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I am Nicole Begley, a zoological animal trainer, turned pet and family photographer back in 2010. I embarked on my own adventure in photography, transforming a bootstrapping startup into a thriving six-figure business by 2012. Since then, my mission has been to empower photographers like you, sharing the knowledge and strategies that have helped me help thousands of photographers build their own profitable businesses.
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With welcome to the Freedom Focus Photography podcast. Hey everybody. Welcome back to the Freedom Focus Photography podcast. I am your host, Nicole Begley, and today I'm very excited to have a special guest with me, Karina Joseph from Karina, Joseph Photography outside of Montreal, who has been crushing it last year. So Carina, welcome to the podcast. Thank you so much for having me.
I'm super excited. Oh my goodness. I'm super excited to chat with you because you've had one heck of a year. Before we dive into like how you got started, let's just kind of recap and say you started really your photography business, like actually making money with it in June, correct? Yeah. Okay. So I started, like, I started my business back in 2020,
but it was always like part-time, and then I got pregnant, and then I had my son and then no daycare. So I was trying to do both. And then that's when in June he started daycare. I was like, oh my gosh. Okay. Alright. I actually, actually, I could actually work 40 hours a week. I could do 30 hours,
like, so that's when I really like started. Okay, got, that's right. That's right. Yeah. So it's like a whole new world. Oh my gosh. Yeah. I, oh yes. I built my businesses during nap times and drop off childcare and like just like 90 minutes. I used to actually go our grocery store at the time,
I think this died with Covid, but they used to have childcare, so the kids had to be three, but you'd get 90 minutes and they had a little cafe. So I would take my son, you know, my daughter was a little bit older now, so I would take even both kids or she would be in school, but then I would take him to the grocery store for an hour and a half,
let him go play in the childcare while I sat in that cafe and did work. And then I'd pick him up and then do my grocery shopping. I'm like, I'm like, I know they meant for me to grocery shop without him, but I'd rather work. Which To the system. Yes. Oh my gosh. You have to. You have to because it's,
yeah. So yeah. That is awesome. So really in June, 2023 to the end of December, I remember being on a coaching call with you and you're like, oh man, I got a big goal. I don't know if we're gonna do it, but you got it together. So what was your revenue goal from that June to December? So at first it was 60,000.
Yep. And then I was coming close to the $60,000 mark, and I was like, Hmm, no, it needs to be higher. So then I stretched it to 75,000 and I was like, oh my gosh, that's so much money. That's a lot. Like, is it even possible? And I was like, you know what? I'm just gonna try it.
And worst comes to worst, I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna hit that goal. And like, so what? Yep, exactly. Oh my gosh. Yeah. Yep. Yeah, I think so many people put so much pressure on when they're setting a goal of what it means if I don't hit it. And it sounds to me like you actually turn that into a little bit of a game of just like,
all right, what would it take to do that? Let's, let's give it a try. Yeah. I remember I did like this whole calculation and I needed like 17,000, a couple hundred dollars to get there. So I printed out like a thermometer and then every time I had a sale I was just like chipping away. Oh, I don't, oh my gosh.
Enough towards my goal. I love it. That's fantastic. Did you have that in your office? I did, yeah. That's Fantastic. Awesome. It was on my desk, like I would see it every day. Right. So every day I was like, okay, like what can I do to reach my goal? Okay. I love it.
We're gonna come back to this for sure. So let's just go back way back to kind of 2020 covid era. When you decided to kind of start your business, what were you doing prior? What drew you to photography? Kind of what got you into this? Okay, so before, so let's say like summer 2019, I had just like really like just started,
I was about to start university. So like college for you Americans. Yep. And I was, and I was just like, I just loved it. I was already working for someone else and like in a studio and I was like, I really liked doing studio, but I wanted do a bit of outdoors and I wasn't sure necessarily like what I wanted to niche down in.
