What's Your Secret? Conversations with Real Photographers, Designers, & Entrepreneurs

Kel and Mel have a unique take on photographing couples! They shoot almost exclusively anniversary photos: one...two...or even ten years into marriage. The lovebirds have been married for 14 years and are dedicated to supporting ongoing affection, care, and time for both their own relationship as well as the couples they photograph. Tune in to hear about their beautifully curated online shop, their "I Still Do" Project, and why it's important to continue documenting for years beyond the wedding day. 

Chris is an extraordinary entrepreneur who seems to be able to create money out of nothing. He is a photographer, musician, Facebook ads guru, fantastic networker, mentor, and great dad/husband/man. Listen in as he talks about what might be next for him as he leaves behind everything he knows.

Joelle Lurie, or JoJo, as she's known in her band, is a tiny fireball of singing in New York City! After quitting her day job just a year ago and doing singing/performing full time in and around New York City, JoJo has moved into her own fantastic apartment in Brooklyn, contracted a huge job with the city working with kids, produced two albums, and is moving onward and upward! Listen on to hear how she did it.

Welcome to the very first episode of 2017! Listen in on this conversation with Phil and I as we reflect back on 2016 and our hopes for 2017. We talk a little bit about personal resolutions, then dive right into what we are proud of with La Rousse Shoppe and business goals for the coming year.

Anne-Marie is Southern California based blogger, designer, and entrepreneur. Her blog, Anne-Marie Loves, has been live for 10 years and has evolved from a mostly scrapbooking-centered creative outlet to one that encompasses motherhood, DIY projects, cooking, decorating, and photography. We talk about tips on staying consistent with long-term blogging, utilizing passive income topics like e-courses, monetizing her blog through sponsored posts, and turning 30!   

Kat Krafel is owner and designer and Boss Lady for Veiled Beauty, an Etsy shop specializing in wedding veils. She has watched her business grow slowly and steadily over the past 8 years and then explode in the past year. Listen in to find out what her secret was to the huge growth and what she has got in store for the future.

On today’s show we have Torrance, the creator of Teak & Twine, a website that sells curated gift sets for occasions like weddings, birthdays, and holidays. Torrance also works with photographers to customize packages for their brand, and they make lovely welcome gifts for clients. She has an amazing eye for curating and assembling packages with goodies like handmade soaps, candles, tea, and lots of chocolate.  

Marianne Cantwell is a long-time friend of Phil's, and a phenomenal online entrepreneur. Not sure what that means? Go check out her website free-range-humans.com or read her book, How to Be a Free Range Human. She coaches people on how to start new businesses that they are passionate about, and she has been known to travel everywhere around the world while successfully running a 6-figure business. In this episode we talk about what it means to really give yourself the life that you want as an entrepreneur, and not just jump from one career cage to another.

This week's episode is a little different than our past episodes in that I had the pleasure of interviewing not one, but two photographers! Kayla and Gregory are both film wedding photographers who specialize in fine art photography. I wanted to gain two different perspectives on what it means to be a fine art photographer, so I asked each of them the following: How did you know you wanted to be a fine art photographer? What does fine art photography mean to you? Tips for people wanting to get started in fine art photography.

Emily Merrell is a fantastic New Yorker who quit her corporate job to pursue her dreams and run her own networking company. She is queen of connecting people and has a big, big heart. If you ever meet Emily and tell her what you are into, she will be sure to immediately make an email introduction for you to someone else important in your area of interest. Listen on and hear how Emily did it all, and what her big dreams are next.

On today's show we have Brooke Borough, a Southern California wedding photographer. Brooke receives about 50% of her wedding inquiries from...believe it or not...Instagram! We discuss how she's built up her following, her take on hashtags, and what her first interactions with clients look like. Brooke is maxed out on the number of weddings she books in a year, and has reduced her numbers from 2015 because she felt overbooked! Listen in to see how she does it.

DJ Brian B resides in New York, NY and is being booked and performing for every event imaginable all over the United States. He continues to keep his finger on the pulse of the latest musical trends – creating his own custom mixes, DJ’ing both private and public events, and now offering production services. With an infectious laugh and a zest for life (and not a lot of sleep while jet-setting around the country), DJ Brian B is a favorite with everyone from party goers to event planners to club owners.

Aaron Janx is a entrepreneur, mentor, investor, author, speaker, and host of the podcast The Aaron Janx Show. In this episode, we discuss what to say when you get a client on the phone and four specific steps for turning a lead into a paid customer - this was great advice for someone like me who is definitely more comfortable with email! Aaron and I even delve a little bit into earning passive income through real estate.

