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Get organized even during wedding season - Aida Glowik
209 Plays3 years ago
Happy Woo Wednedays!
Is it possible to feel at ease AND get your work done during the wedding season. Aida shares her secrets and shares her digital planner with us to make your life so much easier.
My Wedding Season Planner is a digital planner that is custom-designed to help overwhelmed wedding photographers who are feeling stressed out because they are struggling to: stay organized, keep track of their client work and reach their goals. I am happy to focus on how they can become better organized by: planning ahead, utilizing automation tools, as well as creating workflows & templates.
Connect with Aida
https://www.instagram.com/aidaglowik/
digital planner for free: https://wedding-photography-podcast.com/planner
Connect with Carissa
https://instagram.com/carissawoo
Aida is an intimate wedding and elopement photographer based in Germany. She provides overwhelmed wedding photographers with the inspiration, tools and resources needed to build a thriving brand and business. She is the host of My Wedding Season - The Podcast where she covers various topics including: branding & marketing, organisation & productivity systems as well as income generating business strategies.
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Transcript
Introduction and Goals
00:00:00
Speaker
Hey guys, happy Wednesdays. If you're loving my podcast, please share it with a friend. Also, download my free guide on how to be a lead generating machine. I have such a cool guest today, Ida Glowik, my now friend from Germany. She has a passion for helping wedding photographers not be overwhelmed like she was for so many years. Today she teaches us how to be organized, such an important part of your success as a photographer.
00:00:27
Speaker
I was on her podcast called My Wedding Season talking about my favorite subject, Mastering the Sales Call. You can check it out in the show notes. Enjoy this episode!
00:00:41
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,
00:01:09
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!
00:01:32
Speaker
Hey, everyone.
Meet Ida Glowik
00:01:33
Speaker
Welcome back to Get a Heck Yes with me, your host, Carissa Wu. I have a very special guest, Ida Glowick, and she is an intimate wedding and elopement photographer based in Germany. And she provides overwhelmed wedding photographers with the inspiration tools and resources needed to build
00:01:50
Speaker
a thriving brand and business. And she is a host of one of my favorite podcasts, My Wedding Season, the podcast where she covers various topics, including branding and marketing, organization, productivity systems, as well as income generating business strategies. Welcome, Aida. Hey, Carissa. Thank you so much for having me on your podcast. You are amazing and just a bundle of joy.
00:02:14
Speaker
Oh, thank you. I'm so out of breath because, you know, me and you were like locking the doors for our kids, getting the dogs upstairs, trying to figure out this technology. So, you know, we do it all. I'm still kind of like, OK, finally it's happening because of like, no, don't fail me technology right now. Like I was a bit nervous, but I'm just so glad we're making it happen right now. Yeah. Yeah. Don't be nervous. I was on your podcast. So you're in Germany. What time is it right now?
00:02:43
Speaker
It is almost seven, no it's actually seven o'clock by the time we're getting this done so it's dinner time but the kids are set early so I think we're good till they want a meal again. Yeah, that's 10am my time so it's so fun to have like friends across the world.
00:03:02
Speaker
Yeah, likewise, you know, and just making it possible with like Zoom and everything connecting the past couple years has been incredible in that way that, you know, we've connected with so many people around the world. Yeah,
Ida's Personal Journey
00:03:15
Speaker
yeah. Okay, so tell me about your, you just said you got back from a vacation to France. Tell me a little bit about it, just to ease into the conversation.
00:03:24
Speaker
Yeah, it's an island called Corsica and we've been there. My husband and the kids, many times actually, this was the first time our little daughter got to go with us. But yeah, sometimes we go camping there. This time we got like a vacation rental and spent time at the beach and just a good start into the wedding season for me. Oh, that sounds so refreshing. I've been to France
00:03:48
Speaker
a couple times and I want to go back but yeah after like COVID I just like been journaling like where I want to go in the future and yeah I have to meet you up.
00:04:00
Speaker
Oh, definitely like mainland France is also, I've been everywhere, south, north, east, west. So if you ever need this, make sure you hit me up. Yeah. Oh, that's awesome. Okay, so I've been on your podcast all morning. And you help like overwhelm photographers. And I kind of like how you tell people like, Hey, everything, especially right now, like,
00:04:22
Speaker
We had a shooting in Texas just two days ago and yeah everything is very heavy and you said like you know slow down and take it easy and you really really truly have a passion for helping overwhelm wedding photographers but just share a little bit about like your journey about like your photography and how like why you're so passionate about helping overwhelm photographers.
00:04:45
Speaker
Yeah, I'm passionate about it because I was super overwhelmed. The first couple years was close to the nightmare for me because I just like got into this like my husband was already a photographer so I joined his business. But coming in like I had studied something else and
00:05:01
Speaker
being self-employed and organizing everything that goes into running a business and getting your images done, dealing with clients. I was so new to it. And by nature, I always say I am a chaotic person.
