Peter: What's going on, everyone? Peter here, and we're back today with another awesome client. I'm joined by Megan Cook of Megan LaChance Photography. Megan has been with us for almost two years. She has an awesome story, she's done a lot over those two years, and I know she has a lot to offer our audience. For anyone who doesn't know you yet, give us a quick intro and a little of your background.

Megan: My name's Megan. I started out as a nanny before I ever did photography. I was a professional nanny for about 10 years, and I knew I didn't want to keep doing it, because my husband and I wanted a break from children before we started trying for our own. Then COVID hit in March 2020, and I lost my nanny job. My husband, who was my boyfriend at the time, said, "Just try photography a little and see how it goes." I had no income. I was on unemployment, so I had the freedom to dive in and do some research. I started my business, began making connections with other vendors, and it grew from there. I did a lot of associate work and second shooting for other people.

Because COVID had thrown the industry into chaos, everyone's weddings had to be pushed to the following year, and photographers were already booked for those dates. That really helped me get weddings. Couples were kind of desperate at that point and willing to hire anyone, even a beginner. That's how I got started.

Megan: My first year, I had 18 weddings, and it was great. I thought, "Oh my god, this is so easy." It all just came to me, and I didn't have to work very hard for it. The next year, I got slapped in the face with the reality that it takes more work than that. I didn't have many people coming in, so I was kind of desperate, and I reached out to you to help me get my foot in the door with ads and get established as a business. Us creatives can be great at taking pictures, but the business side? No.

Peter: It's interesting to go back to 2021. There was so much pent-up demand from all the reschedules, and I feel like we're seeing some of that today too. Everyone was booked out in 2021 and even into 2022, and a lot of people started businesses then. We met in November 2022. Do you remember where your revenue was at that time?

Megan: I was barely bringing in $50K a year.

Peter: And last year, your total sales were about $150K.

Megan: Yep, about that.

Peter: When I shared this in the group, the headline was that you did $70,000 in sales over the last two months and collected $64,000.

Megan: Over the last three months or so, yes.

Peter: A lot of people are struggling to book at all right now. So what happened over the last couple of months?

Megan: I think it was a mix of things, including SEO. Ever since I started with you, we've worked on building the ads and getting my name out there, and I feel like this year it finally caught up with how hard I worked last year. I was booking people last year and putting some of them on payment plans. On top of that, I've definitely had more people coming to my website. Every month is so different when you own a business. It ebbs and flows, so part of me was like, "I don't know what's happening." I think it was June or July when I did over $30K, and I thought, "My god, this is crazy." I just kept getting yes after yes after yes. I don't want people to think that happens all the time, because it doesn't. But it was crazy.

Peter: It was a combination of things. I was looking at your stats back in July, when you just kept booking. Over the last two years, we've served hundreds of thousands of impressions in your market. For people listening, that means hundreds of thousands of people have seen Megan's business name in their Instagram feed over the last two years. Some of them fill out a form and we contact them, but a percentage also just follow you directly, or see your ad, Google you, and go to your website. You create this web of ways for people to find you. You saw results with us really quickly, back in November and into early 2023, but where you are today is the compounding effect of marketing consistently for years.

Megan: It takes a long time to build those blocks, so you have to stick it out. But once you get to the other side of the fence, it's nice to look back at all of it.

Peter: What are some other milestones you've celebrated recently? I know it's been a big year.

Megan: My husband and I got married in October of last year, and we paid for our wedding completely ourselves, which was a really big deal for us. It wasn't a cheap wedding. We didn't skimp, we had the things we wanted, and it was really great to fund that through my business. Right after that, we started thinking about the housing market. It's obviously really crazy right now, so we didn't get our hopes up. We were just looking at houses for fun, and we came across the house we have now and ended up buying it. That was maybe six to eight months after our wedding. Owning a home was a really big goal for us, and when I met you, I didn't think it would be possible for at least five years. We're also planning to get a golden retriever this December, which I've wanted since I was a child.

And I just booked a wedding in Ireland. I've had a bucket list of places I want to shoot, and I figured the only way I'd ever get to shoot there was to do a wedding for free and have the couple just cover my travel, because that's what everyone does. But this couple paid me $8,000 to go to Ireland and shoot their wedding. That was a really big goal of mine too. The wedding is in April 2026.

Peter: And they found you through an ad on Instagram?

Megan: Yes. They live somewhere in Massachusetts. The last time we met, we talked about which towns to target with my ads. I'm constantly changing them to see which towns work better, and with this last round, for some reason I'm getting so many inquiries from Rhode Island and Cape Cod. It's hitting exactly the spots I wanted.

Peter: That's huge. Couples booking destination weddings live in your towns and cities. You just have to get in front of more people.

Peter: It's so cool to do this almost two years later and see how many of the things we talked about back then have come true. I remember when you guys weren't married yet and you said, "I want to buy a house, and I want to shoot destination weddings," and now it's all happening. That's a testament to you, because we've worked really closely, and I know it hasn't always been easy. There have been challenges, ups and downs.

