Consider the Wildflowers
Consider the Wildflowers
102. Katie Lamb: My Business Is Profitable, but Is It Sustainable?
Reaching your income needs without working all the time— That’s every entrepreneur’s dream, right? Finding a way to comfortably meet your enough number so that you can be the spouse, mother, daughter, or friend you dream of being. Katie Lamb did just that.
After launching a successful, and profitable, photography business straight out of college, Katie began to ask herself how she could achieve the same profit with less time investment? With a growing family and a desire to be fully present, Katie began brainstorming new revenue streams that would continue to provide for her family without requiring more time away.
Pricing for profitability, running a 6-figure photography business, launching a course, & hiring tips— all inside today’s episode.
WILDFLOWER SHOWNOTES : shannaskidmore.com/katie-lamb
📌 RESOURCES MENTIONED:
How to Calculate Your Enough Number
Torrance Hart, Founder of Teak & Twine
Katie's Session Video Course
Katie’s Instagram Efficiency Course
CONNECT WITH KATIE:
Website | Instagram
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This show is produced and edited by the team at Palm Tree Pod Co.
I had no choice but to succeed. There was no option of failing, and I had to be two feet all in. And I also think, you know that I hear my, you know, just being my husband in the sports world, the no pressure, no diamonds, like, that's what I always hold in my mind. Stop
Shanna Skidmore:by writing that down, no pressure, no diamonds, yeah, girl,
Katie Lamb:and that's really what I felt in those years, but I do attribute so much of that to the success I had so quickly, for sure.
Lauren / Team Skidmore:Hey, wild flower, Lauren from Team Skidmore here, and you're listening to consider the wildflowers the podcast episode 102 reaching your income needs without having to work all the time. That's every entrepreneur's dream, right? Finding a way to easily meet your enough number so that you can be the spouse, mother, daughter or friend you dream of being photographer and educator. Katie lamb did just that. After building a successful and profitable photography business straight out of college, Katie began to ask herself, how she could achieve the same profit with less time investment. With a growing family and a desire to be fully present, Katie began brainstorming new revenue streams that would continue to provide for her family without requiring more time away, pricing for profitability, running a six figure photography business, launching a course and hiring tips all Inside today's episode, let's dive in.
Shanna Skidmore:Hey, it's Shanna, and this is consider the wildflowers. The podcast. For the past 15 plus years, I've had the honor to hear 1000s of stories from entrepreneurs around the world as a former fortune 100 financial advisor turned business consultant, I have a unique opportunity to see the real behind the highlight reel. I'm talking profit and loss statements, unpaid taxes, moments of burnout and those of utter victory, or, as my husband says, the content everyone is wondering, but not many are talking about. And now I'm bringing these private conversations to you. Hear the untold stories of how industry leaders, founders and up and coming entrepreneurs got their start, the experiences that shaped them and the journey to building the brands they have today, stories that will inspire and reignite, encourage to redefine success and build a life and business on your own terms. Welcome, Wildflower. I'm so glad you're here. Hey, Katie, welcome to the show.
Katie Lamb:Thank you for having me. I'm excited to be here. Okay, we
Shanna Skidmore:were just talking before we hit record of like, how we're connected and that we think it's through kimbox who's just the best. Yes, yeah. So thanks for coming on, and I don't know much of your story, which makes me excited, just to get to know you and your background. So tell everybody who you are, what you do now, and then we're just going to kind of kick it back to life before your business.
Katie Lamb:That sounds great. So I'm Katie lamb, and I have been a photographer for 16 years. However, the majority of my business now is education for other photographers, and I started when I was about 22 years old. That's when I launched my business. But I never dreamed in a million years this is what I'd be doing, because I was 100% mission focused. Okay, so I so. But take it back to like high school, my family we adopted from China, my two sisters, and that's when I just fell in love with mission and international adoption, international orphan outreach. So that was where my heart was. And I went to Baylor, majored in fine art photography, and only saw myself serving overseas using photography and videography. Got it. So that's really how I started, and that's what I did those early years. And then married my husband, and his dream wasn't to move to China, like my dream was
Shanna Skidmore:big conversation, yeah, and so that's
Katie Lamb:when I launched my business, but it really was to more just like fund or supplement my mission or doing the mission work overseas. It wasn't so much to just have a business here type thing, but that's what it turned into. And I feel like the Lord really used it to grow a passion for serving others here in the States and loving on others, and eventually getting into the education space.
