Corporate to Creative: The Path to Entrepreneurship and Building a Brand with Angie McPherson

In this episode, Kara chats with Angie McPherson as she shares her journey from the world of corporate to entrepreneurship. Angie's career path, which started in marketing and PR, took a unique turn towards branding photography, where she combined her photography skills with her marketing know-how to help creative entrepreneurs boost their online presence.

During the conversation, Angie really drives home the importance of learning and adapting in the world of entrepreneurship. She shares from her own experiences and encourages taking inspired action. She explains that no matter which classes you choose to attend or books you decide to read, there will always be valuable information that you can use to help you grow your business.

Additionally, Angie shines a light on how essential personal branding is for achieving success in business. She shares how by being true to yourself and sharing your own personality can help you stand out and make connections with clients in even the most competitive industries.

Tune in for a candid and insightful conversation that's sure to inspire and uplift.

Resources:
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Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction
• 1:45 Welcome Angie McPherson
• 4:23 Transitioning from Corporate to Full-Time Photography
• 8:20 Investing in Yourself
• 16:57 The Power of Community and Continuous Growth
• 29:08 The Angie McPherson Show
• 31:23 Networking and Relationship Building
• 34:47 The Pod Squad

Transcript

00:00:14.000 welcome to the gateless podcast I'm
00:00:15.759 really glad that you're here I'm your
00:00:17.320 host Kara Kayrouz this is where you'll find
00:00:20.279 conversations with self-made women who
00:00:22.840 share their playbooks their tips their
00:00:25.800 actual experiences on the journey to
00:00:28.160 success I also chat with experts and
00:00:31.000 practitioners of mindset stress
00:00:33.520 productivity emotional and mental health
00:00:36.160 because if you're listening to this
00:00:38.040 you're somebody that bets boldly on
00:00:39.800 yourself and you care about optimizing
00:00:42.520 how you feel perform give back love and
00:00:45.559 just move through the world this podcast
00:00:47.800 is here to help you become the absolute
00:00:49.840 most incredible version of yourself in
00:00:51.920 life and in business be sure to
00:00:54.960 subscribe to the podcast so you never
00:00:56.800 miss an episode we really appreciate
00:00:58.680 your feedback and riew views the only
00:01:01.160 way that we grow right now is from you
00:01:02.920 sharing your favorite episodes with your
00:01:04.959 family and friends on social media so
00:01:07.280 thank you for doing that go do that big
00:01:09.920 cool thing that you've been dreaming
00:01:11.360 about today in this episode Cara chats
00:01:14.920 with Angie mcferson as she shares her
00:01:16.680 journey from the world of corporate to
00:01:18.560 entrepreneurship I did a mastermind with
00:01:21.759 Angie about a year ago and she is just
00:01:24.040 the most incredible talented and kind
00:01:26.920 human and this is such a great
00:01:29.000 conversation Angie's career path which
00:01:31.400 started in marketing and PR took a
00:01:33.439 unique turn towards branding photography
00:01:35.720 where she combined her photography
00:01:37.200 skills with her marketing knowhow to
00:01:38.840 help creative entrepreneurs boost their
00:01:40.600 online presence please enjoy this
00:01:42.799 episode of the gateless podcast I'm so
00:01:45.320 glad to meet you I know that you know
00:01:46.640 Haley but yeah good to meet you too to
00:01:49.079 be talking with you this morning and
00:01:51.439 what I would love to do just to kick it
00:01:53.040 off is for you to give the audience a
00:01:55.040 little bit of background on you what
00:01:57.079 you've been up to and what you're
00:01:58.280 working on now like a little bit of
00:02:00.039 journey to how you got to where you are
00:02:02.000 today yeah hello well yes let's Dive
00:02:05.119 Right In and thanks so much for having
00:02:06.520 me this is going to be so fun and I just
00:02:08.679 love talking all things business and
00:02:10.800 branding and all that I am angel
00:02:12.680 mcperson I am a branding photographer a
00:02:14.879 marketing strategist and I call myself a
00:02:16.800 hype woman for Creative
00:02:19.160 entrepreneurs and I have been a
00:02:21.200 photographer for 11 years actually
00:02:23.000 started out as a wedding photographer
00:02:25.599 and pivoted my business and the deeper I
00:02:27.599 get into entrepreneurship I keep
00:02:29.239 remembering entrepreneurship is not
00:02:31.080 linear there's so many different
00:02:32.599 directions that we can go with
00:02:34.040 entrepreneurship so I started as a
00:02:35.720 wedding and portrait photographer and
00:02:37.640 then I pivoted into branding photography
00:02:40.760 because my background before I even went
00:02:42.400 into weddings was marketing and PR I was
00:02:44.800 working for a decade here in my local
00:02:46.879 community at concert venues and radio
00:02:48.760 stations and tourism boards in the
00:02:51.640 marketing and PR department and so as I
00:02:54.840 was building my wedding photography
00:02:56.159 business I just wanted to bring back in
00:02:58.239 that marketing aspect of my business
00:02:59.840 business and I started posting like head
00:03:01.959 shots of me lifestyle photos of me
00:03:03.519 before branding photography was even a
00:03:05.879 thing and people were asking me Angie
00:03:07.840 how can I get those photos for my
00:03:09.760 business like people that I was working
00:03:11.959 at weddings with hair stylists makeup
00:03:14.040 artist Caterers they're like I want
00:03:15.799 those types of photos that you're
00:03:16.760 showcasing because I'm starting to see
00:03:18.640 you as a personal brand not just as
00:03:21.159 someone who takes pictures but I see the
00:03:22.599 person behind the camera and so I was
00:03:24.640 like oh light bulb like this is how I
00:03:26.599 marry my marketing and PR background
00:03:29.280 with my photography passion and I made I