Yep. So I just started like with my friends, just like going out to like a sunflower field, just messing around like my camera getting used to like photographing and like manual mode. So really just like starting out. And then in 2020 I was in university and then Covid hit. So I actually ended up still like doing my degree online, but since it was online I had a lot more time and started doing like these social distancing,
like photo sessions where people were like in their car and I was like taking pictures through their car. Like just like people like walking, like their dogs. It was just like, I just wanted to keep my creativity going. And then in May of 2021, I graduated. So I got my degree, saw my bachelor's in communication and media studies, and then I was like,
okay, I just want to try this whole time. Like I'm still young, I still have time. I'm like, so what if it doesn't work? You know, like I don't have, I don't have like I, at that time I didn't have my son, so I was like, okay, like yes, I was in a relationship, but it's like,
like your twenties is like the time to like try stuff, right? Absolutely. So, so that's what I did. And then I got into another coaching program that really helped me build my boutique to be like a, to build my business, sorry, to be like boutique photography and like get my pricing going and get some samples and just like getting used to that like business structure.
So then I was in July of 2021 and then I kept going with that coaching program. But my first year, so let's say 2021, I had total of like 21,000 in like gross revenue. Okay. And 2022 I hit 46,000. Okay. And in 2022, my son was born in August, so I essentially like had a slower year because in the summer I was just like so huge and hot and tired.
And then obviously my son was born in August, so I took the rest of the year off. So no like big fourth quarter, none of that. And then in 2023 I was like, okay, if I want to make, well, if I want my business to make $60,000, that's let's say an average of $5,000 per month, obviously like yeah,
you don't get that same amount, right? Because it depends on season. Like there's a huge seasonality to the photography industry. But I was like, okay, how can I make this work? And then I just like sat down and I tried to like map it out with a couple of marketing activities that I like to do. And I was just like,
Hmm, I think this could be possible. So then like the first half of the year, well first quarter I was really just like planning and I was working on a fundraiser and it was all like nap time or like at night when he was asleep or even like, I know sometimes when he was just like cluster feeding. So he was just like constantly on me and I was like on my phone trying to do like some social media.
I just wanted to like keep my business going. And then in June when he got to daycare, it was like a whole new world opened up. It was like, this is the first time I really get to do this like a hundred percent full time. Yeah. And then it was like, I've had so much time. So everything that I was used to doing,
like here and there, I could get so much done during the day where I didn't have to work an eight hour day. Like I could get everything done in like six and like pick him up early from daycare. And just finding that workflow and that like work-life balance was a bit challenging. But once I got got it, it was like, oh man,
I'm an, I'm unstoppable now. Oh, you are unstoppable. That's awesome. I do have a couple questions. When did you start photographing pets and are you still like pets specific or are you doing like pets and families? Were you doing families before? What did that look like? Okay. So I started doing pets more specifically, I would say beginning of 2022.
It was something that I had discovered. I had mean, I have my, my own dog and he, he's like so used to it. Like he would just, I, I would pull out my camera and he was like, okay, I'm ready. He would just like sit and be like, okay, I'm gonna be perfect. But just like starting to just to like dive a bit more into the world of pet photography and also like going through hair of the dog and like seeing that like there is this whole new world and everything,
it, I was just like, whoa, I just really love this. And at that time I was still doing like families and pets. And then as the year progressed and as I was getting ready to like go into labor, I was having like these huge like, I guess revelations of like, oh, maybe there's something else that I could do with my photography.
Like maybe, maybe like more people should get their pets photographed. So I was still doing like families and pets and like now to this day, I do like people and their pets, but I really do like more, more specifically dogs. And I'll do like a session and like I'll try to get the owner in for like a couple images, but it's not gonna to be like this whole session like with family and all that.
It's really more like dog specific. Yep. Yeah. And like I, I would say that a huge part of that came when I almost lost my dog unexpectedly. And like, I don't wanna be like, you know, like a Debbie Downer and be like, oh, like our pets, they don't live like, they don't live as long as us,
but like, like freak accident one day he just like ran out of the house and he got hit by a car and I thought like it was gonna be like, my world was just gonna stop. And I was like, okay. But I don't have like any like, beautiful artwork of my dog to like remember him by or whatnot. Yeah. So that,
that's really what like pushed me even more to get people to photograph their dogs and their pets in general just 'cause they are part of the family and we tend to forget them. So. Yes. Well, and I think you say, you know, like, I don't wanna be a Debbie Downer, but like that's an important, really origin story of why we do this,
you know? So it's a, a way to really connect with that and being able to tell that story on your website or to your clients or in your marketing is a way for people to be like, oh, it's not just when my dog gets old. You know, it can happen at any time. You know, I had, I lost Zoe unexpectedly when she was only six.
