Spring Cleaning Your Business: Declutter, Reset, and Refocus for Q2

Welcome to The In Between Podcast, a show for women navigating the space between where they are and where they want to be.

This is your go-to holistic business podcast where we dive into strategies, mindset, habits, and of course, making a meaningful income so you can live your dream life.

I'm Astrid, a multi-six-figure luxury wedding photographer and a former corporate marketing girly.

And I'm Alexis with 10+ years in tech as a senior brand partnerships manager and business coach. Think of us as your business besties cheering you on as you level up. Let's get into it. Hello friends, welcome back to another episode of The In Between Podcast. This is one half of the pod, Alexis.

And the other half, Astrid. And today we're going to be chatting all about spring cleaning your business. So it is that time of year, you've had 3 months under your belt and maybe some things are cluttering up in the corner of your laptop. Maybe a few things need to be exited out of there. And so we're just going to go through a few things that We are spring cleaning in our business and putting it back on the radar. And then hopefully as we chat through this, you will have some tangible takeaways of how you can spring clean your business this year.

And, and like, like you mentioned, maybe you have some clutter in your laptop, maybe you have some clutter in your mind. And so there will be an aspect of this where we'll talk through some tactical things that we're doing in our own businesses to spring clean and kind of prep ourselves for Q2, but also some of that mindset junk that, you know, we're all excited and we, we launch January and there's so many good things and that energy and that momentum. And then you're like, okay, it's Q2. Like, okay, now maybe you're thinking about summer and you're thinking about PTO or time off. Like, summer can actually be really busy, like, for you as a photographer. And then it can also be times where you maybe want to chill a little bit. So it's like, How do you use Q2 as, um, like a momentum builder so that maybe you can rest more in the summertime? So we'll talk through that as well. But before we do, let's get into life updates and in-betweens. Life updates for you. Let's go. What do you got for us?

All right. Well, um, I spent the weekend in the city in Chicago. It was so much fun. I always just feel like I come alive when I'm in the city. I'm more creative with my outfits. My mind just feels, I don't know, excited to literally just step outside into the street. So we had such a great friend celebrating, or such a great time celebrating my friend Molly in Chicago. Got to do the sweetest little family session up there as well, like in studio. Just let things flow. And that's been like really fun and different for me is just letting things just flow a little bit more with my clients and with my sessions. I feel like I direct quite a bit and direct cues where they can fall into it, but now it's been more letting them flow into it. It's been really, really nice.

Mm-hmm.

Um, so I've been doing that and prepping for a very big week. I have a rehearsal dinner at the St. Louis Art Museum tomorrow night. I'm so excited for. I have been dying to do an event at an art museum. And then their wedding this weekend is at the Ritz in St. Louis as well. So I'll have just a little bit of a gap, but just a long weekend there. So yeah, I have my head down into all the wedding things, prepping for this weekend and just ready. I've missed being deep into all the shooting. So I am Wow.

That sounds amazing. I also get the art museum photo shoots on my Pinterest board all the time. And I know that's also something that you and your team create for clients. So love that you're actually doing an event/rehearsal dinner there. That sounds gorge. And then yeah, a shoot at the Ritz. I love that for you. That sounds amazing.

The best combo. They have great taste.

We love attracting luxe clients.

Yeah.