00:03:32.040 like pivoted into branding photography
00:03:34.080 and so now I'm literally helping other
00:03:35.840 entrepreneurs Market their business with
00:03:38.159 my photography skills so it was like the
00:03:39.799 best of both world I love what I do and
00:03:41.959 then I pivoted into more education and
00:03:43.879 helping other photographers pivot into
00:03:46.080 branding photography and then I launched
00:03:48.319 a podcast it's was just like this whole
00:03:51.080 11year journey of you I'm an indiagram 3
00:03:54.040 do you know your Ingram number I have
00:03:56.360 not done the Ingram in a while but so
00:03:58.560 funny that you asked a really
00:03:59.840 interesting gal is going to come on the
00:04:01.439 podcast in a couple week and talk about
00:04:03.239 inag like she has a whole business
00:04:04.599 called the inag university and oh I
00:04:06.760 cannot wait for that yeah yeah because I
00:04:09.159 feel like I'm in Textbook inag 3 which
00:04:11.799 is like the achiever results oriented
00:04:14.439 and I'm just like all right what can I
00:04:15.760 do next what can I do next yeah so so
00:04:18.478 that's where I am now I'm shooting
00:04:19.839 Brands I'm educating other photographers
00:04:21.959 and I have a weekly podcast so were you
00:04:24.320 working in corporate in marketing and PR
00:04:26.880 before starting your own business that
00:04:30.800 yeah what was that like it was fun I
00:04:32.560 love marketing PR before I graduated it
00:04:34.600 was like my dream my dream was to be
00:04:36.680 Drake's publicist I would have loved to
00:04:39.280 do PR for Drake so I worked in concert
00:04:41.639 venues I was like all right how can I
00:04:42.880 get close to him let's just go to a
00:04:44.720 concert venue so I was actually I was
00:04:47.880 the marketing manager at a local concert
00:04:50.280 venue it was actually an entertainment
00:04:51.560 venue so not just concerts but the
00:04:53.039 circus monster trucks big events things
00:04:56.000 like that and I loved it but I was
00:04:58.160 working 40 50 60 hours a week because I
00:05:00.400 was working the 9 to5 plus the actual
00:05:03.120 events on the weekends like the very
00:05:05.960 long events and as the marketing person
00:05:08.280 it was like I had to be on the phone on
00:05:11.240 the computer just constantly in touch
00:05:13.039 with everyone and I was I really wanted
00:05:15.960 to have a little bit more freedom in my
00:05:17.560 life and I wanted to pick up a passion
00:05:19.639 project like I said INR 3 I'm always
00:05:21.479 like what can I do on the side you know
00:05:23.280 what can I do and so I got into
00:05:25.440 photography and I started to put myself
00:05:28.880 out there as a photographer build my
00:05:30.240 portfolio I would shoot on the the
00:05:32.280 evenings and the weekends and I remember
00:05:34.639 charging $50 for my very first photo
00:05:37.560 shoot it was a senior session it took
00:05:39.000 like an hour and I made $50 and I was
00:05:41.960 like wow I just made more in this one
00:05:44.919 hour that I made in my career working an
00:05:48.800 hour and it was fun and it was good to
00:05:51.919 meet people and so I started actually
00:05:53.720 building that part of my my life that
00:05:55.800 business and then I just started kind of
00:05:58.000 butting heads with the job like the job
00:05:59.880 the nin to-5 corporate world versus the
00:06:02.280 business and I had a baby and I was like
00:06:04.400 there's just too much going on and I
00:06:07.360 wonder what my 510 30e plan looks like
00:06:10.720 is it going up the corporate ladder what
00:06:13.039 do I want to do be the VP of the Staple
00:06:15.000 Center or back then it was a staple
00:06:16.720 center now it's something else in LA but
00:06:18.479 I was like or do I want to have more
00:06:20.639 control and freedom in my life and just
00:06:22.400 build something here that I can that's
00:06:25.160 completely customizable that I can make
00:06:27.720 more money reach more people have more
00:06:30.400 quality time with my family and so I
00:06:33.280 told myself I was going to save up six
00:06:35.479 months of income expenses and I was
00:06:38.880 going to make sure that I had I think I
00:06:40.039 told myself 20 or 25 weddings on the
00:06:42.360 books for the next 12 to 18 months I
00:06:44.199 like if I hit those goals I'm gonna quit
00:06:46.319 my job I'm gonna quit my job it's very
00:06:49.039 scary I've never been the one like I
00:06:50.720 will have these bright ideas but I'm not
00:06:52.199 a big risk taker especially when it
00:06:54.000 comes to finances and so the fact that I
00:06:56.720 even said I'm going to quit my cushy job
00:06:59.400 with with insurance and all that and an
00:07:01.720 actual path of the ladder was wild to me
00:07:04.319 that's how I knew that I really really
00:07:05.599 wanted to pursue photography that was
00:07:07.240 even considering it and I did it I hit
00:07:09.520 those goals I had money in the bank I
00:07:11.479 had weddings on the books and I remember
00:07:13.560 putting in my notice and having that
00:07:15.120 first day of work at home usually I was
00:07:17.960 working during my lunch hour or at 5:00
00:07:20.479 in the morning before work or at 10:00
00:07:22.360 at night after my kid went down and I
00:07:24.800 had a full day at my computer and I was
00:07:27.479 like this is the life
00:07:30.639 this is the life I was like I can edit I
00:07:33.840 can post on social media I can go to the
00:07:36.400 gym I can meet with clients it just the
00:07:39.240 world of opportunities opened up when I
00:07:42.039 gave myself that freedom to work on
00:07:44.159 myself to work on my own business and
00:07:46.240 not someone else's business and I've
00:07:48.440 never look back I never ever want to go
00:07:51.000 back to 9 to5 that's amazing amazing so
00:07:55.639 did you have mentors that were helping
00:07:57.400 you figure out the framework of like
00:07:59.680 okay here's what I need to do to be able
00:08:01.919 to quit and here's how you build up your
00:08:03.919 business while you're still doing your95
00:08:06.000 because I think that that's a really
