058: From $50 Porch Sessions to $5K Sales (What Actually Happens Inside My Mastermind) with Elizabeth Dugan

Hello and welcome to the Posers Podcast. The place where we skip the fluff, say the quiet parts out loud and dig into what really matters. This is where photography, psychology and business collide. I'm Jodie, your host and I'm bringing you my raw takes, hard wins and a whole lot of unfiltered honesty about what it takes to build a photography business that actually connects and makes money. So ladies, grab your headphones and get your tits up and your ears open because we are going to build something really incredible together. Okay, hello, hello, hello my beautiful posters and welcome back to a fantastic episode of the Posers Podcast. Today's episode I have been really, really, really excited to release because this isn't just me teaching something. This is me actually showing you what happens when all of this work that we talk about here, when that actually lands and not in just a fluffy like highlight-real kind of version, but I mean the real messy behind the scenes and honestly dramatic statement, but life changing kind of way. Today I am bringing on someone who has not only become a Posers favorite, but someone that I personally adore and really deeply respect. I am bringing on Elizabeth Dugan and whenever I tell you that this woman is special, I actually don't even think I need to tell you that this woman is special because she is a favorite not only to me, but to so many of you already. So she is one of those people who really walks into a room and you actually like feel her presence. She is magnetic and she's warm and she just really makes the people around her feel so incredibly seen and so incredibly heard and that translates directly into the way that she shows up for her clients too. Now before I started working with Elizabeth, she had already built a six-figure photography business. It's going to blow you away whenever you hear this episode based on the fact that she basically built this six-figure photography business out of nothing. But whenever she came to me, she had demand, she had clients and she had momentum. And from the outside, even whenever I was reading her onboarding form, I was like, "Man, she is almost like breaking into the multi-six-figure range already." So from the outside, everything looked like it was working. I was like panicking in my head. I'm like, "What am I going to do for this girl?" Because she already seems to have it going on. But behind the scenes, what I learned about Elizabeth was that she was actually insanely exhausted. She was completely overworked. She was running a business that relied solely on volume. It relied on her constantly shooting and it relied on her never being able to actually turn anything off. She was doing hundreds. And I mean hundreds of photoshoots per year. She was delivering everything on the back end. She was basically working around the clock. And for some photographers, that's kind of where the story ends. They just sort of think like, "Okay, well, this is what it feels like to be successful. This is what success looks like." But Elizabeth knew that something wasn't right. And what happened next is exactly why I want you to hear this conversation. Because during our time together, we didn't just week a few things. We didn't just raise her prices a little bit. We completely changed the entire structure of her business. We changed the way that she sells. The way that she serves her clients, the way that she values her own work, the way that she shows up as an artist. And because of that, we didn't just change her income. We changed her time. We changed her marriage. I know that sounds like a dramatic statement, but it's really true. We changed her relationship with her kids. We changed her entire day-to-day life. And I know that those statements sound dramatic. But whenever you hear her say it in her own words, you'll understand exactly what I mean. So if you are someone who feels like your business kind of looks good on paper, but behind the scenes, you are tired, you are stretched thin, and you know that something has to change. I want you to listen to this episode a little bit differently, not as like entertainment, but maybe as somebody holding up a mirror. Because what Elizabeth did inside of her business, the changes that she made, it's also available to you too. So let's get into the episode. Hello, hello, hello, and welcome back to another episode of The Pozer's Podcast, my beautiful posters. I have a treat. I have a gift wrapped up in a beautiful bow for you today because I have a fan favorite. I have a Pozer's team favorite here virtually in the studio with me. I am talking to none other than the gem of all gems from Tampa, Florida, Elizabeth, Duke, and Hi, Elizabeth. Hi, my love. How are you? Nice to see you outside of the internet. Okay. I know that you are a fan favorite because I get DMs all the time from women inside my mastermind, women who aren't even inside the mastermind, other people saying like Elizabeth told me this and this and this and this and I'm just like that Elizabeth. I'm absolutely in love with her. And then everybody always responds, isn't she so amazing? Isn't she so great? Oh, you're making me blush. I mean truthfully, whenever we ran the beta round of the mastermind last year, I fell in love with literally all of you. It was such a great round. And I love