February 25, 2025 • 23 mins
Sublimation has been quite the buzz in the crafting industry. As a digital seller we need to understand what it is, how our customers use these files and other useful tidbits so that we can design for this growing niche of buyers. Tune into the first part of the interview in this week’s episode where I bring on Angie Holden with the Country Chic Cottage to answer all our questions regarding sublimation.
EPISODE NOTES:https://kaseyclin.com/blogs/podcast/whats-the-deal-with-sublimation-what-exactly-is-sublimation-with-angie-holden-part-one
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
As natural creatives, we love our projects, we love
our craft time and we'll neversay no to a quick trip to
Michael's.
Although running a handmadebusiness is rewarding, it can
also be overwhelming.
Hey, creative mamas, kasey here, and as a mother of two feisty
toddlers and a business ownermyself, I get the nap time
(00:20):
hustle and live it daily.
Managing the house, jugglingthe kids and getting those
orders out on time can train thelife right out of us.
But what if there was a way toconvert that business of yours
into an online passive incomegenerating machine?
Well, I'm here to tell you it'snot only possible, but
completely yours for the taking.
(00:40):
I'm on a mission to give all ofthe nap time hustling crafty
moms out there the right tools,systems and strategies needed to
convert your own businessesinto consistent yet flexible
income online, all while doingwhat you do best creating.
So put those kiddos down fortheir nap, pop in some earbuds
(01:00):
and kick back.
This is where you stop tradingtime for dollars.
This is where you claim yourlife back.
This is the Naptime HustlePodcast.
Hey, elle, welcome on to thepodcast.
It's so good to have you.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
Thanks so much for chatting with me today, Kasey.
Why?
Speaker 1 (01:23):
don't you start off by telling us a little bit about
yourself and your business?
Speaker 2 (01:29):
So I'm Elle Druin.
I am the founder of AstoundStock Society.
We started in 2016, but priorto that, I actually spent eight
years working in financialservices and then a few years
working in marketing fore-commerce businesses.
(01:50):
So Styled Stock Society is avisual marketing membership for
primarily women entrepreneurs,small business owners, content
creators.
We have stock photos, videos,customizable Canva templates,
monthly caption guides and anumber of other bonus marketing
resources.
(02:10):
It's really kind of anall-in-one marketing hub for
women who are looking to savetime and energy and stress less
about their marketing whenthey're marketing their business
online, primarily.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
I was telling you just before we hit record.
So I was curious when I startedfollowing you and so I went
back through my emails and wasjust like scrolling through back
to the very beginning.
And I have been following yousince at least 2019, but I'm
pretty sure it was earlier thanthat in like 2018.
(02:48):
And so you've been around for awhile.
Like did you was it just likephotos that you started offering
initially, or what was thefirst product?
And like, how did this allbegin?
Speaker 2 (03:02):
Yep.
So when I actually um like quitmy nine to five job, um, I at
the time quit because I time, uh, I wanted more flexibility
because at the time, I wasmanaging my dog's Instagram
career, which sounds a little,um, wild, um, but her Instagram
(03:28):
had kind of taken off and I hada lot of opportunities to travel
with her and do brandpartnerships, and I just wanted
a way that I could make moneyfor myself and not have to work
a nine to five or 10 to six,whatever normal business hours,
(03:49):
um, and so I started Instagramconsulting um, while I was also,
um, not exactly managing hercare, cause she had a manager
but, um, creating content for myInstagram, and so is she like
an actor, like, has she beenseen on movies?
Speaker 1 (04:07):
I gotta ask, yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
So I actually you know, to back up, I had been
working in marketing.
I moved to New York, I got adog and, like many people this
is back in 2014, I guess startedan Instagram account for my dog
, because I didn't want myInstagram to be just like full
of pictures of my dog.
So I thought, like my family,my friends, some random people
(04:33):
might follow her because she'svery cute.
And her account quicklysurpassed mine in terms of
followers and within a year shehad like 10,000 followers and I
thought wouldn't it be funny ifI kind of gave her a personality
and kind of intentionallycreated a brand around my dog?
So we went from like 10-15,000followers to 30,000 followers in
(04:55):
two months and I quit my joband so we're working with brands
like the Ritz-Carlton, Google.
Um, she has been in movies, uhshe was my gosh Clifford the big
red dog movie no way.
I was actually in the movie too.
It was like an extra, you see,for like two seconds, um.
But, um, yeah, she's done somemagazine campaigns.
(05:20):
Um, she was in Cosmopolitan and, um, we've just done a lot of
different things with her kindof as a brand and an influencer.
At one point she had over ahundred thousand social media
followers across differentchannels.
She has since retired, partiallyjust because my business kind
(05:41):
of took over my life and also Ifelt like she just needed to be
a dog for a while.
So what kind of a dog is she?
She is a multi-poo.
So she's actually nine now orshe's about to turn nine.
So we did that for like five orsix years and it was.
It was great fun.
I learned a lot, I met a lot ofpeople.
It kind of got me into socialmedia and a little bit into
(06:05):
photography.
There's just the whole world oflike content creation, and I
was always doing that.
I started the kind of my firstforay into like the online space
as I created a course that wascalled Celebrate Pet Bootcamp,
where I taught other people howto make their dogs like famous
on the internet.
This is so cool.
Speaker 1 (06:26):
I have never met anybody like you.
Okay, it makes me want to likemake one for my cat, but she's,
I don't think it would goanywhere.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
And that really just came out of.
People were asking, like, howdid your dog get so many
followers?
And so I created a course forthat and that sort of evolved
into people who didn't have pets.
At first it was more like petbusinesses or people who had
some sort of tie.
They followed my dog and justasked questions.
(06:57):
And then I realized that thesame strategies that applied to
my dog's account could beapplied to just people, whether
they're small business owners orinfluencers or people who are
just using Instagram as aplatform for themselves.
So I kind of pivoted and triedto create content that was more
(07:22):
focused around using Instagramas a platform for people who are
just like me.
And, um, one of the things Irealized as I was doing that is
I was teaching people thestrategy but they weren't
actually implementing it becausethey didn't have the photos.
Um, and I didn't really want toteach photography because I
(07:42):
felt like it wasn't somethingthat I couldn't do because I
wasn't a photographer.
I was like I can take prettygood pictures of my dog, but I'm
not, like, trained in this andit's not something that I would
ever say that I'm an expert in.
I can share some like kind ofquick tips, but it's not really
something that I feelcomfortable about, like teaching
as part of a course.
So instead, what I said I woulddo is what if I just like took
(08:09):
some photos for you?
Like, I can't teach you, but Ithink that I could figure out
how to take good enough picturesthat I could sell you like 30
photos a month simplesubscription Would you pay me
like $10 a month for like 30photos?
It's like a photo a day.
Would you pay me like $10 amonth for like 30 photos?
It's like a photo a day?
How does this sound?
And I literally sent this emailto at the time I think it was
(08:34):
like 1,500 people and pitchedthem the idea of Styled Stock
Society.
I had the idea and I sent thisemail like 48 hours later, not
knowing what to expect at all.
I was just like, hey, I'm not aphotographer.
Would you pay me for this Maybe?
Um, it seems like somethingthat might help you.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
I have a question.
You said that you knew thatlike people were not doing what
you were teaching them becausethey didn't have the photos.
How did you find that part outLike so I had?
