Heather suffered for months not knowing what was wrong when symptoms of muscle fatigue and brain fog plagued her. Fifteen doctors later and finally a diagnosis of Lyme Disease gave her the peace of mind she needed. Heather is almost fully recovered and her story is inspiring.

Heather won our "Worthy Revolution" giveaway last year and we have been planning her make-over experience since then. Read up on the first part of her make-over story here...

We had a custom gown made to fit her from a bolt of fabric that was gathering dust. Designed by Mimika and created by Scarlett Plus boutique, it perfectly embodies her embracing her inner beauty. Withe the delicious French inspired macarons, it's the styling of Les Miserables but with the heart of Joan of Arc!

Watch as she retells her journey from depression to finding her confidence again.

With special thanks to....

Amanda Pagano of Isabel's Corner Videography
Brend Schuler of XS Hair for the stunning hair styling
Traci Singer for her make-up magic
Todd Albaum of Scarlett Plus Boutique for making the gown
Susan Kelly Photography for the behind the scenes photos
Triple Scoop Music for the heart felt soundtrack
Johnnie McCrorey of Trendy Treats Desserts for the yummy macarons

Did you enjoy this episode? Then click like on and share it with your friends, you never know it may make someone's day!

LOVE the gown? It's for sale! Click now to own it...

I love my iPad. Everyone in my family does too and it's a tug of war to see who gets to play with it first. But to me it's not for playing games, rather it's one of the best sales tools that will actually MAKE me money in my photography business. I hear from other photographer's all the time...

"I can't do in person sales because I don't have a dedicated studio",
"I don't have the time to meet with clients again for the sales appointment",
"My clients live far away and don't want to travel back to see me for the sales session",
"I don't like selling".

Well, let me tell you those are just excuses, and here is why....(oh and please excuse the wardrobe malfunction, a case of I need a wardrobe stylist!).

The wonderful talents of Ariana Farleni have brought us this revolutionary mobile application called the Shoot N Sell App that is so easy to use my 2 year old knows how to work it.

This is perfect for the photographer who doesn't have a 'studio' to meet with clients as the iPad can be taken on location to the clients own home. The advantage of conducting sales sessions in the clients home is that you provide the service for them thereby making the decisions much easier, and the sale much higher. It allows photographers to take images of a client's actual room and show them visually what their art work will look like. It takes away all the guess work and imagination of trying to figure out scale and how a portrait will look hung on a wall.

Secondly, if you service clients who travel a distance to come for their photo session, there is no reason why you can't use the application to conduct a virtual sales session. Tip: have the client email you photos of their rooms, you import them into the software and create the collages, then you email them back the layouts. Easy as pie! You can also do a Skype sale session with the software too.

If you don't find use for the mobile app, there is always the option of purchasing Ariana's real room interiors from the Photographer's Wall Display Guides

I use the room view features ALL the time and it always impresses my clients when they see a neatly decorated room with their fabulous images on the walls. At a minimum, purchase the room views and create your client's wall ideas in Photoshop then simply email then for approval.

You see no matter if you're a photographer who runs a big studio or you're a one woman/man show, you can tuck your iPad under your arm and take your sales tool where ever you go. Voila!

Go ahead and order it now on iTunes, you'll be so glad that you did.

Have you ever wondered how to squeeze a 40 hour week into 20 hours a week? Does your never ending to-do list seem to keep adding up instead of whittling down? Do you suffer from the 'working mothers guilt' of feeling guilty when you're working away from your kids, and guilty when you're with your kids that you're not getting enough work done?

Well sugar let me tell you this, it's been my life's story since I first started my photography business AND had a baby 14 years ago. Crazy stuff I know! Why do we do it to ourselves? We're trying to be "Wonder Woman" to everyone and yet it feels like we are failing ourselves instead.

I completely understand how it feels when we think we're not being the best mommy, wife and entrepreneur and time is limiting. Being a solopreneur can be very lonely at times, and it's hard to stay motivated when there are so many things to juggle. There is a lot of noise in my head!

I'm sure there are many of us mompreneurs who feel the same way, we think we are lone rangers who have to battle through it all. Enough with the guilt, let's have a plan and stick to it!

What I have found is that there are three keys to helping me stay ahead so I don't lose my marbles...

