How can you use community to elevate your brand? In today’s episode, I’m continuing my series all about branding, and discussing all things community building with Heather and Jamie of The Conquer Community. They’re sharing their roadmap to building a thriving community and coaching business, plus tips for attending your next conference or retreat. 

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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Today’s episode is brought to you by The Green House, my resource garden for photographers! Let me help you AMPLIFY your heart online and in real life to turn bridesmaids into future brides through templates, workshops, and freebies!

Review The Show Notes:

Meet Heather and Jamie (3:37)

Formation Of The Conquer Community (5:25)

The Heart Of The Community (7:43)

How Community Impacts Your Life And Business (11:43)

Finding Your Community And Where You Belong (14:23)

Hosting Conquer Live (18:14)

Advice For Connecting With A New Community (23:00)

The Benefit Of In-Person Events (27:49)

Finding The RIght Speakers For Your Event (32:44)

Stepping Up The Next Conference (39:31)

Key Tip From Heather And Jamie (46:09)

Connect With Heather And Jamie:

Website: conquerlive.heathermlphoto.com

Instagram:  instagram.com/theconquercommunity

Facebook Group Conquering Your First Years: facebook.com/groups/theconquercommunity

Conference prep freebie

Connect With Heather:

Website: heathermlphoto.com

Instagram: instagram.com/heather.marie.leicy

Connect With Jamie:

Website: jamiefishercollective.com

Instagram: instagram.com/jamiefishercollective

Review the Transcript:

Quianna: Oh, hey, gorgeous. Today, we’re going to hop right into sharing the power of community. As we continue this branding series, I knew it was vital to include these two powerhouse women to share how much their personal brands have exploded since joining forces and how their community radiates growth and success through their coaching opportunities, in person events and retreats.

Community building has been expanding with hype these days, and we’ve all been encouraged to create our own communities, join different communities within our industry, as well as branch out to learn from other communities as well. Woo. That’s a lot of communities. Today, Heather Lisey and Jamie Fisher are going to give us a behind the scenes roadmap to how they ignited their friendship that then created their Thriving Concord community and coaching business.

If you’re listening on the go, check out their Instagram at the Concord community to see their beaming faces and feel the energy of their community. As we continue this chat, if you’re interested in taking your brand and business to the next level, this conversation was designed just for you together.

We’ll be discussing why finding a solid community of supportive and encouraging peers and mentors will help your business grow much faster than you ever could alone. Speaking of being alone, when we find ourselves trapped in our office caves or talking to our toddlers or dogs all day long, entrepreneurship can feel extremely lonely.

Finding genuine friendships and mentors that make you feel understood, welcome, and encouraged can make or break your business goals. Jamie and Heather are celebrating the launch of their third annual Conquer live retreat in January 2025, and I am honored to be an educator for this round to share all about the power of behind the scenes.

I’m so excited to introduce you to these incredible photographers, educators, and community leaders. Jamie Fisher is a talented legacy photographer with a passion for photographing family portraits, weddings, milestones, and branding. She loves helping creatives build intentional businesses and abundant lives through her business coaching and conferences.

Heather Lacey is also a super talent photographer that specializes in weddings and seniors with a special gene that makes her love taxes. You know, can you believe it? Thankfully, Heather’s passion for numbers has helped countless photographers crush their deductions and file their taxes without the headaches.

We all need a friend like Heather too. Both Jamie and Heather have thriving associate teams as well. These ladies are on board. Fire, and they have so much to teach us. Let’s get them on and get this party started. 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 KeanuMarie. com slash 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, hey, welcome to the party, Jamie and Heather. It is truly an honor to have. Both of you incredible superstars, community builders, and just genuine hearts here on the podcast today. And we are going to be chatting all about community and branding and how that all just dances together.

So I would love to start with some quick introductions. Heather, please tell us who you are and all about the stuff that makes you magical.

Heather: Hello, everyone. I am Heather, a wedding and senior photographer based in Lancaster, PA. And then I also love just educating beginner photographers on how to transform tax season from a stressful chore into a simple streamline process.

I know that sounds like really not exciting, but I have a love for it. On the other side, like my personal side, I’m a wife of an incredible husband and a mom of a little girl who is almost a year and a half old, um, and two fur babies that I absolutely love. And then, uh, I’m one half of the head of the Concord community.

Yay!

Quianna: Oh my goodness. I am so grateful for you and so excited for this conversation. So JP, please tell us a little about yourself as well.

Jamie: Hi, I’m the other half. Uh, no, but I’m Jamie. Um, I’m a photographer as well and educator based out of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Through the photography business, I handle branding, legacy, and then I actually now have an associate team that solely I’ll say solely, I do about three weddings a year.

They solely do the majority of the weddings. And on the education side, I am teaching photographers how to build their businesses, aligning it with their life. So building a business that completely supports the life that they want, what an ideal life looks like for them. A lot of them are parents. And so I can relate a lot because I have three, uh, young children.

We have a dog that we absolutely adore too. He is in every Christmas card and even before me and my husband got married, we sent out a Christmas card with just bear on it. Um, so we have many, many. He is infiltrated into a family. I love

Quianna: that so much. Thank you so much for these quick introductions. I need to know how you two connected and how your Conquer community was born.

Heather: I love that you’re asking this because, uh, we actually met from another conference in Arizona. So we both, if you guys took notice in the intros, are both from PA. Uh, we’re about like two hours apart from each other, but it wasn’t until we flew across the country for a conference till we finally met each other.

Uh, luckily my roommate was good friends with Jamie at the conference and connected us. And From that, we kind of just formed a friendship that continued on. And sadly, when COVID hit, we were both kind of just talking back and forth with each other about just how hard it was to be photographers and not be able to do what we loved and not even be able to like talk with people or just stay connected and grow our businesses.

