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Be The Boss Not The Employee: Growing with Associates

by D'Arcy Benincosa

Are you ready to decrease your weekend workload, but also grow your business and bottom line? Our expert guest, Emily, of Anna Delores Photography joins me on this episode to help you reach your full earning potential by sharing her knowledge about hiring an associate team. If you want to be more than an employee in your business and step into the CEO role, then hit play to dive in!

About Emily Loeppke:

Emily Loeppke is the founder of Anna Delores Photography and a wedding industry educator who empowers fellow creatives to grow their businesses (and profits) by hiring an associate team.

Anna Delores (named after Emily’s grandmothers) is now a team of five photographers serving over 50 couples every year for their California wedding celebrations.

Emily’s vision for other wedding photographers is excellence in both aesthetic details and business acumen in order to achieve a healthy, thriving entrepreneur life. 

What does it mean to be the CEO of your business?

Being able to work ON your business instead of just IN your business. Many of us become entrepreneurs to be our own boss, but we end up being our own “tyrant” boss with terrible hours, pay, little down time, etc.

A CEO is the visionary of the business and delegates a lot of the day-to-day tasks.

Being able to bring other people you can trust into our business is so important in living the entrepreneur life you dreamed of when you started out.

Why bring associates onto your team?

  • Getting too many inquiries or inquiries for dates you’re already booked.
  • Raise your prices for yourself and then book your associates at your current prices.
  • This allows you to have different price points within your business that can accommodate different budgets.
  • Instead of having to turn away potential clients and refer weddings you can keep them in-house.

Having associates is better than raising your prices and shooting less. Here’s why:

  • When you raise your prices and shoot less, you are usually staying even. (Shooting 20 weddings at $5k = $100k, versus 10 weddings at $10k = $100k)
  • When you book associate weddings you lessen your workload, but increase your profits.
  • You can continue to scale an associate team (kind of like a franchise)

Photography Associate Job Responsibilities (specific to Emily’s Team):

  • Client consultations upon request
  • Engagement sessions
  • They are sent a timeline, family shot list, and any important notes for the wedding day/couple
  • Responsible for managing the second shooter
  • Drop off film/cards to be culled and edited
  • Associates are not allowed to use images in their own portfolios

Associate Photography is great for:

  • Someone who desires the photography portion of a photography business but not the admin stuff that comes with running a full business
  • Someone who wants to only work one day a week (on the weekends)
  • Associates can run their own businesses outside of being an associate too.

You might be wondering… What if I teach them everything I know and they go off and start their own business?

So what? They can’t replicate your magic. Plus, a great contract can limit the chances of this happening.

What you can learn from the Associates Made Easy Program:

  • How associates can fit into your business
  • How to price your associate packages
  • Finding the right candidates
  • Onboarding your associates
  • Booking your associate team
  • The legal side of hiring an associate team

Are you ready for an associate team?

Find out at associateteams.com!

For more ways to listen to this episode – CLICK HERE!

Check It Out! 

Visit The Anna Delores Photography Website

Follow on Anna Delores Photography on Instagram

Take the Associate Readiness Quiz

Associates Made Easy Coaching Program

The E-Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber

Clifton Strengths Finder Test

free training

Not booking $10k+ weddings?

Play

It Brave

podcast

tune in now

A few of my favorite business tools:

CREATIVE LAW SHOP

Contracts, Privacy Policies, and more. Use code DARCYB10 for 10% off!

goodlight Presets

Struggle to match your digital to your film? You've met your match. Use code PLAYITBRAVE to get $50 off!

pic-time

Say au revoir to lazy galleries! Use code DARCY to get your first month free.

tonic site shop

Crappy website? Say no more. Get 20% off a template with code PLAYITBRAVE. You're welcome.

Learn my simple tweaks you can make that will have you attracting your dream clients with the portfolio you have TODAY.

free guide

Have no time to submit
to publications?

Don’t let your images gather dust on a hard drive – GET THEM SEEN (and gain street cred too).

free training

Not booking $10k+ weddings?

binge-listen

Play

It Brave

podcast

A few of my favorite business tools:

CREATIVE LAW SHOP

Contracts, Privacy Policies, and more. Use code DARCYB10 for 10% off!

goodlight presets

Struggle to match your digital to your film? You've met your match. Use code PLAYITBRAVE to get $50 off!

pic-time

Say au revoir to lazy galleries! Use code DARCY to get your first month free.

tonic site shop

Crappy website? Say no more. Get 20% off a template with code PLAYITBRAVE. You're welcome.

Have no time to submit to publications?

Don’t let your images gather dust on a hard drive – GET THEM SEEN (and gain street cred too).

free guide

Learn my simple tweaks you can make that will have you attracting your dream clients with the portfolio you have TODAY.

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