Well, that's awesome. I'm glad that you're excited about the work. I think that's always a good indication that we're on the right path is when we're excited about doing the actual work. Okay. Life updates for me. So last week I got to produce my very first film shoot and that was amazing. I got to be on set with Pat Flynn, who is such a genuine, incredible human being. And I've known him for about 7, 8 years now. And to work with him in this capacity was really fun. I got to interview him and shoot his story and how he uses Circle to run his membership community that has become a massive part of his business. And yeah, we just had so much fun. We just like had the best time. And then we went to Denver and filmed some important content for Circle's website and Circle's brand. And so I got to be in front of the camera. And overall, like really stretching myself. And at the same time, similar to what you said with your photo shoot this past weekend, allowing myself to flow and trusting in my skill set and trusting in my intuition in that moment. And so while I can be prepared and I can be, you know, structured and have everything down to a T, there's aspects of that that's helpful and set me up for success. And at the same time, I need to be present in that moment on camera or present in moment, you know, behind the camera interviewing Pat versus me nervous and being like, are we on time? And so I was really proud of the way I managed my energy last week. And, you know, being in that like project manager role, like we need to be on time, we need to get this specific type of content, we need to shoot this kind of B-roll. And at the same time, just having so much fun And being so present. So, that was amazing. And, the other life update is I finally bought my walking pad. And, Matthew and I are installing it tonight in the guest bedroom because we have a standing desk in there. And, I am really, really looking forward to it. And then, yeah, we have our big summit, Circle's next big summit here in 2 weeks that I am preparing for. And, we have a stacked lineup. So, Lots going on on the career side, and then we'll get into all the business stuff here in a little bit.

I love it. Welcome to the Walking Pad Club. I, I feel like we need to get sweatshirts that say Walking Pad Club on it.

Oh, honestly, that's a good idea. Like Walking Pad Athletic Club.

Yes.

And like do some sort of cool design. Yes. Okay.

DM us if you're also in on this and you're also in the walking club.

We do need merch. Like, we need merch. It's been almost 3 years. This July will be 3 years, fam, that we have been recording every week, almost every week. And we need merch, babe. What are we doing?

There we go. We gotta brainstorm. Maybe it will be the Walking Pad Club.

If enough people DM us, how about this? If enough people DM us and just say like, I want merch, you don't even have to give us ideas, just be like, yes to merch, then we— I don't know what enough is like to quantify it. But we need to see some, we need to see some social proof. Like, do you want merch? And if you do, then we can maybe get something together for our third, our 3-year anniversary, which is crazy.

That would be sick. Also, if we shot the merch in South of France or Spain.

Yep. I'm in.

All right, friends. I'm in if you're in.

Message us. Okay. What are you in between right now?

Okay. Um, I am currently in between trying to. Pick all the things. I feel like I'm in another growth spurt creatively in my business, and it feels both exciting and also intimidating because it's like once something clicks in my brain of what I want, now I need to figure out how to achieve that, how to get there. And it's nothing like in the, I guess, tangible item of like a sales goal or a marketing thing. It's more in my shooting style. And I have been just taking a lot more education as I've been editing. And so, yeah, so I'm just pushing myself to a whole new— I don't want to say level, but I guess I'm refining my style even more. And so something that I'm doing now, for example, is I am collecting from the couple or the planner, like, what's the color theme of the day? And I'm thinking ahead how I can incorporate that color theme throughout their gallery when they're looking through it. So when I'm shooting their details. Is there a, like, say the color is green. Like, is there a guest that is wearing green? Like, is there different things throughout the day that can truly tell the color story for them? As well as the aspect of photography and mixing in documentary with editorial with film and like just all the different aspects of it. And, um, just going back to like, what would I want if I was going to hire someone this year to shoot my wedding? Like, what would I want? And so I'm just like bringing it back to like that aspect of things. So yeah, I'm excited. I think things have just changed so much since I started the business and I've continued to grow it year by year. But I feel a new, new creative look on it that I'm really excited to try. And also I know it's going to require some grace on my part on like when it's not like perfect, like my mood board, you know? But I'm excited. I'm excited for— The level of organization that I'm bringing and just brainstorming a lot more before my wedding. So yeah.