So like that's something where it's like, hey, I speak from experience, like this is why I know it's important. Like for my equine photography, you know, I talk about it as I, I have horse show photographs from the, my horse. Actually there's one, where is it? Oh, you can't quite see. It's outta a frame of my horse from college.
And you know, I just have those. But I, when my mom was cleaning out her house when she was moving, she found this board that had like old school, like, you know, floppy images printed on it that a friend of mine came out to the barn and took photos of us as part of some photography project in college. And so then gave it to me and like,
then it went to my mom's basement and it was there for 20 years. And oh my gosh, I found those and it was like a treasure. I was like, oh. Because then I got to see him, how I saw him every day, not just like over a fence. Like it was like, oh my gosh, yes, that's the horse I remember.
And oh my gosh, it meant so much to me. So being able to have stories like that, that we can share with our clients is such an important way for them to like make the connection of like, oh, this is why I need to do this now, because Absolutely. It's so easy to put that off. Yeah. I like to encourage my clients to like rem like,
do something. We're gonna create artwork that's going to help them remember their pets at their best. Yeah. Yeah. And because like, like you said, we could always like put it off and, you know, you have like the classic like puppy or like end of life session. Yeah. But there is like a whole world in between those two moments that I think it's really fun to come and capture those.
Yes, absolutely. Okay, I wanna shift gears for a second here and talk about time management for when your son went to daycare in June and you found your, you went from like, oh my gosh, like super tactical, like work times to, oh, I have a whole day now. And I know for me it's like, yes, that's amazing,
but it also has a shadow aside in which it's like, oh, I now have all day. So it can be challenging to stay on task and not just allow the tasks that you could have gotten done in two hours to expand to the whole day because you have the time. How did you find that transition? I actually found it quite fun. Yeah.
Because I was like, I, I love to like be organized and just to plan things out. So I was planning my day by like, okay, like wake up at this time, daycare job off at this time. And then like when I, like I, I just know that for me, like my mornings are not like my, my working hours.
Like, okay, do not ask me to sit down on my desk like in the morning to like do some editing or answer some emails or like, call some clients. It's just, it's not my time. So my mornings were more like if I wanted to like work out or if I wanted to go back to bed or I wanted to like meal prep,
like some snacks or something like that for the week or like that those were my, my mornings, my afternoons, that was my crunch time. That was like, okay, like I am getting stuff done and I have a list of tasks to do. So like I just, I know what I need to do and I'd rather work like four or five very intense hours and be completely in the zone Yeah.
Than like to be distracted and to be thinking about stuff here and there. And oftentimes like when my wife would go back to bed, I would just like come back to my desk and like do a little bit of editing. Yeah. 'cause my night, the nighttime is like when I like to like edit. I don't know why, but that's just like my workflow.
Yeah. So like even to this day, like my son's still in daycare and like, like this morning I was in the woods walking the dogs. It was just like, I love my mornings. It's sunny. Like this is like my time. Yeah. Oh my gosh. I love that. And this is such an important piece too, of figuring out what works for you.
'cause you know, there's all these Miracle Morning books, which actually is a good book, but it doesn't have to be at five in the morning, you know, and like all these to Ask me to get up at five. No way. No, Exactly. Like, you this though, all this, you know, to be a successful business owner,
you need to be up at four 30 and to the gym by five. And I'm like, no, some people don't do that. No. I personally am better in the morning, but not at 5:00 AM But like I need to sit down at my desk and do like writing or anything that is like heavy mental load needs to happen first thing. And then the afternoon I can do for like the random admin tasks or editing or things like that.
So I'm just opposite of you. But it's important to know how you work so that you can do that. So, yeah, Absolutely. Yeah. And I actually figured that out when I was in university because I would structure my, my classes that way. I would have like one or two days off in the week and on that day off it's like,
okay, in the morning I'm gonna go grocery shopping shopping because everyone's at work and it's gonna be so easy and there's gonna be no one. And then it was just like, the rest of the day was like, like studying at home, going to the library, working on team projects. It was just, I just figured that that was the workflow that worked for me and I tried to change it to like not work at night anymore.