how close your guy's relationship still is. I mean, I don't know how much the whole group is, but I know that so many good relationships were formed inside of there. And then it warms my heart so much to see women that are in this group too have connected with you from talking through it whenever they were deciding whether or not they wanted to jump in. A lot of them reached out to you girls from the last round to say, hey, I'm thinking about the Pozer's mastermind. I'm thinking about this. Walk me through it. Did it help with your business? And like all of that. It's the fact that you're out there still saying amazing thing about Pozer's. I'm over here with little sparkles around my heart. I mean, you did transform my life. I mean, I did raise you. You basically did. You are mother. I love it. Okay, so I want to be very transparent in this episode because the Pozer's mastermind is launching again here really soon. And I was talking with the team and they were like, you know, what has proved so beneficial for so many people whenever they're jumping into the mastermind is to be able to talk to the women who've gone through it before. And so they were saying like, let's have some of the girls come on that way. This episode is very much so geared towards if you are on the fence or if you are really thinking about whether or not you want to jump into the mastermind, Elizabeth is like not that she speaks for anybody else except for herself, but she is kind of like, you know, here to answer those questions and sort of get, I don't know, a little bit of clarity about like what we go over, what we talk about, what kind of impact it had for you. And I also want to make sure that I'm letting the listeners know here too that after the mastermind, I have kept in touch with quite a few people at you obviously being one of them. So anytime something's happening in your business, you'll still send me screenshots of sales that you have or you'll still tell me big wins or you'll still come in and say like, hey, I'm struggling with this here. But we also talk a little bit broader about just life and in general. And like we've gotten a little bit closer outside of the mastermind. So I also want to make sure that everybody who's listening knows that you and I have a close enough relationship that if I'm trying to blow smoke or if I'm trying to like bullshit my way through something that you are going to be like, Jody, no, this part of the mastermind sucks or this could be better or something like that, right? You feel comfortable to be honest and tell me the truth. Oh, 100%. We live a very unsiltered life here. Okay. There is nothing hidden. There is nothing unsaid. We are a team here. I also forgot, but we should have said this at the very beginning of the episode. But I forgot to tell everybody that this is your very first time on a podcast that we're popping your podcast cherry. Yes, I popped a fresh cherry coke. A cherry coke. I love it. Okay, but so not only are we unfiltered, but this is also you've had no media training. No, I just talked to my Instagram stories all day. That's great. I'm kidding. I'm just I'm obsessed with the fact that we've gotten a little bit closer. And I know for a fact that if I try to say something that sounds like fluff or not that I ever would like, I think I'm incapable of doing that. But just in case if anybody feels as though this episode is trying to be too salesy or trying to be too pushy or trying to get you into the mastermind, the whole point is that I want to make sure that if you're investing that kind of money with me, that you have people like Elizabeth or any of the other girls who have gone through it to really ask truth full questions to know whether or not it's the right fit for you. So with all of that, like groundwork being laid, let's get into it. Yes. Let's do it. OK, I love it. All right, so let's start off with what your business felt like or looked like before you were jumping into the mastermind with me. Because I have my perceptions of what was happening with your business. But let's hear it from you. So my business was born during COVID. I was a COVID business that accidentally happened. I remember sitting in my car with my wife and our daughter at the time driving around to neighborhoods in South Tampa during front porch sessions. And it was just kind of a way to get people out of their homes during this crazy time. But also so I could buy diapers. I was charging $50, editing on my phone and texting them photos 20 minutes later. Wait, I didn't know that. Hold on. Pause. Everybody's going to be like, I thought you said you guys were close. Wait, hold on. What were you doing pre-COVID? Pre-COVID. I've kind of dabbled in all of the things creative. I was in the bridal space working and designing on wedding dresses at one point in time. I ran social media for a female own small business product companies. So I've always had my hands in kind of a creative space. But the shift when I started photography was because my clients weren't going to market because they couldn't go to market. There was no market during COVID. And I was like, well, shit, wait, am I allowed to cast on here? Elizabeth. Welcome to the poster spot. You know, I was like, honestly. Okay, I literally just said I have no idea that you were prior to the mastermind. And I'm just claiming that we're like close. And then you're like, am I allowed to cast? I'm like, are you