July 1, 2025 • 33 mins
In this episode of the Wedding Atelier podcast, host Alora welcomes Sara Monika, a seasoned wedding photographer and outsourcing expert. Sara shares her experiences and strategies for helping photographers save time and increase their income by outsourcing tasks.
🔗 Sara's Links:
- The 3-Hour Post Wedding Workflow Checklist your audience can get for free: https://saramonika.mykajabi.com/3-hour-post-wedding-workflow
- Outsourcing Made Easy Waitlist: saramonika.com/freedom
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saramonikaphoto/
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@saramonika
- My Shine + Thrive Photography Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/shine-and-thrive-photography-podcast/id1487338226
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Alora (00:00):
Welcome to the Wedding Atelier podcast.
I have a treat for you guys.
One of my friends, Sarah Monica,she has been on the podcast
before.
I had been on hers before.
We actually just came off of herpodcast, so I'll link that
episode in the show notes.
But I really wanna hear todayabout how she's helping wedding
photographers and photographerssave so much less time and make
(00:21):
more money without hustling toburnout.
And we both have the same verystrong value of freeing up your
time, getting paid more or less,whatever you want, but having
just so much time freedom so youcan have a life.
So yeah, she's been in theindustry for 13 years.
She's been outsourcing for nine,so she knows what she's talking
about and she's helpedphotographers work 70% less and
(00:43):
make more.
Sarah, welcome to the podcast.
I'm so excited to have
Sara (00:46):
Yay.
Thank you.
I love that we just get to likepiggyback off the energy of the
other one and we're just likekeeping it rolling and yeah, I'm
just so excited to be here andlike connect with everyone that
you talk to on a regular basis.
Alora (00:59):
I really love your approach to outsourcing because
I personally didn't wannaoutsource.
I was so dramatic.
I was like, nobody can edit asgood as me.
I am the skin tone queen and allthese other things.
And Sarah's like, you can trainsomeone.
It's like, oh.
Just that simple.
So yeah, tell us a little bitabout how you're doing that and
(01:20):
why outsourcing is so important.
'cause I know a lot of peopleare like I can just keep doing
it.
I love to edit editing's liketherapy for me.
What do you have to say aboutthat?
Sara (01:28):
Yeah.
Ooh.
The editing is like, therapy forme until it's not, is a true
statement because every time Iask a photographer when they're
just like, oh, like, yeah, I'mnot gonna outsource my.
Editing because I actually enjoyit.
And I'm just like, okay, do youenjoy, editing the photos, you
like to edit and then you wannarepeat you're hair for the rest,
(01:50):
and they're like.
Yeah, actually that's true.
And so usually I'm just like,you know, it is like therapeutic
and fun and I feel the same wayabout it for like the images
that I wanna edit or, you know,I usually edit about 10, 15% of
images from every session orwedding.
And then the rest is what wewanna.
Get help with and get supportwith.
(02:10):
'cause that is what burns us outbecause it's the compound effect
over a season.
Usually photographers, mostphotographers with portraits and
weddings that don't shoot instudios, let's say, right?
Their seasons are six months.
So if you're packing all of thatediting into six months, it's
just like compound effect comesin and it just takes over your
(02:31):
life.
And you guys know your queuejust gets so freaking long by
the end of the year.
It's, it's just not fun.
Like mental health getsaffected.
Our wellbeing, ourrelationships.
That's, that's why I'm sopassionate about, helping others
reclaim their time and work lessand only stay in their zone of
joy and excitement because ifwe're just sitting there at a
(02:52):
computer slaving away at editingphotos that were just like, I
really wish I didn't have toedit this.
You guys know when you'refeeling that way you can get
support for like.
The rest of the images you don'twanna edit.
What I love to tell my studentsis it's totally customizable to
you and you get to keep what youwanna keep and get help with the
rest.
Alora (03:10):
You can decide.
Nobody's telling you
Sara (03:12):
Yeah.
Alora (03:13):
can't edit if you really want to.
Sara (03:15):
Yeah.
Alora (03:16):
how did you come across this?
Because one thing I reallyadmire about you is that you
were able to come up with thisentire system before you had
your son.
And I was like, that wasperfect.
She didn't have to crash andburn like I did.
She had everything systemicallyset up and then you could
peacefully have a baby and run awedding photography business.
Tell me a little bit about that.
Sara (03:36):
Yeah.
Honestly, my heart like breaksand like actually physically
aches when I see a mom.
Post to a photographer Facebookgroup.
You're like, my newborn is fourweeks old and I'm already
feeling overwhelmed.
I don't even know if I can keepthis business going.
My heart literally breaksbecause I'm on the other side of
the screen.
I literally have the step bystep answers and I wish you had
(03:56):
found me.
I wish you heard my message.
I wish I could help you because,and like, it's just not
sustainable, not possible to doeverything yourself.
Be a parent.
This isn't just for moms, likethis is for anyone who's a
parent too and a photographer.
And to run a thriving,profitable business, like I
(04:18):
genuinely don't think it'spossible.
you're just gonna feel likeyou're running on empty the
whole time with everything andthat, you know, leads to.
Health issues, relationshipissues, people burning down
their photography business andbeing like, it just can't work.
It's not good for moms.
Right.
So I am so happy that I had theforesight way back when I, this
(04:40):
was like back in 2016 when I wasworking 12 to 15 hour days.
And I only had like 15 weddingsand 15 sessions that year.
Plus, because my business wasn'tearning enough.
Like I wasn't getting enoughinquiries and bookings.
I actually wasn't making thatmuch money, and I'm like, this
doesn't make sense.
Why am I working not making asmuch money where I have to also
(05:01):
have a side waitressing job.
It doesn't make sense.
Well, Sarah, I asked myselflike, where are you spending
your time?
I'm like, I'm literally justsitting here clicking buttons
and sliders on a screen forhours and hours and hours.
This editing process is takingso long, and this was way before
ai.
Which helped create an evenstronger base at it, right?
And I was like, this is notsustainable.
(05:22):
I created my photographybusiness to do what I love,
which is to shoot more, toactually take photos and have
more freedom with my time.
And make the money I wanna make,and nothing was happening.
So I knew that in the future Iwanted to have a family.
And I'm like, if I'm alreadylike this, I'm not making good
(05:43):
money and I'm working 24 7.
It's just not sustainable.
So I ended up talking to Rory,who we were, I think, dating for
two years then and now it's been11 years that we're together.
But back then we were dating fortwo years living together and I
was like.
Rory, I think I'm gonna decideto get help with my editing.
And he's like, oh, how much isthat gonna cost?
(06:04):
It's always the first thoughtthat people think of, right?
And I'm like, oh, about 300, 400a wedding, And he is like, well,
why wouldn't you keep thatmoney?
Like, that's actually doublewhat I used to make in my
serving job.
Right?
In tips, right?
That's a lot of money.
If I go to one serving shift, Iwould make 200 bucks on a really
good night, right?
(06:24):
And he is like, why would yougive up 300 to$400 when you
could just sit there and do ityourself?
I'm like, trust me.
I just know that this is likeburning me at both ends.
I'm hardly marketing thebusiness.
I need to market more, to bemore visible, to book more and
have the capacity to shoot more.
So in one year after making thatdecision, I'm so happy he was
(06:44):
supportive because I can't evenimagine how people would feel
if.
They don't have that supportfrom a spouse that could be
feeling like a lot of feararound that kind of investment.
But in one year I went frommaking$69,000 in revenue to
$135,000 in revenue in one year.
(07:04):
And, and that's not just like,on top of that, I worked half
the amount and I got to quit myserving job.
So.
That's just how quickly thisstuff can have an effect.
And I was only outsourcing myediting.
I wasn't even getting supportwith like a virtual assistant
yet, all of that.
So that's how effective it couldbe.
And something I love to sharewith photographers now is if
(07:28):
you're sitting there thinking300 to$400, that seems
expensive.