You're, I love that you're focused on like the question of what would I want in a wedding photographer right now in 2025? And I think it just speaks to one, always evolving your craft. And like you, you've done that with now the film and like getting into film photography more and making that more part of your offering, but also in your style. and the way that you position and structure a gallery. Like, what excites you and clients now might not have been that way 4 years ago. And so, like, just the importance of evolving your business as the market and the wedding market grows, as well as people's expectations change as well. From like, yeah, you know, when I was booking a wedding photographer, AKA you, like, I was like, I just want some photos of my day. And now I feel like The film and the aesthetics and the more candid and it's super romantic. It's just different now than it was even 6 years ago. So it's cool that you're adjusting and looking forward to growing that part of your business more and part of your craft.

Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. I'm excited. I think it's what keeps that heart and soul into the business. And so it makes me feel very curious to see where it takes me.

me and by the end of the year where my portfolio will be.

So what are you currently in between?

I am currently in between being a full-time tech employee and wanting to run a business on the side. We are not— this is not new information, but I want to surface it because I just want to speak to anybody that does have a full-time W-2. that requires a lot of your creativity and a lot of your brainpower. And I also love my day job. And so it's interesting, like, I find myself naturally gravitating more towards the projects I'm working at for Circle than my own projects right now. And I know that that ebbs and flows based on seasonality and just based on busyness, but I do feel like there's a part of me that does want a level of consistency when it comes to what I'm pouring into my own business. So yeah, for anyone that's working through that, I just want to let you know that I am right there with you and I have not found the perfect method framework structure of like, okay, this, I'm working on this and I'm working on this right now. It just feels a little bit more fragmented. And I think I'm coming to peace with that, knowing that, hey, I can pick up these projects and these ideas I have that I am excited about. I get to focus more on alignment and less on urgency. And I saw this from Sammy Clark. She has a business called Form. It's a workout app, and she's fantastic. She's been a creator for a long time and started on YouTube, and she said that her intention for April was focusing on alignment over urgency. And that really struck me. I was like, wow, okay, yes, this is exactly how I feel because there are things that I'm so excited to create for women. And I have this, like, all these ideas of how I want to help women in their careers. And at the same time, the urgency that I feel is false. Like, I don't have to say I need to do it right now or I need to do it this week in order for it to You know, come to life. That's something I could work on in June when when things slow down a little bit, or even in July. And so just giving myself some of that room to focus on does this align with my energy and my priorities right now? No, but it doesn't mean that it's a no forever. It's just let's wait a month or two and we can pick this back up. So I am learning, relearning. And in between, being patient with that.

So proud of you. I think that's such a hard thing to be in when you're someone that is, one, a creative, and two, likes to take action on the ideas that they have and move forward and feel that energy moving forward. And because we can compartmentalize so much, it can feel like, well, I'm moving here, but I'm not moving here. When in reality, you are moving in all the ways because it's you at the center of all of it. So I'm proud of you. For being at that place where you can have peace about both of them. And it's not this like fighting tension and knowing and giving it still the space to live of like, okay, in the summer, this is when I'm going to focus on this project. Um, so yeah, so many, so many lessons to learn there and shout out to all of our side hustlers, W-2 earners, because it is not, it's not easy. It's not easy at all. It's almost like having 2 full-time jobs really more than a, it's not really a side hustle sometimes. You can't.

Turn the brain off. We can't turn it off. Um, but no, I, I do send my love to all my W-2 queens, um, listening. So, all right, let's talk about spring cleaning slash prepping for Q2, walking into this quarter with, again, a level of alignment, a level of intentionality, and feeling like you have visibility into Where you are, where you're tracking on your goals. So can you look at your 2025 goals and say, okay, how did Q1 go? Did where was I on track? Where was I off track? What did I say I was going to work on that didn't? What ended up coming out of nowhere and being really successful? Like we can't plan everything, right? But I feel like this is a natural time to pause and ask yourself those questions. So if you haven't already. Highly recommend setting aside 30 minutes, an hour of your time, put it in your calendar to just review Q1 and prep for Q2. It doesn't even have to be super detailed, but just setting aside some time to brainstorm on, okay, this is what worked, this is what didn't, and here's how I'm going to take those learnings and iterate and pivot for Q2 can just give you a sense of empowerment and a sense of control. Over the way you're spending your time. And of course, you know, what's working in your business.

