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My guest on today's podcast loves to champion female entrepreneurs and share her 25 years of experience when it comes to personal branding. Claire Miles is an international photographer, a personal branding expert and a graphic designer and she's going to be facilitating a masterclass inside the Regional Business Women's membership this month to turbocharge your creativity and efficiency in Canva. She's also a private coaching client of mine and she loves a good laugh and a bit of banter, which I can say firsthand, up to working with Claire, as a private client. We do a lot of that and chances are, our chat today will also follow suit and be a lot of fun.
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This is the she's in business podcast, where every week I'll explore topics and have real conversations around what it's like to run a regional business, the advantages and the unique challenges. I'm Donna Han, a seasoned regional business owner, and certified high performance business coach. I'm here to make training and professional development easily accessible for regional business women everywhere. So join me and guest experts as we share tools and insights to elevate your business, boost your mindset, and ensure that you never feel alone on this journey. No matter where you live. I'm fired up and I'm here to educate you on what it truly takes to grow your business and your mindset beyond what you thought possible.
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Welcome to the chaise in business podcast. I'm your host, Donna Han. And if you are new to listening to this podcast, just want to give you a very brief intro. I am a certified high performance business and mindset coach. I'm an event speaker and I'm the creator of the Regional Business Women's membership and I'm on a mission. My mission is to support regional business women to step beyond their potential and to grow their business. So in addition to private coaching packages, and the regional business, women's membership, and speaking on stages, each week, I drop a new episode on this podcast on a topic that I know will help you and your business. Sometimes it's a solo episode and sometimes I'm joined by a guest and today my guest is Claire miles. Claire is the owner of Oak Street creative co studio Central Coast and locale photo. Oh, my goodness, I'm stuffing this app. Let me start.
2:21
I've got so many things. You know, I remember twisters. And is it low cal Photoshop? Yes, yeah, it's the print shop, to print shop seat print shop. Right. That's where I stuffed myself up. Here we go. Let me start that little bit again.
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Today I'm joined by Claire miles. Claire is the owner of Oak Street creative co studio Central Coast and local print shop. She's an international photographer, personal branding expert and a graphic designer. And she offers personal brand design and photography for women in business who are ready to shine online, but just need that extra boost of confidence to make it happen. It could be a full personal branding, shoot new logos, social media templates, maybe a website landing page, or perhaps a whole lot. Claire is your go to person to make it all happen. With over 20 years of experience in the photography and graphic design industries. Claire knows a thing or two about creating beautiful and engaging visual brands. So more than that, for Claire, it's about really getting to know your unique talents, your gifts and your personality. So that then she can help those things shine through in your images and your branding. And I've had the experience of being in front of the camera with Claire, we did a really fun photoshoot in Port Douglas in 2023. And since then Claire has become a private coaching client of mine. And we share a whole lot of fun each time we get together on our zoom calls each month. She's also an award winner, she took out the most outstanding sole operator of the year in her local business awards. And she's here today to chat about all things personal branding. So welcome to the podcast, Claire, thank you so much. That was quite a lot of stuff. And I'm like, Wow, that sounds that kind of doesn't sound like me, but I know it is.
4:10
Well, you have so much to offer to the world. And it's you know, you're pretty special with what you do. So I feel like it deserves a pretty special intro. But it is funny, isn't it when you hear someone kind of read back all of your achievements and your skill set and you go wow, yeah, that's me. Yeah. It's like hi, Kay, I do know what I'm doing. You absolutely do. Absolutely do. So other than what I've sort of covered there in that intro, because that was quite a big intro. But is there anything else that you want to share with us around sort of how you came to be where you are now or anything that maybe I missed? And and I feel like I covered a fair bit there. That was quite a lot. Yeah, I think I'm like I'm just so happy to be in that place where I am right now. Like I've been a photographer for a long time.
4:58
I started off doing
5:00
And families and weddings.