nuts? I was really hoping that you were going to open this podcast. So please subscribe who I am so I could say you are country mother. And I was like, you know, I probably can't say that. I actually, I think that I've said the C word once on here. I'm not sure. Elizabeth, do we need to just roll out the first fuck of the podcast? Like cheers. Cheers. Give me your cherry coke for a cheers. Okay. Let's get back to it. Okay. So you've always been a little bit like you've been in the creative space. But how did you decide to pick up a camera and do like front porch sessions? So my clients that I was managing their socials needed content. And I was like, I can do that. Of course, I can do that. I can do anything. So I borrowed $500 from my partner. I was not my wife back then is my wife now. And I was like, I need a loan of $500. Will you trust me on this and just see it through it with me? She was like, okay, like what are you getting into now? What is happening? And I went to target and I bought a Canon lens kit camera. Also a pause. Pause. To be your wife. I'm guessing. We are never going to get to business to be your wife. I can't do this. I can't laugh and cough at the same time. To be Shawna would be like, I'm guessing that these conversations happen every week. Like, oh, here's a new business. Here's something new I'm going to do. You know, we are seven years in almost and she is to the point now where she just doesn't even question what's going on in my head. She can only assume an amount in and so we could treat. Always a surprise for her. I actually love this so much only because I know our whole entire like arc of our storyline. And I know that at the end of the mastermind, after we went through everything, after we changed your business, after you started really making money inside of your business, you sent me, I might get emotional saying this on a podcast, especially like looking you dead in the eye, saying it. But you sent me a DM that said, you changed my family's life, which is crazy. Look, don't get, don't, don't you well it here. Don't you do it? Because if you do it, I'll do it. If you do it, I'll do it. And we both put on makeup today. So we're not doing it. Okay. But so back up a little bit. Whenever I came upon the scene, whenever we jumped into the mastermind, because I don't even think we did a discovery call, I don't think that we did any of that. I actually don't think anybody of that round did a discovery call. Everybody jumped in. I sold it out the week that I even said I was going to do it. So we sold out the 10 women, but we never did a discovery call. So by the time that we got into the mastermind, it took until we had a one on one in order for me to get the behind the scenes of like what your business was doing, actually. And the way I remember it is that you were doing mini sessions, mini sessions like a mother fucker all over the place. Listen, no judge and jury here. If you love a mini session, I love that for you. I want you to keep doing everything that you're doing. But Elizabeth was doing mini sessions till her fingers were falling off, right? I was shooting for eight to ten hours a day, coming home and then up all night long editing. And that was pretty much my entire identity from September through December. Yeah. So that's what I remember. And you were charging like $350 or something like that for these sessions and they included all of the images. And then you were you were over delivering even with all of the images. So like you were doing hundreds and hundreds of mini sessions per year. If not, maybe approaching a thousand. I mean, on one day, I would do 50 Santa sessions. Say that again. Yeah, I did 50 Santa sessions a day and I did that three days. On top of what you were already doing with other options. On top of all of my fall sessions and my normal in the studio or newborn sessions that I had already pre-hatted on the calendar outside of the mini sessions. It's been saying that is absolutely like even saying it again now. I remember thinking whenever we were going through it before, I was like, how are you doing this without burning out? And I remember telling you if you don't change this trajectory, you're not going to survive this much longer. And I felt that and my body started feeling that my marriage started feeling that my children started feeling that and I was like, okay, something something's got to get. Yeah, but the thing I always loved about you and honestly, I didn't even know that part of your story about how you started with the COVID sessions like that. But this is very much so of your mindset that you are just like, I can do anything. I can pick it up. I can do that. I'm creative. I can figure this out. But then you got into it and you created this monster. You created a cage for yourself that didn't even let you see your family or anything like that. But you had this really instinctual drive for business already, which was something that automatically attracted me to you. Yeah, I've definitely always been a go-getter and to some people, this may sound bad, but I am such a not-stay-a-home mom. And I tell people this all the time that comes to me and chow with me is, I'm a better mom when I'm fulfilled with my work and I'm happy in my work and what I'm doing because I can go home and turn off and then just be mom. And I don't have to stress about it. Yeah, I used to say the same thing all the time whenever my babies were little was that being a stay-at-home mom was so hard, but it was also so mind-numbing that I couldn't do it. And I just couldn't fulfill me in that kind of way. I loved my kids, loved whenever I could stay home with them, but if I didn't have something else that I was doing, there was no way that I was ever going to be happy because it filled my day and it obviously is the hardest job on the planet, but it didn't ever make me feel happy about myself and what I was doing. So I agree with you, like, 100% that me and you have that same sort of personality, for sure. And also remember that when you started the mastermind, you were terrified. 