Episode 36. Client Spotlight: How Alyssa Signed 9 Clients in 3 Months

Today we are bringing on one of my past clients, Alyssa, who is a coach for wildlife photographers to chat about her journey as an entrepreneur, and what life looks like now ever since she became an entrepreneur.

Alyssa is a wildlife photographer coach who helps beginner bird photographers take beautiful photos without expensive gear (HOW COOL IS THAT!?).

I’m really, really excited to have this conversation because it’s been about two months since we finished our work together. I think a lot has changed in Alyssa’s life and business since then. So I’m really excited to learn more about what she’s up to and what life looks like now.

In This Episode:

How Alyssa got started in her business and signed three clients back to back

Cheryl:

Alyssa, could you please tell us a bit about who you are and what you do?

Alyssa:

Hi, Cheryl. I’m so excited to be here.

I teach beginner wildlife photographers, the ins and outs of photography, how to get started using manual mode on their cameras, and all the field techniques necessary that I personally learned throughout my two years of doing wildlife photography, that will definitely help level up their game. That’s the idea of my business.

In terms of what I do, or what I have, in my vision long-term for my career, I’ve always dreamed of becoming an ecologist. Up until I finished working with Cheryl, I was an environmental educator at a botanical garden working with high school students, and teaching them ecology and restoration.

Since then, I guess I can talk a little bit about this too, I finished working there and have decided to delve full time into my business, which is very scary, but also very exciting.

And I do still want to pursue ecology long term. But for now during the summer at least, I definitely want to put a lot of my energy into this. It’s just been such a rewarding experience. And I’m really excited.

Cheryl:

I love this so, so, so much. Because I think since we started working together, in maybe mid or late January, your life looks so different today.

Today is June 2 2021. Life just looks so different for you. And business looks really different for you, since then. I cannot wait to dive into more details about that.

But let’s take it back to around January/February, when you were just starting your business. 

Tell us a bit about why you started this business in the first place.

Alyssa:

Yeah, for sure. So I think I started this, I always had this idea that I wanted to give back to people and be able to teach people and share.

At the end of the day, I started my whole Instagram account because I live in New York City. And a lot of people don’t know that we have wildlife and birds in an urban setting like this.

So I started out my Instagram account just as a way to share my images and share my experiences with people. And it kind of grew into getting really connected with the birding community here in New York, meeting lots of new people and going on fun birding adventures with everyone.

Then over time, I made a bigger investment into my camera gear and spent a lot more time and energy and effort into this. I got even more so involved in different topics of the birding world, when it comes to inclusion and diversity.

And just allowing people to grow without feeling like they’re intimidated by professional wildlife gear and professional photographers and things like that.

So I got really involved in that side of things and really it kind of started right before I started working with Cheryl.

I feel like ever since quarantine and the pandemic lots of people have started birding. And I see a lot of beginner birders and I’ve been noticing that not everyone is necessarily birding ethically. For example, they are getting way too close to owls and other sensitive species and during the winter time, which is especially prevalent, because that’s the season for owls.

That was the thing that really jumped started my passion for like, there’s a whole bunch of people where there’s like a gap in knowledge, and I want to be someone to provide that support. So I decided to work with Cheryl.

I actually got connected with you from someone that I worked with previously who created my whole website for grad school and business and everything like that.

And I worked with Brittany. Brittany worked with you. And I was like, okay, Brittany, I see a lot of success. So I figured it would be really cool to work with Cheryl. After that we kind of got started working together.

Cheryl:

I love that so much. I think my favorite part about what you just said was the “why” behind why this all started. It was a very intentional and meaningful “why”.

Now that you shared about why it came about, let’s fast forward to today.

So it’s about five months later, what has happened since then? Tell us more about what you’ve created in your business.

Alyssa:

Before we even get to the whole, “What we’re doing now”, the timeline was… We’ve been working together since January, right? I hadn’t officially launched my business till March.

I had a whole bunch of blocks in between January and March to officially launch my business. A lot of it was just being kind of grappling with the idea that I was transitioning my whole account from being something that was really personal to me, and felt like I was sharing things for free.

And really connecting with my community to this, I guess, mental block that I felt like I was selling too much. And being this person that no one wanted to follow anymore, because I had a business, which is totally not the case anymore. But that’s how I felt at the time.