I felt that way too back then,but what's really cool about
these days is actually so muchmore affordable.
I spend about one third of thatnow on outsourcing.
My editing and my prices are wayhigher than they used to be, so
it's just like.
Yeah, there's just outsourcingcan be so much more affordable
(07:51):
than you think.
That's just what it cost me backthen.
And guess what, even if it costme that amount, back then, it
was still so worth it because ofthe clear results.
Right?
I've made so much more money.
I was so much more profitable.
So yeah.
I think that's it.
Alora (08:05):
Yeah, I was gonna say the return on investment, you
doubled your income.
if you have this system, thisroadmap, if you just free up
your time, you'll have theability to double your income.
there's so many ways to grow inyour business, and that's a huge
one.
Do you know offhand by how manyhours you were able to free up
or what the average amount ofhours photographers spend on
(08:25):
admin, whether it's editing,checking your inbox or anything
like that, that we're wasting.
Sara (08:29):
Right.
I don't know the exact, I mean,that's such a tricky thing.
For a wedding, Anywhere from 10to 20 hours is average.
And'cause it's such a range,some people, deliver 500, some
deliver 800, some do more skinretouching.
It's such a high range.
But with me having outsourcedfor nine years now, I've now
helped over 180 photographerssuccessfully outsource in their
(08:50):
business over the past fiveyears.
I have those stats that I'vecollected where I can see that
through the systems that I'vebuilt, my smart outsourcing
workflows photographers,including myself, save up to 70%
of their time at the computer.
I help photographers eliminate70% of their desk work.
through getting the supporthaving someone support you with
(09:11):
editing and culling and albumdesign slideshows random
research or posting blog posts,things like that.
And I know what you guys arethinking.
okay, cool, that's awesome, but.
I just cannot give control of mybaby.
Like you said, You're like, noone can edit like me.
No one can do it like me.
and honestly, I felt the sameway too.
(09:33):
it comes down to us not knowinghow to effectively communicate
how we want things done, and howto effectively train someone
Super, like a ton of time tothen train someone.
'cause the last thing I wantanyone to feel is like, okay,
yeah I'm outsourcing this andI'm investing this money, but
I'm actually spending still somuch time training or reviewing
(09:53):
everything.
'cause then what's the point?
Right?
What I'm so proud of is Ifigured out these systems and
I've really learned anddeveloped the skill through
investing in my own education onhow to actually have the skill
of hiring, delegating effectivecommunication, creating
trainings, and all of that cansound so dry and boring.
But as soon as you likeliterally send off a gallery to
(10:16):
be edited or like a wedding tobe called, and you wake up the
next day and it's done, forexample, and you're like.
Wait, this only needs 10 minutesof my time to just make those
quick fixes.
It's like the best feeling andit's like game over.
You become addicted, likeoutsourcing becomes sexy and
you're like, oh my God, whatelse can I outsource next?
Right.
You have that experience, right?
Alora (10:36):
I outsourced my editing and I was like, what else can I
outsource?
I have so much time.
Let me just go shopping just'cause I can,
Sara (10:42):
yeah.
Alora (10:43):
Sarah, that's amazing.
Now how do people really knowthey need to outsource?
Because like I said, a lot oftimes and like myself, I was
like, that's gonna be the lastthing that I outsource.
Most people I'll just outsourcemy inbox a little bit.
even then they're like, I don'twant people answering my
inquiries.
'cause what if they're not doingit right?
There's just so many things thatcome up when it's like, how
could I even let somebody have1% of what it is that I do?
(11:06):
Really?
What are the signs that arepresent?
And they're just like, okay,this is an outsourcing issue.
Sara (11:11):
Yeah, so let's focus on, the three signs that you're
ready to outsource I keep seeingthese over and over again, and
essentially it's if you'rehitting burnout every single
season.
another sign is if you'renoticing yourself
procrastinating tasks.
So if you're like, okay, I shotthis session on Monday, and then
(11:32):
you're like, oh, I hate cu Okay,I'll do it tomorrow.
Okay, now I'm gonna do ittomorrow, and then it's Friday.
And you're like, I still haven'tand now I have a wedding
tomorrow.
okay, I'll do it next week.
And then that's how you becomeBehind and stressed and in the
background of your energy,right?
If you notice yourselfprocrastinating things, that
just means that task is nolonger meant for you.
Or if you've never enjoyed,culling was never meant for you,
(11:55):
and it just means that it'soutside of your zone of joy and
your soul has gotten apromotion.
It's time for you to uplevelinto something that I love that
Laura's laughing at that.
Alora (12:08):
Sorry, I just thought of the Disney movie Soul.
Sara (12:10):
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah,
Alora (12:12):
I just saw the little blue guy going,
Sara (12:15):
yeah.
And like the movie.
You don't wanna be in the,what's the, what was the part
where, oh, lost souls.
You don't wanna be a lost soul.
Alora (12:23):
soul.
Sara (12:24):
I just noticed I had this like, very specific shift, like.
2017.
And before that for my wholecareer, I loved coming back home
and culling the photos and likepicking my favorites.
Like I loved it.
And then 2018 came around andthis was when I was already out,
was first my editing, everythingwas good.
And I was just like, wait asecond, why am I like despising
(12:45):
sitting down my computer to dothis?
And I was like, it's time.
And I've had to figure out howto get it done.
I actually thought at one pointit was impossible.
I'm like, how can someone makethese decisions for me?
They're not in my brain.
But it is possible, and it allcomes down to effective training
and magnetic hiring and reallyessentially knowing your culling
(13:06):
formula.
And so when I noticed that, Iwas like, okay, it's time for me
to uplevel again.
And I trained someone on it andI outsourced that and I'm so
happy I did because September.
2018.
I had 11 weddings booked inSeptember.
You know, those like randomyears where everyone just, you
get all the bookings in that onemonth, they're like, you know,
(13:29):
it was so weird for me to have11 weddings in one month.
I have never had that.
Right.
I had three, seven that year.
So that's why it was like that,but I would have never been able
to take on.
That many weddings.
If I wasn't outsourcing, theonly way I said yes to them was
because I had my outsourcingsystems in place with like a
virtual assistant and editing.
(13:50):
I was just still culling.
But then in September, I was nowgetting support with Culling and
I got to save so much time andjust be happier and I got to be
like actually energized for allthe Doubleheaders and all the
weddings, and I got to.
Do what?
I wanted it.
It's so funny, all Laura's like,that's not my cup of tea.
But you know what, for me, Iactually love, if I wasn't a mom
(14:12):
now, I would be still happy todo that because my weekdays were
so empty that I could dowhatever, like, you know, my
weekdays were so empty, I wasn'tdoing all this other stuff.
But now that I'm a mom, I dowant weekends with my son.
And so I don't want that manyweddings.
I want like maybe 15 to 20 ayear.
But before that, that was like.
seven years ago.
I'm like, yeah, gimme all theweddings.
'cause that's where I have themost fun and that's where I make
(14:34):
money and I loved it.
So yeah, that's another sign.
Procrastination.
And then the third sign is notmaking as much money as you want
and need.
And this is a surprising onebecause you think it's so
counterintuitive.
People think, well, I'm gonna bespending more money.
my expenses are gonna risebecause I'm gonna be investing
in outsourcing.
(14:56):
But what you don't notice isthat as soon as you get your
time back, you're like, what arewe gonna do with all this time?
Okay, I am gonna market more andI'm gonna get more bookings and
I'm gonna get paid more.
So.
It, that's another sign.
And what I have a treat for youguys today, because I am so
transparent about numbers, Ibelieve that, you know talking
(15:18):
about money and numbers, I don'tthink it should be taboo because
if we all were just more openabout it, we could all help each
other so much more or we couldall see what's possible.
And so I literally have abreakdown of my actual numbers
from 2024 of how much I earned,how much I actually spent on
outsourcing different parts ofmy business, and also how much
(15:40):
time I saved from that.
