Whatever stage of business you are in, there are few things as important as finding your tribe and building friendships that will support you. My guest for today’s Connection Call is one of those friends for me, Katelyn Workman. Katelyn is a wedding photographer turned coach who loves to teach other entrepreneurs how to build sustainable businesses that they love. 

On Quianna Marie Weekly, we’re chatting about business growing pains, finding genuine connections, and celebrating wins of all sizes through the lens of a photographer at heart. Sprinkled throughout stories and interviews with past clients, photographers and other business owners this podcast is designed to help you step into your purpose and to truly create a life you’re proud of, a life worth photographing and sharing.

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Review the Show Notes: 

Why Katelyn loves to invest in education and attend conferences (3:19)

Where to look for education and mentors (4:50)

The motivation to start her own retreat (7:26)

What business owners need to know before they get started (13:33)

Expanding and growing your business (17:00)

Celebrating both business and personal milestones (20:49)

Finding a “why” for the whole family (23:35)

How to rediscover your “why” (26:27)

Tips for marketing your business and getting your name out there (30:41)

A key tip for entrepreneurs from Katelyn (32:26)

Connect with Katelyn Workman

FREE MARKETING GUIDE

Youtube

Website 

Instagram 

Mentioned in this Episode:

Short-Term Rental, Long-Term Wealth

Review the Transcript:

Quianna Marie
As a serial entrepreneur, and lifelong learner, I am obsessed with learning. I love investing in education, touring the country and even the world to attend conferences and workshops, and education of all kinds, both in person and online. And every time I leave these educational opportunities, I always leave learning so much more about my business, about my mental health, and all the fun action steps to help scale and grow my business. But honestly, one of my favorite things about these experiences are the connections and friendships that I make. Now, I want you to think about that for a second. When you invest in the things that you love. You naturally are putting yourself in rooms with other like minded, passionate people that actually share your hobbies, your interests, and your ability to turn your passions into profits. And every time I leave, I always leave with new friends. Now, the moment I met Caitlyn, I knew she happened to be sitting at my table.

So thank you to Courtney for organizing the seating chart at the recent graceful gathering conference. And I just knew I just I really felt an energy without an exchange and I just wanted to be her friend. I think that’s a really crazy part about going to these experiences is because you never know who you’re going to meet. You’re going to jive and you may even find people that okay, it was nice to meet you. But I’ll probably see a number. Right?

Well, Katelyn is one of those people that I quickly connected with, I wanted to instantly be her friend, which is why this conversation is going to be so fun because she’s literally chatting about connection, how to invest in education, how to find your own tribe, and build new friends, both in your business and also just real life. Katelyn Workman is a wedding photographer, educator, wife, Mama and host of creative retreat.

She started her business while taking pictures of her foster daughter and sharing about her fostering journey and quickly built a personal brand without any business or marketing experience. Now when she is not photographing weddings with her husband, she loves coaching other entrepreneurs to build sustainable businesses they love. So without further ado, please let me introduce you to Katelyn.

We can chat all about making connections. Welcome to Kiana Marie weekly, a podcast for creatives who love to celebrate wins, big or small by dancing in the kitchen photographers who are excited to serve their clients and friends who are ready to chase really, really big dreams. You can find all of the resources mentioned in this episode at QuiannaMarie.com/podcast.

Join me as I share weekly motivation, chat about growing pains, finding genuine connections and celebrating your wins through the lens of a photographer at heart. Come join me for a dance party. Ready? Let’s go. Hey, hey, Caitlin. Welcome to the party.

Katelyn Workman
Hi, thank you for having me.

Quianna Marie
Oh, my gosh, I am so grateful for you and for your time here. And I’m really, really excited for, for my audience to be introduced to you. This is such a fun connection.

Katelyn Workman
Yeah, I’m excited. Yay.

Quianna Marie
So let’s just dive right in. I love that we connected at a recent conference at the graceful gathering conference. And everyone who knows me knows that I’m a workshop a Holic. I am obsessed with education. I love learning. And I’m always investing and like in my business. And so I would love to hear from you why you love to invest in education and attend conferences.

