Who says you need to niche down?  In today’s episode, I’m continuing my mindset series and introducing you to brand consultant and agency leader, Tracy Battaglia. Tracy and I dive into the mindset shifts that have allowed her to be a multi-passionate business owner and team leader, plus how to grow your confidence as an entrepreneur. Learn how to create an agency and offer variety!

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.

Make sure you’ve hit that follow or subscribe button on your favorite podcast player to get notified each week as we air new episodes!

Subscribe on Your Favorite Podcast Player

Apple Podcast App | Spotify | Amazon

Connect with Quianna

Instagram | Facebook | TikTok | Pinterest

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: 

Why Tracy Chooses To NOT Niche Down (4:45)

Designing Your Business To Align With Your Passions (12:51)

Boosting Confidence In Our Business (20:36)

Mindset Shifts For Leading An Agency (31:14)

Mistakes You Might Make When Building Your Team (36:06)

How Tracy Would Restart Her Business Today (41:56)

Key Tip From Tracy (53:44)

Connect With Tracy:

Instagram: instagram.com/fullyalivephotography

Website: thefullyaliveagency.com

Review the Transcript:

Quianna: In the photography industry, it can be encouraged to niche down, select one type of photography genre, become the go-to expert niche down again, and then only market that one type of photography. If you’re a wedding photographer, it’s encouraged to not only market weddings, but to market specific elopements locations or vibes that you prefer.

So instead of just being known as an adventure photographer, it’s advised to market yourself as a national park expert or elopement photographer that specializes in destination weddings on the beach. This helps you become an industry leader, build trust, and makes marketing and promoting your business so much easier.

But what if that feels paralyzing? What if you love to offer different types of photography events, newborns, branding, families, boudoir, all of the things, or maybe you are like today’s guests and love to not only offer a large variety of photography. But also loves offering an entire agency of web design, content creation, marketing, and even event planning.

I’m not only talking about photography, by the way, so please feel free to insert your own industry and apply this chat to your business who says you need to niche down. Anyway, as we continue this mindset series, I’m thrilled to introduce you to a well-seasoned and established photographer that helps shift the mindset that we don’t have to commit to one way of doing business unless we want to.

I have the honor of introducing Tracy Battaglia to the show. Tracy is a self-made professional photographer, brand consultant and coach, creative director, graphic designer, web designer, event planner, and agency leader. She has a degree in film photography from ISU and has been building a thriving business for over 18 years.

Born and raised in the Midwest. If you’ve met her in person, you know that the hugs might give away her Midwestern roots. She grew up on a farm in rural Illinois and spent her time tree climbing, rope swinging, splashing in the mud, horseback running. Ooh, she was just my kind of girl. In 2014, she packed up her small family of three to chase the Arizona Sun and couldn’t be happier to trade frozen gray days in her hometown to our scorching summers.

Here in the desert, she loves Taylor Swift, kindness kittens, cute outfits, DIY, home projects, Harry Potter, glitter, espresso, ice cream, tea, tacos, and so, so much more. She just loves all the things. She has a zest for life. And just like her business name, fully Alive Photography, Tracy lives that name to the fullest every day.

Tracy feels like sunshine, and we’re so lucky to chat with her today. I hope this episode and the stories she’ll share will help find clarity and support some mindset shifts that business is business and you really only need to do what brings you joy. Coaches, gurus and mentors are needed, but we also need to listen to our inner child and chase what feels aligned.

I’ve had guests on the show that promote niching down and others that share different approaches to scaling. Business is business like I always say, and this is why I love to share these open conversations with entrepreneurs and business owners that I admire. So you can pick and pull what you need.

Today we’ll be chatting all about being multi-passionate and growing with abundance, building confidence as a business owner, creating trust with your clients, tips for growing your team as a leader, and marketing strategies that worked years ago and still work today. Without further ado, let’s get this party started, and please welcome Tracy to the show.

Welcome to Quianna 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 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, hey. Welcome to the party. Tracy, it is such an honor to have you on the show. How are you? I am so good. Thank you. I loving your energy this morning. I am so excited to chat with you. Pick your brain. I literally call all these episodes coaching calls, like I feel like anyone listening small businesses across the board are gonna take away so much education and inspiration from chatting with you.

I can’t wait. It’s so good. I kind of wish people could see us. ’cause you’re so cute. And I’m like here with my Taylor heart. Yes. I love it. Oh my gosh. Well, let’s dive right into these questions. What is your take on photographers and business owners niching down? I would love to share more about that.

Tracy: Okay.

Yeah, because I’m probably, uh, you know, a different person to ask on that topic because I think it’s widely known. Like people often tell you, you got a niche down. You gotta figure exactly what you’re doing. What kind of photography, a wedding photographer. Are you a boudoir photographer? Are you a brand photographer?

Like what are you? So anyway, I guess a really good way to start this out is I have A-D-H-D-I didn’t know I was homeschooled when I was little, and so like, I was never put in a situation where I had to really like focus. So I never had any problems at school. I did really well. I just never knew that I was neurodiverse, you know?

I thought, oh, I’m just a typical, you know, weird homeschooled kid. I’m like, whatever. It honestly wasn’t until my late thirties that I started to notice that like. Why do I have this social anxiety or why is it when I’m trying to like tell a story? I opened like nine doors and went through all the pages.

My brain opens, you know, eight pages in the book and I start all the stories at once and it makes total sense to me. And so I multitask really well. And the funny part is like I’m able to go down all those roads, but people couldn’t follow me down those roads. So I was noticing like in my relationships and my friendships in podcasts like this, like, oh, you know, Tracy is like eight stories later and nobody knows where she’s at.

I have a son and he was having a lot of problems at school, like focusing, you know, just a lot of energy. So I was told to get him tested and I thought A DHD is a big joke. It’s not real. Like everyone’s neurodiverse, he’s just a little boy. Like let him be a boy. But by seven it was interfering with school.

So we’re like, okay. So we go to the interview to get my son diagnosed for a DH adhd. And at the end of the interview, the doc, the psychiatrist looks at me and she goes, so it runs in the family. You, you have a DHD? Yes. I was like, wait, what? And I was like, I don’t know. Like I am 40, I don’t think so, like a 39 40.

And she was like, I would highly recommend that you come in and get tested. And I was like, okay. Then. So I went in at 40 years old and got tested and I was like, off the charts, A, DH, D. They were like, yeah, this explains a lot of your energy and explains a lot of like, you know, so we, we looked at options for medication, but I had kind of already learned how to navigate the world with the way that my brain worked.

Um, especially as a small business owner. It just ended up being the perfect thing for me to do because I didn’t have any of the typical problems that A DHD suffers with. Like, I’m able to get things done. I am so lucky and so grateful that. I don’t struggle with that. I actually multitask really well. And if I do multitask, I’m more successful when I do it.

And I know that it’s a rare gift, and it might’ve been from being homeschooled, I was allowed the permission to do multiple things, like I wasn’t restricted in the way that I think that schools and society restrict us. So at the end of that story, I did not niche down. I started with weddings because I in in fine art, ’cause I have a degree in fine art photography.