Speaker 2 (09:03):
over 400 people in my courses at that point, um, who
were going through and we havelike a course community, and I
was like listening to whatpeople were like frustrated with
.
I also saw that people wouldlike just have questions around,
(09:24):
like photography, all the time,like how did you do this?
Or like you know, like can youteach me how to do this?
And like it just wasn'tsomething that I felt
comfortable teaching.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
Okay, okay, very cool .
I thought I'd intervene thereand ask that because I am super
curious.
But keep going.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
So, yeah, so I had the idea for Stroud Stock
Society when it first started.
It was really just a simplestock photo subscription 30
photos.
There was no membership site,there was no.
It was just like you get aDropbox link, that's it.
So during I really justpre-sold it as an idea.
(10:05):
Um, I had over a hundred peoplesign up and I thought, okay, I
can do this.
Um, and in the beginning yeah,in the beginning, it literally
was just me taking photos.
Um, I actually didn't own aprofessional camera, so I
borrowed one from my husband.
Um, he did like weddingvideography as a side hustle at
(10:28):
the time.
Um, so he did have aprofessional camera and he
taught me how to use it and Iwas like, I, you know, I, I took
like iPhone photos of my dog.
And I was like, okay, I'm goingto, I'm going to learn how to
do this as like a hobby, um, andfigure out how to do this.
(10:49):
And so for the first six tonine months I don't remember
exactly I did take all thephotos.
It was just 30 photos a monthand what were you taking photos
of.
So yeah, at the time we wereliving in like mid midtown,
manhattan, and everything waslike shot in, like the corner of
our bedroom with like a white,not poster board Um, you know,
(11:13):
it's like your backdrop, yeah,um, it was just like a little
like made up studio, uh, mostlylike flat lays, lays with like
some like you know, kind ofdifferent office supplies, and I
would buy flowers from thebodega down the street and it
was just.
It was very, very, very basicin the beginning and as I got
(11:35):
better and as the membershipgrew, you know, I'd start to ask
more questions like what kindof photos are you looking for?
Do we, do we want photos ofpeople in them?
Like, do we what?
What is this actually going tobe?
I think in the beginning Ididn't really have the
confidence in myself or in myskills or in like the business
(11:56):
idea even in itself, and I justkind of wanted to start
something.
And as it grew I realized that,like, this really could be
something.
This started as something thatI was just like I wanted to
create something that would helpmy existing audience solve a
problem that they were having,but also for myself.
(12:18):
I you know, before I startedthis, I was primarily earning my
income from two things fromcourses and then from like
one-on-one consultations, and Ididn't love that.
Naturally, I am not an educator.
(12:45):
I think that's something that Ilearned after launching a few
different courses.
I don't love that.
I don't really love teaching.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
It's not something that feels right to me, right,
right.
So this was like kind of just,I mean, one big kind of
experiment.
Like you really didn't have aforecast or a goal or a plan.
Really, you were just answeringin that moment and solving the
problem of whatever they werefacing, which was, at the time,
(13:15):
I need better photos, or was itlike photos that, like, also
matched each other?
Like were were your photos, um,you know, using the same colors
?
Like did you create, like thispackage of photos that you
provided them and then thatsolved what they needed at that
time?
Or what did that look like?
Speaker 2 (13:37):
It was to an extent so now.
So now everything we do is inlike very cohesive collections,
and at the time they wereprobably a little bit less
cohesive, but it was still likeevery month you'd get one
collection of images that wasessentially like one general,
like color theme.
(13:57):
So there was just a little bit,I would say, less variety than
there is now.
Certainly less skill, becausenow I have a team of
photographers who creates all ofthe gorgeous images in our
member library, but it isdefinitely something that I
(14:19):
always thought about in terms ofhaving some sort of cohesion,
um, within the images themselves.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
Okay, and so from there.
So you started putting togetherthese, these packages, and so
it was immediately no, it wasn'ta membership.
It was just like a one time,like you get this for $10 for
this month, or was it amembership right out of the gate
?
Speaker 2 (14:44):
No, Well, it was like a subscription where you get 30
photos a month, but you didn'tget the previous month's photos
also, so it was just 30 newphotos every month.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
Okay, okay.
And so as you went through thisand you talked to people and
you found out what they wereneeding, did you eventually like
branch out in any other way,like from photos?
Speaker 2 (15:24):
spring of 2017 is when we actually started
building out our membership sitefor the first time, and we did
actually build out themembership library so people
would get access to the previousmonth's photos.
And then we realized that a lotof people were using the photos
for other things, so they woulduse them on social media or
they'd use them in workbooks orto create other types of
(15:46):
graphics for their business.
But a lot of times, thosegraphics weren't matching the
photos in a way that lookedcohesive or they weren't
matching like the professionallevel of the images.
And so, you know, maybe theywere like finding photos that
(16:09):
made sense for their brand, butthen going to Canva or going to
Etsy or somewhere and buyingtemplates but like not
necessarily like putting the twotogether in a way that made
sense for their brand.
So I thought, well, what if wedesigned templates for you that
actually like used our images,where you could swap the images
(16:30):
out, obviously if you wanted to,but really just designed and
created graphics for you aroundthe images that we already have?
Would that help you better usethe images for the ways that you
already need them for yourbusiness?
And that's something that weintegrated pretty quickly.
(16:52):
I would say 2017, I'm prettysure, to help our members better
use the images for theirmarketing.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
Did you have any background in graphic design?
Like, were these things thatyou started doing yourself?
Like in offering them the Canvatemplates?
Or did you like okay, this is anew product line, I'm going to
go out and find a person to dothis, to create these, just so
(17:20):
that I can add them to ourlibrary.
Is that kind of your?
Speaker 2 (17:25):
So we initially did a test.
One of my good friends, who'sactually one of our founding
members, is a graphic designerwho I knew was using our images
in her templates and themes, andI actually asked her if she
would design a set of templatesspecifically for us as a test,
(17:47):
to see if our members respondedto that positively and they did,
and so then I ended up hiring acontractor to create a few
different sets and then kind oftested it on a longer term basis
before hiring someone to dothis on an ongoing basis.
Speaker 1 (18:06):
I love it.
I love it.
So you were providing thesephotos to this graphic designer,
who was pretty much doing whatyour idea was, and asked her to
create them for you.
I just love, like you know, youfollow the problem while also
leveraging the people andresources that you had access to
(18:30):
and followed like the problemthat they were seeing too, and
so you're just so scrappy.
I think that it's amazing.
You don't even have to have abackground or experience in the
thing that you're even sellingand you've.
I mean many times asentrepreneurs where one thing
(18:51):
that I teach is like, okay, westart with ourselves and what
we're able to create and whatour passion is in, but you've
actually gone about it which Ithink is beautiful a completely
different way.
And oh, you just saw need andthen you rose to the challenge
in finding the resources and thetalent and hiring that talent
(19:14):
and building your team that metand was able to create those
products Like very, very cool.
So I mean, through the years,you've adapted well, and has it
just been from the feedback ofthose in your community and
(19:35):
email list and your studentsthat you've made those changes,
or is there some other methodthat you use to stay on top of
the constant changing techenvironment online.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
Yeah, I'd say it's a combination of market trends and
our members and, honestly, Ithink that sometimes those two
things aren't always aligned atthe same time.
So, for example, we actuallytested stock video like five
years ago and our membersweren't ready.
(20:10):
Like we had a set of stockvideo clips that we launched as
a bonus and we were like, hey,we have stock video, it's really
exciting.