00:05:18
Speaker
And I'm a recovering, chaotic person because I just have to find my way to make it work and just really bring structure into my life, find ways to really get organized, bring in workflows, which is just not, it doesn't come naturally to me, but I realized that's the only way to have some sanity.
00:05:37
Speaker
And it just got me thinking, if I'm feeling this way, there are definitely other people out there feeling this way. And I just want to give them at least my blueprint, my advice of how I've been able to make it work. And that's what I do. I share those things. Yeah, that's amazing. I think in the creative space, we're just taught to be like,
00:05:56
Speaker
Oh, be a go getter like go hit the ground running book the weddings like like yeah with those style to put stuff in your calendar do free shoots like network your ass off and it's just like it gets to the point where you're you feel like okay so I created this kind of circus like.
00:06:14
Speaker
And I don't feel good about it. Like how do I bring it
Importance of Planning and Breaks
00:06:17
Speaker
back? So you're trying to help like new photographers or old photographers kind of like streamline everything, create a system so they don't have to feel this way, which we don't like feeling.
00:06:28
Speaker
Definitely. I mean, I used to just take on weddings, whatever came my way, right? So every weekend was pretty much booked up in the summer. That means by the time like September rolled around, I just had like zombie eyes from editing and always being on the grind. And I realized, hey, things have to change because I can't continue this way. So it was really what I preach is
00:06:53
Speaker
planning ahead like you have to look at your calendar and be like okay when am I willing to take on weddings and which weekends am I gonna just block off regardless of what comes my way like this is break you know a break for like a little trip to rejuvenate and just get myself together and it's not I always say it's not just about me but it's about
00:07:19
Speaker
my clients, right? Because once I'm refreshed, I can come back with like full zest and just excitement to photograph their weddings instead of being completely drained and just dragging myself there. Oh, I know. I just want to like make us a little like emoji with like the zombie eyes. And then I'll be your quarter. Yeah, I'm a photographer.
00:07:45
Speaker
do you know like and especially like if you're living in europe or like north america or something um the summer you have that and then the winter rolls around right so like i barely was able to enjoy the outside summer time and i live right by the lake like i never i remember in those days i would even spend like an afternoon
00:08:05
Speaker
by the lake or anything, because I was just working trying to get galleries out and just stuck at home in the office was super not healthy. And I just knew there was a better way. Okay, we're gonna get into that for the hot topic. But let's take it back a little bit to joining your
00:08:22
Speaker
husband's company. So tell us about like how you guys met and like how long he had been photographing and then how he kind of like roped you in. Yeah, I mean, that's pretty much what happened. Um, he actually studied like media communications. That was what he was doing for his masters and then started doing weddings like on the side like you know, a friend asked he did it and then just realized, okay, you know, I can actually earn
00:08:52
Speaker
something. He loves photography. That's how he kind of got into it. During that time, I was doing my master's in tourism and business and registration in Switzerland. And I was doing that with his sister. So that's how we met. Oh, crazy. Yeah. It's funny. She just knew that she's just like, oh, you have to meet my brother. And she's telling him, you have to meet my friend. You guys are just gonna hit it off.
00:09:19
Speaker
Wow. That's what happened. First day we met since then, we've been together. Yeah. And I moved to Germany, like it's just at the border to Switzerland. I was living in Switzerland, Zurich. And I just like, it was more like I just saw his lifestyle of how he's living, you know. And that was just super attractive to me. Like I was working in marketing during that time. And it was like a full time job and I was commuting and
00:09:49
Speaker
It really was nothing for me. And I just thought, hey, you know what? Why can't I join you? I can learn this. Oh, that's awesome. So how long have you been a wedding photographer? And then when did you start the podcast?
Podcasting and Business Evolution
00:10:00
Speaker
And then are you doing education now? Yeah, I'm getting into that. So I actually started doing wedding videography. That's how I joined him. Because he was just like, hey, a lot of my couples are saying, hey, do you offer a video? And I have no one else. I'm sure you can just manage.
00:10:18
Speaker
And I was like, okay, like we were barely asking for any money, like it started with so little, and then it just grew from there. So it's been about like five years, six years, depending if you count COVID times and like, and my podcast, like the first couple of episodes I did in 2020.
00:10:39
Speaker
And it was just like a super hobby like I didn't take it seriously in terms of like consistency or whatever that all came about just a few months ago and I was just like, you know what, I actually have a direction that I want to take it and I have a few things to say and what I feel like I can add to this industry. Oh yeah.
00:10:58
Speaker
Yeah, I just kind of got down to it and I realized like, that's another thing. I was like a weekly podcast wouldn't be, I can't manage. It's just not in my capacity with two kids and everything. So it comes out every two weeks and this is what I talk about. And right now I'm just like really starting to offer coaching sessions to wedding photographers to just help them get clarity and all the, like when they're so confused about what to do next steps, I'm there to help them out.