It was film at the time, video graphic design, painting. Like all the arts. I just took what work came to me. Oh, I’m having a baby. Can you take newborn photos? Sure. You know, let’s try that. Oh, I learned about newborns. They do this, this, this, and this. Oh, that’s okay. That’s interesting. There’s my challenge.

There’s my problem. Figured it out. Okay, what’s next? Okay, here’s a wedding. Oh, this is so fun. I love weddings. Great. You know? Oh, like I’ve got this pet. Oh sure. That sounds great. Oh, I’ve got this building. Oh, that sounds fun. So it was really just me exploring and learning about all the different styles of photography.

You know, catering to the audience, figuring out what they needed. And it was just so good for me. And I remember like in 2006 when I started my business, nobody was really telling you to niche down. It was like, oh, you’re a photographer, you’ll take pictures of anything. It was like widely known. I don’t really think I heard the concept of like niching down probably until like entrepreneurship came kind of big.

Like I feel like small businesses started popping up in like 20 10, 20 11, maybe 2012. People would ask me that. I’m like, and I’m like, no, no, I do it all. You know? And I, and I thought, oh, I’ll just stick to weddings and, and I just got bored and I didn’t feel fulfilled. I just really needed the variety. It really helps me stay creative.

It helps me stay joyful. I don’t get bored. I feel really engaged. I love challenges. Problem solving is like a big skill. Learning new things. My brain comes alive. It’s like, oh, I’m gonna research the heck out of, you know, this specialty. Yeah, newborns are a really good way to put it ’cause they’re like a lot of very different, like you have to know how to handle little kids and little babies and how they lay right and what’s safe and what’s not safe and what props are out there.

And like, you know, you gotta kind of know a lot and a lot of Photoshop ’cause you know their, you know, faces are, you know, rashy and pimply and all the things. I just loved learning all these different things and having multiple offers and a lot of cre creative outlets keep my energy flowing so I don’t feel stuck or stagnant.

I would say though, like once again, it’s hard on a podcast ’cause you don’t know who’s listening. So like, if you’re a person that’s struggling to complete a task or to do something well, or to become a master at your trade, then you know, don’t open up a million things until you’ve completed the what. And so I, I understand that what I do is a little bit rare.

Quianna: I’m so happy that you shared all of that because it truly does give all of us a breath of fresh air for someone that is multi-passionate, someone that happens to be really good at a lot of different things. And like you mentioned, like having that variety, having those different options. I just think that’s beautiful and I agree like niching down.

Was really pushed down our throats like I would say over the last decade. I also agree too, that it’s important to be well known for one thing, no matter what industry you’re in, right? Like be the go-to person for one thing, and then here’s the thing. Having that like tool belt and that toolkit of tons of options and problem solving skills that you can just offer any type of services that come at you.

Like, I will tell you, my business survived 2020 because I wasn’t completely niched down. Right. I was offering headshots, I was offering all different types of content things and family shoots and Right. So just kind of like, just plug your own industry into what we’re talking about here and it’s, it’s possible.

Yeah. I am like really

Tracy: glad to hear you say that because usually it’s so frowned upon. I’m like, oh my God, should I be honest on this podcast? She’s asking me this question and I’m like, yes. Like I do hear that a lot, like be known for that one thing and I’m like. Oh, I want to be, but also, yeah, exactly.

Like little Tracy is too like excited about life and excited about things. And it’s not to say that like sometimes I’ll try something new and I’m like, that’s not for me. Like I don’t really like that. I don’t really wanna do that. And then sometimes what I’ll do is I’ll just price that offering insanely high so that it’s like only the people that are willing to pay then that’s like my goal.

Not that, you know, conferences are a good way to put it. Like I just got done with like a four day conference. I do it every year for this, this, and it’s like boring, right? In a way. ’cause like you’re standing there for a really long time just waiting for somebody to like do something on stage or the keynote speaker to say this and you’re like, oh my gosh, I’m standing here all day.

And it’s not maybe as life-giving as other things, but when you price them high enough, you’re like, oh, that’s life giving. I could do anything for that paycheck. You know? And, and you know, and you find joy. Honestly. I mean, that’s my tagline. It’s fully life finding joy. Like you find joy in whatever your hands find to do.

And like, I think that that’s a really important thing.

Quianna: Oh, I love this so much. So one thing I would love to, to share more about is I feel like a lot of times business owners, we get started in a business because we’re passionate, because we happen to have a spark of creativity, or we happen to be really good at something and we get going, and then sooner than later we turn into an employee of our own business, right?

Like we just kind of go down that rabbit hole. We, it’s spinning our hamster wheel and we just feel like, gosh. I started this business for freedom and for like to do something that I enjoy and to make an impact, but then I find myself just like burnt out. So I would love to hear from you. Tracy. Please share more about how you designed your business to align with your passions.

Like how did you make your business work for you instead of you working in your business?

Tracy: It’s kind of funny, but my answer’s kind of the same as the first answer because, okay, so out of high school I went and got an Associate’s in art. ’cause I just, I mean, I’ve always liked art. Art just seemed like a good thing.

Like, oh, I’m creative, I wanna be artistic. That sounds fun. So I wasn’t like passionate about it. And then, you know, I got a general art degree and I was just like, is it, I did interior design and I was like, oh, I love that. And I did architecture. I love that. I did painting. I love that. I love all of these things.

And then they make you pick, right? So they do make you a niche down, I guess, a little bit in college when you wanna finish all of those fourth like year. So I got the associates, I took a little bit of time off. I was paying my way and working my way through college. I, you know, my family, I love them so much, but we were not wealthy by any means, you know?

So I had to pay for college myself. So it took me a long time to get through it and piecing my way through it. And so when I went to Univer, I went back and got into the art program in Illinois State. And, um, I did two, like another year there. And then they made you niche down, like, okay, what are you going to graduate with?

And I was doing photography with my grandfather’s like camera. And I just, and I loved painting and I loved the interior and I loved architecture. Architecture was like one of my favorite classes. I don’t know why. I just loved, I loved, loved, loved it. I was already getting hired, like here and there by a friend.

Hey, I got 25 bucks, I got 50 bucks. Like, I’m pregnant. You’ve got a camera. I see you’ve always got your camera. Can you take pictures? And I’m like, sure. You know, there was no digital, only like super wealthy people had digital at that point and most people had film and didn’t know how to use it. So I did kind of, I mean, my stuff looked so bad, but now it would be like popular because everybody loves shooting out of focus and blurry.

And we’re being all artsy fartsy now. Like, I’m like, okay, this is cool. This was me in college failing at life, trying so hard to like make it like crisp and clear and in focus and exposed, right? I was like, I’m just, I’m just a practical person. And I was like, okay. I love all art. I’m passionate about life.

So, um, I’m getting paid. I like getting paid. Money’s good. I’m passionate about money. Let’s put these two together. So I picked photography, and that was really a practical decision, and less of a passionate, you know, I was doing all different types of photography, weddings, kids, babies, newborns that really weren’t brands yet.

