Sarah Petty: Ever feel like you just have to say yes to whatever comes your way when it comes to photography sessions? I'm chatting with Indianapolis photographer, Sarah Lang Schroeder, who ran her business off and on for over a decade while juggling a full-time job, but realized recently she wanted more. She thought the answer was mini sessions. So she jumped into fall and holiday minis while working full-time and delivering digital files because that's what she thought photographers were supposed to do. But when she enrolled in Boutique Breakthrough, everything changed. Sarah soaked up the coaching, embraced a totally new way of thinking, and started to believe something she'd never really believed before, that this could work for her. She landed her first Julie, $1k or more client order, for $1,798 shortly after finishing Boutique Breakthrough. Welcome, Sarah, introduce yourself.
Sarah Lang Schroeder: My name is Sarah. I live in Indianapolis, Indiana, with my husband and my dog. I was in corporate America doing print marketing. I learned all about paper types and all that printing stuff. I took a year off, so I was unemployed and I started working at a nonprofit for a few months. During that time I started in Boutique Breakthrough and now I'm off on my own in my business.
Sarah Petty: When did you start photography?
Sarah Lang Schroeder: I started about 15 years ago. I graduated from college and I was doing photo journalism and was working at a newspaper. They gave me a camera and I learned how to use it and started doing my business then. I started with $75 sessions. I didn't know how to run a business.
Sarah Petty: How did you come across me?
Sarah Lang Schroeder: Thankfully, the Google gods or whatever brought you to me. I was in a season of grabbing all of the education that I could. I thought what I was missing was minis, so I planned a bunch of minis at the end of last year.
Sarah Petty: How was Boutique Breakthrough? Was the pricing part scary or hard?
Sarah Lang Schroeder: It definitely took some adjustment in my thinking, but it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. I think I was kind of at my wits end because I was fed up with not making money.
Sarah Petty: Did you like the mindset in every lesson?
Sarah Lang Schroeder: Yeah, it definitely helped. The imperfect action beats perfect inaction has changed my life. I took very little action before.
Sarah Petty: Talk about Julie, $1k or more client order.
Sarah Lang Schroeder: It was a little bit after Boutique Breakthrough ended. I was taking dog portraits and this sweet older lady who had two miniature schnauzers bought two canvases for each of them. It was like $1,798.
Sarah Petty: How did you feel about yourself?
Sarah Lang Schroeder: I was inwardly trying not to freak out. It's so hard to believe. It's still kind of fresh for me, but I'm definitely not sitting at home without a clue of what to do next.Sarah Petty: Sarah, thank you so much for coming here and sharing your story.