And like no one downloaded them.
I mean, like it was, it wasreally sad there was, I mean, I
might say, no one, but like itwas just like a really low
percentage of our members whoactually like were really
(20:31):
excited about it.
And I was like, okay, now is notthe time to like fully launch
stock video, because we need todo a lot more education around
why people want this before wego and invest in like hiring
people to create tons of videocontent, because video content
(20:51):
is expensive, first of all, um,but also people need to
understand why something ishelpful for them.
And a lot of our members at thetime were still like I want
photos, I want templates, I wantcaptions, but didn't fully
understand why they would wantstock video or how they would
(21:12):
use it and like integrate itinto their business.
I think really just in the past, like maybe two years, more
people have really gotten onboard with like, okay, like I'm
going to try reels, or like I'mgoing to try things that like
incorporate more video into mymarketing, um, and so it's been
(21:33):
sorry to interrupt, but you saidthat um, that P, that there's
more education, that youraudience needed.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
When that new product that you tried out didn't take
hold so many people likebusiness owners would.
I can see a lot of them justjump and ship and be like, oh,
that's not a product that ouraudience wants or needs, and
just never going back to it.
What made you realize that itwas just not yet with videos,
(22:05):
but it's just the wrong time.
It's not that this is the wrongproduct.
Does that make sense?
Speaker 2 (22:11):
Yeah, I think, from a marketing perspective, it's
pretty clear that video is notgoing anywhere.
I mean, like TikTok hassurpassed other social platforms
.
Instagram has been like heavily, heavily focusing on reels
compared to like some of itsother features.
In the past like couple ofyears, youtube, just like, has
(22:36):
been huge and I think that allsigns point to you know, video
is not going anywhere.
And do you have to embrace it?
No, absolutely not.
I'm a big believer in that.
You know, do what works for youand if it's not for you, then
don't do it.
But I do think that there's anopportunity there for people to
(22:59):
incorporate video, and we wouldbe missing out on an opportunity
to be able to help our memberscreate content in that respect
If it's something that we leftout of, like visual content
marketing.
So I think for us it's justlike a matter of education and
(23:24):
also like more of a slowintegration into our products.
Speaker 1 (23:30):
And you're constantly watching in, you know, making
your own assumptions of themarket in the direction that
it's heading.
So it's a combination from whatI'm hearing.
To summarize what you just said, it's a combination of
listening to your customers, butthen also watching the market
and the way things are shiftingtoo.
(23:51):
And it makes sense, becausevideo hasn't really taken hold
or didn't, at the time, takehold quite yet for your audience
or people in general.
So it made sense.
Okay, that's what I assumed,but I wanted to ask yeah, okay,
so with your membership route,you said that you had to build
(24:17):
your website and add that.
Was it like a differentfunctionality that you had to
put into your website just to beable to offer them?
Previous months?
You mentioned Dropbox.
Is that how you initially didit?
Is that how you distributedyour photos initially and then
did you switch to a databasewhere they had to log in and
(24:41):
then they gain access to justeverything, or what did the tech
look like there?
Speaker 2 (24:47):
Yep.
So in the beginning we justused Sendal subscriptions, so
essentially every month theywould just get an email with a
link to their download.
There's no website at all.
Soundstopsocietycom didn'texist.
So about I think it was likenine months in we actually built
(25:07):
out a membership site.
In the beginning, I actuallybuilt it myself, which now seems
so wild because I could notbuild our current site by myself
.
It is.
It is so much moretechnologically advanced than
what we had.
Speaker 1 (25:23):
Um, was it just on WordPress or something, or yeah?
Speaker 2 (25:26):
it's.
It's still on WordPress.
Um, it's just custom built by adeveloper who has so much more
skill.
Um than I do, um, but yeah, um.
So it was on WordPress with amembership plugin and um, just
having the ability to passwordprotect certain pages so they
(25:49):
could download essentiallygalleries of images in the
beginning, but now it's muchmore robust in terms of being
able to search and filter andhave different membership tiers
and all sorts of things that areway more technologically
complicated.
Speaker 1 (26:08):
It sounds like you and correct me if I'm wrong.
You've depended heavily onemail as your form of marketing?
And as far as like growing youremail list, did you give any
free photos or free products aslike an incentive to sign up for
your email?
Speaker 2 (26:28):
Yep.
That's been our primary leadmagnet or freebie for really the
past 7 years.
So we have a free set of stockphotos that you can download
from our website.
We've also given away freestock photos as part of
different collaborationscollaborations um bundles,
(26:48):
summits, things like that, umspecial events, um and um.
Occasionally we'll do thingslike a free trial or um
basically like any way to givepeople, like a free sample, um.
Is is essentially what we do toget people into our universe.
Speaker 1 (27:08):
And as far as like the content in those emails, is
it?
I hadn't planned on asking this, but I'm curious.
Go for it.
I often hear from digitalcreators that they don't know
what to put in their emailsbecause in their you know, their
business is just a photo or aSVG digital file and they aren't
(27:31):
sure what to talk about.
And so what is the content, orwhat did it look like as you
were building up your email andyou were giving them these
assets?
Did you find or encounter thatsame struggle, and what would
you encourage people to to eventalk about when, when they don't
know what to talk about?
Speaker 2 (27:53):
Interesting Um.
So when we deliver our freestock photos we talk about how
to use them Um.
I think that's kind of thefirst thing.
I a lot of people um are kindof like Ooh, a freebie Um, but
maybe you don't necessarily knowwhat to do with it after they
download it.
And I think a lot of peopledon't use the things that they
(28:18):
download for free.
They just kind of sit on theircomputer and their downloads
file or in some folder of likefree stuff I downloaded from the
internet file or in some folderof like free stuff I downloaded
from the internet.
Speaker 1 (28:34):
That's where all of your photos are that I
downloaded from back in the day,when you would send those
emails.
I remember going in andactually downloading them each
and every time.
Speaker 2 (28:40):
And.
Speaker 1 (28:40):
I have my SSS photos right there on my computer.
Speaker 2 (28:46):
Yeah, sometimes people don't use them because
they don't know how they can usethem.
So we share examples of here'show you can use them, like on
your website or in your socialgraphics, or you know, we
actually give like 15 differentexamples, or I think we give
like maybe five or six examplesand then we direct them to a
blog post where they can seeeven more examples, and kind of
(29:09):
that post leads them to otherplaces where they can find more
of our content.
So it's kind of just all acycle where we hope to kind of
keep them in our universe and sowe share tips on that.
We share tips on really likerelating to like branding, but
(29:30):
more specifically like whycertain things matter.
So for us, we want people tounderstand certain things before
they become members becauseit's like okay, for example, we
think that it's really important.
One of our membership featuresis that we have cohesive
collections of stock photos.
(29:51):
One of the benefits that isthat you can create a cohesive
brand across your socialchannels, your website, anywhere
that you can log into ourmembership site, find photos
that fit your brand and then oneclick, download a whole
collection of images that fit,without having to scroll and
(30:15):
trying to find photos that fittogether.
It's just so much easier, butpeople need to understand why
this even matters first, and alot of people maybe don't get
that, so we'll share that ofthat.
Like step zero content is whatI call it.
So like what do people need toknow before they actually make a
purchase with you?
(30:35):
Content within our emails tohelp educate people so that when
we do try to sell them into themembership, they're actually
ready to buy.
Speaker 1 (30:53):
I love it.