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And then sort of during COVID, I pivoted and started to do
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a lot of business type shoots for people who were they were pivoting their business and didn't have,
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you know, any visuals or anything of the new stuff that they were doing. And so I started working with businesses. And then I had an I met an amazing person and had an opportunity to go over to the states to shoot,
5:33
which was quite nerve wracking, because I hadn't really done anything like that before, but I nailed it. And I had the best time. And I was like, Okay, I know where I want to be now. And I know what I want to do. And I want to provide this service to women in business, who, who were also pivoting and starting, you know, working for themselves and, you know, doing online businesses,
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and things like that. So yeah, amazing. And I think to like, you know, from a visual brand perspective, you know, you've got such a well rounded history of graphic design and photography for years. And I'm sure that you've seen a lot in that time in the 25 years that you've been doing that, but especially some really big changes for businesses, small businesses, particularly when COVID did hit because it was like, oh, like you said, we've got a pivot, we're going to do things differently here, I haven't got that face to face connection with clients and customers, I've got to somehow still have that connection, but do it in a different way. And I think with the introduction and the rise of social media marketing as well, you know, particularly over the last sort of 10 years or so, there's been a big shift in the way that we do now brand, ourselves and our and our businesses. And so, like I always talk about that visual brand is just one component of the bigger brand framework that we're building with our businesses. Yeah. So we've got like our structure like what what is our internal brands structure in our core messages? And who are you for? Who are you not for your brand, voice, all of those things. But if we were just to zoom in on the component of visual brand, there has been a big shift in personal branding becoming an essential element of your business visual brand. Why do you think that that's happened? Let's talk about that to kind of kick us off today? Well, I mean, I was just gonna jump in and say, personal branding. Photography wasn't even a thing. Yeah. You know, like, if you were, if you did photos for business, you just did headshots.
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Because yeah, people were face to face. And if they had a website, then have their profile photo on there. And that's all they needed. So that, that, that jump into, you know, being in the online space. And, and using, you know, like, we've been given Instagram and Facebook and LinkedIn, you know, we've been given all of that for free to use to help our business online. And,
8:17
yeah, I think it's really hard for a lot of people who
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do start out
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because they've got their niche, they know what they're doing in, you know, in their field. But you also have to know how to be a graphic designer, and a photographer, and, and a marketer, and all of those kinds of things. When you're running your own business, you know, you're, you're everyone Yep. 100%. So it can be really overwhelming.
8:48
You know, if you're in that position, yeah. And I think to quite daunting, as well, if you have been doing business for a long time, and you've been doing it in your way that has worked for so long. And then with this change in this shift, with the personal branding, being the face of your business, and letting people really get that connection piece to you as a human. You know, if you haven't done that before, it's again, it's very daunting, and it's a different way of doing business. And it can, you know, feel very overwhelming. I'm thinking about a few of my clients who have had their business for like, 10 years, maybe even longer. And they're like, you know, the marketing that I used to do doesn't work as well anymore. So I need to change things up. And so, yeah, I think it's from your point as a new business owner, you know, learning that you're pretty well, the everything, or from a business owner who's been doing it for a long time, and it's been working the way that we used to do traditional marketing and brand our business. Now it's so different. Absolutely. And, yeah, because we've got to put ourselves out there online, you know, like out there. And that's a really hard
10:00
thing for some people because, you know, people are private and people don't feel like, you know, that's their jam. You know, we're not all confetti popping, you know, crazy champagne popping people. You know, a lot of people would be like, I would never do that in front of the camera.
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And so yes, it's really hard
10:26
to do that. And not everyone, you know, like, in my experience are, like, I'm sure it's 99% of clients. I our women, and they hate having their photos taken. Yeah. And it's, it's really, you know, it's not, that's not hard for me. Because, you know, that's my thing. If you hate having your photo taken, then you come to me, and, you know, I make it more like, hanging out with a friend. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Do I can make a bit of fine. Yeah, it's not, it's not stressful. And I can sometimes see, you know, people rocking up and chatting to me. And as soon as I get the camera out there, like, turn into sort of like, oh, you can see them stop breathing and turn into robot.
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Because it's just yeah, like, even when I was in family, doing family photography, it was really hard for me like that was hard to get women in front of the camera.
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Back then, you know, even if it was just, you know, for photos for them in their home. Yeah, kids, you know, this, and now they're going like across the globe. And now they're going online. Yeah, yeah. But in saying that, I know. Yeah, it's a, it's a really important thing to do. It's a really important part of business. To to put yourself out there. Yeah. And why do you think it is like, for me, I think about like, you know, I'm always talking about how humans want to do business with humans, I think now more than ever, not only are business owners more savvy, we've got more information at our fingertips than we've ever had before. But I think that consumers are also more savvy around that as well. And it used to be that, you know, we would buy from big brands, and, you know, these big chain companies, and not really think anything of it. But I think now and you know, certainly over the last few years, it's more important to buy local and buy from small businesses. And people understand that when they buy from a big chain or a big business, it's not going to that money is not going to stay in the community. And therefore it's important that we are using our small local businesses. And I know, you know, particularly in regional areas, rural remote areas, that's really, really important. And I'm always saying to my clients, like you have to build that connection. People want to know who you are, and why you do what you do, because humans buy from humans. And, you know, I think that that's really, really important. Is there anything else around that that you feel really
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contributes to why brand photography, particularly personal brand photography makes such an incredible impact for your business? Yeah, absolutely.
