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Maximalist Life
This is Maximalist Life, with Brianna Gamble and Tamika Stringfellow. This unfiltered podcast is your permission slip to chase after everything you damn well desire.
Join us as we dish out no-holds-barred conversations and invite you to step into a life filled with limitless possibilities. Forget fear and embrace the maximalist mentality with us every week.
Get ready to experience piss your pants laughter, cringe-worthy truths, and be inspired to break free from living a mediocre life.
Maximalist Life
Ep 37 - The Power of the Pivot
Episode Summary:
We’re talking about the power of the pivot — in business and life. Because sometimes, no matter how good the plan looks on paper, it just isn’t working... and it takes guts (and a little ego check) to switch gears.
✨ Noticing fast when something’s off and having the guts to change it
💔 Letting go of the parts of your business that don’t fit the bigger vision (even when it’s hard)
💸 Focusing on what actually brings in the money instead of doing all the things
🧠 Having someone to brainstorm with when you’re deep in the decision-making mess
🫣 Learning to keep your ego out of it so you can make smart, not emotional, calls
📉 Adjusting to how people spend now — post-COVID vibes are not the same
💪 Realizing that resilience is the real MVP when things feel uncertain
Stay Connected:
📲 Follow us on Instagram: @maximalistlifepodcast
🎙️ Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify – it helps us so much!
I thought he was silly. He's silly. Yeah, I was telling you, christy, I said.
Speaker 2:I texted her last night and I said every time I said this is highly inappropriate.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but I'm going to tell you this Every time.
Speaker 2:your brother posts something and the videos of himself and then he puts jerky walk and talk. I read it as walk and jerk.
Speaker 1:Just dry jacking with the jerk While you're walking around the neighborhood.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I said I wish he would just call it that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, dry jacking around the neighborhood. Oh God, that'll get you arrested real quick. Yeah, you know, I had a client yesterday and she was like you know, I'm really having a hard time smiling when you're telling me to smile you know, in the session. She was like, can you just say penis or something? I just think that's so funny. I go, yeah, I go. You know I'm a big girl on dry jacking you have me just say dry jack all the time.
Speaker 1:So then one time I did and she was just cracking up, yeah, and she was laughing. And then when we were doing her viewing, she goes. I just think this photo is so funny because I just kept remembering the things that you're saying, right, yeah, because you know sometimes they'll be like tell me a joke.
Speaker 2:And I'm like. I'm just going to joke.
Speaker 1:I'm not a comedian. Also, like I'm taking a photo and I'm just going to tell you a joke, okay, there was this one guy. You know what are you doing while we're taking this photo. I need you just to fake laugh and I was telling this to me. Something funny I go, something funny.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and then it's like perfect. I know, I do think that is like. I feel like that's the almost. The biggest part of being a photographer is like making the person feel like comfortable. Yeah, that's huge, because if you have your settings right, if the lighting is perfect, everything's good, but they're like uncomfortable. They're going to look stupid.
Speaker 1:Yeah, or sometimes they just like they're really trying to look at you and so then they have like deer in headlights, you know, and then I'm just like I just need to relax your face a little bit, just relax yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, or they'll just like smiling so hard. Like they're in second grade and I'm Don't even think about this. I even do the breath now with them because they like to blow instead, because I just take it.
Speaker 1:Okay, take a deep breath in and then just blow it out. Yeah, and then they're just like no, not that With the lips going and I go, I just go and I just try to show them, like with my lip, like sometimes it's still.
Speaker 2:And I'm like all right, right, well, we'll try again. I feel like that reminds me when you're at the doctor and they're listening to your lungs, and I take a deep breath and it's like they do it with you uh-huh, and then they hold.
Speaker 1:They want you to hold it for 20 seconds. I'm like how long I?
Speaker 3:can't hold it, jesus, god, it's got like I'm trying to hold it right now.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, no, please, no, I'm done yeah, when I went to uh urgent care because you know I had strep again.
Speaker 1:Brianna gets strep throat every six weeks. It's probably a problem, always fucking sick and shit.
Speaker 2:I got to get my tonsils out. Yeah, you have to. I got to get them out. But you know, yeah, but the insurance is going to gonna be killer. Yeah, I don't want to pay for insurance, yeah, so I? Um, you know, everything was fine, I go in. Okay, the nurse first of all. Which one do you go to? Uh, is the one in nut tree? What's it?
Speaker 1:called. Oh yeah, is it the north bay? Yeah, I think so love it there.
Speaker 2:Absolute best urgent care, perfect. I'll leave them a five-star review please do, please do and it's like they know me now they're like here she is for her six weeks.
Speaker 1:Let me get you, let me get your swab thing ready to go.
Speaker 2:We don't even need to swab you, we already know yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah so how about the? My last time I went there, which was a week, two weeks ago, yeah, I go in the nurse. Immediately she go oh, I love your hair. And I was like, oh, thanks, you know.
Speaker 2:And then she's like and you know, I just go, oh, I have extensions because she has really short, thin hair yes, she's like I feel I, she has uh an autoimmune disease she was saying and so she lost a lot of hair, and so she's telling me I was like well, I have extensions too yeah, let me just tell you, this is not my real hair yeah, so she's like asking me all these questions. I'm in there, in here for my strep throat. Yeah, and we just had a whole conversation about extension You're giving her a consultation?
Speaker 1:I was, yeah, I gave her Lindsay's information.
Speaker 2:I say this is because she has curly hair too. Yeah so you need to go to this girl, but I'm telling her all about. I'm like it's gonna be really expensive but it's really worth it, and so I'm like sit. She's like here's my Instagram. Can you send me me on instagram?
Speaker 1:oh my god, you're not your best friend with the nurse good because maybe she can give you a swab on the side to let you know a little back alley swab yeah, so that you don't have to go in there and pay that money to go in there oh then.
Speaker 2:So after that, then my, then the like pa comes in okay hot oh really so hot and so tall and I was like oh my God, he's your typical like white guy, no oh was he. I think he's maybe like Indian or something he was really. I mean, you know, I don't ever trust that you'll think someone's cute, that I think is cute, but whatever.
Speaker 1:But doctors are hot, yeah, I mean it's the whole thing, it's the whole Right, it's the whole Right. So maybe they're just a little bit like not as great out in the world. I mean, the thing is, when you I always think about people, like when they first wake up, what are they going to look like?
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:So if you're good looking and when you first wake up, I like it.
Speaker 2:You know what I think is super hot with doctors? What. I like when they're, when they're talking to you, and then they because they're kind of standing there and then they want to, like you know, be casual with you or whatever. So then they sit, like you know, just like one butt cheek up on the you know, like just sit, and they have like one leg and they got their clipboard
Speaker 3:on their knee. Yeah, yeah, oh, do you like when waiters?
Speaker 1:come down to your level. Like they come and they like kind of squat down in front of you and then they're like kind of writing on the table.
Speaker 2:I do kind of like that, you do like it, I do, yeah, I also. I don't know, it depends on the situation.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think so too, Like it could be okay. And here's the thing I don't like overuse of stuff. So it's like, don't come squat down every single time. You talk to me One and then you do all these things, like it's just when you're taking the order, then you can write down what's comfortable. Yeah, yeah, I mean, I know that's what they do at Hooters, so you can see their titties. Oh, of course, yeah.
Speaker 2:Better. Yeah, yeah, you just say it on my lap. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:I feel like I would be a great Hooters girl. I think I would be pretty good doing that.
Speaker 2:I know we could get some Hooters daddy to buy some good orthopedics.
Speaker 1:Yeah, should we start doing that on the weekends? I think we should. We just got to work on.
Speaker 2:Sundays for our shifts.
Speaker 1:We got our Sunday hoodies Not the hoodies and we just got our tits all the way up to our chin Like do you hire 40-year-olds here yeah, because sign us up.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm sure they do. Oh, my God, the other thing.
Speaker 1:One more thing about my doctor, boyfriend, oh yeah yeah, what's his deal?