And so really conquer community came out of that and that one for us to just connect with people and do something that could continue our business forward, even though we could not be shooting or going and meeting new clients or new vendors. And so, um, we started doing a weekly calls that are called the conquer conversations, uh, free to anyone to join, especially during that time.

We just wanted anyone to come and just feel like they could. Grow their businesses with that. So just meet new people and, um, form a community while they were stuck in their homes. And so we started those on clubhouse. Uh, you may remember that app being huge. Um, it has now switched over to zoom. Um, and we do them biweekly and just to watch from week to week or now biweekly what they get done within that amount of time, it is just incredible.

And we’ve just loved this community. That’s kind of formed on its own because now educators come and join us. Air input on things. And it’s just this whole group of people just growing

Quianna: together. I love that so much. And I, first of all, I have to say, I think that’s hilarious that I’m located here in Arizona and you girls had to literally fly across the country to connect and, you know, as you’re listening, you’re going to find this.

thread throughout this conversation, how important community really is. And sometimes we have to get on an airplane to find our people, right? We have to invest and get out there. And I just love that it took an event to get you girls to connect. So I would love to know, Jamie, if you can please dive a little bit deeper into the heart of your Concord community.

I’d love to know the mission behind it and what makes this community different.

Jamie: Oh, yeah, it’s like my favorite story, um, nervous to put this out because it is so much the opposite of what you find at the time of most conferences, most events, but you know, we loved it. We thought other photographers would love it too.

But when we actually hit send on, Hey, you know, educators can apply. But we’re asking you to basically, like, strip away all of your VIP status. Um, we want you to stay in the same house as our attendees. Not even just on the same floor, but like, we’re all gonna be together. And, you know, this is, this is our heart behind it.

And it truly, it was, it was nerve wracking then, but incredibly rewarding to see how many other people also thought like us. And just nobody was talking about it. There were actually multiple educators that had come to us and had private conversations saying that they loved the style of being closer to the people they were actually educating, getting to have conversations with them.

And actually see things happen in front of them at Conquer Live. We stripped down all barriers that we can think of when it comes to educators and students, you’re not standing in a line for 20 minutes just to get a picture. Um, that’s like our little summary that I think can describe it. We are. all sitting down with students.

We are making things happen at the event so that people have momentum and bring it forward home with them. But we are trying to continue to showcase by example. There is tons of connectivity within the group, um, and so the true heart is like people helping people, creating accountability, and building trust.

a space where we can all win.

Quianna: Incredible. I love that you guys both are workshopaholics, right? You, just like me, you love going and investing in your business, investing in your life skills, all the things, and noticed. That some things could be changed, some things could be improved, right? And you’re right.

I have gone to so many conferences and events thinking, Oh my gosh, are we in Disneyland? Do I have to wait in line to take a picture with this educator? Right? Which is so funny to me, because if you’re in this wedding industry or. Any type of creative industry, if some big name were to walk in target, nobody would know who they are.

But we like, we would know who they are, right? Which is so funny. I just think that’s hilarious that we can sometimes idolize these educators where in reality, they’re just like us. They’ve gone through similar struggles. They’ve made calculated risks just like us. And we get to learn from them. We get to, like you said, strip all of that and have genuine conversations.

The stuff I’ve seen from Conquer Live so far, just being a, like, you know, outsider kind of watching, I love that you guys are flipping pancakes with the students and the leaders and the instructors, like, it’s just, it makes it more of a homey experience and something you can take away and just watching them interacting by how they’re speaking and sharing and truly living in that educator role.

I love that so much.

Heather: I love it. I also love, uh, just like that. That’s the things that pop out for people like those aren’t things that we can really in a sense, explain and put on like a website page, but just you guys seeing it in the videos and the photos that we share it like that’s the heart behind it.

And that’s like what we want it to be. And it’s just. It’s so nice when people reach out and say those things are the things that really catch their eyes because it can be just a dream or a thought for Jamie and I, but when we actually are here, people being like, I love that. And I want to come join that or be part of that community that just lights our hearts up.

Quianna: Oh my gosh. I love this so much. So please tell me Heather, I would love to go a little bit deeper into how this conquer community has completely impacted your life and business.

Heather: It’s so crazy. Uh, at first when we started this, of course, it was just like, what do we do now? Because we’re stuck in home and we have no idea and we just need something to do.

Um, and that’s kind of how it started, um, that we just wanted to be there for people. And so starting it out, you don’t really think about like, how’s this going to impact me or what am I going to get out of it? Because you’re just wanting to give to others. But honestly, just thinking through this, like this community has been huge.

For me, not only in just the people that I’ve met, but those people have then pushed me in my own business to grow. Like, I feel like I’ve grown huge as an educator and from some of those people that I made connections with, it’s pushed me to now put out a course for myself. It’s just crazy. Like I want to give to people, but they’re also giving back and then seeing that and looking back even just three years ago, I would have never thought that I would be where I am as like an educator and working with Jamie and having this community around us.

I never saw that. I think Jamie probably has the same thoughts as me with that. In addition to that though, I think the biggest thing that has been like a game changer in being a part of this community is I have just seen how impactful it is that if you focus on just one task, like one task a week, And then start doing that every single week.

The amount of growth that your business can have can be like exponential in just one year. And we’ve seen it over and over again with a ton of our attendees, also us and other educators that have been a part of it. It’s just crazy just how much your business grows. I think that’s like hands down the biggest thing that’s impacted my life.

I think that

Jamie: works with everybody in the community, too, because even if you’re not in a formal, you know, group or, or, you know, accountability partners or things like that, the minute you say it, or the minute you post inside a group, your idea or what you’re troubleshooting, People naturally follow up with you.