100%. And I don't even know if you remember this, but you closed the mastermind. And I remember voice, I was pushing Alfie in the shoulder on her walk and you were like, you can do it. I can see if they can open up a spot for you. I was like, oh, I just, I don't know if I can do it. I don't financially know if I can do it. All I can explain this to my wife that I want to spend this money to do this. She already thinks I'm crazy. And I was like, you know what? Fuck it. We've already solidified the fact that her wife thinks she's crazy. Yeah. I was like, you know what? I was like, text them right now. Send me the link. Like, I'm going to do it. And I did. I did. Do remember this. Now that you're saying it, I do remember, I don't know if we were, we weren't on a call though, but I do remember, maybe you sent a photo because you do this a lot. Anytime I'm talking to you, you send me a photo of whatever it is that you're doing. Or I think maybe we were voice noting. That's what it was. We were voice noting back and forth. And you were saying, I'm out on a walk right now and doing all that. I don't remember that I had closed it though. So you were technically the 11th member. Yeah, that's what it was. And then one of the members had a family member who passed away and she like pulled out because of that. And so then we ended up with the core 10 and that you were involved with. I completely forgot about that. Okay. But walk me through what you were so terrified with. Yeah, I mean, so many things from how are my clients who are so accustomed to a drive-through style experience going to see the value in what I'm trying to create. And I going to be information overload and crash and burn. And I going to shut down when I'm uncomfortable because I know that about myself and how the hell am I going to do this in the middle of busy season? Yeah, I remember the fact that we did the mastermind during the middle of the season. It's also something that's a sidestep, side note. But I remember you saying that you thought that your business would implode if you stopped doing like many sessions. And if you stopped doing the cheap sessions, what was it that like made you decide to take the risk anyways? I think because I had finally reached a point of the exhaustion physically and mentally that I was like, I know that I talented. I think I'm going to okay for a photographer. I know I have really great connections with people. You know that I'm going to be mad at you. Get off of the Posers podcast right now. Get off of the Posers podcast with that mediocre confidence. I can see through it. You're trying to be polite for the people. And I need you to rewind it back because this is the Posers podcast. Go back and say that statement of exactly what you actually think about your work. My work now I'm really fucking proud of. Thank you. I love what I'm creating. Thank you. But it's because I have the time to do what I actually love and what I actually want to and create the shit that I actually care about because I'm not doing so in a five, ten, fifteen minute session where it's a hello stand here smile. Goodbye. Wait, hold on. I don't even think that I connected those dots because I know that your work has shifted. I know that your work has really changed. And we've talked about that. We've talked about like the confidence level. And you really kind of like finding who you were as an artist during the mastermind, which is funny enough because that's not the basis of the mastermind. The basis of the mastermind is to really focus on the business and understand the structure inside of your business in order to move yourself into six and multi six figures. So the fact that you felt such a shift creatively is like something that's really important to note. But I hadn't connected the dots of you saying like you just did now is that you felt like you had to be a churn and burn. Like you didn't even have the room for creativity because I mean if you're doing a five minute ten minute session then obviously you're going to come in and you're going to get like set poses set this set that. But I don't think that I even like put two and two together that there wasn't even time there wasn't even space for you to expand even if you wanted to try something new. You wouldn't have ever even had the time to get like a client warmed up enough to like do something different with you. There is no connection. There was no creating spaces to have these warm and welcoming environments. It was so impersonal. But the crazy thing is this is not on our like this is not on our topic list here. That's why I'm sort of like jumping in and being like but hold on the crazy part is is that even with this like McDonald's style drive through a photography that you were doing like your