Megan: There was a time I was on Zoom with you crying my eyes out, so that was awkward. But to put it completely out there, once I started looking at my mental health and taking care of that side of things, it opened things up for me and my business. I started seeing my therapist again, and I fully support therapy for anyone who needs help. Things have been a lot better, and I've been able to manage everything. I didn't realize until I talked to you about it how much it affects the business side.

Peter: There's a great quote: we don't have business problems, we have personal problems that show up in our business. When business is struggling, we always look at the business. Sometimes that's right. There are people watching this who just aren't getting enough inquiries, and they need to fix that and learn how to sell. But often, once you have that in place, the problem you think is in the business is actually something else. You were in a rut where no one was booking and you were stressed, and once you sorted out the mental side, all of a sudden you started booking a lot of people again.

Megan: I got overwhelmed very easily. Anyone who runs a business and has ADHD will understand how challenging it is. I didn't have much interest in the business side to begin with, and on top of that I was dealing with the neurodivergence of ADHD. But figuring out that piece has really helped me stay organized and on top of gallery delivery times, which was huge, especially while I was planning a wedding. With ADHD, we're always looking for that dopamine hit, and I've found that getting galleries to people and seeing their reactions really helps me. It's definitely helped me stay organized, especially now that my associate is doing about eight weddings for me this year. I have about 40 weddings total that I'm shooting and editing.

Peter: What are your total sales for this year so far?

Megan: Around $137,000.

Peter: Congratulations. That's amazing. Best year yet. At the time of this recording, it's August 29th, so we still have September through December, plus engagement season. You have a lot of momentum, and we're hitting the cities where you feel your people are. I think you'll do over $150K. You don't grow from $50K to $150K in 12 months and then keep going unless certain things are in place. What would you say has made that possible?

Megan: Definitely getting my mental health in check. The ads, for sure: changing them around and reconfiguring them every time I meet with you. If something doesn't work, I don't stick with it. I try something new. Also reaching out to more of the people who come in from the ads, because that was something I really struggled with. The more people you talk to and connect with, the more likely you are to book someone. So I try to keep up those connections and make everyone feel heard. It's a combination of things, plus staying on top of gallery delivery times so I don't get overwhelmed.

Peter: Let's talk about selling your associate. Say someone watching, whether they're a client or not yet, wants to book weddings for their associate but doesn't know how. Do they need to change their website? What do they say? Can you walk us through how you did it at a high level?

Megan: I'm still refining what I say, and my system isn't 100% set yet. But even if I'm booked for a couple's date, I start the conversation normally: "Hello, how are you doing?" and I learn about them. Then I say, "In full transparency, I'm not free on your date. But if you're set on having my style and still working with me, I can still do your engagement session and have my associate shoot the day. There's a bit of a discount involved with that." Some people don't offer discounts with their associates, but I do. A lot of the time, people say, "Yes, I'm interested in hearing more," so I send them a little blurb about the call and talk more about what that experience would look like. I only have about eight associate weddings this year, so sometimes people say no.

I don't have anything on my website yet. I did a photoshoot with her and wanted to post about it, but I don't know yet whether she'll stay with me next year, and I haven't had her sign anything, so I didn't want to build a whole section around her. I also keep a list of other people I can contact. So it's really about getting the couple interested in you first, and then shifting to "I'm not free, but I have my associate." I won't spend the whole call talking with them and then, right when they're ready to book, say, "Great, my associate will be with you." I'm transparent from the start, and people really appreciate that. If you sell it right, it doesn't scare them away at all.

Peter: So you're telling them how awesome your associate is. You're booked for that date, but she's incredible, and when you work with the team, you're still working with Megan. It's the same company and the same edit. Do you do the editing?

Megan: Yes. I saw her work last year, and we meet beforehand. I'll show her some galleries and say, "This is what the couple is looking for. Try to get a couple of shots like these, mixed with your own style." Every couple who books with my associate wants to see galleries she's shot before, which is part of building trust with an associate. So I show them galleries of her work, and they can see her style ahead of time. I have to tell them, "It's not my editing on these galleries, just look at the work." After this year, I'll have her galleries with my edits to show next year's couples.

Peter: Why do you think people go for it?

Megan: I think it's how I convey it to them, and my excitement about it. It's hard to explain. People like the personal side of it: talking with them, relating to them, answering their concerns, and letting them talk. It all comes together. Sometimes it doesn't work out no matter what you do. Not everyone will be into it, but that's the same when you're booking people for yourself.

Peter: This is great, because for a lot of solo photographers, booking even five associate weddings a year on dates they're already booked would be life-changing. What's your associate's name?

Megan: Nicole.

Peter: Do you think Nicole's awesome? Do you think her work is really good?

Megan: I love Nicole.

Peter: I think the biggest hack for selling associates that I've seen from clients is being genuinely excited about the person and believing it's really good for your client to work with them. Couples feed off that, because you're certain, so they trust you and go with it. You find someone you're confident in, and you're transparent: "I'm booked for your date, but Nicole on our team is amazing. I work super closely with her, and she second shoots with me all the time."