That didn’t happen. But then I did have people coming to me and asking me questions, oh, you’ve been in business like a couple years. That’s really cool. Like, can you tell me more? Like, I was thinking about starting a wedding planning business. I was thinking about starting a nonprofit. So people would come to me and ask me a question about starting their business, and so then I’d be like, huh, I’m getting a lot of questions by year five.

Like, okay, okay, okay. I’ve learned a lot. I have information to share about small business in general. So every time someone asked me a question, I would write down the answer. And then I eventually had like a whole book of, like a class of how to run a business. And so then I was like, maybe I could make money doing this.

So then I was like charging people, like for consulting. And then I was like selling a workshop. And then, you know, I, I had a class that I called Launch. It was like how to start a business. I actually still offer this class, but. It, um, it’s been around for over 10 years, and so I grew with my business and I grew with my mind, and I grew with, like I said, like my multifaceted passions.

I was like, oh, I’m good at this. This is life-giving. I’m gonna put some heart into that. Okay. That doesn’t feel life-giving anymore. I’m gonna go back over here and really plunge in photography. Okay? I am getting kind of bored with that. Like, I wonder if anybody out there wants me to design their website.

Okay, here’s that. And it was really just following, I guess you could call it passion, but it was following my gut, following my heart, following what my body and my mind were telling me I needed, and really just tuning in every day to like, what feels good? Like, where am I lacking? Where can I grow? What do people need?

How can I offer it? Does it feel good to offer that? Does that not feel good? So a lot of my life is just in my business is feeling my way through my business is a reflection of my multi-faceted passions that I had that degree, but then I had like 20 years of just running a business and all these other things I could do, and I found ways to integrate all of those things into my business and to make my business better.

So yes, I was running the business, but I actually am a weirdo and I find a lot of joy in running a business systems and workflows. Like I’m a little bit passionate about those. Like, then you do this and then you do this. Like my brain just is very strategic and like, okay, let’s do this. Let’s do this.

Like we’ll find ways around. Anything you throw at me, I’ll find a way to like make it work. So that kind of went into the elements like, and it just aligned with like all my different passions and I thrive with variety. So I intentionally built my business to allow for that. And like I said, I love the challenge of jumping from different types of shoots, working with diverse clients, constantly learning new things.

So like, like I said back at the beginning, if you’re a person that. You have a hard time ever, like if you’re feeling lost or like adrift and you’re like, oh, like, and your hands are just too, too many cookie jars. You know, I would tell those clients to niche down. Like, Hey, like, let’s dig to the heart of what you love.

What is giving you life right now? Okay. What is stealing your joy right now? Like, let’s figure out that bottleneck, let’s figure out is, and a lot of businesses, honestly, and a lot of the coaching that I do is people don’t have systems and workflows. And so the business only feels overwhelming because they don’t have a system or a workflow.

They don’t know what they’re doing. So then 20% of their brain is being taken up with how are they gonna invoice this person and get paid? And they just wanna create, well, the problem isn’t running the business, it’s, it’s spending the time and the brain power to sit down for maybe. Three months, you know, and really directly focus on how you’re gonna get those things systemized into some sort of CRM or something that’s gonna run for you, or hire the person that can do it.

If you’ve got the money, like, or maybe if you don’t have the money, but you realize, hey, I’m spending, you know, 15 hours accounting and trying to figure out tax law, but I could spend 15 hours making this kind of money doing what I love. Just still to insert here, anybody listening, I don’t think you should ever just start a business and hire everybody to do things for you because if you don’t know your business and you don’t know what you’re doing, I think it’s very dangerous.

So I even tell my like, really high-end clients, they’re, I don’t know anything about accounting. Well, you should learn. Because I’ve seen small businesses lose their business because their CPA didn’t. A photographer specifically that I know wasn’t paying her TPT taxes in Arizona photographers, you are a retailer in the state of Arizona, not in the state of Illinois, because it’s not considered a tangible good for digitals.

But Arizona considers those digital files that you give a tangible good, like do your research because you can’t always trust that the professional knows it’s still due diligence. So yes, hire people to do it, but also understand it first, have a handle on it first, and then give those things away that you really aren’t skilled at.

But still don’t just give ’em away because you don’t wanna learn them or understand them, because that is a pitfall too.

Quianna: I love that caveat. No, it’s so important. It’s really important to be literally like as a business owner, as the CEO of your business, you have to have your hands in a little bit of everything.

Like there’s a little bit of knowledge that needs to be in there, so you know nothing bad happens and you’re just ahead of it. I love this conversation so much because I do know that especially for many entrepreneurs, like you said, like we’re so creative, right? And we love doing different things and, and I can see from your business how much confidence you have through action, right?

I feel like the more opportunities you have, the more people you meet, the more projects and challenges and like all the demand for photography and business that has come your way really takes a lot of confidence. And as photographers we like, it’s our job to make the people in front of us, right? The families, the brands, the businesses, anybody that we’re photographing the events to help them feel confident, right?

But I would love to ask you, Tracy, do you have any tips or strategies or advice to help bring the confidence behind the lens? So like as a photographer, as that business owner, how can we boost confidence in our business?

Tracy: Yeah, and that’s kind of a multifaceted question. So like from one angle, how do you, as the photographer, where does your confidence come from?

And then B, like how do you help your clients? You know, how do you give them that confidence too? So I’ll start with like, as the photographer, I really think the thing that’s given me the most confidence is kind of, you know, multifaceted as well. One number, one, being yourself. Like embracing who you are, like loving yourself.

And I don’t know, like hopefully I don’t offend anybody with this Christian lingo, but like there’s a verse in the Bible that says that you should love others as yourself. And I think the church often forgets that. Like they’re like, oh, you should gotta love other people. But like it very clearly says as yourself, it starts with self-love.

It starts with loving yourself. You cannot love other people if you don’t love yourself. And so like finding a way to love yourself. And that comes many different ways. That’s like a whole other conversation. And then another facet I think is practice. Practice makes perfect. This is year, I mean over year 20 behind a camera.

But like 18 years of owning and running my small business legally full time, it’s a lot of practice, right? So any photographer, honestly, I, I teach a photography class and I tell my clients, pick up your camera every day. Every day. I don’t care if it’s your professional camera or a cell phone, but pick something up where you’re seeing the world through the way that you see it and embrace that and shoot that and photograph that and practice that.

Because like that’s gonna build confidence too, right? Just like getting used to it. And then another thing that I think is actually really helpful that I’ve been coaching some people on is that time give yourself time, especially for us, a DH, ADHD, that have a lot of hyperactivity and we’re like, move, move, move.

Boom, move. There’s a lot of pressure and, but outside of weddings and conferences, really there is time. So like I see a lot of photographers get the camera in their hand and they panic. Like, oh, we have to shoot the clients. Like there’s pressure. They’re waiting on me. I have to get it right. I have to get it right right now.

But like, it’s an art. And so like it’s okay to slow down and communicate with your client. Like, Hey, so happy to see you here. Like, I’m looking at this space. I’m not loving the way that it’s photographing. Let’s try a few things. I’m gonna move you around a bunch right now. I’m gonna check from the right, I’m gonna check from the left.