Katelyn Workman
Well, so many reasons. But for me, everything in life is all about connecting with people, which is so cool. Just how we connected and everything. But I think that the most valuable thing you can do for your business is build relationships with people. And conferences are just a great place to network. So while I do find value in education, for me, it’s all about being in the room with people that I admire and learning from them through conversations.

Quianna Marie
Yes. Oh my gosh. And I love that you said that. Like you actually have to go to these places, right? Like connecting with people. And I feel like we can learn all the and I’m doing air quotes, all the textbook things, right, like knowing our camera settings, knowing our business techniques, but you’re really not going to find that growth and find that expansion unless you’re meeting new people. And I love that.

Katelyn Workman
Yes, exactly. You can learn a lot online for free through YouTube and through podcasts and things like that, but you can’t be in the room with them unless you actually go to those places.

Quianna Marie
Yes. So what advice would you give to someone who is maybe starting out their business? Maybe they quite haven’t actually quit their full time job and they’re just starting to baby business. What advice would you share to that person that wants to find higher education and find mentors? Where do you even begin to look for these conferences?

Katelyn Workman
I think I Ask people who you respect. Yeah, just ask around, say, you know, where did you learn? Who did you learn from or what was impactful to you, you can find people on Instagram and connect with them that way and see who you connect with personally, the first in person event that I went to was actually in Atlanta, Georgia, which is like an eight hour drive from where I’m at. But I had a really hard time finding community and finding anyone who would even have a conversation with me where I lived.

I started following name’s Amy Cole, started following her on Instagram, because a friend had gone to her workshop. And I just connected with her personally. And so sometimes you do have to travel and you do have to be intentional about it. But just find someone that you connect with and who is going to important to you.

Quianna Marie
Wow, well, and I love how you mentioned to because I’m like listening for all these little golden nuggets, because you’re full of all these, like sparks of genius AI and I love how you mentioned how you can just reach out through Instagram. And I want to take a little moment to say you can actually reach out to other photographers or other people in your business, I think sometimes there’s this frustration that we have to go directly to the source, right? Like we have to go directly to that established mentor or that six figure coach and we need to like find them.

I think we almost have to like reverse engineer it and look at our peers and ask, Hey, have you attended any conferences that you love? Who educated you who’s mentoring you? And that’s when you’re really going to find like the nitty gritty like the underground facts about different people in different conferences, right?

Katelyn Workman
Yes, exactly. I’m actually getting ready to do coaching with Mary Moran, who was at the graceful gathering and she mentored my friend Courtney. And I saw the growth in Courtney. So because I saw exactly what happened and what she did for her, I was willing to invest in her.

Quianna Marie
That’s so beautiful, because you’re you’re just looking at your friends, right? Like you’re literally looking at your peers. And and you can see that progress, which ultimately, of course, this is great for the mentors that you’re hiring or you’re interested in working with. But just having that street cred, or that accountability, that, hey, I can see this growth. And I want a piece of that, or at least I want to learn more. Okay, well, let’s dive into a couple more questions. I have, like so many questions for you, Katelyn.

I would love to know more about your retreats. Because this is one thing I just met you. And I’m already obsessed, like we became instant friends. And when you mentioned that you have your retreats, I’m thinking like, I wish we can go back in time, so I can attend these. So after attending multiple conferences, up leveling your own education, what made you decide to start your own retreat.

Katelyn Workman
So I mentioned I love connecting with people, that’s like, my life’s goal is to connect with people and to connect other people together and to teach people how to connect with others. I think that doesn’t come naturally to everyone. And I think it’s really lonely being an entrepreneur. And we can go to these conferences and learn all of these things. Then we go back home, and we still feel overwhelmed and stuck. And we don’t really know how to apply them.