And so you do have a level of accountability that wasn’t there if you were just doing it by yourself. And so just the growth that Heather explained happens at every touch point within that community. It’s kind of crazy. Yes.

Quianna: Oh my gosh. It absolutely is so true. When you say something out loud, when you write it down, and then people are excited to encourage you, right?

It’s not so much like a, hey, I’m Are you know, like this, like, you better get this done. They’re excited to see that growth and they’re excited to support you. So I would love to know, Jamie, how do we find these communities? Where do we begin to look? I know we are so blessed because we are finding these communities in business growth, right?

Like business scenes, um, that obviously. Like kind of watercolor, kind of flood into our personal lives as well so beautifully. But what advice would you give to someone that really wants to find their community and find where they belong?

Jamie: I love this question. And honestly, I’ve thought about this answer because I think before, before it comes to the question of, you know, where do I find these people, I wish somebody would have told me, you need to block out the noise and really sit down and do a self evaluation or, you know, Not your person, but your business.

Let’s do a self evaluation before diving into anything. And there is a lot of hangups that we have seen just in this step. People want to skip past the uncomfortable and the moment that you force yourself to be clear and honest as you can be. of where your business is. That’s where you’re going to get the growth from.

Nobody’s going to need or nobody is going to know how to help you and you’re not going to know what you need in an event, a course, a mentor. You’re not going to know any of that until you can be honest with yourself about where you are. And in the world of Instagram where you’re seeing all of everybody’s highlight reels, that’s really becoming more and more difficult because everybody wants to show their best face.

And so that’s where I would start kind of liking it to, uh, a chat GPT prompt. So if you were to just put a post out there and say, you know, Hey, what’s everybody going to this year? You know, what events are we, are we attending? You’re going to get a bunch of things back, and who knows if they would be for you or not.

If you put a better prompt out there and say, you know, I’m a mom of young children who owns a full time business. I’m in year three. My goal is to bring home 100k. By year five, like the more specific that you can be, people want to help other people. And so by kind of crowdsourcing in that way, it will help you find where you’re meant to be.

And then you can test the waters. Then you can get the names of these places, of these communities. And I know within our community, but also other ones that Heather and I have been a part of, everybody that is part of a community, Is happy to talk about it. Honestly, the things they liked, the things they didn’t like the things that weren’t there before that now are because the hosts are really listening, or maybe things have changed and it wasn’t what it used to be.

It’s really, really good to talk to people that are actually inside of it so that you can get honest feedback, opinion on that. I

Quianna: love that so much. Those are both. Are all of it really is all really great information and I love your almost like your chat GPT prompt but sourcing threads right sourcing an Instagram post so you are, you are really tapping into and crowdsourcing real humans, but when you add those layers of details right and we can get into the nitty gritty where it’s not just.

Exactly what you listed, right? I’m a mom with three young Children. I’m trying to reach six figures. I’m also trying to fill my calendar with dream weddings. I’m or I’m also trying to build out my very first course to try to earn some passive income, right? There’s so many other little details and nuances.

And I love that because there are educators and supporters just like us that would happily jump in and say, Hey, I have this community. Although You might actually be a better fit for this group over here, right? Like we are so happy to direct. I think that’s just like the divine mother in us that we just are like mother hens and we want to help support in any way that we can.

So beautiful. And, um, yes, I think it’s important to, to reach out to those that have either attended or that are currently part of that community. So it’s not just what you can get out of it. It’s how you can also serve and be an asset to that community as well. I love that so much. So please tell me more, Heather.

I cannot wait to learn more about Conquer Live. You girls are getting ready to host year three. And I just want to know all the details about it. We’ve mentioned a little bit in the past already, but let’s get into it. I’m so excited.

Heather: Year three. I was like, what? Just you saying that gets me so excited. Um, okay.

So a little backstory for everyone. So we were doing just the, uh, the conquer conversations for two years. And this kind of organically came to be because we had so many of our attendees that were there every single week with us being like, Hey, is there something, can we get together? Is something coming up where we can actually meet in person?

Can we grow together? They’re in one place for like a weekend. And it really just formed through that. And those requests that Jamie and I were like, maybe we should, like, we should get together, like let’s grow and create something that we can actually like all get together, really dive into our businesses.

And so Conquer Live was born and like you said we are now on round three which is crazy and we do it once a year and it’s always in January because we want it to be a time that you can really dedicate to the back end of your business and not be swamped with Sessions or what things that you have coming up and just kind of come to it for the weekend and then put that notebook aside and forget about it.

We really want you to be in a space that you can start implementing things right away before you even leave. And then also the week after or the two weeks after. So it’s in January this year. January 24th to 26. So it’s a three day conference where you live with everyone. Like Jamie said, we love to break down the barriers.

And so it’s not that there’s an educator space and an attendee space. We’re all living in the same house for a whole week. And first off, it is a blast. I mean, everyone truly does just break down their barriers and we get to grow together and everyone always leaves just feeling like a family. And so Conquer Live is the best parts of a conference because you’re getting 14 educators that are all and great tips and stuff that you can take home and start implementing immediately.

where you don’t feel like you’re standing in a line waiting to talk to someone to ask them one question, Ask and then you kind of miss it out. You have a whole weekend with them and we actually implement time where you can sit down with every single educator and ask them a question and dive into your business, open up your laptops, really just get something done while you’re with them.

Instead of just being like, Hey, what’s new? You know, those questions that you get when you’re like, What do I say to this person? I’ve been waiting to talk to them. We want it to be fully stripped down and just feel like it’s a group of people growing and building their businesses together. And we just love seeing it.

One of our biggest things that we always hear back as one of the highlights is that we do a two to one ratio. So, we’re So there will never be more than two attendees per each educator. And we do that because we really want them to be able to talk to every single person and not feel like they’re in a city of a ton of attendees and kind of get hesitant or hold themselves back from going and asking those questions.

