Hey, friends. Welcome back to another episode of the Business Journey podcast, I'm your host, Rebecca, and Happy New Year. I'm so excited to be with you guys this first week in January. I cannot believe that it's 2022. I literally like, I'm having a hard time processing, you know, the first time that you write the New Year like date on a piece of paper, it's just so weird. That's exactly how I feel right now that 2021 is over. I feel like it was so fast. And here we are in 2022. Y'all, this is going to be such a fun episode because we're talking about what Healthy Hustle looks like. I don't know about you, but our fall was crazy as it always is, and most family photographers have just ended a super crazy season, probably the busiest season of your whole year. And I know that sometimes like coming out of that season, you know, we want to reflect of like, how did I feel during that season? Did I like myself during that season? You know, did I do that season as well? And in that reflection, I have found that a lot of photographers don't like that busy season once it's over. And the reason is that they have hustled wrong and I'll get into what that means in just a second. Now, before we dive too far into the talk about hustle, I did want to let you guys know about a blueprint that I have if you haven't checked it out yet. This is a blueprint that I put together to help you make your first $3000 on a single date of many sessions. So if you are like me and you love the idea of mini sessions, I'm a huge believer in the power of mini sessions, especially as a busy mom myself. I know that mini sessions are so awesome and you can easily make $3000 on a single date of Minis. And when I say a date, a mini is, I mean, like two to three hours. Like not an entire day of shooting for eight hours. That's now what this is about. So if you're here and you've never done mini sessions before or you have and you've never made $3000 or more on a single day to Minis, then this blueprint is for you. It is completely free and I have made it with you in mind so you can grab it. No strings attached at Rebeccaricephoto.com/3K-minis. That's the number three the letter K Dash Minis, and that will give you the step by step checklist of everything you need to do to launch your next set of Minis with, you know, success in mind. And so I'm really excited for you, especially leading into the spring here in a few months. So let's talk about healthy hustle, and this episode might be short and sweet. I don't know. Yeah, it's I guess it'll depend on how much I ramble. But this idea came when we are in the thick of busy season, so I was super busy. My associate team was super busy and we were in the middle of a mastermind with other photographers. I had a group of nine photographers that I was coaching for a three month period and it was amazing. We had the most amazing women in that group and they were in the thick of busy season. And so, you know, we're kind of talking about what hustle looked like and how you can hustle, you know, to get those extra bookings or whatever. And I think hustle is one of those words that's kind of like a buzzword in the industry that people are like, Yeah, go ahead, hustle, blah blah blah. And I'm a huge advocate for rest over hustle. Like, I just believe that rest is way more important to prioritize than hustling. But we're saying that I do believe that there is a season where hustle is appropriate. And so I wanted to be able to walk you guys through what Healthy Hustle looks like because I do know that there's a right way to hustle and there's definitely a wrong way to hustle. And I don't want you to get caught up in the hustle just for the sake of getting things done where it leaves you broken at the end of it. That is not what I want for you. And so I want to walk you through how to have a healthier season of hustle that way. You know, right now, when we're in the off season, you can process this and then set up the safeguards you need for heading into a busy season again in the spring. Now I mentioned my mastermind group because one of the things we know when we were talking about hustle, I thought it was so awesome where Gia, one of my mastermind girls, she had told me that she was in a season of Hustle where she just didn't have a large client list. She was still trying to fill her years. She had spot she needed to fill, and she ended up filling 19 mini session spots by texting past clients like individually texting past clients, she filled 19 mini session spots. I was floored. I'm like Gia. That's amazing. But what was, that was hustle that took hustle for. You get to sit down and find the phone numbers for all of those past clients and text them because, you know, if 19 booked, she texted way more than that because not every single person is going to book, but how awesome that she took the time to, you know, take that extra step to hustle just a little bit more to fill her spots because it could have been easy for her to sit there and wallow and say, Oh, I still have slots open. I don't know what I'm going to do. No, that's not