After attending several wonderful conferences, I still kind of felt stuck. And I just felt like there needed to be something different for people who are feeling stuck and need time to literally create together. So their retreat is called Create retreat. And it’s funny, it kind of turned into like camp meets a workshop needs a retreat. And so we had time to just intentionally, like have conversations together.

We created vision boards and just talked about what our practical goals were. And it wasn’t very much of me teaching. It was just a lot of facilitating conversations and hearing people come to their own ideas and grow in their own ideas. So yeah, the idea actually came to me one day, I was taking a shower, which is where all great I come to us. And I was just thinking, what are some things that I do when I’m feeling stuck, I go for a walk, or I call a friend or I go for a drive or I take a shower or I go hiking, sometimes they go to a coffee shop. And so I just took all of those ideas and put them all together.

So we went on a walk and we went on a boat ride and we had one on one conversations and group conversations. And anyway so you can tell I get excited about it. But just hearing the girls after the retreat who were feeling very stuck and discouraged, just feeling inspired in their business, again, has been my favorite thing I’ve ever done.

Quianna Marie
That’s amazing. I love how all your best ideas come through to the shower to exactly how I feel and and I love that and in fact Mary Moran’s just she just posted about this, where you know, taking action will find clarity, right? And I just love that and, and the fact that you’re creating that safe space where others can just come they maybe don’t have those like, like the confidence to show up and just start talking to people and make those connections. But those things naturally happen when you put yourself in these types of rooms.

Katelyn Workman
Yes, yes. And I had one girl who was like really nervous. She was like I am not the bubbly personality. I have trouble connecting with people. I don’t know how to do this. And I was like just come just come and you’ll see what happens and the connections that were made just happened really organically and it was kind of like everybody’s walls were down and you weren’t doing In the comparison, scroll on Instagram, but they just gotta genuinely have conversations with people.

Quianna Marie
Yeah, well, and that’s always my favorite part. I love conferences, I love big events. I love big crowds and feeling that like collective energy is really fun. And as an extroverted introvert, like I love it, I need those moments in my life. But every time I go to these conferences, it’s always the in between moments, right? It’s like, the Uber rides when you’re hopping in a car with, you know, another random girl for the event. And you’re like, oh, yeah, we’re all going to the same place. Just hop in.

Obviously, we’re being cautious and safe about this. You’re not just getting the car with strangers. Right? Right. Like these are moments that happen and like, like those campfires, fireside things and making avocado toast together in the same Airbnb, this is when those organic conversations come out. And you learn not only about others, but you actually really learn about yourself.

Katelyn Workman
Yes, exactly. And that was the whole purpose was just to basically create a space for those in between moments the whole weekend.

Quianna Marie
I love that. Like, that sounds like so much fun. So when are you hosting these? How can we learn more about this and, and I like to dig deeper to like who would be a great candidate or who would be a best fit for these future retreats with you.

Katelyn Workman
So this past year, we did it Lake Norman in North Carolina next year. It’s funny that they’re both in North Carolina because I don’t live in North Carolina. Next year is the ocean Isle beach in North Carolina. So you can find out about you can go to my website, and there’s a Create Link, we’re already sold out for next year. So if you’re interested, you just have to really stay on top of it when we launch which will launch right after next year’s retreat.

I’ve had so many people reach out and say we really want to come but it’s sold out. So I’ve actually started a mastermind. And this is kind of like a really, really intense retreat, because we’re still going to have the same retreat, same setup, all those things. But there’s also five months of one on one calls and group calls with people. Because like we’ve talked about this is really important. And sometimes people have a hard time knowing where can I find this community. So it’s just a really intentional community being built that way. I love

Quianna Marie
that. Well, if you’re listening, and you’re thinking, wow, like, it’s time for me to step up my game to meet new people. And I have to share this too. Once I started getting on airplanes, and flying to meet my people, my entire business elevated, and I bloomed and I crossed those six figure marks like it’s just it’s insane. Because I think sometimes a lot of us can get a little discouraged. When we look in our neighborhoods, we look in our hometowns, and sometimes our people just aren’t here, right?