We want them to step up or even just have the educators go and ask them. them the questions when they have a chance. And so this is really just a weekend of breaking down barriers, growing your business, and also growing a community that can last past it, because this is only a weekend, but the friendships and the growth and support that we’ve seen after every single year that we do conquer live is incredible.

We have some students that are in masterminds together now that they’ve just created with them. Oh, and are we meeting weekly or biweekly to keep growing and it’s just amazing that like that little weekend could turn into so much more if you really put in the work and come prepared and then start implementing the things.

I love

Quianna: that so much. And I am so excited for conquer live this year. I should say in 2025 is coming up soon. And I just want to make a note and share How grateful I am that both of you decided to host this in January because the holidays are crazy, right? And I love that you mentioned that. I feel like that’s a, a very collaborative and like community driven response that it’s.

It’s crazy this time of year, squeezing that in. So definitely being really intentional with the back end of your business to launch a whole new year and quarterly planning and making these connections that are going to help drive those results is just incredible. Oh my gosh. So. Now that we’ve decided that we’re coming to Conquer Live, I, I would love to know, Jamie, what advice would you give to someone that maybe has gotten a taste of Conquer in your community, they’re excited to connect with new friends, but they don’t know anybody yet?

What advice would you share to say it’s okay, you’re welcome here, and how can we be best equipped for this experience?

Jamie: I’m going to ask everybody to ride that wave. Like we’ve already decided to come, because I have like some tough love to this question. I do say it with like the utmost care, but if knowing someone, being able to go to an event with somebody you know is a deal breaker, I think there’s something deeper.

There’s a deeper underlying block that needs to be addressed. You know, Heather mentioned earlier how both her and I went to a conference that when I actually went completely by myself, I, I knew, I think I knew that her roommate was going, but not until a way closer. So, you know, I had bought the ticket, I don’t know, a year in advance.

And, um, and just knew that that’s the place that I wanted to learn. And, um, so, you know, for all intents and purposes, like I didn’t know anybody going and, um, Heather and I not only met each other, but was it that year or the year after we then met Rob and so many other of our educators. And it’s just, there’s so much there waiting for you.

If you can get past the, you know, Oh, I need to find somebody to go with. Cause that’s, that’s keeping you The business that you’re wanting, the relationships that you’re wanting, that is really keeping you back from the greatness that is right here, right now for you. And it could stall you a year. It could stall you five years depending on when we can get over that hurdle.

No argument. It’s better to be around friends. However, there are big perks to actually attending something by yourself. You don’t have a crutch to lean on. If you’re going with a friend and that friend is maybe more confident or a little bit further along in their business, um, you know, you’re really there to learn for yourself, to make relationships for yourself.

And I just think a lot more magic comes, you know, from, from putting yourself out

Quianna: there. I love this conversation and I’m so grateful that we’re going there. Because as you’re, and I’m doing air quotes, As your business educators, your big sisters, right? We support everyone that’s coming to know that you’re going to meet your next best friend there, right?

I think this is the craziest part is to realize if you could, you know, crush those limiting beliefs, show up with confidence. I can’t tell you how many of my business besties live across the country, right? I mean, I literally, one time I was thinking about this, actually, I think, I In America and probably like crash on someone’s couch if I, if I had to write because of all the stuff that I’ve invested in, whether it’s extended family, I’m continuing those relationships.

I’m meeting new business friends all across the world, and I love that you’re giving us permission. And creating this safe space to show up confidently and to find your new best friends. Like those are the people that get you, right? I think sometimes we can get into a position where we sometimes outgrow our bubble, right?

Our friends, right? Like you mentioned, maybe we have a friend that may be a little more advanced. And of course, we all have those besties that are just, you know, Enneagram three, they’re killing it. They are going hard. And super successful, which is contagious. However, it’s also a great opportunity to be in the room to level yourself up, right?

Like this is your invitation to pour into you and to just invest in your business. And, and I also love to, this is me getting off. I love the retreat. Aspect of this as well. So it is a safe space to, to have these other conversations, right? It’s not just business, it’s life, it’s relationships, it’s juggling kids, it’s juggling partnerships and all this growth.

These things happen organically. And I just, I just love that you’re creating this safe space for us.

Jamie: So the, the great thing, and yes, I’m like tooting our own horn here and saying like, come to our free coaching calls. But the great thing about the Conqueror community and Conqueror Live is that you can like test it ahead of time and see if you love it.

See the people that actually show up because they’ve been showing up for these calls for four years. Like they are in it. They want other people. Not just themselves and you can get a great sense of who people are as far as how they’re talking. We’re now on zoom so you can see me and your rhythms, you know, you can see other students and like unbeknownst to me and Heather, you could connect with them and be like, okay, now really tell me what it’s like.

And they’ll literally just tell you the exact same thing. So come test the waters, come on the calls

Quianna: with us. I love that. So I would love to go a little bit deeper. I know that we’ve Talked about so many amazing things that happen at Conquer. But Heather, I would love to, to just ask what’s the benefit of investing and enjoying in-person events?

So I love that you have these, um, just incredible biweekly calls that anybody can jump in on those zooms. And like you said, Jamie, that’s perfect. That’s a great way to test the waters, to get a gauge on the community. Um, get a gauge on the members. But I want to go into in person events and why you two are so passionate about hosting these at least once a year.

I can’t wait to hear more about that.

Heather: Number one, you get all the hugs. No, I’m just kidding. I just feel like that’s always a win. Like, I, I know that this is probably the thing that people are going to think of first when they think of, Oh, I’m going to a conference and this is what I’m going to get out of it.

And that’s going to be the education. And yes, the education is great. But every single time I’ve gone to an in person event, it’s the in between moments that I get so much out of. And that is where I want to go back and do another one because those late night talks or those lunch breaks, that’s when you can have those aha moments with someone.