00:08:07.199 overwhelming thing like regardless of
00:08:09.080 what you want to go pivot into away from
00:08:11.000 your corporate job into entrepreneurship
00:08:13.120 I think it can be overwhelming to figure
00:08:14.639 out like what steps might I need to take
00:08:17.080 to be able to successfully do that you
00:08:19.039 know for sure I'm a big proponent of
00:08:22.400 investing in education courses
00:08:25.560 memberships mentors from the jump I
00:08:28.759 bought my camera I think I bought it on
00:08:30.400 Valentine's Day bought my camera and I
00:08:33.240 said I want to be a photographer and the
00:08:35.159 first thing I did was go to YouTube and
00:08:37.599 find videos of how to use the camera and
00:08:39.360 manual how to pose how to do lighting
00:08:41.360 and Jasmine star would pop up Caitlyn
00:08:43.839 James would pop up and I was like okay I
00:08:46.399 just need to watch every single thing
00:08:48.000 they are doing and figure out how to use
00:08:50.360 this camera how to share my work on
00:08:53.000 social media how to connect with other
00:08:54.720 people I I just feel like when people
00:08:57.480 say how did you get started I'm just
00:08:59.040 like I just learned I just spent hours
00:09:02.040 and hours of learning I bought courses I
00:09:06.320 joined memberships I went to in-person
00:09:08.720 workshops I did so much in those first
00:09:11.480 few years I mean even now 11 years into
00:09:13.600 this business I'm still investing in
00:09:16.680 education like don't get me on a webinar
00:09:18.800 because I will buy it if I'm on a
00:09:20.320 16-minute webinar and someone has made
00:09:23.200 something look really good and there's a
00:09:25.200 PR I'm like all right where where where
00:09:27.000 do I pay because I know every of
00:09:30.160 investing in education and bettering
00:09:32.240 yourself is going to pay off I know that
00:09:34.800 it can be scary to invest in yourself
00:09:37.000 but it's like you pay to play once you
00:09:39.040 like there's you can go to YouTube
00:09:40.640 there's plenty of information on YouTube
00:09:43.040 but once you pay even if it's like a $7
00:09:46.320 template once you pay it's like you are
00:09:50.320 giving yourself the green light to just
00:09:51.959 go all in and so I'm always down for
00:09:56.000 investing in myself I was in Jasmine
00:09:57.920 Stars Mastermind last year the biggest
00:10:00.480 investment of my entire business and it
00:10:03.800 was a hairy scary time it you don't even
00:10:06.399 want to hear the conversations between
00:10:07.600 my husband and I talking about this
00:10:09.200 investment for her Mastermind but I just
00:10:12.079 knew as soon as I paid and got on that
00:10:15.920 payment plan for six months I was like I
00:10:17.760 know I'm going to show up I'm going to
00:10:20.079 be a different person I'm going to be in
00:10:21.800 a different mindset and that is just the
00:10:23.920 same thing I was doing in year one is
00:10:26.160 what I'm doing in year 11 is finding
00:10:28.240 these golden opportunities where people
00:10:30.399 before you can take you on the path pour
00:10:32.560 into your business teach you different
00:10:34.320 things and it it always pays off but it
00:10:37.639 only pays off if you show up so many
00:10:39.880 people will buy a course buy a template
00:10:42.160 go to a workshop and they'll consume it
00:10:44.440 and don't do anything with it you have
00:10:45.880 to take inspired action you have to take
00:10:48.399 inspired action and implement the things
00:10:50.800 that you are learning that you've
00:10:52.279 invested in because it's going to take
00:10:54.279 you so so so so far so that's definely
00:10:57.480 what I did I picked up a camera I went
00:10:58.839 to YouTube I bought courses I joined
00:11:01.120 memberships I went to workshops and I
00:11:02.920 just perfected my craft and in different
00:11:05.839 parts of my business as well like how to
00:11:08.399 like my website that was a big
00:11:09.560 investment because I I'm a photographer
00:11:11.440 I needed to have a space to show
00:11:12.639 visually what I was doing I had to
00:11:14.440 invest in that I invested in courses on
00:11:16.800 how to do SEO and how to do metadata and
00:11:21.120 Altex and all those things and what good
00:11:23.360 design looks like so constantly
00:11:25.120 constantly just investing in myself you
00:11:27.320 just said so many good things you're
00:11:28.880 defition of you're the definition of a
00:11:30.880 self-made woman which I love around here
00:11:33.360 because when you want something and I
00:11:35.800 know Jasmine talks about this a lot but
00:11:37.800 when you want something if you want to
00:11:40.200 be comfortable more than you want your
00:11:42.560 business or want to create something
00:11:44.399 beautiful then it's not going to work
00:11:45.959 but if you are willing to put in the
00:11:48.120 work to learn there's so much
00:11:49.639 information out there you can find the
00:11:51.639 information especially if you're
00:11:53.079 somebody like you who sees the
00:11:54.839 opportunity and speaking with people who
00:11:56.680 have done it before you getting what you
00:11:58.600 can learn from them investing yourself
00:12:00.480 paying to learn paying to be part of
00:12:02.200 masterminds paying to be part of an
00:12:04.240 opportunity to grow your skill set and
00:12:06.839 unlock like your potential then if
00:12:09.519 you're committed to that nothing like
00:12:10.920 you can be unstoppable I am so into the
00:12:14.639 idea of like it's really not that
00:12:16.720 complicated it's just about if you're
00:12:18.399 willing to put in the time absorb the
00:12:20.959 information go find the information try
00:12:23.040 it fail a little bit iterate try again
00:12:25.440 fail a little bit exactly and you said
00:12:28.160 that it's about not just taking in all
00:12:29.959 the information but actually taking
00:12:31.279 inspired action what is I I know I've
00:12:33.920 heard the term inspired action but can
00:12:35.639 you talk a little bit more about what
00:12:37.000 that is yeah it's taking what you are
00:12:40.279 learning and then really implementing in
00:12:43.199 your business how it would work best for