We can find really kind souls, we can find people that cheer for us and of course, maybe even be our clients that we love and we adore. But when it comes to up leveling your business, it really is important to invest in sometimes you have to buy those plane tickets. So if North Carolina Yeah. So if you’re listening in North Carolina sounds pretty far like this is your invitation to take that risk. That sounds so amazing.

Katelyn Workman
Yes, we had girls last year come from Texas, and from Georgia and from all over the place. But sometimes you might not find those cheerleaders in your area. Sometimes you do. I did not. Sometimes if you’re from a small town, it can be kind of more, I guess cutthroat and competitive. And sometimes it’s easier to find that community somewhere else and just be more vulnerable with people who aren’t like in your same market.

Quianna Marie
I love that. That is such a, like a feeling of grace to know that there really are kindred spirits and people that are just like you that share your passions, but they may live far away. Yes, exactly. I love that. So Caitlin, can you share with us? What is one thing that you wish photographers and small business owners knew before they started their business? Like even before maybe they started investing in education? What should we get started with first?

Katelyn Workman
Well, that’s such a hard question, because I think that you can start on so many different paths. But I think you just have to understand that you get out of it, what you put into it. And so looking at why do I want to do this? Why is this important to me. And you have to just take yourself seriously and decide that you’re going to start showing up. I think a lot of the reasons that I found success really early on was because I just started saying like, Oh, I’m a photographer, I’ll be your wedding photographer, even though I like never photographed a wedding. But just decide that you’re going to do something and just show up confidently even before you feel confident to do it.

Quianna Marie
Oh, I love that. That’s so smart. And I think that’s a huge identity shift, right? Like you actually have to claim it. I remember working with other students and other photographers when they’re just starting and that was a really hard kind of like threshold for them to click over to where they’re like, Oh, I’m a I think I’m a photographer. I don’t even know if I’m considered an artist. And I tell them like you are no longer working at blank and that’s where they would insert their corporate job or their other you know their other career.

Don’t even mention that. It just goes straight into the fact that you’re a photographer and you were proud and Then people, it’s like, people will only believe what you tell them. So if you are confident and that you’re a photographer, or that you are in your own business, like, they’re gonna believe it, like, why wouldn’t they want to identify you that way?

Katelyn Workman
Yes, exactly. And you have to believe it for yourself. I’m learning that so much of this, so much of life is just all about your mindset and this conversation with my daughter yesterday, who was frustrated in school, and she said, I can’t do this. I was like, No, you can, you know, do you know how to read? And she’s like, yes, she’s 11, she knows how to read. I said, you know, you’re really excited to learn about this, look how cool this is, you know how to read, you know how to do this.

By the end of the day, she was like, Oh, I can do this. But it’s like, if you don’t believe it for yourself, other people obviously are not going to believe not gonna believe it. And it doesn’t ever stop being hard, I think to have confidence in yourself. You know, when I added the title, coach, and educator, that was really hard. It’s still hard. And I think you just have to continually say those words out loud and start to believe them for yourself. Yes.

Quianna Marie
Oh, I love that. I think if I could go back in time, just like you mentioned before, literally, as we kicked off, this episode is talking about connections and making friends. Right, I think sometimes a lot of us can get so like deeply focused, like laser focused on the photography, on the business on the family portraits, the weddings, whatever it is that we’re, you know, trying to build our business on.

We’re looking for people within that bubble. But I found that my business actually grew and expanded when I was popping into new yoga classes, or I was signing up for things and just putting myself in rooms that I wanted to be there, this wasn’t torture that I was going to, you know, I wasn’t going skydiving or things that like, really nervous. I was putting myself in these rooms with new people. And then that’s when those connections and those referrals started flooding. So I love that you are such an advocate for connection

Katelyn Workman
to that’s how I’ve got my business. And that’s why I enjoy doing my business. Yes.

Quianna Marie
Oh, my gosh. So you mentioned that you just recently added coach and mentor. When have you experienced these pivots? And I would love to I would love to talk more about that Kaitlyn, How are you stretching and expanding your business these days?