I’m just gonna move and I’m gonna allow that space for me to understand this room as an art. You know, it’s not a science. I mean, it is a science. Science is an art too. Yeah. But like, do you know what I mean? Allowing yourself patience. And I actually teach this to all of my employees because my, my employees are all being taught to take micro video.

That’s what most of them do. And some of them do photography, but really just what I’m there to direct. And my son, he’s 12. He has started his own photography business. We might get to that later. Been teaching him how to shoot since he was like seven. And so like reminding him to take a deep breath when he gets behind the camera.

And it’s okay that like the client’s waiting. But as long as you’re communicating with your clients, like what’s happening, and you’re not just like leaving them standing there smiling, like awkwardly communication is key to like, take your time. I’ll be like, Hey, like, just take your time. Like go like this.

Go slow. Do you see that light? You’re not loving that light. You’re not sure if you love that light. Why don’t you try all angles of this room and test for your light? Taking your time to understand every scenario, every lighting set up and what’s really gonna be best. ’cause there’s really no point just clicking that shutter if all the photos suck, you know, because you don’t have the right angle for that person and the light’s wrong and it’s like kind of like funky and it’s okay if you can’t figure it out.

It’s okay if you get frustrated and just tell the client, Hey, I’m a little frustrated. The light’s not working the way I want. We’re gonna try something. Because building, you’re building their confidence by like making sure that you know what you’re doing before you do it. So that’s actually a lesson I still have to work on.

’cause sometimes you get there and you’re like, they booked an hour and a half and they expect me to be working that entire time and shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot. But like it isn’t art and sometimes it takes five or 10 minutes of practice before you know exactly what’s best and they’re gonna be so much happier.

Right. Okay. So that’s from the photographer’s perspective. From the client’s perspective, how to build confidence and how people feel seen and confident. I think preparation is really important and I think a lot of photographers. I’m not sure why. I don’t know. I don’t look at a lot of other photographers.

I don’t know what they’re doing, but the ones that hire me to train them and teach them, we often forget that. Like it’s not about just showing up with a camera and saying, hi, let’s shoot. It’s really about getting to know your client. And I think preparation is really key. So some of the things I do is I get to know my client through discovery call.

Some people like to do a discovery call before they even decide to work with a client. I tend to just send out all my pricing and packages. My work shows for itself on my website, so I only do discovery calls if I like, absolutely have to. But what I do is like a prep call. So like once they’ve already booked, then they get a call just like this.

I’m sure you do this too. I mean, thankfully a lot more photographers are doing it. I think since Covid and Zoom’s become a thing, they’re like, oh, I could just meet with my client on Zoom. Like, this is so easy. It’s another personality. Their preferences. Do they have any like triggers or anything that’s gonna bother them during the process or any part of their body that they don’t feel as confident about as another part?

Like hearing them and seeing them is gonna help them feel confident because they feel seen and heard. And I think we’re therapists as artists, right? Legit. Yeah. Like we’re there to love people. It’s not just about taking their picture. Their picture’s gonna look stupid unless they feel loved and seen and known.

And I just think that that’s probably the most important step. So we have a pre-session consultation, like we discuss their vision address concerns. We go over wardrobe styling. We’ll ask them often if they want recommendations. So like I work with a really awesome stylist. Therea. Costas. Yeah, we both know her.

Um, she’s amazing. So like, obviously not everyone has a budget for a stylist, so I do that. But also I think that people that do have the budget and they really want to elevate, you know, I’ll refer them to her and so then we’ll sometimes get on a call together or I know that I can trust her to go there with the styling once we understand their brand.

Same for like hair and makeup artists like spray tans, like all the resources, like we are a wealth of information and sometimes they’re just showing up, hoping to look their best, but they don’t know. We know because we’ve been doing it so long, we know that, you know, the right spray tan can look good.

The wrong spray tan can look terrible. The right makeup can look great, the wrong makeup, and depending on what they like. Do you like to look really natural? A lot of people say, oh, I like to look natural. I don’t wanna wear makeup. And I’m like, but listen, if you get a good makeup artist, they will make you look more natural than your natural.

Yeah, very, very happy. But it’s. It’s about, and sometimes I direct those, right? Like I’m, I’m a director in that way. Like I have makeup artists that I trust and love and believe in, and I will sometimes call them myself or schedule them myself and say, Hey, this is my client. This is her brand. Here’s the mood board that I made.

Here’s what the vibe is. She is this age. She doesn’t like the these wrinkles here, but she loves the freckles on her nose. So like find a way to make this makeup work for her. I have one client who looks very, very stunning when she has a specific type of eye makeup on, and sometimes when she goes to a new artist, they don’t do that because they don’t know that about her.

So by me being involved and being like, Hey, I shoot this client every month, or like every quarter she wants water liner. Like you need to put that on her. She looks so good in it. She always loves the photos when that’s really dark. You know what I mean? Just like helping them navigate that pre stuff before they show up.

Setting clear expectations, guiding them on what to wear, how to pose. So this can be helpful too, like if you have a blog, like I have so many blogs, how to prepare for your newborn Shoot. Like every possible thing about preparing the house, the temperature, you know, making sure their diapers loose. They don’t have all those wrinkles all over their butt.

Like just things that we know that we think is common knowledge, but it’s not. Anyone in any industry is so niched down. Like even if you’re not niched down with the exact type of photography, you’ve got like a magnifying glass. You know, every in and out. You know all the terms. You know all the things, but your client doesn’t know they just a baby.

They don’t know. Like you’ve gotta help them. We’re guiders. So I even wrote during Covid when things were like less busy. I wrote a 200 page brand guidebook and it’s like all about posing, all about wardrobe, all about how to plan your bride if you’re shooting monthly content, here’s like. I have like a joy mad lib that I wrote.

It was like a finding joy, mad lib and it like I wrote sentences and like left spaces open for them to mad lib what like gives them joy just to get to know their personality, to figure out what we should be shooting every quarter. It was really fun. So just like, yeah, I think I answered it. Oh

Quianna: my God. A DHD.

Yeah. No, this is so good. You’re so informative. And you know what I was picking up? I kind of created this little like equation. ’cause I’m also creative and super visual and I literally saw these words where it’s education plus preparation equals confidence. And that is just huge, right? Because it is.

’cause when you prepare and you show your clients, Hey, this is what you can expect, this is what you get to look forward to. Let me learn more about you, let me learn about your visions, right? Truly, that really just builds your own confidence, right? Because there’s nothing better. Like, and maybe I can also agree too, like my inner inner child comes out, I just see 8-year-old Kiana and like she loves being right, right?

Like she still does, right? And so anytime I can answer questions before my clients ask, like anticipate those questions, oh my gosh, my confidence just shoots through the roof. Because our every day is a lot of our clients once in a lifetime, right? Whether that’s bringing a new baby home, whether that is celebrating a wedding or just all the fun things that we have, the joy of photographing.

These are the best days of their life. And so when we can kind of bring that, forefront, those questions and be ahead of the game. Mm-hmm. Ooh. Like my confidence is skyrocket. So good. I love your confidence. Like she’s doing a dance. I dance. Yeah. It just goes through the roof. Yes. Woo. Oh my gosh. Well, I would love, if it’s okay, I would love to spend the conversation because Tracy, you are just such a wealth of knowledge and you’re doing the work like you are actively in your business.