00:12:45.880 you so I have done programs that are
00:12:48.800 completely different than how I would
00:12:50.560 show up and I take pieces from it and
00:12:52.760 I'm like okay this doesn't really
00:12:54.120 resonate with how I show up or what my
00:12:56.360 audience likes or what I want to be
00:12:58.399 known for but these little pieces let me
00:13:00.639 piece these together it's like you take
00:13:01.959 the inspiration from what you're
00:13:03.360 learning and customize it to your own
00:13:05.920 business to your own goals and take
00:13:08.360 action for example and this goes with my
00:13:10.040 Ingram 3 thing I love to watch cartoons
00:13:13.760 Watch animated things or listen to ads I
00:13:15.920 love voiceover stuff and I took have you
00:13:19.839 ever done Master Class you know that
00:13:21.680 website master class all I love Master
00:13:23.800 Class yeah there I watched a master
00:13:26.320 class on the plane last year and it was
00:13:29.320 with the woman who voices Bart Simpson
00:13:32.079 and for some reason at the end I was
00:13:33.639 like I want to take a voiceover class I
00:13:36.360 had no like inclination of like oh I've
00:13:38.440 ever want to do this but after seeing
00:13:40.320 that I was so inspired by this random
00:13:44.600 Master Class of cartoon voiceover work
00:13:48.279 and I was so inspired I got home I
00:13:51.560 Googled voiceover class in Hampton RADS
00:13:53.519 which is where I live and there is a
00:13:56.279 voiceover class in Virginia Beach and I
00:13:58.079 signed up and I did eight classes and I
00:14:01.800 had bought my podcast equipment six
00:14:04.040 years ago and it has been sitting in my
00:14:05.839 closet for six years I told myself I was
00:14:07.880 going to do a podcast six years ago and
00:14:10.320 I was just sitting on it by like class
00:14:12.680 three of this voiceover class I was like
00:14:14.920 I'm going to start my podcast I was so
00:14:16.680 inspired by like cool working with the
00:14:19.120 microphone talking to producers getting
00:14:21.480 more confident with my voice and I
00:14:23.920 didn't go into that class wanting to do
00:14:25.720 anything my business I was like I just
00:14:26.759 want to do something fun I mean pictur
00:14:28.360 me 11 years ago I just want to pick up a
00:14:29.680 camera do something fun now I'm like I
00:14:31.040 want to try voiceover work and see if
00:14:32.440 there's anything there and it inspired
00:14:34.279 me to take a lot of those tips and
00:14:35.800 tricks to put them in my own business
00:14:38.440 and finally six years later launch my
00:14:41.079 podcast and now I feel like I have taken
00:14:43.839 that inspiration and things I've learned
00:14:45.920 they do a lot of commercial work
00:14:47.240 advertising work and so now if I ever
00:14:48.920 get sponsors on my podcast I'm going to
00:14:51.120 feel like a freaking Pro because that's
00:14:52.720 what I was doing is recording like 30
00:14:54.920 second ads at this voiceover school so
00:14:57.600 finding these different ways to learn to
00:15:00.320 apply to your personal life to your
00:15:02.720 business and to put out there and now my
00:15:05.560 podcast I'm getting amazing guests on it
00:15:08.199 and people are loving it and they're
00:15:09.639 enrolling in my programs or booking me
00:15:11.120 for Branding photo shoots or asking me
00:15:12.800 to be on their podcast I'm like if I
00:15:15.040 never took that voiceover class and put
00:15:17.880 a fire under my butt to take inspiration
00:15:19.560 and take action probably wouldn't have
00:15:21.279 even launched the podcast anytime soon I
00:15:23.759 probably would have still been sitting
00:15:25.199 in fear a little bit so that's just one
00:15:27.680 example of how I personally take an
00:15:29.160 inspired action but I I just think that
00:15:31.560 the more that you I don't want to say
00:15:32.880 the more that you consume but the more
00:15:34.480 that you consume the right things like
00:15:37.319 things that are really in alignment with
00:15:39.000 you just another quick example I started
00:15:41.639 reading Atomic habits have you read that
00:15:44.519 yes I well I listen to it I don't read
00:15:46.399 books I listen to this I started
00:15:48.240 listening to it and it inspired me to
00:15:51.839 have more of a routine in my morning
00:15:53.319 routine a more of a routine in my health
00:15:55.240 and fitness and even trickling down to
00:15:57.959 my parenting and having my kids have
00:15:59.720 habits in in their life and so once
00:16:01.560 again taking that inspired action I
00:16:02.920 could have easily listened to that book
00:16:04.560 and then turned it off went about my day
00:16:06.440 but in taking inspired action is like
00:16:08.120 every chapter I'm writing notes how does
00:16:10.199 this apply to a specific part of my life
00:16:12.639 let me make some tweaks and move on to
00:16:14.360 the next chapter that's inspired action
00:16:16.560 it almost sounds like it's about the
00:16:18.319 motivation in which you take to actually
00:16:21.360 listen like why would you even consume
00:16:23.120 content why would you even try to learn
00:16:25.600 yeah and do things if you weren't going
00:16:27.680 to do anything with them that sounds
00:16:29.519 time you know so if you're approaching
00:16:32.160 new Concepts or learning new things with
00:16:34.199 an inspired action as a motivation right
00:16:37.279 then that's going to propel the action
00:16:38.920 forward that makes sense right yeah so
00:16:41.120 okay to summarize walk me through the
00:16:43.399 summary of what those steps were when
00:16:45.600 you picked up that camera you decided
00:16:47.519 that you were good at it you liked it
00:16:49.360 and you made more money than you were
00:16:50.639 making in your corporate job like what
00:16:53.000 we're just summarizing the steps from
00:16:55.040 there to get to where you are now for
00:16:57.720 sure picked up the camera learned
00:16:59.279 everything about the camera learned
00:17:01.000 about running an actual business which
00:17:03.079 was foreign to me as someone from the
00:17:05.039 corporate world and really immersing
