I'm so self conscious because Tiffany always sings in our intros, and then I have to do it when she's not here.
Why I feel like you there with me?
What did you say?
I'm ready?
Is all right?
And to hear it now, I'm ready.
It's time for the v a qa A the v a qa a v a qa a.
Wait.
Hey, Sam, thank you for being my hype woman right now. Carla, I appreciate you.
I loved it.
You did great. I was telling Carla, I'm like, damn it, Tiffany's not here means I gotta do the intro stage fright starts to settle in. But listen, y'all so excited to have Carla in the studio this week. If you have not yet, what the hell are you doing with your life? Go back to Wednesday's episode, our previous episode where we had the wonderful podcast guru radio host Pivot with purpose entrepreneur goddess Carla will will Meris on the show.
Check out that episode. She drops so many gems about how you can start your own podcast, and we go deep into yeah, everything we did right and wrong when it came to launching Brown Ambition and your show. You guys don't want to miss that, and Carla was generous enough to stick around for us to take some of y'all's questions. Okay, so we are digging deep into the BA mail bag to answer your questions around business, entrepreneurship, and of course, because we have Carla here, we can't
not talk about pivoting. Right If y'all haven't checked out Carla's show again, it's called Pivot with Purpose. You can check the show notes for links to all that good stuff. And just a reminder, if you want to submit a question, do not forget how go to our Instagram page. We are at Brand and Mission Podcast. Slide into our DMS there with your question, or you can email us directly if you're old school, Brandambission Podcast at gmail dot com.
If you would like a chance to actually be live in the studio with us, submit your question via IG via a voice note. You got sixty seconds to blow us away with your question. Okay. Our producer will then select some lucky audience members to join us live in the studio. But without further ado, let's get into a
carl because we got some good questions, all right. First question comes from listener Kayla Kayla says this year, I want to make a career change from administrative assistant who's just making twenty bucks an hour to becoming my own boss as a LASH artist. I love my job and I feel guilty leaving because for my age at twenty three with no college degree, I do get paid well. I live with my family, so i'd have no rent. My car's paid off, so my expenses are pretty low.
And did I mention I got no debt? Okay, Carl, I mean, Kayla, I was wondering steps. I was wondering steps to transition from a nine to five to being an entrepreneur. I have so much potential and feel like it's wasting away at my desk job. Please assist Kayla. All right, Kayla, this is a juicy one. First of all, guilty at just twenty three for making a change. Girl. If y'all can't do it when you're young, when can What does that mean for the rest of us?
Right?
Come on, what's your first take on this, Carla? Like, how do you feel about her? Question? The guilt? You know?
I didn't even the guilt?
Yes?
Is it because I was like, oh my goodness? But her ambition literally of wanting more at twenty three. I feel like most twenty three year olds would be like twenty bucks an hours winning can't con here I come, you know, with their savings, especially living at home. So first of all, like amazing, amazing that at this age you want to do more and the world is your oyster. You already know what you want to do. And lash artists.
Take that money that you got, which you have, you know, for you a lot, go invest into a really good lash artist that can teach you how to you know, certification of lashes and get your certification, get your friends to let you do lashes on them for free, get some content, start recording before do be afters, and start posting posting, posting about you are the new last artists. People will start, you know, to pay you, and you just have to start while you still have your job.
On the weekends in the evenings, do lashes, post about it. Even if you get two people a week, you will have a couple of reels to do before and afters. You know, while you're doing it, you know, educate people on lashes as well, because it's cute that you're doing it, but educators too. For people like me who are like, I don't know, maybe we'll just make me go blind, give us you know, things about lashes. I think you the way that I see she wrote this here, I
think she's going to be an amazing entrepreneur. It's just getting those steps on how to promote, how to market, and literally you can get it. I think she's going to be a millionaire by the time she's thirty are way before.
Okay, you heard it here first from carl You're going to be a millionaire. Yeah. I mean I think to your point about using this, like taking this opportunity, taking this shot while you're still working, I mean that can give you a little bit of a cushion, like you still have consistent income coming in and on the side, like you know, have that side hustle. You know, use your time after work. You're twenty three. You may mention
nothing about babies or you know, relationships. You got free time, girl, use it while you got it, So Tea, you know you can be self taught, but like you know, showing off your work. I think what Carla said is so extremely important, and especially on platforms like TikTok and reels right now, ig right now, I mean that is your your audience, you know, the people who will want to
work with you, like that's where they're hanging out. So I agree, it's like, how can you get how can you be doing the thing that you want to be doing, but sharing it with people they could potentially you know, hire you and want to work with you. That's really the key. And I feel like at twenty three too, it's just the first of probably many entrepreneurial ideas you're going to have, because start with lashes, then what if
you become a whole esthetician. You know, what if you have your own lash studio, your own you sell your own line of lashes at ULTA three, is it still ULTI three aulta beauty whatever? You know? Imagine like what's the you know, and don't be afraid to to, you know, take those bigger steps like from one to the next. I also feel like this is maybe the time where like I could imagine going to my parents and being like, at twenty three, I want to make I want to
do lashes as a living. If you're not in the space, like if you're not on TikTok seeing the girls like bringing home the bacon with makeup tutorials and things like that, you may have people who doubt you right or maybe like you were talking about Carla and our show from Wednesday just about how sometimes the haters will be the
ones closest to you. So I think in that regard, my tips always find other people doing anything that you want to do, who have done it, who want to do it because they won't tell you, like it's out of reach, you know.