And I think this is so wonderful from a different perspective. This is where Spicy Ke comes out because I do find a lot of educators and leaders in the industry that are maybe no longer photographing and yet there’s teaching, right? Like it’s, it’s, it’s a thing where there, and their strategies may have been tread in true pre 2020 or they, you know, business is business, it’s going to work.

But you have successfully built an agency. You have this incredible team of creatives, of like photographers, of designers and content queens that work with you. And so I would just love to know the mindset that you had to shift to become that leader, to become that CEO and that business owner that can hold space for these employees.

Like, I wanna dig into that.

Tracy: Transitioning from a solo entrepreneur to like leading a team means that I had to learn how to say that I could let things go, but I am like full Midwest, DIY girl, like, like a little bit of a control freak. I’m not a perfectionist by any means, but I am like, I have very high standards like, ’cause I think, you know, our, my business represents.

Me, first of all, who I am has bled into my business. And every core value is my core value. And so like I had to learn how to delegate things. I had to allow things to not be as perfect as I knew I wanted them to be. And I also had to be willing to coach people through that. So like I always did really bad in art school during crit day, constructive criticism days that were required during painting or any other project where you had to go before the class and show everybody your stuff, and then everyone in the classroom had to basically give you so much crap for like, oh God, it was so hard.

It’s not that I don’t, I don’t mind, I guess. I mean I do. Mm-hmm. Which I don’t do well with criticism at all, constructive or otherwise. But what I’ve learned and what I’m still learning, I think especially since my team has grown so much over the last like two years, I’ve gotten more confident in being able to do that.

And then one of my other employees is also really, really great with like feedback. She’s just receives it so well that they have actually built confidence in me as a leader, like allowing me to coach them and to, and realize that like the right kind of people, you know, those are the right kind of people to be on the team.

Right. They want to learn and grow. So I’ve gotten better at delegating and I’ve gotten better at trusting other people and letting some things go, and just finding a balance between quality control and the creative process. And so like, I’m very careful in the hiring process now. I used to be like, oh, I just need help.

I’m like drowning. I need help. I need help. And like just hire to like, you know, have a couple interviews and just pick the best one and move forward. And then after a few years with some bad things that just, the personalities weren’t right for me or, and I, it should have been a red flag. Like you learn, we learn from our mistakes if you know if we’re smart.

And so every time something would go wrong, I was like, okay, now I know. Don’t hire any introverts. I’m sorry introverts. You’re not gonna work well on my team. I thought I could. I thought I could teach you, but like I can’t because I literally need everyone to be bubbling with joy and making people feel good because that’s literally what we do.

We are fully alive. Like if you can’t alive and not that introverts aren’t fully alive, they are this, and I have very good best friends that are that way, but they wouldn’t be a good fit for my team because I’ve had to learn. What my core values are and how that aligns and what every client can expect out of every person on my team is like pretty important.

Yeah. So finding people who share my vision and values has been like really key to expanding and making sure that they stay on brand and then slowly letting things go, right? Like obviously I don’t give someone a job and then let them go and watch it fail. Like I very much coach people along the way and as they do the reviews, I give them more responsibilities or see where they really feel like, oh, you know, one girl recently was like, I really, really, really wanna manage social media accounts.

Okay, great. We have a package for that that I’ve had on hold because I didn’t have anyone that I felt confident. And so like I’m slowly giving her clients now, right? Like, okay, you can take this client and now, okay, this girl, nope, you’re going on to shoots by yourself for micro video. But a couple of them are now content creators.

They go out on their own and then one of them is now taking on her own. Like clients for the social media management. So just, you know, slowly releasing and coaching through it and making sure that the client gets what the client is expecting from our agency. And then also me like backing off, just finding that balance.

Quianna: I love that because it really is a testament to your growth, right? Like as your business is growing and as you are adding on more employees, you are growing as a business and as a soul and as someone that can carry all of this, right? I mean, I am right there with you with constructive criticism, right?

Because I’m like, ooh, it stings and we’re just, we’re just so highly sensitive, right? And we always want what’s best, like, and I know I can speak for you because we are so similar where. Our happiness is other people’s joy, right? And so when we’re not meeting those expectations for any reason, whether it’s us or our employees, like it physically hurts us.

You know? And so we just wanna make it right. And so I’m just so grateful that you’re giving us that grace, like, hey, it takes time. It’s going to, um, you know, grow with time and, you know, it’s okay to take our time to really align ourselves with people that feel like they’re a good fit. And I just love that so much.

Yes. Now are there any mistakes that you see business owners make when they begin building their team?

Tracy: Um, kind of like what I said, like some of my mistakes that I made, like just pushing through and just finding a person instead of the right person. Or like, not trusting your gut, but you’re kind of in a hot place.

I don’t know who on here knows Lindsay Schwartz with Powerhouse Women, but I have to give her credit here because I have been hiring employees since 2007 was the first photographer I hired when I was only two or three years into my business and I trained. And so like, and, and that came back to bite me.

And then, you know, years later and then, you know, I learned that contracts are important when you’re hiring people. Like you just learn things as you go. But specifically in 2021, I actually did really well. ’cause I launched the full agency, like the creative side with the consulting and like all that other stuff.

And I had decided it was time to hire again. But I was kind of like hurt because I’d had a couple employees that just, they weren’t a good fit for me. I felt like I couldn’t trust people anymore. I was really holding on tight to like do it all yourself because pride and because of fear. I got on a coaching call with Lindsay and she had written some really cool interviews like, um, well applications on her website for her hiring.

And so we got on a coaching call and she coached me through like, Hey, like, have you ever thought about pitching it this way? This is a good for, for you if, like, have you ever thought about pushing it that way? Instead of just like, here’s my LinkedIn, like I’m hiring. Like is there a way to like put your brand into the way that you are posting your application so that only the people that are aligning are going to be called to that application in the first place?

And so Lindsay was super helpful to me in that. And I will never forget that call ’cause poor Lindsay, I was in a bad place, right? ’cause I was already in defensive mode. Like people hurt me, protect Tracy, like, and poor Lindsay, like I don’t think I’ve actually ever apologized to her. I probably should, but I got a little spicy on the call.

It was like, well that just doesn’t work. But that wasn’t, you know, she was right about everything. And what she gave me was invaluable. And I did end up changing the way that I posted my applications for the job and how I kind of spoke about it and how I saw it. But I just had some hard work to do. And I do think that that lesson was really important to me to learn that like sometimes some self-healing even has to happen before you’re ready to bring people onto your team.

I wasn’t calling the right people in with the aura or whatever you wanna give it, because I was in protective mode because I was so scared of getting hurt. And there’s no real fix to that other than, you know, I asked. Somebody that I looked up to, that I saw putting what I like, my, my business is fully alive and finding joy and like, but like the way that I was searching for employees was fear and desperation.

Like, oh my God, I’m drowning. I need help. I feel so overwhelmed. I just, I don’t wanna say goodbye to clients, but I also can’t keep schlepping all this camera gear around. And my office is a disaster, buried in 900 products for a client, and I just need like somebody in the office and I need this, I need this, I need this.