00:11:26
Speaker
Yeah, we'll talk about the freebie at the end. So I'm super stoked about it. I listened to the part one, part two of the planner. So yeah, we'll talk more about that soon. But was there like, kind of like this breaking point in your business where you felt like you're just shooting like so many weddings, you know, all your summers booked up, and then you're just like, something's got to give? Like, did you like hire a coach? Or did you just kind of like start youtubing stuff? Or like, what was your process?
00:11:49
Speaker
Yeah, you know, my husband never like went to workshops or did any of that thing. It wasn't really his thing. But once I joined in, I was like all over the place, you know, and I just found photographers and was listening to like, one thing I remember about like their pricing structure, because I was like, I know we're like, not earning what we should be earning for the amount of work we're doing. And we were delivering
00:12:14
Speaker
so many images, like the whole art packages made no sense. It was like her wedding, like I remember my husband was like delivering always like way over a thousand images and it didn't make sense and we weren't happy. So it was a process. I just knew that like we also needed a rebrand. We needed to speak to different clientele.
00:12:42
Speaker
And so we did the whole website and then, you know, just started to change up the portfolio. And it was just really an ongoing process, which I feel like it's always ongoing where we're refining, tweaking all the time. Yeah. And I have to like tell our viewers and our listeners, like go check out your work. It's absolutely stunning. Like everything about it just gives me like that feeling of feeling of like love and like feeling of happiness and just feeling of vibrance. So it just makes me like feel so warm inside.
00:13:12
Speaker
So definitely thank you so much for us. That was so kind. Yeah. So how do you think you get like your heck yes from your dream client?
Branding and Client Alignment
00:13:22
Speaker
Yeah, I think the key is really when it comes to the brand, right? So once potential clients land on our website, we're very good at communicating, okay, who are we trying to reach? And we're also quite transparent. Like I know from a lot of people, like there's a debate of being open with your pricing online or sending a pricing guide and all that, like the route we decided to go is to be quite transparent with our pricing.
00:13:49
Speaker
and just being very clear in our communication. And that also just really works in the market. Like, you know, we have a brand that's serving the German speaking market, which is Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and we have another brand that's like for the international market. So right now I'm just focusing on our local German speaking market and that works so well. So by the time the inquiry with us, and we set up like a client consultation,
00:14:17
Speaker
They're pretty sure they're gonna book us. It's really about hashing out the details and making sure that we vibe, you know? So we just are chatting and by the end of it, it's just kind of like, oh yeah, sounds good to us.
00:14:32
Speaker
really a high percent of the time. And we also say, Hey, you know, this is, I think we're on the same page every now and then, you know, some people slipped through the cracks of our branding communication and all that. And, you know, then it's just better when it's really a mismatch to be like, Hey, that's really not the kind of service that we offer in terms of our photography or videography. Like we think you'd be better served with someone.
00:15:00
Speaker
So for the most part, it's kind of like, yes, a heck yes. Yeah. That's a good answer. It's kind of like, when you get to that point where you get to say no to people, that's when you really feel empowered. You're like, I don't need you. You need me. You know, it was a long road to reach.
00:15:21
Speaker
here. And I also have to say like during COVID and all that happened, then there was a bit more leave room for us because there was so much uncertainty. So I always say like, you don't have to stick to how it is like, just assess where you are in your business or like the the market environment and just go off of that, you know. Have you read the book Present Over Perfect?
00:15:48
Speaker
No, I haven't. It's a good one to read. It's one of my favorite books, but it's about like, you know, being a mom and being able to say no to things and just like being so present with your kiddos and just, yeah, I got to the point where in my business and I'm like, I'm like looking at Instagram before I even like lay eyes on my beautiful children. You know what I mean?
00:16:08
Speaker
Yeah, so it's just kind of like, I don't want that life. And I feel like photographers have to create like space and margin for ourselves to like, be able to be present with our kiddos because they grow up so fast. They do. No, it's about being intentional. So like, I always recommend like, taking time to like, reflect, you know, because we can be on that hamster wheel and just keep going going. And then you look back and you're like, Oh my god, how did I get here?
00:16:34
Speaker
So really being intentional with what you're doing and making sure that it's all aligned. I think it's really good. Yeah. Yeah. I love that. Okay. So I'm going to ask you a podcasting question, but what is the biggest accomplishment in your business? Well,
00:16:50
Speaker
I love this question, but it's gonna make me think for a second. That's what I like keeping on your toes. It wasn't the questionnaire. In terms of our photography business, I think I would just say the fact that we were able to navigate out of that like low price point and
00:17:09
Speaker
grind to a place where we feel good. The clients that we work with are so lovely. They trust us, you know, they just let us kind of do our thing instead of like micromanaging, which we did have in the past, you know, where they'll come back and they will like have these ideas. But at the end of the day, it's because we weren't very good at communicating what we do. You know what I mean? So we've learned to like,
00:17:36
Speaker
over communicates what I say, you know, it's everything is laid down straight. Yeah, I mean, I hate when like, you know, the bridesmaids try to be like, hey, like, I made this cool shot of the shoes. And I'm like, dude, I got like 10 shots of the shoes. Like, come on. But it's like, I didn't know the bride and groom. Okay, like, like, show your photos. So your whole wedding, like, trust me at the wedding, like engagement photos.