Boris is an exceptional partner when you are looking to buy or sell property, and is highly passionate about his work. Client after client praises his "unbelievable knowledge," "first-class negotiating skills," and expertise as an "inside man" in a market that can often be quite challenging. Whether you are a seller, buyer, lessee or lessor, he seeks to build strong, lasting relationships with every client he represents, to set their mind at ease and ensure the results they deserve. 

Diane Villadsen is a fashion and portrait photographer based out of the Bay Area. But she is oh so much more than that! In this episode, we talk about curating her Instagram feed to fit her "nature, eco-friendly" style, how she turned an idea for an iPhone app into reality, and her master plan for earning passive income through youtube tutorials and sharing her knowledge with other photographers.

Jessica Rea helps women entrepreneurs build their brand and business online. She's got a kickass boxer dog named Sampson. You can find her at jessicarea.me (go here for a must have tools guide) and ladypreneurcommunity.com (a fantastic community of boss ladies who are paving their own entrepreneurial way). 

Kate Noelle is a lifestyle and wedding photographer based out of Southern California. She has been shooting weddings for 8 years, but got into photography through an organization called Youth With A Mission. In this episode, we talk about Kate's website rebranding experience with Go Live HQ, and her special gift to mothers of the bride or groom. 

Ann Abel has been a travel writer and editor for 14 years, including several as a senior editor at ForbesLife. She has written about more than 450 luxury destinations and hotels in 77 countries. She has been published in Forbes, Departures, Conde Nast Traveller, Robb Report, Afar, National Geographic Traveler, Islands, Hemispheres, Modern Bride, and many other print and online publications.

Claudia Moriel of Style at Work brings professional salon services such as manicures, brow shaping, and hair blowouts to workplaces around Boston. She's been in the beauty industry for over 20 years! Learn how her struggles with work life balance helped shaped her idea for Style at Work and her plans for expansion. (Think beauty trucks and lots of them).

Lear Miller is a rocking young photographer based out of Phoenix, AZ who specializes in adventure wedding photography as well as lifestyle and commercial work. If you're not sure what adventure wedding photography is, take a look at his website www.learmillerphoto.com and discover the wonder that is Lear Miller.   Listen in as Lear talks about his transition from professional downhill mountain biker to professional photographer, and how he stands apart in the wedding industry.

Let's welcome Joanna Waterfall, founder and creator of the yellowconference.com, to What's Your Secret! The Yellow Conference is designed for a community for all different types of women entrepreneurs who "desire to ignite passion and bring goodness to the world through everyday living." She is expecting 500 conference attendees this year!  Joanna and I talk about how she has created this community, how male and female entrepreneurs differ, and some logistics behind setting up the conference  like deciding how much to charge for such an event and how she gathered an amazing and inspiring panel of speakers.

Briana Cavion is a life coach, who does a special kind of coaching that involves reprogramming your brain from the inside out. She is a whole life NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) coach practitioner, where she works with an alternative form of therapy that works with the subconscious part of the mind. Sound interesting? It is! Hear about her morning routine, how she overcame personal struggles, and her process for working with her therapy clients.

Jeremy Redleaf is a filmmaker, director, writer, entrepreneur, and soon to be husband. Listen in as he describes making his first feature length film, how he got celebrities to make appearances, what it's like to create a film on a budget, how he successfully used Kickstarter, and what he would name his next baby.

On today’s show we have Katherine from Katherine Henry Boudoir. Katherine has set up her studio with in person sales: a business model that sells each image or a small collection of images individually and the client views their images in person sometime after the actual shoot takes place. In contrast, what a lot of photographers do is charge a flat rate, shoot the session, and the images from the session are included.  We talk about the benefits of doing in person sales for your photography studio (there are more advantages than just bringing in more money) and answer common questions and resistance points that photographers have about in person sales.

Listen in on how Kristy Ellis, originally from Australia, bought a one-way ticket to South America and ended up never going back. Phil and Kristy talk about being passionate on life and why being optimistic is the only way to be. Learn how Kristy started a Cartagena Connections - a tour guide company in Cartagena, Colombia where participants can "get shortcuts on becoming a local." The interview wraps up with talking about how entrepreneurs can create systems to remove themselves from the equation and have freedom to travel and expand their business in other ways.

In this shorter episode, Phil and I are talking about how we successfully started a business selling glass boxes online and generated $70,000 in sales our very first year (in about 9 months).  Our goal is to help you get past the IDEA STAGE into the DOING STAGE. If you don't have any ideas, there will be a whole section dedicated to finding your first side business idea. By the end of the retreat you'll have all the pieces you need to start earning money while you sleep, and earn back the price of the retreat in a few months. JUNE 26-28, 2016 in SAN FRANCISCO.  