Megan: For associate weddings, I give a $1,000 discount. Either way, it's still extra money in Nicole's pocket and in mine. I don't really care about the $1,000 difference if that's what it takes to book people. A lot of couples are price-conscious right now because of how the world is. Weddings are a luxury experience no matter what, and people don't realize that until they start contacting vendors and think, "Holy crap, this is a lot of money." So saying, "You get a $1,000 discount too," really helps.

Peter: From a positioning standpoint, that's actually really beneficial for you. You're making an irresistible offer to the couple: "We're still working with Megan, and we're saving money." But it also positions you as the one they pay more for. People start to understand that if they want Megan herself, they'll pay more, and that helps you raise your prices over time.

Megan: Another thing that makes an associate successful is working on yourself and your business first. Get your sales process and lead funnel down. Once you've mastered that for yourself, you can introduce the next steps without biting off more than you can chew. Going step by step and working on myself before bringing someone else in has been really beneficial for me. Eventually, I plan to team up with a videographer and offer a package bundle, so that's in the works.

Peter: Early on, you have to solve cold traffic. You have to be able to take people from cold to sold. Otherwise, you'll always rely on your network and referrals. A lot of business owners are struggling right now because they rely so heavily on referrals. Even really successful studio owners tell me, "It's down this year, and I don't know what's going on. We're on all these preferred vendor lists." And yet your business is growing, because you're not relying on that one channel.

Peter: Where were you with sales when we first met?

Megan: I was horrible. My first few calls with couples, before I even started doing Zoom, were very cringey. My friend Hannah, who referred me to you, showed me what worked for her: type out what you're going to say, if that helps you. Work out how you'd talk to someone and the steps you'd go through. Start the call with "Hey, how are you?" Then ask about them: how they met, how they got engaged, what questions and concerns they have, and what they're looking for in photography, and address those. It also helps to lay out how the call will go at the start. People really like it when you direct the moment. Once I fine-tuned my script and it worked, I went about it the same way with every client, and now it's second nature. I can take a call in my car hours away and be fine. At the beginning, I had to be at my desk in the same spot for every call.

Peter: When you advertise on Instagram, you're talking to people who don't know you, and a lot of the time they don't know anything about weddings yet. You could be the first vendor they talk to.

Megan: With the ads, we are the first people they talk to. They say, "I don't even have my date or my venue. I don't know what I'm doing. Help me."

Peter: Exactly, and you get to shape the whole experience. But there's a certain amount of rejection. You talk to a lot of people and hear a lot of no's, and that can psych people out. You've been very successful with it, so how do you manage that?

Megan: I have my cry sessions. Don't keep it pent up. Honestly, when you bring in your own clients and you're in control of that, the ups and downs can really get to you. Sometimes I have to step away and collect myself. My husband is really great. He'll say, "Stop talking about yourself like that. You're doing great." It helps to have a supportive environment around you. You don't necessarily need a partner, but work on positive affirmations for yourself, because this happens to all of us. You're not alone. It happens to me too. I have really great months, and then I have poor months. You just have to crawl out of that hole. If you need to put positive affirmations all around your computer and on your wall, do it.

Peter: One mantra I find really helpful is "chop wood, carry water." The idea is that I'm not in the results business. All I do is show up and do the process, and if I do the process, the results take care of themselves. It's so easy to focus on outcomes and get in your head: "The last five haven't closed. Is anyone ever going to book me again? Does my work suck? Do I need to lower my prices?" Then the next month, you collect $30,000 and wonder what happened. That's just how it goes sometimes. If you're a client struggling with that, it's normal. Keep going. If it's happening to you, it means you're on the right path.

Peter: You were at $50K when we started, did $150K last year, and you're on track for $200K this year. If you were talking to someone in the situation you were in a couple of years ago, who wants to be where you are now, what three pieces of advice would you give them?

Megan: That's hard. One of the biggest is looking inside yourself and working on your mental health, if that's what you're struggling with. Address the negative self-talk and find ways to help yourself with it. That was a big one for me, because I have a lot of negative self-talk, and working on it helped me a lot.

Another is to take it step by step. Look at things piece by piece, not the big picture, because it's very easy to get overwhelmed by everything we have to do every day. If you need help with editing, start looking into that. If you need an assistant to manage more of the calls from the ads, look into hiring someone. A more conservative, step-by-step approach has kept me from taking on more than I can handle and falling back into the negative space I worked so hard to climb out of.

And get a good organization system and workflow that works for you, from sales all the way to delivering the gallery. Everyone's a little different. If something isn't working, change it. Give it time, obviously, but if you need to change something, change it. It doesn't hurt.

Peter: The mental health piece comes down to honest introspection: turning it back on yourself and asking, "Where am I off, and how do I need to adjust?" For one person, that might be "I need to stop beating myself up." For someone else, it might be "I need to take more responsibility for my life." It doesn't get talked about enough. I saw that happen with you in real time. You were going through some stuff on that call, and a couple of months later, everything changed. I don't think that's a coincidence at all.