Gia, Gia said. You know what? I am going to put pedal to the metal. I am going to fill these spots. And if that means I have to text every single one of my past clients individually, I will do that. And I was so proud of Gia for doing that because that showed that she was truly hustling. She was in this to make it happen, and she did, and it was incredible. What I love about that is that is a form of healthy hustle because it didn't leave her well. We'll get into how how healthy and unhealthy hustle makes you feel. But let's talk about what is healthy hustle. OK. There are three main indicators that I see for you to know if hustle is healthy or not. So I want you as I name these. Ask yourself, Did I maintain these whenever I was hustling in busy season last year? The first is healthy. Hustle has boundaries, OK? Healthy Hustle has boundaries. I see so many times photographers that are in a busy season that are hustling all boundaries go out the window and you know, there are things that they're sacrificing that they wish they never did, but they're sacrificing those things for the sake of hustle. That's not what Healthy Hustle looks like. Healthy Hustle always has boundaries. I feel like I'm seeing a lot of alliteration. There's a lot of what it is, but healthy hustle always has boundaries. So ask yourself, what are your non-negotiables? And these things are a lot easier to set now during a slow season. Because once you get into busy season, if you've already made the decision about what those non-negotiables are, then you're more likely to stick with them. If you're right in the swing of things in busy season and then you're deciding what your non-negotiables are. Odds are, you're probably not going to have very many. So what are your personal non-negotiables, for example, is one of your non-negotiables that you will put your kids to bed at night or you will have a family dinner once a week or you are leaving Sundays to be a family day. I know for me one year that I did not have any boundaries. I was shooting and I was a full time job. So I was shooting Saturday and Sunday and then going to work Monday through Friday. So family time was like nonexistent during that season. It only took one season of that that I said, I do not like that. And so the very next set of Minis or, you know, the busy season, I said, You know what? I'm going to set a boundary, a non-negotiable that I will leave one weekend day for my family either Saturday or Sunday. So I'm only going to shoot one day every weekend instead of both days. And by setting that boundary during slow season when busy season came, it was a lot easier to say no when let's say I had my Saturday booked for a weekend and a client only had that weekend available and they wanted Sunday. Listen, that was a non-negotiable. Yes, I was in hustle season, but I was not willing to negotiate that boundary. And so I had to turn some people away. Absolutely. But I knew that if I was going to survive the hustle season and do it well, that I had to set that non-negotiable and stick with it. So what are your non-negotiables? What boundaries are you going to hold during your next busy season? And I encourage you, like, write them down, because that carries a lot more weight when you write something down and share it with somebody, share it with your spouse. That was something that I shared with my husband. Listen, I want to do better, and I do not want to work both days on the weekend. So I am asking you to hold me accountable and help me only book one day on the weekend. And you know, if there came a time when I had that inquiry come in and they wanted to book that Sunday that I was supposed to have blocked off, I could talk to my husband about it and he could remind me, Hey, you're already working Saturday. It's not a good idea. Don't book. And so just having that person on my team really, really helped. So healthy hustle has boundaries. The next thing is that healthy hustle takes care of yourself, OK? It's so important, even in busy season, to take care of you because of you're not being taken care of. And how are you going to take care of your clients? Well. So obviously, in a season of hustle, your self-care may look a little different than in a season of rest. Maybe your self-care during a season of hustle is literally giving yourself five minutes to just sit in silence, go on a walk by yourself, without the kids, without the family, and just sit in silence. Maybe it's giving yourself permission. To not work, and, you know, past midnight on, you know, Friday, sorry, Sunday or whatever you make, those decisions in this kind of goes hand in hand with our boundaries, but make sure that you're still taking care of yourself during your hustle season. And so I want you to kind of think through what are some ways that you can take care of yourself that maybe you're not able to go, you know, spend an hour and a half and go get a massage or, you know, get your nails done or whatever makes you feel good. Get your hair done. Maybe you just don't have the time in your season to do that. But what could