Speaker 2:So he's doing the lung thing, he's like breathing with me and I'm like right now, oh my God, yeah. And then I have my hair down, so I have my hair down, yeah. And then he was like I'm going to like look in your ears, you know their little fucking thing. And then I didn't even move my hair, I just like moved it.
Speaker 1:And he did a little.
Speaker 2:He did a little, moved it back. I was like this bitch this, super bitch they did it so gently.
Speaker 1:I was like tuck it for me, I do feel like they're like gentle, in a way Like you know how, when they do this, like they want to fill your throat, and then they do it and they just kind of massage a little bit like this, like your neck or even I know this is weird, but when they give you a breast exam, like I mean women a little massage, I'm like thank you, ma'am, thank you for my nice massage. Instead of it being like because I mean maybe that's like your consolation prize, because they're about to shove this metal thing up your fucking vagina and click it open and shit, it's like fucking medieval man.
Speaker 2:The clicking is traumatic.
Speaker 1:And. I feel like it's heavy, so it's just literally hanging halfway out of your vagina too and you're like pulling because your vagina can't hold it. It's not can't suction it in there, it's not like a suction cup. I'm not doing kegels here. I mean it really is the worst when they just got that thing in it and it's just click, click, click and you're just like I'm due and you just want to go hurry up what is?
Speaker 2:what the fuck are you doing? Take your swabs and get the fuck out of there.
Speaker 1:I hate the feeling of the swap me too it's like it's this weird emptiness feeling because you it's like this, like it's almost like it's a numb feeling, but you know something's touching you. It's such a fucking weird feeling and I I really do hate it. I really, really, really hate it. It's so disgusting. Yeah, it's like why do we have to get that shit done?
Speaker 2:Why can't you guys figure out an easier way to do this in 2025? Can you do a blood test? Mm-hmm, I can do however many needles you want to poke in me. I actually am fine. I know you don't really you don't like the needles.
Speaker 1:Yeah, would do that in a heartbeat. Yeah, I mean, I think I would rather do the needles in those damn. Put that metal thing inside me. And have you ever had a plastic one? Yes, I don't know if it's better or worse. It's less heavy, I know that, but I don't know. But it still feels like, yes, it still click, clicks well then I get where it like.
Speaker 2:What if it breaks? And?
Speaker 1:then I just have just shatters in there, yeah just do the metal one, it's fine.
Speaker 2:Are you reusing that plastic one? I don't know if that's a. They're disposable.
Speaker 1:I think that's why they're using them, but then I only feel like I've had that one time or something, maybe twice, maybe they're like no, we just keep throwing these away. It's a waste. Yeah, it's a waste. You have to use the metal ones and sterilize them, just rinse them off in between. Uh-uh, they go in a thing Get out of here. That's so gross. Just give it a little wipe.
Speaker 2:Uh-uh, just blow on it, dab it with a towel. It's fine, she won't know?
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's scary, she ain't looking. They can all share their juices. No, I hate that. I hate the juicy. Alright, well, yeah, so Pap smears suck.
Speaker 2:Yeah, hanging strap sucks. I have had my throat massaged many times.
Speaker 1:They're always looking, yeah, they're feeling for your little glands, your gland glands.
Speaker 2:I know All I'll be doing is just like looking at them in their eyes Look at me.
Speaker 1:Uh-uh. So you're into my soul. Yeah, like looking at them in their eyes. Look at me, uh-uh, staring to my soul. Yeah, look at me, oh you're. It's like you're when in the stupid books, and they're like they're staring at each other when they're coming and I'm like that's my private moment. Don't look at me, don't. Actually I don't want to look at you. Yeah, I mean both. It's so embarrassing. This is a private moment for us. It's like you want to put your glasses on.
Speaker 2:Yeah, can you actually go away from?
Speaker 1:this part. I'm about to come right now. You just like move away. Don't look at me. Go in the other room.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Ew yeah, so I think I'm going to keep getting sick so I can go back. Did he have a wedding ring on? He did not. Oh, that was the first thing I looked. Yeah, but then I always.
Speaker 1:You never know. You never know. Yeah, I know, you never know. But then I'm like, if you're a handsome doctor, you get hit on all the time. You probably you and your wife have decided that you need to wear a wedding ring, Like so Drew doesn't have. His fingers were so swollen last weekend and so he took it off. I have it on my finger or whatever. So he's just walking around like that what a slut yeah, what he's just out there just hoeing he's out there I put that hat on.
Speaker 2:I'll tell you that, not his wine hat, because no, they'll come flocking the whole couple.
Speaker 1:The couples are coming to get him dude.
Speaker 2:Not just the women, it was the men, that's like uh, that is is apparently a sign for I'm a unicorn.
Speaker 1:I mean, I couldn't believe it. What's it?
Speaker 2:called. When you're a guy, what's it called? What. When you're like the guy that goes into a with a couple for a threesome.
Speaker 1:Oh, I don't know, this is your forte.
Speaker 2:Well, I mean, if it's a girl, they call it a unicorn.
Speaker 1:Oh, I know what the guy is. I didn't even know that that was a thing.
Speaker 2:So the girl, yeah, so the girl's a unicorn yes, so a lot of times people like their profile. They just have like a unicorn emoji oh, just like the upside down pineapple.
Speaker 1:Yeah, like those are the symbols. I don't know what the boy is I don't know it's like a centaur demogorgon yeah, yeah yeah, yeah, yeah. Fucking monsters and shit. No, what the fuck?
Speaker 2:oh my god oh, you know it. No, uh, speaking of demogorgons, do you watch stranger things? I did, yeah, season five's coming out november 26th you know I don't watch tv anymore.
Speaker 1:Yeah, because I just read my books. Yeah, I stopped watching tv. But you know what? We've been watching top chef. And then every week we like, and then so then one week, so you know, everyone cooks on a certain day, so then we were watching top chef a lot, and then so at the end of the I'm always on fridays and so I was like so I won this week's challenge. And they're like we didn't know we were playing and I was like, well, I won. I don't know what you guys are playing for, but I, I won. So now every week we do top chef food like we vote, or whatever.
Speaker 1:So we've been watching that. But the thing is I can only watch so many seasons at one time. Like we watched one season and then we watched the second season. Now we're like watching like a third season and I'm like over it, like I don't want to keep watching, like it's just like meh.
Speaker 2:See, I'm the opposite.
Speaker 1:I only like to watch anything else. I'm just like you know I'm. I'm invested now in this and you know what the thing is is so I we watched the latest season, which the new host, kristen. She was on the that season 22 and she was on 21 and I really love her outfits. She's just like this lesbian, this tall, skinny Korean girl, and she won like season 10 or something.
Speaker 1:Okay, and so she replaced Padma and so she has the dopest fucking outfits Like hella cute Wears, like sleeveless tuxedos, like just always in, like these fits or whatever. So like I'm excited to see her outfits, but she's not in the seasons before. She just got a new stylist for this last season and you can tell she looks so fucking good. I mean, she had good style before, but now it's like even Drew is like man. She is just always perfectly dressed and I'm like I know it's so good. So that was part of it too. Like oh, it's chefs. But then she comes in with like so stylish and I'm like, yeah, yeah, so that's kind of fun.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's a fun little addition. Yeah I think I am officially like an old lady now okay, what are you watching? I only watch true crime documentaries oh god, that's all.
Speaker 1:I drew's watching that one right now. You know, it's just on the background, the one where the girl goes missing like on the boat. Amy Bradley, yeah, drew's watching that right now.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I just oh. Yeah, I watched that, but I watch, I don't even watch. So I watch those two like the good ones, like on. Netflix.
Speaker 1:You watch the shitty ones too.
Speaker 2:I watch all the shitty ones on Hulu. Like the ones that are like embarrassing, like you shouldn't watch, like they're not good or it's like a. It's like a true story, but it's like they have actors that do reenactments no, the scene I hate that while the like victims are also being interviewed. So it goes back and forth. It's just such like a old lady type of show, it's just.
Speaker 2:But I don't know, it's like I'm hooked and I just I can't stop yeah, I can't stop like and there there's so many that now like I'm going through my hulu and I I'm like, watch that one, watch that one.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you got to find something else now.