Katelyn Workman
This has been a big year of growth for us a big year of growth. My transition to coach and educator started with Well, I had the idea for the retreat. And then I was having conversations with friends at a conference, obviously. And they were talking about their experience learning from Hope Taylor with her mastermind. On an on a whim, I went home and I DM her and I said can you send me the information?

She said, we started this week, go ahead and fill out an application. I had impostor syndrome even for that I’m like, you know, I’m not at the point where I need to be for her to accept me. And so this, she accepted me paid a lot of money. And I’m very stingy with money. Yeah. And I told my husband like that day, I just was like, I think I need to do this. And it was by far the best investment I’ve ever made. Because I got to learn from people who are where we want to be people like Becky with Becky’s brides, she was in the group with me, Nicole and Mark Pasternak were in the group with me and getting to see people who are serving with their spouse and seeing like what their family life looks like, was just really inspiring.

Anyways, I could talk for a long time about that, because it was just a great experience. But that’s kind of where I started the transition. And at another conference, a friend encouraged me to start applying for podcasts. And as I started sharing with people and started mentoring people one on one, I realized that while I’m not as far ahead, as some people, I am farther ahead than some people and can teach in different ways and connect with people in different ways. So I have found a lot of joy in one on one coaching with people, because I love problem solving. And I’m an idea person.

So when people are like, I don’t know where to go next, or I’m struggling with this, which I think we think similar. So similarly, yeah, um, but yeah, so that’s kind of how that transition has happened. And my husband is actually going full time with me this week. And not this week, he turned in his notice this week. So he has a couple of weeks left. But adding the education side and creating more passive income and things like that just having multiple income streams is our goal long term because we can only photograph so many weddings. And while we love it, we just kind of wanted to expand where our income could grow.

Quianna Marie
Wow, that is so inspiring. And I just have to like, I’m like clapping over here for your husband and for your family. I am just so excited for you guys and to finally be in this position where you’re like, Okay, we’re gonna do it. We’re taking this risk. It’s a very calculated risk like I love to say this is it you guys just jumping off the high dive and, you know, hoping you you grow wings on the way down like you’ve already have a plan in place. And I just, I think sometimes we’re so quick to move on to those next milestones that sometimes we just need to pause and celebrate. So I’m cheering For you, girl, this is so exciting.

Katelyn Workman
Thank you it is really surreal. A year ago, I never would have thought we would be here. And we have done a lot of calculated planning, you know, we have our emergency fund, and we have all these things in place. So if something happened, and we didn’t make any money, we’d be okay for for a little while. So we’ve done all of the prep work that even though it feels like a big jump, it doesn’t feel scary. It just feels exciting.

Quianna Marie
That’s amazing. One thing that I love is that you not only have big goals, and big milestones coming up for your business, but also for your family. When you were speaking at the graceful gathering, and just recently, where we met, I was blown away by your talk, like you literally only had 10 minutes. And you had us feeling all of the fields. We were laughing, we were crying like happy tears, emotional tears, we were all relating to what you were saying. And so I would love for you to kind of bridge the gap between those big business milestones. And then can you please share with us what you guys have on the horizon for your family?

Homeschooling and Business

Katelyn Workman
Sure. Yeah. When Courtney told me I had 10 minutes, I’m like, How can I make this as impactful as I can in 10 minutes, which was very challenging. But yeah, this is a big year for our family, just because I’ve honestly been in survival mode for the past six months, because my daughter, we adopted through foster care. And she came to live with us when she was five. So most kids have that first five years of their life where they learn so much. And they get that security and safety and all those things. And she didn’t get that until she was about six to this took her about a year to trust us.

She needs a little bit more attention and a little bit more love and care and things like that. So we tried public school, it just was not a good fit for her. We tried a Montessori school we were really excited about it just was not the best fit. And I pulled her out in December. Like we decided in a day. Okay, we need to do this. So I wasn’t really ready to homeschool. But I just felt like that’s where we needed what we needed to do for our family. So learning to balance all that has been kind of hard. And I know that as soon as my husband gets home, we’re going to kind of split that 5050.