you spend your time doing? Could you light a candle and read a book after your kids go to bed? I don't know. What does that look like, but spend time on yourself? And then the third thing is that healthy hustle is only for a season. OK, so you guys know, like I mentioned, I'm usually not a fan of hustle. The only reason I am like, I'm OK with hustle is knowing that it's only for a season. Hustle seasons come to an end. If you are going an entire year in hustle mode, it's probably unhealthy hustle. I know a friend of mine who she is. She just came out of a season of Crazy Hustle, where, you know, she knew, OK, I'm going to be pulling some later nights. I'm going to be doing some things I wouldn't usually do, but it's only for a season, and that season of hustle has to end at some point. And so set an end date for your hustle season. I know for us, we stopped shooting the first week in December. We do not take any photo sessions after that first week in December. That is a non-negotiable for us. We do not shoot in December. And so we know that once those last galleries are delivered, hustle season is over period. And once you set a date to this is when hustle season ends. It is also acts as like a light at the end of the tunnel. You're like, OK, I can do this thing, I'm gonna survive. So set that end date and let that season have an end. Now, not everything is going to be that like black and white. I know sometimes you have a season of hustle because maybe you're you have a spouse in the military and you're moving around a lot. Or maybe, you know, you have all your babies at home or whatever. Your season may look different, but understand that healthy hustle is only for a season. At some point you have to make the decision that, you know, I'm not in a season of hustle anymore. And so whatever that looks like for you, process that. So before we end, I wanted to give you kind of a framework of how to know if you're hustling well or if you're hustling in an unhealthy way. So here is some kind of lenses to look through when you're looking at your hustle. If you are hustling and you're feeling like you want to quit or you're feeling like you're at your breaking point or you're so exhausted that you wonder if your clients are even worth it, then that is not healthy. Hustle Healthy Hustle does not leave you wanting to quit or, you know, just dreading working every single day. That is not where Healthy Hustle looks like healthy hustle leaves you feeling tired, often exhausted, but knowing that rest is coming because it's only for a season. Healthy Hustle leaves you reassured, knowing that your clients are being served well. It access like, OK, this thing's worth it because I'm serving my clients well and healthy hustle also leaves you feeling accomplished when the season ends because you can look back and say, Look what I accomplished. Look what we were able to do during that season of hustle. Whereas unhealthy hustle. You look back, you're like, Well, that was a mess. And so you want to keep that that healthy hustle framework in mind because, you know, boundaries are important. Friends boundaries are important. Taking care of yourself is important and understanding that it's only a season is so important for hustle. So take this as you well into, you know, we're headed into busy season again. You know, we get several weeks of rest, but busy seasons coming, guys. And I want more than anything for you to feel prepared for busy season and really in your heart to know that you're going to hustle well. So if you need that accountability, you need that encouragement, whatever it is. Reach out to me. Find me on Instagram DM me @Rebecca Rice Photography, and I would love to like be that sounding board for you, that person to cheer you on and, you know, keep you accountable in your hustle season so that we can do it well. This world needs you as a photographer, OK? Your clients deserve having you as a photographer, but you can't continue doing this if you are going to hustle over and over in an unhealthy way because that leads to burnout. And every year during busy season are Facebook groups, and things like that are flooded with posts of people saying, Is anybody else exhausted? I'm. So tired, I'm burnt out. I don't want to do this and my heart breaks for them because I'm like, There's a better way, there is a better way to do this thing and do it well, but still survive at the end of this. So just keep that in mind as you head into busy season, decide in your heart that you want to hustle well and then take the steps to do it. It will be so worth it, I promise you, and I know that after that busy season, you're going to look back and really, really be grateful for that. So we'll go ahead and close our episode for today. Don't forget to grab that 3K Minis blueprint. We've got it linked in the show notes for you, or you can go to the website. Rebeccaricephoto.com /3K-minis is to grab it and download it. Get it into your system before many sessions season hits. So I hope you guys have an awesome week and we will see this time next week. Bye, guys.