Like, I don't work every single night. I do spend time with my family. Right. But like, I just tried it and I was like, you know, it's, it's, it's not, it's not working for me. Instead of taking like one hour to do a task, it's taking three because I'm so distracted and this needs to be done,
blah, blah, blah. So I, I just thought that like working like four or five intense hours instead of like eight in a day was what worked for me. And I, I wanted to stick with that because that's how I'm productive. That's how I get my stuff done. That's how I meet my goals. So I think for people, if they find their workflow,
then from that it's like you kind of find your golden key to success in my book. 'cause I mean obviously there's other things like mindset and blah blah blah, but it's just like getting into your, your flow state is so important. Yeah. I think the whole, like the whole myth that the workday needs to be eight hours is antiquated because I don't think we can actually do eight hours of actual deep work,
like 90 minutes at a time, maybe, you know, and even in that four or five hours that you're working, you're not doing the same task for four or five hours. I'm sure you're going back and forth. No, but finding ways to be, to stay really productive and keeping, you know, setting ourselves up for success so that we can just jump in and spend those four hours.
So where no, not spending eight, doing something that could be done quickly so then you can do more things. Which I mean, nothing causes you to figure out how to be productive faster than having a kid. No. Yeah. Yeah. It's crazy. It's so funny. You look back and I'm like, how did I think I was busy before?
Which, you know, it's, it's, it's just a whole different level of like, all right, I gotta get my act together. Yeah. It's like you, like you think that your life was busy before you had children, that you were tired before you had children. And then it's like, what was I thinking? No, Like I would like to go back to that please.
Except not, but yes, just for like a weekend. Yeah. I like just be able to sleep in once. That's so funny. That's so funny. Okay, let's dive back into 2023 and, you know, your big $75,000 year really working just full-time from June on. What did that, was that made up of, in terms of profession or portrait clients?
And I know you've gone through our commercial pet photography academy, the commercial course too. So you have been serving some commercial clients too, kind of what's the makeup of that? Okay, so I would say probably, so 50, 55,000 out of the 75 is like portrait and then the rest is commercial. Okay. I do do some commercial work that is not just with like pet related brands.
Yeah. I work with my city a lot. So they're an apps, they're a great client. They'll, they'll contract me to work on like creating like a bank of images. Okay. So like I'll do that probably like once per season and I'll create this like beautiful bank of images that they could use on like their social media and their website. And that's just so fun because I can just do it on my own time.
Yeah. So that for me is a nice chunk of commercial work. The other commercial work that I do is with pet brands, which I absolutely love. And this year in 2024 I wanna dive more into that. And then the rest is like portrait clients. I love it. Awesome. And then what have you found to be the best kind of marketing tools for building that portrait business?
Like what did that look like this year to, to reach that revenue goal? So reaching that in 2023 was absolutely insane. Like I didn't think 75 was possible. It's like I'm just gonna like, like pick a number and put it out there and just work towards it. Which I think is really important to like not associate ourselves and our worth with like a number.
Yeah. Or especially lot like money. I've been working a lot with Heather, well Heather Laton obviously that you know very well with the Flourish Academy. But just going out and picking that number and I was like, okay, how do I make this work? What can I do? So I, I partnered with like different charities throughout the year to do some,
some fundraising. I did a calendar as well, but just like I started a referral program too. So I'd say just like meeting people, I love social media, I love dogs on social media. So just like interacting with people or especially like my dog trainer, like through her and meeting some potential clients and some business owners. And it's really just about working on those relationships.
And it's so funny, speaking of my dog owner, we met like three years ago 'cause I was looking for a sponsor for a fundraiser and then like she became my dog trainer and then she became my friend and like she actually came to my wedding and I was like, it's just so fun. Like building these relationships with people. I think it's one of the main things that I love about being business is it being in business,
sorry, is meeting new people. And of course the more people you meet, the more offers you make, the more nos you get. But you get a lot more yeses and then the more money comes in and then it just like, it just becomes a natural flow. You just start to like get into your groove and you get used to people saying no or not right now.
And then you're like, okay, next person. You just like start to like brush things off. So just like for me working in like my portrait clients and making all these offers and meeting new people and like my dog trainer that gives out like gift certificates to her favorite client that bring, that brings. So then they come back to me doing some silent auctions,
just like being out there and my community helps my business so much and social media is great, but like when I run my numbers most of my clients, and I say most, I mean like a good 80% like from referral or like someone that I know. Okay. Yeah. That, I mean that relationship really, it's, it's key. We talk about that in Elevate a lot.
