Brands That Book With Davey Jones

We chat about why page load speed matters—hint: a fast website can help improve conversion rates—how you can test your website, what you should look for when running a test, and then 5 ways you can increase your website speed. A quick warning: We chat about a lot in this episode. For quick reference, I’ve written a corresponding blog post that you can find in the show notes that summarizes what we’ve discussed. Alex is an entrepreneur, photographer at AL Weddings, and designer for Davey & Krista—but outside of work, his life is consumed by plants. He may have missed his calling as a botanist but he’s doing his very best to turn his home into a jungle. He loves solving problems whether it’s helping brands find more clients or fixing the kitchen sink, and at least once a day he slips up and calls Davey & Krista, “Dava & Kristy."

Today we are chatting with sleep consultant Becca Campbell of Little Z Sleep. Becca helps parents get sleep through teaching them how to train their babies how to sleep through the night. While we do find some time to chat about some sleep training tips (and Krista and my current struggle in moving Jack from 2 naps to 1 nap), we spend much of the episode learning how she built her business, and we chat about how she moved from 1:1 service model to a 1:many online course model. We cover how she used her 1:1 experience, what steps she took before creating her online course, and how through creating online courses she’s able to better serve her clients. For the show notes and additional resources, visit https://daveyandkrista.com/btb-becca-campbell-episode-54/.

Today we are chatting with photographer and entrepreneur Melissa Jill. Melissa, impressively runs 3 different businesses with 5 income streams. Much of what we talk about today is how she was able to build and manage all these different businesses through outsourcing and hiring a team. We also get to hear about how she started her latest business—an album design company called Align, which we’ve actually used and highly recommend to others. We end the episode with a brief conversation about some of Melissa’s best tips for effectively selling albums. Even if you’re not a photographer, I think you’ll find this conversation helpful as you think through ways you can optimize your customers’ value. Melissa Jill is an internationally recognized Phoenix-based wedding photographer who has been shooting weddings for 16 years. She photographs 10-15 high-end weddings a year and also has 4 associate photographers who shoot weddings under her brand at lower price points. Over the years, she has developed an extensive d

Today’s guest are brand photographers Erica + Jon and we’re chatting about how they successfully pivoted from wedding photography to brand photography, and how specializing has allowed them to become much more profitable as a business. Erica + Jon have a pretty incredible client roster featuring businesses like the Chicago White Sox. There are a number of practical takeaways in this episode for any business who is looking to pivot or further specialize in whatever they do. Erica + Jon are a husband and wife brand photography team that partner with commercial and personal brands to plan, style and intentionally create compelling imagery for marketing. Their work has appeared on billboards, storefront signs and magazine spreads across the country. For show notes and additional resources, check out https://daveyandkrista.com/btb-erica-jon-episode-52.

Today we are chatting with Shunta Grant, the founder of Because of Zoe, a company that makes handcrafted bow ties and headbands. Shunta also coaches other businesses on how to find their focus using her Peace, Pace, Progress program. And that’s what we’re chatting about in this episode: As Shunta puts it—getting on the other side of busy so you make meaningful progress in your business. We chat about how the problems we perceive in business sometimes aren’t truly the problem—but rather, it’s a mindset issue that needs to be fixed. Shunta Grant is a business educator helping women build business and life on the OTHER side of busy through teaching her signature 4-step Peace Pace Progress™ Framework. The Peace Pace Progress™ Framework teaches women how to STOP doing #AllTheThings in their business so they can focus on what will get them to their one desired destination. Shunta is also the creator of Because of Zoe Designs, a hair bow company specializing in celebrating the joy of childhood and host of the Bu

Once in a while we work with difficult clients. It happens—even after years of being in business and developing different ways to screen prospective clients. Chances are you’ll work with a difficult client, too. Maybe that’s why you’re here in the first place. You’re already “in it” and you’re looking for ways to deal with it. Or maybe you’re looking to avoid this experience altogether. We’re covering both of these things in this episode: Part 1: When It’s Already Too Late – What to do when you’re in the midst of it. Part 2: How to Prevent it from Happening Again – Tips for screening clients so you’re working with the right clients. Here are a few ways to deal with difficult client situations when you’re in the midst of one. Access the show notes at Read the full post: Part 1 | Part 2

Tayler is the Co-Founder of Sourced Co., owner of TAYLRD Media + Designs, and formerly was the Marketing Director at Aisle Planner. As wedding industry marketing consultant, she works with wedding professionals to help them develop the skills, strategies, and stuff they need to market their businesses and build their brands. For more resources, go to https://daveyandkrista.com/btb-tayler-hollman-episode-48/.