00:17:59
Speaker
And then like have her tell your bridesmaids like I'm the shit. I never get that from my couples, but it does happen.
Client Management and Professionalism
00:18:09
Speaker
Like I was a wedding last Saturday and I did have like, I don't know a relative or someone come and she helped with that decoration. She's just trying to make sure that I really took pictures of like the setup.
00:18:22
Speaker
Yeah, that's like the super most basic thing I would do. Of course I did. But I was just like, Yeah, don't worry. I got it. But I'm just like, Hey, you know, when you do have a professional photographer there, you better be sure they know what they're doing. Oh my god, I totally know what you mean. You're like, I got it. That's what I'm here for. Okay, so let's get into our hot topic. Tell us your hot topic. You obviously told us like
00:18:50
Speaker
why is your hot topic, but just like in a paragraph, like why this is so truly important to you for wedding photographers.
00:18:58
Speaker
Hey, photographers who are struggling to be organized, it just has a lot of negative consequences, right? Number one, you're super stressed out and you're not even enjoying what you're doing because you're like a hot mess, right? And the thing is, when you don't have any structure, when you don't know what you're doing, it's gonna affect your work and it's gonna affect your wellbeing, but it's also gonna affect
00:19:27
Speaker
the client experience because I mean you might not be hitting those deadlines and delivering your galleries. Worst case does happen to people where
00:19:39
Speaker
they haven't backed up the images and they've gone lost or that's like worst case. You know what I mean? Like this is all part of it. Like you need to have a workflow of like where you're saving your images, where you're backing them up, external hard drives, all these things come part of being organized. And I just know that there are people who misplace, for example, even the, you know, their memory cards because they don't have a designated spot for it.
00:20:08
Speaker
Yeah, that's crazy. It's crazy. And it happens. I mean, I was never in that situation, but I'm saying it can go as far as doing that. But for the most part, when you're organized, you're really saving yourself a lot of time because you're not lost in what you're doing. You actually know what to do A to Z is spelled out.
00:20:31
Speaker
It's requiring less mental energy. You don't need to reinvent the wheel every time you can just trust the process. Oh, I love it. Yeah, right. And yeah, I just love like, for me, it's about being at ease. That's like my number one thing where you can even enjoy the rest of your life, right?
Preparation Tips and Productivity
00:20:52
Speaker
Instead of like, if you have kids, you can spend the time with your kids instead of like,
00:20:57
Speaker
being lost in your work and things that shouldn't be taking up your time. Yeah it's so interesting like yeah definitely the backup thing is crazy like when I get home even if my kid like is like crying into my arms I'm like backing it up and like making sure like all the photos are there like that's literally like the number one thing but
00:21:16
Speaker
I don't know I just I just feel like you're speaking like so many people's language right now like like sharing these pain points in the beginning like I'm sure a lot of people are just like oh like that's me that's me that's me yeah and it's even like before you go to a wedding right when you have like
00:21:33
Speaker
Things that you do for me before the wedding, I have a checklist of things that I'm checking. I'm never going to end up at a wedding and feel like I did not bring enough memory cards. My, you know, batteries are not charged. Everything has its place. It's double checked. And that's because I just learned from experience and especially like, cause I do also videography.
00:21:55
Speaker
then I know, okay, I need different types of equipment for that. Then I go through my checklist and then I'm super confident going there. There's never going to be a chance that like my cards are not reformatted, but both cameras, their times are matched up, you know, stuff like that. Just be organized and it even starts to become automatic where you don't have to refer to something. But when you just repeat it, it's just the best way. Oh, I feel like kind of like, just like this is like,
00:22:22
Speaker
When you talk about this kind of stuff, I think it's just so refreshing. So you could take us away with your tip number one. You have three tips.
00:22:30
Speaker
I got in the last like two or three days, 18 inquiries. What the heck? Hey guys, you all know me. I'm Carissa Wu and I'm a coach for wedding photographers. I've also been a wedding photographer for over a decade, so I've been through it all. I was a shy, awkward girl and I've come so far. I'm now beyond passionate about helping wedding photographers not struggle how I did for so many years.
00:22:57
Speaker
It was six years into my business and I was so tired of being ghosted, nickel undimed, and hearing the dreaded words, we went a different direction. I also knew I needed to find a way to not rely on referrals or paying $350 a month for the knot to get my leads.
00:23:13
Speaker
I didn't want to have anxiety about when my next payday was going to come and I wanted to scale my business. Fast forward to now, I created my very own stack system to help wedding photographers get constant leads and master the dreaded sales call and get a heck yes in 24 hours or less.