Shanna Skidmore:Okay, I love it. Did you say how long have you had your business? 16 years.
Lauren / Team Skidmore:16
Shanna Skidmore:years. Katie, that is huge. And are you? Where are you from? Originally,
Katie Lamb:I'm in Dallas, so still in Dallas, and I swear I'm from.
Shanna Skidmore:And did you meet your husband in college? We did. We met at Baylor. Okay, now tell me this conversation of like, hey, I want to move to China.
Katie Lamb:How do you I mean, I came on pretty strong, like, that first date, we set ourselves, like, up on a blind date, basically because we met on Facebook, like, way back in the year Facebook came out, like, for
Shanna Skidmore:actual college students. Yes, exactly. And I remember
Katie Lamb:saying, like, I wanted a bunch of kids. Like, do you want kids? Like, I was not wasting time. I was like, I don't even want to date you if. Did it. And so he knew very early on my heart was there. And so he was all about serving. And when we first got married without kids, we got to serve in the summers in Croatia together. But it wasn't just his dream to, you know, actually move overseas. And so it worked out, because I think the Lord just really changed my heart for that and the capacity that I serve and get to love on others. Did
Shanna Skidmore:you after graduation move back to Dallas like immediately I
Katie Lamb:did? So yes. So we had a My husband was in the NFL, so he played college, or played football in college, and then he played for the Jets for a little bit. So that's a big part of my business story too, because I was in limbo, like, where do we end up in the NFL world? You move all the time, right? So that really impacted, like, a big portion of why I started my business too, was knowing having a normal corporate job isn't going to work in an NFL life of moving all the time. So that was a big part of wanting to start my business and do my own thing.
Shanna Skidmore:I'm so fascinated about all of this. Okay, so you're like, I want to move to China, and your husband's like, I want to play in the NFL, yep, yep, basically, okay, let's figure this out, because we want to be together, yep,
Katie Lamb:yep, that's exactly right. And it I kept doing it like while we were dating, I would kind of serve every season, the summers, and so it was a lot of summer focused work, is what I was doing for a while. Yeah, yeah,
Shanna Skidmore:you know, Katie, and this just popped in my head, and then I'm gonna get back to the script. I think so often we want our work to be our passion. Yeah, sometimes I think our work funds or fuels our passion. Does that make sense? Like, absolutely, yeah. Like, you have this vision that your work would be in China or helping with this orphan crisis around the world, and it's like you're doing that. It's just not what you get paid to do, does it? Yeah, right, absolutely. Okay, absolutely. Let's talk more about this. Okay, so tell me about those early days, like you graduated, you're doing photography. Did you get married right away and then shift your business around? Because I know photography is one of those things, like you build up your clientele, it's not the easiest to move. Those are probably the early days of Instagram, I would guess so. Like tell me about those early days in business and just Yeah, starting your life
Katie Lamb:absolutely. So we did get married young. And so right when he was done playing football at Baylor, we got we got married. And so kind of try to make a long story short, in between when he was playing in the NFL for a short time he got injured, and then career ending injuries, and then now he works in the NFL now, but between that time period. So right when I was starting my business, he went to law school, which is always really confusing, because he doesn't practice law in any way, but his 1l year was right around my first year in business, so there was a lot riding on my shoulders, since he obviously, you know, he wasn't working, yeah? So we, we wanted to graduate law school without any debt. So that was a really like, looking back, I'm like, oh my goodness, that was, that was a really high goal for a 22 year old, starting a brand new business in a brand new city, because we had a move where I had zero connections, yeah. So, and my goal was that I could provide, you know, 100% living expenses and contribute to our law school payments. And again, I think it was a lot of just being naive and young, but thankfully, it worked out really well.
Shanna Skidmore:It's amazing you did the thing. So how did you figure out? Well, it sounds like Have you always been goal oriented, money, debt adverse? Like, that's a big goal to go into. And then how did you structure your business in those early days with like, offers and pricing to even be like, we're going after this goal?
