Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] My last solo episode was about mindset, and it was kind of hard to record or not to record to get started on because it's so important and I didn't want to miss anything.
[00:00:13] Once I was done, I was happy and I felt I'd covered the most important things. That is, until I went outside with my dog Sovie right after and realized that I'd missed important things. S and the more I thought about it, the more I realized I had more to say. So here we go. Mindset 20. This is still sustainable photography, and I'm ingvild Kolnes. What's important to note about mindset is that it'll stay the same even if your circumstances change. Meaning if you don't feel like you have enough money, that's likely going to be the same even when you start making more. So you have to work on those thoughts. I'm going to use myself as an example here, so bear with me. You might relate to this, or you might have the complete opposite issues and mindset. Or maybe you have an issue with something else, like you feel like you're never getting enough clients or that you're not making any progress. But for me, my biggest mindset hurdle has been about spending money. I've been used to not having money for the longest time, I've been used to not being able to spend money on anything, especially not on myself or on anything that isn't necessary. So to me, not spending money is second nature, which is a little bit dangerous when you're running a business. And it's a bit sad since I'm holding myself back from enjoying life personally. In the more recent years, though, I have made money, and I'm in a much better financial situation than I have been in the past. I can spend money, but it's still been a challenge. It's taken time to allow myself to spend money, and it's also taken work. But there's actually two parts to this. For my business, it's been a lot easier, and I started to invest a while back.
[00:02:06] So up until, like 2019, 2020, I'd done pretty much everything in my business myself, except for a little bit of outsourcing here and there. But in 2020, I paid a branding expert and I got a real brand. I paid a web designer to make me a beautiful website, and I got an actual course platform instead of just using a private Facebook group for my course. And to me, that was a real shift, not because my spending was perfect. I did spend a lot on Facebook ads that didn't give me much, for example, but that's all part of doing business. Some investments are good, others are more of a learning experience. The shift was that spending money and improving on my business meant that I was attracting more of the right clients. I was attracting clients with a mindset of them being willing to invest as well. If I invest in help, in better services and higher quality, I know that what I put out there will come back to me. And if I skimp and save, I'll only get clients with that same mindset and way of thinking. Personally though, it's been much harder. And it's only recently that things have started to get better. And I started with making small upgrades, small improvements, taking baby steps, like buying high end sunglasses, for example.
[00:03:32] Before I've only ever had sunglasses from h and M and they cost like 799. And the reason was of course because I didn't really have any money, but also because I'd break them, lose them, sit on them. And spending more than $100 on sunglasses seemed like such a waste. But then I figured out I needed something better, something that had better protection and actually also something that looked better. And now, one or maybe even two years later, my sunglasses are always safe. In their case, I haven't lost them or sat on them once, and it just really goes to show that buying something of value can definitely mean that you appreciate it more and you treat it better. And this is also why I want to challenge you to move away from the idea that if you want to be nice, you have to give away things for free or with a discount. You can still be a good person even though you charge your normal rates. No matter how well you might like someone, or if you want to be liked by them. You gain more respect if you charge and people will value what they pay for more. And when you make okay money, you can do nice things with your money. Nicer things than giving away free images to other businesses or giving away discounts to families. My most recent example of spending money on myself was actually this weekend because last Thursday I got a Facebook ad for a spa weekend and I booked it for the next day. So once we were there, we had to choose between parking indoors right next to the room for a fee or a few hundred meters away for free. And we chose the paid one, completely opposite from what I would have done maybe even a year or two ago. The best part about this though, was that I was fine with it. It didn't stress me out at all. I wasn't worried about it. It was fine. We had already paid for the spa holiday and I could either avoid paying more or I could pay a little bit more and get a bit more time at the spa and have more enjoyment. And I bet there are many examples where you've been in a similar situation where you've gone for the lesser option or maybe avoided spending money, which meant that you were missing out on a better experience.
[00:06:03] Maybe it sounds like I'm telling you about some minor details here, but I'm really not. Because even though I've made a normal amount of money in the last few years, I haven't felt like I could or should spend it. Big or small amounts of unneeded spending would get me really stressed. And it's only after me working on my mindset that I can finally enjoy things like eating out, buying things for myself, or even getting a haircut.
[00:06:32] And I'm sure that the same goes for you. If your issue is with new photographers popping up in your neighborhood, or if you don't hear back from an inquiry that you are sure would book you. If it hurts and it's hard for you to bounce back from, then this is something you need to work at. Because even if you're the only photographer around, or if you start booking most of your inquiries, you'll still have that feeling of something not being enough.
[00:07:00] Your mindset challenges are likely to shift and change during your life, so it's important that you stay on top of them so that they don't keep you from living your best life and of course, from having a great business. Your thoughts control the things that you do, and you control your thoughts, even though you might not always think or feel so. So do make sure that you get the workbook. You'll find it ingvild kolnes.com mindset so that you can work on and improve your mindset.
[00:07:33] If you're working from a place of enoughness, it'll get you so much further.
[00:07:39] And if you're stressed about not making enough money or bookings, that desperation can get picked up by potential clients.
[00:07:47] You have to find a way to believe that it's going to work. And if you can imagine yourself successful and then start making decisions from that place, you'll feel so much more calm and you'll make choices that will serve you better. I know it sounds easy to say this, but I've shared my story now, or at least a couple of different stories, and I know that it can take a long time, but small steps over a long time period will get you to a much better place than if you don't take any steps at all. I know you can do this. And don't hesitate to send me a message if you need a little boost. You'll find me at Ingvild Kolnes on Instagram links in the show notes you just listened to an episode of sustainable photography. Please share this episode with the photographer you care about.