13:18
I think it's all about trust, as well, I think a lot of the time. If, if you're showing up online, and if you're putting yourself out there, and you're putting your authentic self out there. It builds that trust in people who are, you know, scrolling on by who might not know you, but it also builds Yeah, that sort of connection with the people that are already in, in your space. But it's yeah, it's definitely trust. Because, yeah, those big businesses before we didn't care who was running the business, and they really didn't have anything to do with what I was buying.
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But with a small business. Yes, there's, as I said before, usually just one person running the show. And we have to build that connection and trust. And it's, and it's got to be done online.
14:14
Because that's, that's the way that we market ourselves. Now, you know, one of the days of, you know, posting flyers and, you know, yellow pages,
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we still have was that the Yellow Pages, remember,
14:31
get the phone call from the Yellow Pages, people saying, Would you like to advertise again this year, and these are the options and you put your little, your little thing in there and it was like this tiny little piece of information with you your business name and your phone number? And, you know, that was one of those core pieces of marketing that you did back then. And it's Yeah, and I think also, you know, like with that, yeah, there was there was maybe some graphics, maybe a logo or whatever, but there wasn't any, you know, you
15:00
had no idea about it. So you know, if you were searching for something, you'd just go all the way down, ring them up and be like, I'm looking for this, how much is it? And you just basically go, okay, whichever one's the cheapest, or that can get to me the quickest? Yeah, that's the one I'll get. Yeah. So that's how we sort of used to buy and that's how we used to, you know, get things now, we spend so much more time and I think, you know, like, I don't know what the statistics are, but I know that, you know, people see you something like, seven times or whatever, before, they'll actually be like, Oh, I know, I know what they're talking about. All that sounds interesting. You know, like, your message has to be really amazing. Yeah. And consistent. Yes. To get people's attention. 100% Yeah. And I think too, like, I know, you know, speaking from the perspective of being in like regional remote areas, sometimes, like you said before, one of the things that blocks people is that big step out of their comfort zone and getting in front of the camera, and talking about themselves on their website. And then you know, marketing methods, whether it be you know, Instagram or LinkedIn, or Facebook, and it can feel like you're being a bit of a show off, it can feel like, you know, photoshoots are what glamorous people do, you know, the big stars, and here I am having a photo shoot for my business, and it can feel kind of intimidating, or pretending that you're being someone that you're not. And then when you combine that together with sometimes that feeling like quite a big investment as well. Oh, gosh, like, I'm gonna look at these photos. What if I don't like what I see, you know, and
16:45
I think, as you said, like, it's about showing up and building that trust, with authenticity and being yourself. But, you know, there there is that fear, I think around will that self critical that self judgment, but also wondering what other people think of you as well, in that space, particularly when you live in a smaller area where everybody knows everybody, and all of a sudden, like your face is like on everybody?
17:10
You know, I think though, you know, like, we always are, what, what, what are people gonna think of me? And I think, you know, if we're putting our authentic self out there, and you know, the best version of ourselves, really, because if you are having a photo shoot, you know, you're having hair and makeup done, and you're wearing your best clothes, you've got all the props, and you've got all the beautiful surroundings, the you know, the location where we are having it done it.
17:42
So you aren't you're putting your best self out there? Because, you know, we don't always look like
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how we do show up online. Yeah.
17:53
But yes, I think
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that's a that's a hard thing to do is put yourself out there. And especially if you do have that mindset of what are people going to think of me?