clients still coveted you. They still like loved you so loyally and so through and through that even within five or ten minutes Elizabeth was still shining. Oh 100%. I will say I do have quite a cult following in my area. I have my loyal girlies. I have my families that have fully grown with me the last five years and aside from photography I am who I am as a person and it believes into my business. So I think my very authoritative personality really relates and kind of blends. I think authoritative is not the word. And it has other. No like you are not authoritative at all and I don't think you're a bitch either. I think that it's like you're actually like effervescent. Like I think that you're actually you you have a contagious like quality of you that like if you walk into a space and like have a beaming smile than the people around like that's contagious for people but you also very much have like hype girl status even literally the very first day that I met you like you had no idea that you were being the hype girl for me that of like what I needed that day. I don't remember because I know that I've talked about you before on the podcast but not necessarily that I introduce that like to connect the dots that you're the person that whenever I was going to speak on stage at a conference for the very first time and I was literally shitting my pants and I walked through the door into the conference and you were sitting on the couch and you said to me like oh my god can I just tell you that I binge the podcast last night and I'm so obsessed with you and I like fell to my knees and I was like oh my god you have no idea how bad I needed to hear that right now. So I just don't want you to minimize what you do and what you bring to the table because it's not authoritative and it is not bitchy by any means whatsoever. Look we're okay thank you mom like guys we're back in the podcast. I mean we're back in the mastermind. Okay so understanding this model even better now because I feel like hi nice to meet you I'm just getting to know you even deeper. Understanding all of this it really makes me have a clear understanding too of why you were so scared to move into the IPS because you weren't doing any of that you were literally churn and burn you were all inclusive you were delivering 60 to 70 photos or so probably more because I'd see your eyeballs getting really big for every single one of these mini sessions that you were doing which I didn't even know how you were making that mini photos out of a mini session but so walk me through feeling so incredibly terrified to slide into in person sales you literally thought that that was going to break your business. Yeah I think too I was just so set in my way and comfortable and I also felt like you know I maybe don't have the work that can show that I'm worth the investment because of the style of imagery I was putting out and pushing out but also I've had clients come to me who are like you know we want photos but we you know that can't necessarily afford it or I was just always the girl that was being tagged on the so it's famous face like post it's like I'm looking forever toathers or that doesn't cost an ornamental egg and I'm like oh how did I get myself here why am I here I don't want to be that girl like I don't want to be that person you tag under something like that yeah so then whenever we like God I just I just wish that I could like paint the whole picture of like how many conversations you and I had and how scared you were and how much you and I think it was that it was like how do I go from being a photographer who's known as the not the arm and the leg photographer in the Facebook groups to then charging and making thousands of dollars on every single shoot so I literally had to hold your hand and walk you through the idea that we were going to build a transition plan for your clients and you were close to tears and you were like okay okay I'm going to do it what was there something that I said or was there something happening in your life where you were just like now is the time I'm either going to make this jumper I'm not I think you have really given me this space to feel uncomfortable and completely break me down in a way that I need to TV broke down because everything I was getting before was praise and oh my gosh you're doing so great this is great your business is successful you know I was making six figures but I was exhausted and I was right at that threshold of you know a hundred to a hundred fifty thousand a year where to some people that's a dream but to me I was really stuck and I was stuck there shooting hundreds and hundreds of sessions a year and when you really broke it down for me what I was delivering and showing me you know you're making five cents an image and I wanted to vomit and I was like it really was it was like that was that low that I remember breaking it down being like you you would have a better quality of life if you wouldn't work to McDonald's and we both know how much you and I both love McDonald's yeah like that so you could you could have worked your dream job truly the amount of french fries and Coca Cola okay so whenever we did the transition plan for your clients and you were really panicking because that like like we said your client you felt like your clients wanted you because you were cheap so what surprised you about what your clients actually said or did like after you went