Since working with Cheryl, I have signed on nine clients, which is amazing, incredible.

Every new client that I work with is a brand new experience for me where I get to learn more about them, what they’re looking to get out of working together and the set of particular challenges that we’re working with.

I get to learn more about them and they get to, of course, benefit a ton from my program. And I see incredible improvement in just a short period of time.

I just feel honestly, and I can say this, for anyone who wants to start a business, the biggest thing that you will learn is the confidence that you need to start this whole thing, the perseverance and the constantly challenging your limiting beliefs.

And then also the community. Gaining just all these connections, talking with people, seeing what they struggle with, and being there to support and help them.

Overall, I can say that, no matter what happens, at the end of the day, I know that I gained a lot of confidence and a lot of the ability to go for it.

And I think like at the end of the day, that’s kind of the main thing that I took away from working together with you, Cheryl, 

You worked on me consistently for what, three months, till I was ready to launch, on mindset.

We’re like, alright, we’re gonna post a story this week, we’re gonna post a story this week, and I just wouldn’t do it. I’m so scared.

Then I finally did it and magically signed on three clients like back to back to back. So it was just a lot of inner work that had to be done till we got to that point.

Cheryl:

My favorite part was… and you shared a lot of amazing things just now.

But I think the keyword that stood out to me the most amongst everything you just shared was actually your clients.

I really love that you brought up your clients because the thing I still remember to this day, one of my favorite conversations I’ve ever had of you during our time together, was I think you literally passed the $1,000, like your first four figures.

You just created your first four figures in your business, but you sent me a WhatsApp message I’ll never forget: “Working with my clients is even better than making money.”

And I was like, wow, I will never forget that message.

That’s my favorite highlight of our time together. And I really love that you just brought up your clients just now as one of the amazing things that have happened since you started your business.

And yes, to everyone who’s listening to this. Alyssa did have a bit of resistance towards showing up and selling her program for a while. You know since then, I think you’ve become a much more confident entrepreneur and in general, because now I see you confidently talking about your work, how you can help people who you serve and the impact that you’re creating.

It’s really incredible how much has changed both inside and out for you.

The biggest mindset shift to get past those initial blocks and sign nine clients in three months

Cheryl:

What do you think was like that one biggest mindset shift that you’ve experienced that really helped you create so much success?

You have nine… We’ve worked on nine clients in the past three months, since I think your first client was in March.

So today’s June 2, so in three months, you’ve worked with nine clients. That’s amazing.

What was the biggest mindset shift that helped you get past those initial blocks that you had?

Alyssa:

Okay, so you know, at the start, I was just really fearful.

I had all these ideas that people were going to look at me differently, that I was gonna get DMs that people would be like, “Oh, you’re not even qualified to teach wildlife photography, like you’ve only been doing this for two years? How can you charge people money for this, when there’s so many free resources on YouTube online?” That the list goes on.

There’s all of these things that you can tell yourself, that will hold you back from accomplishing your goals, and really just putting yourself out there.

And that’s really the thing that you say a lot. It just boils down to showing up consistently, to putting yourself out there to just speaking your truth and talking about the things that you want to talk about.

I think the biggest thing for me, and it definitely was, at times, it felt like a one step forward to step back kind of thing. Because it’s like, you do something scary, and then you, for me at least, and then I was quiet for like a week.

Then I did another thing that was even scarier. And then I was like, quiet for three days. Then I did another big thing.

So I think for me, it was just consistently doing things that scared me and doing it anyway.

First, it was stories, or I did a story, I posted it on Instagram. Then it was like, alright, let me go on Instagram live now. And then I did that. I actually saved it on my Instagram, which was crazy, because I really didn’t feel confident in it whatsoever.

Looking back, it’s like, who cares. But at the moment, it’s just doing these things. It really triggers a lot of emotional reaction, because you never, I guess, we’re never taught this in school, how to build a business, how to put yourself out there, how to be confident in something. That isn’t like the traditional thing to do.

It’s like you really are creating your own path. And I guess, the way that I got out of it is really just like jumping into it. It’s not like the easiest thing to do or the best. I don’t know.

But it really boils down to just jumping headfirst into it and not looking back.