Absolutely. I love this conversation. Even just prepping for this call was my own spring cleaning list of like, okay, what really does need to be cleaned up in my business? And it was a great reflection point, not just of what didn't work and still needs to be worked on, but also the things that did work. And I'm like, okay, this is This is going really, really well. How can we continue that process on forward? So, um, to start things off with our spring cleaning, do you, do you mind if I go first?

Oh, please kick us off.

Okay. I'll kick us off. So, um, something that went really well for me in Q1 was social media. So I was more consistent in posting and then about halfway through I hired someone for socials. And that she's been posting for the past two weeks. So it's been more like the tail end. It was more onboarding and then the tail end, which she's been posting. So it went really well. Have had two viral videos, which was really fun. And then now that the output is there, I can take a step back and be like, okay, what direction do I want to give her? Because when we started, she was like, okay, there's so much that we could do. We have so much like. Photos and videos and all the things. And so I am really grateful for that investment. I feel my brain easing up and working in a way towards social media that is more productive as a business owner. So a few things that I need to spring clean that I have not spring cleaned in forever are my highlights on Instagram. They are so old, like so old. They serve no purpose. Anything that I would recommend to someone to do for their highlights, I am not doing at all. So that's what I'm going to be doing. I want to make it strategic where I'm like introducing the team on some one of the highlights, able to share some of my, of course, behind the scenes, but updated. I have not saved a lot of it. Some of my travels, like it's just been way too long since I've cleaned those up. And then the other aspect is now I've finally not just created a content calendar, but actually stuck to a content calendar. So now that that has been working well, um, it's almost like I feel ahead of the wheel. And now, um, that's more where I'm at is like cleaning up, like what are some things that have been in the back burner ideas that I haven't had time to execute and how can we quote unquote spring clean that from the idea box and bring it to the forefront of social media. So yeah, that's kind of where I'm at. I'm excited for this next season, um, because I'll be very busy shooting, but I feel confident about how socials will continue to run having that support.

Heck yeah, I agree. That's actually on my list too. I'm gonna, I'm gonna go right into that as well with social media. I think it's really cool how we're both focused on this right now in our businesses and how we're like learning from each other. And I love this discussion. Like, I could probably talk about social media Every episode, like I just love talking about it, and it's something that's always growing and evolving. So yeah, that's a big focus for me as well as zeroing in on my social media strategy. Something I focused on in Q1 was my output, and like can I consistently show up more, post on my feed more, add more value in that way? And that was my focus, and I feel like I did that. In February, I posted seven feed posts. And I really zeroed in on March and I posted 13, um, which is great. I almost doubled my output from February to March. And I really want to get to 14 to 16 feed posts a month, which is around that 3 to 4 times a week mark. I feel like I can do this similar to you. There are ideas sitting in the backlog. I have so much footage. I have so much content. I have so many ideas. I have so many things saved. But it's actually setting aside the time to create it, schedule it, and make it happen. And also similar to you, I have been just putting out a lot of different things about my career, about like my mental health, fitness, ice baths, like transformation mindset. Like they're just, I've been kind of just posting things and that's been fun. And I think it's what's made the output a little bit easier because I'm not like, oh, I have to post this one thing or I can only post about this one thing. Um, however, I do want to feel like it's fitting more into a strategy than it is right now. So that's what I'm focused on. I also feel like my growth is still not fully where I want it to be in terms of like, does my growth match my output? Because usually the more that you're posting, the more that you're getting visibility from non-followers, the more that your account is growing. And my account grew. A little over 300 followers in Q1, which is not bad. I have been stagnant, y'all, for years. So even just being where I'm at feels really good. And at the same time, in order to hit some of my goals for my account this year, I need to either again shift that content, like something's not quite resonating, um, and then keep being consistent on the output. So. Mm-hmm.

