell the listeners all about it, but you taught me that little trick with like saturating the colors more with like the little, the curve and like inverse troll. Do you remember that? Yes. Yes. So that changed like my whole trajectory in my career. So after I learned that trick, I really honed into my colorful niche. Hmm.
00:03:59
Speaker
Yeah, and I really ran with it. So it's interesting. And now like you could do it so much faster in Lightroom. Right. I mean, so for people who are unfamiliar, so I was teaching photography courses. It was like a one day full day workshop and we were going through building a brand and then we would have a photo shoot. And then I kind of just go through a couple of things that I would do to kind of create a signature style. But I was doing this heavily in Photoshop. So yes, Lightroom was available. I mean, we ain't that old.
00:04:26
Speaker
But you know, yeah, but Lightroom has really changed so much over the last decade that you're able to do this in such a faster, bigger quantity. And so for us, we're talking about like saturation and taking it inverse. Like, don't worry. Don't go open Photoshop. You know, Lightroom is taking great care of us. But you know, and the thing is, Chris, you're like, oh, that was like a life changing or a career changing. And I'm like, no, I feel like you were already on the way to creating your own changes and it was just facilitated. They're expedited. So can
00:04:55
Speaker
Congrats on everything you've done. Thank you. Yeah, I wanted to also say you told us, the photographers that were there, maybe 25 of us, but you said we are going to turn this generation of photographers upside down. Do you remember that? I do.
00:05:11
Speaker
And look what happened. And we did. Yeah, we did. We changed. We truly. And I know it sounds crazy. And people are like, oh, wow, that sounds so self-indulgent. It sounds self-indulgent or oh, it sounds like they're big for their britches. And I was just like.
00:05:26
Speaker
Maybe. Maybe we were back then big for our britches, but like our success silence anybody's doubts. We said we were going to turn the industry over and we did. The industry, which was largely male dominated, and this is not about male or female, but at the time it was largely male dominated.
00:05:45
Speaker
People were not sharing what they were doing. They were keeping all of their vendors a secret. They were keeping all of their tools for the trade. And I thought to myself, there's got to be this massive change because technology is changing along with creative artistry. And so then there was like a small group of us who all believed the same crazy idea.
00:06:00
Speaker
that we could share everything we know, we could create content that a rising tide raises all ships and hot dang. Look where we at, we done arrived. So there you go, there you go.
Innovative Blogging in Photography
00:06:10
Speaker
Okay, so I do wanted to ask you, like, how did you get that idea to just start sharing your tips, sharing what you learned, sharing what you learned that year, you're growing so fast. But what like Coercia did is be like, hey, I learned this and I'm going to blog about it. Like, where did that come from?
00:06:27
Speaker
Um, well, I was seeing it done in other industries. So I was a law school dropout. And when you, when you think back to like 2006 and 2007, this predates social media. And so, you know, at the time a lot of people were doing were creating blog posts and in other industries in.
00:06:45
Speaker
fashion and I was reading a lot of blogs of other law students because I'm like I want to know like how do I succeed in law school how to get best get prepared I was also reading blog posts for how to start a business and so I was seeing it done in other industries and then I get into the photography world and like nobody's doing it and so yeah I might myself maybe a few other people
00:07:06
Speaker
are probably celebrated for really changing the landscape of the photographic world and the way that we share information. But I'm like, I actually was maybe new to the industry, but it was being done elsewhere. And so because I saw it done elsewhere and I'm like, Hey, it's really successful. And that getting information on the internet radically changed like my legacy, my life, my whole family tree, because other people were taking the time to create this content. I thought to myself, well, it's time to pay it forward.
00:07:30
Speaker
what I got even in other industries I can now do in this industry and then as I parlayed into other industries I'm still doing the same dang thing because if it's not broke don't fix it.
Parenting Philosophy and Rejection
00:07:40
Speaker
Yeah yeah that did stem my idea of like Woo Wednesdays like tips and tricks for photographers or tips for bride and groom so I think he really pioneered that for our industry like giving out the tips not being so secretive about it but my podcast is
00:07:55
Speaker
Yeah, about tips and tricks, but it's also like more about you. So I want to kind of dive deep into like how what were you like as a kid growing up? So I was. As an adult, when I look back at it, now that I have a daughter who is about to turn three, I look back and I assess like how I was as a child from a very different perspective. And I probably would say that I was a little bit precocious and I was very opinionated from a young age.
00:08:24
Speaker
And I think it was facilitated by my parents, my mom homeschooled all five of her children. And my parents really validated the fact that we all had an opinion and they were totally okay with their kids engaging in an adult conversation around a dinner table and listening to their opinion as if it was like fully formed or just as valuable. And I thought that that was normal. Looking back at that experience, I'm like,
00:08:48
Speaker
whoa i sit with plenty of adults now today and their kids are like okay well you sit at the kids table and oh they're just being silly and oh let me give you a tablet or oh you can go and watch this and i think that that really shaped the way that i believed that my opinion mattered and that was really a rare thing for my parents to embrace during that time
00:09:07
Speaker
Wow. Okay. So you're saying that they would just speak openly with you like adult, not like Gaga, Google. Oh no, they were definitely like, they were definitely. And the crazy thing is my dad is an immigrant from Mexico. My mom is from Puerto Rico and my dad didn't learn how to read until his early twenties.