Which you know, 'cause you're in Elevate, it's just like meet more people, make more offers, earn more money. Like that's how it goes. And I think so many of us get scared, especially, I mean this audience is a lot of pet photographers who feel very introverted and really any portrait photographer, it's such a different, I've talked to so many photographers over the years,
like ones that actually used to work in sales and like I had no problem selling whatever I was selling before. But then you flip it and you're like, oh, now I'm selling something that's so close to my heart and is so personal and is has my name on it. And it's like a whole different ball game. So what thoughts do you have or like how,
how have you found that kind of transition or what do you kind of think or hold onto in order to, to keep making those offers and keep making those relationships? So at first it was difficult because I felt like I was just like, you know, like putting myself out there. You know, kind of like when you have like that nightmare where you're just like naked in front of an audience.
Like I literally felt like I was exposing like this huge part of myself and that people were saying no, like to me. Right. But they're not saying no, like to me Carina, they're saying no to my offer. They're saying no because maybe they don't value my product and that's okay and I don't want to take them on as a client. Maybe it's just not the right time for them.
Yep. So I feel like the more that like, 'cause the more you talk about what you do, the more offers you make, you're gonna hear more nos than if you just make like one offer in the year and that person says yes. Yeah. Right. So I, I was just like, it just took some time and a lot of like reading and personal development to work on my mindset to be like,
okay, when someone says no, they're not saying no to me and I don't have to take that personally. And if I am like hung up on their no and I'm like down for like an hour or a few days, whatever, then I'm not working towards getting my ideal client into getting those message. But it was a lot of, a lot of mindset I would say.
Oh my gosh, I love that so much. And there's a great book. Have you, I actually haven't read this one, but it's called Go For No or something like that or Go for the No, I've I've heard of it. Yeah, yeah, Yeah. But basically it's about saying that that it's like, hey, your goal should be to get out there and like hear nos because you're not gonna hear the yeses without the nos.
And being able to have a way to separate the no from being like, it doesn't mean anything on you personally, doesn't reflect on you or your worth or your brand. It literally could be just the person is just way too busy and can't think about it right now. They might really want it, they might come back. I've had so many clients,
I can't tell you how many clients over the years that inquire originally and say, oh I can't right now, but we'll save up or come back the next year. Or they eventually do come around. So you never know what no is actually a not right now and could be something in the future or maybe even a no is going to recommend somebody else that is a yes that it just wasn't right for them.
Or you just, we have no idea. And we love to put reasons in their heads and just assume that since they said no, it's because our work sucks or it's too expensive and maybe we should just lower our prices. Totally. It, it's so easy like to go like, oh it's my prices. Like yeah, just blame it on price.
Just like always blame it on your pricing. But like I, I started going to the dog park a lot more when I got my second dog 'cause he's an Australian shepherd and he just has so much energy. Yeah. And I, it got me like to interact with so many more people and I would just say something like, oh my gosh, like these are the dogs that I love to photograph because they're so like kind high energy,
like add whatever you want. Yeah. And then people were like, oh, you take pictures. I was like, oh my god. Yes. You know, and then I would just like go to like what I do and then we would connect on Instagram. So then like I would like react to their stories and like stay top of mind. Yeah.
And then like, I would get clients like that just by like talking about what I do without like doing like a direct offer. Right. Because like, that's a cold, cold market. But it was just like, just like these little things. And some people would follow me on my social media and like never book a session, but like they would still interact with my posts and like they would refer some friends to me.
So I just feel like, and also some people would just be like, oh no, I'm not interested on connect connecting with you on social media. Okay. Totally fine. Like, our dogs can keep playing, you know? So. Yeah. Yeah. I just, I just feel like as soon as you get used to hearing No, that's okay.
And oh my gosh, there's this one thing that I did, it was on YouTube. I can't remember the name of the person, but it was like a, a TEDx talk about like a hundred days of rejection. Oh. And I watched the entire thing and I was like so uncomfortable at first, like watching, like him being told no. And then the more it went on,
the more I got comfortable with it. I was like, I'm not even living this, but I'm feeling the anxiety of being like rejected. And it was just like some random thing. Like he would go up to someone in the street and say like, Hey, can I have a hundred bucks? And the person would say, no, it was,
it, it just got me so Used. I can feel the anxiety for me for that too. I'm like, oh, I would never, what are they gonna think of me? They're gonna say this or this, or blah, blah blah, blah. Oh my gosh. Like the the, the internal dialogue from that just skyrocket. Exactly. But it was kind of like exposure therapy.