So don’t dwell on what you’ve just posted. Don’t look at your stories constantly. Even though I used to do that too.

But really just speak your truth, be honest with yourself, post it on Instagram and just leave it out there for the world to see.

Cheryl:

You know, I think from a coach’s perspective, I think what really helped you propel forward in addition to everything you just shared was the fact that you were willing to be uncomfortable. 

Like you were really willing to be thinking uncomfortable thoughts, such as, you just posted your stories. And now you’re like, what are people going to think? How can I not delete my stuff, even though I’m really tempted to delete those stories I just posted about my offer.

And just being able to be okay, being uncomfortable, and also doing uncomfortable things like posting those stuff in the first place. Right.

So I think one thing I really just want to commend you on is the fact that you showed up, even though it was really scary. It wasn’t easy. Building a business isn’t easy if it was like everyone will be like successful entrepreneurs by now. Right?

So I think one thing that you really exemplified was being okay being uncomfortable. And I think that’s why you grew so quickly, not just as a business, but as a person in general, to be honest.

So yeah, what are your thoughts on that?

Alyssa:

Okay, so what I would say is that yes, those things will be super uncomfortable in the beginning. But the minute that you post a story, it’s like you literally did that, you just did that. And after that, it becomes so easy and it just becomes second nature.

So even though these things can be, it can feel like a mountain in the beginning. Once you do it once or twice or three times, it becomes super easy and it just becomes a part of you. 

And you start like integrating that confidence into yourself and into your personality and it just, it comes through and whatever else you decide to put out there after that.

The second thing that I would say is just, I know you talked a lot, Cheryl, that my “why” is really powerful. And that I kind of started out with this idea of really just wanting to support people and share with people.

But to be honest, that was kind of like an inkling that I had, it wasn’t necessarily this motivating factor that was driving me to do this. And it wasn’t like, I’m going to change the birding community, and I’m going to be this big thought leader and figure.

To be honest, I just wanted to start a business to be able to have something on the side that I was making a consistent income off of. And I had already made an investment in my camera gear, and I had already made an investment in you as a coach.

I just figured, you know, why not just go for it, this seems like a really cool thing to do. So I did have this “why”, and I did kind of have this big idea of how I wanted to come about it.

But honestly, the whole thing of building community and creating connections with people, that’s really what strengthened my reason for continuing this business. So it was really just signing on clients and realizing that they have their own set of fears and struggles, too. And I could actually be the person to help them.

I have had people who literally were, and I relate to them too, because they’re scared of posting on Instagram. They don’t want to share their photos, because they’re worried that they’re taking really bad photos, and they don’t want people to, I guess make fun of them.

But they’ve come out of it, creating an entire account specifically for bird photography. So it’s just that whole change that I see in clients. And my program is six weeks, or it used to be six weeks, it’s now a month.

So it’s a very short period of time that I’m working with people. And to be able to see that improvement in kind of a snap of the fingers almost, is just really incredible to see.

So yeah, overall, just two things.

Those things that are scary in the beginning, they’re going to be second nature to you as you continue progressing and leveling up.

Then the second big thing is just having a strong “why” and to be honest, like that’s something that will grow and develop, and you have to stick to that and be consistent in that why because if you’re just looking at it from a monetary perspective, and seeing people as dollar signs, that’s really not going to get you far.

Because it’s going to translate into your messaging, it’s going to translate, and how you see your business and how you go about things.

And if you’re not hitting your goals, it’s going to be really stressful for you.

So I think just having a strong “why” is going to help you a lot in terms of confidence and feeling like this is sustainable for you in the long run.

Cheryl:

You brought up such a good point about how the reason behind what you do can evolve over time, right?

I think, you know, my “why” for my business has evolved drastically. My “why” today was quite different from the one two years ago. But hey, I mean, it’s what gets you going. And that’s why it’s called your “why” right. So I really love that you mentioned that particular point.

How working with a coach helped Alyssa create massive wins in her business

Cheryl:

So now one of the other questions I wanted to ask you was, how has working with a business coach helped shape your business to where it is today? Can you tell us a bit more about that?

Alyssa:

I think every time you come away, just in general, with a strong experience with someone. For the better, right, in a positive light. You kind of have this little voice of them sometimes in your head.