00:23:30
Speaker
and charge more than 4, 5, 6K. No more waiting around, guys. This is our livelihood, our artistry, and our passion, and we deserve to be respected, valued, and paid for what we are worth. I've helped so many wedding photographers. Watch my 20-minute masterclass all about lead generation and closing the sale. The link is in the bio. You don't want to miss out on the wedding boom, and you don't want to miss out on booking your calendar for 2022.
00:23:57
Speaker
It's engagement season, guys. So you don't want to miss this. See you guys soon. Yeah. So it's really about planning ahead. I feel like that's where it starts. Plan out your wedding season. You know, for us, like my husband and I, we know we're going to take at least two trips in the summer to just ease up. So we know where to block things off. How many weddings we take on a weekend. You know, are we going to do like a Friday, Saturday wedding?
00:24:23
Speaker
or not, how many hours is it? If I have a longer wedding on a Saturday, I'm willing to take a shorter one on a Friday. Everything is planned out. And then I have my digital planner that I use personally. And I even just write down, when am I editing these images? And by when am I going to deliver them? Because I don't outsource my editing, which is also a personal choice because I love actually the editing process.
00:24:51
Speaker
But even for those who are outsourcing the editing, you can say, okay, by when should I get these images back? And, you know, I love to deliver the gallery before the deadline that I've given my couples. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Love it. You know what I mean? So everything is planned out with some buffer. I always say, don't make it so tight that if something unexpected comes up,
00:25:17
Speaker
that it all goes out of whack. Yes, yeah, under promise over deliver.
00:25:22
Speaker
Yeah. So like, I know there's this whole thing about also over promising and delivering on that promise, which is good. But in terms of this, I think it just like, it gives you leeway. Yeah. If anything happens, right. And that element of surprise and delight when the couples are like, Oh my God, we already got our images is awesome. You know, add a little slideshow to it as a bonus is what I do. You know, just
00:25:50
Speaker
planning out for everything like that. And then I just have, I just tick everything off. I have a workflow, which I go through making sure, and that workflow looks different for everyone. You know, it's like, if you're the type who's going to blog that session, by when should you blog it out? Are you going to get a testimonial from every couple? How do you go about it? Do you have a template for all those things? You know, so just plan that out ahead of time. And it's just about also prioritizing what you need to get done.
00:26:20
Speaker
Yeah. One of my favorite things to do was when I went to like big beer or like a snowboarding trip, I would bring my planner and just like take time to myself and just like look at like my weddings for the year. Yeah. Like giddy that they're happy that you're bugged out and just be like, okay, like here I have a little break. Like you said, like take that trip to
00:26:41
Speaker
We get France or five days to France or go to the lake this time and like know your whole year because throughout your journey you're gonna create like rhythms for yourself and you're totally I eat what I used to do like if you don't plan like
00:26:57
Speaker
everything goes to shit. Like I would try to plan like many sessions. That was like a kind of a big mistake for me because I just planned many sessions because everyone else was doing it. I would see an Instagram, Oh shoot, everyone's doing mini marathon for spring or summer. And then it's like, we get out of this crazy like wedding season. You know, like for us, it's like May through October and October is shit show.
00:27:21
Speaker
then October, November, and then November rose around and then you do try to do all these mini sessions, then you have no time to rest. So it's like, dude, like maybe take a break. Like maybe you would just make more money like selling prints off of your, your wedding. So it's just, it's about planning that mindset. It's planning. And when you talk about that, like I've, I've never done mini sessions because I just feel like they will stress me out. Totally. It's just not aligned
00:27:49
Speaker
with like what I want to do so that goes back to being intentional and also setting your goals you know like I didn't mention it before because I didn't want to go beyond the scope of what this episode is about but that's also part of it like when you set a general like your annual goals and also break it down and knowing okay
00:28:09
Speaker
What am I trying to achieve? Where am I trying to get to? And sticking to it, because yeah, I know it's like that's shiny object syndrome. Some people say, you know, you kind of get sidetracked if you look there, look here. But yeah, setting out those priorities of knowing, okay, this is what I want to achieve. This is how I'm going to get there. And kind of narrowing and focusing on that.
00:28:31
Speaker
Oh, I like how you mentioned that because I feel like when you're an entrepreneur, it's like obviously sky's the limit. But when you don't have like your goals set and you don't have a limit, like, and you create too much work for yourself, you get anxious and you start like spending more money. Oh, yeah, it does happen. There's a thing to buy for kids.
00:28:53
Speaker
Okay, so I love that so number one tip planning and you talked about goals and you talked about your cool bonus and just kind of like managing expectations.
00:29:06
Speaker
Before I go to tip number two, I just want to step back and add batch working because I am a huge fan of batch working. Ever since I learned this, I talk about it all the time because it's just a smart way to work. It makes me more productive. Like when you just kind of put things together that are the same or similar.
00:29:28
Speaker
and hash them out on one go, this is going to make you so much more efficient. So that's like part of being organized. It's been setting aside time or days or, you know, the afternoon to be like, okay, this afternoon, I'm just really like working on this thing. You know, you're not being distracted and then you're done with it earlier. You know, it goes faster. So like your brain doesn't have to go like change shifts. Like that's really takes time. Yeah.