Yeah. You're like, alright, I'll watch it. Oh, do I have to do it? I know Heather has recommended that. She's like, go to Target and ask for a discount. I was like, oh, I could No. Why? Oh, it's crazy. But it's a hundred percent true. It's just like the, the reason I think we're so programmed to not wanna hear no is,
you know, way back to when we were a hundred gathering society. If we were ruffling feathers and saying no, we were gonna get kicked out of the tribe and starve. Like that is still what's going on. When you asked someone to take pictures of their dog or their kid or whatever you're taking photos of and you ask them if they were interested in the session and they say,
no, that does not mean you are going to lose your house and starve. Actually, if you're not hearing the no, you might actually lose your house because you're not building your business. So maybe like you can think of a thought of just like, hey, the nos lead to yeses. Which is, I mean, that's a pretty, I think self-serving thought.
Did you have any particular thoughts or mantras or beliefs that you're holding onto as you were, you know, ramping up that, making more offers to people? Oh my God, totally. I was like, the more offers I make, the more nos I make. And I was like, I don't want to hear No. Yeah, yeah. Right.
But I just remember like, even just like thinking about my goal and I was like, do I really like need to hit this goal? Do I want to hit this goal? How am I gonna feel if I don't hit it? How am I gonna feel if I do hit it? Is it gonna change anything? So I had like this constant like push and pull,
push and build. Like, should I go for it? And if I go for it and I don't get it, like, oh my gosh, everyone's gonna know that I didn't get it and blah, blah blah. And I was just like, okay, calm down. No one's paying attention to you. Like every second of every day. Like,
and I was just like, Heather told me. And so what if you don't hit your goal? And I was like, oh no. Like that's up ups not an option. But it, I think it was just because like as a child, like I played competitive sports all the way up to like college. I was just so used to like performing,
performing, performing. And like so much so that I graduated university with the Senate medal for outstanding Academic achievement. So like high achiever. Yeah. Right. Like that's one of my top five like strengths. And then I was just like, ooh, That's part of your identity, high achiever, part of your identity. And so what would it mean to your identity if you didn't reach your goal would mean,
oh, I'm a fraud. Yeah. Literally. Literally. So that was a lot of like head trash to like work through and I hit my goal, I surpassed it by only $43. Amazing. So It's, I like, I got right in, but at the same time I kind of feel like, oh, maybe it would've been good for me not to hit the goal and see that like the world doesn't end.
So not saying like pick a goal and like don't try to reach it, but Yeah. Yeah. For, for for 2024, I, I picked a goal of ideally 134,000, but anywhere between 130 and 150. And I'm like, oh my gosh, that's like double. Yeah. And I was just like, okay, well what if I don't hit it?
Like, great. I have so much stuff going on in my personal life right now. Sorry guys. Interrupted by Kami. I forgot to unlock the front door for my daughter was coming home. And then Cammie thought obviously it was a murderer. So go ahead Karina, continue. Sorry. It was just about the head trash and all that stuff we're talking about.
Yeah, exactly. So I decided to double my goal for the year, anywhere between 130 to 150,000, ideally 134, just because I take home 45%. So I was just looking at like, you know, like what that like salary would be. Yep. I love that because I was gonna ask 1 34 is very specific. It's, I love it.
It it's, and I was just like, okay, I am going to try it. I, I'm gonna like put, I have systems in place to like work on getting that goal like quarterly and monthly, like predictions based on previous years and the marketing activities that I'm doing and stuff like that. But I also have so much going on in my personal life Yeah.
Where it's like, I would feel like maybe it would even be good for me not to hit that goal. Yeah. Just to be able to like process, like not hitting a goal that I set for myself. At the same time. It's like we just sold our home. We're going to be moving. Like we just have, I just, in my personal life,
I have so many moving parts that I've been working less than I usually do. And I'm just like, it's okay. I'm in this season of life as Heather would say. And like whatever happens is going to happen. I surpassed my predictions for January, February so far I'm way behind. So I just feel it's kind of like I will see and like if I take time off,
if I decide to take a month off Yeah. Because I, I need that or whatever. And I don't end up hitting 134,000 that like, I'm not gonna lose my house. Yeah. I'm not gonna starve. Like Jamar could still go to daycare. Yeah. Like pets are gonna be fed. I just feel like it's not the end of the world.
