Montana Diaries Creative Business Blog

LEARN MORE ABOUT VIDEOGRAPHY FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS

MELISSA KOEHLER

A chat w/ Melissa Koehler, small business strategist

Melissa began her career as a professional scrapbooker before eventually shifting into full time photography — she dives right into talking about her fears and objections she had during this time growing a creative business without feeling “qualified.”

“I think so many of us deal with imposter syndrome. In our heads, we think everyone else has it figured out and is doing better, or someone will figure out we’re not the complete expert in our field. That stops us from doing things that bring joy to our hearts. Every creative entrepreneur deals with that. With social media, we get to look at EVERYTHING everyone else is doing, and we think they’re doing it perfectly and have education in that thing. We think if we do the same thing...we’ll get criticized. At the heart of it, we’re scared of being judged.”

— Melissa Koehler

Melissa and I chatted about the transition from service-based business to education — she mentored other photographers during her tenor as a successful photographer, and this process of helping other creatives toward their goals became her favorite thing to do.
Melissa is big on doing “gut checks” in business, and she talks through how she periodically stops to ask herself if her business moves and lifestyle is bringing her joy. As she transitioned out of photography, she kept checking in with herself and asking her own why, which helped her work on her clients’ “why’s” as well. She credits her ability to communicate in a way that is “loving, kind, and constructive” to her success in transitioning to the education world.
As a story-brand certified and enneagram-certified educator with multiple businesses under her belt, Melissa now does small business strategy for every type of creative business. She has integrated a one-to-many model into her business to scale the type of help she’s able to give

Anndddd that was Melissa Koehler, the incredible small business strategist, isn’t she awesome!? My favorite part of the episode was how beautifully Melissa talks about imposter syndrome and her take on how to overcome it. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the topics we discussed here— head over to the Montana Diaries Podcast Facebook group and write a post to continue this discussion, or just introduce yourself over there. Don’t forget to leave your honest review on the Apple Podcasts app — it helps us get more amazing guests like Melissa and I’ll give you a shout out on a future episode. Please go create something today, friends, and I’ll catch ya in the next episode.

hey, photog friend!

If you’ve been wanting to learn videography with the gear you already own, I have a free guide just for you!

Resources

Melissa’s Instagram

Melissa’s Website

SIGN UP FOR MY FREE MASTERCLASS: How to integrate video into your existing photography business without buying new equipment!

FREE Starter Guide for Photographers Ready to Learn Videography

FREE Online Video Starter Guide!

Join the Montana Diaries Podcast Community on Facebook!

Shayna Lloyd 9/13/22 Shayna Lloyd 9/13/22

35: DEEP dive with expert social media marketer Katie Love

KATIE LOVE

Helloooo and welcome back to the Montana Diaries Podcast, I’m Shayna and I’m so freaking stoked you’re here because today we have an incredible guest, Katie Love! Katie is an expert social media strategist. She’s helped numerous businesses turn followers into real sales and leads. Katie has a decade of social media experience under her belt! She loves creating engaging content and branding for each of her clients.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN…

1. Why video is KING online, AKA why YOU should incorporate video into your business strategy

2. The leg up that hybrid shooters have in the photo + video industries and why it IS possible to learn with your existing equipment

3. Action steps you can take RIGHT NOW toward incorporating video content!

KATIE LOVE: DEEP dive into pitching, social media marketing, scaling, and creative business

psssttt…

join us in the Facebook group, your space for talking all things creativity + business!

LEARN MORE ABOUT VIDEOGRAPHY FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS

KATIE LOVE

Katie worked for TV stations across the country and as a news reporter, she learned to brand herself through social media. Now, she loves telling business owners' stories with engaging content, video and graphics. We had an incredible conversation about her journey from news caster to social media strategist, but Before we jump into the interview with Katie, here’s a kind review of my signature course Videography for Photographers by a past guest on the pod and in incredible Pinterest manager Teresa Dietrich:

“Social media analytics have told us over and over again that video is the thing that is doing well. This course not only goes through how to actually film video and hybrid shoot, but it also goes over why it NEEDS to be in every photographer’s marketing strategy and business plan! Adding videography will not only add value to your client’s experience but will also uplevel your marketing strategy! Videography for Photographers is the perfect place to learn and start video!”

— Teresa Dietrich

Teresa, thank you so much for your kind words. If you would like a shout out of your own, then write a review of the podcast on the Apple Podcasts app — it takes less than two minutes and it helps the pod grow! If you’ve everrrrr enjoyed or learned from the free content on this podcast, please please please review it and leave your IG handle so I can say thank you! Now onto the interview with Katie Love.