00:09:23
Speaker
So my dad was 25 years old when he had my twin sister. So when they birthed their two daughters and my dad was really refining how he was learning to read. And so from a very young age, I would probably say like six, seven. So you're like first grade, second grade. My dad is reading Reader's Digest.
00:09:42
Speaker
And he would read it to us at night. And so he's reading an adult. It's like at the time is like a short kind of adult magazine, but he's reading it to us and there's like vocabulary lessons and there's jokes. And he's reading to teach himself. But at the same time, he's teaching his young six and seven year old twin daughters the same thing that he's learning as a 20 something really trying to master the English language. And so they were talking to us very like adults. We became their friends. And I think it really did have a big impact. And that's really what I'm trying to do with our daughter as well.
00:10:12
Speaker
Wow, that's so crazy. And it must have been so much harder for your dad to learn, you know, at that age, reading, I feel like for me, my daughter, I tell her everything, like I talked to her like my best friend, my five year old and
00:10:28
Speaker
I just feel like she's just like, she's five going on 30. Yes. Yes. Unfortunately. Yeah. She knows my whole like sales call script. What are you looking for in a wedding photographer? She said, Oh, that's so cute. That's so cute. And you know, she watches you do this. And regardless of whatever she chooses in her path in life, the gift that you're giving her is the ability to sit in front of a virtual stranger, make an offer and then be unattached to whatever comes on the outside.
00:10:57
Speaker
So even if she doesn't pursue wedding photography, what you're teaching her is the art of being told no. From a parent perspective, now that I'm a parent, I'm like, I want to raise my daughter in the belief that no has nothing to do with her. And that no is an invitation to get better. And no is an invitation to learn. And no is an invitation to take a no and ask herself, how can I get this to yes? And so what you're doing with your daughter is what I hope to do with our daughter and be,
00:11:26
Speaker
really, really, really focused on how we leverage those kind of like learning opportunities in our life. Oh, that's so interesting that you say that. Like, I do feel like, you know, after all these years of winning photography and getting so many no's for like coaching, it's not easy. I am like divorced from the outcome, like yes or no, like a client could say no, but they could still refer you to someone else. So it's so it's so interesting that you say that. But I don't know what's like the biggest superpower that you gained after becoming a mom.
00:11:54
Speaker
A deep and profound understanding and appreciation for time. I always felt like I was pretty, it was a strong suit. It was something that came natural to me after my mom had brain cancer. I looked at time differently and I was kind of like, I want to make the most of all of my time. And I know that it sounds like really great and I'm focused on productivity. I think it could drive a lot of normal people crazy. They're like, you don't always have to be doing something and you don't always have to be optimizing.
00:12:21
Speaker
But since then, it's just now how I'm shaped. And before having a child, I was like, I'm optimizing my time. And then all of a sudden I had a kid and I was like, oh girl, that was child's play. You had so much time that you just didn't actually realize. And so now, if my priority, and it is,
00:12:38
Speaker
is to maximize the time that I can spend with her because for all intents and purposes, it's a really good chance that my husband and I are going to have just one child. And I want every first time for her is essentially the last time I will ever experience it through the lens of a first time. And so I want to maximize the time that I have with her. And if that becomes the case, then I need to have a totally stringent work schedule because I believe that freedom isn't
00:13:05
Speaker
the ability for me to work whenever with whomever. However, freedom is me choosing the parameters that I set up to ensure that I have the time to spend it how I find most important. So setting up those parameters in a workspace. The thing I learned after becoming a mom is where am I going to optimize my time with her and then reverse engineering everything. Let me work backwards on how I need to facilitate my workday to ensure that my freedom is spent with her.
00:13:31
Speaker
Wow. I mean, I think you always had that because your mom had brain cancer. She's still alive and well, but also I went to a conference that you spoke at, but I think like your, your friends, like husband died and then you really like value time. Um, and then also you learned how to scale your business really fast. Um, and then now like you have a daughter, so time is even more precious. So how did you learn how to, I guess, tell us about social curator, how it came about and like,
00:13:58
Speaker
how you had that mind of scaling your business so early on.
Social Curator's Marketing Solutions
00:14:03
Speaker
You know, I wish I could look back. I think it would sound much cooler, Karissa, if I was like, so I've always had this idea of scaling. I actually didn't even know the word scale. I don't know, like 2017. Yeah, me too. It's still like a very new idea and word. All I knew was as a business owner, as long as we solve a problem, we'll always have business.
00:14:29
Speaker
And so I started realizing that the more problems I solved or the problem I solved for more people, the more successful the business would become. And so that was kind of like the impetus of Social Curator was that I realized not just in the photographic space.
00:14:44
Speaker
not just in the creative space is that business owners, they love their business. They love the service they provide or the products they provide. But a lot of times they had a hard time talking about what it is they provided. And if they can talk to a person like you could talk to anybody about wedding photography, about what it is you do. And then all of a sudden going into the vast blankness of the internet and then talking about how special the bride was. Like you adore the bride and the groom was hilarious. And then writing about it, you're like,
00:15:13
Speaker
I started realizing that there was a hurdle. And if I would be able to create the way for somebody to overcome the hurdle in a quickest amount of time, well then I would have a business and then they would be happier and that value exchange would become what we did.