You haven’t talked to before because they see something differently that you’ve never thought of or you find a new connection of someone that you’ve never met before and they’re able to help you do something in your business that you’ve never been able to do those little in between moments. Those are the moments that you can’t get on an online conference.

But a lot of those, it’s just like, answer my question and then move on to the next thing. It’s in those in person events where people are in their pajamas or you’re eating food and you’re just stuffing your face and you’re cracking up laughing. But those can turn into something magical. I just have to say, everyone, Jamie’s cracking up laughing at me because it’s probably happened with us before, but from that, I, it is crazy what I have been able to learn from people.

I’m just thinking of Conquer Live. One, I sat down with Reed Gallagher and never had the intentions of talking about my spokesmodel team for my seniors, but he blew my mind on things I never thought of that they just do down in the South differently than they do up here in the North. And so the benefits of just going and talking to someone.

So then like, there’s a little bit of encouragement that I want to say, you need to go and actually talk to people and not sit in your room or sit in Sit in the table over by yourself or sit with someone that you’re comfortable with that you came with. Go and find someone new and give yourself a plan to go and make new connections.

And so my biggest tip with that is go into every in person event with a plan, whether it’s something you want to learn, whether it’s someone you want to connect with, whether it’s just trying to know your numbers and grow them to a new percent. based off of something that you can learn at that conference, really do your work ahead of time so that when you get to the conference, you can get the most out of it and not just kind of be figuring it out while you’re already there.

So for Jamie and I and all of our attendees at Conquer Live, we actually give them a packing list. And in that packing list, yes, it says like, don’t forget your shoes and your shirt and your cute outfits, but it also tells them some different data that they need to gather. So that they can be ready for when they show up and or write down who they want to talk to, like five people they want to meet in person, do that stuff ahead of time.

And just so everyone knows that is actually a freebie that you can grab as well. Yes, we give it to all of our attendees, uh, attendees, but I’m sure Kiana will be able to drop it so that you guys can get that too, but just prepare yourselves beforehand and then go into it. And just be available to learn from anyone and meet anyone because you never know the connection you might get like Jamie and I starting conquer community.

We had no idea. And that was what, what happened at one of our conferences.

Quianna: That is so beautiful. And I am a huge advocate for showing up in person. Like you mentioned, it’s. It’s the conversations in the Uber rides with just one or two of the attendees. It’s the late night fireside chats. It’s the pouring the creamer in your coffee before you sit down for the next presentation.

These are all, and I’m getting chills talking about it because these are the conversations that happen in between that, like you said, can completely change the trajectory of your business, can change the trajectory of your life and. Like I always say, we are always one friendship and one connection away from changing our entire life.

And Having opportunities like Conquer Live and your community to meet those people and to have a safe, comfortable environment is just, is just so, so beautiful. So I would love to chat more about the speakers. So I know you mentioned that you are both very intentional about stripping away all these things and making the speakers feel Welcome and encouraged just as much as you pour so much love into your attendees.

So Jamie, I would love to know, how are you sourcing these speakers? How are people, are people applying? Are you two very strategic with, you know, your agendas and your, your teachings for that year? I just would love to kind of break down the whole speaker situation.

Jamie: Yeah, I love it. I feel like you need, I need to be interviewing you for this question for your take on the other side.

No. Well, first and foremost, we, we probably have like a nickname that we’re unaware of at this point from how many polls that we do of our audience, because I will admit it is a little bit ridiculous, especially after the first round of conquer live. We tried to prepare as much as possible and you know, you obviously don’t know who is going to.

buy tickets ahead of time. But we really wanted to tailor this experience because we are so focused on having a small group in gathering as much information as possible in knowing where they are in their businesses, where their biggest struggle is right now. And then we can choose categories based on that.

So before we ever look at, you know, Any type of educator list, um, or any applications, we go straight to the people who are learning from, from our community. Um, and so we pull them before we pull them after they write reviews for every educator so that if we want to invite them back, then we know, honestly, you know, what, uh, what the students got or didn’t get, or, you know, were shocked by, um, that they, you know, they didn’t realize they were going to get so much, which is.

What we have have received from multiple of our, uh, our educators. So we pull them and more importantly, when you actually have a ticket in your hand, we are asking them extremely intentional questions and then choosing from there. So the first time that tickets go on sale, which is like at the tail end of the live event.

Honestly, if I were getting my ticket, that is when I would buy it. Because that’s, you actually have a say in what happens at the event you’re going to. That is where we’re pulling information. If you’re coming in at the end, then you have to decide if that’s right for you. But we are doing as much as we possibly can to tailor it to the people that are actually coming.

And then we are looking at the educators that are experts within the things that our audience said this is what we struggle with the most. So that’s kind of where we start our list. We kind of cross reference with referrals, directory requests, and we have both sent out applications to people that were like, hey, I think you’re a really great fit for this category.

And then we also put it out there to the public because we want to have our educator base populated fully with people of all types of experience, all types of niches. I don’t know if we went over this, but Concord Community is solely on the back end or Conquer Live, rather, is solely based on the back end of your business.

So it does not matter what you photograph, which I think is really beautiful, because not only are you having educators, some of them are not even photographers, and coming into our community, um, they’re helping build businesses, and build the person who runs the business, right? Anything that we see that can support the CEO role, we’re, we’re making that happen.

But you’re also then getting the students coming in from all different niches, all different experiences, and you get so many different ideas just with the people in the room. Knowing nothing of anybody, you know, nothing of any of those students, you get some of your best ideas from these people that you had no clue this is what was going to happen.

And so our process is kind of like five different points to narrow it down to get to where we are. But we, we absolutely love it and. Just have, we haven’t had a single bad experience with an educator so far. They have all had the same parts that we do in the way that we want to see this industry elevated.