And so, like, you know, reaching out to somebody that you look up to that can help you with that process. For me, that was Lindsay. Whoever you can look out to, to like, kind of help you and like bring your vision back in so that you’re putting out really what you’re calling in. Um, that’s a really good thing to learn.

Like I said, making sure that they align with your values and your vision, specifically your core values. I think that’s so important. And then just breathing deep through the process and trusting your gut, even if you have to say no. And I have said no to many applicants now. Like met with them, spent all my time, did the whole interview and just felt gross.

It’s like, I can’t do this to myself again. If there’s an but what if or it’s almost like a relationship. It’s right, it’s, it’s like you’re dating, like are you gonna put up with that crap? Like, you know, like you’re setting yourself up for a successful relationship is making sure that you both align and that not only are they life giving to you and your business, but are you life giving to them?

Because if my personality, you know, that’s something I do in my interviews now. I mean, I could show you my, I have, I think I have a pretty great interview process. But like making sure that you’re sharing them all the, you know, just the, the, here here’s a trigger warning for you. I have A-D-H-D-I will talk 900 miles an hour.

I will go off topic. Can you handle that? Is that life giving or it’s that gonna really stress you the flip out. Yeah. You know? Yeah. You don’t wanna stress them out either. You want them to have a good job and, and a good experience where they learn and feel loved. And like, I’m so proud of myself right now.

I mean, ask me in a year if something terrible goes wrong. But like the team that I currently have, I feel so connected to these women and my son. He is, he is a paid employee. But like, I want him less connected, man. He is like 12, 13. I’m like, he’s about to get fired with his hormonal changes. But like the girls on my team are so wonderful.

Like I am so lucky right now. Like they are loving and they’re my friends. And one of them I consider my daughter, she’s, she’s started as an intern and she’s like 19. And I’m like, you know, I’ve like coached her through relationships, her life. Like we are friends, we’ve, you know, I’ve become a mentor in her life and like I value that so much these relationships and like, I’m happy to see them every day and they’re happy to see me.

And I just, I love my team right now. I feel so lucky.

Quianna: Okay, so you have 15 to 20 years of marketing, of advertising, of putting yourself out there, of choosing bravery and courage and just really showing up and shining, whether it’s in person or online, like we’ve seen the growth with you, Tracy. Now my question is, if we can go back in time, starting from zero today, no money, no social media, no network.

All you have is your camera and your beautiful personality. What would you do first to start booking and filling your calendar?

Tracy: Well,

Quianna: I would do what I

Tracy: did before

Quianna: I.

Tracy: I really would. I just work my butt off. That’s just what I do. Like I would tell everyone, and everyone and their mom, this is what I do. I’d offer complimentary sessions.

I would try to build my portfolio, I would attend networking events. Even though they’re horrible and they’re so stressful, I would still do it. I still do it sometimes, but rarely I would collaborate with small businesses and I mean, that’s what I did before, like even when I moved here. So this is a good example I think because yes, I started like 20 ish years ago, but like I moved here 11 years ago and I had to restart my entire business in a new state.

No community, no, I had no fri. I had two friends in the whole valley and I was flying back and forth to Illinois just to make money because like, I ha you restart. Like you are completely restarting. All your SEO needs to update. You’re in a whole freaking new state. Like, I can’t tell you how many calls I still get from Chicago.

Hey, can you like, no, I don’t. I mean, I mean I will, if you pay me 10,000, I will fly there. But like for now, like I’m in Arizona, so, and I do, I do actually take clients in all different states and countries now. I just like worked my butt off and I did. I, I, I got down dirty. I worked hard, and I don’t know if that’s a Midwestern thing, but word of mouth referrals and personal connections have always been the foundation for my business, and I think they’re the best way to build momentum.

Right? But that being said, again, it kind of depends on your goal and your business model and your situation. So since I am a business coach for a lot of different kinds of businesses, there are some businesses that like getting down and dirty and doing the hard work isn’t always the answer. And some people take a different approach, and I do respect that.

For instance, like if your goal is to build a really high end brand, and it’s like super luxury and waiting for the right client and building that SEO and putting the marketing out there, instead of running specials or adjusting pricing, those businesses are really focused on positioning themselves as like luxury or premium.

They stick to the rate and they’re just patient. That really only works if you have the time and financial cushion for it. And I just, some, a lot of people don’t, but also I’m just putting that out there. ’cause if there’s a listener on here and they’re like, I wanna build this luxury brand, obviously I’m gonna say, you need to save a buttload of money or get investors and be ready for that time and patience if you’re not, if the hard work and discount and cheap things isn’t gonna like get you to where you wanna be.

Some people prioritize like sustainability and their boundaries, right? Like choosing to market smarter than to work harder. Maybe hire an SEO specialist. Once again, the the discount is gonna make their business look bad ’cause they’re trying to attract these high end clients. There is a pretty famous perspective that lowering prices and offering deals can attract the wrong clients or set unrealistic expectations.

And in a way that’s true because I do notice that. If I give a really cheap discount or do something for free or market to the wrong place, there are all the wrong clients. And sometimes I feel like, I hate to say this, but like the cheaper the client, the crappier they are, they don’t value you. They don’t value what you have to offer, and man, they make your life miserable.

And I get that and I get that, but it also kind of depends on where you’re at in your business and how much of a luxury you have, how much money you have, how much finances, what you’re willing to take. You have to look at your life as a teeter-totter and figure out what are my goals? If you have the luxury and you’ve got this dream for this perfect thing and the perfect clients, you will call those to yourselves if you find yourself in the right room.

I, I listened to one of your podcasts where some girl was talking about networking or meetings or like going into these events and like really putting yourself out there. Go listen to that podcast. It’s on here. I don’t remember which episode it was, but like, go listen to that and figure out how to put yourself in the right kind of rooms, right.

There’s tons of female empowerment groups in town. I’m a part of the powerhouse women community from Lindsay. Like I love her. I’m there every year. I’ve taken her six figure course. She’s fabulous. Putting yourself in a room with people that align with you that are gonna call the right kind of energy, like putting the right energy out there is gonna pull the right energy.

And I get all of that. But also my Midwestern brain is just, I’m a work hard and I’m gonna take maybe a client that I don’t love. It doesn’t have to be full time, but like for me it was always about financial independence and the practice. Like I don’t wanna ever go through a period when now I’ll go through like weeks without shooting, which is wonderful because I have two torn rotator cuffs and that’s like wonderful.

But like in the beginning, like I think it really depends on where you’re at and what you want. I think that a pitfall in my opinion, with some small businesses. Let’s take off the plate. The people that are going for the really high end luxury, like that’s their thing. Let’s take them off of this conversation, but like I think some entrepreneurs can get prideful.

And can forget what their goals are and they’re not willing to work hard because, and they’ll use these sort of perspectives, which are true, like lowering prices off free deals can bring the wrong clients, but they’ll almost, in a way use it as a crutch. I know they do, and I know these people and I know that like, oh, like I can’t lower myself.