And that’s what I compare working with Cheryl to. Cheryl was this constant figure in my life for like three or four months. And she would always push me. She would be on every call and we would be like, alright, what do we have to work on? What are your accomplishments? What are your milestones? And then what can we do to continue working in that direction?

And she would always message me on WhatsApp and send me voice notes. So I have this mini Cheryl personality in my head telling me like, oh, you can do this! Oh, why are you focused on the negative? Just focus on the positive and think about what good work that you’re doing and all of these things.

And so that definitely was just a huge takeaway for me, and it’s a way that I’m able to continue going because when my inner voice isn’t doing so well, I’m like alright, let me channel my Cheryl voice. And then that comes through and I’m like, okay, I can do this like it’s not a big deal.

It just, it really isn’t a big deal at the end of the day. So definitely working with you helped me just go ahead and take the plunge in whatever I’m doing. Whether it’s literally helping me, go ahead post stories on Instagram or go ahead, go on Instagram Live and not care about saying the “perfect” thing and really just showing up as who I am.

And it has helped me, I’m going to be honest, leave my job, because I wanted to leave at a certain point before the summer starts. Because that’s when programming gets very busy and I just didn’t want to get stuck over the summer for several months down the line. 

So I had to make that plunge without necessarily having enough time to figure out my life. And so I did that as well. And now I’m taking the plunge and a whole bunch of other things in my life.

And it all has to do with like, working with Cheryl, to be honest.

So it’s just this pattern that I see of consistently reaching milestones, consistently doing things that are scary. And now I actually look forward to doing things that are scary for me. Like, what is the next thing that I have to do that I didn’t try before, that I can now do, and really see a lot of progress. 

To be honest, every time I did something scary, it actually created a huge result for me. And that is something that I never would have believed that I could do. I honestly didn’t think that people would even want to work with me to begin with.

So I’ve definitely had a lot of mindset gains after working with Cheryl. And it’s just the fact that like, now, I’m consistently creating a new baseline for myself.

At first I was scared of putting myself out there on Instagram. And now I’ve accomplished that level. So consistently creating a new baseline of comfort for me. And now I’m trying to figure out what is the next thing that I can break out of my comfort zone with.

You know, sometimes it’s just being consistent, other times, it really is trying out new things. Overall, it hasn’t been that long of a time, but it is just in terms of the way that I think about life, the way that I think about business, the way that I think about how I value my time, and my worth, is just light years away from when I started.

Cheryl:

Your growth, both inside and out, as I mentioned before, has been phenomenal. Seriously phenomenal. I mean, not just in terms of monetary business wins. That aside, that’s already on its own, like a huge, huge, huge, huge, huge accomplishment.

But just seeing you show up differently now, is very powerful. Even as someone who’s cheering you on from the sidelines. It is so inspirational to see you show up and literally like lead the wave in your specific niche.

Like not a lot of people have that courage to show up and talk about different things in their niche that are important to them and their community, which is what you’re doing.

So I think just seeing you grow as both an entrepreneur and a leader in your industry. Phenomenal.

The Cheryl voice

Cheryl:

Two more quick questions I wanted to finish off with, you mentioned Cheryl voice, the Cheryl voice?

How would you describe that Cheryl voice?

And let’s just say three words, what are three words you would use to describe that voice?

Alyssa:

Oh, that’s a good one.

The first is inspiring. It’s always inspiring me to push myself to do more and to be better for myself.

The second would be supportive 100%. You’ve always been supportive to me, so there’s definitely a thing between pushing me to do more and then being supportive of what I’ve accomplished and what I’ve achieved and what I continue doing.

You definitely were able to have that middle ground with me, have that balance. I felt very happy with what I was doing and also at the same time, motivated to do more. So definitely supportive.

The third one is probably energetic in a way. You have a lot of energy when you are on a call and even on WhatsApp and even in this podcast, you have a lot of energy.

When I’m just in a slump, and I feel like my inner voice is telling me ah, you know, you can relax today, it’s not a big deal if you don’t do what you wanted to do.

Then I’m like, alright, what would Cheryl say? And then Cheryl comes out and you’re tiny too, but you have a ton of energy and you’re like, no, you should do this! Do what you’re supposed to do, like, do what you’re meant to do! Once you do, then you can have fun with the rest of your day.