Katie Lamb:Yes, so I, I have always, I think just my parents just always raised us to be debt free. Like, any way you can, like, figure out a way to make it work, to be debt free, you know. And so I think that was just ingrained in me from a young age, too. And I am just goal driven for sure. So when I started my business, so again, I just moved to a brand new city, did not know anybody, yeah, and so I never wanted to photograph weddings. However, we didn't have social media 16 years ago the way we do now. And now it's a lot easier to jump start a business as a photographer, right, and be found. And it was also being as lucrative photographing families, which is what I really loved, motherhood and families, that wasn't as easy to jump start a lucrative career in that especially like it is today. So not saying it didn't happen, but just in my circumstances, I'm needing income immediately, and putting all my chips into family sessions just wasn't the best plan in my eyes, right? So I started shooting weddings and got bookings right away. And I was young. Didn't have any kids, my husband was busy with law school. Wow. So I had lots of time to shoot weddings, and shooting weddings was how I made new friends in a new city. So it worked out great. And so I was averaging, it was around $4,000 a wedding those first couple years. And shooting this is crazy, but shooting 50 plus weddings per year, on top of all of my other types of sessions and my cost of doing business was very low, and so my revenue and my profit were quite high. And so throw a young, you know, a young, 20 year old, with an art degree. Let's mention that an art degree not a business degree. An art degree straight into like running their own business, making six figures off the bat. You have to learn business and money management quick in order to stay in that or you'd be out, you know. So it was a lot those first few years, for sure.
Shanna Skidmore:How did you learn? Okay, well, so what do you what would you say? Went really well. Obviously it sounds like booking $4,000 price point 16 years ago. I mean, I was working with clients that were like charging $500 $1,000 you dollar. You know, it sounds like you charged well from day one, so, but how did you learn the business side? What did not go well? What did go well in those first few years?
Katie Lamb:I mean, I it was so much of it well. One, my dad was a strong influence, and, like, I would go to him with all my questions, like, education on stuff just wasn't what it is today, right? Like, just getting buying a course on learning all this stuff wasn't a thing back then. So my dad was a huge influence there. But then I learned so much just as I went and like, there was so much experience in there that really guided me to help me through that. But I think the biggest thing, like my profit in the beginning was great, so that worked well, right? That was the thing that was working well for me. However, the amount of time I had to put in in order to actually achieve that profit was just not sustainable. And while it worked great back then, when I was young, did have kids, you know, things had to drastically change once we started a family, yeah? So basically, I had to figure out a way to keep my profit the same, yeah, but change the way I achieved that profit. So I transitioned out of weddings into family and motherhood photography, yeah.
Shanna Skidmore:Okay. Oh, this is also good. Do you feel like it was a blessing that your business had to make money from day one. Absolutely.
Katie Lamb:Yeah, okay, 100%
Shanna Skidmore:will you talk to me about that just for a second? Because if you had gotten if, if your husband had gone to the NFL from day one, you might have not structured it the same way. I mean,
Katie Lamb:for sure. And I think also, like when we say, My husband went to the NFL, you could have two different pictures in your mind of when your husband goes to the NFL, one their first round draft pick, and you're, you're, well, you're doing great. We're doing, you know, you're doing good. But, yeah, you know, he was there for, you know, he is, like, the fourth game of the season. He has career ending injure injuries, so he's out. So, like, don't think we came in with, like, yeah, you know, you know, $2 million signing bonus or something. That's that wasn't our case. And so Absolutely, because I feel like I had no choice but to succeed. There was no option of failing, and I had to be two feet all in. And I also think, you know that I hear my you know, just being my husband in the sports world, the no pressure, no diamonds, like that's what I always hold my mind stop.
Shanna Skidmore:I'm writing that down. No pressure, no diamonds, yeah, girl,
Katie Lamb:and that's really what I felt in those years. But I do attribute so much of that to the success I had so quickly. For sure, yeah,
Shanna Skidmore:I think so often we look at like time constraints or money constraints as a negative in business. And sometimes I think it's the biggest blessing, like being, you know, I'm Katie from my world, like teaching business and getting into, like, the business side of business, like, that's what I love. That's what I've done. I think I see my clients who had to make money, made very different decisions than my clients, who did not have to make money initially. And I think sometimes there's some habits that have to be retrained or relearned, like you couldn't invest all your profits back into the business like somebody else probably could, you know, like you had to, you know, pay your mortgage with that. Yeah, yeah. I love it. No pressure, no diamonds, yeah. Okay, so walk me through. Katie, when things started to shift, like, were there any big pivots you saw shift? It sounds like with your family, changes kind of walk me through after those initial few years of hustling 50 events, what changed? How did your business start to grow and shift? Absolutely.