How do you like our fresh look? While it’s normal for us to give our website a bit of an update each year, this update was massive and has been months in the making. To say we’re excited to start closing out this project would be an understatement. Krista and Alex, one of our designers, are especially excited to have this thing launched as it’s been an almost daily project for them since late last year. I’ve always felt that there are so many updates that happen ‘behind-the-scenes’ during a website redesign. Things that most people might never see or understand unless they were told. This post is meant to provide some insight into those things. While I wish it was comprehensive, it doesn’t quite cover everything that I’d like to share (even at over 2,000 words). Read the full post at https://daveyandkrista.com/why-we-redesigned-our-website/.

Neuroscience shows that buying is primarily an emotional decision. We decide, based largely on ‘irrational’ factors, to purchase something, and then use reason to justify the decision. But we see so many websites that focus almost exclusively on the rational reasons that one might purchase their products or services. Frequently we see services pages that resemble a menu. The whole page is usually succinct, and contains the price of the service with description of the deliverables, or the exact items that are included in that service. That information is, of course, important on some level, but we often overestimate how important that information is in the purchasing decision. I’d argue that the exact deliverables become less important the more ‘luxury’ or ‘high end’ the service or product we’re selling. So if the focus isn’t on deliverables, what does an effective sales page focus on? For more resources and to read the full article, go to https://daveyandkrista.com/how-to-create-services-page/...

Today’s guest is Creative Consultant Sarah Kay Love. Sarah has taken her experience working for Nigel Barker, InStyle, and the Knot Magazine to helping creatives visually market their business. Sarah Kay Love is a Creative Consultant, specializing in content production and visual marketing, devoted to helping companies build brands that differentiate themselves and increase business. After working for InStyle magazine and “America’s Next Top Model” photographer Nigel Barker, she became a lover of all things weddings and spent five years at The Knot magazine producing and curating visuals on a variety of media platforms from print to digital editorials, covers, advertising campaigns, and social media channels. She also spearheaded the real wedding and styled shoot submission process for the national and regional magazines. Sarah is now combining her unique skill set and sharing her knowledge with wedding photographers and professionals to help them properly produce, curate and pitch content so they can get

One of the most common reasons people reach out to me for coaching is that their bookings aren’t where they want them to be. I often hear from people who are coming off a great year that they feel the current year is slower or that inquiries have dropped off, and they’re not sure whether or not potential clients can even find them. There’s a sense of panic that things are falling apart, and then overwhelm because it can be hard to know where to start correcting course. And that can be scary. Fortunately, there are a number of practical strategies people can employ to get things back on track. Much of this post assumes you’ve had work in the past. If you haven’t, and you’re just starting out, these tried-and-true strategies can still work, but they’ll likely take a little more time. UNDERSTANDING WHETHER THERE’S ACTUALLY A PROBLEM When I chat with people who are panicking over the number of bookings they have, I first ask them how this current quarter has stacked up against the same quarter last year.

Today’s guest is wedding photographer Abby Jiu. Abby has been named one of Martha Stewart Weddings’ top wedding photographers, and has been published in places like Martha Stewart Weddings, Southern Weddings, and the Knot. Today Abby is sharing how she was able to jump from shooting $500 weddings to six figure weddings. And she also shares a few tips for getting published. For show notes and additional resources, check out https://daveyandkrista.com/btb-abby-jiu-episode-44/.

Today’s guest is wedding photographer Cheyenne Shultz, who is based in Charlotte, NC, and we’re chatting all about client experience. We walk through her entire client experience and chat about things like the tools she uses and gifts she gives. Cheyenne Schultz is a wife, mama to four, professional photographer and photography business educator and coach living in Charlotte, North Carolina. With more than a decade of business experience, Cheyenne genuinely loves helping creative entrepreneurs achieve the goals they have set for themselves and teaching them what she has learned about how to sustain long-term as a business, turning clients into raving fans and standing out in a saturated market. She believes in dog rescue, homemade lattes, good chocolate, blankets and loving her family well.