And I wanted to share that withyou guys because.
I wanted to satiate that logicalpart of your brain that would
hold you back from making theinvestment.
Because initially it feels likeyou're letting go of money, but
then you're gonna see with theabundance of time that you save,
you make so much space for somuch more money that you ever
(16:03):
could have imagined, literally.
By the way, guys, like money isjust a number on a screen or on
a piece of paper.
Like why do we attach so muchmeaning to like, oh, I don't
like, I don't know.
That should be privateinformation.
Like, you know, I'm not judginganyone for thinking that way
because that's just how we werebrought up, right?
It's just conditioning.
Right.
(16:23):
But.
Alora (16:24):
Yeah.
Sara (16:24):
just challenge you to think about it.
Yeah.
Just like think about, hey, whynot just share more with like
family and friends and see howwe can help each other out?
Right.
Okay, so in 2024 I accepted$131,000 in revenue from
weddings and sessions, and65,000 from education.
(16:44):
So in total I made$195,000 inrevenue.
And I'm just gonna share that aslike, I want to share both,
because I'm essentially runningtwo businesses now.
And now I have a son who's threeyears old, so I'm not gonna go
and book like, I think I hadlike 18 weddings last year, so
I'm not gonna, book double theamount of weddings like, I used
(17:07):
to.
just putting that intoperspective and I wanted just
more time freedom there.
So that was my revenue from lastyear.
So if I go into, okay, let's dohow much I invested first.
Or how much time?
Oh, you know what?
No, no, no.
Let's do time saved first.
I think that'll be more fun foreveryone.
So last year with 18 weddingsand 15 sessions.
(17:31):
By outsourcing my editing, Isaved 439 hours, and I want you
to keep this in mind with like asix month period of time.
And I will summarize this, so ifit's hard for you to keep track
of numbers while you'relistening to a podcast, I'm
gonna slowly summarize it, sodon't worry.
So with editing, I saved 439hours.
With Culling, I saved 63 hoursand with tasks I assigned to my
(17:56):
va, I saved 167 hours.
So in six months I saved 669hours of my time.
And if I break it down tosomething where we can actually
comprehend it easier in ourminds, I saved 28 hours each
week.
(18:17):
28 hours, that's three fullworking days.
So when I tell people, I'm like,you can literally shoot sessions
and weddings and then have threedays off in the middle of the
week.
You can literally do that.
Especially like so.
All those stay at home moms thatwanna be stay at home moms and
try to, balance that, like thisis an amazing solution for you.
(18:37):
And now let's talk about howmuch it costs me, because I know
you're thinking like, okay, Iwant that, I wanna work that
much less on my computer.
Keep in mind that the how ispossible, because your brain is
gonna continue to try and trickyou to be like, yeah, but how is
that even possible?
But I don't know the how.
And it's okay.
You don't know the how.
Right now.
You're not meant to know thehow.
(18:59):
But just know it's possible.
So how much I invested?
So in editing, I invested$2,500.
For culling, I invested$650 andfor VA tasks I invested$1,150.
So my total amount invested.
(19:19):
And this is in Canadian'causeI'm in Canadian is$4,300 to get
669 hours back.
So this is me just dropping themic being like.
It is so much more affordablethan you guys can even imagine.
And if you really break it down,if I invested$4,300 and saved
669 hours, that's$6 and 50 centsan hour that I'm investing to
(19:46):
delegate something to get helpwith something.
And Laura's eyes are hilariousright now.
She's like, what?
Alora (19:51):
I.
Sara (19:53):
And essentially this is because I choose to find my
editors and my virtualassistants over in the
Philippines For those of youthat are like, wait six 50 an
hour, is that even ethical?
Like it's a hundred percentethical.
just like we are freelancers asphotographers, they get to
choose what clients they get towork with.
They get to say yes or no torates, and the rate that I pay
(20:14):
them is essentially three tofour times more than minimum
wage in the Philippines.
So for them, it's such anamazing gig.
They get to work from home.
Work on their own time, run abusiness that they want as a
freelancer.
And they get the benefit ofmaking a lot more than minimum
wage.
Obviously we wouldn't want themmaking minimum wage, right?
(20:35):
So we get to give them so muchmore because it's so affordable
for us because of the conversionon the dollar.
And I have worked with FilipinoVAs and editors for so many
years now, about seven And Ijust know how to.
Train them, how to vet them, howto put together a job posting
that really attracts the rightperson.
So with all this said, I thinkmy last point that I really want
(20:57):
you guys to understand is thatif you now know this
information, that this ispossible, and I've been doing
this for years and I have over180 students that have done this
for years.
If you are now moving forward,choosing to sit at your computer
and work on something that youhate, that's draining your
energy.
You are now choosing to payyourself six 50 an hour, and
(21:21):
then it's gonna be a cycle.
It's gonna be no wonder I'm notmaking as much as I want.
No wonder I'm burnt out becauseyou're paying yourself six 50 an
hour.
If you can get support for six50 an hour, get that support.
Start small, 10 hours a week,five hours a week, and then get
your time back and thenstrategize from there.
Alora (21:40):
I feel like that's what people say when they're saying
you didn't start this businessto work a nine to five.
you're wearing all the hats,what do they call it?
One company, 17 hats.
Sara (21:49):
Yeah.
Alora (21:50):
And it really is.
But do you have to, is thequestion, and I feel like you
have done that for those almost200 students, give them so much
time freedom.
And so I have a question aboutthat What are the things that
people do with all this freetime?
Because when you're aphotographer, you feel like you
are your business.
Everything you do is gonna beabout business and there's no
(22:10):
balance.
It's at least for me, when I wasburned out and I was booking 30
plus weddings a year, had nolife.
My life was my business.
My business was my life.
And to your point, when you'relike, I love booking a lot of
weddings, my business went viralwith a baby.
Sara (22:24):
Oh my gosh.
Alora (22:25):
I would've loved to be like, I just wanna book a
million weddings and make amillion dollars.
But it is really cool to knowthat you have that option
though, because I talk so muchabout pricing and all this other
stuff.
You're like, some people wannabook 30, 50 weddings a year.
If you do, you can justoutsource your time and book all
those weddings.
You have options.
But to my previous point whatwould you say to the people who
(22:46):
are like, what am I gonna dowith all this time?
Or like, why do I want to savetime?
I love my business.
I love doing this, that and theother.
My business is my baby.
Sara (22:56):
Yeah.
Oh my gosh.
I love this question becauseit's literally like your world
is your oyster.
Like you choose, you literallychoose what you value, right?
Because someone who's pregnantand about to become a mom, She's
gonna have a totally differentanswer and a reason of why she's
gonna want her time back.
Someone who's in their earlytwenties, like maybe starting a
wedding photography business at22, 23, like maybe they're so
(23:20):
excited and goal driven andthey're just like, I wanna
literally make$300,000 as aphotographer.
How am I gonna get there?
And maybe that person is like, Iwanna get there, but I wanna
have a social life.
I still wanna be able to go outbecause how many times have we
hung out with otherphotographers and it's the
start, like maybe it's spring,and then we hang out and then
(23:42):
everyone's like, okay, we'll seeyou Christmas.
And it was, it's like a runningjoke of like, we will literally
not see you in the summerbecause we're all just in our
editing caves or whatever.
Right.
So what I love so much about.
the way I guide photographers islike, you get to choose what you
want.
Some other photographers, theyhave a drive and an interest and
passion for mentoring otherphotographers.
(24:03):
That's what I had.
I found myself with all thisextra time.
I was like really hardly workingwith 37 weddings.
I was hardly working.
I was making like 180 k fromthose 37 weddings that year, and
I was Getting all thesequestions of like, how do you do
that?
How do you run your business?
I was loving answering thequestions and connecting with
the community.