through that transition campaign with them so I had already pre-booked out my fall I launched my fall openings in June before we had started the mastermind yeah and I had you know my set stuff but I was like you know what I people know that I closed my books and there's nothing else open so I am gonna go ahead and just update my website and you held my hand and you were like you need to stop looking like a cutesy little mom photographer we're gonna elevate this we're gonna change this we're gonna add black to your wardrobe hey it's giving luxury no and we we kind of built this little badass business in the heat of the crazy and I hit publish and I got a booking and I was like oh my god wait do they do they know that like they have to pay again after the fee I is this are they doing this this is really happening and they did they came in it was a 20 minute cake smash session and I had never done a reveal before I don't know what the hell I was doing but I walked in there like it was so normal and my very first IPS well you walked in there because it was so normal because wait what will it hold on wait wait I I messed up the like I interrupt you there go back say what it was again $5600 oh wait say that again night first say all with $50 $600 your first day was $5,600 on a 20 minute cake smash on a shoot that you wouldn't have ever even booked had we not gone through and like ripped everything apart and built it all back yeah it was actually like that's crazy like $5,600 on a 20 minute session that's crazy in my world and this was your first sale okay yeah and I remember sitting there like going through and you know we designed their album and we like we did a whole gallery wall they're picked out their images and I just the whole time and sitting there like oh my god oh my god that was just happening like this isn't gonna go through and I used my my Jody confidence and I was like okay I just texted you your link you know once your invoice is you know taking care of like I'll show you some other things blah blah whatever we were just chit chatting and tap with the credit card and I was like what the half is this actually happening right now but I had to like and then you screen shot at it and you sent it to me and we both just started like having the craziest dance party 100% and I think I I was so shocked in that being my first one I was like okay that was you know anomaly that won't happen again but it's continued happening and it's a very real thing that happens and I even still have to remind myself now like you can do it and you are doing it and be proud that you're doing it because you worked your ass off to get here and you did all the really hard work to get here yeah what would have happened like let's say this let's say you didn't go through the mastermind and you were like trying to make this shift what do you think would have happened if you went into that sales room that day without the sales script without understanding like how to run the actual sales room that you learned inside the mastermind would you have just shut your pants 100 times over there wouldn't have been a sales meeting there wouldn't have I picked that wouldn't have existed and I truly don't think I would have ever gone to this point had I not had you there to really shake myself and tell me that it's okay you do it you needed exactly that somebody to shake you by the shoulders and like show you how good you are and just rearrange like a few things and that was it I remember like you did that one and then you kept on sending me screenshots after that there was one that you had three reveals in a day and you were sending me two thousand three thousand like just screenshots one after the other so even though your books were already closed you ran a very small sort of launch or something to book a few more full sessions that fall right you did like 10 of them or something yeah so I was supposed to go on a vacation ended up changing my plans and thinking oh what let me just try and run the little spicy email campaign let me put some jody touch on I was going to say all up all up posters email campaign okay let me just try it and I did like a little you know a little launch method email campaign even if I book a couple just to kind of like get me through all you see says like my teaching lesson for myself or whatever and every single client was like this is amazing I had no idea you did this why haven't you been doing this all along I would love brains I would love albums this is great can I go back for my sessions from the last five years and we do all of this for all of this stuff that you've done for us before and I was like oh fuck I and let me let me let me rephrase that so basically your clients loved the fact that you are now offering like even more of a service that you are offering to service them even further in the way that photographers technically should yeah yes so I'm just I'm just walking you back through that fear I'm just you know just like let's so going back to like Elizabeth whenever you started the mastermind and now Elizabeth who understands what IPS actually is and how beneficial it is for a client's like what would you say do Elizabeth at the beginning from Elizabeth now in order to sort of like I don't know facilitate that process even further oh my gosh I I don't even know I wish that I could see the confidence and the peace and happiness in my life and in my marriage