And we’re really, really

Quianna: thankful. That’s amazing. I’m so happy you broke that down for us. And it, it is really helpful to know that Conquer Live, your in person event really is catered towards the back end of the business, which I feel like so So many of us need help with we are passionate about what we do.

We love taking photos. We love the client experience, but we’re not passionate about taxes. We’re not passionate about business and workflows and systems. And that’s where you girls come in to supply these incredible speakers. And, and I do want to share. How grateful I am to be coming to Conquer Live round three in 2025.

And I just want to share a quick backstory on how Jamie, how you reached out to me to potentially be a speaker for this event. And I want to share just a quick little chain reaction on how that’s happened. So we connected at the graceful gathering. Um, this was a conference in Ohio. I was speaking about B roll.

I showed up. It was all about behind the scenes at your next wedding, booking your next wedding at your next wedding. And I remember standing on stage and Jamie, you were the first one to come up to me and ask more questions about it. We followed up in the DMs and I even want to go back a step further and share that it was actually Natalie Frank that introduced me to Courtney Cannon, the host of the Graceful Gathering.

And that’s how I had the opportunity to be on stage. Was through that referral and even going back from Natalie Frank, right? I was a chapter leader for Tuesdays Together back in my hometown in San Jose, California. And I’ve been super active in all these communities and with, you know, showing up to show up, having the opportunity to speak on their stage as well.

And I just wanted to share that timeline really fast to remind you that if you’re listening, you’re thinking about becoming a speaker or simply getting in these rooms. This is where it starts. This is where your journey to business begins is getting in these rooms, connecting with like minded people.

And I’m just so grateful to be able to be a speaker coming up soon for round three. So thank you so much.

Jamie: We can’t

Quianna: wait.

Jamie: Oh, I love that. We all need like little timelines and see how many people like actually crossed. That is, I love that. That would be

Quianna: such a fun conversation, like almost like a little diagram, like once we’re there.

Okay, this is me and my ideas. Like how can we like make this spider web on how we connected and who knows who and how we can connect. I love that so much. Yay. So please tell us Heather and Jamie, I actually would love to hear from both of you. What are you two both looking forward to the most at this next year’s Conquer Live?

Heather: All the things. Um, I, I know we’ve talked about this and it’s kind of been a theme, but honestly, my, I have two, but one is like a side note, kind of a one. Uh, the first one is, The connections that is hands down my favorite thing every time we go to conquer live and put it on is after the fact who makes connections from that weekend.

Like I mentioned, it’s three days and uh, it goes by fast. Like you get a ton of stuff. You’re gonna get 14 talks, uh, from all different educators about all different things. It is a lot, and then we add fun things, and there’s branding photos, and you name it, it’s happening in those three days. And so, you’re kind of like, whoa, when it’s Sunday afternoon, and you finally, like, got into the car to go to the airport, or you sat down in the airport, and you’re like, what happened?

My hope is that at that point, you’re like, I can’t wait to reach out to Susie. I don’t know why I chose that name, but Susie, and I want to see how she’s doing in a week, or I just want to keep growing with her. Those connections that Jamie and I don’t plan and we don’t set up or like have you to me and make sure that this is the connection that you’re going to have those organic ones that just happen.

That is my favorite thing because It continues on and then you start getting those tasks that you’re checking off your list each week because you’re having an accountability partner that’s helping you grow. And then the next time you come and talk to us on a Conquer Conversations and let us know that you’ve done 10 of the tasks that you’ve learned at Conquer Live, Jamie and I are just blown away whenever we have those talks with people because we’re like, oh my, like, oh my gosh, you did so much.

And it could be, you know, A month from when we just, uh, talked with them last. It’s just crazy the impact that those connections can make and can propel you in your business. And then I said I had two because this is my other favorite one that’s just like a guilty one that I love is we do a game night, uh, for the first night at Conquer Live.

And it is the best thing I think we ever thought of because we do, um, teams where it’s educators and attendees all on the same team and they’re all competing against each other and every year it’s different and it is the best way to just see everyone on the same playing field in a sense, just getting to know each other as people and we, I mean, you are belly laughing and about to pee your pants and I, I just, I love that.

So I’m excited for that again this year. So

Quianna: Kiana, get ready. That sounds like so much fun. So much fun. I love it. And I love game night. So we’re gonna have so fun. The Monica Geller is gonna come out on me and we’re gonna have so much fun. Bring it.

Jamie: So competitive. I was gonna say it’s very surprising how creatives online are also super competitive.

It is so much fun. Oh yeah, I

Quianna: always joke and say in any given conference or special retreat like Conquer Live, you know everyone attending was always the leader of group projects in high school.

Heather: And now we’re all together. It’s so true. I always am like happy in a sense that I get to host the game night because I think it would probably be bad if I like actually played the games.

I would get really into it and maybe not be the happiest person. It’s so much

Quianna: fun though. Oh my gosh, Jamie, tell me what you’re looking forward to.

Jamie: Oh man, I like, I, I truly love that. I mean, that’s not probably what people want to hear, like, oh, we’re really going to hone in on this game night, but oh, I’m like, I was reliving it as Heather was saying it, because this is actually, uh, we did it for the first time in round two.

So each year we’ve implemented kind of one more thing, shifted some things, And that was a really fun thing that we did, but it made the entire weekend. It just set the pace. Like if there were ever a perfect way to strip down the barriers, that’s it. That’s it. Like it opened so much more. And we heard that from educators who had seen everything that happened in round one and who had returned and, um, and multiple people of them, they’re like, that’s it.

Game night. That’s it. That’s it. That’s what did it. Like, that’s what turned it up a notch. But I think, actually, on that note of saying people returning, we have had one attendee that has come to every single one, now holds a ticket for round three. Half of the attendees from last year are ticket holders right now.