(24:23):
So I decided to start a podcastcourses, all the things, and I
got to satiate that logical partof my brain through teaching and
then my creative part of mybrain through photography.
So I have both now and as a funfact with my motivation being
like.
I want these two businesses andI want a thriving family life.
(24:45):
In 2022, I became a first timemom with Ben.
That year it was because peoplewaited to get married until
COVID was over, essentially.
So all my weddings piled up inone year to 32 weddings the year
I was a first time mom, listento this.
This is what In 2022, I was afirst time mom.
In February, I took three monthsoff, and then I started my
(25:07):
wedding season of 32 Weddings, Ialso hosted a weekly podcast,
and I had a big course launch inOctober, that whole year I made
$300,000 in revenue, but Iworked 25 to 30 hours a week.
This includes, wait, but youguys not at my desk.
When I say I work 25 to 30 hourweeks, this includes if I had a
(25:29):
10 hour wedding day thatincludes that.
So I had literal like four daysoff a week with my family while
I was running two businesses andmade 300 k.
So that's what I chose.
Other people are like, I wannajust, you know, have a
homestead.
I wanna be a photographer and Iwanna have a homestead.
I want all this time just togarden, just to be with animals
(25:50):
and just to like, you get to dowhat you want.
That's the beauty of it.
Spend more time with familytravel.
Right?
actually travel.
Not travel.
Like, I'm gonna go to Moroccoand then sit there and edit
photos.
Like I'm not actually inMorocco.
Like I actually wanna travel andlike.
Be there fully with all mysenses.
Right.
So it's up to you guys.
Alora (26:08):
Yeah.
Oh my gosh, that's so good.
Yeah, it's almost like lettinggo can be one of the best things
to ever happen to
Sara (26:15):
Mm-hmm.
Alora (26:15):
not every single thing in your business and being like my
precious, but really lettingyour precious go to preschool.
Sara (26:23):
Yeah.
Alora (26:24):
No, but That is amazing.
Just, what you're doing andhelping people get such massive
amount of time back, Ioutsource, but not to your level
of outsource.
Your level is different.
If somebody wants to get startedwith outsourcing and they just
can't can't get past it.
What is like the first maybe oneto two to three things you
(26:44):
suggest that they do or even askthemselves?
Is this something I could reallydo?
Why do I really need to do this?
And will it work, for me?
Sara (26:53):
I love that question because yeah, this is like, it
could feel like a mountain of atopic.
Like you can be listening to ustalking about this right now,
and then you're like, okay, Iwant that, but like, where do I
start?
Now I feel overwhelmed.
I have all these other thingsthat I need to be doing in my
business.
I don't wanna add on anotherthing, and like the last thing I
want you to feel is overwhelmedfrom this conversation, I want
you to just feel.
(27:14):
Inspire that that is possible.
And just remember that it tookme one year to, to go from like
six to double my revenue and cutmy working time in half.
So one year could feel like along time from now, but just
know that it's possible, onesmall step at a time.
And the very first place Isuggest anyone starts is just to
(27:35):
essentially take an audit ofwhere you're spending your time.
And when I say audit.
Again, it's not something I wantyou to add to your to-do list
'cause you're alreadyoverwhelmed where you're like,
okay, Kurt, do audit on time.
No, like just, just payattention consciously.
Put a sticky note on yourcomputer right now, like
literally right now, or areminder on your phone just to
(27:58):
ask yourself, when you'resitting at your computer,
whatever task you're working on,ask yourself, Am I enjoying this
right now?
Just be honest with yourself.
And that's it.
And then you're taking a mentalnote over and over each day,
slowly you're starting to get amental picture of, oh, these are
the things that are draining myenergy in my business.
These are the things that aregiving me energy.
(28:21):
Don't worry about the how.
Don't worry about how do I evenfind an editor?
How do I do this?
That is the very first stepbecause then once you have that
actual picture, your custompicture of where you're at and
what gives you joy and whatdrains your energy, then you
will be able to be ready for thenext step, which is essentially
starting to understand, okay,now who do I need?
(28:44):
And, you know, taking thosesteps further.
So just start there.
Be super simple, kind toyourself about it, and you are
exactly where you are meant tobe.
You are not behind,
Alora (28:54):
You're just beginning.
Sara (28:55):
Yeah.
Alora (28:56):
That's so good.
Sara (28:57):
Yeah.
Alora (28:57):
Sarah, tell everybody about the little gift you have
for them.
And then also where they canfind you and connect with you
about all things outsourcing.
Sara (29:05):
Okay.
So you guys, I have my actualchecklist step by step of what I
outsource and when and what I domyself in the process.
So it's essentially my threehour post wedding workflow
checklist.
And I call it wedding workflowbecause I specialize in
weddings, but the exact workflowalso.
Can be applied to sessions.
(29:26):
It's just that, you know,instead of you spending an hour
on pre edits, you would takelike 20 minutes or something.
So it still applies.
So you guys can actually get mystep-by-step system and.
The checklist on exactly what Ioutsource, when, and how much
time it saves me.
So you'll have like a nicelittle graph to see how much
(29:46):
time it saves me too.
So that's at sarahmonica.com/workflow and Sarah is
spelled, no H and then Monicawith a K'cause I'm Polish.
So just a little bit differentthere.
And then also you didn't know Iwas Polish.
You are like, huh?
Alora (30:02):
No, I don't think we ever talked about that.
Sara (30:04):
No, we never did.
Every time we connect, we findout something different about
each other.
And also, I relaunch myoutsourcing made easy program
for photographers once a year,every October.
And so you guys can get on thewait list for that.
And that is, let me see thelink.
Oh, Sarah monica.com/freedom.
(30:25):
And just so you guys know, like,because I know, you know,
hearing from someone who's beendoing this for nine years, it
could feel a little bit like.
Oh, well you already have itfigured out, so it's easy for
you to say that this could beeffective.
And I totally get that.
'cause when I listen to otherpodcasts, I feel that way too.
So what really helps me feellike it's possible for me too is
(30:45):
just hearing just some otherlike, success stories of what
other photographers are able todo.
So I have one here from one ofmy students, autumn she, last
year, I think this was the lastyear or two years ago.
Oh my gosh.
Time.
I'm like.
Where did the time go?
But she's like afterimplementing what I learned
inside omi, so I calloutsourcing made easy OMI for
(31:07):
short.
She's like, I don't have andhaven't had a single queue line
for edits.
I've been receiving incrediblereviews from all my wedding
clients because they're blownaway that I've been able to
return their galleries to themthree weeks after their wedding.
I think I spend at most 10 hoursin my office a week.
(31:27):
Compared to the 50 plus that Iused to spend.
That is what I'm talking aboutyou guys.
So what typically happens isthere's a tiny window of time,
essentially two to three weekswhere it feels like.
I have my whole to-do list, todo editing, cue culling, all the
things on our to-do list, andthen adding on this element of
(31:49):
learning from outsourcing, likelearning my step by step and
just applying it.
There's a two to three weekwindow where you do feel.
A little bit more overwhelmedbecause you're just adding
another thing.
But then after two to threeweeks, you already have found a
person and they're alreadyalleviating your editing, and
then you free up so much moretime, space, and then it's like
(32:10):
that, that quick of a shift.
So it's like a two to three weekwindow where you're just like,
okay, for next two to threeweeks, I'm just gonna really
focus, have one more thing on myto-do list.
But then.
It's like a actual quantum leapof like your time and space
opens up to you, just around thecorner.
So yeah.
Alora (32:28):
That's
Sara (32:29):
Yeah.
Oh, and you guys, I'm also soexcited because I'm on YouTube
now and I would love to hang outwith you guys there.
So yeah, you can just search me,Sarah Monica on YouTube, or you
can search Shine and ThrivePhotography podcast.
And on Instagram, I'm at SarahMonica.
Photo.
Sarah, no h.
Monica with a K.
And if you got any value, I'dlove to connect with you or if
(32:50):
you have any questions, I'm herefor you.