And I’m like, okay, but is that pride or is that true? Like, and sometimes it’s true, but I do think that sometimes pride can get in our way. Especially like me being at 10 years, I was like, I’ve been in this 10 years, I’ve been published in so many places. I’m, you know, I’ve won awards. I’m 10 years established photographer and I’m moving to this new town.

Everyone should be lucky to have me. Like, I’m amazing. And I was like, and crickets. And it would’ve been crickets. But like I didn’t that my goal wasn’t to be the best ever and have these luxury clients. My goal was to put myself on my feet financially and be able to provide for my family and keep this job and not have to go into the workforce.

I’ve never been in the workforce like, I mean other than coffee shop manager all the way through college while I was building this business. But like, I’ve never had a corporate job like. And I, I want it that way, you know? And sometimes when things get hard, and I’m so grateful to say they haven’t for years now, but I won’t forget.

I won’t forget going to Trader Joe’s and not being able to pay because my debit card was set to never wi over withdraw. And I’m standing there with all my groceries on the thing, like it’s depressing. And I didn’t ever wanna feel that way again. So it’s like, I’m gonna do free things. I’m gonna work my butt off and work 80 hour weeks because the burnout wasn’t what I was afraid of.

The going back into like, or ever going into a corporate world is what I didn’t want. I wanted my freedom. And so like, it really just depends on what your goals are. For me, if I had to start over again, I’d do the same thing. I’d work my butt off. I, you know, one thing I would do different. I would get alone.

Yeah. Okay. Ooh, interesting. Girl. Girl. I don’t know. Also, Midwestern thing, maybe. I have never been in debt for my business, ever. I’ve never had a business loan. I’ve never bought something. I couldn’t pay for cash on a credit card. I’ve never been in credit card debt like I was trained and raised, you know, with a very, here’s my cash in the envelope.

Maybe it’s coming from a poor family, I don’t know. But like, I never went in debt. So like when, you know, I got a wedding and they, my only payment was they bought me a tripod and I was like, oh my God, I have a tripod. And then somebody bought me a flash and I was like, yes, $400 for that flash. Can you pay for that?

Like, yes I can. I want this for you. You know, I got a tip and I went and bought, you know, a new memory card. And then, you know, my mom gave me my first digital camera right out of college. So I was shooting film and then like a really bad cannon rebel. But like I did it, but it was the slow growth. Like it took me, I actually think.

You don’t wanna be the person that just starts your career and goes out and buys the fanciest gear and the most exciting moment. Because if you don’t know how to use it, you’re wasting your money. Like you can’t expect the camera to do it for you. Don’t care how smart they are. Auto focus doesn’t work.

Okay? Like I, you know, I auto manual focus. I’m sure you do too. You’re experienced enough to know you can’t just push a button and expect it. Your work will never look right. You have to know, you have to be the master of your own career and your own industry. However, that being said, I do wish that in the beginning I had gotten a loan because I did have a degree in photography.

And I do think limited gear is what took me so long for my work to look as good as it did. Like if I look at the first five years, like I was already shooting in camera raw because I was shooting film, it, there was no, there was no automatic, everything was manual. I already knew what I was doing, but I was really limited by my gear.

And I didn’t have any money for marketing. It took me at least three years to save up for my first Apple computer. Like, you know, and like I wanted a nicer computer, so the processor was faster and it really has been the slow crawl for me. I think I could have been wildly successful probably within a decade, but it took me at least maybe 15 years to be making six figures.

I don’t think it would’ve taken me that long if I had had better gear because I would’ve been better and I would’ve been able to raise, raise my prices faster because my work would’ve. It kind of depends on what your goals are and where you’re at, but I mean, I think that’s the only thing I would do different.

I would work my butt off and then maybe get a loan.

Quianna: I love that. No, I love that. ’cause to me, thinking of that loan is just like a quick little accelerator, right? It’s like boom. Within a week you could be up and running and have access to that. Ooh, I love that so much. Thank you for sharing. I know,

Tracy: right?

Like and it really depends. I hate to tell people to get a loan and go into debt ’cause it’s like a big American lie. But like people aren’t living with their own in their means, and it’s a really, really dangerous thing. So you have to know yourself to know if it’s gonna be a good choice for you. But like I do see a lot of businesses come to me because I have these DIY build your I do customizations for websites.

I’ll do, you know, their brand guidelines and my courses cost like 1500 to, I mean, I have offerings up to $7,000. That’s a lot of money for a new business. But honestly if you could get a $10,000 loan and I mean hire me selfish, plug to literally take my launch course, learn everything, don’t make the mistakes I made, like if you could jumpstart that, as long as you know, I also have seen people take out loans and invest in me and their business has failed.

And that’s really, really sad for me. And it was because maybe I don’t know why. You know, like sometimes I ask sometimes, you know, they had their vision, they had their alignment, they had everything right, but like something was wrong. Obviously I’m not gonna ask ’em what was wrong, why did it fail? We did all this work and you did so great.

So like you have to know yourself personally and make sure that you’re ready, really ready to like do this before ever getting alone. And if you’re really unsure, you’re wavering and you don’t know yourself, then GIY, like push yourself through, you know? So I mean, it can be either way. I hate to give advice d different routes for different people.

Quianna: Yeah. No, this is beautiful. And I feel this just download right now to share that it’s absolutely okay to literally have a side job, like to have another part-time job. Yes. As you are building, whether it’s a full-time Oh yes. Like there’s no, I wanna say that there’s no, of course, like there’s no shame in that.

Like we need to pay our bills. Yes, we do. And as you’re building, it’s totally okay. Like go get it. And in fact, that may even fuel more clients. Like you’re getting exposed to a whole new network of people.

Tracy: Yeah. Why add the financial stress to it? Like, and then you’re freaking out and you’re angry and you’re coming in with that bitter, fearful heart.

Like I did, I worked a full-time job as a coffee shop manager for at least the first, I made a lot of sacrifices to go full-time from 2006 when I graduated and established the business legally, like I was technically taking money, but under $600 a year before then, so it was legal. But like I worked all the way until 2009, full-time as a coffee shop manager and doing the photography every weekend, every night, every evening.

And then I took another big sacrifice and my husband and I moved in with my parents. I. In my freaking teenage bedroom. We built a loft and we lived in there so that I could quit my job at the coffee shop and go full time. I was making like 14,000 a year with the photography, and I was making like 35,000 as a manager.

And so we took the 35,000 hit and I said, you know what? I think if I had more time all day to market this and actually do this, I could do this. Moved in with my parents. We were 28, only like a year married. I mean, how embarrassing is that? But I don’t care. Right? It’s worth it. I don’t care. Because you want it.

You will find a way to make it happen. And so like it wasn’t easy and I made sacrifices and I’m so glad I did.

Quianna: Yes. Oh my gosh. We all are. Oh my goodness. Well, one last question. This is something I ask every guest I would love to know. Tracy, what key tip would you like to share with entrepreneurs and dreamers?

Anything you wish you knew sooner or would like to share today?

Tracy: Be adaptive. Always keep learning. I think that the entrepreneurial journey is full of twists and turns, and I think successful people embrace change and they stay open to growth. I think a growth mindset is incredibly important, just like I talked about, not necessarily nicheing down, it kind of depends on the aspect.