Speaker 2:And they all have so many seasons. Yeah, so many yeah. It's just always like someone who is like their like. It'll be like I killed my best friend or like I killed my BFF.
Speaker 1:And it's what? Yeah, how come you're killing your best? Friend, like what's happening she's a bitch. Yeah, the thing is, you know, I I get like that with books and I'm just like reading, reading, reading and then I'm like I don't like this genre anymore or I'm tired of this and I am really in a book slump.
Speaker 2:I'm just reading stupid books or I'm rereading because I just feel like there's nothing fucking out there all these books suck right now I'm reading a book called night Watcher and um, it's the uh, the co-host of Going West podcast oh the one, yeah, yeah, yeah um, so she was putting out, it's her first novel, and so I was like excited, like the beginning of this year. You could like pre-order her book, whatever it's like. It's coming out July 8th, whatever, and then so me and Riley had both pre-ordered it, because we always listen to that podcast and, um, it's pretty good, it's pretty good. I don't know what.
Speaker 2:I don't really like her writing style. I know I really hate that, like okay.
Speaker 1:So what kind of writing styles do you not like?
Speaker 2:so well, okay with hers. What I don like? It just seems kind of amateur, like you know, when they overly use adjectives and are just like really overly describing stuff. Or there's like or she has just these weird things where she gives so much description of something that is irrelevant to the story too, where I go. Why did you even need to talk about? That before, or there's like these random things that the, the character says or doesn't.
Speaker 1:I'm like what? Why would? Why do you even say that that was so weird? Yeah, my worst one is it's like too much inner monologue like we don't have to like.
Speaker 1:It's like she does inner monologue right before they say almost the same thing like to a person and I'm like why are you telling me that she's thinking this and then now she's saying it to the person like just say it. Like I really love just like when the characters are talking more than like we're thinking about all this fucking shit. Like move the story along, you know oh, I want dialogue.
Speaker 2:The other thing I don't like is on this book in particular. You know, like each chapter it goes back and forth on the characters or whatever, but the thing is it's like the main character. When it's her chapter, it's written in first person all the other chapters are written in third person and it drives me up the wall, yeah.
Speaker 1:I do hate when they switch. I don't really like third person. No, I really want like a boy point of view and a girl point of view, like I think, that was like the best situations. But man, when they switch it on me I hate that. Especially remember that one book that we read. I don't know if you read that book, the one where the girl uh died on the boat or whatever. The little girl it was like our, one of our, like our third book club, and everyone hated.
Speaker 1:I didn't everyone yeah and that one you couldn't. There was like four character, they're following four or five characters and they just wouldn't, like you didn't know who they were talking about. And they were talking about the past and then the future and all that stuff and everyone had to read, go back, like the next chapter would happen. Everyone's like wait a minute, what? Who the fuck are they talking about? Who's talking? What are we doing? What we don't understand? And then everyone would have to go back and reread. And it was funny that like I mean, yeah, you sometimes feel like, okay, I'm just a dumb girl, but then what? We're just 17 dumb girls.
Speaker 2:No, the book is confusing. I remember that that meetup and everyone was saying that it was so confusing they had to keep rereading it and I was like, oh, oh, I'm glad I didn't read this book the Things I Never Told you, or something like that.
Speaker 1:Right, yeah, yeah, yeah, the Things. I Never Told you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I don't like that. I hate the switching of like first to third person a lot.
Speaker 1:It's like what's the point?
Speaker 2:Did you start?
Speaker 1:reading the book club book. Did you read that one? No, I wanted to finish this one and then I was thinking I was going to read that one in palm springs, but it's also really long, so I might have to start it before we go. Yeah, I think that I have to start before we go to, and then sometimes you know when you go on vacation, like do I want to read like a, like a that kind of book, or do I want to read like a, like a fun book, like a girlfriend book, or something you know, I don't even know, what that means.
Speaker 2:But you know something more fun A little summer read yeah, which this?
Speaker 1:that one is a summer thriller. That is why I picked it.
Speaker 2:But yeah, but then you're just like murder, yeah, murdered, I know as I. I don't know this one.
Speaker 1:I'm almost done, oh good, I'm almost done with this one, so you probably won't reread another book from her.
Speaker 2:I probably will, just because I like her, you love her yeah. Like. I would just buy the book because I like her but and maybe her next one would be better.
Speaker 1:I mean, this is her first one. You'll get feedback and she'll like you know all that kind of stuff.
Speaker 2:So maybe and she's only like I want to say she's 28 or something. She's kind of young.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So anyway, I just really like her and her husband. So, but like the story is getting pretty good, oh good, like the story, even though the writing I don't love it. The actual story is like I feel like I'm sucked in well, yeah, I feel like that's.
Speaker 1:How was the last thing? He told you the things? What was that was?
Speaker 2:what was the book so almost so similar? The things he told the last thing he told me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, the last thing he told I don't know, yeah yeah, and that one, it seemed like it was getting good.
Speaker 2:Yes, like I was like okay, like.
Speaker 1:Yeah, like you know, I didn't even finish it. I mean, you guys told me what happened from the book retreat, but like that one, it just I just read the good parts.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it was really good, like 75 build up and then it was like yeah, the end was poop, so boring.
Speaker 1:I really hate when that happens, like you know, everything's going good and then boom.
Speaker 2:I'm taking on this ride and then throw me off, yeah what I know I'm hoping. I mean, I don't think that that's how this book she's. I feel like it'll be like a good ending, but I don't know, and Riley's reading it right now too. So every day we're kind of like sending voice, sending voice messages, like I got to this chapter and what do you think about this? Whatever. But now she's like a little bit behind because I was reading more and she didn't read for like a bunch of days.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah.
Speaker 2:So we'll see, but yeah. Anyway.
Speaker 1:Ugh. We turned this into something completely different, different, yeah, we sure did, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I don't even know what the fuck we're talking about. No-transcript. Okay. So we're about halfway through. Okay, so do we want to talk about what we were going to talk about?
Speaker 1:Yeah, maybe just make it a quickie. It was a 25-minute intro. Yeah Well, we haven't talked to you guys in a while, so hopefully you liked it.
Speaker 2:It's a little update.
Speaker 1:Yeah Well, because we haven't really been up to much. I mean work, work and then lots of work. And you know I've been having Rihanna's softball, but this weekend's the last weekend. Thank God, because let me tell, you. I don't know how you travel. Moms do it. I want to die. And it really like reiterated that like travel ball is not for our family and so I'm not going to do it.
Speaker 2:She has to just go into regular we don't have time or the energy or just like and it's expensive too.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's expensive and like, I understand why people like for example, last weekend we were in, we were staying with my brother-in-law in Healdsburg and her games were in Marin.
Speaker 1:Well, she had lost all three games on Saturday right and then the next day you go in and it's single elimination. And then you know we just asked her, we weren't going to do this. I was like, tomorrow, do you want to go to your games or do you want to just swim at the pool and hang out all day? And she thought about it for a second because you're like, yeah, like I'm going to go to the stupid game. We're probably going to lose. And then, or yeah, I mean she won the game, thank god. And then we had to go the next one. But still, I'm just like man. We spent, we left the house in Healdsburg at like 9 am and then we had to go straight to dinner because the games ran late at 8 45 for Jarrett's dinner and Ching and she Rihanna's in her full uniform and they painted mustaches on themselves and like all the black stuff.
Speaker 1:And I'm just like, all right, we just got to go into this dinner place and like I don't look great either. Like I, you know, I have jeans and a t-shirt and a sweatshirt on and we've just been sitting out there all day. The good thing is that we brought our makeup, because we're like, oh well, maybe I'll run a little bit, like I was able to retouch up my makeup, but we're just like in our stupid clothes and stuff. So we just walk in. But then, you know, everyone's just like oh, do you play with softball?
Speaker 1:like you know, and so it's cute for her or whatever, but I mean, so 12 hours I can't do that. Yeah, I won't. And then it was jared's birthday so we want to stay up and drink and hang out. So we stayed up until like 2.30 or 3 and I had to get up at 6.30 to take her to her next game.