I care so much about.
your wellbeing, quality of life,and I'm just here for you guys.
Alora (32:57):
Thank you so much for coming on the podcast and
sharing your wealth of knowledgewith everybody here today.
Check out the links in the shownotes to connect with her and
I'll see you guys in the nextepisode.
Bye.
Welcome to the Wedding Atelier podcast.
I have a treat for you guys.
One of my friends, Sarah Monica,she has been on the podcast
before.
I had been on hers before.
We actually just came off of herpodcast, so I'll link that
episode in the show notes.
But I really wanna hear todayabout how she's helping wedding
photographers and photographerssave so much less time and make
(00:21):
more money without hustling toburnout.
And we both have the same verystrong value of freeing up your
time, getting paid more or less,whatever you want, but having
just so much time freedom so youcan have a life.
So yeah, she's been in theindustry for 13 years.
She's been outsourcing for nine,so she knows what she's talking
about and she's helpedphotographers work 70% less and
(00:43):
make more.
Sarah, welcome to the podcast.
I'm so excited to have
Sara (00:46):
Yay.
Thank you.
I love that we just get to likepiggyback off the energy of the
other one and we're just likekeeping it rolling and yeah, I'm
just so excited to be here andlike connect with everyone that
you talk to on a regular basis.
Alora (00:59):
I really love your approach to outsourcing because
I personally didn't wannaoutsource.
I was so dramatic.
I was like, nobody can edit asgood as me.
I am the skin tone queen and allthese other things.
And Sarah's like, you can trainsomeone.
It's like, oh.
Just that simple.
So yeah, tell us a little bitabout how you're doing that and
(01:20):
why outsourcing is so important.
'cause I know a lot of peopleare like I can just keep doing
it.
I love to edit editing's liketherapy for me.
What do you have to say aboutthat?
Sara (01:28):
Yeah.
Ooh.
The editing is like, therapy forme until it's not, is a true
statement because every time Iask a photographer when they're
just like, oh, like, yeah, I'mnot gonna outsource my.
Editing because I actually enjoyit.
And I'm just like, okay, do youenjoy, editing the photos, you
like to edit and then you wannarepeat you're hair for the rest,
(01:50):
and they're like.
Yeah, actually that's true.
And so usually I'm just like,you know, it is like therapeutic
and fun and I feel the same wayabout it for like the images
that I wanna edit or, you know,I usually edit about 10, 15% of
images from every session orwedding.
And then the rest is what wewanna.
Get help with and get supportwith.
(02:10):
'cause that is what burns us outbecause it's the compound effect
over a season.
Usually photographers, mostphotographers with portraits and
weddings that don't shoot instudios, let's say, right?
Their seasons are six months.
So if you're packing all of thatediting into six months, it's
just like compound effect comesin and it just takes over your
(02:31):
life.
And you guys know your queuejust gets so freaking long by
the end of the year.
It's, it's just not fun.
Like mental health getsaffected.
Our wellbeing, ourrelationships.
That's, that's why I'm sopassionate about, helping others
reclaim their time and work lessand only stay in their zone of
joy and excitement because ifwe're just sitting there at a
(02:52):
computer slaving away at editingphotos that were just like, I
really wish I didn't have toedit this.
You guys know when you'refeeling that way you can get
support for like.
The rest of the images you don'twanna edit.
What I love to tell my studentsis it's totally customizable to
you and you get to keep what youwanna keep and get help with the
rest.
Alora (03:10):
You can decide.
Nobody's telling you
Sara (03:12):
Yeah.
Alora (03:13):
can't edit if you really want to.
Sara (03:15):
Yeah.
Alora (03:16):
how did you come across this?
Because one thing I reallyadmire about you is that you
were able to come up with thisentire system before you had
your son.
And I was like, that wasperfect.
She didn't have to crash andburn like I did.
She had everything systemicallyset up and then you could
peacefully have a baby and run awedding photography business.
Tell me a little bit about that.
Sara (03:36):
Yeah.
Honestly, my heart like breaksand like actually physically
aches when I see a mom.
Post to a photographer Facebookgroup.
You're like, my newborn is fourweeks old and I'm already
feeling overwhelmed.
I don't even know if I can keepthis business going.
My heart literally breaksbecause I'm on the other side of
the screen.
I literally have the step bystep answers and I wish you had
(03:56):
found me.
I wish you heard my message.
I wish I could help you because,and like, it's just not
sustainable, not possible to doeverything yourself.
Be a parent.
This isn't just for moms, likethis is for anyone who's a
parent too and a photographer.
And to run a thriving,profitable business, like I
(04:18):
genuinely don't think it'spossible.
you're just gonna feel likeyou're running on empty the
whole time with everything andthat, you know, leads to.
Health issues, relationshipissues, people burning down
their photography business andbeing like, it just can't work.
It's not good for moms.
Right.
So I am so happy that I had theforesight way back when I, this
(04:40):
was like back in 2016 when I wasworking 12 to 15 hour days.
And I only had like 15 weddingsand 15 sessions that year.
Plus, because my business wasn'tearning enough.
Like I wasn't getting enoughinquiries and bookings.
I actually wasn't making thatmuch money, and I'm like, this
doesn't make sense.
Why am I working not making asmuch money where I have to also
(05:01):
have a side waitressing job.
It doesn't make sense.
Well, Sarah, I asked myselflike, where are you spending
your time?
I'm like, I'm literally justsitting here clicking buttons
and sliders on a screen forhours and hours and hours.
This editing process is takingso long, and this was way before
ai.
Which helped create an evenstronger base at it, right?
And I was like, this is notsustainable.
(05:22):
I created my photographybusiness to do what I love,
which is to shoot more, toactually take photos and have
more freedom with my time.
And make the money I wanna make,and nothing was happening.
So I knew that in the future Iwanted to have a family.
And I'm like, if I'm alreadylike this, I'm not making good
(05:43):
money and I'm working 24 7.
It's just not sustainable.
So I ended up talking to Rory,who we were, I think, dating for
two years then and now it's been11 years that we're together.
But back then we were dating fortwo years living together and I
was like.
Rory, I think I'm gonna decideto get help with my editing.
And he's like, oh, how much isthat gonna cost?
(06:04):
It's always the first thoughtthat people think of, right?
And I'm like, oh, about 300, 400a wedding, And he is like, well,
why wouldn't you keep thatmoney?
Like, that's actually doublewhat I used to make in my
serving job.
Right?
In tips, right?
That's a lot of money.
If I go to one serving shift, Iwould make 200 bucks on a really
good night, right?
(06:24):
And he is like, why would yougive up 300 to$400 when you
could just sit there and do ityourself?
I'm like, trust me.
I just know that this is likeburning me at both ends.
I'm hardly marketing thebusiness.
I need to market more, to bemore visible, to book more and
have the capacity to shoot more.
So in one year after making thatdecision, I'm so happy he was
(06:44):
supportive because I can't evenimagine how people would feel
if.
They don't have that supportfrom a spouse that could be
feeling like a lot of feararound that kind of investment.
But in one year I went frommaking$69,000 in revenue to
$135,000 in revenue in one year.
(07:04):
And, and that's not just like,on top of that, I worked half
the amount and I got to quit myserving job.
So.
That's just how quickly thisstuff can have an effect.
And I was only outsourcing myediting.
I wasn't even getting supportwith like a virtual assistant
yet, all of that.
So that's how effective it couldbe.
And something I love to sharewith photographers now is if
(07:28):
you're sitting there thinking300 to$400, that seems
expensive.
I felt that way too back then,but what's really cool about
these days is actually so muchmore affordable.
I spend about one third of thatnow on outsourcing.
My editing and my prices are wayhigher than they used to be, so
it's just like.
Yeah, there's just outsourcingcan be so much more affordable
(07:51):
than you think.
That's just what it cost me backthen.