Katie Lamb:So, I mean, it's probably very similar to a lot of people in that starting a family. I mean, that'll rock your world, right? Of having kids and nothing makes you slow down, like a little baby makes you slow down, right? And I had two, I had twins right off the bat, so the two babies really made me slow down. So I what? What happened whenever we first had my first kids, whenever they came along, it was really knowing like, this is not sustainable, what I'm doing, and that by this point, I had transitioned out of weddings. I was doing families, right? So I was photographing families, but it was still I didn't want to have to leave my babies to go do another shoot. And then my husband, at that time, had graduated law school, but he was working in the NFL, and so he's gone a lot, especially during football season, which is prime fall, is prime photographer season, right? Yeah. So I just especially in Texas, especially in Texas, yes. And so just between him being gone. Me solo parenting quite a bit. In the end, during football season, I knew something had to change, and I had loved I had been teaching on the side, like with mentoring photographers and coaching them, but more on a one on one setting, or a group setting. And it was I knew that wasn't scalable what I was doing, because they still needed me at all times. And so that's when I created. It was 2016 I made my first course, and that was my first taste of seeing something that I created continue to generate income on its own, as opposed to, you know, the all on one, the one on one coaching that I had been doing. And so it really started to pivot when I saw how I could be scalable with that, yeah, and it worked with our lifestyle of like, hey, we may have to move every two years, or, you know, things like that. So that was the biggest change for me, because, again, my story is a little different since my numbers, my profits started from the get go where I wanted it. That's, you know, even still today, like that profit, that's still what I want, is the same number. I hadn't changed in 16 years, but just the way that I achieved that profit had to change so drastically.
Shanna Skidmore:Yeah, this is all so, so good, and I love that I was that was the next question I was going to ask you, do you keep the same goals or stay goal oriented the whole time. And I love that you just thought, how can I achieve the same profit in less time? So this was, what year eight ish of your business? Yeah, that
Katie Lamb:would have been your eight. Yeah, yeah. Okay,
Shanna Skidmore:so tell me then about that pivot, because I've seen that pivot too. I started with one on one. Work started, launched my first course in 2016 totally obsessed with it. Love getting to do that work, but it's a completely different business model, for sure, not out there, probably photographing clients anymore. You're probably thinking about workflows and automation marketing strategy. So talk me through that pivot and how it shifted your business model and how things have grown since,
Katie Lamb:sure. So whenever I launched that one, and that was, again, my first one, and that 2016 I mean, you know, courses weren't what they are now like, no, in fact, we were pretty much on the early side of my course. That's
Shanna Skidmore:the
Katie Lamb:school. Yes, yeah, that was it. Like it really was not a thing. And so all that we know now with, you know, the funnels and all this stuff, like we didn't have access to that then, so I was very much fumbling my way through that, even just hosting a, course, it was like a Vimeo, I think it's like it was a paid subscription to Vimeo or something. So, so it was so much of just learning as I went and as I was creating it, I was able to scale down on how much I was shooting. And in the meantime, we moved out of state with a different team. And so there was a lot I that was, it was kind of, I was put back into that place, like I was in the beginning of like I have no choice to make it succeed, because we moved out of state again where I knew nobody, and I was like, I don't want to have to keep starting over a photography business every single time we move. So can I be all in on this education? Can I do it? And I that was really where the Lord just kind of drew my heart to was helping others, because I felt I just saw such a need in our industry of just photographers just struggling, but they loved what they did, but they couldn't figure out, like, how to actually make this to a business, a sustainable business. And so I feel like the Lord just really changed my heart into into education more and so that moving again and being placed into another, a new place. Do I want to start over with the photography side, or do I want to be all in on the education? And so that's really where that, you know, kind of switched and all changed. I think that was 2019 ish, yeah, is when that, when all that happened? Katie,
Shanna Skidmore:I love it. I want to talk about numbers and money. Of course. Yes, I love doing that. But before, I do actually want to skip ahead and just ask you about you mentioned your solo parenting a lot. You have twins. I don't know if you have other children. I do. Okay, so we've got how many kiddos Do you have kids? So
Katie Lamb:two eight year olds and a four year old. Okay, oh, I
Shanna Skidmore:love it. How you know, in a world that asks us to do everything really? Well, be a great mom, be a great business owner, be a marketer, be a great photographer. Like, yeah, nc o land, my friend Ashlyn said at this site, like, we're the whole C suite, you know, like, there's no CFO, there's no CO Yes, yes. How did you find harmony? How did you do all this at the same Yeah,