I’m really excited for that he loves like the museums and the zoos, and like all the hands on all that he’s going to be in charge of science and social study. Because he loves all that stuff. And he was homeschooled. So he’s like really excited to jump in and actually be able to get to spend that time with our kids. Actually, when we were at the graceful gathering, I was there to speak.

That was the first time that my family got to come with me. They did the Science Museum while we were there, we did the zoo. And since coming home, she’s had to write a report on the animals and gotten to read a book about polar bears. And so I’m just really excited to watch how everything kind of melds together. Learning that we want our business to kind of revolve around our life instead of the other way around, which is kind of how it’s been for the past few years.

Quianna Marie
That’s incredibly inspiring. And I love that you were able to like gracefully, even though it feels like a co poem like just all at once, right? I feel like you were able to start this new adventure while you’re juggling your business, your full time business. And then homeschooling your children. This is just This is next level Kaitlyn!

Katelyn Workman
Oh, I do not have it all. All together, please. I just shared an Instagram story, I think yesterday and I was like, This is what my house looks like. This is not things are not perfect. We’re living in chaos right now. My house is never clean. But everyone is loved and cared for and fed even though they’re fed by pizza takeout and Chick fil A twice a week.

Quianna Marie
Hey, that’s okay. You are not only surviving now. But now you’re thriving, and you’re setting yourself up and your family. And I would love to hear more about this beach house. We chatted about that a little bit. And it was even part of your speech. So can you share how this had turned into not just your why but your family’s why? And I wouldn’t I want to unpack that a little bit.

Katelyn Workman
So we’re really excited. We love the beach, we always have I remember we took my daughter to the beach for the first time is our first trip we took her on. And it’s just like this sense of peace comes over all of us when we’re there. We’re about five and a half hours from the beach. And so actually, before my son was born, he’s almost three, my husband was applying for jobs down south, we were talking about moving because we just didn’t feel settled here.

We just couldn’t commit to move because both of our parents are here. And they help a lot with their kids and all of that. So we want a beach house that we can go and enjoy. But still live here where our families are. So to own two homes is kind of a big financial commitment. But that’s the dream. That’s the goal. And a friend recommended the book. I was gonna bring aside and forget what it’s called short term rental long term wealth. And I can send that to you to put the link but she recommended that to me. So I’ve been reading that and it’s just another opportunity to create more income in another way.

So that’s the goal with the beach house. The kids just love the beach and every time we’re there we just we just feel a sense of peace. And so I keep reminding the kids that we are making sacrifices right now with our budget and not eating out as much and things like that. You know, telling him to turn the lights on, and things like that. And I just keep reminding her like, this is the goal.

This is we want the beach house. My daughter actually drew a picture of what she imagines the beach house to look like. And it’s on our bridge. She’s gotten to the point where the other day my husband was taking her to Sam’s Club. And she said, Dad, why are we going to the store to spend money we’re supposed to be saving for the beach. And I’m, like, well, we’ve talked to buy diapers, you know. But yeah, it’s been really cool to just dream with them and have that vision of what we want our future to look like, together.

Quianna Marie
That’s amazing. I love how you have taken such a, I would call like a pipe dream, like long term goal, and made it a family affair, like actually found it like a family why. I feel like that was really impactful to a part of your speech where you were chatting about discovering your why. And I feel like it’s a very big buzzword, a lot of us are kind of numb to hearing this at this point where we’re like, identify your why, why, why, why.

It can be either overwhelming or something that we just kind of like skip past sometimes. But I would love for you to share. What does it feel like to actually redefine your why?

Because I think sometimes when we start our business, we know why we want this financial freedom, you know, why we do what we do, and our passions are for helping people and all these amazing things that make an impact. But sometimes as business goes on, and things expand and stretch and change our Why is changed. So can you share a little bit about like the tools or any any ideas you have about rediscovering your current why?