And guess what, even if it costme that amount, back then, it
was still so worth it because ofthe clear results.
Right?
I've made so much more money.
I was so much more profitable.
So yeah.
I think that's it.
Alora (08:05):
Yeah, I was gonna say the return on investment, you
doubled your income.
if you have this system, thisroadmap, if you just free up
your time, you'll have theability to double your income.
there's so many ways to grow inyour business, and that's a huge
one.
Do you know offhand by how manyhours you were able to free up
or what the average amount ofhours photographers spend on
(08:25):
admin, whether it's editing,checking your inbox or anything
like that, that we're wasting.
Sara (08:29):
Right.
I don't know the exact, I mean,that's such a tricky thing.
For a wedding, Anywhere from 10to 20 hours is average.
And'cause it's such a range,some people, deliver 500, some
deliver 800, some do more skinretouching.
It's such a high range.
But with me having outsourcedfor nine years now, I've now
helped over 180 photographerssuccessfully outsource in their
(08:50):
business over the past fiveyears.
I have those stats that I'vecollected where I can see that
through the systems that I'vebuilt, my smart outsourcing
workflows photographers,including myself, save up to 70%
of their time at the computer.
I help photographers eliminate70% of their desk work.
through getting the supporthaving someone support you with
(09:11):
editing and culling and albumdesign slideshows random
research or posting blog posts,things like that.
And I know what you guys arethinking.
okay, cool, that's awesome, but.
I just cannot give control of mybaby.
Like you said, You're like, noone can edit like me.
No one can do it like me.
and honestly, I felt the sameway too.
(09:33):
it comes down to us not knowinghow to effectively communicate
how we want things done, and howto effectively train someone
Super, like a ton of time tothen train someone.
'cause the last thing I wantanyone to feel is like, okay,
yeah I'm outsourcing this andI'm investing this money, but
I'm actually spending still somuch time training or reviewing
(09:53):
everything.
'cause then what's the point?
Right?
What I'm so proud of is Ifigured out these systems and
I've really learned anddeveloped the skill through
investing in my own education onhow to actually have the skill
of hiring, delegating effectivecommunication, creating
trainings, and all of that cansound so dry and boring.
But as soon as you likeliterally send off a gallery to
(10:16):
be edited or like a wedding tobe called, and you wake up the
next day and it's done, forexample, and you're like.
Wait, this only needs 10 minutesof my time to just make those
quick fixes.
It's like the best feeling andit's like game over.
You become addicted, likeoutsourcing becomes sexy and
you're like, oh my God, whatelse can I outsource next?
Right.
You have that experience, right?
Alora (10:36):
I outsourced my editing and I was like, what else can I
outsource?
I have so much time.
Let me just go shopping just'cause I can,
Sara (10:42):
yeah.
Alora (10:43):
Sarah, that's amazing.
Now how do people really knowthey need to outsource?
Because like I said, a lot oftimes and like myself, I was
like, that's gonna be the lastthing that I outsource.
Most people I'll just outsourcemy inbox a little bit.
even then they're like, I don'twant people answering my
inquiries.
'cause what if they're not doingit right?
There's just so many things thatcome up when it's like, how
could I even let somebody have1% of what it is that I do?
(11:06):
Really?
What are the signs that arepresent?
And they're just like, okay,this is an outsourcing issue.
Sara (11:11):
Yeah, so let's focus on, the three signs that you're
ready to outsource I keep seeingthese over and over again, and
essentially it's if you'rehitting burnout every single
season.
another sign is if you'renoticing yourself
procrastinating tasks.
So if you're like, okay, I shotthis session on Monday, and then
(11:32):
you're like, oh, I hate cu Okay,I'll do it tomorrow.
Okay, now I'm gonna do ittomorrow, and then it's Friday.
And you're like, I still haven'tand now I have a wedding
tomorrow.
okay, I'll do it next week.
And then that's how you becomeBehind and stressed and in the
background of your energy,right?
If you notice yourselfprocrastinating things, that
just means that task is nolonger meant for you.
Or if you've never enjoyed,culling was never meant for you,
(11:55):
and it just means that it'soutside of your zone of joy and
your soul has gotten apromotion.
It's time for you to uplevelinto something that I love that
Laura's laughing at that.
Alora (12:08):
Sorry, I just thought of the Disney movie Soul.
Sara (12:10):
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah,
Alora (12:12):
I just saw the little blue guy going,
Sara (12:15):
yeah.
And like the movie.
You don't wanna be in the,what's the, what was the part
where, oh, lost souls.
You don't wanna be a lost soul.
Alora (12:23):
soul.
Sara (12:24):
I just noticed I had this like, very specific shift, like.
2017.
And before that for my wholecareer, I loved coming back home
and culling the photos and likepicking my favorites.
Like I loved it.
And then 2018 came around andthis was when I was already out,
was first my editing, everythingwas good.
And I was just like, wait asecond, why am I like despising
(12:45):
sitting down my computer to dothis?
And I was like, it's time.
And I've had to figure out howto get it done.
I actually thought at one pointit was impossible.
I'm like, how can someone makethese decisions for me?
They're not in my brain.
But it is possible, and it allcomes down to effective training
and magnetic hiring and reallyessentially knowing your culling
(13:06):
formula.
And so when I noticed that, Iwas like, okay, it's time for me
to uplevel again.
And I trained someone on it andI outsourced that and I'm so
happy I did because September.
2018.
I had 11 weddings booked inSeptember.
You know, those like randomyears where everyone just, you
get all the bookings in that onemonth, they're like, you know,
(13:29):
it was so weird for me to have11 weddings in one month.
I have never had that.
Right.
I had three, seven that year.
So that's why it was like that,but I would have never been able
to take on.
That many weddings.
If I wasn't outsourcing, theonly way I said yes to them was
because I had my outsourcingsystems in place with like a
virtual assistant and editing.
(13:50):
I was just still culling.
But then in September, I was nowgetting support with Culling and
I got to save so much time andjust be happier and I got to be
like actually energized for allthe Doubleheaders and all the
weddings, and I got to.
Do what?
I wanted it.
It's so funny, all Laura's like,that's not my cup of tea.
But you know what, for me, Iactually love, if I wasn't a mom
(14:12):
now, I would be still happy todo that because my weekdays were
so empty that I could dowhatever, like, you know, my
weekdays were so empty, I wasn'tdoing all this other stuff.
But now that I'm a mom, I dowant weekends with my son.
And so I don't want that manyweddings.
I want like maybe 15 to 20 ayear.
But before that, that was like.
seven years ago.
I'm like, yeah, gimme all theweddings.
'cause that's where I have themost fun and that's where I make
(14:34):
money and I loved it.
So yeah, that's another sign.
Procrastination.
And then the third sign is notmaking as much money as you want
and need.
And this is a surprising onebecause you think it's so
counterintuitive.
People think, well, I'm gonna bespending more money.
my expenses are gonna risebecause I'm gonna be investing
in outsourcing.
(14:56):
But what you don't notice isthat as soon as you get your
time back, you're like, what arewe gonna do with all this time?
Okay, I am gonna market more andI'm gonna get more bookings and
I'm gonna get paid more.
So.
It, that's another sign.
And what I have a treat for youguys today, because I am so
transparent about numbers, Ibelieve that, you know talking
(15:18):
about money and numbers, I don'tthink it should be taboo because
if we all were just more openabout it, we could all help each
other so much more or we couldall see what's possible.
And so I literally have abreakdown of my actual numbers
from 2024 of how much I earned,how much I actually spent on
outsourcing different parts ofmy business, and also how much
(15:40):
time I saved from that.
And I wanted to share that withyou guys because.
I wanted to satiate that logicalpart of your brain that would
hold you back from making theinvestment.
Because initially it feels likeyou're letting go of money, but
then you're gonna see with theabundance of time that you save,
you make so much space for somuch more money that you ever
(16:03):
could have imagined, literally.