00:29:58
Speaker
pretty much and like depending what that task is it could also be things that you need to get together you don't need to always go oh I need to grab this and this it's all in one time in one go and it's a game changer
00:30:13
Speaker
Yeah, Monday like I was just it was like the first day of my period and I like I was so gross but I just went to Starbucks and you know I shut off my phone and I just was able to like even though I was so tired I was just able to focus and I was like you know maybe I shouldn't work in my office because you know I got the dog I start washing dishes I start cleaning like you know it's just like too much distraction so I'm like
00:30:37
Speaker
feel like you just need to lock yourself in something for four hours, get that blog post done, get that editing session done, notice it, and just do it. Totally. And talking about cycles that also kind of ties in with
00:30:52
Speaker
productivity and how that works with our cycle. Oh yeah. Another game changer because you know there's a lot of focus when it comes to okay are you productive in the mornings or in the evenings and stuff and I feel like that's very like
00:31:08
Speaker
It's too limiting for people who menstruate. Yes, there are night owls, early birds, but then again, if you actually start learning about the cycle, there are times in the cycle where you're feeling like you just want to
00:31:23
Speaker
relax and you're not feeling it's all about the hormone levels and there are times where you're just so excited you can do anything and yeah when you have the luxury to kind of track your cycle with the things that you're doing another game changer for sure. Yeah me and you could definitely talk about that it's I love that topic because it's like I read that book Do Less with Kate Northrup
00:31:46
Speaker
Yeah, I've heard about it. I really take it to like consideration. I'm like, okay, these weeks I'm going to be like on fire for networking. These people are going to hate you guys. So don't even like go next to people. Exactly. Or I'm going to be like freaking like trying to start a new business and stuff. So it is all about the hormone level. That's so interesting. Yeah, that's so good.
00:32:08
Speaker
Point number two, we can come to it.
Task Automation
00:32:10
Speaker
And it's about, yeah, automation. The more, yeah, the more you can automate things that don't need you where you don't have to like manually do it, the more time you save and the more organized you can be. Like the easiest thing is even setting up these kinds of calls, right? You can be setting up client calls. And when you have something like,
00:32:36
Speaker
Calendly, you know, where they can choose the date, the time you've made it available, it's linked to your calendar. Once they book it, it's automatically setting up the Zoom meeting, it's sending them the email, it's sending them all like any instructions they might need. Instead of like going this back and forth, writing this every time, the amount of time you saved is insane.
00:33:02
Speaker
Yeah, like Calendly has saved me so much time for like, yeah, those family shoots in the podcast, because it just gives them like automatic, hey, these are my tips, you know, upload your headshot, upload your review, whatever. Yeah, it saves a ton of time. What else do you automate? I know you already do your editing, but do you have any other things you automate?
00:33:23
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, it's also simple as, for example, your how you deliver your galleries. Most of us at this point are doing it online, you know, like people have pick time or pixie set. I use pick time personally. And yeah, I love them. And the thing is, also, if you're doing print sales,
00:33:46
Speaker
Yeah, that's stuff that you can automate because you know, you can have emails going out to your clients, promotional emails, and then they can go to the store. They can order payments are happening. This is saving a whole lot of time. And like, these are amazing things that you can automate. And another thing for sure is social media scheduling, you know, Instagram.
00:34:10
Speaker
Pinterest, you know, you can use Tailwind to plan ahead, prepare everything, and then it's just sending it out, right? It's not for everybody, but for those who want to do it, it's perfect. Oh, I love that. Yeah. I was getting into this. I get into like negative state sometime or like things where I forget to do stuff. Like.
00:34:33
Speaker
I remember I was at church on Sunday and I'm like looking at my schedule and stuff. And I'm like, why am I even here? You know, like I could be watching cartoons, but I listened to this Rob dial podcast about like the mindset mentor. And it's about like.
00:34:48
Speaker
being able to work and then to rest our brains and to like to not, and then really was a good reminder to me. So I am like, okay, so when I went to Starbucks, I planned all my social media for that week. So I don't even have to really think about it too much and just be like that.
00:35:04
Speaker
super scatterbrain that we talked about. So it's scheduling everything, the pick time, which it also makes it beautiful. I have a 20% off for the first week and it just like forget it. It's the best feeling. You know it. And when you said, you know, you did your social media in one go, you're batch working it, right? You're in the zone, you got it done. And like the overall like umbrella,
00:35:29
Speaker
automation stuff is when it comes to like CRM, right? If you're using, for example, HoneyBook, or like Dubsado, you know, and all your client communication, contracts, you know, things that you want to send them, send your clients.