Don’t be afraid to pivot. Don’t be afraid to experience with new things. Trust your gut, trust your instincts. Um, I think sometimes the best opportunities come from paths you didn’t think you might take. I really don’t like the phrase, hopefully nobody else has said. I love this phrase, the stay in your own lane phrase really triggers me.

I know that people mean it in a good way, especially for those, like I said, who struggle with focus and they can’t complete things and they’re all over the place and like, oh, I’m gonna do this and I’m gonna do this, and I’m gonna do this, and they never freaking do any of it, like. Those are not the people that should leave their lane, but like for those of us who are constantly growing, evolving, testing the waters, learning new things, like being adaptable and keep learning, I think like who stays in a lane?

It’s like not even a realistic thing. Like if you’re driving, for those of you that live in Arizona, that drive to California, like if you stayed in your own lane, damn you would double your driving time. Okay. Like it’s not a realistic, like you have to pass, you have to be willing to take different roads.

You have to try things. You have to, you know, not get stalled out by this. Like, people talk about burnout, like burnout for someone like me or many people’s just getting stuck in that lane. And it’s like, you’re, you’re so much more, you are growing. If you’re not growing, you’re dying. Like we know all these phrases, right?

Like you have to be growing, you have to be evolving. It’s, it’s, and I think that I just don’t, I just don’t like it. It’s not a realistic phrase. People evolve. Businesses evolve, and if you aren’t willing to change, you’re gonna get stuck in traffic. I think that we’re meant to explore new things, ex expand our skills, grow beyond what we ever thought was possible.

And you are like, you can always try things. Like if I had, if I had stayed in one lane fully live, photography would just be fully live photography. It wouldn’t be the fully live agency. I wouldn’t be building websites and coaching people and having very, very deep, beautiful, therapeutic conversations with small business owners that are pouring their house hearts out to me because they just want something so much in life.

And you have one life, one life, and then it’s over. Like, how are you living it? Every day matters, and I just think I want it to be life-giving and joyful, and I wouldn’t be being able to do that right now. If I had just been like, I’m only a photographer. It’s all I can do. I can only take pictures like I wouldn’t be doing creative direction and consulting and all these ways that I bring value to my clients.

Sticking to one thing would’ve been very limiting to me. Not liberating. Be open, stay curious. Give yourself permission to grow. Evolve. Success isn’t just always about staying in that lane. It’s about knowing when to change lanes and knowing yourself and knowing when you should and try, try, try new things, don’t I?

I don’t know. But

Quianna: that’s it. That’s, that’s what I think. I love that so much. And as we know, like I’m such a visual person. Like that is perfect. ’cause that is something that I hear a lot from coaches, from even my own business besties. They’re like, oh, hey, key. Get in your own lane, put your head down, focus, put your blinders on, let’s go.

And so like, you’re right, like to a certain extent, like there needs to be a time for that. And I like saying and not bad and ands a good way. And, and you gotta know when it’s time to get off that freeway. You need to know when it’s stopped to get gas to take a different road, you know, hop off on the shortcut, uh, you know, take the long way home, whatever that looks like.

I love all these analogies and it is really good to know yourself.

Tracy: Mm-hmm. Right. Some people do need to stay in that lane. They need fricking blind. My mom needs nine blinders. I love you, mom, but you need massive blinders. Stay in your email lane. Stay in this lane like she does. But like, I think that sometimes people, I’ve heard it kind of hurtful in the community, you know, like, stay in your own lane.

Why is that person suddenly doing this? They were doing this. Like, really we’re not gonna let people grow. I’m not gonna let people evolve. Why do we care what they’re doing? Like I don’t understand. Like, let people be human. Let us experience, and obviously I do have clients that I have to tell, Hey, you know what you’re, you’re in 19 categories.

Let’s go to category one. Let’s build category one. Once category one is built, then let’s explore category two. You know? But like nurses do it all the time, right? Like you go to nursing school and you’re like, oh, I’m in the nicu. Oh, this is not life giving. I’d better go try this. Like, and like we’re not shaming them for, you know, all of a sudden this is a heart surgeon.

Like, oh my gosh. And she would’ve never known if she’s stuck in nicu, you know? Not that she was giving up on her dream. She was still in that world, you know? And not that you can’t switch worlds either. Like I know people that switch worlds completely and now their lives are so good. It’s just knowing yourself.

Gotta be honest with yourself, like lying to yourself is a big, big pitfall. That doesn’t help anybody.

Quianna: Oh my gosh, this is all so good. I can literally talk to you for hours and hours. Now, I know this went by so fast, but I would love to share, Tracy, how can we connect with you and how can we become your business BFF?

Oh my gosh, I love that. So, um, you

Tracy: could go to the fully alive agency.com and from there, that’s sort of my landing page for all my company. So fully Alive Photography. There’s a button there, you can go check out all my photography work. And then Fully Alive Creative is really dedicated to like the branding therapy, the consulting, the workflows.

I have courses to build your own brand. I have a launch course, I have a photography course, I have an iPhone and reels course. That’s fun. Yeah, so there’s like all the coaching, consulting, business strategy stuff as I’m fully live creative. And then I also own fully live events, which I have a business partner, one of the girls on my team, Nicole, has been a wedding planner for a very long time.

So we do plan events, birthday parties, weddings, not as much weddings, more micro weddings. We have planners that we love that do the big weddings, but for anything small launch parties, things like that, she can help with all of those things. So we’ve got the three, but the fully live agency.com is a really good place to start ’cause we’ll get you there, Instagram, just go to fully live photography.

I have not been very good at updating all the other pages.

Quianna: No, this is awesome. Well, thank you so much for your time today. It has been so fun to really take you along this journey to share the ups and downs, the twists and turns. And you have just been so knowledgeable and thank you for sharing today. Oh my gosh.

Thanks for inviting me. Thank you so much. I hope you have a beautiful day. Ah. That conversation was like a breath of fresh air. There’s something so liberating about reminding us that we really can do it all, just maybe not all at the same time. Thank you so much for joining the chat today. I hope it leaves you feeling inspired and encouraged to chase your dreams and step outside of your comfort zone.

If you don’t listen to your gut. And if you don’t take action, the world will tell you what to do.

Best Photography Business Podcast | Quianna Marie Weekly

As entrepreneurs, this is your green light to find alignment in what feels right. Chase that sunlight and brighten every room you walk into. Please, please follow along with Tracy’s adventures on Instagram at Fully Alive Photography.

She’s always posting really fun things and you’re gonna get a firsthand behind the scenes pass at all of the fun, creative niches that she has, right? I mean, she talks about it, she lives it. Go check it out. I’m loving this mindset series and so grateful to introduce you to my real life friends, business besties, and big dreamers in my circle.

My network is your network. I’m always cheering for you. Keep on dancing, baby. Can’t wait to chat next week. Okay? Love you. Bye. 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 quiannamarie.com/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.

If you liked this episode, you’re gunna LOVE these…

SEO Strategies with Sara Dunn

Blogging + SEO with Vanessa Hicks

Finding Your Sweet Spot with Liz Hartke