Sarah Petty: I’m pulling back the curtain and sharing a conversation that lit my heart on fire, a sit down I had with a group of amazing photographers from our Peak Performance Coaching program who did something huge last year. These nine photographers each hit six figures, which is $100,000 or more, in their boutique portrait businesses in 2024, most of them for the very first time. We call them our black diamond photographers. They’ve reached that coveted milestone, and they did it the right way, serving their clients at the highest level, charging profitable prices, and putting family first.
I would like each of you to talk about why this was a goal. Kayla, you start.
Kayla: It was not a goal of mine at all. In fact, in January of last year, I was ready to throw in the towel. I was done. Tara, my small group leader, really encouraged me that I could do this and that call was a breakthrough for me. My year just totally shifted, and by Fall Immersion, I knew I was going to hit $100,000.
Sarah Petty: That is amazing. Angie, how about you?
Angie: I set a monetary goal at the beginning of the year, and decided not to focus on money this past year. I wanted to focus on fixing systems, scrubbing my business and getting more organized. The money goal was there, but some of those other things were really important.
I got to about halfway, I lowered my goal a little bit so it was more approachable. I was pretty close at Fall Immersion as well. The support we got at Fall Immersion and seeing what others were doing helped a lot. I looked at my plan for the rest of the year and figured out where that money was going to come from. Money started coming from lots of different places, and it was really exciting.
Sarah Petty: That is so cool. Jess, what about you?
Jess: My goal this year was $60,000 because I’m a brand new peak and this was my first share legit in business and in peak. I think I had a moment like Kayla where Debra, who’s the mom of Peak, was actually in my area, and I talked her down to come visit and take our family photos. We were chatting about my goals and what I wanted and I mentioned I was scared to hit $100,000 because it felt like a lot of pressure. She looked at me and said, “Jess, what are you going to do, sit around and knit?” It was a little bit of tough love, and I think it was exactly what I needed.
Also, being at Immersion and interacting with the black diamonds was huge for me.
Sarah Petty: That’s really cool. Kendra, what about you?
Kendra: I’ve always wanted to make $100,000. There is no reason that I shouldn’t be there. What am I doing wrong? I started meeting with some of my small group people every week. We started thinking about different ways that we could go and find more people. At one point I was talking to Ashley and I said, “I just don’t feel like it’s going to happen. I just don’t see the path.” And she said, “I love you, Kendra, but with respect, it’s not about how you feel. You have to go find more sessions. How are you going to do that?” And I was like, “Thank you. Okay.” And so I figured it out.
I made $27,000 in November, and it was amazing. Then right at the end, I was $1,100 from my goal and I had a $6,000 order pending and another $4,000 order pending. So I called an old client, and I said, “If you want a gift certificate, I will double your dollars.” She paid me $1,100 and that was what took me over the line.
Sarah Petty: That is amazing. Andy, what about you?
Andy: For us, it was just implementing better systems basically for our studio and tracking things that we never tracked before. Really paying attention to the little details. In November, Danielle’s running the numbers at the end of the month, and she’s like, “Hey, we’re at $106,000.” That’s always been the goal, obviously. But we actually even set a little bit bigger goal that we came close to hitting but didn’t quite. But I think that’s important too, setting a higher goal than what you think you’re going to attain, and then pushing for that higher goal and you’re going to land in a really happy place.
Sarah Petty: I love it. Brea, how about you?
Brea: I didn’t actually verbalize a goal of $100,000 for a very long time, but my husband lost his job in the spring, and I thought if I’m not going to go for it and try to work that hard, then what am I doing here when we could really use the money?
One thing I did was I started looking at my numbers and stayed on top of them. It motivated me to set my IPSs sooner so that I actually had money in intervals that I needed it to come in.
I have all the places where my clients need to come from, I just wasn’t really accessing it at that level. August 1st I had only made $30,000. I ended the year around $127,000. In October, I think I brought in $35,000. I had consistent big months in the fall.
Sarah Petty: I have chili bumps. That is amazing. Ms. Heather, what’s your jam with goals and getting to that $100,000?
Heather: This was the third year I’ve actually cleared 6-figures. When I joined Peak a year ago, I was facing a big transition because I was going to have to stop doing weddings. I had cleared $100,000 for the first time by really working a lot. It was coming off of surgery when I was not able to work until April, so I lost the whole first quarter, and then I managed to do it, but it wasn’t easy. And I was like, “I can’t do that this year, but I still need to make that goal.” And Debra said, “Well, this is the program. This is where you need to be.” And I was like, “Okay, but really, I can’t put in the time like I have.”
When I lost my dad things shifted for me and it didn’t matter if I didn’t make the numbers because family’s first. Thankfully I was up again from last year, so I ended the year at $135,000.