00:35:46
Speaker
automated. I mean the thing is what scares people off is the work that comes in the beginning to get these things set up. It's super intimidating. It's a whole lot of work. You got to think it through but the payoff is huge. Totally. My mind definitely does not work anymore with two kids and
00:36:05
Speaker
you know, the podcast, but I hire someone to set up all my flow flow work on Dubsado. And she has two kids too, but I always tell her, I don't know how your brain works like that. She's like carrying a kid and like, like going through like all the flows and stuff. I'm like, okay, my mind doesn't work like that. You could go in fiber. You could go and like, get someone outsource it and just help you set it up if you can't figure it out and just get it done. Because in the end of the day, it's going to help you with so much.
00:36:34
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. It's totally worth it. I'm making my way through Dopsado just for like our other elopement brand, but my husband works on like, you know, our local German speaking. He's happy that I've told him, hey, there are other ways, but he loves the way he works, so he's fine. But yeah, because I know Dopsado, there are so many options and stuff. It can be a little intimidating for our people, but
00:37:01
Speaker
Outsource is so worth it, like delegating outsourcing is underrated. Yeah, and it's not even that expensive. And I like how me and you are speaking the same language of all these like different companies we're using. And we're also like across the world, like I mentioned, Germany, that's so cool. It's like,
00:37:16
Speaker
I feel like we're like next door to each other, you know what I mean? There is, yeah. It connects us all and we have like more similarities all over the world than differences. It's just a reminder again, hey? I love that, I love that. Okay, if you don't have anything else to add to automation tip, then take it away with your last tip tip number three.
00:37:35
Speaker
Yeah, the last tip is about creating workflows and templates, which is similar, but then again also different. This is really talking about, for example, even your editing workflow, you know, you don't just, you know,
00:37:51
Speaker
at least when I started, it's like I'm just putting it there. I don't know where I'm saving my data. I don't know, like, you know, even using presets as part of it, you know, knowing, OK, like, for example, I added some of my images in black and white. Now I know because some clients would come back and be like, hey, can I have those images in color as well? And then I had to go searching through it. Oh, such a headache. Right. So right now I already
00:38:20
Speaker
I put two, two stars to the black and white images, and one star to the colored images so like as part of my workflow and then as if they have any requests I know quickly where to find them, change them deliver them, you know, I know that once I've done everything, I'm uploading it to pick time, and I'm also backing up all the, you know, JPEGs there.
00:38:45
Speaker
write down exactly every workflow you have for your client journey and make sure that you stick to it because that way you know you avoid even any error, any mistakes that could happen in between and I think it's also great for like keeping on brand.
00:39:01
Speaker
Yeah, that reminds me, this client reached out to me and told me that she wanted six photos changed into color. Yeah, you know, you want to avoid those. That's the thing, like, because, you know, I was just like, I would also get annoyed, right? Okay, from the client's perspective,
00:39:20
Speaker
This is one of those six images. And from our perspective, it actually shouldn't be that hard to get it done. That means there's something wrong on our side. So it's always about finding solutions for these kind of things and then smoothening the process. OK, I love this. OK, I'm going to recap one more time. So number one, planning. Plan ahead. You talked about batching and your goals and your bonuses. Plan, plan, plan, so you're not spoiled.
00:39:50
Speaker
Tip number two, as we mentioned, we talked about the period. But you could do less with automation. We talked a lot about pick time. We love it. So beautiful. Calendly mentioned Hootsuite. I use
00:40:09
Speaker
plan it, plan social media, automate anything that you possibly can. And then tip number three is all your workflows. And you mentioned like just whatever you do, just write it down, write a list of everything you do. So pretty much at the end of the day you could make things better.
00:40:30
Speaker
Absolutely. And also just creating templates. And that could be anything like email templates, for example, right? Sometimes you just kind of get the same type of questions from clients. And when you have it already organized, like all your answers that is just going to serve them well, you don't need to rewrite it every single time. You perfect it once, you personalize it on top and you send it out. Oh, I love it. What is your woo factor? What makes you stand out?
00:40:59
Speaker
So I can answer this in two different ways in terms of me as a person or as a photographer. But I think as a person, I like to think of myself as approachable. You know, so when, you know, when I have client calls, I just want to make sure that they feel comfortable and they can really express all their wishes. And just, I aim to just be transparent and honest. And that's how I build trust with my clients or potential clients.
00:41:28
Speaker
And I think that does translate to the business as well, right? My husband's also similar. We're very, very similar. And yeah, that's kind of what we try to bring to the forefront to build trust with our clients to know that, hey, we are going to do an amazing job for them as long as, you know, they're the right fit clients and we're the right fit photographers and everyone's happy.
00:41:51
Speaker
Yeah, you are super approachable. I love that about you. You gravitated towards my area in LA. You know, I have so much family in LA, California, general, so I will hit you up when I make my way over. Please do, please do for sure. Okay, so rapid fire questions. Let's see. What's the hardest part about working with your hubby?