and in my business and the space that I've created that's fully and truly mine in style and really just being who I am versus feeling like I had to push someone who I truly deep down wasn't to fit this narrative that I thought I had to be to make money and have clients I remember that because I remember you also saying to me that you didn't feel like you could create in the way that you wanted to create you felt like you had to fit the mold of your area 100 percent especially because some other successful photographers who do more of this model had that very same vision and I was like you know I have to look like this or I have to have my clients wear stuff like this or my furniture has to be this way and I was like but it's just it's just not me yeah not you at all it's just it's so crazy how much of like a 180 you've made since because we're not even a year out like the last of my last years started in August went through October and so we're not even a year out and now your whole entire business is completely switched over right like no more minis no more like all inclusive no more anything right no and this is the first calendar year starting January that I didn't do Valentine's Day I not doing Easter Bunny like when I tell you that I was the girl who did all of the minis like that was me so when people were like oh you know when are your Valentine's Day sessions like love you babe but Not doing them anymore. And they were like, "Oh, what?" But then they were like, "You know what? I love that for you." We love watching you grow. Like, props to you. Yeah, your clients who are loyal to you the whole time. They love to be part of the build. They love to see you elevating, right? Oh my gosh, the amount of messages. I literally got a DM last night from someone. They were like, "We've loved watching you grow over the past few years. We love everything you're doing. We're welcoming our second baby in June. I can't wait to work with you this time again." And they want to pay the prices. They want to get all of the goods. They want to have pieces of Elizabeth Duke and like inside of their home. Yeah, which is really cool. And I had a client that I very first started with my COVID from Forge, who's been so wonderful. And I've been on all of the growing journeys with me. And we just did a massive, massive wall gallery stare. Oh my god, I saw that on your Instagram. That was huge. The matting alone is four inches all the way around. So you can like, the photos are fucking huge. But she's been with me since I very first started. And we took photos from the past five years. And we grew an entire wall. And she was like, "I love this. I've always wanted something like this. And the fact that I get to do this with you and continue growing this is incredible." I want to know how much that was. How much was that sale? I think that was close to seven. Oh my god. You went from $350 mini sessions that were burning you out all over the place to now making $7,000 per, I mean, not per. That's not your average. But making that kind of money, each time that you're having reveal sessions. Is there anything from the mastermind to that like, what about that relationship with money? Like, did any of that have to change inside of the mastermind so that you could just like even welcome in that kind of growth? I think for me, you know, money has always been like a very touching, kept thing, you know, it's not something that I even think women talk about really. And I wish people felt more open and candid to being like, "Look, I'm successful. I'm a woman. I created this business." This is what I'm doing. But aside from that, I felt like I was always chasing numbers because I knew I needed ex-emotic sessions to get me to a number that I needed to survive. And now I have internally struggled a little bit because, you know, I'm not shooting 30 to 50 sessions a month anymore. So in my head, I have to like really retrain myself to be like, "It's okay that you only have two or three because you're going to make the same amount of money on those two and three." So stop looking about the quantity of session and think about the quality of work that you're delivering to make that same amount of money for those people. I can't even imagine the mind-fuck there that like the panic that you probably felt in these first few months of the year of like, "I'm not doing Valentines. I'm not doing Easter's. I'm not doing this. I'm not like stretched so thin. I'm not working so hard. And so then you think I'm failing." That panic. I wonder how long that's going to take to like get rid of that out of your nervous system. Yeah. I did run a lunch method in November to book out my spring calendar because I learned to do the mastermind and it was really successful. I pre-booked 50 sessions from this calendar year. The reason why I get a little bit surprised by this is because sometimes Elizabeth does not tell me these sort of things. I knew that you were running your unveiled series during the mastermind, but you also ran what on the Black Friday one that I taught you? Yes. So everyone like my you know $97 session fee and about 50 of them. Off of my lunch method. Off of my lunch method that I taught you inside the mastermind. You launched it on Black Friday and you sold out 50 sessions for this spring. So when it were January rolled around like you didn't have to worry about your spring calendar at all. You were just already