A chat w/ Katie Love — the “why” behind social media marketing and whether or not you should outsource it

Katie started off by telling us about her first career as a journalist — her beat was missing children, and figured out the power of social media through sharing about these children on her social media accounts. Her transition out of her career was a winding path, including recovering from a serious injury and learning how to rely on others’ help as she healed.
The early portion of her business included a ton of pitching to small businesses to try to gain social media marketing clients without having experience to offer. Katie chats about the hard transition between offering free + cheap labor, to then trying to charge after proving results. This is an excellent conversation for every business owner struggling with pitching and communicating value!
We chatted all about systemizing the approach to social media, which became especially necessary for Katie once she reached 15 clients on her roster. She gave behind the scenes insight on hiring in her business in order to scale, and how she created a system for onboarding clients, creating content calendars for her clients, and reviewing the analytics as they carried out their strategy.
As Katie’s business grew, she recognized the need to create time and communication boundaries with her clients. It became a huge priority to ensure her team avoided burnout and overworking — and today, that is the biggest pride point of Katie’s career, that the women who work with her feel safe and empowered and taken care of in the workplace.

“When you realize something isn’t being done and needs to be, and that thing isn’t your zone of genius, if you don’t enjoy it...that’s the best time to outsource ANYTHING. You can be more productive doing what you love. ”

— Katie Love

Katie recognizes that there are different phases of creative business — her business, Love Social Media, offers different tiers and services depending on the phase of business clients are in.

I highly, highly, highly recommend this podcast episode for EVERY creative entrepreneur no matter what phase of business you’re in. I went in thinking it would be all about social media strategy, and it ended up being one of the most heart-centered and REAL chats about entrepreneurship and marketing I’ve had on the pod. I can’t wait to hear what you think!

Resources

Katie Love’s Instagram

Love Your Social Website

SIGN UP FOR MY FREE MASTERCLASS: How to integrate video into your existing photography business without buying new equipment!

FREE Starter Guide for Photographers Ready to Learn Videography

FREE Online Video Starter Guide!

Join the Montana Diaries Podcast Community on Facebook!

Shayna Lloyd 9/6/22 Shayna Lloyd 9/6/22

34: Behind the scenes of creating a coworking community for women w/ Amanda M. Diehl

Helloooo and welcome back to the Montana Diaries Podcast, I’m Shayna and I’m so freaking stoked you’re here because today we have an incredible entrepreneur with us today, Amanda Diehl, the owner/operator of Sky Oro in Bozeman, MT. Sky Oro is a gorgeoussss co-working space for women that I personally go to every time I’m passing through Bozeman, MT because the photography/videography side of the business has me traveling quite often. Here’s how their website sums up Sky Oro: “An activated community of badasses who are brave enough to be vulnerable and bold enough to help each other get to the top in their lives.” How cool is that!? Side note, friends, I have this future vision of a creative space/content creation space/rentable studio mixed with a coworking space, so I freaking attacked Amanda with all of my questions when I first met her in person and she was gracious enough to move the conversation to the pod. So welcome to my selfish business coaching sesh, ha! Let’s get right into it.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN…

1. Why video is KING online, AKA why YOU should incorporate video into your business strategy

2. The leg up that hybrid shooters have in the photo + video industries and why it IS possible to learn with your existing equipment

3. Action steps you can take RIGHT NOW toward incorporating video content!

AMANDA DIEHL: Behind the scenes of co-founding and running a successful coworking space for women

psssttt…

join us in the Facebook group, your space for talking all things creativity + business!

MEET AMANDA M. DIEHL

Amanda is a lover of experiences, people, the wild outdoors and spicy pad thai.. She grew up between Montana and the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, where she learned to value an adventurous life, and thrive in relatively unpredictable circumstances. Many of her childhood summers were spent on her grandparent’s farm in Townsend, MT, moving pipe (begrudgingly), playing in the fields with too many cousins to count and watching her grandparents offer their home as a welcome and safe haven for anyone passing through needing rest and a hot meal.
Fast forward, she holds a masters degree in public health, spent 5 years working as a consultant for a public health informatics company, loves being mama to a few wild children, opened and sustained her first business despite a pandemic and is fully aware that she is living her purpose on a daily basis.
Amanda believes wholeheartedly in the transformative power of human connection, and knows that when she is putting her energy there, the world is a better place for each of us.