You're giving them content andanswering their problems and
even helping them before youeven have this amazing product
that you're offering them.
Yeah, because I think that manypeople starting off, content is
hard.
Consistent content is hard, youknow consistent content is hard
.
And then you add the designaspect of it, and finding those
(31:14):
you know fluid photos that justgo well together as you're
creating even like a promotionalflyer or building up your
social media, is a problem, andso you're addressing their
issues and helping them and,more than just visually, you're
also educating them too.
Very cool.
(31:35):
So, as you've been building upyour business, you've had this
team from the very beginning.
Did you manage people in yourcareer before this, or was this
a completely new like managing ateam of people and running a
company?
Was this your first time everexperiencing that?
Speaker 2 (31:59):
So I've had assistants before and I've had
like maybe two or three peoplethat worked under me, but never
to the extent that I do now.
And I think that even now itfeels like the way that you said
that I was just like wait, I do, that's me, I guess it is, but
(32:27):
I still don't really think of itthat way, because I think part
of it is because we're allremote and all over the world
that it never really feels likeI'm.
Like this person running thisbig company was going to say
(32:49):
laid back, and I'm like no, I'mnot laid back.
I would say like maybe nottraditional when it comes to
like being the boss.
Speaker 1 (32:53):
So I'm like, no, that's not me Because and the
reason I ask is because this isan intimidating area like hiring
somebody else, even just oneother person, like when you're a
solopreneur is intimidating andhard for people to take that
first step.
And so did you find, like yourfirst contractor or employee Did
(33:20):
, like, did you know them?
Or how have you been able tokeep people and find people that
fit the positions and have theskill set that you need?
Speaker 2 (33:32):
Yeah.
So I would say the greatestthing about having 9,000 members
has been having a great pool oftalent, because so many of our
members are also people who aredesigners or copywriters or
(33:54):
people that we would actuallyhire for different things,
especially as contractors.
So a lot of the people thatI've hired over the years have
been actual Styled Stock Societymembers, which has just been
the best, because they'realready familiar with our
business, um, and our style andour brand, and it just makes
things so much easier because,um, you know, there's just less
(34:17):
of a learning curve and, um,they are already like fans of
the brand.
So, um, that's always great, um, otherwise, um, the only
exceptions have been really ourphotographers, who, almost all
of them, I think, have eitherfound us through like social
media or through like a friendof a friend, and so they've
(34:41):
reached out to you.
Yeah, I was there any.
I don't think we reached out toany of them ourselves.
I'm kind of going through themmentally, but no, they've all
like reached out to us directlyto either apply or then it's an
email with her portfolio.
So, um, but yeah, I thinkpeople are really the most
(35:05):
important thing when it comes toour business, and it's also
like one of the hardest thingsfor me.
I'm very much like a dataanalytics person.
I love spreadsheets and I lovekind of that part of the
business and the strategy, butlike, managing people is
(35:26):
definitely strategy, but likemanaging people is definitely um
, it's hard, and so I think,like the, the way to make it not
easy, um, the, the thing thathas made it easier, I guess, for
me is really thinking about theteam, um, from the perspective
(35:46):
of like, if, if you build orcreate an environment in which
everyone is happy, they stayhappy, and then you don't, you
don't have that turnover and youcan all like continue to be
happy and grow together and um,so that's sort of just what.
(36:09):
Like you know, I want, I wanteveryone to to be a part of what
we're growing for as long aspossible.
Um, our contributor andphotographers have been with us
for like years and years and Ijust, um, I love what they
create.
I hope they continue to createfor us, for I hope they continue
to create for us for as long asthey would like to, and I think
(36:37):
, just like for the cohesion inour content and in our designs.
You know, the longer thatpeople stay with us, the better
that we can all grow together,and I think it's just a better
experience from our members aswell.
So, um, that's just like how Itry to overcome shit, because
I'm just like what can I do forall of us to be happy and grow
(37:00):
together?
Speaker 1 (37:00):
Um, that's it, yeah, and I and I feel like a lot of
and I shouldn't say a lot, but Ifeel like that is lost
sometimes as a business ownerthe boss you know they're happy.
If I focus on making them happyand keeping a team of people
(37:33):
that do well together and arehappy, then that's going to just
work out better for everybody.
I love that.
That's your focus in leadingyour company.
And so one last thing that Iwant to ask you before we lead
off is through the years.
(37:54):
I mean, you've been doing thisfor several years and one thing
that people sometimes get lostin is the constant change and
the constant shift in theindustry.
But you've been able to adaptand adapt well and run a
(38:15):
successful company justthroughout the years.
What would you attribute or, Iguess, what is the single best
piece of advice that you cangive listeners who are wanting
to start up something similar toa certain type of website and
(38:35):
to keep it going long term?
That's a very loaded question,yeah, so take your time.
Speaker 2 (38:45):
Yeah, and I'm going to give a vague answer that is
also hopefully specific.
I would say be focused butflexible.
I think like the single mostimportant thing or not important
, but the thing that I attributethe most to like my business
(39:10):
success, I guess is the factthat I've been singularly
focused on one thing for thepast like six, seven years.
One one one membership.
One thing I haven't tried Um,once I, once South stock society
took off like I, I stoppedconsulting, I stopped doing
courses, I stopped doing courses, I stopped doing everything
(39:31):
else and said I am your dogbranding on Instagram.
Speaker 1 (39:35):
She retired.
Speaker 2 (39:38):
That did take a couple of years because,
honestly, I really liked thefree vacation she took me on.
Speaker 1 (39:43):
Yes, I could see that .
Speaker 2 (39:47):
Um, but no, she no longer gets 1099s.
I am all in on Stout StockSociety At this moment.
I will say that there aren'ttimes where I'm like, hmm, it
might be nice, because I am atthe point where, like, it's
really not like a full-timething for me at this point and
(40:08):
so I do sometimes think like, oh, what if I did something else?
But that's not really the pointof this question is, to get to
today.
I've been very singularlyfocused on one thing one main
product.
It might have differentpackaging, but it's really one
thing.
But at the same time I've beenflexible in terms of the way
(40:36):
that we adapt to differentthings, whether that's adding
new things to that one productand say, maybe it's like new
features, or you know the waythat we package it, you know,
does it exist as a subscriptionor as a membership site?
(40:57):
Basically being able to adaptto the changing needs of our
members of the market, but notdeviating from our kind of like
original idea, plan, goal.
This is the thing that we'reselling.
It's just how we are doing.
That might change over time.
Speaker 1 (41:15):
I love that, so is there any other pieces of advice
that you'd like to share beforewe head out?
We've gone over a lot, sototally fine.
Speaker 2 (41:28):
I have lots of things that I could say and lots of
things that I probably alreadysaid, but I guess I would just
say that to end things foranyone who's thinking about
starting a subscription ormembership site or really any
(41:49):
digital product business butlet's say, with a membership
site or subscription inparticular, really think about
something that is going to besomething that you can offer on
an ongoing basis, is going tohave that longevity.
Definitely.
Don't want to create anythingthat you're going to get sick of
(42:13):
.
I say that because I think it'sa bit different than like a
digital product that you cankind of create once and then
it's done.
I think something with like asubscription or like a
membership like remember thatyou have to continue to provide
that, whether it's you orsomeone else creating it,
(42:36):
there's an expectation thatthere's going to be an ongoing
thing.
Apply, yeah.
So really think about that.