18:07
But honestly,
18:09
no one's thinking about you. They're always they're all thinking about themselves wondering, yeah, you're thinking of them? Yep, they are. Exactly. I'm glad that you raised that. Because I mean, we can't control what people think of us anyway. So we're kind of wasting our time and energy on trying to figure out what it is that they're thinking about us. But also, yeah, like, you're exactly right. Like, when anyone is looking at your business, they're there for themselves, they're there to figure out whether you are the right person for them to fix whatever problem it is that you solve. And so they're not actually thinking about you, they're thinking of themselves, you'd be on Yeah, 100% also, I think, you know, like, you should be proud to put yourself out there. You know, change the mindset, because you're doing, you're doing things and you're doing them for yourself, you're not working for a corporation or a man or you know, like a big company that people that don't care about you. You're working for yourself. And, you know, you should be proud to put yourself out there and show the world who you are and what you can do and how you can help them. Yeah, yeah, the best way to do that is to do it through visuals. Absolutely. I think so too. And so once you've got your photos, what can you do with them to optimize your marketing? Let's talk about that.
19:32
will cause you to really optimize your marketing once you've got your photos, because you're an absolute super talent with these. In fact, the last week when I was launching the regional businessmans membership, we're doing a big promo. And on day one, you sent me this wicked reel that you created for me from the photoshoot that we did together and you're just a superpower when it comes to like really optimizing the way that you use your photography in
20:00
In a way in different formats, you know, it was still photography, but you put it into a moving reel. So what can people do in order to, like really optimize that? Well, I think like, the main thing for me is to use the photos. Yeah, it's one thing, having the shoot, and then you know, choosing the photos that you want,
20:22
and then getting them delivered to you. And then you know, a lot of the time they'll just sit in a box, you know, in a folder on your computer, or on your hard drive or whatever.
20:32
And then you might look at it and be like, Oh, chill, I watch my posts on social media today, oh, I'll just grab one of those photos. That is like heartbreak for me.
20:44
Because I know that there is so much that you can do
20:50
with without, you know, like without spending hours and hours and hours. So the main thing,
20:58
like using the photos afterwards is having a bit of a strategy, first of all, for him before the shoot, having a strategy of what sort of photos you need, and what sort of things that you want to say. But
21:12
my favorite tool is Canva.
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And I would suggest that anybody who doesn't have it should get it
21:23
as a graphic designer, right? So I was taught that you only use Adobe, and you only use all of the really expensive graphic design programs and things. And anything else is just trash. So I really didn't use it for a long time because of that mindset. But it's actually so user friendly.
21:50
And really, with a few tips, anyone can use it. So the long winded way of
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optimizing your photos is to absolutely put them straight into Canva. upload them into a folder. Call it branding photos, and then you're halfway there to you know, getting them used. I think, you know, there's a lot of struggle around what to say and what to do, like a simple introduction.
22:23
Photo is a perfect way. Yeah, get cracking with it and, you know, pop the bubble because this, now you've had issues you need to you need to use them and get out there.
22:38
As a creative business strategist, one of my superpowers is business coaching, I have the ability to visualize your ideas objectively see things from the perspective of your customers, understand the potential benefits for your business, and then guide you towards making your vision a reality. I privately coached no more than 10 Female business owners to accelerate their business growth strategy, and shape your business by design so that you can take advantage of the freedom that comes with owning a business. My private coaching sessions have focused that action orientated and they're all about getting you either unstuck solve a problem, or give you direction when you're wanting to grow or reshape your business but maybe don't quite know where to start. Perhaps you already have a good idea that you'd like to develop. But you'd like to run it past an unbiased expert who's walked in your shoes who can show you the holes in it and hold you accountable to get things done if you need it. All sessions via zoom, making it really easy to access the support you need from anywhere in the world. private coaching starts with an alignment call. It's free. And it's your opportunity to chat with me about your business, your goals, and where you're currently at and where you want to get to. You can ask all the questions currently racing around in your head as to how I can help you as your business coach, and bring value to you, your business and your lifestyle. And we'll discuss if private coaching is right for you. To book a free alignment call, go to Donna hande.com, forward slash free call booking. And let's get that process started.
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And you're coming into the Regional Business Women's membership this month to present a masterclass which I'm really excited about. So our theme for April is time management and productivity. And one of the things that can be a massive time suck is graphic design because to our right, you know what we speak spoken about already. We need to get our our visual brand out there. And it's not just the little logo that we need anymore. It's the actual you know, we're creating all sorts of things all the time for our business. And so Canva has really also I think, lifted the standard as well, because it is so user friendly and easy to navigate through that people are using it and as a result, their visual brand is you know, their graphics or things that they're using and posting is like you know, really impressive. So the standards are different. We didn't have care
25:00
Hmm, I got it right, what would everything look like?