00:15:31
Speaker
You know, what we really realized when we first started Social Curator, we're like, oh, people are having a hard time with visuals for social media. And then what we realized it wasn't so much the visuals as much as it was finding a way to talk about their business or their product or their service. And so we really started optimizing how to write optimized social media captions for engagement. And that's been the biggest growth point for Social Curator.
00:15:54
Speaker
Wow. Okay. So what does social curator look like today? I'm a member. So like, how many people are on it? Like you, you mentioned that there's captions and there's photos that you take that are beautiful. But how could someone implement it in their own business? Most of our audience are photographers and wedding professionals.
00:16:12
Speaker
Well, you know, it's like I've always maintained. I've stayed, I've stood on stages and I'm like photographers and a lot of photographers get pissed off that I say this, but I'm just going to say it. Photographers are the freaking luckiest business owners of all time when marketing their products or services because like.
00:16:28
Speaker
literally one photo shoot, one photo shoot could yield over a month of social media content. And so oftentimes, I always say that photographers are like the kind of people that stand in front of a buffet table with a plate. And they're just like, there's just so much food on my plate. And I'm like, put anything on the plate. And so oftentimes,
00:16:49
Speaker
You know, what Social Curator would do specifically for a photographer is you will have the ability to plan and schedule all of your posts. And so like, let's just say you're like, okay, I have 30 minutes right now and I have three photo shoots. And you're like, I just want to plan my next two weeks of content. I don't want to think about it. I want to get it up and going and then have the business market for me while I'm doing other things.
00:17:11
Speaker
you would be able to upload your photos and then be able to click on a tab that says add a caption. And they're on that caption. And I'm so excited, Carissa, because at the beginning of February, we're dropping an update to really optimize captions and empower a business owner to fully customize them. But let's say for right now, it's a caption template. It is a place to start. And people are like, oh, well, it doesn't really sound like me. And I'm like, okay,
00:17:34
Speaker
Well, you could take out what doesn't sound like you, but my belief has always become that you get to develop your voice, your voice writing, your voice as a photographer, your voice as a business owner when you do. So the more you do, the quicker you find out who you are. And so oftentimes people are like, well, it doesn't really sound like me. I'm like, no problem. Just do it.
00:17:54
Speaker
When you do it and you do it a lot, you're like, oh, well, this is what sounds like me. Great. Now you're off to the races. And so you can go in, plan all of it, get, use the app to push it out to your favorite social platforms or get a reminder so that you're doing it in real time. And that's what we want to facilitate is, Hey, you're a photographer, be a photographer, but don't make sure, I mean, don't forget to market your business and have it work for you as well.
00:18:15
Speaker
Yeah, it's kind of like finding your style and photography. It's just like, are you boho? Are you colorful? Are you light and airy? You don't know until you actually start shooting. What type of wedding weddings do you like? You really don't know. What if you really burn weddings and you had no idea and you're like, oh, let me get a cowboy hat. Right, absolutely, absolutely.
00:18:34
Speaker
Yeah. Okay. What is the biggest problem you see on like social media right now? Like, I know you just talked about people comparing themselves and people are always just saying like, Oh, social media is so, so sucking. And it's so like, like, I feel like defeated and I feel like I'm getting no traction. Like what's the biggest problem these days? What are people doing wrong?
Boosting Social Media Engagement
00:18:54
Speaker
You know, I think that
00:18:57
Speaker
There is not a one size fits all. So for somebody like myself to ever assume that there is a right or wrong, I just didn't get that it's like a misnomer and it's a disservice. All I want people to realize is that social media is a luxury. You don't have to use it. In fact, if you truly despise and hate it, don't use it.
00:19:20
Speaker
and then try to build your business without it. Go right ahead, go right ahead. It's free, it's free. So people will complain that it's not giving them the results, but it's like complaining about a meal you just ate and didn't pay for. So it's kind of like, well, you can take what it is that you do and know and you could put it out there and then you could challenge yourself to find ways to get better or you can just complain about
00:19:51
Speaker
And I'm just kind of just like, listen, we're all grownups. If you don't like it, don't do it. No one's going to force you to do it. But if you are going to do it, well, then shut your mouth, do the work, get the results, continue to test and have the humility to keep on trying because we know.
00:20:06
Speaker
We know Instagram works with photographers. It's not in question. If it's not working for you as a photographer, then what I'm led to believe, having not known who you are or what it is you do, it's more on you than it is on anything else.
00:20:21
Speaker
So if you have the humility to realize that it works for other people in your neck of the woods with your similar size following for the amount of price that you charge for similar clients, if there is somebody else who is doing what you want to do and they're successful on the back of social media, then it ain't them, it's you. So figure out how to get better here at the end. That's a little tough, but it's just how I see it.