And sometimes people project their own insecurities and their own limitations onto you so they feel like they can't do it, or they going to tell you you can't do it, and you can. By the way, this is written everything, So you mentioned lash studio for entrepreneurship. Honestly, I hate trading time for money. I feel like you can scale
when you stop trading time for money. So become the best lash artists and then start training others on how to lash day and open up a studio where you can be where Tiffany is right now in Egypt, hanging out while it's making you money, because everyone you have six beds with people doing lashes all day long while you're hanging out in Egypt, or.
People buying your at home lash kits. Yes, looking at your lash tutorials that you've recorded and sell, like there's so many. Don't let anyone tell you it's not a business, because like, if you believe in it and people need it, then you got it. But and as far as like the career change, I feel like if you're an assistant and you're happy being an assistant for more than a
few years, you are different. Like I almost worry about people who wouldn't feel start to feel itchy, because like, your whole role is to support someone else achieve their dream, you know, which is great and noble work. But also you deserve to have your own dreams and one day higher a sistant of your own and they'll follow their own path down the line.
So what I will say, there are people that their purpose and their destiny is or the destiny is to be of support to others. Like there are some people that they truly feel like their purpose and they're the best assistants, they are the best secretaries. I remember Mama over iHeart in New York. She was there for like thirty plus years and she retired from there and she couldn't be any happier. So if that's where you are, cool, But it does not seem like whoever listens to this
podcast and Kayla, who's writing that is hers. So since you feel uncomfortable, they go and lean towards that like uncomfortable feeling because you're bound to be an entrepreneur yourself, because you already have it in your mind.
All right, Kayla, I hope that you feel inspired and good luck on your journey. Keep us posted. Okay, I want to know how you're last, so.
Somebody sent me. Y'all gotta tell me about Kayla says when she got her own studio or becomes the whole, the biggest last artist wherever she's from.
I'm gonna let you know, I'm Kayla. You gotta follow both of us. Okay, let us know how it goes. But thank you so much for your question. And all right, let's take a quick breaking break and we'll be right back with our second question again. I am joined in the studio with the brilliant and talented Carla Wilmatics. I can't decide which is my favorite way to pronounce your name, so I'm gonna do it both ways however I decide. Okay,
all right, we'll be right back. All right, Va fan, we are back in the studio with another of y'all's questions. This question comes from listener Chaney, who has a concern about turning off her clients and opening a new commercial workspace. So let's get into it all right, Hi, Mandy and Tiffany, as as savvy successful business owners that I respect and admire,
I would love your input. I am opening a new commercial space for my photo studio, and as excited as I am, I'm also a little nervous because I've had to raise my prices. My concern is I'm going to turn off the clients I'm trying to reach. I had this internal battle of what's the win win price that will work for clients, that will cover business expenses, and that will support myself and my little one. My prices in the past have been much lower where it wasn't sustainable,
and I heard, oh, you're too expensive. How have you or how would you handle this potential objection? Thank you for taking the time to read this O. This is a good one, Carla. I want to hear your take on this one.
Well, she said, Mandy and Tiffany. I'm trying. I am now, Tiffany, so I'm gonna.
Try your ocation a excuse me. I don't give you what Tiffany would have given you.
I went through this myself, and I had a business coach that was like, why are you charging this? Why are you charging that? I think we ourselves put her don't see the value because we're with ourselves every single day. And then she said, you might turn off the clients you're trying to reach. No, you're going to turn off the clients that you don't need, or the clients that you have right now that are not When you're trying to reach a certain client, you will race your prices.
And I started at forty nine dollars an hour. I now charge upwards of eight thousand dollars a month. And to me, I'm like, who is paying me? I have I turned around all all you said yes? When I send quotes and they say okay, I'm like, are you sure you want to do that? And I never thought anyone would. I didn't think anyone would say yes to that. But there's a client tele out there. And one of the best things my business coach told me was like,
stop looking at things from my own pocket. Stop looking at it from your pocket, and what you would pay? What would that clientele pay for what you're offering, and you're saying it's a photo studio. I will tell you there are some pictures that I've taken with some for free, and there are some studios that I've paid for pictures where I.
Was like, why am I paying this much?
But the final product is what gave it to me. So don't you're just doubting yourself. Get it done, and you will have to go into a different pool of people. But you did not need to find or restructure your customer avatar and say, hey, where do they hang out? You know, it might not be the tiki TALKI like I call, It might not be with the kids. It might be someone that has a little bit more money,
or it could be on sextout. You just find out where they hang out this specific clientele and target them. You can no longer target, you know, people that are looking for fifty dollars pictures. Now you have to look for different people and that's what you're gonna market to. But girl, raise the prices you and your kids deserve.