AMANDA DIEHL

Behind the scenes of co-founding and running a successful coworking space for women

Amanda started her career in the public health sphere — during her first career, she was always surrounded by colleagues and collaboration and really thrived in that environment. When she moved back to Helena, MT, Amanda realized that people in her field were uninspired at work, and wondered how she could foster a more creative and collaborative culture in her workplace. When her contract with her government job expired, she knew she was moving to Bozeman, and so she started pitching creative coworking spaces to everyone who would listen. As she did so, she realized there were many more people with the exact need for a beautiful and inspiring workspace and a community to lean on.
Amanda soon got connected with a like-minded partner, Christina, and together they hit the ground running with starting what is now Sky Oro, a creative coworking space for women in the Cannery district of Bozeman, MT.
Amanda and Christina made a goal of crowd funding $200,000 to start the coworking space — they met their goal and some within 6 weeks, and created a tight-knit community from those initial members who committed before the space even opened.

“I know now that I can do nothing on my own — I need to be surrounded by minds that are much more intelligent than I am, who have other zones of genius, who can help you think bigger and lean into the discomfort of staying outside my comfort zone.”

— Amanda Diehl

The next phase of Sky Oro is all about facilitating community — Amanda recognized in herself that she struggles to lean on community and her network, and she leads a community coworking space, so others must feel the same. A huge part of this intitiative is bringing the value of the community online — Sky Oro now offers virtual memberships beyond the in-person experience that also includes a platform for communication and events.
After Amanda explained her heart and vision for the future of Sky Oro beautifully, she spent ten minutes being ridiculously candid in response to my super nosy logistical/integrator questions about how Sky Oro is ran! You’ll have to listen to the episode to get exact dollar amounts and processes — huge thanks to Amanda for being such a good sport, ha!

Resources

Sky Oro’s Website

Sky Oro’s Instagram

SIGN UP FOR MY FREE MASTERCLASS: How to integrate video into your existing photography business without buying new equipment!

FREE Starter Guide for Photographers Ready to Learn Videography

FREE Online Video Starter Guide!

Join the Montana Diaries Podcast Community on Facebook!

Shayna Lloyd 8/16/22 Shayna Lloyd 8/16/22

33: Whole-heartedness and diving in head first w/ Devin from Backcountry Bohemians

DEVIN LARSON: Diving in head first in EVERYTHING she does, money mindset and business growth, launching an incredible FIELD GUIDE, and much more!!

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN…

1. Why video is KING online, AKA why YOU should incorporate video into your business strategy

2. The leg up that hybrid shooters have in the photo + video industries and why it IS possible to learn with your existing equipment

3. Action steps you can take RIGHT NOW toward incorporating video content!

DEVIN LARSON: Diving in head first in EVERYTHING she does, money mindset and business growth, launching an incredible FIELD GUIDE, and much more!!

psssttt…

join us in the Facebook group, your space for talking all things creativity + business!

Backcountry Bohemians Website

MEET DEVIN FROM BACKCOUNTRY BOHEMIANS

“Hiii, I’m Devin (she/her)!
I'm a creative soul with a love for life and adventure.
I’ve always been creatively minded and had a deep love for true connection between humans, the ones that give you butterflies and make you giddy. I believe at the end of the day, these connections, even the smallest ones, are what mean the most. Life is filled with these tiny moments and the fact that I get to capture them, stop time, and hand them onto you to be remembered forever means more than you may ever know.”

DEVIN LARSON

Helloooo and welcome back to the Montana Diaries Podcast, I’m Shayna and I’m so freaking stoked you’re here because today we have one of the most incredible creatives I know on the podcast, Devin from Backcountry Bohemians. Devin’s work speaks for itself, so if you aren’t driving, be sure to go check out Backcountry Bohemians to give a little context to Devin’s business and talent as she takes you through her business/life/creativity journey… if you are driving, just trust me that Devin is a true artist with a huge heart for her clients, and spoiler alert, it’s all rooted in reverence for the outdoors and adventure. Alsoooo she fills my “words of affirmation” cup in this episode by being way too kind about my course, Videography for Photographers, and I’m just bringing that up to say I didn’t ask her to do that or pay her hahaha! She is just that kind. 99% of this pod is not that, though, I promise. This is a must listen, creative friends!