00:20:46
Speaker
And like you said, it's free. It's free. It's free. It's free. Yes, it's free. I mean, I built my whole business on Instagram and, you know, love or hate it. Like I just keep posting like that's the thing I just I love it now. And I feel like I could be genuine. But yeah, it takes a little bit of time. Give yourself breaks. Do you have any tips and tricks that you can give our audience about like how to get more engagement?
00:21:10
Speaker
Well, you know, on the inside of social career, and you're probably very familiar, we practice and completely uphold. Like, in fact, at the time of this recording, just this morning, I went inside of our private community and we did flash fire Instagram audits. And we go back to like the principle of there is a way to get people to talk back to you, AKA engage.
00:21:28
Speaker
And we have created the formula, the HIC formula. Hook, insights, and call to action. Oftentimes, photographers, like when you're going and you're scrolling through Instagram or any social platform, you have a very small amount of copy, a very small amount of text in that caption that would then incentivize somebody to click on the read more button.
00:21:49
Speaker
And so photographers are like, oh, I, you know, I ask questions or I ask for, you know, feedback and then nobody responds. Well, right. But if they don't click on the read more, they will never get to your call to action at the end, like what you want them to do. So first things first is you have to have a very strong hook. You have to have something that will capture their attention that will incentivize them to click on the read more. And once they click on the read more, as a photographer, it's not enough. And I've said this forever. It's not enough to say like a picture's worth a thousand words.
00:22:17
Speaker
What do you expect from that? Or it's like a quote from like Helen Keller. But like, what are you going to do? And it's just like memories last a lifetime. I love this wedding. Hashtag wedding photographer. Hashtag Dayton, Ohio. And I'm like, what are you going to do with that? No one's going to respond because you're actually not creating a conversation. You're making a statement.
00:22:37
Speaker
what you have just put out was a billboard on the side of the road, and then you're like, why is nobody talking back to my billboard? Well, when's the last time you freaking talk back to a billboard? You don't, you talk to humans. And so when you share insights, that is an invitation to share more about you as an artist, you as your craftsmanship, you about your clients, to have insights about who they are as people that would then connect them to the viewers who are online. And then lastly, so hook, insights, and then lastly, see, call to action.
00:23:06
Speaker
What do you want them to do? Leave a response, vote on a poll, take a quiz, a suggestion, a recommendation. And so this is the alchemy of getting people to talk back. And it is also the biggest infraction that I see across the board for photographers in general.
00:23:24
Speaker
Yeah. Oh my God. That's interesting. Like someone else, else told me like to think of social media or Instagram as like a networking meeting. Like, who do you want to talk to today? Like it's not like posting a pretty picture with like, Oh, in love with love. And, you know, I mean, that's my love the most amazing day, most epic wedding. Wow. Like I'm, I was crying behind my lens. Like,
00:23:51
Speaker
It's boring, you know? Well, I mean, no, here's the thing. I actually would say it's not boring. Okay. I'm so happy that you had an experience with your clients on their day in that siloed moment and that you cried.
00:24:06
Speaker
Great. But when it comes to engagement, you have given me no way to communicate or connect with that moment. Our job as business owners and creatives, as a creative, I'm so happy you cried. I'll hand you a tissue. As a business owner, your job is to get me to care about that wedding as much as you did. And that is not on your client. And that is not on your photos. That's on you.
00:24:28
Speaker
How bad do you want somebody to cry and look at those photos? You better bring us in it. That's your job. And it's hard work. And that's what makes good people stick out on the Internet. Yeah. Bring them in. Bring that emotion. Absolutely. Hold on. Absolutely. Hug on those emotion pieces. Like, let's go in that day and be like, wow, this photographer really cares about her couples and she sees like love in this wedding differently. So, yeah, I really appreciate that. Let's talk about comparison, the comparison game, because you talked about that in your last girl, which I really like.
00:24:56
Speaker
Why are people always comparing themselves? Because we know comparison is a thief of joy. And how do you get out of that comparison game? Because it's really depressing. I was shooting weddings basically for free or for a grand. And I was having to haggle for every single session to try and show them my value. And now I have clients coming to me saying that they want to work with me.
00:25:26
Speaker
And I have, more importantly, other people in the industry recognizing my worth and asking me to work with them, which to me means even more than the clients because they're people who've been in the industry for 10 plus years. They've seen, you know, hundreds of other photographers and they're able to recognize me and the value that I can offer them.
00:25:52
Speaker
Yep, that's my student Kimberly. She's just one of my dozens of students crushing it. Go on my website, www.HeckYesMedia.co and book a 15-minute strategy session with me. Only if you want to be booked out on multiple preferred vendor lists and have a proven marketing plan.
00:26:13
Speaker
So, you know, for me, I kind of look at fulfillment as this big idea that we as humans, not just as photographers, but as humans, we want fulfillment.
Defining Success in Life and Business
00:26:23
Speaker
We want what we do to make us whole. And for those of us who get that opportunity, we are fortunate. We are blessed.
00:26:33
Speaker
But we ask ourselves, how do we get to fulfillment? And I've come to learn over time that fulfillment in my perspective is comprised of three parts success, freedom and purpose. And how we stop comparing ourselves is when we're fulfilled.