And also, more is not alwaysbetter.
Speaker 1 (42:52):
I love that.
Where can people go to find you?
Speaker 2 (42:56):
Um, so you can find us on the internet at
styledstocksocietycom, and ifyou want to download a free set
of stock photos, there's a linkright on our homepage and on
Instagram at Style Stock Societyas well.
Speaker 1 (43:11):
Awesome.
Thank you so much, Elle.
It has been a pleasure havingyou.
Thanks so much for having me.
As natural creatives, we love our projects, we love
our craft time and we'll neversay no to a quick trip to
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Although running a handmadebusiness is rewarding, it can
also be overwhelming.
Hey, creative mamas, kasey here, and as a mother of two feisty
toddlers and a business ownermyself, I get the nap time
(00:20):
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Managing the house, jugglingthe kids and getting those
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But what if there was a way toconvert that business of yours
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(00:40):
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So put those kiddos down fortheir nap, pop in some earbuds
(01:00):
and kick back.
This is where you stop tradingtime for dollars.
This is where you claim yourlife back.
This is the Naptime HustlePodcast.
Hey, elle, welcome on to thepodcast.
It's so good to have you.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
Thanks so much for chatting with me today, Kasey.
Why?
Speaker 1 (01:23):
don't you start off by telling us a little bit about
yourself and your business?
Speaker 2 (01:29):
So I'm Elle Druin.
I am the founder of AstoundStock Society.
We started in 2016, but priorto that, I actually spent eight
years working in financialservices and then a few years
working in marketing fore-commerce businesses.
(01:50):
So Styled Stock Society is avisual marketing membership for
primarily women entrepreneurs,small business owners, content
creators.
We have stock photos, videos,customizable Canva templates,
monthly caption guides and anumber of other bonus marketing
resources.
(02:10):
It's really kind of anall-in-one marketing hub for
women who are looking to savetime and energy and stress less
about their marketing whenthey're marketing their business
online, primarily.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
I was telling you just before we hit record.
So I was curious when I startedfollowing you and so I went
back through my emails and wasjust like scrolling through back
to the very beginning.
And I have been following yousince at least 2019, but I'm
pretty sure it was earlier thanthat in like 2018.
(02:48):
And so you've been around for awhile.
Like did you was it just likephotos that you started offering
initially, or what was thefirst product?
And like, how did this allbegin?
Speaker 2 (03:02):
Yep.
So when I actually um like quitmy nine to five job, um, I at
the time quit because I time, uh, I wanted more flexibility
because at the time, I wasmanaging my dog's Instagram
career, which sounds a little,um, wild, um, but her Instagram
(03:28):
had kind of taken off and I hada lot of opportunities to travel
with her and do brandpartnerships, and I just wanted
a way that I could make moneyfor myself and not have to work
a nine to five or 10 to six,whatever normal business hours,
(03:49):
um, and so I started Instagramconsulting um, while I was also,
um, not exactly managing hercare, cause she had a manager
but, um, creating content for myInstagram, and so is she like
an actor, like, has she beenseen on movies?
Speaker 1 (04:07):
I gotta ask, yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
So I actually you know, to back up, I had been
working in marketing.
I moved to New York, I got adog and, like many people this
is back in 2014, I guess startedan Instagram account for my dog
, because I didn't want myInstagram to be just like full
of pictures of my dog.
So I thought, like my family,my friends, some random people
(04:33):
might follow her because she'svery cute.
And her account quicklysurpassed mine in terms of
followers and within a year shehad like 10,000 followers and I
thought wouldn't it be funny ifI kind of gave her a personality
and kind of intentionallycreated a brand around my dog?
So we went from like 10-15,000followers to 30,000 followers in
(04:55):
two months and I quit my joband so we're working with brands
like the Ritz-Carlton, Google.
Um, she has been in movies, uhshe was my gosh Clifford the big
red dog movie no way.
I was actually in the movie too.
It was like an extra, you see,for like two seconds, um.
But, um, yeah, she's done somemagazine campaigns.
(05:20):
Um, she was in Cosmopolitan and, um, we've just done a lot of
different things with her kindof as a brand and an influencer.
At one point she had over ahundred thousand social media
followers across differentchannels.
She has since retired, partiallyjust because my business kind
(05:41):
of took over my life and also Ifelt like she just needed to be
a dog for a while.
So what kind of a dog is she?
She is a multi-poo.
So she's actually nine now orshe's about to turn nine.
So we did that for like five orsix years and it was.
It was great fun.
I learned a lot, I met a lot ofpeople.
It kind of got me into socialmedia and a little bit into
(06:05):
photography.
There's just the whole world oflike content creation, and I
was always doing that.
I started the kind of my firstforay into like the online space
as I created a course that wascalled Celebrate Pet Bootcamp,
where I taught other people howto make their dogs like famous
on the internet.
This is so cool.
Speaker 1 (06:26):
I have never met anybody like you.
Okay, it makes me want to likemake one for my cat, but she's,
I don't think it would goanywhere.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
And that really just came out of.
People were asking, like, howdid your dog get so many
followers?
And so I created a course forthat and that sort of evolved
into people who didn't have pets.
At first it was more like petbusinesses or people who had
some sort of tie.
They followed my dog and justasked questions.
(06:57):
And then I realized that thesame strategies that applied to
my dog's account could beapplied to just people, whether
they're small business owners orinfluencers or people who are
just using Instagram as aplatform for themselves.
So I kind of pivoted and triedto create content that was more
(07:22):
focused around using Instagramas a platform for people who are
just like me.
And, um, one of the things Irealized as I was doing that is
I was teaching people thestrategy but they weren't
actually implementing it becausethey didn't have the photos.
Um, and I didn't really want toteach photography because I
(07:42):
felt like it wasn't somethingthat I couldn't do because I
wasn't a photographer.
I was like I can take prettygood pictures of my dog, but I'm
not, like, trained in this andit's not something that I would
ever say that I'm an expert in.
I can share some like kind ofquick tips, but it's not really
something that I feelcomfortable about, like teaching
as part of a course.
So instead, what I said I woulddo is what if I just like took
(08:09):
some photos for you?
Like, I can't teach you, but Ithink that I could figure out
how to take good enough picturesthat I could sell you like 30
photos a month simplesubscription Would you pay me
like $10 a month for like 30photos?
It's like a photo a day.
Would you pay me like $10 amonth for like 30 photos?
It's like a photo a day?
How does this sound?
And I literally sent this emailto at the time I think it was
(08:34):
like 1,500 people and pitchedthem the idea of Styled Stock
Society.
I had the idea and I sent thisemail like 48 hours later, not
knowing what to expect at all.
I was just like, hey, I'm not aphotographer.
Would you pay me for this Maybe?
Um, it seems like somethingthat might help you.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
I have a question.
You said that you knew thatlike people were not doing what
you were teaching them becausethey didn't have the photos.
How did you find that part outLike so I had?
Speaker 2 (09:03):
over 400 people in my courses at that point, um, who
were going through and we havelike a course community, and I
was like listening to whatpeople were like frustrated with
.
I also saw that people wouldlike just have questions around,
(09:24):
like photography, all the time,like how did you do this?
Or like you know, like can youteach me how to do this?
And like it just wasn'tsomething that I felt
comfortable teaching.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
Okay, okay, very cool .
I thought I'd intervene thereand ask that because I am super
curious.
But keep going.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
So, yeah, so I had the idea for Stroud Stock
Society when it first started.