Katie Lamb:yeah. I mean, I'm not gonna lie, those first especially, like, Man, when I was really getting going with courses, and I had little toddler, 18 month old twins, running around like it was crazy. And I always say, like, finding balance. Like, some of those seasons were, like, I was thinking of, like a yoga pose. It's like, I'm I'm trying to get into this perfect yoga pose, to find this perfect balance. But sometimes balance means I'm, like, fighting to keep that balance, and I'm about to topple over in that pose, but I'm hanging on to keep that balance, you know, so like, it doesn't always look perfect in those first few years, like it was hard, I was tired, and so I always love to just reflect and remember, like, there are seasons, and they are just that seasons, you know? And so they don't have to be forever, but it's finding a way out of it. And so for me, balance, my whole goal is that my work hours are when my kiddos are in school, yeah, and then otherwise I'm fully present. And in the same way, my husband has off season. And so I want to work my business in a way that I have periods where I'm grinding harder, if we're in the middle of a launch, but during his off season, like we're four months off, we're just playing as a family. No one's working. So that's really I would say, how we attribute balance, like to me, my kids and my family come first, and how can I fit work around that, rather than the opposite? We are
Shanna Skidmore:kindred spirits. I'm so glad you connected us, because I love that. Yeah, we so are. But was that hard to maintain, or was it because I I'm very similar, like, I relate balance to gymnastics. Like I was a gymnast for a lot of my life, and I always talk about the gymnast on the balance beam, you know, we think about being perfectly still, but in fact, it's constant movement, it's constant readjustment, it's constant rebalancing. And for you it sounds like, you know, just identifying, and I think this is the key to it, identifying what harmony looks like for you in your season and your life, and what's going on in your world, that's what kept you aligned. Were you able to stick with that like, do you feel like, were there, let me say this, were there ever times where the business wasn't doing what you needed and you had to pull extra hours for sure? How did you justify that
Katie Lamb:absolutely. And I think I always think of those seasons being the most, like when my kids were the youngest, you know, because you it's a game changer once your kids are in school, right? But in those other times, it's like you're you're all hands on deck during the day, if your kids are home with you, which they were with me. And so it was working late at night, or working extra hours, or really trying to fit it in whenever I could. And it was more grinding seasons, yeah, but it was always, always trying to keep the perspective of, like, sometimes there are just times you have to work harder and longer, and it stinks, and that's just but knowing that's not the end game, that's not my goal, and that was kind of the perspective I tried to keep. Was like, Okay, this is just a season. My kiddos are little. They need every ounce of me right now.
Shanna Skidmore:And when your business came to the point where I'm assuming you did not have to be or were no longer the main income earner, what kept you motivated in those seasons, or did you allow yourself to, like, pull back a little bit? Sorry. I'm totally off scripting it. I'm just loving all the questions.
Katie Lamb:I love selfish.
Shanna Skidmore:I need people at home right now.
Katie Lamb:Yeah, so it was like, scale for sure, scaling back like it becomes my husband's the primary, you know, provider for us, but it's one like, my money, my income still definitely is needed and and matters there. But it did allow me to know, okay, I still have this goal number, just the same. I want to hit that every time, but I'm okay if it doesn't go above that. Yes, that's what I need. It's enough, yes, then I can forget the rest. You know, yeah,
Shanna Skidmore:that's what I preach every day. What's your enough number? And that can be small, that can be reached for the stars, yeah, you know, like, enough doesn't have to be settling. I think, yeah, what's enough is like, Oh, I'm just settling. No, it's like, ambition. I say it's where ambition and contentment meet. It's that peace of mind number so but for you, Katie, did you ever feel societal pressure to reach beyond your enough? Number,
Katie Lamb:yes. I mean, if you get on Instagram, you're going to see that every day, right? You're going to see like, Am I doing enough? Am I making a net like? And it's, I think one, it comes from your, what, how you. Find success, but also I'm a believer. So for me, like I know my purpose on this earth, and I know that my children and my family and my community, that's the lasting impact I'm gonna leave, not how much money I made. And so to me, is keeping that eternal, eternal perspective for me, and knowing that, yeah, there's I could I make more Absolutely, if I put in extra time? Yeah, but that's going to take away from, like, what I feel is my true purpose and what really matters in this life. Yeah,
Shanna Skidmore:Katie, that's so good. Let's talk about money for a second, just relationship with money. And then I want to talk about your the impact of your work and your mission outside of the photography work and now education work that you're doing, because I know that's a big piece of your story and your life. So what would you say? Because I love to ask, is the best thing that you have learned about money?
