Take It Personally

Take It Personally, hosted by professional brand photographer Maddie Peschong, shares advice every Thursday to help you grow your personal brand to stand out from the noise and thrive, even in the most saturated markets. Episodes feature business and marketing advice, branding expertise, and real stories and inspiration from creative professionals all over the world.

#121: The One Thing You Need to Sell Out Your Mini Sessions 04/25/2024

#120: How Sean Booked 30 Mini Sessions as a New Photographer 04/18/2024

#119: How I Consistently Have High-4-Figure Mini Session Days 04/11/2024

#118: Do I Really Need an Email List as a Local Business? 04/04/2024

#117: Leveraging AI in your Photo Business with Tech Savvy Creative 03/28/2024

#116: How I'd Handle Business Money Differently If I Were Starting Over with Gina Knox 03/07/2024

#115: Using Blogging to Connect with Ideal Clients with Kate Wark 03/07/2024

#114: Why Personal Branding is CRUCIAL as a Photographer 02/22/2024

#114: Why Personal Branding is CRUCIAL as a Photographer I did my annual mini session day in January, and I had multiple photographers be a part of it. They admitted to me they felt uncomfortable on the other side of the camera. It essentially allowed them to have more empathy for their clients because they can understand how it feels being in front of the camera during a branding session. I think this is a crucial part of building a personal brand and specifically as a brand photographer. You can tell your clients everything about how branding photos are important and how people will connect with photos of themselves more and they can help them update their website, etc., but it’s not going to mean anything to them until you start practicing what you preach. This is a show-don’t tell scenario. Your clients aren’t taking the action because they are scared, and you need to go first! Lead the way, and show them what’s possible. Become a credible source for them. This episode is sharing more on this and how this can help you build trust with your clients. Personal branding is crucial as a photographer, and this episode is covering why. Why I get my own brand photos done Why brand photography can help showcase YOU and help you stand out Increasing trust Why my strategy and process is better because I have done personal brand sessions myself Speaking from experience and reassuring your client What are your client's goals and how that can direct the session Being able to empathize and connect on the common ground Expediting the photo delivery because this is what the client really wants Personal branding as a brand photographer is a crucial part of the strategy Building my own personal brand has helped my business grow and succeed and this concept is exactly what we cover in my group coaching program, , which is enrolling now! When you join, you get immediate access to the curriculum, and live coaching calls start on March 6. If you want to be THE brand photographer in your area, become more confident in your business, and charge four figures for brand sessions, I would love for you to . Learn more about the program . The Ultimate Personal Brand Session Shot List: 10 must-have images, plus a bonus concept, to create a diverse gallery that will get clients singing your praises! . Full show notes /episode/index/show/takeitpersonally/id/29834098

#113: What to Post If You Want to Book More Clients 02/15/2024

#112: Attracting Dream Clients to Your Business 02/13/2024

#111: Here's How I Would Make My First $100,000 If I Were Starting Over 01/25/2024

#111: Here's How I Would Make My First $100,000 If I Were Starting Over A 100k year is a huge milestone for entrepreneurs, and there seems to be chatter in the online business community that's split into two camps: 1) there's nothing magical about 100k, and 2) it's absolutely everything to get to 100k. No surprise, I fall somewhere in the middle. My business coach refers to 100k as a sustainability point for business and I totally agree. We all know we're not taking home all of the money we make, so at 100k that typically gives you room to pay for expenses, pay yourself, pay your taxes, maybe start outsourcing a little bit, maybe have some profit leftover if you're lucky. While it's not EVERYTHING to hit 100k, I do think it's a big deal because it gets you to a point where you can really sustain and start to look at growth and scaling. I talked in a and how I didn't start pursuing that until after I hit 6 figures, and this got me thinking about what I would do if I were starting my business over and striving for that 6 figure mark from scratch. In this episode, I am talking about every step I would take if I were starting over and trying to make six figures with my photography business. Here are the main things discussed in this episode: Picking a service to focus on Being seen as an expert when you have a specialty Doing a few free or low priced sessions to build your portfolio How to create an awesome experience that creates chatter Taking your images from your free/low priced sessions and using them to market yourself, grow your social media, and build your personal brand My thoughts on taking on most clients that inquire if trying to reach 100k and being aware of your capacity Slowly raising prices as your calendar fills up How hiring an editor can help you book more sessions (yes, it’s okay to give up some of this control!) Get more specific about the work you take as you become busier After 6 figures, looking where you can trade money for TIME and outsource This is also the process I walk you through in my mini course, : learn how to make your first $500 with brand photography. This free course runs February 12-16, 2024. Join me for about 30 minutes a day for 5 days over the lunch hour to learn AND be coached. ! That mini course tees up my group coaching program, , as enrollment will be opening February 16. Rebrand is both a curriculum and coaching. We follow these same steps talked about in this episode to help you build a successful brand photography business that makes six figures and charges four figures for a brand session. The Ultimate Personal Brand Session Shot List: 10 must-have images, plus a bonus concept, to create a diverse gallery that will get clients singing your praises! . Full show notes /episode/index/show/takeitpersonally/id/29496323

#110: How to Book Repeat Brand Photography Clients 01/11/2024

#109: SEO Mistakes You're Making On Your Website (and How to Fix Them) with Inkpot Creative 12/21/2023

#108: 2023 Annual Recap: Wins, Struggles, and What's Next 12/07/2023

#107: Why You SHOULDN'T Add an Income Stream in Your Business 11/23/2023

#106: What You Need to Know Before Your Next Launch with Melissa Heckel 11/09/2023

#105: Recapping my Latest Rebrand Launch 10/26/2023

#104: Understanding the Legal Consequences of Using AI In Your Business with Girija Patel 10/12/2023

#104: Understanding the Legal Consequences of Using AI In Your Business with Girija Patel Girija is a mom, a wife, lawyer, podcaster, strategist, educator, and a business owner in Houston, Texas. Her law practice, GBP Law, specifically focuses on helping entrepreneurs and on-line business owners build their business’ legal fundamentals and integrate legal as a part of their strategy so they can move forward confidently and do what they love! Her goal is to help make legal a line item and not a panic attack! In 2020, Girija launched Your Contract Buddy (www.yourcontractbuddy.com), an online contract template shop, and also then founded her podcast, Law Chat with Girija. From her days of being a prosecutor to managing her own law practice and to being lead legal strategist for your business, Girija’s core value to serve her community remains at the center of all her endeavors. Girija Patel is another friend of mine from the Reset Conference. Girija and I got to chat about using AI in your business. AI is a great tool to be utilizing, but there are many things to consider, which we cover in this episode. Here are the main things we discussed: Why we all need to create to market and keep up on social media, even if we aren’t an influencer What were Girija’s initial thoughts on AI, as a legal professional Fear of losing jobs to AI The biggest opportunities for creatives and photographers when it comes to AI software Girija’s caution for ownership and claiming AI work; how copyright law works with it The importance of reading the terms and conditions of a shared platform Content creation and ChatGPT Not relying on AI to create everything for you Having transparency with your work Connect with Girija @gbplaw on social media. She aims to make law accessible and digestible, and you can learn about her services on her website . The Ultimate Personal Brand Session Shot LIst: 10 must-have images, plus a bonus concept, that will get clients singing your praises! . Full show notes Some of the best conversations happen after the show in my private Facebook group, Take It Personally Podcast. to join in! /episode/index/show/takeitpersonally/id/28216832