It was really just a simplestock photo subscription 30
photos.
There was no membership site,there was no.
It was just like you get aDropbox link, that's it.
So during I really justpre-sold it as an idea.
(10:05):
Um, I had over a hundred peoplesign up and I thought, okay, I
can do this.
Um, and in the beginning yeah,in the beginning, it literally
was just me taking photos.
Um, I actually didn't own aprofessional camera, so I
borrowed one from my husband.
Um, he did like weddingvideography as a side hustle at
(10:28):
the time.
Um, so he did have aprofessional camera and he
taught me how to use it and Iwas like, I, you know, I, I took
like iPhone photos of my dog.
And I was like, okay, I'm goingto, I'm going to learn how to
do this as like a hobby, um, andfigure out how to do this.
(10:49):
And so for the first six tonine months I don't remember
exactly I did take all thephotos.
It was just 30 photos a monthand what were you taking photos
of.
So yeah, at the time we wereliving in like mid midtown,
manhattan, and everything waslike shot in, like the corner of
our bedroom with like a white,not poster board Um, you know,
(11:13):
it's like your backdrop, yeah,um, it was just like a little
like made up studio, uh, mostlylike flat lays, lays with like
some like you know, kind ofdifferent office supplies, and I
would buy flowers from thebodega down the street and it
was just.
It was very, very, very basicin the beginning and as I got
(11:35):
better and as the membershipgrew, you know, I'd start to ask
more questions like what kindof photos are you looking for?
Do we, do we want photos ofpeople in them?
Like, do we what?
What is this actually going tobe?
I think in the beginning Ididn't really have the
confidence in myself or in myskills or in like the business
(11:56):
idea even in itself, and I justkind of wanted to start
something.
And as it grew I realized that,like, this really could be
something.
This started as something thatI was just like I wanted to
create something that would helpmy existing audience solve a
problem that they were having,but also for myself.
(12:18):
I you know, before I startedthis, I was primarily earning my
income from two things fromcourses and then from like
one-on-one consultations, and Ididn't love that.
Naturally, I am not an educator.
(12:45):
I think that's something that Ilearned after launching a few
different courses.
I don't love that.
I don't really love teaching.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
It's not something that feels right to me, right,
right.
So this was like kind of just,I mean, one big kind of
experiment.
Like you really didn't have aforecast or a goal or a plan.
Really, you were just answeringin that moment and solving the
problem of whatever they werefacing, which was, at the time,
(13:15):
I need better photos, or was itlike photos that, like, also
matched each other?
Like were were your photos, um,you know, using the same colors
?
Like did you create, like thispackage of photos that you
provided them and then thatsolved what they needed at that
time?
Or what did that look like?
Speaker 2 (13:37):
It was to an extent so now.
So now everything we do is inlike very cohesive collections,
and at the time they wereprobably a little bit less
cohesive, but it was still likeevery month you'd get one
collection of images that wasessentially like one general,
like color theme.
(13:57):
So there was just a little bit,I would say, less variety than
there is now.
Certainly less skill, becausenow I have a team of
photographers who creates all ofthe gorgeous images in our
member library, but it isdefinitely something that I
(14:19):
always thought about in terms ofhaving some sort of cohesion,
um, within the images themselves.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
Okay, and so from there.
So you started putting togetherthese, these packages, and so
it was immediately no, it wasn'ta membership.
It was just like a one time,like you get this for $10 for
this month, or was it amembership right out of the gate
?
Speaker 2 (14:44):
No, Well, it was like a subscription where you get 30
photos a month, but you didn'tget the previous month's photos
also, so it was just 30 newphotos every month.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
Okay, okay.
And so as you went through thisand you talked to people and
you found out what they wereneeding, did you eventually like
branch out in any other way,like from photos?
Speaker 2 (15:24):
spring of 2017 is when we actually started
building out our membership sitefor the first time, and we did
actually build out themembership library so people
would get access to the previousmonth's photos.
And then we realized that a lotof people were using the photos
for other things, so they woulduse them on social media or
they'd use them in workbooks orto create other types of
(15:46):
graphics for their business.
But a lot of times, thosegraphics weren't matching the
photos in a way that lookedcohesive or they weren't
matching like the professionallevel of the images.
And so, you know, maybe theywere like finding photos that
(16:09):
made sense for their brand, butthen going to Canva or going to
Etsy or somewhere and buyingtemplates but like not
necessarily like putting the twotogether in a way that made
sense for their brand.
So I thought, well, what if wedesigned templates for you that
actually like used our images,where you could swap the images
(16:30):
out, obviously if you wanted to,but really just designed and
created graphics for you aroundthe images that we already have?
Would that help you better usethe images for the ways that you
already need them for yourbusiness?
And that's something that weintegrated pretty quickly.
(16:52):
I would say 2017, I'm prettysure, to help our members better
use the images for theirmarketing.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
Did you have any background in graphic design?
Like, were these things thatyou started doing yourself?
Like in offering them the Canvatemplates?
Or did you like okay, this is anew product line, I'm going to
go out and find a person to dothis, to create these, just so
(17:20):
that I can add them to ourlibrary.
Is that kind of your?
Speaker 2 (17:25):
So we initially did a test.
One of my good friends, who'sactually one of our founding
members, is a graphic designerwho I knew was using our images
in her templates and themes, andI actually asked her if she
would design a set of templatesspecifically for us as a test,
(17:47):
to see if our members respondedto that positively and they did,
and so then I ended up hiring acontractor to create a few
different sets and then kind oftested it on a longer term basis
before hiring someone to dothis on an ongoing basis.
Speaker 1 (18:06):
I love it.
I love it.
So you were providing thesephotos to this graphic designer,
who was pretty much doing whatyour idea was, and asked her to
create them for you.
I just love, like you know, youfollow the problem while also
leveraging the people andresources that you had access to
(18:30):
and followed like the problemthat they were seeing too, and
so you're just so scrappy.
I think that it's amazing.
You don't even have to have abackground or experience in the
thing that you're even sellingand you've.
I mean many times asentrepreneurs where one thing
(18:51):
that I teach is like, okay, westart with ourselves and what
we're able to create and whatour passion is in, but you've
actually gone about it which Ithink is beautiful a completely
different way.
And oh, you just saw need andthen you rose to the challenge
in finding the resources and thetalent and hiring that talent
(19:14):
and building your team that metand was able to create those
products Like very, very cool.
So I mean, through the years,you've adapted well, and has it
just been from the feedback ofthose in your community and
(19:35):
email list and your studentsthat you've made those changes,
or is there some other methodthat you use to stay on top of
the constant changing techenvironment online.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
Yeah, I'd say it's a combination of market trends and
our members and, honestly, Ithink that sometimes those two
things aren't always aligned atthe same time.
So, for example, we actuallytested stock video like five
years ago and our membersweren't ready.
(20:10):
Like we had a set of stockvideo clips that we launched as
a bonus and we were like, hey,we have stock video, it's really
exciting.
And like no one downloaded them.
I mean, like it was, it wasreally sad there was, I mean, I
might say, no one, but like itwas just like a really low
percentage of our members whoactually like were really
(20:31):
excited about it.
And I was like, okay, now is notthe time to like fully launch
stock video, because we need todo a lot more education around
why people want this before wego and invest in like hiring
people to create tons of videocontent, because video content
(20:51):
is expensive, first of all, um,but also people need to
understand why something ishelpful for them.
