This week’s solo episode is coming to you on International Podcast Day, which feels fitting, because four episodes from podcasts I guested on over the summer all landed within days of each other last week. And with that came the familiar, uneasy feeling: people are going to be sick of me.
So I wanted to talk honestly about those four very different conversations, the stories my brain still tells me about taking up too much space, and the genuinely ironic realisation that even though I teach photographers a sales strategy, marketing myself still feels stretchy in a way that chatting about motherhood never does.
Key Reflections:
- A quick tour of the four podcasts, Liz Mosley’s Building Your Brand on the rebrand process, a podcast swap with Amanda Reidy on matrescence and identity, A Thought I Kept with Claire Fitzsimmons and The Lifted Lens with fellow photographer Sophie Bowdler on In-person Sales
- Why the same old story about being too much still shows up, even after a year of practising taking up space on this podcast
- The noticeable difference in how it feels to talk about motherhood, where I am happy to chat for days and consider myself the ultimate authority on my own experience, versus talking about what I actually sell
- The irony of teaching in-person sales, a strategy I have refined through years of mistakes and genuinely believe in, while still finding it harder to position myself as an authority than almost anything else
- Why in-person sales does not feel like selling to me, it feels like chatting, guiding and giving clients exactly what they have already said they want, much like asking a waiter to recommend a wine
- The reminder that being sold to, when done well, is a genuinely positive experience, and why photographers so often assume a passive digital gallery feels less salesy when actually it is simply passive
- Why I never set out to use this podcast as a typical top of funnel strategy, and why connecting with other women building businesses alongside raising children has turned out to be the whole point
- How the conversations on this podcast have shifted me from frantic impatience to genuine faith in the process, trusting that small, aligned actions will move me forward even when I cannot see the whole path
- The ongoing, honest acknowledgement that there is still work to do in every part of my business, and that neither I nor my business will ever be a finished product
Listen If You’re:
- Someone who finds it easier to talk about your lived experience than to market or sell what you actually offer
- A photographer or service provider who assumes selling in person is more awkward than a passive, automated delivery
- Curious about why guesting on podcasts can feel more exposing in some conversations than others
- A business owner still working out how to position yourself as an authority in a newer or less familiar part of your business
- Someone who needs the reminder that being sold to well is not manipulative, it is guidance, and there is nothing wrong with offering that
Favourite Takeaway for Mums in Business:
Being sold to can be a genuinely positive experience when it is done right. Whether it is a waiter recommending wine or a photographer guiding you towards the right print, good guidance is not something to be afraid of offering.
About the Host:
I’m Victoria Phipps – a Mum of two, analogue family photographer, charity co-founder, photography business educator, marketer and now podcaster! My career has wandered all over the place and is becoming a bit of a complex tapestry as I head into this middle phase of life, but I can honestly say I’ve loved every minute of it so far.
I was raised by a nurturing Mother and an entrepreneurial Father and have inherited traits from both, so the tension between ambition and motherhood is one I grapple with on a daily basis! I’m fascinated to hear the stories of other women on a similar path, who are striving to build thriving businesses whilst being present for their children. It’s a tough juggle, but I hope the conversations shared on this podcast help Mums in business feel less alone and inspired to keep going in pursuit of their dreams!
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Episode Transcript:
NOTE: This is the transcript from the original recording, rather than the edited episode so timings may vary.
Hello and welcome to this solo episode of the Mum Means Business podcast. I’m recording this on International Podcast Day. And the only reason I know it’s International Podcast Day is because I saw someone else posting about International Podcast Day. I feel like as a podcaster, I should have known that, but also what does it mean other than prompting people to post online about International Podcast Day? I have no idea and I should probably look into that.
Anyway, it’s timely because last week four episodes from amazing podcasts that I guess guested on.
Anyway, it’s timely because last week four episodes from amazing podcasts that I’d guested on over the summer coincidentally came out within a matter of days. And I got that familiar, uneasy feeling. People are going to be sick of me. They’re going to see all these clips of me rambling on about myself and think who the hell does she think she is? All right, love, take a break, et cetera.
All right, love, take a breath, et cetera. It’s crazy how my brain still takes every opportunity to bring that story to the fore, that I’m already too much. And actually, to draw any more attention to myself would be cruel to those around me who have, quite frankly, had enough, but also unsafe for me because I might be alienated for that too muchness. We all have our own versions of these deeply rooted and deeply unhelpful stories to unpack, don’t we?
But the fact is, I actually talked about very different things on each podcast. So I’ll give you a brief summary. I invited myself, literally invited myself onto Liz Mosley’s Building Your Brand podcast to talk about the rebrand she did as an umbrella under which my photography business and this podcast could sit alongside each other. I pitched this idea to Liz because I thought it might be fun to talk about the process and also share my insights into what it was like working with her.
which of course is not something she would ever dream of asking a client to do because she’s far too British. So I was pleased to suggest the idea, sing her praises and make her blush on her own podcast. Liz guested on this podcast way back in episode 31. And by this time we’d also worked together on the rebrands. So I knew it would be a really fun chin wag on all things branding and customer service. And it was.