Speaker 1:Uh-uh, no, mm-hmm, no, that's so much. It was too much. It was so much I was exhausted last weekend. It was too much driving, I mean. So we had to drive from Healdsburg to Marin, you know, two times a day and it was an hour. That sounds awful. And we drove to san francisco on thursday and then drove up to hillsburg, which took us two hours to go to hillsburg from san francisco, because we had to help jerry and fab, like they're staying up there for a little while, and so we had to help them pack up, because our car is like big or whatever, yeah, and so we're just like what are we gonna do? Like we just have to drive crazy.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Oh, that sounds so shitty, mm-hmm. Yeah, I mean, luckily Bentley hasn't been interested in any type of like travel sport so far, so kind of like fingers crossed that he isn't wanting to but of course, if he like wants to do something like that, like I would do it.
Speaker 1:But I don't know that sounds like a big commitment and you decide like okay, do you want to do this or do you want to go on vacations? Oh no, I think that's the problem. That's what people say. Like I don't want to have my kids in the car and all their siblings there I mean luckily too. Like we don't have any all children, because people are out there with their little kids they're like three and four and they're just having to watch them and then watch their kid and doing all these things. It's like too much work, it's like a lot of work.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I guess it'd be easy for me too, because it's just him so it's just like I could just sit out there all day read my books, whatever we literally took a nap in between games because we had a game at like 12, so it finished at like 115. And then we. Our next game was until five oh my god, that was a problem too. It's like these games are spread out, and so all three of us took a nap, but we are out there drinking mimosas all day yes, you're tired.
Speaker 2:Yes, I'm like okay and stuff uh-huh, yeah, just take a long nap, oh my god, I know bentley has tried so many sports and then he gets bored quick, like me he likes to try a lot of things and then he gets bored and then he's just like I'm over it yeah and it like if he's not immediately really good at something he's so he's like doesn't want to do it too yeah.
Speaker 2:Because he's so like competitive and then he gets like frustrated and I'm like that's not really. And you know, it's like you're trying to teach him like that's not really what it's about, yeah, and have to practice and try really hard and whatever. So then he finally now is really into basketball and he's been doing that for a while. Oh good, trying to get better, he's still really into it. He wants to try out again. Uh, this year for school.
Speaker 1:So we'll see how that goes how is he like in height wise with all the other kids, is he like? In the middle or is he, like you know, when he's like out there with, like you know, his classes?
Speaker 2:before like. So it's hard to say I mean I don't take him to school or pick him up. He takes the bus. So I don't ever like. If I ever have gone to his school to pick him up, it's usually because I'm picking him up early for, like, an orthodontist appointment and so no one's really out there. Yeah, but he says he's like short.
Speaker 1:Oh, he says, he's short.
Speaker 2:But also he's in seventh grade and there's a seventh and eighth grade there, so I don't know, like, is he seeing a bunch of eighth graders? Yeah, a lot taller, but he's. He's like um so short because even last year or when he was in sixth grade, he was, I do remember, because that's when I would go to his school and help and, yeah, like some of those sixth grade boys were so tall yeah, he looks so little compared to them.
Speaker 2:But I mean, when he see he's just kind of starting to like sprout up a little bit, yeah, I mean he's gonna, yeah, he's gonna grow until he's like you know 17 so you know he's so worried about it though he's so worried, like he'll jump up I can't be short mom. I can't be and I'm like I know, hopefully not yeah, he'll jump up.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, I think.
Speaker 2:I think he'll be tall yeah. I mean his dad's tall, dad's really tall yeah and everyone else in their family. Like the guys are pretty tall, except for his grandpa, like Bentley's grandpa, isn't really that?
Speaker 1:yeah, it's funny how that that happens sometimes.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah but then, like the uncle, like the whatever you what I'm saying. His brother is tall, so yeah, so it should be fine.
Speaker 1:Yeah, please, yeah, it'll be fine.
Speaker 2:Because you'll probably also be bald like your dad. So can you at least be tall.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you have to have both you can't. Yeah, if you're bald you have to be tall. The short bald like stubby guys, poor them.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's really awful.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, it's really awful. Yeah, I bet they're really nice, but you know what?
Speaker 2:go to turkey and get your hair done, just do something or wear those toupees, yeah there's, I see these tiktoks, yeah, yeah, I'm all for it.
Speaker 1:I would do that if I was a guy, I am all for that, like I see and I go wow, that looks great.
Speaker 2:And if I met a guy and he was like oh yeah, I wear this and I'm like all right, cool, whatever, as long as you just keep going. Every six, you need to help me glue it on sometimes.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'll help you, it's fine yeah, I really think that it's totally fine. Like I bet guys get embarrassed or their friends fucking tease them or whatever, but I'm like as like we're like moving on in this world and like all this stuff, I just feel like anything just do whatever, who cares? Girls get extensions, eyelash extensions. Why can't a boy put a little topper on? What's the big deal?
Speaker 1:makes them look so much better the ladies are getting toppers too, yeah I saw um natalie said she might start doing like people with like extreme hair hair loss, because have you seen them put them on like the mesh integration is what it's called?
Speaker 1:they put like a whole mesh around your hair, your head and then they pull the hair out and then they put the bead on like a perm cap, yeah, and then they pull your hair out that you do have and they put the bead on and then they connect the beads together and then they sew on like a weft and it goes around your entire head. Yeah, I mean it's thousands and millions of dollars, but oh really it's really expensive. I mean to do it. I I bet it's at least five thousand dollars every time or something.
Speaker 2:It seems like it's a lot it's like, uh, it's hard when you you want to get regular extensions but you have your hair so thin and on the top and it's like you can't do extensions because you can see through your hair, so people have to do that yeah, the mesh, I mean especially.
Speaker 1:It's a lot of people that, like one I saw recently. She was like she got like scalped because she like was in a tractor accident and so she it's like you can have like almost no hair and you don't have to wear a wig, you have like extensions sewn in. It's a little bit more breathable they say yeah, I don't know if that's true or whatever.
Speaker 1:You know who does it? And then I started watching is, uh, remember the lady, um that you, high moon, it was the hairstylist girl that you were like. Oh, she said I have no brand. And then now I have a brand yeah she's the one that I first started watching.
Speaker 1:She does it. She changed her whole salon to it like high-end, like does these mesh, mesh integration things, and it's it's pretty amazing to watch, yeah, and just like the people like it's mostly a lot of people like with like cancer survivors or like autoimmune diseases, stuff like that, but it's pretty cool. So, yeah, even if you have no hair as a lady and you don't think that you can do anything, you can certainly can.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean if you have no hair as a lady and you don't think that you can do anything, you can. You certainly can. Yeah, I mean, if you have money to waste on that. Yeah, I mean, unfortunately it's expensive.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's expensive. I mean, maybe the hair you're able to reuse it. So maybe it's like the first time, just like when you get extensions it's really expensive, and then they, you know then, I would hope. Yeah, I mean you're just charging these poor ladies, you know, $5,000 every time. I bet that's not the case. Nah, yeah, especially someone like that lady specifically. She's like a higher end, you know. She's like you know level up and she teaches.
Speaker 2:So maybe if you just found like I don't want to say regular stylist, but like a stylist in your town that like does it, it might be a little bit cheaper.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, interesting good to know, just in case you know we start getting letting hair, getting a lot of hair loss, I'll go to turkey I know my mom has, like has always had pretty good hair.
Speaker 2:I feel like lately she's been saying it's pretty thin, but also she lost a lot of weight that makes a huge difference. Yeah, yeah I mean she didn't lose weight with any, like she didn't do semi-glutide or any medication and stuff, but she lost weight pretty quick, and so that also yeah, that makes a huge difference, yeah yeah, but tough yeah, what are we talking about?
Speaker 1:pivoting?