Time blocking...
Forget about the multi-tasking monster, our brains are wired for focus. We can be far more productive when we switch off the pings of email notifications, get off Facebook and concentrate on just one thing at a time. I can't live without my Google Calendar and I've forced myself to block out chunks of time to get the same jobs done at once. For example, on Tuesday mornings I block off 2 hours for writing and I force myself to close down all distractions and get as much done in those 2 hours. Believe me it ain't easy! I'm attracted to nice shiny new things so completing tasks for me is quite an internal battle. An important part of time blocking is sticking with your schedule so if a client asks for an appointment on Tuesday mornings, I politely offer them an alternative. I've found that I can be my most creative when I schedule 1 or 2 photo sessions back to back while I'm in the creative 'zone'. It's super hard to switch from right brain creative to left brain analytical for admin or selling tasks if you divide your day in so many directions. Give it a try and tell me if it works for you.

Delegating...
We've heard the saying "just because you can doesn't mean you should" and this is so very true. We start our businesses trying to do all things and be all things, and the control freak in us takes over. I see this all the time with photographers who want to have all their fingers in all the pies of their business, especially when it comes to retouching. If you're a Photoshop nut then sure, go ahead and spend hours upon hours perfecting your images. But hey, I'm a little old school in that I believe that images should be shot correctly the first time (Photoshop should be for touch ups not complete make-overs). Most often I've found we perform the same tasks, actions and processes to create our signature 'look' or style, so surely we can delegate these monotonous tasks to someone who costs less? Think about it... what do you charge per hour for your time? Believe me, you can't afford NOT to pay someone else LESS per hour than what you're worth. I found a graphic design student through my local Arts College and I was so relieved to hand over my retouching to her. I was able to charge more for my services, spend more time on things that actually MADE me money (like shooting and marketing), and I was a much happier bunny not having to spend every night until 1am on the computer. Let yourself go... try it you won't look back.

Baby sitter....
My youngest is coming up to turning 3 years old and the past 3 years of the baby/toddler years have been some of the hardest I've had since I first started my business. My mommy heart would constantly pull me toward being mommy, but my head would remind me that I built a business I loved and had obligations to meet. I couldn't just walk away. The only saving grace was having a baby sitter (my sweet sister-in-law) to help me out on the days I had to see clients. This way I could concentrate on work during those hours without interruptions and not feel I was neglecting my baby. Believe me the guilt racked me constantly, but I had to come to terms with the fact I was doing the best job I could do. The quality time we had together after the clients had left and the computer was off I will always treasure. Yes I made mistakes, but having the peace of mind that someone was taking care of my baby allowed me to focus and zoom through tasks at lightning speed.

Oh I forgot to mention that being a working mom means everything is done at double speed. We know how to get things done no faffing or dilly daddling! Ready, set, go!

Tell me your tips for managing a crazy schedule? What have you found has been the most useful?

If you liked this content please share and tell your friends, you just might make someone's day!!!

What I loved the most about Jenn is seeing her grow from a shy, unassuming soccer mom to a confident vixen! We had an absolute blast “playing dress up” and creating a character for her to be for her make-over photo shoot. From the wardrobe planning, the styling, hair and make-up, posing and experience we created memories for Jenn to remember on ‘those days’ that she doesn’t feel so pretty. We all have ‘those days’ and it’s so important to remind ourselves that even though we may not find perfection we can remember just how worthy we are!

Listen and watch as Jenn describes her journey of self discovery. Embracing her inner Goddess, realizing she’s beautiful and celebrating her gorgeous self!

With Special Thanks to….
Videography: Amanda Pagano of Isabel’s Corner Videography
Behind the scenes photos: Susan Kelly Photography
Hair styling: Brenda Schuler
Make-Up: Traci Singer
Red dress: Todd of Scarlett Plus Boutique

Did you learn something about yourself? Then leave a COMMENT below. I’d love to hear your thoughts. Love this story? Make someone’s day by sharing it! Feel free to PIN it, TWEET it and SHARE it.

Introducing Mimika TV…

Mimika TV is the place to embrace a brilliant business and a beautiful life! Learn valuable tips to create the business of your dreams, be inspired by stories of others to spur you on, and join our community of support to cheer you on!

Join our community now…

SUBSCRIBE to our NEWSLETTER to be the first to hear of our first episode and ‘behind the scenes’ goodies not shared anywhere else…