00:42:20
Speaker
Sometimes I have some ideas and he just doesn't see it. You know, it doesn't happen as often. So I need to convince him. Okay. And I guess that would be the hardest part, but spending time together is actually not hard. Where a lot of people assume, okay, aren't you guys sick of each other? That's cute. My husband shot like one wedding with me and he was just like,
00:42:43
Speaker
I think it was like cocktail hour and he's like, Hey, can I, can I go home? And I was like, no, I guess he was hungry and he needed a beer. So, and after he's like, Oh, it's super fun, but he never came back. Oh my. Another wedding yet.
00:42:58
Speaker
I'm not always on weddings with my husband we're usually like separate but sometimes we're together and that's usually if I'm doing the videography or they need two photographers but for me it's awesome because like he's such a gentleman like he'll be he'll carry my bags all the no matter what like stairs and then he's like carrying everything he's like you've just come along and I'm like I miss that when I'm alone that's so sweet oh my god yeah it just sounds like magical to me like
00:43:28
Speaker
carry my stuff always. Like, let me just carry one camera and then be cool. Yeah, no, it's perfect. Cause he's always thinking, Hey, it's hot, grabs me water and stuff. And it's checking on me. So I love it. He was raised so well. Okay. What is your favorite or best organizational parenting tip?
00:43:49
Speaker
organizational parenting tip. I don't have any. Am I supposed to have one? Oh my god, I just
00:44:00
Speaker
give myself a lot of grace with this whole parenting thing, but also trying to make sure, Hey, that the kids are okay and being intentional. And like, one of the reasons that I had to go hardcore on being organized in my business is because I got kids, even especially, you know, now that we have two, I was like, no joke. Like, you know, it's different from when, when you're not a parent, you know? Yeah. We're forced to, we're totally forced to.
00:44:27
Speaker
Yeah. Like we just can't. It's just, it's yeah. You have to be super organized. Like our brains are working like a bazillion miles an hour. So our business. Yeah. You know, and it's really kind of working with my husband and kind of saying, for example, okay, even with my podcast and everything, planning it with my husband, Hey, uh, your calendar needs to be open at this time. Is it.
00:44:53
Speaker
you know, putting all my important stuff into his calendar so he can watch the kids and, you know, just working together on stuff like that. Oh, I love it. And your podcast is just going to do so well. And I feel like, you know, as podcasters for wedding pros, we need to stick together. So we need to be in each other's lives like forever. Yes. I absolutely say yes to that. I think. Yeah. Okay. So tell everyone about your freebie, which is the craziest freebie ever that's ever been on this podcast. And then where to find you.
00:45:23
Speaker
Yeah, so originally I made a physical planner and yeah, it just didn't make sense. And I couldn't get it to everyone in the world. How can I do it? Making a digital planner, finding out that that is possible. This was amazing. So I spent the winter working on my iPad, figuring it out, talking to photographers about my physical planner, asking them, hey, what was missing in that?
00:45:49
Speaker
making all the tweaks possible. And yeah, ended up making this digital planner and it's available for free for anyone. You just need to go to the link which I'm giving Teresa, it will be in her show notes. And you can download it and the 2023 version is also going to be free. So come back to my website and get that for you. Oh, that's so generous. And I love the concept how you have to download like a note app and then like the have a stylus and then use your iPad and like
00:46:17
Speaker
How badass would that look? Like me, like with the iPad with like nice little stylus pen and be like, like, look at my wedding this year and look at my wedding.
00:46:26
Speaker
And like, you know, having potential clients do that and they're gonna be like, whoa, like she knows what she's doing. She's going to deliver. Like, Oh, absolutely. Yeah, I did that one time. Like, I haven't met my clients in person in a while, like for consultations, except this one time they insisted. So we met outside, you know, COVID and everything. And I have my iPad and everything.
00:46:47
Speaker
I feel pretty good about us. Like this looks pretty professional. Totally. Oh my God. Knowing that everyone like wedding photographers are going to use this around the world. That is really, really cool. Something to be proud of.
00:47:00
Speaker
Yeah, it makes, you know, it just makes me happy when I just hear feedback and they're like, Hey, it actually super helped me get organized and have an overview. I feel like that's the key word when it comes to this planner is like, I've done everything possible and different options so that you feel like you have an overview, an annual overview of a monthly overview. Then you have your weekly stuff. I have a part where you can have checklists and everything's super flexible for you to make it work for your business.
00:47:29
Speaker
Yeah, cool. I'm so happy for you. Okay, so tell me where to find you and your very lasting advice for any wedding photographers, just anything.
00:47:38
Speaker
Okay, so you can find me on Instagram, which is at Ida Glovic, and it's a W. So A-I-D-A-G-L-O-W-I-K, because it's a German name. And then you can go to www.wedding-photography-podcast.com. That's like my website for my podcasts and all little blogs and articles that I write and also
00:48:03
Speaker
the digital planner is there to download. And my advice for wedding photographers is actually just do the work now. It's hard to get organized and set things up and then enjoy the fruits of your labor for years to come. Yay, mic drop.
00:48:26
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.