Look at us being social media girlies.

The stratters.

I love it. Um, no, you've been killing it. And I think part of the process too is like just posting and seeing like what resonates and what doesn't. And in full transparency too, like I started a quote unquote series with a voiceover of like, I can't even remember what it was. It was more on like behind the scenes of the business and I got really great engagement on it and great feedback on it. But It was too much work for me to edit and do the voiceover and just work took priority and maybe I'll pick it back up. Maybe not. We'll see. But those are also like some of the failures that happen along the way where you're just like trying to learn what to post and what not to. So, um, I have loved though all your voiceovers. They are my absolute favorite. Thank you.

I am learning. And to your point, voiceovers take a lot of work. And so it's like, okay, if I am going to do a voiceover, I can't expect myself to be able to meet that level 3, 4 times a week. So I can do like one voiceover a week versus 2. One other thing about voiceovers that has been helping me, I know this is a bit of a side tangent, but maybe it would help you or help anyone listening, is I use Splice and I upload all my video clips into Splice. I use their AI compilation and have it just match with random music inside Splice. And I tell it how long I want it to be.

Ooh.

So I'll upload all of my footage and I'll say, I want this to be 45 seconds. And it'll just match it with some random song that I'm not going to use anyways. And then I mute that audio. I edit the clips down or up a little bit, but that saves me a ton of time. And then I, in Splice, I will record the voiceover and I'll use ChatGPT to help me with an interesting hook and like, hey, this is what I want to say. This is what the video is. I can even upload the video to ChatGPT so it can see what the video is and then help me with a script. And then I'm reading a script and like mixed with my own words to like make it sound not like I'm reading off of a piece of paper. And that has saved me hours.

Oh my gosh, I love that. So I use Splice, but I did not know there was an AI tool in it. Yeah. And that's what would take me forever was like, you have a 10-second video times 60, you know, or whatever videos you add on there and condensing those down took forever. So I will absolutely need to try that hack. I am obsessed with it. Thank you.

Yeah, let me know. Let me know if it works for you. I love it.

Yes. Okay, so my next one that I am spring cleaning is I am a serial entrepreneur and I will just take on these like random side projects just because I'm like, oh, that sounds interesting. Or like, oh yeah, that's easy money. And I sometimes just get too many side projects. And within our mastermind, we are currently talking all about time management and doing a time audit. And I'm doing it alongside with the girls because I haven't done one in a while. And I'm just realizing right now, the things that I've zeroed in on in my business and I've brought in help for are working so well that the bandwidth that that has opened up is now being taken up by this other side hustle that doesn't really support my overall goals. And so it's like I opened up bandwidth just to fill it with all these random side projects. So I need to reel it back in and clean, spring clean my side projects, wrap the ones I need to wrap up, let go of the ones I need to let go of, and use that extra bandwidth to continue doing things that move the business forward rather than like just take on random things. So that's where I'm at, spring cleaning my time.

Proud of you. I, I feel like I'm not in a place where I can Consistently spring clean my time. Maybe this is a limiting belief, but there's an aspect of like I need to be home and like in my day-to-day to feel like I can truly track my time. So I'm going to be doing this in two weeks, and I'm really excited to have some consistency so that I can you know show up in that way and and like truly audit and see where I need to fix things. So yeah, another one of my spring cleanings that I didn't list here is my phone and my distraction during work hours with my phone. Some of the work I have to do for both my jobs is on my phone. Um, and then there's also work I need to do that needs to be like undistracted. So putting my phone in a different room when I'm in my office.

Mm-hmm.

And any phone time that I am doing has to be done outside of this room, which, oh yeah, I'll let you know how that goes.