The second one was perimenopause and motherhood, previously called Happy Thriving Mums, hosted by Amanda Reedy. And we had done a podcast swap. So her episode actually came out on Mummied’s Business last week too. She talked about all things perimenopause and I did a deep dive into matressins and my experience around identity and general discombobulation in early motherhood.
It was a lovely mom-to-mom chat that I hope might help someone else who’s perhaps in that early season of parenthood and navigating their own big recalibration in their work and family life. Next up was A Thought I Kept, hosted by Claire Fitzsimmons. And I absolutely love the concept of this podcast. She talks with each one of her guests about a thought that stuck with them and how it impacted their lives.
I won’t spoil it by telling you the thought I brought to the table, but I loved this conversation. Claire is so thoughtful in her questions and she really brings out the best in her guests.
Last but definitely not least was the Lifted Lens podcast hosted by fellow photographer Sophie Bowdler. Sophie and I have had a very similar journey in photography. We both started out shooting weddings, have moved on to family work, and now we’re creeping into the education space. She’s teaching photographers all about her mini-session framework, and I’m teaching them how to add value by implementing.
She’s teaching photographers all about her mini session framework and I’m teaching them how to add value by implementing in-person sales into their client experience. So that’s primarily what we talked about and it was only the second photography podcast I had ever guested on. So it was probably the conversation I felt most nervous about. I can talk for…
I can talk for days about motherhood and how we do or don’t manage to make it work alongside business building because I’m fascinated by other women’s experience whilst at the same time being the ultimate authority on my own. Also, these conversations aren’t leading to an ask or a sale. When I talk about IPS, listeners will understand that I’m sharing my journey with it and sharing information that I believe could really help them in their business.
because ultimately I’d love to work with them and help them implement in-person sales in exchange for some money. And that still changes the way that I feel about showing up for those conversations. It’s those ones where I talk about what I have to offer when all these stories show up the loudest. Even though I practice IPS in my photography business, I’ve made all the mistakes.
I’ve learned from them, I’ve refined my method over and over so that it works reliably, serving every client I have better and allowing them to choose to invest in exactly what they want from their session. But positioning myself as an authority still feels really stretchy. And it’s ironic because it is about marketing and sales. I’m happy to chew the fat until the cows come home with anyone, whether there’s a mic in front of us or not.
but marketing myself feels tricky despite the fact that actually what I teach photographers is a sales strategy. Make it make sense. Perhaps the reason I love IPS so much actually is that it doesn’t feel like selling. It feels like chatting, guiding, advising, helping, and ultimately giving my clients what they’ve said they already want.
And what’s ironic again is that photographers feel a lot of resistance to IPS because they assume that it will feel salesy.
And they believe delivering their work via a digital gallery is less so, which of course it is because it’s entirely passive. They forget that actually being sold to can be a really positive and fun experience in itself when it’s done right. Whenever we ask for expert guidance, whether that’s which wine the waiter would recommend, which coaching program will move us forward in our business, which foundation would best suit our skin tone or which car would work for our family,
we’re being advised and guided towards the best purchasing decision for us. And that’s all that in-person sales is. Most people start a podcast as a top of funnel mechanism to share value in their area of expertise and build no like and trust with their ideal customers. I didn’t do that. I’m sitting here talking about IPS to women who may not be photographers.
But I started a podcast because I wanted to talk with other women who are building businesses alongside raising their children. I wanted to connect with them, shine a light on them, find out how they were doing it and learn from their experience. Because I think what we’re doing is challenging and difficult and brilliant and inspiring for so many reasons.
Those conversations have taught me so much and made me feel like actually I can do this because you’re all doing it. We’re doing it together. And I think that speaks to the power of podcasting as a whole. I honestly feel like this podcast has breathed fresh life into me after I lost sight of my path entirely in early motherhood. Yes, there is more work to do to get comfortable about talking about what I do, particularly in the education space because it is so new to me.
In fact, let’s be honest, there is work to do in every aspect of my business. We’re never finished, are we? And nor are our businesses. But because of the conversations that I’ve had on this podcast with women at every stage of their business journey, I feel like I can now trust in the process.
Whereas before I felt overwhelmed and frantic in my impatience to move things forward in my business, even though I had no idea which way forward was, now I have faith that as long as I can keep taking small actions that feel aligned with me and the life that I want for my family, I will make progress. I fa-
I will fail along the way and that is totally normal and necessary. And I’ll have a community of incredible female founders around me to ride this roller coaster alongside, celebrating the wins and commiserating those things that didn’t quite work out. What I hope for this podcast more than anything else is that it helps you too. I hope it makes you feel less alone as you walk your own path in motherhood and business.
I hope you feel inspired by the stories of incredible women that I get to interview. And I hope you feel this is a safe space to tap into a bit of female solidarity on those days when things feel tough. And if there is anything in particular you’d like me to dig into in these solo sessions, please come and tell me.
In case you hadn’t clocked this yet, I am an open book. So come and find me on Instagram at mummysbusinesspodcast or at Victoria Phipps MBE and let me know. I always love to hear from you. This episode will go out in a couple of days time. So I will wish you a belated happy International Podcast Day and I will speak to you soon.
This episode will go out in a couple of days time, so I’ll wish you a belated happy International Podcast Day and I will speak to you soon.