Listen in to hear how my friend Joe Bunting took his wife and baby boy to Paris for a few months to write a book in a cafe. Joe is a published author, ghost writer, and founder of the Write Practice and Becoming Writer. Joe runs The Write Practice, a community website for writers and authors to hone their skills in a creative environment. The website boasted 3 million unique visitors in 2015 and are looking to double that for 2016.  He has a special website dedicated to people serious about finished their first novel called Becoming Writer and accepts a limited number of writers each year. 

Sean Malarkey is the co-founder of Inspired Marketing, a publishing company that provides online training for business owners to learn about social media, marketing, and growing their brand. He also thrives on passion projects like this skateboard inspired swing creation and his The Money Pillow podcast, where he interviews very successful entrepreneurs on how they create passive income while they sleep and play. In this episode we talk about how Tony Hawk got his hands on Sean's Sk8Swing invention and explore such questions as, "Can anyone become an entrepreneur, or is it specific to a certain group of people?" and "Is the secret to success being a workaholic?"

Pye Jirsa is an incredible man who in seven short years has gone from CPA to creating a photo empire that has over 100 people under his supervision at the wedding photography studio Lin & Jirsa. He is the founder and partner of the popular educational platform SLR Lounge and has taught numerous classes on CreativeLive, including Working with Flash and Incredible Engagement Photography.

Abbey Kyhl is a wedding photographer and educator from Salt Lake City, Utah. Her area of expertise is creating top-notch customer service for her clients- so that they not only come back for more, but tell all their family and friends about their amazing experience. She manages to work only 24 hours a week while generating a 6-figure wedding business and also runs The AK Crew, a collection of killer resources for photographers!

This week we go treasure hunting with wedding and editorial photographer Callie Beale of Callie Beale Photography. Callie is a Southern Belle from Savannah, Georgia and has been shooting professionally for seven years now. Phil and Callie discuss how she "dream casts" on others and changes lives, and her passion for finding amazing artifacts from the past that will absolutely inspire you (especially for lovers of romance). 

Kyla Ewert is a family and children's photographer based out of BC, Canada. The images she creates of her own kids and others' children have a bit of magic in them. It's a combination of the light, texture, and her decision to capture images in unique and interesting ways. She recently released an e-learning product, Images from the Heart: Composing a Love Letter to your Children through Photographs, available through the Clickin Moms store. In this episode, Kyla talks about what makes a captivating image and how she uses light to add interest and depth to her photos, her strategy for completing a 365 project, and the big shift that occurred when she started taking pictures for herself instead of for others.

This week we have Houston-based wedding and portrait photographer Candace Moore of MINERVA HOUSE on the show! You'll hear how Candace personalizes the glass heirloom boxes that she gifts to her clients, the inspiration behind the name MINERVA HOUSE, and why she recommends getting a custom logo.

Rachel-Marie Iwanyszyn is the creator of Jag Lever, a fashion blog influenced by her love of nature. Growing up in Michigan and now residing in Brooklyn, Rachel-Marie brings a bit of that midwestern country girl to the bustle of the city. She has grown her Instagram following to more than 230,000 followers through consistent posting (she aims for 3 times per day) and an unmistakable "Jag Lever" style. Think hats. And layers. And plaid. 

This week on What's Your Secret, we have the lovely Emily Reiter of Anna Delores Photography. Emily is a wedding photographer based out of Ventura County, California who has been making impressive progress in the photography world since starting her business just under 5 years ago. Though there is a lot I could have talked to her about, we focused primarily on her advice for putting on styled wedding shoots and collaborating with vendors in the industry. Her list of published features ranges from Style Me Pretty to Pottery Barn to Darling Magazine.

Phil Van Nostrand is a wedding, commercial, and portrait photographer based out of Brooklyn, NY. In this episode, we talk about three ways he separates himself from all the other wedding photographers out there - including his slogan as "The Curliest Photographer You Know", the infamous camera toss, and pulling off a same-day wedding slideshow.  

Katie Doherty quit her job as an elementary school teacher and transitioned into life as a photographer and founder of La Rousse Shoppe. In this episode you'll learn how La Rousse Shoppe was built from scratch in December of 2014, including details on the platform we use to host our online store and where we source our products. Katie and Phil also discuss her secret for success and where she finds her biggest inspiration.

An under five-minute introduction by Katie of what you can expect from What's Your Secret.