By the way, guys, like money isjust a number on a screen or on
a piece of paper.
Like why do we attach so muchmeaning to like, oh, I don't
like, I don't know.
That should be privateinformation.
Like, you know, I'm not judginganyone for thinking that way
because that's just how we werebrought up, right?
It's just conditioning.
Right.
(16:23):
But.
Alora (16:24):
Yeah.
Sara (16:24):
just challenge you to think about it.
Yeah.
Just like think about, hey, whynot just share more with like
family and friends and see howwe can help each other out?
Right.
Okay, so in 2024 I accepted$131,000 in revenue from
weddings and sessions, and65,000 from education.
(16:44):
So in total I made$195,000 inrevenue.
And I'm just gonna share that aslike, I want to share both,
because I'm essentially runningtwo businesses now.
And now I have a son who's threeyears old, so I'm not gonna go
and book like, I think I hadlike 18 weddings last year, so
I'm not gonna, book double theamount of weddings like, I used
(17:07):
to.
just putting that intoperspective and I wanted just
more time freedom there.
So that was my revenue from lastyear.
So if I go into, okay, let's dohow much I invested first.
Or how much time?
Oh, you know what?
No, no, no.
Let's do time saved first.
I think that'll be more fun foreveryone.
So last year with 18 weddingsand 15 sessions.
(17:31):
By outsourcing my editing, Isaved 439 hours, and I want you
to keep this in mind with like asix month period of time.
And I will summarize this, so ifit's hard for you to keep track
of numbers while you'relistening to a podcast, I'm
gonna slowly summarize it, sodon't worry.
So with editing, I saved 439hours.
With Culling, I saved 63 hoursand with tasks I assigned to my
(17:56):
va, I saved 167 hours.
So in six months I saved 669hours of my time.
And if I break it down tosomething where we can actually
comprehend it easier in ourminds, I saved 28 hours each
week.
(18:17):
28 hours, that's three fullworking days.
So when I tell people, I'm like,you can literally shoot sessions
and weddings and then have threedays off in the middle of the
week.
You can literally do that.
Especially like so.
All those stay at home moms thatwanna be stay at home moms and
try to, balance that, like thisis an amazing solution for you.
(18:37):
And now let's talk about howmuch it costs me, because I know
you're thinking like, okay, Iwant that, I wanna work that
much less on my computer.
Keep in mind that the how ispossible, because your brain is
gonna continue to try and trickyou to be like, yeah, but how is
that even possible?
But I don't know the how.
And it's okay.
You don't know the how.
Right now.
You're not meant to know thehow.
(18:59):
But just know it's possible.
So how much I invested?
So in editing, I invested$2,500.
For culling, I invested$650 andfor VA tasks I invested$1,150.
So my total amount invested.
(19:19):
And this is in Canadian'causeI'm in Canadian is$4,300 to get
669 hours back.
So this is me just dropping themic being like.
It is so much more affordablethan you guys can even imagine.
And if you really break it down,if I invested$4,300 and saved
669 hours, that's$6 and 50 centsan hour that I'm investing to
(19:46):
delegate something to get helpwith something.
And Laura's eyes are hilariousright now.
She's like, what?
Alora (19:51):
I.
Sara (19:53):
And essentially this is because I choose to find my
editors and my virtualassistants over in the
Philippines For those of youthat are like, wait six 50 an
hour, is that even ethical?
Like it's a hundred percentethical.
just like we are freelancers asphotographers, they get to
choose what clients they get towork with.
They get to say yes or no torates, and the rate that I pay
(20:14):
them is essentially three tofour times more than minimum
wage in the Philippines.
So for them, it's such anamazing gig.
They get to work from home.
Work on their own time, run abusiness that they want as a
freelancer.
And they get the benefit ofmaking a lot more than minimum
wage.
Obviously we wouldn't want themmaking minimum wage, right?
(20:35):
So we get to give them so muchmore because it's so affordable
for us because of the conversionon the dollar.
And I have worked with FilipinoVAs and editors for so many
years now, about seven And Ijust know how to.
Train them, how to vet them, howto put together a job posting
that really attracts the rightperson.
So with all this said, I thinkmy last point that I really want
(20:57):
you guys to understand is thatif you now know this
information, that this ispossible, and I've been doing
this for years and I have over180 students that have done this
for years.
If you are now moving forward,choosing to sit at your computer
and work on something that youhate, that's draining your
energy.
You are now choosing to payyourself six 50 an hour, and
(21:21):
then it's gonna be a cycle.
It's gonna be no wonder I'm notmaking as much as I want.
No wonder I'm burnt out becauseyou're paying yourself six 50 an
hour.
If you can get support for six50 an hour, get that support.
Start small, 10 hours a week,five hours a week, and then get
your time back and thenstrategize from there.
Alora (21:40):
I feel like that's what people say when they're saying
you didn't start this businessto work a nine to five.
you're wearing all the hats,what do they call it?
One company, 17 hats.
Sara (21:49):
Yeah.
Alora (21:50):
And it really is.
But do you have to, is thequestion, and I feel like you
have done that for those almost200 students, give them so much
time freedom.
And so I have a question aboutthat What are the things that
people do with all this freetime?
Because when you're aphotographer, you feel like you
are your business.
Everything you do is gonna beabout business and there's no
(22:10):
balance.
It's at least for me, when I wasburned out and I was booking 30
plus weddings a year, had nolife.
My life was my business.
My business was my life.
And to your point, when you'relike, I love booking a lot of
weddings, my business went viralwith a baby.
Sara (22:24):
Oh my gosh.
Alora (22:25):
I would've loved to be like, I just wanna book a
million weddings and make amillion dollars.
But it is really cool to knowthat you have that option
though, because I talk so muchabout pricing and all this other
stuff.
You're like, some people wannabook 30, 50 weddings a year.
If you do, you can justoutsource your time and book all
those weddings.
You have options.
But to my previous point whatwould you say to the people who
(22:46):
are like, what am I gonna dowith all this time?
Or like, why do I want to savetime?
I love my business.
I love doing this, that and theother.
My business is my baby.
Sara (22:56):
Yeah.
Oh my gosh.
I love this question becauseit's literally like your world
is your oyster.
Like you choose, you literallychoose what you value, right?
Because someone who's pregnantand about to become a mom, She's
gonna have a totally differentanswer and a reason of why she's
gonna want her time back.
Someone who's in their earlytwenties, like maybe starting a
wedding photography business at22, 23, like maybe they're so
(23:20):
excited and goal driven andthey're just like, I wanna
literally make$300,000 as aphotographer.
How am I gonna get there?
And maybe that person is like, Iwanna get there, but I wanna
have a social life.
I still wanna be able to go outbecause how many times have we
hung out with otherphotographers and it's the
start, like maybe it's spring,and then we hang out and then
(23:42):
everyone's like, okay, we'll seeyou Christmas.
And it was, it's like a runningjoke of like, we will literally
not see you in the summerbecause we're all just in our
editing caves or whatever.
Right.
So what I love so much about.
the way I guide photographers islike, you get to choose what you
want.
Some other photographers, theyhave a drive and an interest and
passion for mentoring otherphotographers.
(24:03):
That's what I had.
I found myself with all thisextra time.
I was like really hardly workingwith 37 weddings.
I was hardly working.
I was making like 180 k fromthose 37 weddings that year, and
I was Getting all thesequestions of like, how do you do
that?
How do you run your business?
I was loving answering thequestions and connecting with
the community.
(24:23):
So I decided to start a podcastcourses, all the things, and I
got to satiate that logical partof my brain through teaching and
then my creative part of mybrain through photography.
So I have both now and as a funfact with my motivation being
like.
I want these two businesses andI want a thriving family life.
(24:45):
In 2022, I became a first timemom with Ben.
That year it was because peoplewaited to get married until
COVID was over, essentially.