Speaker 2:we were, yeah, we were gonna talk about pivoting. Yeah, I don't know, because we yeah lately, I mean it feels like we've been having to do it. Yeah, we have. We have been having to pivot a lot with work stuff, but I feel like we always have done that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean, we talk about it like we just change everything constantly.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, and the thing is you, I mean in business and life, it's like you can't just have such a death grip on your expectation of what it's supposed to be, because that's when you get disappointed, that's when you get stuck and that's when you just like can't move forward because you're like no, it has to be like this, this is what it was supposed to be forward, because you're like, no, it has to be like this, this is what it was supposed to be. And then you have to be able to just navigate through, like, okay, this is, maybe I need to go in a different direction yeah, and you have to be able to recognize it, like early on too.
Speaker 1:I think that, like seeing the red flags, like when you're doing anything, you know it's like you have to see that, like this isn't working quickly and not crash out, you know.
Speaker 1:I think that's the thing, too, is like when you see that like this isn't working quickly and not crash out, you know, I think that's a thing too is like when you see that it's not working, you start being frantic yeah right, whatever it is and you're just like panicking and then you're like I can't and then like I mean, I think that's why I don't really like crying, not like I don't like in situations when people are like it's because we're that's not fixing anything. Yeah, yeah, so it's not like I don't feel bad that you're crying or whatever, but I'm like such a like let's fix this situation so we can move on, or whatever. It's like we're in this moment and you feel like something's not working. Well, what are we? Sitting here just crying?
Speaker 2:Yeah. What are we doing?
Speaker 1:No Get the fuck up and like let's figure out how this is going to work. You know, yeah. Like so this is like such a weird tough situation, Like get over it.
Speaker 2:It is tough. I mean, I remember specifically, my therapist was like you know you always, because I would talk to her about something and then I'd be like, okay, what's the plan?
Speaker 1:Yeah, Like what's the game plan.
Speaker 2:Yeah. And she's not like. But. I want one. Yeah, I just want. She's like you always just want to like fix it or like, okay, let's turn this into a checklist and then let's like fix these problems. And she's like but that also you. Sometimes you just have to sit with stuff. There's not really something to do.
Speaker 1:I hate that.
Speaker 2:I know, and so it depends, like when we're talking about like oh, you need to recognize something early and make the change. It's like, for example, if you like you're running your business and then you're like, oh my God, my clients aren't booking as much, or like I'm getting a lot of cancellations or whatever, like something and it's affecting your income, and you're like I got to see what's happening kind of quick and then figure something out Either establish a new policy to avoid this or redo my onboarding process for clients to alleviate like some of this stuff happening, change my marketing, whatever. Yeah, so you have to go into problem-solving mode on that.
Speaker 1:Obviously You're not gonna just sit with it and go. I guess I'll just I'll just wait for it to keep happening. Yeah, like, for example, I think one of the things that we kind of do here quickly is I feel like I'm choking uh, yeah, I keep having to clear my throat, yeah it's like maybe there's anthrax in the in our cervix yeah, what in the air? Oh my god anyways. So I think that, like one of the things, for example, we were having a lot of problems.
Speaker 2:I guess we still kind of have problems with this uh, with women coming in with their hair wet like showing up for their photo shoot and their hair is wet because our makeup, our stylists like they do full makeup but and then they do hair styling on the client, but it's very light styling. It's like curling their hair, curling the hair or smoothing it a little bit, that's it. It's not. We don't. It's not. We're not a salon, we don't have.
Speaker 1:We don't wash blow dry. Yeah, yeah, there's like time like it's time like I just don't understand why people come in here and they're like, oh, they're gonna do my hair, and they think they're gonna spend two hours doing my hair yeah, photo shoot, hair and makeup is very different than like going to a. Yeah and have yeah, getting your hair done so we're having problems with that, and then we just have to like we tell them.
Speaker 2:So to clarify like we we tell yeah everywhere and we put it in our reminders, in our emails and all everywhere. Like you have to come in with fully dry hair and sometimes they don't, sometimes they and smooth wash it. They come in and it's just damp or still wet all in the back or it's, it's curly, naturally curly, which is fine, and they.
Speaker 1:But then they're like but I want you to straighten and curl it, and we're just like oh, we don't have time to straighten, curl your hair yeah, you had to come in with it straightened and then we'll curl it, we'll curl it, yeah, and so I mean, I think that we're pretty good as like, at like just recognizing that it's happening more than one time, and then we're like okay, what's got to change right away? Yeah, like, how do we solve this? How do we make them understand? You know, you put it in the welcome guide. You put photos, you like text them. Now like okay, if you come, also the policy is we text them?
Speaker 1:yeah, with the photos everything, and the policy is, if that this happens, you're charged a you know cancellation fee, because we don't have time to just be doing your hair like you're in a salon because we can't.
Speaker 2:Uh, we have multiple clients in a day, so that's the problem too. If you're the only client of the day, that would be one thing, but we have multiple clients in a day, so that's the problem too. If you were the only client of the day, that would be one thing.
Speaker 1:But we have multiple clients a day to where it's going to mess up everybody else's session and that's not fair to everyone else, so we have to reschedule you now, yeah, and why is it that some people can follow the rules and some people can't? I hate that. Well, because some people don't read anything.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because some people don't read anything. Yeah, I don't like that. I mean, most people don't read anything. Ask any business owner those of you, my clients never read anything.
Speaker 1:Just the fact that they come in here with soaking wet hair is crazy to me.
Speaker 2:Or showing up like 30 minutes late just super casually.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm here 30 minutes late.
Speaker 2:That's half your photo shoot time.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'll be there in 30 minutes, but I think people don't realize that we have multiple shoots but even if we didn't, that's so disrespectful.
Speaker 2:I know everyone's time, yep yeah.
Speaker 1:So us changing things quickly, I think, when we like see that that that's happening, we do that pretty well.
Speaker 2:I think so too. Um, and we have had to do it many times in terms of, like, marketing yeah, marketing is the worst you know we'll run campaigns or we have promotions going on and you think something's gonna be so great and you're like, oh, this one's gonna be like awesome, we're gonna get a bunch of clients. And then, a few days into it, we're like this isn't working. This, we gotta change something right now and it's so like defeating.
Speaker 1:Like you just feel like why, why can't they just this just work? Like you're just like so hopeful, this is what's gonna happen, or it did work in the past. And then you're like you know, okay, this is gonna work, it'll be fine. Like if it just happens the same way it did last time, we'll be good. But now it's like it's like worse. Like how is it getting worse? What, like is the factors that is changing that? When we're like running it the same way or we're doing these things the same way, it's like why is it worse?
Speaker 2:so that's where it's like. You have to figure out where the the loose screw is yeah, like not so hard the instagram algorithm? Is it who we're targeting? Is it the messaging on our ad? Is what? There's so many things you have to figure out, and quickly too, because it also it depends I mean, anyone who's relying on income from their business is you're gonna go into like freak out mode over?
Speaker 2:oh yeah you're losing income immediately when something like this isn't working. Um, for us it's like the overhead of running a business of this size is too much to like. We we can't have a whole week where there's fuck ups happening yeah, even I get upset.
Speaker 1:I mean, I wouldn't say upset, but I'm like ugh. When I'm just like hitting the minimums, like I get four clients that are just hitting the minimums, I'm not upset but I'm just like ugh, like, and I'm not worried that it's going to be, like that's going to really affect the business. But I'm just like you know, you feel like you want to do really well, so you feel like people are going to buy more and you want them to buy more and have more, and so then you feel like you're doing a good job.
Speaker 2:But then it's like, when you're kind of here hitting just the minimum, you're just like well, and because you do and because of like the nature of what we do, it's like you as the photographer, like you're putting in so much work with this client and then for them to, let's say, like buy a smaller package or something. You're just like, like I just took so many great photos and I like I want you to have them. Yeah, and I get that like it's not in your budget but it's like oh, like we did all this great stuff and so it's frustrating.
Speaker 2:Um, and I think too, I mean one thing too it does get frustrating, or like when you're saying like okay, yeah, maybe you have multiple clients in a row who are like buying small packages, you're like, why is this happening? Like this isn't normal. It I feel like it does. Here and there start to you get these little like oh god, is this how the rest of the month is gonna go? Is this how, like, what's happening? Why aren't people spending money? And you can easily like spiral.