00:17:07.959 myself in a community that was a huge
00:17:10.679 part there was a local Facebook group
00:17:12.520 for photographers or sillas and I joined
00:17:15.559 it and I was like hey let's meet up and
00:17:18.359 and have dinner and go to Mexican and
00:17:21.160 shoot head shot after I just I immersed
00:17:24.319 myself in this community and if I did
00:17:26.000 not have that Community I probably
00:17:27.079 wouldn't even be here because I have so
00:17:28.679 many of friends that I met there and we
00:17:31.440 refer each other to clients and we talk
00:17:34.000 all day on Boxer and we're inspiring
00:17:35.640 each other and sharing with each other
00:17:37.640 and I feel like the steps I took was it
00:17:39.760 was all about me at first pick up a
00:17:41.240 camera learn invest and then it became
00:17:43.559 more about the community and how can I
00:17:45.720 help other people how can I help my
00:17:47.760 clients and it became this big thing
00:17:50.039 where every day it was how do I show up
00:17:52.960 in a way that will help grow my business
00:17:54.720 because if you're not growing you're
00:17:56.559 going backwards at this point I mean
00:17:58.360 this this day and age 2024 if you're not
00:18:00.720 growing you got to start thinking about
00:18:02.799 what you can be doing because with a
00:18:04.520 corporate with a 9 to-5 job hopefully
00:18:06.919 that's what you're doing you're growing
00:18:08.520 you are going to seminars and learning
00:18:11.280 and getting performance reviews and all
00:18:14.200 of that when you're an entrepreneur it
00:18:16.840 is just you okay there's nobody
00:18:20.440 reviewing your performance there's no
00:18:22.520 one that's going to give you a raise you
00:18:25.240 have to give yourself a raise so I had
00:18:27.080 to rewire my brain
00:18:29.880 and be my own boss and also just be the
00:18:32.880 best boss ever I've had a million bosses
00:18:35.120 most of them were
00:18:36.240 horrible and so I had to reward my brain
00:18:38.799 to not treat myself like my previous
00:18:41.640 bosses treated me my previous bosses
00:18:44.000 wanted me to work 67 hours a week they
00:18:46.080 wanted me to be on my phone and my email
00:18:49.280 at of office hours I had to rewire my
00:18:51.559 brain to say this is why you actually
00:18:54.039 pursued this entrepreneurial life to get
00:18:56.440 away from that so don't treat yourself
00:18:58.919 like an employee treat yourself like the
00:19:01.120 CEO of your business and so that's the
00:19:03.640 step that continues to evolve with me is
00:19:06.159 constantly making sure I'm staying the
00:19:08.039 CEO CFO you know all that and pushing my
00:19:12.360 business forward every year I feel like
00:19:15.000 that would be a very tricky thing to get
00:19:17.799 comfortable with coming from corporate
00:19:19.880 into entrepreneurship the concept of
00:19:21.960 being Your Own Boss sounds really great
00:19:25.120 but there is a lot of comfort especially
00:19:27.679 for people who've built most their
00:19:28.919 career in corporate yeah of knowing what
00:19:31.400 like the lanes are and knowing what
00:19:33.200 expectations are and knowing what the
00:19:35.400 objective is at any given day right
00:19:37.559 because you're kind of being told what
00:19:38.799 to do in most corporate jobs how I feel
00:19:42.640 like I already know what you're gonna
00:19:43.679 say are you Googled it and looked it up
00:19:45.799 and taught yourself but what what types
00:19:48.000 of learnings did you have early on as
00:19:50.400 you transitioned into you were the one
00:19:53.400 woman show and you your own boss and
00:19:55.320 you're becoming this self-made woman who
00:19:57.960 was building what is now a thriving
00:20:00.159 photography business but I'm curious
00:20:02.159 what was happening for you in your head
00:20:04.039 at the very beginning did you have
00:20:05.280 moments of Doubt where you just totally
00:20:06.919 thrilled the whole time because you had
00:20:08.520 total Runway to do whatever you wanted
00:20:10.280 with it just take us back to those early
00:20:12.960 days for sure I I definitely had doubt
00:20:15.360 at the beginning when I was trying to
00:20:17.360 hit those specific goals to get me to be
00:20:19.440 full-time but the best part about it was
00:20:22.080 that I still had a 9 to5 so I was like
00:20:24.520 okay I've got a consultation with this
00:20:26.039 bride If she books me that's amazing
00:20:28.440 that's great I have another client but I
00:20:29.840 also am one step closer to putting this
00:20:32.440 job and so if the bride didn't book yes
00:20:36.799 I was like oh my gosh I don't think I
00:20:38.240 can do this but I also like you know
00:20:39.720 what I'll try again I have a steady
00:20:41.480 paycheck coming in every two weeks I'm
00:20:44.000 not going to go broke trying to do this
00:20:45.799 goal you know I didn't just take the
00:20:47.760 leap and say I'm going to quit and I'm
00:20:50.039 going to figure it out along the way I
00:20:51.640 had a backup even now 11 years later I
00:20:54.799 know if something ever happens and if I
00:20:57.159 need to go back to work which I don't
00:20:58.720 want to I think I'll be okay I think
00:21:00.760 I'll be able to find something so I I
00:21:02.919 try to combat that doubt with this isn't
00:21:06.679 the end of the world if something
00:21:08.720 doesn't work out if this person doesn't
00:21:10.640 book or if it takes me back in the day
00:21:13.279 if it takes me eight months instead of
00:21:15.039 six months to go full time of course I
00:21:17.039 had those doubts but I just knew I have
00:21:19.520 to think about the possibilities and
00:21:20.960 opportunities instead of what's the
00:21:23.320 worst that can happen what if this
00:21:24.640 doesn't happen I have to think what's
00:21:26.120 the best that can happen and more
00:21:28.000 importantly how do I make this happen
00:21:30.480 because so many people will just hope
00:21:33.240 and say okay here are my goals for 2024
00:21:36.200 I'm GNA make this much money I'm going
00:21:37.760 to book this many clients let's rock and
00:21:39.760 roll and there are two types of people
00:21:41.799 people who just hope for it and people