25:06
It would be. And you know, we've got to stand out visually. And that can be really tough on one. So you know, people spend hours, I know, I do spend hours in Canva. But I create a lot of content. But I've got you coming into the membership, to share what you know about Canva and to really supercharged or turbocharged your creativity and your efficiency with Canva. So do you want to tell us a little bit more about what you'll be talking about? I know that one of the things is Canva basics that you'll be starting with? Yeah, absolutely. So I've just got some little tips here,
25:40
that people can start off thinking about. So my number one tip is to create a brand hub.
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And that's within Canva. It is just like a one little spot where you can put all your brand colors, all of the fonts that you use
25:59
your logos, your photos. With AI, you can even put in your brand voice.
26:08
And that's where you start. So if you haven't done that, that that's the that's the best way to start to get organized.
26:20
Talk to me about workflow. Sorry, when you're Yeah.
26:25
I was Sorry, I interrupted you. I was gonna say, efficient workflow within Canva. That was one of the things that you're also going to talk about. Yeah, yeah, I've got some really amazing tips and tricks, tips and tricks for that. But yeah, I think they're, you know, once I sort of go through all of those things in the masterclass, it's going to be really easy to, because it because it can be overwhelming, it's going to be really easy to get some stuff out there, and quickly and efficiently.
26:59
And also saving ideas that you see on Instagram, there's a little flag that you can click on. If you see a reel, or a post or something that's of interest to you that you think, Oh, I could use that somehow. Click the little flat button and make a little folder. So then you've got no excuse, you can always, you know, go to that and be like, Okay, I don't have any ideas right now. Let's go to that folder and see what I can find. Yeah. And also, there's a whole bunch of templates in Canva, as well, that you're going to talk us through as well, aren't you about, like how you can use those templates to really jumpstart your creativity and save loads of time? Yeah, absolutely. I'm actually going to show you how to create your own templates, you know, like, you can make 20 posts in two minutes.
27:53
So yeah, there's instead of, sort of, because scrolling through the templates, can also be you know, you can you can get stuck down that rabbit hole going on. Not that well. Oh, that's a bit Oh, maybe this bit more of that. Yeah. So I'm going to show you how to create your own.
28:14
With all your brand colors and your fonts and everything ready to go. That sounds awesome. Because it's yeah, in two minutes. That's amazing. Sometimes I think, too, when you keep going back to the templates that are within Canva, over time, your brand becomes diluted, like you start adding a bit of this and a bit of that into it. And really kind of over time, I think your visual brand starts to change. Whereas with what you're going to be doing, it keeps that consistency, which is so important. Yeah. And if we don't have like our own templates created,
28:50
then yeah, all of those different styles. You know, depending on what day we're looking at creating something on, you know, the different styles will come up. And so you're you won't have that cohesive look, because you'll be choosing different and also the elements, you know,
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you can put the element your elements in your brand hub, and be consistent with those rather than just using what what comes up on a on a template. Yeah, love that. It's going to be amazing. And I know that our members are really looking forward to your session, Claire, because yeah, camper is one of those
29:29
business tools that have become a bit of a staple that a lot of people go to, and to learn how to use it more efficiently and save time. That's what it's all about. Yeah, I'll be talking a bit about Canva AI as well. Oh, exciting. Yeah. Yeah. So you know, once you start using that, you're like, mind blown. Yes, absolutely. That sounds fab. I mean, we know AI exists, but using it in a way that helps us to create a
30:00
Mmm, this social media templates for us to use in our marketing. Yeah, just it's just a game changer. Absolutely game changing. So we also are keen to share with the world news about your new studio, because that is so exciting. We started working together is it been about eight months clear that we've been having our one on one sessions coaching sessions? Do you reckon at eight months? Yeah, yeah, I think so. Right? Yeah, yeah. And so you've had this great success over the years of like, you know, interstate and overseas adventures with your photography, and you've built an incredible reputation within the industry, which is awesome. And you and I started talking about, you know, what your goals were for your business moving forwards, and one of them was opening a studio space, which was really exciting. But also, I think, met with the same level of like, uncertainty of what, what does it mean, if I do all of the overheads and everything else? So do you mind sort of sharing for people who are listening who are maybe perhaps at that? Crossroads, but sort of seeing that there's potential to do things differently? Or go bigger and being a bit like, Oh, God should? I should know? Yeah, well, I mean, firstly, my brain works like this. An idea comes in. And so say, I want to open a studio. Then I go from that. To go, I want to open a studio. Okay, let's see what's available online. Oh, there's one. I'll go and have a look at it. Oh, yep. No, that's great.