Katie Lamb:I would say, just learning kind of what we said that, like, money is important. Like, money really, like we need it. It's very important. But learning that that target, like being enough, like my target, goal is enough, and that the money, my income, is really just hitting that target, which allows me to be present with my kids and family. It's just like I threw the Dart, I made it good. Now I'm going with my kids and family. It's just to me, it's just a stepping stone, yeah, in the place of where I really want to be.
Shanna Skidmore:Yeah, I love it. Let's talk about before we go into quick fire. I want to hear about your work, like your you know, you didn't move to China. How have you kept that impact in the heart that you've had for so long? It sounds like since your feet, you know, growing up with the family you did, walk me through, like, how your work today allows you to live out that mission,
Katie Lamb:for sure. So still, like, right now, I still, you know, I've a four year old. He's my youngest, and I'm just now getting to the point that I'm like, I truly loved serving overseas, and so I would use photography and videography to, like, aid these mission organizations so that they could use videos to promote whatever they're doing, you know, things like that. And I would love I have not been doing that the past few years, as I've had kids, it's really hard for me to even go out of state when I with my kiddos. You know, it's separate. So going across the world has always been a little crazy. So in during this season of not doing that, there's so many ways to use photography like it can be such a gift. Of there's been several times we've helped, whether it's through international or through adoption or someone's trying to raise money for, you know, at one of their children with some type of sickness, then using doing photo sessions, but then all the proceeds go to the family that's trying to raise the money. So it's been more state side that I've been able to really use photography and use my gifts to be able to give back in that way, but I do look forward to the day that maybe my heart is ready to start traveling again. So that's where I'm at right now.
Shanna Skidmore:Yeah, I love it. Katie, this has been so fun, and before we go into Quick Fire, I hopped on your website while I'm over here, and I noticed that your courses are at a lower price point, $29
Katie Lamb:Well, those are my mini courses. And then if you go down, there's the signature ones. Yeah,
Shanna Skidmore:the signature ones. Okay, I was interested to hear about how you structured and came up with your pricing and your course suite. Or if that's just evolved over time.
Katie Lamb:So it definitely has evolved over time. I actually started so my my first, one of my first courses was master the light and airy style. Kind of just taught exactly how I shoot and edit. And that one actually started at 1800 back then, okay, yeah, but this was years ago when, like, I was one of the only educators, and so it's sold so easily, like I'll just be honest, it sold very easily at that price point, okay, but now that, I mean, just especially in the photography education space like that, would be extremely high and it would be a lot, lot tougher of a sale. So that course has been changed and flipped around. We're actually about to split that course up now, but so now it's brought back down to 549 Yeah. And then that's where most my signature courses are priced at 549 and it was a lot of experimenting of what worked and what how I could, you know, we're always looking at, okay, can we split up courses to, you know, break them into two different ones and things like that. But that's it. Did take time to land there, and definitely started in a totally different place than it
Shanna Skidmore:is now. Did you have like mentors in the course space, or have you just been charting your own path, figuring it out? Yep, that's exactly
Katie Lamb:because, since I started so much earlier, there was, I didn't know, what if there was something. Out there to help me that I totally missed it. Yes, I didn't see it at the time. Yeah. So I definitely was figuring it out as I went 100% yes. And then now it's, you know, you're involved with so many communities and things like that, that in the course world that are helpful and just experience and yeah, and then I had, I hired, I have someone that works with me now with the course side of things, who brought in. That was a huge shift. That was about two years ago, just because her mind is very, very different than mine, and the value that that has brought in, and the ideas it's brought in. So that's actually been a huge impact on the education and the courses, as well as just having another brain that's not mine, yeah,
Shanna Skidmore:on your team, yes. How did you find this person? What were you looking for?
