Episode 92: Holiday Rush: Work Smarter, Not Harder!

PhotoSpark

Can you guys believe we are basically in holiday rush season for portrait photographers already?! It's insane how fast these years go by. It doesn't help that we usually have to start thinking about the holidays in the summer while it's still a million degrees outside (at least here in San Diego it is!), but believe it or not... it's TIME!

We decided this week's episode should be about various ways you can work smarter & not harder during your holiday rush! Ashley & Kate have learned a LOT as portrait photographers for over a decade, and we share some of the new stuff we've learned over the years that has made a huge difference in our holiday rush seasons. Tune in to hear the details, but here are some quick tips!

1. Automate when possible! Kate uses http://bookedin.com while Ashley uses http://www.calendly.com. Both are awesome ways to automate your session bookings. Kate does mini sessions, so she uses BookedIn to make her availability clear & concise, and clients can book/pay for mini sessions automatically without even having to send her an email. Ashley doesn't do holiday minis, but she uses Calendly to let clients know when she's available & mark their desired date, after which she follows up with a phone call to seal the deal. Both have made a huge difference in our workflow, cutting out the back and forth of 50 million emails, and keeping the booking process as simple as possible for both our clients and ourselves!
2. Set limits to avoid burnout- It's sooooooo hard to turn down money, isn't it?! But how many times have you taken on way too much overwhelmed yourself with work?! This is easy to do, especially during the holidays when most of us have a ton of family/friend commitments on our calendars as well. We suggest setting limits as much as possible, starting with an END date for holiday shoots. Clients need to understand our turnaround time, card company turnaround time, etc. and know that they can't book a shoot on December 20th and expect to get cards delivered before Christmas. Do your best to set a stop date (we suggest something in November!) and stick to your guns!
3. Don't be afraid to try something new- For those of us who have been in business a while, it's easiest to just copy exactly what you did last year... and the year before, and the year before... especially when talking about mini sessions. However, it's never a bad idea to look at your systems and see if there's something you could change, to either make life easier for you or to make more money! For example, Kate used to offer 20-minute mini sessions for the holidays. She'd schedule two per hour, giving herself 10 minutes in between shoots to "change over." However, she realized she often never used this time, as her next clients were typically already ready to go as she finished up her prior shoot. SO she decided to price her minis slightly lower this year and make them for 15 minutes instead of 20. Her clients felt that the money saved was worth a 5 minute shorter shoot, and she was able to schedule FOUR per hour and double her income each day. She hasn't attempted this yet, so it might bite her in the butt if clients are late, but if it works, it's genius! Stay tuned to hear how it plays out!

Let us know if there's anything you're changing up this year to make mini sessions easier for yourselves! Comment on our Facebook page & let's start a discussion!! ALSO stay tuned for our Facebook GROUP which is coming soon! We can't WAIT to connect with you guys on a regular basis on a super personal level!!! Exciting things are to come!!

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