Sarah Petty: That is amazing. Now I want to know what you think the biggest thing was in the program that you’re in here that helped you get over your obstacles. What’s the thing that made the biggest difference?
Heather: The biggest thing that I have struggled with every single year is that head trash. It was just this constant back and forth roller coaster. This group and my small group made all the difference. Having access to others that would be able to say, “You’re not crazy. Everything’s going to be fine,” just to give that reassurance. Without this program, I didn’t have that. You would see my numbers shift as a result because if you get into your head enough, then you do have a slow month. It’s self-fulfilling really, so having that support helped to prevent that. It evened out the hills a little bit.
Jess: I think a lot for me was gaining confidence in my pricing and then also shooting to sell. That hadn’t really ever been a thing for me before. And I would always show up to a session and not have a plan. But being able to have that consultation and plan out what my clients were going to put on their wall gave me confidence to go into the session and photograph it. Never in my wildest dreams would I have sold a $5,000 piece of art. My clients didn’t even bat an eye. It was incredible to have the knowledge and skills and the pricing structure to be able to do that, and then also to say that pricing without blinking.
Kendra: I was holding myself back by really trying to niche a lot. I would self-select out of it because I had a fear of my pricing. It was a money block. And so once I realized that, I think it was Tim Gray who told me, he said, “You should find a way to say yes that doesn’t change your model,” you know?
Andy: I think the biggest thing for me was being Mr. Positive. I’m the glass half-full person. I live in a town in the middle of nowhere and 900 people, so learning to get outside of that tunnel vision was huge. Learning how to network, going out, and looking for opportunities where I never saw them before. It’s like driving by and seeing a new store being built and stopping and talking to those people to take photos of the building as it’s going on because I drive by it every day. And then let’s put a nice series together that you can hang in your office. I would’ve never, ever thought to even consider doing something like that until going through this and talking to people and being in this group.
Sheri: I’m in a little tiny city of 1,200 people. Everybody knows everybody. It’s annoying, but then it’s nice too. You go to the grocery store and you don’t dress up and you think that you’re not going to see anybody. Well, guess what. You’re going to run into people you know.
I’m also a very positive person, and I’m on a mission and have tenacity, and that’s what’s gotten me through.
Every year, I’ve been trying to hit $100,000. This year I closed with $104,000. I don’t think I would’ve done it without my group and Jill Gray.
Sarah Petty: I love it. What has changed in you, in your identity to help you own this. Angie.
Angie: At the beginning of last year, I was looking for other jobs. I really wanted to make $100,000 dollars. I had this ideal image of myself that if I made $100,000 I would be worth something. The artist persona in me was pretty squashed for some reason, and I never really valued my own talent. It wasn’t until probably halfway through the year that I started to when my clients would gush on me or refer me. My confidence started to go up throughout the year and that’s what had to change within me. I had to start believing in myself and also trusting that I was worth what I’m charging.
Heather: It’s funny because I was talking with a friend of mine who had been telling me year after year about how I should be giving help to other photographers. He’s like, “You’re so experienced at what you do.” I’m like, “I don’t know what I’m doing. I don’t know what you’re talking about.” “You’ve been so successful.” “I am not successful.” I just didn’t believe it. I didn’t have that confidence. I’m like, “No, I got lucky the first time and the second time. I don’t know if I can keep this up.” I did not have that confidence.
That definitely shifted a lot in this group. I think I heard it from Debra and Darren first, and it just really caught me by surprise. And I was like, “Wait, I’m new to the program. I don’t know anything. What are you talking about?” And they’re like, “No, you’re already successful.” I’m like, “No, I’m not.” It really took me a while to settle into that.
Brea: The belief is a big thing here. I think believing in ourselves is huge, but there’s a lot of steps to believing in yourself that you just don’t realize you’re taking, or you’re subconsciously avoiding things that might help you grow. And I felt a lot of that this year. I’ve had a lot of experiences where friends express an interest in a photographer and I’ve just pushed them away. And I don’t want to work for people who I know that closely because I’m afraid that I’m going to let them down, or it’s just so much money that I would feel bad charging that to them. And so I had a lot of that this year.
Jess: I think my biggest mental shift in personality was that I’m capable of being a breadwinner. Being married, my husband has always been the breadwinner. Photography was a side hobby forever, and then it was influencer blogging and then back to photography. And I went through this same discussion in my head that Angie did. I was like, “Okay, what can I do to make money? Changing that mindset for me, going from, okay, it’s just a hobby, it’s a side gig to know I truly am serving people by providing this amazing thing for them in their homes that will help uplift and give them all the family bonding and togetherness. And I can empower seniors and I can create confidence for them. And that truly is a gift, but also that I can earn money and help provide for my family, which is something that I never really thought I was capable of.
Sarah Petty: I am so proud of all of you guys. And you’ve just been such an asset to this community. I appreciate you being here today and sharing your stories and inspiring so many other people.
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