Katie Lamb:So that was the thing. I wasn't looking because I if I was looking, I couldn't find someone of what I wanted. I feel like the Lord truly brought her. She actually came up from out of state for a mentor session years before, and then we just hit it off. And I was like, I just love your heart. And it was just her as a person. And then we ended up moving. Both of us moved to Dallas at the same time, yeah. And I was like, she wasn't, she was a photographer, but she wasn't, like, that's really not what she wanted to be doing anymore. And she just provided so much value in the way we lay out courses, in the way we actually teach and communicate like communications like her thing. Words are her thing, and just loving and serving others like her heart so big that it the value. Our values very, very much aligned in that way that we could still provide the education that I wanted and represented my brand, and we could do it together, which was great. I
Shanna Skidmore:love this so much. I have a client who has teacin twine. It's a gift boxing, yes, yes. Okay, have you heard it? Yes, beautiful, yes. And she came and spoke at an event we did on hiring, and that's exactly she kind of talked about, you know, when you talk about hiring, a lot of people hire to the skill. You know, we hear, if you want, I don't know what the saying is like, if you want somebody to climb a tree, hire a squirrel, not a horse or something like that. Yes. But she actually, she actually talked about, like, hiring people you just enjoy working with, yes, for for jobs that can be trained, basically. So it's that's so interesting that you said that, because that's something I have learned in my business as well. Like just finding people who enjoy working with that align with you and your heart and the mission that you have. Like, it's just made such a difference when I know so many of us are like solopreneurs, you know, it's all in our brain. We're doing it ourselves. This is our 11th official year in business, and I'm like, it's just so helpful to stay on mission. Yes, when you have someone else who's in on the mission, yes,
Katie Lamb:exactly. Oh, 100% agree. I love that.
Shanna Skidmore:This is so good. Okay, Katie, thank you for sharing your story and just your heart and the way your business is grown. And I feel like I just want to dig in and talk on so many other topics. But I know I jumped around a lot because I'm just, I'm curious of your story, and it's been, it's been neat to get to know you. I want to wrap up with just a fun, quick fire. Okay, okay, I don't know if you've read these, okay, some people, okay, what is one thing you would be embarrassed if people knew
Katie Lamb:there's probably a million things I should be embarrassed about, but I don't get embarrassed easily. But I thought of one, like my big, biggest embarrassing moment ever, but it was a turning point for my business. So it was relatable, but before, like, the year I started my business, I was like, Oh, I'm gonna, maybe I'll be a teacher while I try to start my business. And so I showed up for this teacher interview with, like, the principal and two teachers. And I live in Texas, it's a million degrees, and so I'm driving there, and I was nervous too, so I shove, like, huge paper towels in my armpit, just to so, you know, you don't want armpits sweat on your interview, right? Well, I do the interview and I'm like, I'm killing it, but I'm like, something's up. Why are these people just staring at me? Weird? I go out to my car and, like, they're laughing when I'm leaving. And I was like, What is going on? I go out to my car and and it's like a flower blossom of paper towels out of my armpits. It wasn't just like one little paper towel, it was like 20 in each armpit just sticking out of my shirt.
Shanna Skidmore:You forgot to take them
Katie Lamb:out. I didn't take them out. I went to a job interview like that, but it was driving home. I was so mortified. But I was on the phone with my then fiance, dying laughing, and I was like, I am not meant to do this. I am not meant to work for someone else. And so that it was driving home that drive, I was like, I'm all in. I'm gonna start my business. And it was that. So it was, like, this super embarrassing moment, but also it was a true turning point in my life,
Shanna Skidmore:because did you have entrepreneurs in your family or, I mean, it sounds like you didn't like. Similar to me, like I never thought I would own my own business. That was not like my trajectory, but like this moment was like, Okay, you're gonna work for yourself. You're gonna do
Katie Lamb:it. My dad was just really encouraging. He always did. He always a million things. Like he had his his career, but then he was always investing and doing all this other stuff, but he was the one I feel like that just always encouraged me to make something of it, you know, yeah, and thankfully, because, I mean, I got an art degree from a private school, yeah, my poor parents, and so I'm glad I ended up using it. Yeah,
Shanna Skidmore:I love it. Okay, any regrets or wish you could do over moments
Katie Lamb:I wish. I mean, I guess I couldn't say I wish it, because it may have not aligned to be who it is now, but having someone work with me, it did just bring so much value and insight into my business that I would have loved for that to happen many years before.