00:26:51
Speaker
when we're fulfilled where there's less desire to look at somebody else or something else and say, I need that because we're fulfilled. We're fine. So it's kind of like eating a really great meal and you could pass by other restaurants and be like, I really like that restaurant. But you're fulfilled. You ain't trying to eat anymore. You're good. So in order for us to attain fulfillment,
00:27:12
Speaker
We must then look at each of these three sections. Number one is success. And part of why we're so ingrained on comparing our success is because we haven't taken the time to fully define what success is for you and for me. And so the temptation is what we see on the internet is what we're fed is we then use that as our definition of success. We're not even conscious of it. It's just that when we see people in a multi-coast, we think that success.
00:27:42
Speaker
Without actually defining, do you even like Italian food? We look at the Bentley and we're like, oh man, that's success. But I'm like, well, if you live in a snowy Arctic area, does a Bentley really make sense for you? Right? So it's like why we compare is because we haven't taken the time to define our success.
00:27:59
Speaker
So you could sit there and listen to another photographer who's like, oh, I did $800,000 this year. And they're like, that's success. But you have to ask yourself, do I need $800,000 to feel successful? Sure. I want you to have it. Okay. We can say, sure. We want to have it. But do I need that to feel successful?
00:28:17
Speaker
What if success looked like for you in year four of your business to make $200,000 to work with clients who you absolutely love, where you are no longer chained to your computer, that you were able to close your computer at 5 p.m., that you were able to take your family out to eat three nights a week, that you're able to take three, two-week vacations? Like literally getting down was, what is success for you?
00:28:40
Speaker
when you define your version of success, you could look at other people's success and celebrate it without saying that your version is less than, because you've taken the time to define it. If you get into the second piece of what brings this fulfillment is freedom, and you and I actually talked about this a little bit before, is freedom isn't the ability to have zero restraints.
00:29:01
Speaker
because all of a sudden, I don't know if you've been there, but I have. I mean, you've known my story. Like I was like the head deep in work. I wanted to work 24 seven because I'm like, this is the way that I get ahead. But all of a sudden I realized that I left a job so that I would have freedom as a creative. And then all of a sudden I felt like, Oh, I left a 40 hour a week job to work an 80 hour a week job and get paid less.
00:29:21
Speaker
You're like a slave. And so then I realized that true freedom is setting parameters, but I had to define what freedom was. For me, my current definition looks really different than my version of freedom, you know, 10 years ago. But I say that part of my freedom is being able to work at 4.30 in the morning, every morning. Some people hear that and be like, that ain't freedom.
00:29:43
Speaker
That's like handcuffs, that's fine. But I have taken the time to define what my freedom is, but my freedom also means I'm not working past 6 p.m.
00:29:52
Speaker
I just don't. So that's freedom for me. So once we have parameters, once we've defined what our freedom is, then we have to say, if it doesn't get me to freedom, I must outsource it. And if I can't outsource it, then I'm going to wait until I pursue this because why would I ever sacrifice freedom?
00:30:13
Speaker
to get more money because you're a slave to money. And then if I can't outsource it and I can't wait, then I need to make a decision that now is not the time for me and I let it go.
00:30:25
Speaker
The last piece would be purpose. We want what we do to matter, matter to ourselves. But first, but then we have to define, well, who are we trying to be purposeful for? We're like, I want to matter to everybody in the world. Well, sure, we all do. But at the end of the day, who do you want to be for? Chances are you want to be on average for your partner, your children, your family, your surrounding kind of network of people.
00:30:52
Speaker
And once you define who you're for, then you have to ask yourself and measure, does the time that I am investing in my business, in the context of this conversation, in my business, does it make them feel I am more about them? I am more about their security, their joy, their lifestyle. Because if all of a sudden you're doing this because it feels your ego and what you get to post online, but it's coming at the cost of the people who you want to matter most to,
00:31:20
Speaker
Then you're saying, oh, okay, now I need to cut this out. And so here we are talking about fulfillment, and most of what we talked about is cutting back. But cutting back based on you defining your success, you defining your level of freedom, and you defining your purpose for who you want it to matter for. When you have those three things in alignment, you are fulfilled. And when you're fulfilled, you have a hell of a harder time comparing yourself to somebody else.
00:31:50
Speaker
That was so good, Jasmine. I really am happy I asked that question. I curse it. It's so crazy you asked that because I have been on my stories. I've been sharing that I'm working on a new keynote. And the reason why this came to me like just like I was working on that keynote girl. I was like.
00:32:06
Speaker
Holy mind, you just kind of, you know, like I said, I've been getting knowledge bombs. That was like knowledge explosion. Thank you, friend. Thank you. Well, thank you for giving me the opportunity to practice, to practice the things that have been working on. Have you seen White Lotus season two?
00:32:21
Speaker
No, you know what? Here's the thing. I'm a scaredy cat. I don't want to bring things into my orbit that make me feel like scared or stressed. And so I saw like the first one or two episodes of season one and I was like, oh no, I do not like this show. Yeah, it's a little airy. Yeah, I know.
