Growing a Six-Figure Wedding Photography Business with Justine Missen

I believe that what we put out to the world creates our own reality. Even in trying times like now, with COVID-19 dominating our lives, how we react to the pandemic will define our existence.  Someone who has really adopted that optimistic mindset is Justine Missen, a student of mine from my six-figure business map course. So today I’ve invited Justine on to the show, to have a little chat about her experience with both the business map course and her own entrepreneurship.

Listen to the full episode on the Make Your Break Podcast.

Starting Out

Building a six-figure wedding photography business is no small feat. While Justine Missen has only been in business for two years, and she’s already making massive strides towards her goals. After she had her first child in 2017, Justine was trying to figure out what to do with her career, after feeling her current job left her unfulfilled. She didn’t know how to use a camera at that stage, but she borrowed her husband’s camera and started snapping shots of friends and her new baby.

After a couple of friends asked Justine to shoot their weddings, she committed totally to photography and fell in love with the craft. She didn’t have a background in business or photography, so she had to learn a lot in a short space of time. Fortunately, she was extremely dedicated and worked hard.

Overcoming the Fear of Failure

Justine said there were times in the beginning where things were pretty scary, and the fear of failure loomed large. She was very conscious of how people perceived her, especially after having a baby. But she soon put that negativity out of her mind and followed her dream. She worked a lot on her mindset, which helped negate the fear of failure. I know for myself, I have to work daily on my mindset, training my habits and thoughts. Justine has only been practising this for a couple of years, but says she feels like a totally different person.

Identifying Opportunities

Justine listened a lot to me and other creative entrepreneurs when the coronavirus hit; instead of getting depressed over the state of the industry like many of our peers, she began to see opportunities instead. I was interested to see how Justine believed in herself enough to listen to the message that I was putting out. She thinks it hit her at the right time. Before COVID-19 hit, the work diary for Justine Missen Photos was full for 2020. While she did initially feel put out by the way the year turned out, she soon realised it was an opportunity to listen to people who were making the most of the situation. My message came along at the right time. The end result is that her Justine Missen Photos business has grown beyond her wildest expectations this year. She’s now in a position that she didn’t expect to be in for another three or five years.

I know for myself, when coronavirus hit, I was already expecting some form of recession in 2020. I had one or two days of self-pity in March, but then I snapped out of it and started looking at the opportunities it presented.

Celebrate Your Wins

If you want to build a six-figure wedding photography business, having a community behind you that supports your work is key. Lifting each other up is a major game changer. Justine agrees; she used to feel like she was being arrogant when she talked about things she was doing well, but now she’s excited to share her experiences online and maybe inspire someone else in the same position. It can be hard to find this kind of community, but once you do, everything clicks into place. It’s so important for our growth to celebrate our wins. They don’t just come out of nowhere, they are the result of tons of hard work and graft. They deserve to be shared and celebrated,

Booking Her Biggest Package So Far

Justine Meissen Photos recently booked their biggest package ever and I was interested to know how Justine felt about it. She said that while she strives to be valuable to all her clients, she realised that she was selling herself a bit short in some areas. She used to have a standard package, but decided to offer her clients more options. This is one of the key steps I talk about when it comes to building a six-figure wedding photography business. People like to go shopping. When Justine’s clients booked that top package, they expressed how pleased they were that it contained everything they needed. People aren’t always looking for the cheapest option. They want the most value for their money.

Invest in Yourself Too

Investing money in yourself is important. You need to check your ego at the door and listen and learn from people who know better than you. This is one of best shortcuts to building a six-figure wedding photography business. Yes, your photos have to be great, but so does your website. So does your copy. Justine is rebranding next month and overhauling her site; this time last year she would have been terrified to spend money on something like that, but now she sees the inherent value in it.

Connecting with People

Connecting with other people is so important. As a photographer and an educator, it’s one of the most important things for me. The more you share, the more you relate to people, the more people will love and believe in what you do. They’ll want to invest in you, your ideas and your business. I love connecting and providing value to people; I don’t love business in the abstract. Justine feels the same. For the first time ever she has people paying in full, because they’re aware times might be tough right now. She feels this is a result of giving up her time for people, and it makes her more inclined to keep giving. She tries to always be there for people, connecting with them and adding value to them.

My brother-in-law Kyle Lionheart is a pretty famous musician. I was doing a few mentoring sessions with him, and advised him to bring as much value as possible to his live shows. Even as a musician, you have to treat it like a business. How do you create the most value for people? Once you offer that, people won’t care what they pay you; they’ll be grateful for the experience. Justine never liked talking about money before, but now it’s one of her favourite subjects. Whenever anyone pays off an instalment or a deposit, she makes sure to thank them. Even little gestures like this can foster connection and add value to an experience.

Balancing Family and Work

Justine Missen photos is well on its way to becoming a six-figure wedding photography business, but I was interested in what Justine thought was holding her back right now. What is her ceiling? For myself, I’m always trying to work out what the next step is. Justine says she’s not so sure; she’s interested in scaling her business and taking it as far as it can go. Justine feels like she’s the next step, because her life is so hectic. She has outsourced a lot of the things that don’t work for her schedule, but it’s always a balance. Involving her family in her business is very important for her. At the moment, Justine spends just six hours a week on her business, and she’s already within reach of six figures. She feels like she’s already there, which is the key to an abundant mindset.

I understand exactly what Justine’s talking about. I’ve made plenty of sacrifices over the past few years; although my business makes a lot of money, I pump it straight back in. But despite that, I live like I am rich because I know I will be one day. It’s not a matter of ‘if’, it’s a matter of ‘when’. When you have that mentality, the growth keeps stacking up. I have to commend Justine, because there’s not many people within year two of their business who have that mindset. The minute you live and breath the life that you want, it will come. That may sound airy-fairy, but it’s the truth.

I personally don’t believe in saving money. You’re sacrificing your lifestyle in the now. My philosophy is f**k saving. Work out how to make the money for what you want. I don’t want to put in my mind that I can’t afford things or I don’t deserve it. Justine agrees with this. Even if she doesn’t have the money for something she wants, she’ll find it somehow. She doesn’t deny herself or her business anything and it feels like money is a by-product of her following her passion. That’s the exact space you need to be in as a creative entrepreneur.

Justine’s last piece of advice is to not get in your head too much about things. When you can see someone who can help you, don’t let fear hold you back. Go for it.  If it feels right, do it.

I want to thank Justine so much for coming on the podcast today. If you’d like to check out more of her work or get in touch with her, check out her website Justine Missen Photos or her Instagram.

Thanks so much for taking the time to listen, guys! Catch you next episode.

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