Jess and I chat about moving beyond a client profile and actually writing copy designed to convert visitors into clients. I appreciate the practical questions that Jessica outlines in this episode to help people think through the their copywriting. Jess Jordana is a copywriter (a.k.a. heart-translator) who helps creative business owners turn their passionate mumblings into words people actually "get." She is a 24/7 iced coffee drinker, and firmly believes if date night isn't tacos, you're doing it wrong. She builds her tribe through the motto: "We don't do shallow friendships"; and she wouldn't survive a day in business without her cute husband (Presley) and pup (Joey Tribbiani). You can follow her adventures on Instagram @jessjordana.

Today’s guest is Shay Cochrane, founder of the SC Stockshop and Social Squares. If you’re not familiar with those brands, the SC Stockshop is a 'styled stock' photography shop that provides access to premium styled stock photography for your brand, while Social Squares is a membership that provides monthly access to styled stock photos for things like social media and blogging. I’m really excited about this episode, and it’s a bit different than the others. Shay and I are chatting about how she stopped trading her hours for money, and turned a service-based business into a product based business. Before SC Stockshop, Shay was doing brand and product photography for creatives businesses—until a remark from one of her clients led to an idea that eventually turned into the SC Stockshop. Shay shares a lot of great business wisdom as she walks us through founding SC Stockshop and Social Squares. For the show notes and access to more resources, go to: https://daveyandkrista.com/btb-shay-cochrane-episode-41/

Today’s guest is communications coach and strategist Lauren Carnes. Lauren helps creative and lifestyle brands bridge the gap between imagery and copywriting. And her marketing, PR, and social media background includes experience working alongside some major brands. Today she is sharing the recipe for a successful pitch. We chat about what exactly that means, and everything from setting yourself up for success through tips for the actual pitch itself. With a background in public relations and social media marketing, Lauren has always been a lover of telling great stories. For 6 years she worked alongside international brands including Nike, Airstream, the John Maxwell Company, and Chick-fil-A in defining unique elements of their stories and serving as their brand voice through digital, print, and in-person engagements. In 2014, she made the leap to launching Lauren Carnes Photography serving couples, creatives, and foodies through wedding, branding, and food photography. After successfully growing her ph

Today’s guest is Stephanie Thacker, the founder of Steadfast Bookkeeping, a company that provides full service bookkeeping, tax planning and preparation, and outsourced CFO services. Stephanie shares about how to find a bookkeeper if you’re looking for one, tips for bookkeeping if you’re tackling it yourself, and what to do if you find yourself in over your head this tax season. For show notes and resources, go to https://daveyandkrista.com/btb-stephanie-thacker-episode-39.

Today’s guest is Julie Paisley, a destination wedding photographer and educator based in Nashville, TN. Julie’s work can be found on every major wedding blog, she's been published countless times in print, including a feature on the cover of People, TWICE. And she has a client roster featuring some names that you probably recognize. Today we’re chatting about how to increase word of mouth referrals—both from clients and other businesses—by keeping things personal. Before we get started: If you are hybrid photographer—you shoot both film and digital formats—there’s a conference I think you need to check out that’s hosted by Julie along with Jonathan Canlas and Belinda Olson. It’s called The Hybrid Collective, and this is year it’s happening in Nashville from May 6th-8th and registration is currently open! Head on over to the hybrid co dot com to check out the speaker line-up, styled shoots, breakout sessions, and master classes. I’ll be there teaching… and I’ll be giving out some awesome bonuses during my

Today’s guest is Charity Maurer of Charity Maurer Photography, a luxury level Photography business serving the Phoenix area. What’s interesting about Charity’s business is that she didn’t start out as a luxury brand. It wasn’t until a few years into business that she decided she wanted to go after the luxury market so that she could create more margin in her life. We walk through steps that Charity took in rebranding her business and entering that luxury level market focusing on everything from finding new networking groups to changing up the copy and imagery she was sharing on social media to making big pricing increases. For show notes and other resources, go to https://daveyandkrista.com/btb-charity-maurer-episode-37.

Today’s episode is a bit different: In this episode I am being interviewed by Catherine Guidry, the host of the Mistakes Make Magic podcast for an episode of Mistakes Make Magic. Cat was kind enough to let me also air this episode here. Today we’re chatting all about podcasting. If starting a podcast is one of your goals for 2019 or if you’re just interested in a little behind the scenes of the Brands that Book podcast, you’ll want to stay tuned! Afterwards be sure to check out Mistakes Make Magic. Catherine’s podcast provides business advice and lessons learned from failure, and she’s had some pretty awesome guests on her show. Show notes can be found at http://catherineguidry.com/blog/051-davey-jones/.