00:32:39
Speaker
Yeah, speaking of a moppy coast, the second one's in Italy, but there's this intern and then she has like this guy that likes her, but she's like, oh, so like, what are your goals? And he's like, I don't know. I'm just like living life like day by day. And he's like, what are your goals? And she's like, I just want to be satisfied.
00:32:57
Speaker
And he's Italian. He's like, what does that even mean? Just be satisfied. But growing up in LA OC, a lot of people do feel maybe unsatisfied. And I think it's because they haven't really defined what success or satisfaction is. So I think it's very interesting how this conversation is going. How do you get your best heck yes from your dream clients? What's your best heck yes technique?
00:33:29
Speaker
Setting the terms, it's like when you are able to set the terms as a photographer, and I've been really fortunate and blessed to now do a variety of different things. So when I can set the terms, if I'm paid and invited to give a keynote, if I can set the terms to that keynote, it's more of a heck yes for me.
00:33:53
Speaker
If I can do an integration with a different platform for social curator and I get to set the terms, that's a bigger heck yes for me. And so it's like when I'm coming to create a piece of content for a video and I get to set the terms and the ideation and how we get to shape it, it's a bigger heck yes for me. So setting the terms for me is a greater way to get to the heck yes.
00:34:15
Speaker
Interesting. Were you always like that? Were you always like someone that like journaled and like wrote down your goals and just like was like, this is what I want and I'm gonna get it.
00:34:25
Speaker
Um, always no, but for the past decade, yes. And it was, it was, um, it's, it was such a game changer. It has been such a game changer. And I think that when people talk about journaling, it sounds like, Oh, well good for you. I mean, lucky you, I don't have that time that doesn't come, you know, naturally for me. Well, listen, like kissing didn't come naturally to me until I started doing it.
00:34:47
Speaker
You're riding a bike. Nothing comes natural to you until you start doing it again and again. It was so crazy. I know that people who don't do it have a hard time believing it, but it is when you make the decision, not, I want to make a million dollars. I want to make $10 million. I'm making $10 million.
00:35:11
Speaker
The simple shift of saying like, I'm going to get featured once a month. I am going to have this blog post go by roll. I am going, like when you make statements, the brain then decides how to figure out ways to make it happen. Wow. And so the journaling process, I try to journal as if it's already done. So for 2023,
00:35:34
Speaker
journaled and everything that I wrote, I already wrote is, I have done this. I have been here. I have successfully worked from three different countries for two weeks at a time with my husband and daughter. And like, it's already done. I am that person. I am functioning from a place in the future as if it is already complete as opposed to functioning from the past. Oh, all the reasons why it wouldn't work because the past hadn't indicated it as such.
00:35:58
Speaker
I'm not working from the present because in the present, I actually don't know how I will make that happen. And so then all of a sudden I focus on worry instead of execution. I focus on a place of the future because the future me has already figured it out. So if I can confidently say the future me has already figured it out, then my present me is like, cool, let's just, let's go on the ride, baby. We're going to figure this out. And that is a better place to function.
00:36:16
Speaker
Wow. Yeah. I used to tell myself maybe a year ago, like I am a speaker and then I like a, you know, a public speaker for wedding professionals. And I believed it so much that I actually told people like I'm a speaker. And then I would realize, hey, wait, I never spoke before.
00:36:32
Speaker
in front of an audience. But I became so real. Yeah, I believe it so much. And then now people ask me to be a part of a panel or speak for or whip us. I was like, oh my God, I kind of just dreamed that into fruition. Absolutely. I tricked my brain to be like, I am a speaker. I'm speaking on that big stage one day, like Jasmine Starr. And it's interesting how you could train your brain to be like, I am a coach. I am the best wedding photographer. You really, really have to believe it. Absolutely.
00:37:02
Speaker
Absolutely. OK, so this is a really fun question. You know, I told everyone I took your workshop 13 years ago and you said the generation you're going to we're going to flip this generation of photographers upside down. So you saw that like before everyone else did. What do you see for the next generation of photographers?
Future of Photography and Content Creation
00:37:23
Speaker
Or photography industry? You know,
00:37:29
Speaker
I believe that for photographers, I believe the same thing, but I believe it even more ardently so, is that as technology changes and as anybody with a mobile device is a photographer, truly, it's done in fact, like we see movies, we see commercials, we see billboards shot entirely and produced entirely on a mobile device.
00:37:53
Speaker
So, whereas in the past, you could say that you are a chef as long as you had a knife and a kitchen. And there are chefs who look at the at-home chef and is like, well, that's just ridiculous. You're not a chef. You haven't been trained at Cordon Bleu and you haven't gone to Paris for patisserie trainings. But what happened was that technology gave the person
00:38:21
Speaker
in a 400 square foot apartment and a mobile device and a knife the ability to become a sensation have millions of followers and make millions of dollars as opposed to a flailing chef who's trying to start a restaurant barely making men's ends meet
00:38:38
Speaker
That is the future of photography. There are people who are doing more with less. And so what photographers, especially established photographers want to do is like, oh, but that's not a full frame sensor. And oh, you can't shoot at a 1.2 aperture. And oh, well, in Lightroom, you don't see the contrast. This is high key. And all I'm saying is the market is right.