Wow. I love that though. Wait. Okay. Side note. Have you seen the dumb phone slash— yeah, it's like a— not a flip phone. It has podcasts. You can call, you can text, and hotspot for maps and stuff. And it's like a dumb phone. And I saw this TikTok girl that she does content full time, but she's like, I have my iPhone for when I'm creating content and I'm posting, but now I use this phone like throughout the day. And she's like, I feel so much happier. I'm more present in my life. I don't feel as addicted to my phone. So that influenced me while I was on my phone.

Did you buy one?

No, no, no. I'm like, It's like at the back of my mind.

Okay.

Um, but just something that was interesting, like instead of going to a full flip phone, you still have some access there.

I do. I do like that idea. Yeah. I'm going to try the not having my phone in my room first and see how that goes. Um, but yeah, I, I need to do better at like parenting and like managing myself. When I get distracted, so okay, one more or my next one is taking on more coaching clients in Q2. So I had a moment of clarity after the gym on Monday, and I realized that some of the tension I feel around coaching is how I message and like I want to help women. Win and succeed and feel their most confident best selves, doing that through achieving certain milestones in their business or their career, and also doing a lot of values work and doing a lot of confidence and mindset work. And I just had this moment of clarity of like, I have 2 archetypes, period. I think I've been like, oh, I can only serve entrepreneurs, or I can only serve people in corporate who are wanting to grow their careers. And I'm like, oh, just like you have different types of clients and Circle has different types of clients, I have different types of clients and I haven't done the messaging work to be like, I help corporate girlies and I help business baddies.

Mm-hmm.

And having those 2 archetypes and building those out more and speaking more to those types of women. And attracting the right clientele versus like, hey, I know that you do coaching. I want you to help me. And then we kind of like do some ad hoc. Okay. Yeah, I can help you. So just getting a lot more specific on my packaging and on who I serve and how I serve them. Um, and I'd like to, um, serve 3 to 4 more clients in Q2 and just have an uptick. in my clientele over the next couple months. So just working on doing some archetype work and working on marketing that appropriately.

Don't you just love when you get that moment of clarity and you've been like, why did things not feel just right? And then when it does, you are like, everything makes sense now. And I love that you had that clarity moment. Alongside this revelation of, okay, I've had all this output on social media. Now I have to be more strategic with it because it's so cohesive where it's like, okay, now the content can serve the corporate baddies and the business— or sorry, corporate girlies and business baddies. And so I love this for you. I love this clarity. And it makes sense. It makes sense for what you do, for your skillset, for what you have done in the past. So I'm So excited for you to relaunch it or like just message more around it.

Yeah, thank you. And I, I think my first step around that is obviously doing more messaging on social, but also going to application-based coaching. And so it's like, if you want to work with me, you fill out a short application about yourself and you kind of self-identify of this is who I am, this is what I need help with. And then we book an inquiry call and then we work together. Whereas right now it's happening in the DMs and I'm like, what kind of help do you need? And so I think even just having the application will give them clarity on how I can help and give me clarity on if it's the right fit.

Yeah, absolutely. We love a streamlined process.

Seriously. You heard it here first. Spring cleaning. I'm like, I am cleaning up my processes. What do you got next? All right.

Mine, speaking of processes, I have a confession to make. I have this big box, 2 boxes of a ton of hard drives not labeled at all. And that would surprise some people, I feel like, because I come off as very organized and I am very organized. But this is an area of my business that I have just not prioritized. Usually I'm just rolling from one hard drive to the other.

It's like busy.

And when I'm not busy, I'm resting and I'm not thinking about hard drives. So My goal is to spring clean my hard drives. I bought a labeling system, like a little printout thing, so I just need to sit down one afternoon, plug them all in, and then write where they're all from so they're all nice and safe. I know if I ever need to find anything, it's in one of those, but it would just take me a hot second to find that. So that's what we're doing because we're organized and we Yeah, I just need my office to feel more organized. So a simple one, but an effective one.

I love this. I love that you have a label maker.

I bought it like 6 months ago and I have yet to use it.

Next time I come over, you're going to have everything labeled.

Yes. Spices.

Toilet.