So it definitely is like that boost of energy.

So yeah, definitely. All those three words characterize you, for my inner Cheryl voice.

What’s next for Alyssa in her business and being a dreamer with many ideas

Cheryl:

That’s so funny! Thank you so much for sharing that.

You mentioned once again, earlier, that you’re constantly moving to baseline because you’re hitting your milestones or growing both as a person as an entrepreneur, hitting new milestones moving the baseline.

So the final thing I want to finish up with is what’s next for you? What else do you want to create in 2021 since we’ve got like seven months left of the year? What’s next in your business?

Alyssa:

Okay, yeah, I’m a dreamer. So I feel like this could be a whole nother podcast in and of itself. I have so many ideas.

What I want to start out first is just appreciating what I’ve accomplished thus far. So yes, I have signed clients and the bigger thing that I feel like I’ve gained is community.

That one thing I can take away is if you feel like you have no idea what you’re doing, the biggest thing for me is just talking to people who are fellow entrepreneurs, even fellow wildlife photographers.

Honestly, I don’t see people who are pursuing the same business as me as competition. I actually do enjoy talking to people who are interested in starting their own business and photography, who are interested in starting their own business as a creative.

I think having that community and growing that community this year is a huge thing for me. 

Recently, I started talking with Brittany again, and she invited me to be a part of her small little entrepreneur group. So that’s just been wonderful for me.

And I would love to continue growing that for the rest of this year, because it’s been so inspirational and motivating for me.

Another thing that I would like to do is also… So I’ve increased my prices. And I want to consistently do that the rest of this year.

Another thing is that I am toying around with two different versions of a larger program. So I have this idea that it’s either going to be creating an advanced photography program.

Right now I’m working with students who are really just learning the basics about their camera, really learning the basics about bird photography, and I’m giving them everything that they need to know in terms of a foundation to move forward.

I’m thinking about what it would look like to create an advanced photography program and really sharing a lot more minuscule details, and providing more in depth feedback to people for even a longer period of time. Thinking about doing that type of mentorship program.

But like I said, Cheryl, I’m a dreamer. So another idea that I have that I am just, you know, this would be from maybe towards the end of the year, is that I would love to support budding wildlife photographers who are starting their business. That’s something that I’m really excited about.

I want to think more about it because it’s definitely on a much different track than what I’m doing right now. But it’s something that just brings me so much joy. I really love being on this podcast, I love talking to people in the community. I love how I’ve inspired someone to actually start their own wildlife photography business. I’m like, oh, I can do this, you know.

It’s so cool to see people just grow and improve. That’s something that I would like to experiment with, down the works, whether it’s signing on people just for fun, for just a short period of time or mentoring my friends, things like that.

So I have a lot of different programs that I want to do in the future.

But I also have financial goals that I want to hit as well. So it would be incredible if I do like $5k months or whatever. But whatever the future holds for me. But I would love to just hit consistent five-figure months, and I feel like it’s definitely in the cards for me. So excited for that.

Cheryl:

So exciting. How fun! How fun does that sound? That sounds like wow, there’s a lot ahead of you and you literally just started. Seriously, you had your first clients, your first nine clients since March and today’s again, I think I’ve said it like three times, but it’s June 2 today.

It’s only been three months. You’ve worked with nine clients.

You are just getting started and that is amazing.

I’m just really, really proud and just so excited to see what’s next for you for the rest of this year beyond this year, and to see the income and impact that you’re going to create as an entrepreneur.

So I guess with that being said, Alyssa, thank you so much for being here. Where can people find you? And how can people work with you?

Alyssa:

Yeah, so I pretty much do everything off of Instagram. So you can find me at @alizurd, on Instagram, Twitter and Clubhouse. It’s the same handle for everything. Whatever social media you have, you can just plug that handle in, but mainly Instagram.

Cheryl:

Awesome. Awesome. Awesome.

So once again, Alyssa, thank you so, so, so much for being here and having this conversation with us today.

I think it was really cool to see you know what you’ve achieved and just the inspiration that I think the audience can gain from hearing your story. I think that is amazing.

For everyone else who’s tuning in. I appreciate you for being here and I’ll see you in the next one.

Sounds good? Awesome. Let’s get to work.

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