00:39:04
Speaker
and the market will speak and you will see people shooting with a cannon rebel and a kit lens creating content about the shoot instead of just the shoot that will then make them more money and so if you are a photographer
00:39:21
Speaker
You have to be very comfortable and not buck against the grain that you will be a content creator first in a photographer second. And dang, I'm telling you, Carissa, that chaps people's hides. That gets them pissed off. They're like, I don't want to become a content creator. And like, no problem. But just be okay running in the middle of the pack instead of being an industry leader and making the most amount of money. Totally fine.
00:39:44
Speaker
Oh, I'm like vibrating and even in my like my cheeks. That was so horrible. I love the answer. It's so interesting. That's like, I started shooting like, with this D3S Nikon, it was a 6K camera. And then now I fell in love with my little Fuji X-T4, it's like $7,800. I got like a cheap $300 lens and I'm just like, got it. Like, I'm like, look at, look at, it's so pretty.
00:40:12
Speaker
it's crazy like it's just I have this uh intern and yeah he like you said like a canon rebel um cheap camera with this like stock lens and his photos come out like awesome well right I mean but going back to the same analogy with the chef it's like sure
00:40:30
Speaker
Does having a $1,500 Japanese knife empower you to make better cuts of a protein? Perhaps. But the cut of the protein matters less than the overall preparation of the protein. Like somebody at home with their $40 knife. Maybe not as good of a cut, but the preparation, the presentation, the experience supersedes that. That person wins. It's not the knife that makes the chef. It's the chef who makes the knife.
00:40:59
Speaker
Okay, one last question, big question before I go into like little tiny rapid fire questions.
Mindset and Overcoming Challenges
00:41:04
Speaker
But say a wedding photographer or wedding planner or DJ is like struggling right now. And they're just like, Oh, everyone's doing so well on social media. Like they're getting all these weddings, they say like 2021 was like crazy boom. And I'm not getting any, any inquiries. What would you tell them today? Like one advice you could do to just like, kind of change your mindset to be like, I'm inspired, let's do it.
00:41:26
Speaker
I don't believe that anything I say is going to make somebody say, let's go and do it. I believe that that has to come from within you because there are people in your exact same situation who despite whatever they're looking at are creating content and putting out pieces that will get them closer to they want to go.
00:41:46
Speaker
Because the fact of the matter is you're standing on a starting line, you and, you know, a thousand other DJs, a thousand other photographers, a thousand other venues, a thousand other florists, and you are sitting at the same place that other people are. If you have one wedding booked or you have 10 or even 100, right? You're going to find left to the right people who are doing the exact same thing that you're trying to do with the exact same bookings you have. Your perspective on how you're going to get where you want to go is going to dictate how fast you get there.
00:42:16
Speaker
because there are going to be some people who say, I have one booking and I'm just going to keep on showing up until I blow up. And then there are some people who look at this and be like, I can't believe this. I'm never going to get where I want to go. Well, great. You've become a manifesto of your destiny. What you decide will happen will happen. Now, I can't guarantee the timeline. So, you know, a photographer was like, oh, I want to book 20 weddings. Great. That's amazing. I believe you're going to book 20 weddings. Do I believe you're going to book 20 weddings in 10 months? I don't know.
00:42:44
Speaker
But I believe that you're going to get to where you want to go. So can we manage the expectation of what it is we want without letting the possibilities get in the way of our actions? So people stop themselves before they even start and then they want to complain about it.
00:43:01
Speaker
I love that answer. Yeah, when you get in your head and you're just like, dang, I'm not fucky. What's going on? And then you get in your head and then you stop doing the things that push you forward. Like maybe collab, do a style sheet with someone, maybe meet up with a vendor or maybe reach out to a vendor. Like you get in your head and then it just turned into like, oh yeah, that coach, that stuck. Like she promised me this or I thought I was going to be big time and now I'm not. So I really liked that answer.
00:43:27
Speaker
Thank you. OK, so some fun for the last couple of minutes, some fun questions, rapid fire questions. But what's your favorite book or podcast?
00:43:36
Speaker
Big fan of the Jasmine Star Show. That's my podcast. Listen, if you're not a fan of your own podcast, you're doing it wrong. And if you want to learn cryptocurrency, guys, Jasmine Star Show is the very first time. I had a lot of fun with that. Also, I like the My First Million podcast. It's just like guys talking about business and different businesses to start. I think it's pretty interesting. I think it's pretty funny.
00:43:57
Speaker
Um, as far as books go, I am big fan of just reading. I will read anything and everything because it opens my mind. And I feel like if I am always on the hunt for the next good book, it really stops me from trying to like, again, it's a personal perspective. It's a personal, I have no judgment. I just think that I waste more time watching TV. Whenever time I would spend watching TV, I would rather read a book.
00:44:21
Speaker
which I know is a personal thing, but I'm always, again, about making time because I think that reading helps me become a better communicator and a better writer. And I think that that has an ROI, a return on investment more than me consuming something, you know, on Netflix. Yes. Yes. What do you like to do for fun?