Speaker 1:I think we have PTSD from the bad couple of years that we had too. So when we see we just like anything isn't going perfect or going like well, or we think it's not going well, we're just like we pretty much crash out and we're just like, okay, it's going to go back to where it was. Oh no, we can't have that. So you know it's really hard. But then you know we'll have those days where it's like we bring in over ten thousand dollars and then we're just like yes, yeah, and I'm like, how come, how come I can't do this?
Speaker 1:every day right I wish, I wish, I wish you know, and I probably have those once every three weeks where I have like a big, high number like that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you've got a lot. Yeah, twelve thousand dollar days and stuff where it's just like damn. Wouldn't it be nice if this could just be every single day, that'd be so great. Yeah, oh god, I mean come on, that's the dream, and then you have another day where you make like 1500 and you're like fuck yeah, you're just like, what am I? Supposed to do with this?
Speaker 1:come on, I know it's weird, I think too, because we're talking about such a high and low of what it can be, because we also don't have a minimum. So you could have a day where you literally make, you know almost.
Speaker 2:I mean, you could have a day where you make nothing yes, we will have days where it's like I'm basically paying the clients to come in from the overhead. I'm like we paid more in pg and e today than what we made. Yeah so yeah, yeah I go damn with the payroll and the electric bill we paid the clients today to come. Yeah, yeah I just.
Speaker 1:But then we have those 12, 15 000 days and we're like, okay, perfect, okay, we're going to combo yeah, this, this could work. Yeah, we just need at least one of those every week. Yeah, because it doesn't happen every week and, uh, you know, then stay just like in the middle it's so hard, I feel like.
Speaker 2:I mean, I do feel like even people who don't own businesses I feel like can relate to this, because it's the same thing like, even if, like I don't know, let's say you uh your job, like you're in sales or something yeah, you have good days where your sales are really good, or good weeks, and then you're like, yeah, I'm fucking crushing it and you're making all these commissions or whatever, like however the situation works, and then the next week you sell nothing and you're just like what? Yes, what like? And it because we've talked about this before, because so many people, because work is such a huge part of everyone's life, I mean you spend so much time at work regardless. That it's like directly related to your self-worth.
Speaker 1:Where you're like I'm not doing good at work.
Speaker 2:I just suck as a person Like I feel like shit yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So Drew closed his Amazon deal, I don't know, maybe two weeks ago or something, and then yesterday he had like, oh God, I had three back-to-back calls that were awful. Yesterday he was like they just weren't renewing, it just was bad or whatever, and it's just like. That's just how it is. It's just like, yeah, it's like, especially in sales, you're just going to have your highs and lows.
Speaker 1:You can't always just be all up here constantly. I mean, maybe there are some guys that are like that, but I doubt it. I doubt they're just always up there. You know, you're always hitting that big number every fucking day. No way, there's no way, I know, and it's so hard to get through that I think like you. So I think, for you and I, we have like this, like partnership in that, where we kind of like talk to each other about it whatever it is, and we can like get through it. We kind of recognize it early. Sometimes it's you saying it, sometimes it's me saying it was like okay, this, this and this, okay, let's, let's just fix, fix, fix, fix, and then we're able to like bounce these ideas. At least you're like know this and I'm like and this and this, you know, and that is so helpful, I think. I think it's really hard when you have to navigate that like by yourself.
Speaker 2:Oh for sure that is so.
Speaker 1:I mean now at this point.
Speaker 2:It's crazy too, because you know, before you came on, I was in business for eight years and I wasn't really. Yeah, of course you talk about business stuff with like people, or whatever but not like how we do, and I would say we wouldn't even really have that type of thing until maybe like two years in. And now I'm like there are a lot of times where I'm like I feel like I can't even make a decision until I call Tamika Because, like, and I'm like what is wrong with me? Like, just make a decision.
Speaker 1:I think what we have recognized and what we have kind of built together is like this kind of thinking, where we're both in it for the same reasons, we both know exactly how the business works and exactly how the business should work, and we both have a standard of what it should be, and so then you and I can make clear decisions together. It should be, and so then you and I can make clear decisions together, and then we have that trust within each other that like it's. For this reason it's always going to be for the business, which I think that's hard, and that's sometimes hard for you and I, I think. But we kind of call each other on that Like is it like for the business or is it for the employees? And then we got to like look at what's happening, you know, because when it is someone just making all the decisions it's hard to not see through other like lenses.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and so then it's like I didn't even think about that, or I didn't even see it that way, you know, and so I. It really is hard for, I think, especially for women that are having these businesses by themselves and they don't really have anyone that is like in the business with them together, like, yeah, they have their partner, that's just like I'll support you, like I can help you, whatever, but like when it's like not someone that's there day to day too, they don't know the ins and outs, it's tough. It's tough for them, so it's hard to make decisions. I mean, it's already hard for two of us to make decisions. I can't imagine these other women making all these other decisions constantly, all the time by themselves too.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, it's so stressful and if you're someone like me who just like overthinks a lot and second guesses, decisions a lot, and it's like I have to go through these little like activities with myself to like figure out what exactly the right answer is and whatever, and sometimes it's more like I just need to tell you something and it's like I just need you to validate that. It sounds like that's the right answer.
Speaker 1:So then I can let it go. And then you're like yep, that's it.
Speaker 2:Stop talking about it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, like let's just let it go Whatever. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:Um, and yeah, I mean. So that's the thing too is it could be about you could have that with someone, maybe if they are in a similar position to you, and then you can kind of be like accountability partners. That could be a thing where you're like you could bounce ideas off each other. They're kind of sounding board for you.
Speaker 1:Yeah, like if you're a photographer and then you're friends with other photographers and how they kind of run their business or they can give you ideas and stuff.
Speaker 2:I think that works well. That's helpful, yeah, and I mean really like it could even just be something about not even like business stuff. Yeah, no, like life you're saying anything, yeah it could just be like man when you're just having like a shitty week as a mom and you're just like, oh my god, like, why do my kids hate me? Why do I suck at being a mom like you? Kind of like they're always sick.
Speaker 1:They pooped in their pants, you know, and you're just like. This is awful, it's awful week.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and you feel like it's your fault. Yeah, it's like obviously, like I can't even keep my household together yeah, your house is dirty, but then the next week. You're like I'm fucking crushing. We made it to all our appointments on time. Nobody got sick, no, one got hurt.
Speaker 1:Blah blah, blah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but you know it's just up and down, so you have to just figure shit out and if something happens more than one time, that's the thing. Like things could be a fluke, things could whatever you know with clients, that's what one-off. But if it's two or more times, then you kind of look at it and go, okay, there has to be something. There has to be something here that we're not seeing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you know, and like, if you go and look at like small, like I was saying, like oh, your house is a mess or whatever and you really want it to be clean and you've got to find some sort of solution, yeah, you've got to to like talk to your friends or like google it or ask chat, gptv it or whatever, to find small things to fix these problems. Yeah, and not overwhelming, I think that's the thing too is what happens in these situations is that you're so overwhelmed with, like what the whole picture looks like you can't even do like a tiny thing right within it right paralyzed.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you're like, how could I even do it?
Speaker 2:because it seems like such like this you have to take this whole mountain on, you know, and so that's tough yeah, and I think that's the thing sometimes is like you don't really you don't necessarily know what the right answer is, so you just have to make a decision whatever like just make a decision because what you're doing right now is not working right. Just try something else and then see, and then you won't really know until you do it, and then you can decide again if you need to pivot another time yeah and so that's where it gets hard.
Speaker 2:Is you get so stuck in like not only is it like I want things to be a certain way, but then you're afraid to change it because you're not sure?
Speaker 1:yet yeah, yes I don't know.