Katelyn Workman
I think it changes often. I think that it’s really important to have conversations with people in your life who know you really well. And whether that’s a spouse, or just a friend or a sounding board, having those conversations often and looking at what do we want our life to look like. And when I wrote down my why a year and a half ago is very different than what it is now. In fact, my kids were kind of at the bottom of the list. And I felt guilty about that. But I was like, I’m not doing this business for my kids.

If I wanted to do what was best for my kids, I wouldn’t work at all. And we would just live on one income. And I was like, No, I’m doing this. For me, this business is for me because I want something that I feel successful and and I like making money. And I had to really self reflect because I felt guilty about it. But the truth is, it is for them because it does give us the freedom to spend time with them.

It’s kind of looking at that balance of what do we want our life to look like? What do we want our kids childhood to be like? And we started fostering a year into our marriage. So we were babies. So we’ve kind of grown up with her and had to learn a lot a lot along the way and just kind of realizing what we want our life to look like. I don’t know, that’s such a hard question.

I don’t know if that long ramble. But yeah, just kind of look at what do you want for your life and look at people who you admire their lifestyle and their values and see well what are they doing? And not to compare yourself to them or anything like that. But seeing okay, this is what they do. That’s how they’ve set themselves up for this success, right? And talking to people who are where you want to be?

Quianna Marie
Oh, yeah, well, this is very powerful. Because I feel like sometimes we get caught up in this, this hamster wheel or we get rolling. All of a sudden, you’re thinking, Wait, why am I even doing this? I even can speak from my own experience to where, you know, I’ve been in these masterminds, I’ve been up leveling my education. And these girls, some of these girls that I in circles with are making over $100,000 a month, like this is like, this is the big dogs, right?

I started thinking, okay, but like why, like why, like, if I can pull back and I think Gary Vee even talks about this to where he says that, you know, you can make $300,000 a year and be miserable, or you could make $60,000 a year and be so happy. And so I think sometimes we get lost in the numbers or we get lost and all the things when in reality, it’s such a blessing, like for you and your family that you have so much more freedom, you and your husband get to homeschool your babies and and also reach for those big goals.

So I think it’s so important to just do like a little reset and like come back to to you like I feel like your why always should be you. And I also want to say to just like to reiterate like I love that you even though you’ve revisited your why, like having you at the top of that list is is most important. Like that needs to be validated and that needs to be celebrated. Because anything that we do to make us feel more successful make us you know, just be just be a better person and want to be around, right? That trickles down into all of the lives in our families and in our households. Yeah, I

Today’s American Dream

Katelyn Workman
think it’s just hard because a lot of times we find success as Americans as people in being busy and being and looking looking successful is making a certain amount of money or being super busy and things like that and I want to be able to look back at my life and feel proud of the decisions that I’ve made. And I’m a very Are you positive person, so I don’t typically look back and have regrets. Like, I kind of look at the bright side of things. But our kids, if you’re a parent, you have a huge responsibility to your kids. And I keep reminding my husband like, it’s okay, if we make a little bit less money. This year, what is most important is what we’re pouring into our kids and this short, 18 years that we have them in our house, that’s our most important mission in our life. And so that is, that is success to us.

Quianna Marie
Oh, my gosh, that’s so beautiful and so inspiring. And I would love to learn a little bit more about your marketing. I feel like this is something where like, okay, like, let’s get into it. But before we leave on like, wait, I want to get some good meat and potatoes with you, Caitlin. Um, I would love for you if you could share with us a little bit about your marketing, how you share your business, because I think it could be very fluid and very easy to talk about our business without feeling salesy. So do you have any tips or any insights to share about really getting your name out there, once you get rolling,

How To Get Your Name Out There

Katelyn Workman
I think just remembering to be yourself. And that sounds so cheesy. But just remember that you have unique things to bring to the table, I think that the biggest mistake people make in their businesses is trying to be exactly like someone else, or feeling like they have to fit into this certain mold in order to be successful. But if you can just look at what makes you unique, and look at your gifts and your talents, and share that and use that to connect with people, it’s going to make a huge difference.