00:44:38
Speaker
I, I mean, right now I just, I love hanging out with my daughter. I think that she is joy personified. And so when someone's like, Oh, like you want to go and have fun? I would be like, yes, I want to play with my daughter. So that's my version of fun right now. Dude. I like almost pee my pants when I saw you had a daughter. I was like, I'm just so happy for you. And I can't believe that she's three now. I know. Where does time fly? I have no idea. What is your best mom boss tip?
00:45:06
Speaker
to give yourself grace. I think it's so easy to beat ourselves up around what we didn't do or how we didn't get it done. And I feel like what I'm trying to always remind myself is that it's happening in the right time and everything is happening for me. If I did not finish the thing, like honestly, Chris, I should have finished, like I had slated that I was going to finish this keynote two days ago.
00:45:28
Speaker
but it's taken me so much longer than I expected, and this keynote is 30 minutes. It should not be taking me this long, but instead of saying, it shouldn't be taking me this long, I'm thinking, it's taking me this long to get it right. And that just puts you in a better place of flow, and I'm like, I know that the more time I spend getting this right, the less time I'm gonna spend, number one, fixing it, or number two, doing somebody a disservice who's sitting in that audience who's putting their most valuable asset, their time,
00:45:56
Speaker
listening to a half-baked idea. So I'm working on the front end to over-serve and over-deliver on the back end. Well, I'll send you this recording of the Zoom because whatever you said was like, wow. I was literally buzzing from my head to my toes. Thank you, friends. Well, thank you for having me. The ability to practice it. I appreciate you. What do you love most about JD, your hubby?
00:46:18
Speaker
He is a hundred percent a supporter. He loves supporting people, not just myself. Honestly, Chris, if you were carrying groceries, if you're walking through an airport, if you're singing a song, if you're writing a poem, he finds his most fulfillment helping other people. And I love seeing him help other people. And then selfishly, I love getting all of his help too.
00:46:44
Speaker
Yeah, I know. I think his caption for Instagram is like, he makes big ideas happen. Ask my wife. Yeah. Yeah. His, his bio on Instagram is like, he makes big ideas happen and he really, really, really does. That's his power play. Yeah. I remember meeting him and we went to dinner with all of us and he was so fun to talk to. And I feel like he does have like, you know, he's a good listener. He doesn't want to be like maybe the star of the show, but he's like that supporting character, which you need because you are the star.
00:47:15
Speaker
Okay. Um, where do you see yourself in three months, 90 days? Where I see myself in 90 days is I will have successfully launched my very first mastermind for business owners. So that we have not made it public at all. So the years of your podcast are going to get something totally off, off the Richter scale.
00:47:37
Speaker
We will also be facilitating a mindset business intensive on the inside of Social Curator. This is exclusive just for curators. And for me, what I've learned a lot in 2022 was looking back at everything that my mind had gone through and like what big changes did I see in my business that allowed me to like really jump, jump in personal development, jump in like my finances and the revenue I was making. How was I able to continuously grow a massive business?
00:48:03
Speaker
And it was all about these mindset principles. And what I see on the inside of Social Curator is people who are doing the work and people who are successful, but they're having a hard time jumping to the next level. And I'm like, I've seen this and I do this. And so instead of creating a course, what I want to do is be like, how bad that it is you want this. And I don't want to take this publicly.
00:48:25
Speaker
We're not going to be doing a launch or promotion. This is for people who have already drank the Kool-Aid because I'm like, you got the game. So what is it that's stopping you? And so it's a four week live series that we have like workbooks, we have trainings, we're going to be doing like workshopping in the middle of the class and then doing breakout sessions in Zoom. I'm so freaking excited. So where I'm going to be in 90 days would be starting a brand new mastermind that I have never done before that I'm very excited. So super high level, a very small group of people.
00:48:51
Speaker
And then doing the Mindset Business Intensive exclusive to Social Curator. So Q1 of 2023 is going to be all about focusing and serving the people who are already here. I don't want to go out. I want to go deep. So I'm excited. I'm excited. Okay. So that was pretty much it. Everyone, tell everyone where to find you. It's very obvious. And then how to work with you. And then maybe like one freebie.
00:49:17
Speaker
So you're amazing. And we started this conversation for anybody who's listening and made it to this point. If you made it to this point in this conversation, God bless you, you can listen to two women talk a mile a minute. You know, more than anything, we came on to be a place of service. It's like this podcast is to help other people do the very thing that we have done and the fact that we can look back at our experience and still do what we set out to do 13 years ago. We wanted to turn an industry in on its head and we're going to continue to do that. But it's the people who are coming up
00:49:46
Speaker
from behind and from the side who are going to continue to push it and continue to add these revolutions to the industry. So I'm not going to give a freebie because the freebie would be like go and create a piece of content that not just improves your life but makes somebody else's life better. You can find me at jasminestar.com and in all social platforms at Jasminestar. We did it. I have arrived. I have arrived because you're on my show. Thank you, babe. I appreciate you.
00:50:15
Speaker
Thanks for joining me this week on Get a Heck Yes with Carissa Wu. Make sure to follow, subscribe, leave a review, or tell a friend about the show. Take a screenshot and post to IG. Tag me. Also, don't forget to download my free guide on how to become a lead generating machine. See you next time, wedding pros.