Everything.

Bedroom lamp.

Oh my God.

Oh, that's great.

What's next on your list?

This is not necessarily spring cleaning-esque, but I do want to mention it, is just paying taxes. I, for 2 years in a row, have saved enough money throughout the year because I don't pay quarterly taxes. I pay annual taxes. Um, I probably need to switch over to quarterly at some point, but my point is, is that I have been able to save money 2 years in a row. And that feels like a good win of like, okay, I have my savings system. In place for my business. So that way, when I have an S corp, and then once the S corp files, I as an individual get a K-1. And then that K-1 is what we use to file our joint taxes. And that's where I pay taxes is on my K-1. And so I've saved enough money to be able to pay for that. And I think it's just like revisiting My savings structure and just looking at my finances for Q2 for the business, making sure that all my T's are crossed and I's are dotted. Um, and not letting that be something like, okay, my taxes are done. I don't have to think about this for another year. It's like, no, like continuing to track and have visibility into my, my expenses and revenue month over month.

I'm so proud of you. Look at you being a finance girly.

Thank you. It does feel good. Like in the pass when I haven't saved enough, then like Matt and I are paying from our personal accounts, or I'm paying from our personal accounts and borrowing money from our family where I'm like, no, this is my business. And I am setting aside appropriate money based on revenue. Um, so that I can actually pay these and not have to impact our family savings plan or anything like that. So. Which, by the way, for anyone that has been here since the beginning of the year, and you know Matthew and I's crazy savings goal, we're 20% to goal.

Nice. Which is great.

Matt's like, we should be 25. I was like, yeah, I know that we're a quarter in and we're 20% to our savings goal.

There's 2 kinds of people in a relationship.

I know. I'm like, so like, this is great. Like, think about us last year. We weren't saving this amount every single month.

Like, this is nuts. Yeah, yeah.

But if we're really going to be on target, like we should be at 25. I was like, you accurately, like sorry, like not accurately, but actually, actually you are correct. Like for where we need to be percentage-wise, but I'm still proud of us. So there's a little update.

That's amazing. And it's also, it's not just 20%, it's 20% on an aggressive goal. So that's fantastic.

I know. I'm like, yeah, we're great.

You know what? You should go out and celebrate.

Let's go spend some money. He's like, this is not how this works, Alexis.

The irony. Anyway, um, okay. Along the same lines, I need to spring clean my expenses. So, um, I just need to do another run through of all, like all my contractors and some of the things that I'm outsourcing. Does it Does it still make sense? Does it not? Some of my subscriptions, um, where can I cut back? Where can I move things around? I haven't done that in like 6 months. Um, I've done some analysis on like my main expenses, but I do think sometimes money just sneakily goes through and like some of the expenses, or the last time I did this, I realized the level of money that I spend for a destination shoot and when I travel for a wedding. And so I just kind of need to take a pulse on that again, um, and just make sure things are on track because I have gotten a bit more spendy lately. Not spendy. I have been investing a lot more in my business.

There's where that marketing gal comes in. She's like, how can I rebrand this? No, no, no. I've been investing in my business.

I have. Which honestly, I'm proud of myself because when I went full-time, I used to just hoard money because I was scared it was going to fade. Into the abyss. And now I invest in the business. But yeah, I need to spring clean that. And the other aspect is sell things that I no longer use. Like, I just bought a really nice lens, which substitutes about 2 other lenses that I have that I can sell and recoup quite a bit of money. So just doing that, like, annoying financial stuff that we don't love, but we need to do.

Yeah, it's important. It's important for the future. Future us will be so glad we did it. Um, and plus one for selling old stuff. Like we've been putting more things on Facebook Marketplace just to sell things. And it's Matthew, like goes and meets people at the Whole Foods and sells all this stuff. And I'm like, hey, he's making extra cash, you know, let's put it towards that savings goal, baby.