00:21:43.159 are like I'm going to make this because
00:21:45.720 this is exactly the plan that I have it
00:21:47.960 all is in the plan you have to make a
00:21:50.760 plan that was my plan back in the day I
00:21:52.840 need to have six months of expenses I
00:21:54.720 need to have 20 weddings over the next
00:21:56.360 18 months and I know for sure just ones
00:21:59.360 and zeros I will be okay if I follow
00:22:01.880 this plan if I hit those goals I will be
00:22:04.400 okay and if not the plan might be
00:22:06.240 extended you know like the goals didn't
00:22:08.279 change just the plan might be changed
00:22:10.320 and so that was my mindset it was slowly
00:22:12.480 but surely I was getting there I was
00:22:14.000 hitting some doubtful moments but I was
00:22:15.520 also like it's okay because I know that
00:22:18.320 I'm not going to give up like the way
00:22:19.799 that you lose is if you give up that's
00:22:22.000 the way that you lose if you keep going
00:22:23.720 you're going to win eventually because
00:22:24.960 you're not going to stop until you win
00:22:27.000 and so that was definitely my mindset
00:22:28.600 back in the day and still to this day
00:22:31.200 you phrased that in a really nice way
00:22:32.720 like it's not that your goals change
00:22:34.520 your timelines might just have to change
00:22:36.240 depending on how things are going you
00:22:37.799 could be committed to the goal and you
00:22:39.000 could be committed to the inputs and how
00:22:40.520 you're making it happen but being a
00:22:41.919 little less tied to what is the time
00:22:44.159 frame in which this is goingon to happen
00:22:45.360 because that's what's so unknown and I
00:22:47.240 think can feel really overwhelming to
00:22:48.600 people like oh I have to make this
00:22:50.080 happen in six months well you know it
00:22:51.520 might take 18 months and that's okay too
00:22:53.279 because on the other side of 18 months
00:22:54.600 you're GNA be really happy you did it
00:22:55.799 and St did it yeah for sure that makes
00:22:59.120 sense so I heard you speak on how you
00:23:02.480 had that aha moment of wait I want to
00:23:04.440 help people build their personal brand
00:23:06.159 through photography and the importance
00:23:08.799 of maybe I don't want to put your words
00:23:11.640 in your mouth but I am curious to hear
00:23:12.840 from you how you felt a little bit more
00:23:16.080 energy enthusiasm for personal brand
00:23:19.120 photography over maybe wedding
00:23:21.200 photography or the things that you were
00:23:22.679 doing right at the beginning and just
00:23:25.039 speak a little bit on the power of
00:23:27.480 having a personal brand
00:23:29.080 it goes obviously Beyond just like
00:23:30.880 capturing through photography what your
00:23:32.480 personal BR is but that is a really
00:23:34.279 great start it's sort of like you're
00:23:35.679 showcasing to the world here's who I am
00:23:37.919 here's it's like a first step you know
00:23:40.159 yeah I love personal branding I love
00:23:42.000 personal branding photography because I
00:23:43.799 just love entrepreneurship I feel like
00:23:46.720 even when I was doing weddings for six
00:23:48.559 seven years I love my Brides I love my
00:23:51.159 clients but my gosh I just love running
00:23:53.200 a business I loved finding ways to grow
00:23:55.679 my business to reach more people to
00:23:57.640 bring in more Revenue new into my
00:23:58.919 household and so when I started to see
00:24:01.600 how me showing up as a personal brand
00:24:05.039 was doing those things because I was a
00:24:07.200 wedding photographer which is a very
00:24:09.039 oversaturated Market just like many
00:24:10.760 other markets are but I was looking on
00:24:12.679 social media at the time and everyone
00:24:13.919 was posting photos of flowers and their
00:24:16.039 couples and rings and here I am I'm like
00:24:19.200 all right I'm going to show me holding
00:24:21.320 my camera I'm going to show me on the
00:24:23.159 dance floor at a wedding I'm going to
00:24:24.480 show me posing my bride and groom I'm
00:24:26.640 going to show me on vacation and I just
00:24:29.520 saw how my business like my brand
00:24:32.399 completely just transformed once I did
00:24:35.200 that and so the fact that I could use my
00:24:37.760 photography skills to help other
00:24:40.120 entrepreneurs do the same thing I was
00:24:42.600 like this is it this is what I want to
00:24:45.679 be doing because I love marketing and
00:24:47.919 growing a brand and a business I love
00:24:49.720 personal branding I love helping other
00:24:51.760 people like this is so like I love my I
00:24:53.720 love my Brides but like this is so much
00:24:55.440 more
00:24:56.679 rewarding helping others female
00:24:59.000 entrepreneurs put themselves out there
00:25:01.200 most of my clients have never had
00:25:03.320 braining photos taken they might have
00:25:04.799 have like a head shot they've taken but
00:25:06.679 they've never like really dived into
00:25:08.720 their business their brand looked at
00:25:10.360 their ideal client created a plan had a
00:25:13.320 full gallery of Lifestyle photos head
00:25:15.679 shots behind the- scenes photos and just
00:25:18.480 to see the way they transform their
00:25:20.159 website transform their social media and
00:25:22.480 how empowered they are to now speak
00:25:24.679 about themselves I feel like so many
00:25:26.640 people struggle with just talking about
00:25:28.520 their brand because they don't have
00:25:29.600 anything to go with it they don't have
00:25:31.399 any like visuals and so they feel like
00:25:33.600 they're just like speaking so loud and
00:25:35.440 they're just like H they I've got
00:25:36.559 nothing to really show for this and so
00:25:38.200 when I deliver a gallery I'm just like
00:25:40.159 oh I cannot wait I cannot wait to see
00:25:43.399 how they use this because I've had
00:25:45.960 clients launch podcasts with new
00:25:48.279 branding photos for the cover art I've
00:25:49.919 had them launch social media I've had
00:25:52.159 them launch courses and on their sales
00:25:54.080 page instead of just stock photos of
00:25:57.120 things about their course it's it's