And a lot of our members at thetime were still like I want
photos, I want templates, I wantcaptions, but didn't fully
understand why they would wantstock video or how they would
(21:12):
use it and like integrate itinto their business.
I think really just in the past, like maybe two years, more
people have really gotten onboard with like, okay, like I'm
going to try reels, or like I'mgoing to try things that like
incorporate more video into mymarketing, um, and so it's been
(21:33):
sorry to interrupt, but you saidthat um, that P, that there's
more education, that youraudience needed.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
When that new product that you tried out didn't take
hold so many people likebusiness owners would.
I can see a lot of them justjump and ship and be like, oh,
that's not a product that ouraudience wants or needs, and
just never going back to it.
What made you realize that itwas just not yet with videos,
(22:05):
but it's just the wrong time.
It's not that this is the wrongproduct.
Does that make sense?
Speaker 2 (22:11):
Yeah, I think, from a marketing perspective, it's
pretty clear that video is notgoing anywhere.
I mean, like TikTok hassurpassed other social platforms
.
Instagram has been like heavily, heavily focusing on reels
compared to like some of itsother features.
In the past like couple ofyears, youtube, just like, has
(22:36):
been huge and I think that allsigns point to you know, video
is not going anywhere.
And do you have to embrace it?
No, absolutely not.
I'm a big believer in that.
You know, do what works for youand if it's not for you, then
don't do it.
But I do think that there's anopportunity there for people to
(22:59):
incorporate video, and we wouldbe missing out on an opportunity
to be able to help our memberscreate content in that respect
If it's something that we leftout of, like visual content
marketing.
So I think for us it's justlike a matter of education and
(23:24):
also like more of a slowintegration into our products.
Speaker 1 (23:30):
And you're constantly watching in, you know, making
your own assumptions of themarket in the direction that
it's heading.
So it's a combination from whatI'm hearing.
To summarize what you just said, it's a combination of
listening to your customers, butthen also watching the market
and the way things are shiftingtoo.
(23:51):
And it makes sense, becausevideo hasn't really taken hold
or didn't, at the time, takehold quite yet for your audience
or people in general.
So it made sense.
Okay, that's what I assumed,but I wanted to ask yeah, okay,
so with your membership route,you said that you had to build
(24:17):
your website and add that.
Was it like a differentfunctionality that you had to
put into your website just to beable to offer them?
Previous months?
You mentioned Dropbox.
Is that how you initially didit?
Is that how you distributedyour photos initially and then
did you switch to a databasewhere they had to log in and
(24:41):
then they gain access to justeverything, or what did the tech
look like there?
Speaker 2 (24:47):
Yep.
So in the beginning we justused Sendal subscriptions, so
essentially every month theywould just get an email with a
link to their download.
There's no website at all.
Soundstopsocietycom didn'texist.
So about I think it was likenine months in we actually built
(25:07):
out a membership site.
In the beginning, I actuallybuilt it myself, which now seems
so wild because I could notbuild our current site by myself
.
It is.
It is so much moretechnologically advanced than
what we had.
Speaker 1 (25:23):
Um, was it just on WordPress or something, or yeah?
Speaker 2 (25:26):
it's.
It's still on WordPress.
Um, it's just custom built by adeveloper who has so much more
skill.
Um than I do, um, but yeah, um.
So it was on WordPress with amembership plugin and um, just
having the ability to passwordprotect certain pages so they
(25:49):
could download essentiallygalleries of images in the
beginning, but now it's muchmore robust in terms of being
able to search and filter andhave different membership tiers
and all sorts of things that areway more technologically
complicated.
Speaker 1 (26:08):
It sounds like you and correct me if I'm wrong.
You've depended heavily onemail as your form of marketing?
And as far as like growing youremail list, did you give any
free photos or free products aslike an incentive to sign up for
your email?
Speaker 2 (26:28):
Yep.
That's been our primary leadmagnet or freebie for really the
past 7 years.
So we have a free set of stockphotos that you can download
from our website.
We've also given away freestock photos as part of
different collaborationscollaborations um bundles,
(26:48):
summits, things like that, umspecial events, um and um.
Occasionally we'll do thingslike a free trial or um
basically like any way to givepeople, like a free sample, um.
Is is essentially what we do toget people into our universe.
Speaker 1 (27:08):
And as far as like the content in those emails, is
it?
I hadn't planned on asking this, but I'm curious.
Go for it.
I often hear from digitalcreators that they don't know
what to put in their emailsbecause in their you know, their
business is just a photo or aSVG digital file and they aren't
(27:31):
sure what to talk about.
And so what is the content, orwhat did it look like as you
were building up your email andyou were giving them these
assets?
Did you find or encounter thatsame struggle, and what would
you encourage people to to eventalk about when, when they don't
know what to talk about?
Speaker 2 (27:53):
Interesting Um.
So when we deliver our freestock photos we talk about how
to use them Um.
I think that's kind of thefirst thing.
I a lot of people um are kindof like Ooh, a freebie Um, but
maybe you don't necessarily knowwhat to do with it after they
download it.
And I think a lot of peopledon't use the things that they
(28:18):
download for free.
They just kind of sit on theircomputer and their downloads
file or in some folder of likefree stuff I downloaded from the
internet file or in some folderof like free stuff I downloaded
from the internet.
Speaker 1 (28:34):
That's where all of your photos are that I
downloaded from back in the day,when you would send those
emails.
I remember going in andactually downloading them each
and every time.
Speaker 2 (28:40):
And.
Speaker 1 (28:40):
I have my SSS photos right there on my computer.
Speaker 2 (28:46):
Yeah, sometimes people don't use them because
they don't know how they can usethem.
So we share examples of here'show you can use them, like on
your website or in your socialgraphics, or you know, we
actually give like 15 differentexamples, or I think we give
like maybe five or six examplesand then we direct them to a
blog post where they can seeeven more examples, and kind of
(29:09):
that post leads them to otherplaces where they can find more
of our content.
So it's kind of just all acycle where we hope to kind of
keep them in our universe and sowe share tips on that.
We share tips on really likerelating to like branding, but
(29:30):
more specifically like whycertain things matter.
So for us, we want people tounderstand certain things before
they become members becauseit's like okay, for example, we
think that it's really important.
One of our membership featuresis that we have cohesive
collections of stock photos.
(29:51):
One of the benefits that isthat you can create a cohesive
brand across your socialchannels, your website, anywhere
that you can log into ourmembership site, find photos
that fit your brand and then oneclick, download a whole
collection of images that fit,without having to scroll and
(30:15):
trying to find photos that fittogether.
It's just so much easier, butpeople need to understand why
this even matters first, and alot of people maybe don't get
that, so we'll share that ofthat.
Like step zero content is whatI call it.
So like what do people need toknow before they actually make a
purchase with you?
(30:35):
Content within our emails tohelp educate people so that when
we do try to sell them into themembership, they're actually
ready to buy.
Speaker 1 (30:53):
I love it.
You're giving them content andanswering their problems and
even helping them before youeven have this amazing product
that you're offering them.
Yeah, because I think that manypeople starting off, content is
hard.
Consistent content is hard, youknow consistent content is hard
.
And then you add the designaspect of it, and finding those
(31:14):
you know fluid photos that justgo well together as you're
creating even like a promotionalflyer or building up your
social media, is a problem, andso you're addressing their
issues and helping them and,more than just visually, you're
also educating them too.