I booked so many brides my first year because we were sharing about our fostering journey. Those brides were connecting with that and not that they were foster parents, but they just understood my heart, and they really connected with me. And that’s something that was unique to me. I think if people can find something unique to themselves, and share about that, that really helps.

Quianna Marie
That’s amazing and so inspiring to you like that’s, it is cheesy to say just be you easy to say that. Um, but you’ll be amazed at how far you can take your business, take your life, and take your success simply like just listening and following your heart and just doing what feels right to you.

Katelyn Workman
And remembering that people are just people. I think for so many years, I was intimidated to have conversations with certain people. And now I seek those people out and have conversations with them. Because I’m like, they’re just a person. And I could learn so much by just having a conversation with them. So don’t be scared to meet people and to put yourself out there. Yeah.

Quianna Marie
Oh, no, that’s amazing. So in closing, I would love to ask, ask every guest that comes on, if you would share. And even though you’ve shared a million of these already, but if you could please share a key tip for entrepreneurs and photographers.

KEY TIP:

Katelyn Workman
A key tip for photographers and entrepreneurs would just be to start showing up consistently and competently, wherever you choose to show up, if that’s in your yoga class, or if that’s on Instagram, or Tiktok, wherever it is that you are showing up, just start showing up consistently and confidently. And I have a free guide that I think we’re going to share in the show notes that talks you through how to start sharing your brand.

Personally, if you’re like Kailyn, I have no idea what to share about myself, I have a conversation with people often who say I don’t have anything exciting or people don’t actually want to learn, learn anything for me or connect with me or whatever. But that guide just talks you through how you can find your own core connection points to share with your audience and ways that you can share and all those things. So I would definitely take that and use that for sure.

Quianna Marie
That’s amazing. Thank you so much for offering that freebie to I feel like that’s going to be really helpful for any business and not just photographers. But for anybody that’s interested in marketing and getting their name out there organically and like making it stick. Right? Like we can talk about it and we can share but creating that special something that people want to reach back out to you for it’s really important. Yes, for sure. Yay. Well, thank you so much, Katelyn, and how can we find you because when I met you at the conference, I literally it was like, I just felt your energy I felt being in your presence. And I’m like, Okay, you’re my new friend. Yes, I

Katelyn Workman
felt the exact same way.

Quianna Marie
So I was like, I picked you. Okay, and so now we’re friends, and now you’re on the podcast and things are happening. So I’m sure anyone that’s listening is going to feel the same way about you. So how can we stay connected?

Katelyn Workman
If you grab that freebie, it’ll put you on my email list. And I send free education every week and I also am on YouTube. So you’ll get all of that straight to your inbox. And you can also find me on Instagram. It’s just instagram.com/caitlin workman photography. I’m still an Instagram girl. I’m a little bit on Tik Tok, but not really. So Instagram is where we’ll be real friends. Yeah,

Quianna Marie
I love to spend way too much time on Instagram to be honest. Yeah, I love it. Like is this is this this is working right? Yeah. Oh, we’re totally working. Well, thank you so much. Beautiful. I appreciate your time and I cannot wait to connect soon.

Katelyn Workman
Yeah, thanks for having me.

Quianna Marie
I’m so grateful to have you here and to share these conversations with me. Your Katelyn is at the next conference is at the next retreat and the next educational experience. This is your time to book that fly. Hate to invest in education and get yourself out there. Katelyn has incredible resources and make sure that you check out all of her social media presence, all of her websites, all the fun stuff to get to know her and follow her. Because Caitlin is someone that you’re going to run your corner to hope you have a great day. Okay, love you. Right. That’s a wrap on another episode of Quianna Marie Weekly.

Thank you so much for your listenership and support. You can find the resources and show notes for this episode and more at Kiana murray.com/podcast. I’d be honored if you show your support by leaving a review and rating on your favorite podcast app. Until next time, keep on dancing!