So I'm really interested of pay, like doubling that goal to see all like my, my mindset challenges for the year. I'm actually excited about that because it means I get to grow and like work on myself more. So I love it. It'll be interesting to see what other thoughts come up this year. 'cause here's the thing about the thoughts, which I know you've realized once you like nail down a few,
you're like, all right, that's not serving me. Gone. They're gone. They're slayed. You have new ones, but then you're like, oh, well here's a new thought that's coming up that's gonna try to, to block me. So likely things will still come up. But I've gotta say that I feel like you're still gonna be on track to,
even if you don't hit that to far surpass this year's goal because you seem very unattached to the outcome of this, that you've already decided that you're okay with whatever the outcome is. Now this doesn't mean that you're just like, oh, I'm gonna manifest $134,000 and I'm not gonna do anything to get there. Like, you're still working, you're still gonna market your business,
but you're not what I call the white knuckle marketing, which I see so much where people are like, I have to make another $20,000 like in the next two months. Or going back to a regular corporate job and this and that. And they have so much they're holding onto that goal so hard that it's just like you're just pushing everything away. 'cause you're just like,
I have to have it. And it's so much harder from that place than to find a place where you're like, Hey, I am, this is what I want. This is what I'm gonna do to get there. This is what I'm gonna be open for. This is where the thought that I'm gonna think about it. And if I'm good, if I get there and I'm good,
if I don't, either way we're gonna be okay. Yeah. So yeah. That's Awesome. I can't wait to see What happens. Yeah. I really can't wait to see what happens. And I think that like a big part of it is like hair of the dog freedom focus formula, I guess. And like that. And like just elevate, like having like the structure,
having like the systems, having like the help the office hours as a coaching strategy calls, you know, having like the Facebook community circle community just like being feeling like I'm not alone. And other photographers are trying to reach their goals as well. Whether it's like to make 10,000 in a year to make 500,000. Like we all have our own goals and just to be able to like brainstorm ideas or have help with pricing or to just be like,
okay, I need someone to like help me get into the gain and not in the gap. So I just feel like being surrounded with all those resources, it what helps. And that's what helped me reach my goal of 75,000 for the year because I had like 17,000 to make in like a two month period, which I had never done before. I was like,
my highest quarter before fourth quarter last year was like 20,000. Right. But that's still not 17,000 in two months. And my, my, my fourth quarter of 2023, I ended up making $31,000, which is like almost half my year. Yeah. So amazing. And that was just, I was just, I was going for it. People were giving me ideas.
You gave me ideas about reaching out to past clients, you know, I'm going with gift cards and all of those things were just like, okay, what can I try? What can I try? What can I try? And, but it wasn't out of like scarcity. Yeah. It was just like, okay, well I have time. Like I,
I like let's just try it. You made it a game. You're like, all right, what can I do? And I think the best question is that, that we can always ask is not like, oh, can I make $17,000 in the next two months? But instead of, what would it look like if I did, how can I make $17,000?
What ways can I bring in revenue in my business that I haven't thought of yet? Who can I ask for ideas? Like, like it just asking yourself these open-ended questions. Just like I say pink elephant, you can't not think of a pink elephant. Like your brain has to answer these questions. So when you ask better questions, you get better answers.
And you know, that's why we're in elevate and coaching programs and all the things to be able to be like, help. I need better questions. Literally now I just can't stop thinking about a pink elephant. Okay. Sorry. I mean, it's a cute pink elephant. I think it's Cute. Oh, oh my gosh, Carina, this has been so good and I hope other people have found it as inspiring as I have because I just,
I love, I live for the success of students like yourself that are just out there crushing it, making, making things happen in their market and their business. And I appreciate you taking the time to chat with us today. Absolutely. Where can people find you to follow along your journey online? Perfect. So you can find me on my Instagram, which is Karina Joseph,
so K-O-R-I-N-A Joseph, or on Facebook at Karina Joseph Photography. TikTok is the same as Instagram. And there's my website also, which is karina joseph com. Awesome. I love it. Thanks again for being in here and we will see you around the Elevate group. Absolutely. Thanks so much, Nicole. Of course. Bye everybody. See you next week.