00:25:58.480 actually them and people really resonate
00:26:00.600 with that so I think personal branding
00:26:03.039 is so
00:26:04.799 important is so important in the
00:26:07.120 marketing aspect because every Market is
00:26:10.200 oversaturated and that's fine because
00:26:13.080 the one differentiator that we all have
00:26:15.080 is our uniqueness and I think personal
00:26:18.039 branding is the one way to really show
00:26:22.640 your uniqueness there's so many other
00:26:25.320 photographers or health and fitness
00:26:27.760 experts or influencers or lawyers or
00:26:30.200 whoever I'm thinking about like my
00:26:31.320 clients there's so many of those people
00:26:32.960 out there but the way that you get your
00:26:35.440 dream clients is positioning yourself as
00:26:37.799 this personal brand that people can
00:26:39.559 really connect with and can really see
00:26:41.880 themselves working with because if
00:26:43.159 you're just hiding behind a logo or your
00:26:46.039 products or even your clients you know
00:26:48.640 and I'm speaking directly to
00:26:49.600 photographers they hide behind their
00:26:50.919 clients you're not putting yourself out
00:26:53.080 there I think honestly my social media
00:26:56.480 you see more of me than my actual client
00:26:59.159 like I'll you know I'll post them when I
00:27:01.039 do like a new shoot I'm like hey this is
00:27:02.600 my client this is her job but I like
00:27:05.080 they know my work they see my work but I
00:27:07.120 also want to make sure that I'm putting
00:27:08.440 myself out there so they can see
00:27:10.159 themselves working with me and investing
00:27:12.480 with me and investing in themselves
00:27:13.960 through my experience so I'm always
00:27:16.159 proponent of building your personal
00:27:17.520 brand and really connecting with your
00:27:19.480 audience I've been hearing more and more
00:27:21.760 lately that consumers today are not as
00:27:25.279 interested in just following along with
00:27:27.679 a brand or bu they want to understand
00:27:30.720 the Creator behind the and that's what
00:27:32.640 intriging and that's what makes them
00:27:33.840 want to invest their money and be
00:27:35.559 connected to that brand so it makes a
00:27:37.679 ton of sense I also really like the way
00:27:40.559 you put a rapper around that like The
00:27:43.960 Branding pictures can be the first step
00:27:46.240 to help you talk about your personal
00:27:48.200 brand because everyone has a story and
00:27:49.679 you know what you have to offer but if
00:27:51.960 you can't digitize that reputation and
00:27:54.799 show people a way to visualize it it can
00:27:57.039 be really hard to know where to start
00:27:59.320 like uh I here's who I am it I don't
00:28:01.840 know it's a little bit more overwhelming
00:28:03.279 than if you have a photo album to
00:28:04.720 Showcase who you are exactly exactly it
00:28:07.320 definitely empowers you to show up more
00:28:09.120 because some of my clients before
00:28:11.039 working together they'll say like why I
00:28:13.120 haven't been really consistent on social
00:28:14.480 media because I have nothing to post and
00:28:16.200 I'm like okay here's a full gallery of
00:28:18.159 you now you have no excuse yeah yeah
00:28:21.519 yeah yeah I went through my first
00:28:23.600 branding photo shoot when I started this
00:28:27.480 podcast
00:28:31.080 and I was so uncomfortable because I had
00:28:33.320 never done anything like that before but
00:28:36.120 we took the first round of pictures and
00:28:37.960 then I booked another one so the first
00:28:39.720 round was me and Haley and that made it
00:28:41.080 more comfortable because it like you
00:28:42.519 know had off yeah and then I realiz just
00:28:46.279 as what you're describing I realized oh
00:28:48.240 wait I feel like this picture embodies
00:28:49.919 who I feel like I am and it makes me
00:28:51.760 feel like I could talk about it okay I
00:28:53.399 want to do another set because I don't
00:28:54.720 feel like I captured these other parts
00:28:56.200 of me uhuh I love it love it I mean I
00:28:59.360 think I think it's really great and it
00:29:00.840 is validating to yourself that the way
00:29:02.799 that you're portrayed even through
00:29:04.720 photography is the same way that you
00:29:06.159 feel inside which is really cool yeah
00:29:08.200 tell me about the podcast what do you
00:29:09.840 mostly focus on in your podcast platform
00:29:12.399 yeah my podcast oh man I think the
00:29:15.279 reason why I waited for so long to do it
00:29:17.760 is because I knew what I wanted to talk
00:29:20.480 about which was marketing branding
00:29:22.919 productivity running a business but I
00:29:24.960 didn't know the format because I'm such
00:29:27.120 a big like love entertainment I'm just
00:29:29.640 like I want to make sure that when
00:29:31.120 people are listening to my podcast I
00:29:32.960 want to my goal is to first of all help
00:29:35.600 people and let it be very valuable but I
00:29:37.399 need to get a laugh I want people to
00:29:39.360 like find enjoyment and entertainment in
00:29:42.799 my podcast and so it's called the Angy
00:29:45.440 kerson show I was like I don't want to
00:29:46.760 go back and forth with coming up with
00:29:48.000 the name let me just call it let me just
00:29:49.840 continue to build my personal brand and
00:29:51.559 brand it after myself and most of the
00:29:54.360 episodes are with guests and it's
00:29:55.880 usually people that I have some sort of
00:29:58.279 relationship because I want The Vibes to
00:30:00.559 just be like you are just hearing two
00:30:03.399 friends at a coffee shop and you're like
00:30:06.000 just immersing yourself in the
00:30:07.240 conversation like we just invited you
00:30:08.840 over to chat and I play a game with each
00:30:11.960 of my guests at the end of every episode
00:30:13.840 so that's been really fun and I just
00:30:15.240 feel like we just shoot the breeze are
00:30:17.440 you on Boxer do you talk on Boxer I'm
00:30:19.799 not I know what it is a few people have
00:30:21.480 brought it up to me recently I'm not on
00:30:22.840 it should I be oh yes especially you and