31:46
But having you as a coach, you're like, Okay, there's like 20 steps in between that idea.
31:57
And actually doing it because I'm like, This is my idea. I'm gonna do it. Okay. You know, like, I'm really impulsive like that. And that's with everything. You know, like, if I, on the weekend, I was like,
32:09
looking at stuff on Instagram. I saw some sneakers. And I'm like, Are they really nice? Sneakers? I'm gonna buy them or I'm, you know, and I'm like, Whoa, there's 50 pairs of sneakers in the carpet. You don't need those. I mean, I got them still. But anyway.
32:29
I think working with you, you know, helped in that decision? Yes, I still
32:36
got the studio. But you know, those steps in between, that you helped me with was, you know, really, it was great for me to sort of slow down and actually think about it.
32:54
And, yeah, I think that the main reason why I wanted to have a studio is because I was using other people's places. And I was using Airbnbs. And it was just so just was that an extra step in? In my business? That was really annoying and time consuming? Yeah.
33:15
But yeah, I think you can, you can do it. And and it forced me to look at my my finances, it forced me to think about what I was spending money on. And if I could afford it properly.
33:30
You know, and what happens if I can't and all of those things?
33:36
Yeah, I mean, nothing should stop you if you have an idea.
33:41
Yeah, 100%. Like, we have dreams and visions and goals, and we absolutely should have them. And, you know, why not make them big, we only get one chance at life on you know, at this, at least for this time round. And so I think we should have them but one of the things that can sometimes unravel less as a business owner, I think is we dive in a little too quickly. And then we also bring, yeah, and then we also bring with us like this whole heap of overwhelm and stress that comes with that. So instead of enjoying the moment of opening a new studio, it's like, now you've got all this other stuff that you hadn't thought of before that you're also dealing with. Yeah, and there is and there and even if even though I did do the planning, there was other things that came up.
34:32
That I was like, Oh, whoops, you know, I didn't know I had to do that. And, and, you know, to be honest, it's it's a pretty basic
34:43
like, there wasn't a lot of,
34:46
you know, hard stuff. It was it was a warehouse. And it was a pretty easy sort of, like fit out. You mean like getting it up and running. Yeah, I had a lot of stuff already. At home.
35:00
and things that I've collected, and I did have a really small home studio. So I did. You know, I didn't have a lot of overheads to start with. But there were definitely things that came up that I wasn't, I wouldn't have been prepared for if I just jumped in. Without guidance. Yeah, but also, I think, like you, with our, with the strategy that we work through, it was like, Yeah, you're wanting the studio space. So it's, you're removing some of the organization that had to happen with finding an Airbnb, and, you know, the whole logistics of making that side of what you used to do with your business. But we also looked at like, Okay, well, what else could the space be used for? Like, how else are you going to broaden your revenue streams from that venue space, so that it removes some of the financial stress or the overhead that comes with stepping taking that that big step of having a bricks and mortar business, and I've the ideas that we've come up with, then, you know, the different opportunities that are also just coming to you as well, with what we've talked about in our sessions is great. Like, it's so good, that you've got an A, and it's yeah, it's just taking it to another level, you know.
36:15
And it's opened up opportunities for me.
36:19
You know, just just adding that section like that extra level to Yes, it's my space. And this is where I work. But, you know, other people can use it, too. And I can make money. Yeah, potentially. Yeah. So you've got like wine tasting nights happening. And stylists coming in to use the space. Tell us more about the other opportunities, like people might be listening, going, Oh, where is this studio space and wonder if it could be right for me. So tell us about the studio, where it is what it could be good for. So yeah, so it's based in West Gosford on the central coast of New South Wales.
36:58
And it's just a nice big open warehouse that's,
37:05
you know, decorated.
37:08
Minimally, I suppose.
37:11
So, kind of suits everybody. I've got backdrops and things, of different colors, and all sorts of different styles of
37:21
knickknacks, and plants and in the chair and stuff, yeah, lighter and everything like that. So, but it can be used for anything. I've got workshops. I've got somebody coming in this week to do a
37:37
event set up. So they have an event hire company, so they're bringing everything in. That's the good thing about the garage door is it's this huge big warehouse store, so you can load everything straight in. Yeah, there's no steps or anything. Um, so it's pretty versatile, huh? Yeah. Amazing. Yeah. It's great that it's versatile, and that you've had the foresight to make sure that it is that so that other people can use it, and it helps you to pay for the overheads.