Speaker 2:I think sometimes we it's like you don't want to pivot something or like change the way you're doing something, because it's more like I don't even know how to explain like it's an ego thing where it's not really about the bottom line, or this or that it's more like I don't even know how to explain it Like it's an ego thing, Mm-hmm, when it's not really about the bottom line or this or that. It's more like or you're afraid of like what other people think.
Speaker 2:Yeah, like that's something we've talked about too, is like okay, let's say, for example, you're doing some marketing or you're running something on, you post something on and you're like, well, I don't really want to do that, because people already saw me do this. And then they're going to think this and da-da-da. And it's also just like who gives a fuck? Like, you have to just do what you have to do, so who cares about that? And if anyone who's watching it cares about it, it's probably not even your clients anyway.
Speaker 1:Yeah why is she doing so much? Why running all? Is her business sucking like all this stuff? No, actually, like I'm working on my business really hard every day and just making sure that it's like up to this level and it stays at this level, so I have to change some stuff, like constantly and that's okay.
Speaker 1:Sorry, yeah, I don't know what that bothers you, yeah, and also, if you're not like patronizing my business, it is what it is, I don't give a fuck. Yeah, I don't care, I don't care about your opinion. Yeah, no, mm-hmm Also. I mean, here's the thing I think about this. Like, whatever people think, like people talking shit or people talking about you that's how the world goes around. Oh, yeah, like I never want to hear like, so what? If someone's talking shit about me, it's totally fine, you know it and that's for you not to know and so don't worry about that.
Speaker 1:I don't let someone is saying it into your face and that you need to reflect on it and change something. It is what it is. People are going to say whatever they want, and you're you're going to have your people that support you, and you're going to have your people that don't support you, and that's okay. Yeah, it's also okay to have opinions on like, like thinking about like, oh god, yeah, like I would never do this or I would never do that. I could see she's doing that, and that's okay too.
Speaker 1:Like it's fine whatever, yeah, you don't have to, just don't hurt people's feelings, yeah, and like be nice to everyone, yeah, but like, so what if she's running a ton of ads 10 of them? I would love to run 10 ads here. I know, okay, I would love to run hundreds of ads. So we just have hundreds of clients and we're booked two years in advance.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I would love it yeah.
Speaker 1:And then we just make $15,000 every single day and we're open seven days a week. Now, I would love it.
Speaker 2:That's the fucking dream One day dream one day, I think too.
Speaker 2:I think something that we also don't uh think about that much is like how many times, though, if you think in the past, of times when something has fallen apart and you've had to make a change and reroute in a way that you didn't think you were gonna have to, but then what ended up happening was better than what the initial like vision was, and I think that is something that I noticed for the business.
Speaker 2:I mean, many times that's happened, um, but, like I would say, the biggest one and most recent ish would be how I was uh shooting high school senior portraits for so long and that was like the main thing of the whole business, and once we started getting into boudoir and branding, it was like that was taking over, and I saw that that was just so much more aligned with, like our culture here, our vision for everything, like our mission, and it was so much easier to work with more clients at a time and anyway. So it just started to become almost like keeping the seniors on was more again, like that was more so like an ego thing, or it was like I I am like I want to be the senior photographer you're gonna be the senior queen I want to be.
Speaker 2:Yeah, like everyone knows, I do senior pictures here, like I have this senior sorority program. It's so fun and I want to keep doing it, but it's like okay, but if that, is that really what's best though, for the business or yourself or whatever it's? It wasn't, and so it took a little time for me to really like let it go. Yeah, but I feel like once that happened, everything else just fell into place.
Speaker 1:I can't even imagine having seniors in here now, can you? I can't imagine also you getting up at five o'clock and going to do seniors like I can't even imagine, like the way that we have everything in here now.
Speaker 1:I mean we only have one viewing room now, yeah and so and even that's a little stressful when we were doing branding like yeah, for that a month or so hardcore, and so I just can't even imagine it's still going on. I mean, just like the stuff that we have on the wall, like right now we're set up for shades of beauty and we have four backdrops in the middle of our like studio and like. Everything is for women and not like high school seniors.
Speaker 2:Everything is not appropriate for teenagers to be in here. Yeah, I mean. Even so, I did headshots the other day for this girl who is a high school senior.
Speaker 1:She's young, yeah.
Speaker 2:Well, she's going into her senior year and she needed theater headshots and I did them for her because I knew them. I actually took pictures of her when she was like nine years old, and so her mom asked if we could do her headshots and so she came in here and I even that day I was in the viewing room. I was done taking her photos um, actually even during the photo shoot.
Speaker 2:This happened too, like we're in the middle of doing the photos and I kept having to look at the makeup artist and be like can you change the playlist?
Speaker 2:like it wasn't appropriate for like a 17 year old and her mom to be in here, but it's just like that's the kind of stuff we don't even have to think about anymore, because now it's just like 18 and over in here, women only we don't have kids in here and it just like it just changed everything to where it like it made everything easier but also made, I think, the experience for our clients so much better, because now it's just 100 women centric, everything makes sense and the brand is so much stronger for that.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:If you think it's almost like as if we had, if you tried, you know there's like a Victoria's Secret and then a pink brand and they're similar, but like the pink brand is kind of like the younger team or whatever, and usually that's like separate, yeah, and it's just like we were trying to have all of it in one. Yeah, combine it all into one thing.
Speaker 1:And it's so hard to to do that and even with marketing that like the fact, like remember we, when we kind of finished doing seniors, we were kind of like we're spending all this time and this energy thinking of two marketing plans for two different kind of like genres or whatever, and we could just spend all of our energy into one, two that we're actually more passionate about, that. We want to go in that direction and it would just be like a more fulfilling for our studio and just a little easier on us. And once we've made that switch, it did get so much better. Oh my god, because you're not doing two things we're doubling.
Speaker 2:We basically just doubled down on what was working, and that's what you have to do too. You have to just be realistic about like 80 of the business is coming from doing this one yeah so why not just double down on that and stop wasting 50 of of our time on that 20% that's coming.
Speaker 1:And the senior portrait thing. It was too many variables.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and so it was hard to scale because it's hard for me to train someone to do that, and it didn't make sense. I really needed to step out of, like working in the business at that point of like working in the business at that point and I was like I really need to have 100% of my focus, just like doing the higher level stuff, if we want to keep growing.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Otherwise, we're just going to stay stuck here.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:You know, when I was at my business conference with Alex Hermosi.
Speaker 1:All your boyfriends that I hate. I love them and I'm going back next week.
Speaker 2:All your boyfriends that I hate, I love them. And I'm going back next week he said something that there was a lady who stood up and there was like a Q&A so she was asking and she kind of had a similar thing, and I feel like a lot of entrepreneurs feel like she's like well, I have this going on in my business and it's going really well, but then I also started this thing and that's going really well.
Speaker 2:But then also wanted to do this other thing which makes sense, because and she's trying to like justify why she has like four different branches of her business. And he's like no, you can't you, you just need to stick with the one. He's like which one's making you the most money? And she's like well, this one. And he's like okay, why are we not just focusing on that? And she's like, but like. And he's like I get that these other ones make sense, I get that they could make money, I get what you're saying, but like why are you spreading yourself so thin?
Speaker 2:instead of just focusing and the way that he said it. He was like think about this. Um, he's like think about your business as like, or something that you offer in your business as you're, it's you throwing a party. Okay, throwing a party is so much work and you have to like get this whole guest list and you have to like think about the decoration and the food and all this stuff and so much work. And then it's so much work to get people to come to this party. And now think about throwing three different parties on the same exact night. That's what you're doing. That is what you're doing. You're literally spreading yourself that. Why not just throw one big ass, amazing party instead?
Speaker 2:of three shit ones, yeah, and I was like that actually makes a lot of sense right and so he's like just throw what, pick what party you want to go to. That's the only thing you need to worry about yeah, he was like, okay, fine, but I feel like we do. It's also because when you own a business, I feel like most of us are just very multi-passionate and you just want to do all these things yeah, we have hella businesses we want to do.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you don't want to do these things sounds fun yeah and it's like, yeah, it would make money and it would be fun. But again, now you're just everything that you say yes to, you're saying no to something else right and that's like a huge like. You have to think about that, like right they say yes to this, that's taking away however many hours from this other thing Right, and so you have to just decide.