And so, Just knowing that fact, again I’m like geeking out from our polls, but just knowing that fact, and seeing where they came in at before round two, I am just like chomping at the bit to see their growth from that year and now this year. Because we were getting comments like, you know, After they went to just one round, they jumped their business ahead three years.

Like, can you imagine going two years in a row? And I’m just, oh, I’m like tingly thinking about it. Um, so I’m most excited business wise for that. The other thing that you had talked about before about like flipping the pancakes. I love pancake breakfast. I love it. I don’t know if I love it as much as game night, but I think it’s like, it’s just two different things.

But the educators all serve. This the, um, the students and I think what I love is like, it’s a really tangible way to like put our money where our mouth is right. Like we’re talking about stripping down barriers like we want to serve them. We want to make sure that students are being successful. Um, and this is just another.

kind of non traditional way to show the intentionality behind the event because we are, you know, educators are used to being served a catered meal and getting their own kind of, uh, area to be. And here we are truly making them. Um, we are making the pancakes, we’re cutting the fruit, we’re, you know, serving it to the table.

And it’s just, um, I don’t know, gosh, it just like connects. Every piece is like a piece of this puzzle that connects this experience that we’re trying to give. So I think that’s why it’s my

Quianna: favorite. That’s so beautiful. And I cannot wait for that because that is my servant’s heart. Like I love hosting. I love cooking.

I love creating these really fun experiences. So being able to be right there with you in the kitchen to. Support the attendees is just going to be so much fun. Oh my gosh. So I have to, I have one more question for you girls. And this is something that I love to ask every guest that comes on. So I’m so happy that we get a bonus to round today with each of you.

So I would love to know what is your key tip? What is something that you wish you knew sooner when it comes, I would love to add this little caveat when it comes to building communities. Okay.

Heather: I think mine is that there’s no one size fits all. And now I say that where it can be that there’s not one specific conference that everyone needs to go to.

There’s not one community that everyone needs to be a part of. There’s not one course that And the structure of your business that not everyone has to follow. I think when I started, I felt like I had to be at that place. I needed to talk to those people. I needed to have those friends to help my business grow, or I needed to follow this structure to a T.

And there were so many times that I have implemented things. And I was like, this doesn’t feel like me, or I don’t feel like I’m connecting to my clients like I want to, or I don’t feel like I’m growing with the people that I’m connecting to. And so I think that you just need to be okay with, yes, learn the things, yes, start the conversation so that you get in the room with the community, but then find that person that is your, I’m going to call them your Jamie, like she is like my, Jamie is like my person that I can go to and just be like, Hey, I need help with this or hey, I’m struggling right now.

Like we’ve had so many of those conversations and I just feel so comfortable and yes, she’s not someone else’s Jamie or you know what I mean? But I think the big thing is just make sure that you’re doing what your heart feels is the best for your business. And what’s. and then also use a funnel what my client also wants if your clients are moms earlier, make sure that t for them are things that Someone that isn’t married yet and loves to travel and wants to do X, Y, Z, before they get married, then make sure what you’re doing and providing to them meets them where they are.

So it’s not a one size fits all, but go find your Jamie, whoever it is.

Quianna: I love that. Those are so good. So good. Thank you. Oh my gosh. Okay. Jamie, tell us what your key tip is.

Jamie: Heather, I don’t know why you always like, this seems to be a theme on multiple podcasts where she just like hits me in the soul and then I can’t get my act together.

I will say I wish and I, I truly don’t even know if this is possible because I think everybody comes to their own understanding and knowing and, and, you know, releasing a grip, whatever that time is for you, it’s just going to happen when that happens. I don’t think there’s any one person or one. piece of data that can change your mind.

I think it’s just time and, and that. But, um, I, I just wish that I would have believed that boundaries have a significant power. And for me and, and business and community, I think it happens on both ends of the, of the spectrum. When it comes to community, I think allowing those boundaries to come down and the transparency to shine through is a huge overlooked superpower.

Like we mentioned before, everybody wants to put their, their best face forward. But if you can just for a moment, like release any pride that you have. And just be honest with one person, you will get further. inside the community, further inside relationships, further opportunities will be presented to you just because you were willing to like, let that go for a moment.

Quianna: Yes. Oh my gosh. I love that so much. And I feel like that takes A lot of bravery that takes that can be really scary to not walk into the room and feel super polished and feel like you have this facade. Like we’re not walking into these rooms with a t shirt that has our instagram feed on it. Right?

We’re walking into these rooms as humans and. And you know what’s so funny? I’m so happy that you mentioned that because I feel like I’ve inherently done that naturally. Like, I love, one of my favorite things to do is walk in the room and say, I need help. What do you, what hap what do you do in this situation?

Like, I don’t know. Therefore, I want people to pour into me. I, I I’m happy to answer questions as well. And I love that, that we can all as a community, you know, the ebb and flow of answering and responding and sharing our experiences, but I love that you mentioned that in preparation for the next retreat, because it’s just, it’s mind blowing how much farther you can get and how much more.

Uh, I should say how faster your vulnerability will build your community.

Jamie: I love that so much. Oh my gosh, Heather, we’re gonna have to add that to, uh, the checklist. I think you’re gonna need to come in with the five things that you’re like, you start the sentence. I don’t know how. Yes. Oh, that’s good.

Quianna: Help me, please.

Help me. Yes. Oh my goodness. Well, thank you so much, ladies, for bringing your hearts and your passion for community. It truly is such a blessing to share this platform with you. I cannot wait for Conquer Live Round 3 coming up in 2025. Oh my gosh. And I just would love to know, so how can we please follow along with you?

How can we sign up? How can we learn more, possibly hop on these bi weekly calls? How can we connect and be your BFFs?