38:07
So tell me a little bit more about
38:11
why like if your reverse back rewind backs probably a bit, too, when you realize that you maybe needed a Coach, what was it about? Like, what did you want? What was the purpose for wanting to work with a coach and why did you choose me? Because, you know, there's, you know, a lot of people you've, you know, done photography for a lot of different people who are also business coaches. So what was it that helped you to make the decision that I was the right coach for you?
38:40
Um, well, I think, you know, I did I had known you before.
38:45
But it was the, the masterclass that you did, just really solidified it for me because I was sort of on a hamster wheel.
38:55
And I had lots of dreams and ideas. I had lots of things going on. But it wasn't until I sort of really listened to that masterclass that I was like, Oh, wait, I really do
39:08
need some help and guidance with with the ideas that I already have. And, you know, you were, you were just perfect, I think.
39:20
Because I'm, you know, I knew that you weren't going to sort of force me one way or the other. It was more about working through things together.
39:30
And that's another thing you know, working for ourselves is we don't have that sort of banter with a lot of people. And I'm, you know, I'm in a few memberships with other women and I've got my own little
39:43
group of business women that meet up, you know, once a month. Yeah.
39:49
But yeah, it's just it's, it's hard to, you know, sit and chat with someone specifically about specific things, you know, yeah.
40:00
Um, so yeah, so I kind of didn't know, I needed you until I needed you.
40:09
And I think that's important to note is that, you know, my style of coaching isn't just about like, right, you know, we're driving for profit. Of course, that's really important. And we do talk about that, of course, but it's also about how do we build a business that is in alignment with your core values of how you want your lifestyle to be, and to do it without burning yourself out in the process, right, and without, you know, just being a bit of a mess up in your head, because you just stack up there with all of the different things that you need to do should do want to do can't do like, all of the all of the things, the chatter that happens up there. Yeah, and I always look forward to our meetings, because I know, after our meetings, I'm going to be so much more focused, and that I know that you're going to help me sort through all of the things.
41:01
You know, it's like that ball of string, it's, you know, that's, it's all tangled up. And then by the time we finished, it's all unraveled, and beautifully made into a
41:14
perfect ball of string again.
41:18
It's a nice analogy. I like that. And that's how I feel honestly, I think you just have a really great way of, of listening, first of all, and being able to work out strategies
41:36
to help. Yeah, as I said, before, you know, you're not like, okay, so, right, this is what we should do, you should be doing ABCD, you know, you ask the questions and
41:49
kind of make it sound like it's my ID.
41:55
But it's, that's the way it should be, I feel, because at the end of the day, it's your business, and you're the one who has to be in it every day. You know, and I'm always a support, they're like, yes, we catch up once a month on Zoom, and then you've got me on tap as a VIP client. But it's you that has to be in there doing it. So you know, for me to be telling you what to do. And, you know, be really prescriptive about that it's not going to serve you in the long run. Because it's not my life. It's not my business. I don't I'm not you day in day out. So yeah, that is and there's no pressure, you know, my, I'm not, it's not like you give me tasks. And if I haven't done them, I'm like, Oh, God, I haven't done these tasks I've got to see done on next week.
42:42
It's not like that at all. So it's really organic. And it's, it's just, it just works. So well. Yeah. And it's interesting, because I have a few other clients who are opposite to that they're like, right, what's my action steps? So we go through very similar to what you've described, like, it's organic in the way that we build out the strategy or, you know, we kind of unravel and then you know, get the clarity, but then, you know, I will go right, so our action steps for this month are that that are to sort of summarize our session. And some of my clients like that's my favorite bit because then I know like with clarity what I've got to get done this week that will move me closer towards the goal that we're working towards together. But in saying that, I work with the personalities of my clients. So you know, and for some people, they want that accountability and they want that accountability later on pretty thick. And then for other people, it's just more the guidance and the space to feel heard and to get that
43:44
you know, that organic gentle clarity of where you are so that you just feel better after the session and you show up as your best self and you get the things done but you get them done in your way so yeah, that's it yeah, what you just said there you work with the personalities like ours, like that's actually what I do with my clients. You know, everyone's different not everyone not everyone wants to like have their photo taken and snort champagne.