So all my weddings piled up inone year to 32 weddings the year
I was a first time mom, listento this.
This is what In 2022, I was afirst time mom.
In February, I took three monthsoff, and then I started my
(25:07):
wedding season of 32 Weddings, Ialso hosted a weekly podcast,
and I had a big course launch inOctober, that whole year I made
$300,000 in revenue, but Iworked 25 to 30 hours a week.
This includes, wait, but youguys not at my desk.
When I say I work 25 to 30 hourweeks, this includes if I had a
(25:29):
10 hour wedding day thatincludes that.
So I had literal like four daysoff a week with my family while
I was running two businesses andmade 300 k.
So that's what I chose.
Other people are like, I wannajust, you know, have a
homestead.
I wanna be a photographer and Iwanna have a homestead.
I want all this time just togarden, just to be with animals
(25:50):
and just to like, you get to dowhat you want.
That's the beauty of it.
Spend more time with familytravel.
Right?
actually travel.
Not travel.
Like, I'm gonna go to Moroccoand then sit there and edit
photos.
Like I'm not actually inMorocco.
Like I actually wanna travel andlike.
Be there fully with all mysenses.
Right.
So it's up to you guys.
Alora (26:08):
Yeah.
Oh my gosh, that's so good.
Yeah, it's almost like lettinggo can be one of the best things
to ever happen to
Sara (26:15):
Mm-hmm.
Alora (26:15):
not every single thing in your business and being like my
precious, but really lettingyour precious go to preschool.
Sara (26:23):
Yeah.
Alora (26:24):
No, but That is amazing.
Just, what you're doing andhelping people get such massive
amount of time back, Ioutsource, but not to your level
of outsource.
Your level is different.
If somebody wants to get startedwith outsourcing and they just
can't can't get past it.
What is like the first maybe oneto two to three things you
(26:44):
suggest that they do or even askthemselves?
Is this something I could reallydo?
Why do I really need to do this?
And will it work, for me?
Sara (26:53):
I love that question because yeah, this is like, it
could feel like a mountain of atopic.
Like you can be listening to ustalking about this right now,
and then you're like, okay, Iwant that, but like, where do I
start?
Now I feel overwhelmed.
I have all these other thingsthat I need to be doing in my
business.
I don't wanna add on anotherthing, and like the last thing I
want you to feel is overwhelmedfrom this conversation, I want
you to just feel.
(27:14):
Inspire that that is possible.
And just remember that it tookme one year to, to go from like
six to double my revenue and cutmy working time in half.
So one year could feel like along time from now, but just
know that it's possible, onesmall step at a time.
And the very first place Isuggest anyone starts is just to
(27:35):
essentially take an audit ofwhere you're spending your time.
And when I say audit.
Again, it's not something I wantyou to add to your to-do list
'cause you're alreadyoverwhelmed where you're like,
okay, Kurt, do audit on time.
No, like just, just payattention consciously.
Put a sticky note on yourcomputer right now, like
literally right now, or areminder on your phone just to
(27:58):
ask yourself, when you'resitting at your computer,
whatever task you're working on,ask yourself, Am I enjoying this
right now?
Just be honest with yourself.
And that's it.
And then you're taking a mentalnote over and over each day,
slowly you're starting to get amental picture of, oh, these are
the things that are draining myenergy in my business.
These are the things that aregiving me energy.
(28:21):
Don't worry about the how.
Don't worry about how do I evenfind an editor?
How do I do this?
That is the very first stepbecause then once you have that
actual picture, your custompicture of where you're at and
what gives you joy and whatdrains your energy, then you
will be able to be ready for thenext step, which is essentially
starting to understand, okay,now who do I need?
(28:44):
And, you know, taking thosesteps further.
So just start there.
Be super simple, kind toyourself about it, and you are
exactly where you are meant tobe.
You are not behind,
Alora (28:54):
You're just beginning.
Sara (28:55):
Yeah.
Alora (28:56):
That's so good.
Sara (28:57):
Yeah.
Alora (28:57):
Sarah, tell everybody about the little gift you have
for them.
And then also where they canfind you and connect with you
about all things outsourcing.
Sara (29:05):
Okay.
So you guys, I have my actualchecklist step by step of what I
outsource and when and what I domyself in the process.
So it's essentially my threehour post wedding workflow
checklist.
And I call it wedding workflowbecause I specialize in
weddings, but the exact workflowalso.
Can be applied to sessions.
(29:26):
It's just that, you know,instead of you spending an hour
on pre edits, you would takelike 20 minutes or something.
So it still applies.
So you guys can actually get mystep-by-step system and.
The checklist on exactly what Ioutsource, when, and how much
time it saves me.
So you'll have like a nicelittle graph to see how much
(29:46):
time it saves me too.
So that's at sarahmonica.com/workflow and Sarah is
spelled, no H and then Monicawith a K'cause I'm Polish.
So just a little bit differentthere.
And then also you didn't know Iwas Polish.
You are like, huh?
Alora (30:02):
No, I don't think we ever talked about that.
Sara (30:04):
No, we never did.
Every time we connect, we findout something different about
each other.
And also, I relaunch myoutsourcing made easy program
for photographers once a year,every October.
And so you guys can get on thewait list for that.
And that is, let me see thelink.
Oh, Sarah monica.com/freedom.
(30:25):
And just so you guys know, like,because I know, you know,
hearing from someone who's beendoing this for nine years, it
could feel a little bit like.
Oh, well you already have itfigured out, so it's easy for
you to say that this could beeffective.
And I totally get that.
'cause when I listen to otherpodcasts, I feel that way too.
So what really helps me feellike it's possible for me too is
(30:45):
just hearing just some otherlike, success stories of what
other photographers are able todo.
So I have one here from one ofmy students, autumn she, last
year, I think this was the lastyear or two years ago.
Oh my gosh.
Time.
I'm like.
Where did the time go?
But she's like afterimplementing what I learned
inside omi, so I calloutsourcing made easy OMI for
(31:07):
short.
She's like, I don't have andhaven't had a single queue line
for edits.
I've been receiving incrediblereviews from all my wedding
clients because they're blownaway that I've been able to
return their galleries to themthree weeks after their wedding.
I think I spend at most 10 hoursin my office a week.
(31:27):
Compared to the 50 plus that Iused to spend.
That is what I'm talking aboutyou guys.
So what typically happens isthere's a tiny window of time,
essentially two to three weekswhere it feels like.
I have my whole to-do list, todo editing, cue culling, all the
things on our to-do list, andthen adding on this element of
(31:49):
learning from outsourcing, likelearning my step by step and
just applying it.
There's a two to three weekwindow where you do feel.
A little bit more overwhelmedbecause you're just adding
another thing.
But then after two to threeweeks, you already have found a
person and they're alreadyalleviating your editing, and
then you free up so much moretime, space, and then it's like
(32:10):
that, that quick of a shift.
So it's like a two to three weekwindow where you're just like,
okay, for next two to threeweeks, I'm just gonna really
focus, have one more thing on myto-do list.
But then.
It's like a actual quantum leapof like your time and space
opens up to you, just around thecorner.
So yeah.
Alora (32:28):
That's
Sara (32:29):
Yeah.
Oh, and you guys, I'm also soexcited because I'm on YouTube
now and I would love to hang outwith you guys there.
So yeah, you can just search me,Sarah Monica on YouTube, or you
can search Shine and ThrivePhotography podcast.
And on Instagram, I'm at SarahMonica.
Photo.
Sarah, no h.
Monica with a K.
And if you got any value, I'dlove to connect with you or if
(32:50):
you have any questions, I'm herefor you.
I care so much about.
your wellbeing, quality of life,and I'm just here for you guys.
Alora (32:57):
Thank you so much for coming on the podcast and
sharing your wealth of knowledgewith everybody here today.
Check out the links in the shownotes to connect with her and
I'll see you guys in the nextepisode.
Bye.
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