Speaker 1:But yeah, tough.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it is, it is. And I know we're like, oh, maximalist, maximalist, maximalist, but like at some point I mean fuck yeah, I mean you can't be, there's only so many hours in a day.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you have to maximize that. One things, a million things. You know, like we said, it's not your yes year, no, it's yes to what's right. And then maximizing the shit out of that because otherwise, I mean, you'll be dead, you'll be exhausted then you'll have nothing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, your party will be a celebration of life yeah, like we, you can't do that to yourself.
Speaker 1:Yeah, what it's so hard, and I get it like you're trying to find your thing, and so then you're like okay, I'm gonna do this and I'm gonna do this. I think that's like the downside of pivoting. You're just like I'm gonna do this and then you pivot this way, then you pivot this way too many, too many, too many. Pick one kind of go down that lane for a little bit and then figure out just that lane yeah, yeah, you stick with it for a little bit.
Speaker 2:Let it simmer think about it. Take it, take a beat, you know, because you know I feel really bad.
Speaker 1:I've been seeing a lot of places closing down businesses small businesses in our like little town, or seeing that they're struggling, and it's such a unique thing to be to have been in business during COVID yeah uh, and I think that there was a time when it was like people were starved to spend money and people were getting like these little checks from the government and like all that.
Speaker 1:And I think coming out of COVID, people were spending, spending, spending. And it kind of also brought up this uh out a lot of creatives. I think you know where people were making things. And people were like yeah, I support small businesses and all that stuff.
Speaker 2:And then, or they just took it as their sign, like, oh, I lost my job because, because of COVID, my company went out of business, so now it's my, it's my time. Yeah, I'm gonna just why not like, I'm gonna just start a business?
Speaker 1:yeah, and then all those markets came about and people were just selling at the markets and people were doing this and people. And then they were doing well and they opened these like brick and mortar businesses and then it's really tough to have that kind of business and I'm seeing a lot of people struggling and I feel really bad for them because it's such a great idea, their concept is great and stuff, but then it's like people just aren't buying like they were. It's just like people are holding on to their money a little bit more right now, yeah, and so it's really tough. And so I mean I do remember right through COVID we were booming, oh yeah.
Speaker 1:And not with a lot of effort.
Speaker 2:Yeah, 2021 was our best year before this year.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I remember thinking like damn, this is easy.
Speaker 2:Damn, those were the days, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:These were the days and I think I was only shooting like two people a day and we were balling out, yeah, and we were barely marketing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, I mean we were marketing, but nowhere to the extent that we are right now no, and now we have to do so much more to like, yeah, we'll surpass that, but still, like man, it's tough now and so it's such a weird thing to think about, like how everyone was like booming in that one year, but then seeing people not being able to pivot and change the things that they need to change and recognize that also because people are new business owners and so they never really had to go through something like that. And we've always talked about how, like, if you don't pivot, you give up and then you know that's what happens. That's why people don't make it beyond those years, you know yeah, I, yeah.
Speaker 2:I've always said and I'm mostly to like my coaching clients and stuff like being resilient is the thing that's going to carry you through you have to be able to like weather the storms. You can't just make knee-jerk reactions about stuff.
Speaker 2:You can't let every single bad review ruin your whole fucking month yeah, you have to be able to get through all that stuff and just change course if needed and just keep it moving, because otherwise that's how people go out of business, because they just get so caught up in everything and they don't know what to do, so they go. Well, I just need to quit.
Speaker 1:I don't want to do this anymore, which is totally fine, which that's fine too like if it's too stressful also and it's taking a toll on you like you should quit. Oh yeah, you can't just like. Keep going like this and you can't put yourself in so much debt and like all this stuff, like you know. I think that that's really scary too, but I think that that's why it's like you got to recognize things early on too, like you got to see like where you're not growing, yeah, and kind of fix that.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, I mean, there's just so many god. I feel like this is a topic we could talk about forever yeah, for sure, and have so many examples, yeah, yeah yeah, because it's tough out, tough out there for us ladies yeah, yeah it's hard for us.
Speaker 1:Oh, we're just girls make it easier on us support each other more you know how about?
Speaker 2:how about this?
Speaker 1:what I was talking to this guy on the phone last night okay, yeah, I hate that, you know, I hate talking on the phone I.
Speaker 2:He really loves to call. He doesn't want to text he does he text you before?
Speaker 2:like no, and you know he does a surprise call. Go fuck yourself here that. How about this he? He does surprise facetimes and I won't answer. I don't answer and then I call him back, then he won't answer and then he'll facetime back and I go and I text him. Stop facetiming me, fucking psychopath. Yeah, don't ever. Also, um phone calls in general that are not planned. If people just call me, I feel personally attacked. Yes, do not you. Should I get so much? I need to mentally prepare for a phone call. But he loves to talk on the phone. So anyway, we're on the phone. Old school.
Speaker 2:He was being kind of a little crybaby about some stuff, just about his job and stuff, which I mean that's fine if you want to vent about it. But also he was being like ridiculous. And so I said I said you're, you're really giving a little spoon energy right now. And he was like, wow, he did not like that. And then he's just like look. And he goes look, I'm just having a hard time, like he's being silly, he's like I'm just having a hard time. And then, um, he goes why can't I just be like a little spoon sometimes? And I was like, yeah, you can, and he goes no, I, he's like, I like to be the big spoon. But then you know, then you're just there and you just have this like awkward boner, and I was like, oh, I'm so sorry about your awkward boners. And he goes listen, I'm literally just a boy. Okay, I'm just a boy. So you're so stupid, oh my god.
Speaker 1:So you're like I'm just a girl. He's just a girl. I'm just a boy with an awkward boner uh-uh, don't say that to me, yeah you need to be a man bitch listen, you little spoon yeah listen, little spoon.
Speaker 2:He did not like that. It is weird being the.
Speaker 1:It is weird being the big spoon for me. No, I like it also because drew and I are typically naked, and so I just throw my whole leg. I saw my push just right there on his back yeah because, I'm so short? Yeah, because I'm so little so I just got my whole leg going over and so my puss. If the lips actually spread open, my wounds just open.
Speaker 2:So you know, that's just like kind of weird. I just don't like it sometimes to be a little swim, because then if they fall asleep and they're so heavy and then I get Crushed.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I mean get the fuck off.
Speaker 1:I just love when Drew's penis fits like right with my vagina. When I'm the little spoon I wanted to be like cupped right in there. Yeah, I hate it. Yeah, yeah, just like a little cup right in there with your balls and your dick, and it's just like Perfectly, perfectly, just like laying flat against my vagina. I love it. Yeah, that's my favorite, oh my.
Speaker 2:God, wow, I need to add my little spoon energy. I need to add my little spoon energy. Have you seen those threads? Like people will say I don't know like a girl will post something kind of like, like comment with things you could say, like things that men really don't like women to say to them.
Speaker 1:It is hella funny. I bet it's so good, so funny.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I need to add that to the list. Yeah, you're really giving a little spoon. That's how I mean. He's just trying to vent about work. Yeah, what a bitch. Yeah, it's fine, don't talk. That's what you get for calling me. Yeah, I don't want to hear it we're not talking about our days, weirdo what I'm not. Your wife, yeah, my boyfriend, yeah all right, okay, this is a good one. Well, just pivot your penis right into my back. I guess, yeah, I want. Just pivot your penis right into my back. I guess yeah.
Speaker 1:I want you to pivot it right into my vagina. Let's do a little pivot, a little twist, a little penis. Poof, pee-n-poof, poofy penises, poof, I love the word poof. I know.
Speaker 2:You're like into it Poof, poofy. Yeah, it's perfect. Just use it for everything, even if I'm like bloated one day. I go oh, my stomach's so poofed, I love it, oh my god. Well, we never did an intro, so welcome to maximalist live and hope you're having fun here with us. See you guys next time, yeah, tits up d out.
Speaker 1:Have a great day.