44:14
By accident Oh, that was gonna talk about that.
44:20
You did that on purpose, didn't you?
44:25
Okay, so for context No, it's totally fine. I mean, the photos are everywhere and not sorry.
44:33
Oh, my photoshoot with Claire we're going to do the Champagne Pop. And
44:38
you know we've I don't we didn't need I don't think I don't remember shaking the bottle I'm sure I know we must have because we wanted a bit of a Champagne Pop. Yeah, so we shaved.
44:48
Did the shake and then I it popped and because of the you know country Bowgun that I am
44:57
as exploded. Just instinct.
45:00
Dibley I went in to like have a sip out of the top of the bottle to stop it from going everywhere. And,
45:07
and so meanwhile, I have got my camera set up on a tripod and I'm shooting like, really, really quickly. So I'm getting lots of different photos, you know, like 100 photos a second or whatever it is. But I also have my camera my phone set up recording slow motion.
45:32
Just to make sure you know that we don't miss anything that happens to get that amazing shot. You know when that's that's the thing. It's the celebration shot. Yeah, we're like, celebrating the champagne. Oh, wait a minute. Donna's actually like spraying it up her nose
45:51
and asked him that.
45:53
It was and because obviously champagnes really fizzy was not the nicest feeling. So it also my eyes were watering. We were hissing ourselves laughing. It was hilarious. And you've got these photos. You captured the photos and the video in slow motion of it going right up my nostrils. Yeah. Like, and yeah, it was it was a funny, funny day. Yeah, that was actually that was a great, that was a great day. One of my other clients that day, like she wanted to celebrate as well, but she wanted to jump. So she ended up jumping outside and then like fully stacking it down the steps.
46:35
And obviously, I have that in slow motion as well. So you know, I just start bribing you.
46:44
But that's the thing. It's like, this is great.
46:48
Because, you know, yes, you can put those perfect photos
46:55
up online, but you can also put on those behind the scenes, things that you know, stuff up or don't go to plan to make you you know, they make you human. Yeah. And sometimes those kinds of things get the most traction. Yeah, they do. Anytime I put that up on my socials, you're guaranteed that people will be reacting, and commenting and stuff like that. And now that we've talked about on the podcast, I think I'm gonna have to get that slomo video. And, yeah, I'm gonna, I'm gonna look at that again and have a bit of a giggle after this. I'll do it like a slow motion rewind. So it like keeps happening again and again.
47:38
Do it send it through to me, and I'll put it up on my social was.
47:43
All thanks, Claire. For today, it's been lovely talking to you. I'm so excited to share with the world more about what you do your new studio space. Like if you are looking for space, whether it be for photography and booking with Claire, or whether you're looking for a space to hire for an event or anything else. Make sure you get in touch with Claire, you can find her on Instagram. That's where you play the most, isn't it on Instagram? Yeah, yeah, yep. She's also got an awesome website as well. So we will link all of that in the show notes so that everyone can be in contact with you follow her. She's got some great ideas as well. You share Canva tips and everything in there. So yeah, yeah, if you come on board, follow me. It's not just photos of other people that you'll be looking at. I sort of do help out with the tips and the tricks and Instagram hacks and pieces like that. But, you know, I do it in a way that you can understand and cope with easily.
48:46
And they're not like crazy things. Totally intermediate, you know, it's Yeah, beginner beginners ish stuff. And yeah, sometimes you're like, I know what I'm doing. I know everything. And then I'll post something. And it's like, Oh, my God, I didn't know you could do that. Yeah, that's right. That's it. And also, I'm sure, you know, if there was something that you posted up and people like, Oh, how did you do that? They could just DM you and you would give them some clarification on that. You're so helpful in that way. I love it.
49:15
Thank you. Thank you. Oh, you're so welcome. It's been fun. As always, I always finish our chats, whether it be our coaching calls, or you know, like the set podcasts or we actually get to spend time together in person My cheeks are always saw after.
49:31
Thanks for bringing some extra joy into my day and having a chat with us.
49:36
Thank you so much for tuning in to this episode of The shiz in business podcast. Make sure you hit follow so that you are the first to know as soon as a new episode drops. And if you really want to deliver me smiles, send me a DM find me on Instagram at Donna Han underscore coach and tell me what you loved most about this episode. Also, feel free to let me know what topics you need to learn
50:00
More about if you are a regional businesswoman ready to rise and soar towards success I'll see you back here next week for another episode
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