Very cool.
(31:35):
So, as you've been building upyour business, you've had this
team from the very beginning.
Did you manage people in yourcareer before this, or was this
a completely new like managing ateam of people and running a
company?
Was this your first time everexperiencing that?
Speaker 2 (31:59):
So I've had assistants before and I've had
like maybe two or three peoplethat worked under me, but never
to the extent that I do now.
And I think that even now itfeels like the way that you said
that I was just like wait, I do, that's me, I guess it is, but
(32:27):
I still don't really think of itthat way, because I think part
of it is because we're allremote and all over the world
that it never really feels likeI'm.
Like this person running thisbig company was going to say
(32:49):
laid back, and I'm like no, I'mnot laid back.
I would say like maybe nottraditional when it comes to
like being the boss.
Speaker 1 (32:53):
So I'm like, no, that's not me Because and the
reason I ask is because this isan intimidating area like hiring
somebody else, even just oneother person, like when you're a
solopreneur is intimidating andhard for people to take that
first step.
And so did you find, like yourfirst contractor or employee Did
(33:20):
, like, did you know them?
Or how have you been able tokeep people and find people that
fit the positions and have theskill set that you need?
Speaker 2 (33:32):
Yeah.
So I would say the greatestthing about having 9,000 members
has been having a great pool oftalent, because so many of our
members are also people who aredesigners or copywriters or
(33:54):
people that we would actuallyhire for different things,
especially as contractors.
So a lot of the people thatI've hired over the years have
been actual Styled Stock Societymembers, which has just been
the best, because they'realready familiar with our
business, um, and our style andour brand, and it just makes
things so much easier because,um, you know, there's just less
(34:17):
of a learning curve and, um,they are already like fans of
the brand.
So, um, that's always great, um, otherwise, um, the only
exceptions have been really ourphotographers, who, almost all
of them, I think, have eitherfound us through like social
media or through like a friendof a friend, and so they've
(34:41):
reached out to you.
Yeah, I was there any.
I don't think we reached out toany of them ourselves.
I'm kind of going through themmentally, but no, they've all
like reached out to us directlyto either apply or then it's an
email with her portfolio.
So, um, but yeah, I thinkpeople are really the most
(35:05):
important thing when it comes toour business, and it's also
like one of the hardest thingsfor me.
I'm very much like a dataanalytics person.
I love spreadsheets and I lovekind of that part of the
business and the strategy, butlike, managing people is
(35:26):
definitely strategy, but likemanaging people is definitely um
, it's hard, and so I think,like the, the way to make it not
easy, um, the, the thing thathas made it easier, I guess, for
me is really thinking about theteam, um, from the perspective
(35:46):
of like, if, if you build orcreate an environment in which
everyone is happy, they stayhappy, and then you don't, you
don't have that turnover and youcan all like continue to be
happy and grow together and um,so that's sort of just what.
(36:09):
Like you know, I want, I wanteveryone to to be a part of what
we're growing for as long aspossible.
Um, our contributor andphotographers have been with us
for like years and years and Ijust, um, I love what they
create.
I hope they continue to createfor us, for I hope they continue
to create for us for as long asthey would like to, and I think
(36:37):
, just like for the cohesion inour content and in our designs.
You know, the longer thatpeople stay with us, the better
that we can all grow together,and I think it's just a better
experience from our members aswell.
So, um, that's just like how Itry to overcome shit, because
I'm just like what can I do forall of us to be happy and grow
(37:00):
together?
Speaker 1 (37:00):
Um, that's it, yeah, and I and I feel like a lot of
and I shouldn't say a lot, but Ifeel like that is lost
sometimes as a business ownerthe boss you know they're happy.
If I focus on making them happyand keeping a team of people
(37:33):
that do well together and arehappy, then that's going to just
work out better for everybody.
I love that.
That's your focus in leadingyour company.
And so one last thing that Iwant to ask you before we lead
off is through the years.
(37:54):
I mean, you've been doing thisfor several years and one thing
that people sometimes get lostin is the constant change and
the constant shift in theindustry.
But you've been able to adaptand adapt well and run a
(38:15):
successful company justthroughout the years.
What would you attribute or, Iguess, what is the single best
piece of advice that you cangive listeners who are wanting
to start up something similar toa certain type of website and
(38:35):
to keep it going long term?
That's a very loaded question,yeah, so take your time.
Speaker 2 (38:45):
Yeah, and I'm going to give a vague answer that is
also hopefully specific.
I would say be focused butflexible.
I think like the single mostimportant thing or not important
, but the thing that I attributethe most to like my business
(39:10):
success, I guess is the factthat I've been singularly
focused on one thing for thepast like six, seven years.
One one one membership.
One thing I haven't tried Um,once I, once South stock society
took off like I, I stoppedconsulting, I stopped doing
courses, I stopped doing courses, I stopped doing everything
(39:31):
else and said I am your dogbranding on Instagram.
Speaker 1 (39:35):
She retired.
Speaker 2 (39:38):
That did take a couple of years because,
honestly, I really liked thefree vacation she took me on.
Speaker 1 (39:43):
Yes, I could see that .
Speaker 2 (39:47):
Um, but no, she no longer gets 1099s.
I am all in on Stout StockSociety At this moment.
I will say that there aren'ttimes where I'm like, hmm, it
might be nice, because I am atthe point where, like, it's
really not like a full-timething for me at this point and
(40:08):
so I do sometimes think like, oh, what if I did something else?
But that's not really the pointof this question is, to get to
today.
I've been very singularlyfocused on one thing one main
product.
It might have differentpackaging, but it's really one
thing.
But at the same time I've beenflexible in terms of the way
(40:36):
that we adapt to differentthings, whether that's adding
new things to that one productand say, maybe it's like new
features, or you know the waythat we package it, you know,
does it exist as a subscriptionor as a membership site?
(40:57):
Basically being able to adaptto the changing needs of our
members of the market, but notdeviating from our kind of like
original idea, plan, goal.
This is the thing that we'reselling.
It's just how we are doing.
That might change over time.
Speaker 1 (41:15):
I love that, so is there any other pieces of advice
that you'd like to share beforewe head out?
We've gone over a lot, sototally fine.
Speaker 2 (41:28):
I have lots of things that I could say and lots of
things that I probably alreadysaid, but I guess I would just
say that to end things foranyone who's thinking about
starting a subscription ormembership site or really any
(41:49):
digital product business butlet's say, with a membership
site or subscription inparticular, really think about
something that is going to besomething that you can offer on
an ongoing basis, is going tohave that longevity.
Definitely.
Don't want to create anythingthat you're going to get sick of
(42:13):
.
I say that because I think it'sa bit different than like a
digital product that you cankind of create once and then
it's done.
I think something with like asubscription or like a
membership like remember thatyou have to continue to provide
that, whether it's you orsomeone else creating it,
(42:36):
there's an expectation thatthere's going to be an ongoing
thing.
Apply, yeah.
So really think about that.
And also, more is not alwaysbetter.
Speaker 1 (42:52):
I love that.
Where can people go to find you?
Speaker 2 (42:56):
Um, so you can find us on the internet at
styledstocksocietycom, and ifyou want to download a free set
of stock photos, there's a linkright on our homepage and on
Instagram at Style Stock Societyas well.
Speaker 1 (43:11):
Awesome.
Thank you so much, Elle.
It has been a pleasure havingyou.
Thanks so much for having me.
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