Heather: Um, so you can find all of that information on Instagram. That’s like a great place to find us at the Concord community. There, you can go to our bio and there’s a link that will actually take you to all of these different things.

So you can join the biweekly free coaching calls. There’s a link for that. All you have to do is just put in your name and it will actually add the event to your calendar so that you never miss one. It’ll always give you reminders when they’re happening. And right now we’re actually going through a really fun series of Spotlight where we’re having all of our educators that are going to be joining us at Conquer Live round three.

Come in and answer any questions that will be about their topic that they’re going to be talking about at Conquer Live. So we are right in the middle of that. So this is a perfect time to come and join us. It’s going to go until the middle of November. So grab that. Also sign up for those 52 weeks of education that was mentioned earlier, where you can just start getting tips and little tasks to do each week.

So that you can start getting things done and checking things off your list and growing your business before you. Join us at Conquer Live. Um, and then if you want to learn more about Conquer Live, there’s also a link on there to grab that too. Um, it’ll walk you through everything that’s happening. It has timelines so that you know what’s going to be happening during those three days.

When the game night is, when pancake breakfast is, all the other things, all the talks, um, and also all the educators that are going to be joining us there. Um, you can find all that information at that spot. And then, Lastly, if you want to come and join the Facebook group that we have, it’s called Conquering Your First Years.

And that is just a place where you can just ask questions while you’re working on things. Um, the educators that have been with us at Past Conquer Lives come in and help answer them. Jamie and I are always in there. And we also let you know what happened on one of the Conquer Conversations so that if you missed it, you can see what was talked about and if there’s any links that connect to it.

So. Instagram is really like a great hub to follow all the things, um, but like I always ask, Jamie, did I miss anything? It’s like our tagline now.

Jamie: Uh, no, unless we want to just want to say like if they want to join Conqueror Live, theconquerorcommunity. com. It’s super hard. Boom. I feel like I just did like my own version of a Siri voice there, but that is where you can find everything.

Quianna: Amazing. Oh my gosh. And then I would love to know. Because this is the power of this conversation is you two both have incredibly successful businesses on your own, right? So I would love to do another round of this really fast and just share how we can find you and your own businesses. So Heather, how can we find you and connect with you?

Heather: So you can follow me at Heather dot Marie dot Lecy, L-E-I-C-Y. Um, and you can also go to my website, heather ml photo.com. There’s a page just for photographers where you can learn all the things about taxes because it’s the most exciting thing to talk about .

Quianna: Uh, thank God for you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you.

Jamie: I love that. I also love that both of us are like, go to Instagram. Like, that’s where we’re going to talk to you. Um, the same, same for me as well. I am notorious always in DMs. I will probably voice DM you if not video DM you. Cause that is like another love language that I have discovered. You can find me on Instagram as well, Jamie Fisher Collective, and the website is exactly the same.

Www jamie fisher collective.com there is a spot there for photographers for education, um, all things coaching and aligning your life with your

Quianna: business. Incredible. Oh my goodness. Thank you so much, ladies. I feel super confident that we really encompass the power of community and extending your brand, not just for the growth and the mindset shifts for your business, but also your lifestyle.

Right? I feel like we get into business because we want to spend more time with our family. We want to spend more time on the things that bring us joy and help make impacts in our communities. But sometimes we get wrapped up in this and we spend more time in our businesses than we want to, right? So I’m just so grateful that you’re offering these opportunities to connect and grow and just have so much fun.

I cannot wait. It’s going to be so fun.

Heather: We’re so excited. January can’t come soon enough.

Quianna: Yes, we are so excited. So thank you so much, ladies. I hope you have an incredible day and can’t wait for round three. Here we go. Oh, wow. If that doesn’t make you want to run it to grab a ticket to join us in January of 2025, I don’t know what else will.

I’m confident that my business has grown a strong foundation because of the communities I not only found, but invested in investing in retreats, conferences, and in person events takes so much more than just your dollars. If you’re planning to invest in your next retreat, go right now. All in babe, take the time to connect with attendees before you arrive, make time to step out of your shell in person, be honest and vulnerable while you’re in the room, you have the opportunity to meet new lifelong friends and business besties, but the investment doesn’t stop there.

I encourage you to continue investing your time, share your knowledge and experiences and support your peers and mentors from those events. Now is the perfect time to nurture new friendships, but also celebrate old friendships and spark deeper connections. If you’re on the fence about joining us in January and make sure to follow along with the conquer community on Instagram and join their biweekly conquer conversations.

You’re not going to want to miss this live event and you’re going to have major FOMO if you miss it. I promise it’s going to be so much fun. Check out Jamie’s Instagram. At Jamie Fisher collective and follow along with Heather at Heather dot Marie dot Lacey. That’s L E I C Y. They’re both incredible resources for your brand and businesses.

Seriously. Go stalk them and follow them along and be their BFFs. If you’re listening just in the nick of time while tickets are still on sale, make sure to use code Kiana 300 to save 300 on your investment to conquer live around three. Check out the show notes or blog for links and details. You’re always welcome to shoot me a DM anytime to ask for codes and links as well.

If you have any questions, I’m happy to chat. Seriously, hop into those DMs, slide on in there. I would love to chat with you. This is your sign to invest in yourself. You are incredible. You were made to make an impact. Let us help you connect with like minded, ambitious, and fun business besties. Thanks so much for listening.

If you found this episode helpful, please share with a friend. We’d love for you to come with a friend or come alone. You’re always welcome. We can’t wait to see you in January. Keep on dancing, baby. Okay. Love you. Bye. That’s a wrap on another episode of Kiana 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 kianamarie. com slash podcast. I’d be honored if you’d show your support by leaving a review and rating on your favorite podcast app until next time, keep on dancing.