like, "Nope. I've got 50 sessions. I'm good. I don't have to pound the pavement. There is no there is no worry about where my next booking is coming from." Yeah. I don't think that I knew this, Elizabeth. I knew that you had done your unveiled series. Unveiled she started to like step into the world of Budwa and unveiled was the series that she did for Budwa. So I knew you were running that. I don't think you ever told me that you did another lunch and that it was that successful. I feel like such a proud mom. She's cackling over there like she's just like, "Oh yeah, you know. Oh yeah, you know, I just popped this off and I just did this. But I'm not surprised either because we haven't even made it through this next round of the mastermind. We haven't gone through anything IPS. We were like halfway through it and other girls inside of it are just starting. Like we've just gotten through the launch system, which is one of the biggest parts of the mastermind for sure. But we've just gotten through that. And so they're all starting to pop off little like spring launches in order to do motherhood and some of them are planning for summer launches. And one of the girls in there just launched just a couple days ago and she sold out 22 sessions like at the drop of a hat. And I'm just like, "This shit works." You guys, this shit works. Oh my god. I love. Okay, I'm obsessed because now it comes full circle to see what you wrote me in that DM was like you actually changed my life. Like you actually changed my family's life. And it's because of this, of this right here, that now you literally get to spend time with your kids again. Yeah, I get to do the things that I presented them for wanting to do as simple as sitting and playing on the floor because I was so stressed and overwhelmed about editing and shooting and schedules and sessions and all of the bullshit that I resented them because I had to focus on my business. So I could survive and it's completely changed the game. I mean, my kids have been home for the last week and it's fine and it's okay. And I'm not stressed. Yeah. Do you care if I get a little personal for a second? No. I know you're very much an open book. What is it done for your marriage? We like each other again. We, she just popped her head around the corner and I was like, "Go away, wife, go away!" So you guys like each other again? We do. We went on a vacation together, which was incredible. We got to spend genuine time together. I didn't bring my computer because I have to edit. I have set some really intentional boundaries. I specifically take two days all a week, fully all, no working, no emails, no editing, no nothing. And it's just allowed us to kind of have a consistent schedule and all that can be done there. And because you also know that you can do all that, you can put that stuff away and you're still making money. Yes. I love that. I love that so for you much. Okay. I know that you are booked and busy. You've got a session that you have to get to. So I know you have to jump out this call. One more tiny thing. If there was anybody who's on the fence about joining the mastermind, what would you tell them? If they were on the fence, they should welcomely get stabbed by said fence because you have made anything. Because he will ditch them up so perfectly and show them what they can do. Are so like my morbid like step sister. So like get off the fence, stab yourself with it, and then let Jody's ditch you back together. Did you do that? You did. You know it's so funny. Real quick too. I remember chatting with someone who was like, I'm just nervous and I'm like, well, if you want to be ripped to shreds and you want your entire entire life and identity completely stripped down and basically go run naked in the street. But then be cheered on at the end. Jody's your girl. Okay, remove Elizabeth from the marketing team. She's no longer. If you want your business broken down in the best way and rebuilt to where it can actually be a money making machine, is that what you meant to say? Oh yes. But also your inside shredded. Okay. I love you. So freaking much. I'm going to have a coffee attack. Okay, so I know you have to pop off. We're going to wrap up this session. I just want to tell you guys like if you have any questions at all, Elizabeth, Dugan photography on Instagram. She would love to take your questions. Wouldn't you? I'm going to stop my fences together. I love it. The next round of the Mastermind is opening up here within like the next 30 days or so. If for any reason you feel like this conversation has motivated you and you're like, "You know what? I would love to get stabbed by offense." You can hop into the show notes and sign up for the wait list so that you are one of the very first to know when we are actually opening the doors. And Elizabeth, thank you. I love you dearly. Go do your photoshoot and go kick some ass. Love you. Bye babe. Okay, so that is a wrap on this episode of the Posers Podcast. If you loved it, please subscribe, rate, and review because honestly algorithms are neater than all of our ex-boyfriends combined, and ladies, I need all the help I can get. If you've got thoughts, questions, love letters, even hate mail, please send them my way. I actually read every single one of them, so until next time, stay bold, stay messy, and don't let the bullshit win. Tits up, ears open, and go build something incredible. Bye for now friends.