DEVIN FROM BACKCOUNTRY BOHEMIANS AT A GLANCE:

Hollyyyy hell, Devin is so effing candid about her creative business journey — this is a truly juicy episode that you don’t want to miss.
Devin is the queennnn of calling her shot — she won a contest to go to a photography workshop for free, bought a camera off craiglist, and told everyone from that point on that she was a full time photographer. We talked all about confidence and the concept of self-permission.
We both believe in the power of knowledge and continuing education — as Devin detailed her early journey of taking on every shoot imaginable and consuming every resource imaginable, I couldn’t help but comment on the power of hunger and directing one’s energy and focus toward where you want to go. Devin is a perfect example of how fast you can grow with drive and focus.
Devin tells everyone to read/listen to Get Rich, Lucky Bitch lol — we chat about our money mindsets and how we’ve come to think about money over the past few years.
We talk about making business align with lifestyle — Devin talks through getting clients on board with shooting the types of things she wants to shoot, which means outside activity-based shoots that show people actually DOING something.
Devin is always thinking about how to serve her clients + provide add ons that make their experience with her even better — she bought my course, Videography for Photographers, to provide personal films along with her photo galleries, and she has multiple rentals like backdrops, props, and picnics to add on to her sessions. I love that her business ideas are smart but also rooted in service.

“So, you’re like hanging out of your boyfriend’s car and it’s like, kinda getting dusky blue hour, and the lights of the city are on, and your favorite band is playing, and it’s a warm summer night...that, to me, is Super 8. If I imagine myself in that moment, it’s in Super 8.”

— Devin

I love the way Devin talks about Super 8 — it makes me think of how I want my elopement films to feel. I want that shaky, hanging-out-of-the-window footage and shots of the groom getting the same view with his iPhone and then cuts to him squeezing his partner’s hand while staring out at the mountains. I want to watch a film and remember how the day felt.
Devin knows the outdoors, makes incredible art with her photography and videography, serves the shit out of her clients — she’s who you want to learn from if you’re trying to break into the outdoor adventure space. She is launching a huuuggeeee, affordable guide that she’s calling Field Notes. RUN, do not walk, and snag the guide HERE.

Resources

Devin's Instagram

GET THE FIELD GUIDE!!

Get Rich, Lucky Bitch

FREE Starter Guide for Photographers Ready to Learn Videography

Join the Montana Diaries Podcast Community on Facebook!

Shayna Lloyd 7/26/22 Shayna Lloyd 7/26/22

29: Creating a personal brand that grows with you w/ Rachel Traxler

RACHEL TRAXLER: On her business journey, developing a personal brand that grew with her business + life, bringing her husband on board, and much more!

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN…

1. Why video is KING online, AKA why YOU should incorporate video into your business strategy

2. The leg up that hybrid shooters have in the photo + video industries and why it IS possible to learn with your existing equipment

3. Action steps you can take RIGHT NOW toward incorporating video content!

RACHEL TRAXLER: On her business journey, developing a personal brand that grew with her business + life, bringing her husband on board, and much more!

psssttt…

join us in the Facebook group, your space for talking all things creativity + business!

Rachel's FREE Resources for Photogs

MEET RACHEL

“Hey, I'm Rach! I’m a photographer turned business coach helping photographers scale their business with strategy and purpose.
Having almost a decade of experience in the field, my heart has grown to serving and helping other photographers to grow through the struggles I went through myself.

Growing my business to an in-demand, successful,
6-figure, sought after traveling elopement business, I want to teach other photographers to do the same.”

RACHEL TRAXLER AT A GLANCE:

-We get right into chatting about modifying family life based on our businesses + defining what success really looks/feels like to us

-Rachel booked her first wedding over a decade ago, back when online education was notttt a big thing; she made the leap into full time photography in 2017

-She opens up about what was missing in her client experience at the beginning, and how overcoming her client experience gaps made her love + appreciate client experience even more and it’s now one of her fave things to teach.

-Fast forward four years, Rachel became an industry leader and expanded her business to include an associate team and is not focusing on education.

-We talk branding — voice, tone, aesthetics, and how Rachel made both sides of her brand truly reflect HER.

“When I dug into my personality — I found that I aligned my shooting + editing style with my personality and that’s when my branding clicked.”

— Rachel Traxler

Rachel has recently shifted to a coaching business education model, and she knows her stuff — she offers manyyyy free + paid resources for photographers, so check them out at the links below!

Resources

Rachel's Instagram

FREE Starter Guide for Photographers Ready to Learn Videography