00:30:25.440 haly for sure I feel like my podcast is
00:30:28.240 like a Voxer conversation it's just two
00:30:30.159 business girls going back and forth
00:30:32.000 talking about funny stories and pulling
00:30:33.640 the layers back on unfiltered
00:30:35.679 entrepreneurship and I think it's a good
00:30:37.919 time and I do have some solo episodes
00:30:39.600 that are more um I don't want it to feel
00:30:42.960 like every episode is something you have
00:30:44.840 to take notes to it have't master class
00:30:46.840 I I wanted to feel like you're just in
00:30:48.120 the conversation so my solo episodes are
00:30:50.159 more of that like all right now let me
00:30:51.679 sit down let me teach you something A to
00:30:53.600 Z etc etc so I feel like you're getting
00:30:55.799 the Best of Both Worlds you're getting a
00:30:57.360 lot of good conversations and you're
00:30:59.080 getting a lot of like strategy cool I
00:31:01.880 love that yeah where can everyone follow
00:31:04.080 you and follow along on your journey and
00:31:05.799 even work with you if they're near your
00:31:07.919 area yeah for sure I'm in Virginia but I
00:31:10.720 travel all over and my website is Angie
00:31:13.360 mcpherson.com and then my Instagram is
00:31:16.760 Angie Janine so Angie and then Janine is
00:31:19.399 spelled j a n i n e that's my Instagram
00:31:22.760 amazing okay so will you leave us with
00:31:25.960 your best anti- gatekeeping advice for
00:31:29.200 anyone maybe not even specific to
00:31:33.080 individuals or women that want to build
00:31:35.320 a photography business but just want to
00:31:37.080 make the pivot that you made from
00:31:38.679 corporate to
00:31:40.440 entrepreneurship okay anti- gatekeeping
00:31:42.960 from corporate to entrepreneurship I
00:31:45.600 would say I mean I feel like this is
00:31:47.519 obvious of what I'm talking about is
00:31:49.000 actually creating a plan creating a plan
00:31:51.559 creating a strategy but I do want to say
00:31:54.320 relationship marketing relationship
00:31:55.880 building is a huge
00:31:58.399 way to move forward and to accomplish
00:32:01.600 goals because yes you have a plan but
00:32:04.080 along the way like I said pour into that
00:32:07.240 Community I had my plan that I was doing
00:32:10.120 like on my own but I was going to
00:32:12.639 in-person networking events I was
00:32:14.240 connecting with people on social media I
00:32:15.919 was reaching out to mentors like Jasmine
00:32:18.519 and Caitlyn and asking for one-on-one
00:32:20.760 help really pour into your community and
00:32:23.240 remember entrepreneurship can definitely
00:32:25.960 seem like a lonely Journey but there are
00:32:28.519 people out there who want to help you
00:32:31.799 they want to help you succeed it is a
00:32:33.799 part of their life's work a part of
00:32:35.600 their passion so yes have a plan but
00:32:38.880 also simultaneously connect connect with
00:32:42.039 who you aspire to work with so if you
00:32:44.240 are looking to book more clients in
00:32:45.960 whatever field you're working in start
00:32:47.840 connecting with those clients join
00:32:49.399 Facebook groups where those clients are
00:32:50.960 click on hashtags send them DMS just
00:32:53.360 connect if you are wanting to do
00:32:55.440 something more local start getting out
00:32:57.080 into community putting your feet on
00:32:58.760 pavement talking to different people in
00:33:01.480 and different businesses so just as
00:33:03.720 you're working on your plan that you set
00:33:05.320 for yourself whether you're trying to
00:33:07.000 leave a job and go fulltime with
00:33:08.919 entrepreneurship your plan could be
00:33:10.279 making a specific amount of money
00:33:12.000 booking a specific amount of clients
00:33:14.240 don't forget to put yourself out there
00:33:16.760 and just Network and connect and it's
00:33:20.559 not always going to be hey can you help
00:33:22.399 me but what can you do for these other
00:33:23.960 people that is what you should be doing
00:33:25.760 first is providing some sort of value
00:33:29.519 how can I help you how can I put the
00:33:31.279 word out there about what you're doing
00:33:33.240 how can I I mean I did so many things in
00:33:35.519 the beginning especially as a
00:33:36.919 photographer my thing is I have a camera
00:33:39.159 so I can help everybody in any situation
00:33:42.000 so how can you in your field help people
00:33:44.200 so for example for me when I was getting
00:33:46.000 out there networking I would go to the
00:33:47.799 local coffee shop with my camera and say
00:33:49.600 hey I would love to use this space for a
00:33:52.399 photo shoot do you mind if I maybe just
00:33:54.960 gift you some photos can I take some
00:33:56.679 photos while I'm here of your space
00:33:58.760 maybe some head shot of you maybe your
00:34:00.679 products up here I'll send you the
00:34:02.360 gallery and starting that relationship
00:34:04.240 how can you leverage your expertise your
00:34:07.360 tools your skills to help other people
00:34:11.040 because once you do that they are going
00:34:13.800 to be looking for ways to help you so my
00:34:16.800 biggest anti- gatekeeping advice is just
00:34:19.839 build relationships and help other
00:34:22.359 people and you will see that payoff
00:34:24.280 tfold build relationships and give to
00:34:26.839 get I really like I love that and you
00:34:29.719 have to do it like give what you have to
00:34:31.359 offer and it will come back around and
00:34:33.079 it will help you in the future
00:34:34.719 absolutely thank you so much for your
00:34:36.560 time this was very informative and I
00:34:38.879 have page full of notes from for but
00:34:42.960 yeah thank you so much for giving us
00:34:44.480 some time I really appreciate it thank
00:34:46.480 you thank you so much are you somebody
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00:34:53.918 maybe you find the process of picking
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00:34:57.960 packed and worth your time challenging
00:34:59.920 am I right you're busy I get it if
00:35:02.839 that's the case the pod squad is for you
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