Yeah, I mean, and Tiffany's not here, but in her spirit, I will say she shared multiple times how she approached raising the price of her signature program, the Literature Academy, and her method has always been, you know, if you if you're an early you know, if you're an early customer and OG, then you will get grace. You'll get grace of notice that prices are going up. And sometimes she'll eve an honor the price for you if it's like a subscription or whatnot, you know, for the next time.
So if you want to, you know, give your existing clients, you know, who have been loyal to you and have worked with you, like give them something to make the pain feel a little bit sweeter, Like, Hey, I'm going to honor your special client price. You know, you can have for the next couple of months, or I'm going to give it to you for the next shoot that you booked with me and then forever more. You know, we're going to have the prices raised. I've had to raise.
I've had a business coach too, Carla, who has still tells me I don't charge enough. I launched my academy, the Mandy money Makers last year, been about a year and I have I have simplified my prices. I used to offer like three different you know levels of price. Yeah, tiers Now I offer one and still business coaches like, okay,
you could be offering more. What has helped me and will help you too, Shane, I think is when you focus on the value, on the transformation that you're offering your customer, your perfect client, and when you were able to articulate their pain points and tell them how you were going to help solve them. To Carla, like you said earlier about how when you're like one of your superpowers is you're able to sell without making it feel
like selling. I think that's the key. It's because you have so like you have so deeply identified this person's in your thoughts and feelings, their doubts, their pain points, their struggles, and illustrated your value to them and how you can help transform, solve their prop transform whatever they're trying to transform. And at the end of it, they're like, take my money. You know, that's when you know that
it's not about the price point so much. It's about is your value clear and is it like a no brainer for them because they recognize I can only get this from her, this is the value that they're bringing. So what does that look like for you? You know, as a photographer, you know have I wouldn't go I would not send an email to your email list, being like, the studio is more expensive now you know, we're gonna have to raise the prices because the bills are getting higher.
And that's the equivalence of like what I take about. Don't ever go to your boss and ask for a raise because inflation is inflationing and bread and eggs are expensive. No, what is your contribution? What is your impact? And why are you now worth more than you were before?
You know?
So make that abundant and clear. Have you won awards for your work? Present your work in a beautiful way with pride. The cestimonials got to be poppin', you know, from people that you have worked with. But make your value undeniable and people will continue to show up.
And is that even you said one where you like people will say like I can only get this from her. I would even say they can get it from anybody else, but they'll want it from you. With the way that you serve it to them. It's like I can only get this from her because she's who I want to do this for me, And I never sell necessarily what is in my program. I sell their results like let me Exactlyness, you're having a really hard time recording this right, and you can't put it out every day in the
same day. You don't know how to bog record. You can't even come up with a strategy. What if I told you that I can. We can launch your podcast and manage it and produce it and all you have to do is show up for an hour a week and that is it. When you wake up on Monday morning, it's posted with everything and all your they're like, where do I sign up? I want to sign up right now? And that's because that's the people's pain point. So that's what you have going on over there as well.
Wow, yeah, and I bet your client's pain point is you're sick of paying, like taking the cheap route going, you know, for the Sears photo package and not being happy with the results, like you know, or seeing someone's cute pictures on Instagram and then booking with them and realizing this is horrible, you know, or this is not what you want? So how can you solve those pain
points for them? But unapologetically move forward understanding your value and like, yeah, like Carlo said, selling not what you're actually the physical thing or the digital thing that you're selling, but like how you are solving their problem, how you are making your.
Life photos is like that if my daughter was she was one, so sixteen years ago, it was a serious photo shoot that I have, man.
See real my son would have had he couldn't leave the house when he turned one. It was a pandemonium.
Oh yeah. But now that I look at it, I'm like, this is really was serious because I can do this with my iPhone now, so right, the quality that a studio can give you, it's totally different than when an iPhone can give you, which is what I got here and I phone picture.
All right, Shaney, Well, thank you so much for your question, thank you for the kind words for us and for the show, and of course mucho mucho thank you to Carla for joining me and actually listening, you for having in the hot seat with me. I know we didn't even like warn you that we were going to make you answer questions today, but that's all you do is just drop gems. So this is totally natural for you.
I literally talk for a living. Sometimes I'm like can I should? My daughter is like can you shut up now?
And I'm like, okay, fine, are you an introvert, though, do you have to go plug yourself in afterward like I do?
Mm hmm. So I was very much so an out uh more like an ambivry. But I've in my thirties, I've become a lot more of an introvert, like I really need to recharge, and I've become very socially awkward.
I appreciate you for being candid about that. Yeah, I make sure I have an hour before the show and an hour after the show blocked, because if I can, if I have to go into something else, I just it's going to be horrible and I'm going to be cranky. So you got to save your sparkle, you know, for these moments. Thank you so much for sharing your sparkle with us. Hey, ba Fam, we could not do this show without your support or the support of our team
behind the scenes. The Brown Ambition podcast is produced by Imani Crosby and Dennis Stimplinsky is our in house tech guru. I am your co host Mandy Woodrif Santos, and we will see y'all next week. Ba Fam.