Asha's essay, “Sales. Never dirty. Always Soulful” made me sit up and take note.

Thanking one of her fans for following her, Asha said this:

“I have always seen the sales a sacred dance for sure (as long as we are offering products that we believe in). Such a powerful profession to connect with people, to test our own integrity, to be of service, and to experience our worth both in the vocation sense & the financial sense.”

Are you as jazzed about what she says about “selling” as I am? I certainly hope so.

Asha is a spiritual and business coach based in Massachusetts. I invited her to be a guest on TiffinboxTV because or her long history of working with creative entrepreneurs, including photographers. In fact, she readily admits that Glen Cooper, a successful wedding photojournalist, who happens to be her husband, was one of her first students.

For most photographers, October is a busy month. Thankfully, right? Both portrait and wedding photographers are hustling and delivering their images to their clients and there isn't a moment to even think about next year. Yet, Asha says this is really the time to to start thinking about what's going to happen with your business in the new year.

She is on a mission to work with creative entrepreneurs – women and men – who are looking for powerful inner transformations. Discover your inner genius here. She leads mastermind courses at the beginning of the year for her students. If you don't want to wait till January, Asha has a new seven-week course called: Take Your Inner Genius To The Bank. It is now open for enrollment for a very limited time.

We sat down to talk about a variety of topics including sales, branding, workflows and creating systems:

Are you ready to uncover and monetize your genius? If you are clear with your goals, laser focused on what needs to be done on a daily basis and feel that you are not in business just for the sake of making money, but really interested in making an impact in your community or country, consider Asha's new program that will get you on the right path.

One of the things Asha says is this:

“When you raise your prices, we are really asking for greater excellence of ourselves and greater excellence of the kind of clients we attract.”

Would you like to raise your prices in a way that feels authentic to you and you are able to truly serve your photography clients in an excellent way? Then it is time to take your genius to the bank!

P.S. I am not an affiliate partner and I did not receive a monetary compensation for hosting this interview. I truly believe in Asha's mission and feel you might be encouraged to sign on to study under her so that your business flourishes. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask in the comments section below. Thank you!

It's January and snowstorm #Colbie just dumped a ton of snow in the north-eastern seaboard. My first inclination is to slide back into the bedsheets and stay there till April. But I have photography businesses to run and that means the hustle is on, 24-7.

But does it need to be always on? Is it not conceivable that the photography businesses could continue to grow even without my presence. Oh, sure, I will still be the visionary behind the images, but as you all know being a photographer is different – vastly different – than being in business as a photographer.

I can feel this frustration in the industry today. How do we create a sustainable and thriving photography business and remain sane? Right? Right. We are all in this together. Thankfully, we don't have to look too far for answers.

You could sign up with a business coach. And, business books are aplenty. Yet, I only read a select few every year that are immediately helpful.

In my opinion, Mike Michalowicz' books – The Toilet-Paper Entrepreneur, The Pumpkin Plan and Profit First, are three books that are within reach of my workstation. They are full of anecdotes and analogies that drive home themes and topics that are easy to understand and better yet, easier still to put into practice.

When I found out that the Connecticut chapter of the ASMP had invited Mike Michalowicz to speak on February 5th, at Yale University, I swung into action to see if I could speak with him about the book and his upcoming presentation. Special thanks to Jane Shauck and Mike's assistant, Kristina Bolduc, for making this interview happen.

If you enjoyed that short conversation, feel free to subscribe to Mike's incredible YouTube channel, where you can experience his wit and wisdom in short bites.

If you are going to be in the New Haven, Connecticut area, make plans to register for this presentation by Mike Michalowicz who will go into much greater detail about using The Pumpkin Plan for your photography business. I expect to be there in the audience taking notes. Join me!