Shanna Skidmore:Yeah, would you for anyone listen? Would you like for people listening? What would you say hiring your first what would you say? I got this right. What did you do well? And then what is something maybe you learned in the process you would do differently, just for those listening, little nugget of hiring wisdom
Katie Lamb:communication like one, we had very open communication from the very beginning of how can I do this better? Or how can we work better together? Or even, I mean, everything was an open book on the table, yeah. So to me, that was huge, so that we knew going into this, like we are our hearts are on the same page, like what we want to represent are on the same page. So that was really beneficial. And then the another thing with that, like advice, is, like, kind of we talked about, like, it's harder to go out searching for someone. Like, finding don't rush the process. Find the right especially if they're gonna have a huge hand inside your business. Find the right person. I think that's the most important thing, and then something I wish we'd have done better. I feel like, honestly, she's a better person than I am. So I feel like she is just always doing so things so well, and our communications really great, like we haven't run into any hiccups yet. It's only been two years, you know. So it may come up. Something may come up eventually, your
Shanna Skidmore:kid, you got, you got your team right there. I love it. Something I would say is we did three to four interviews with team members that we get similarly to what you said, like finding the right person, taking it slow. That was something that really was helpful. You know, my first couple of VAs weren't like that, of course, yeah, but they could have been, you know, they could have been. I could have really spent time getting to know that person. I think that's been something that's been helpful, especially the more involved somebody is going to be in your business. So, yes, just really getting to know them. Okay, I love it. Next, quick fire. What is a big win? Or pinch me moment.
Katie Lamb:I feel like this may be sound lame, but out of all my big wins and people I've met or photographed or places I've gone, honestly, it's working for myself and just the freedom it brings and brought to our family, able to do something I love, but prioritize my my family and just I'm never missing a single thing of my kids. I'm never missing a game at practice. And it's easy to take that for granted, especially for someone like me who's never known any different. I've never worked in the corporate world world, but yeah, it's just truly been such a gift and blessing to me that it I feel like a lot of times, that's my pinch me moment of this is, this is really what I get to do, yeah? Oh, Katie, I
Shanna Skidmore:love that. That's how we did it, right? Like, that's why we do that exactly. That's what it's all about. I wrote that down. Do something you love, but also prioritize your family. I love it, okay, best advice, or just really good advice that you have received,
Katie Lamb:it is a quote that says, most important, the most important work you will ever do is within the walls of your own home. And at that I'm in any year, I'm three, so naturally, I love to work. I love achieving, but just that's something that a quote goes through my head all the time and just helps me keep things in perspective. Yes,
Shanna Skidmore:yes, especially as an achiever, yeah, you're probably like, I see that I could do this and make more money. I see that I could walk on that stage or get this person on, you know, yes, yes. Keeping it in perspective. Okay, last quick part question, and then we'll send it off. What are you working on now? Or one resource you would love to share?
Katie Lamb:My most popular signature course is my creating Session Videos course. So if you're a photographer looking to add video into your business, to be able to shoot video while you're shooting your photos and increase your profit and really stand out from the crowd. That course teaches you everything you need to know. Oh,
Shanna Skidmore:I love it. Okay, we will definitely add that into the promo or into the show notes.
Katie Lamb:Thank you, Katie,
Shanna Skidmore:thanks for coming on. Let's send it off. Looking back to your life before graduating Baylor University, before getting married, I. When you're about to bark on this brand new journey, what would you tell yourself on day one driving away from your job, job interview with towels in your armpits? What would you say 16 years looking back,
Katie Lamb:I would say every opportunity or win or setback or mistakes or paper towels in your armpits is an opportunity to learn and but you have to be intentional about reflecting on seasons and how how you can grow for them. Yeah,
Shanna Skidmore:yeah. I love it. Katie, this has been a joy. Thank you for sharing your story and more of your life and your mission and your calling, and it's just been so fun to get to know you. I
Katie Lamb:think thank you so much for having me.
Lauren / Team Skidmore:Hey, Wildflower. You just finished another episode of consider the wildflowers the podcast. Head over to consider the wildflowers podcast.com. For show notes, resource links and to learn how you can connect with Katie. And while we're at it, would you mind grabbing your phone and leaving us a review? Your reviews essentially keep the lights on for us and mean the world, not to mention they're so fun to read. One final thought for today from Bob Goff, we won't be distracted by comparison if we're captivated by purpose as always. Thank you guys for listening. We'll see you next time.
Shanna Skidmore:Consider the wildflowers podcast is produced and edited in partnership with the team at Palm Tree podco. Special thanks to our producers, Anthony Palmer, our audio mixologist of palm tree podco, and Lauren from Team Skidmore, without whom this podcast would never reach your earbuds each week.