Yeah. But by the end of the year, I'll be like, oh, we met our savings goal. Has no furniture in their house.

Sells everything. Oh my gosh. Oh, okay. Next up for me is sprinting. You have heard me talk about this on the podcast. So honestly, I'm annoyed with me, probably just like you are, but I think it's important to like keep surfacing things that are important is launching a newsletter. So my spring cleaning is going through my existing Kit, formerly ConvertKit account, and looking at my tags, looking at my forms. Like I have all these different opt-in forms. I've been using Kit now since 2016, so 9 years. And I have a lot of things I need to clean up. And also their tool has changed and you can do more templates and You can actually like format emails differently than I normally do. And so I would like to nail down my formatting. I would like to clean out my Kit account and also get clear on what my goals are for the newsletter. And I, I really want it to feel like, like The Skimm or like, um, The Hustle. Like it's a newsletter that people are like, okay, I can't wait to open this and it adds value to my life. I do want it to have that kind of feel, but I want it to be for the everyday ambitious gal. So I'm like trying to figure out how to create something that is valuable, but also really fun and creative. And there are so many newsletters out there and I'm not letting that deter me in any way. It's more so saying, okay, there are a lot of options in the market. So how do I create something that does feel fresh and does feel exciting and And have a different spin on things. Just like Tim Ferriss's Five Bullet Friday, his newsletter is five bullets every Friday. It's bullet points. It's super simple, straight to the point. Here are some links to things he's learning, things that he's read, and then it's very simple. But he's like coined that format. And so it's like what would my format be? And just doing a little bit more research on that this. Quarter and also looking at like my year and recognizing that the research and progress that I make in Q2 sets me up for Q3 versus, oh, because I'm not launching it in Q2, like I'm not successful. And that means I don't keep my word. And it's like, no, we are inching towards this launch and we know that it might not happen until Q3, but Let's do some prep work. Let's lay the groundwork in Q2 so that then when that is ready, we have done all of this and we've prepped for it. So I think I'm learning the importance of preparation in pursuit of launch versus like dragging my feet and kind of that analysis paralysis and then never taking action. Like there's a difference.

Yeah.

And I think it's like, okay, it's all about the mindset that I, that I approach it with. It's like, no, this is really a prep quarter. And then next quarter will be launch quarter. Cool. And that can feel a lot more, um, I don't know, a lot more intentional than me kind of like feeling like I'm avoiding something or putting something off.

Yeah, I love that so much. I feel like giving yourself that prep quarter before launching, whether it's Q3 or Q4, allows also the creative side of Alexis to have time to breathe and digest and have a few Pilates classes under her that she can be like, oh, actually I'm going to tweak this in the format of the newsletter. Like, oh, what if I like texted people or a voice message or whatever it might be, like different formats that you can play with. And I think sometimes we have an idea, we know what it is overall, and then we just launch it. And then, which is, there's nothing wrong with that, but it sounds like you're wanting to create something a bit more curated and more of a high-level experience. So take all the time you need.

Yeah.

And I love that you're giving yourself that permission. Take all the time you need to build something great. And as long as it's not paralysis happening, then great. I can't wait to see what you create, to see all of those creative juices come together into a newsletter that you are excited to also send out. Consistently.

Yeah, agreed. And I'm, I'm going to New York next week for something special, and I'll tell you more about that at some point. Um, and my best friend Jess is coming in and she's meeting me for the weekend and we're doing a fun shoot. And she sent me this like inspo board and I was like, she doesn't even know that I'm— she doesn't even know the vision I have for the newsletter and for like this new business idea. And I'm like, oh my gosh, this shoot is exactly what I want for the brand. So I'm like, okay, this is great. And step one, we're getting some fun inspo pics and whatever that ends up even turning into, but just allowing myself to have this be fun and not strategize it to death, but also give myself the freedom to enjoy it, enjoy the building.

Yes. Yes, that's what it sounds like. Like you're enjoying the process and rather than like work hard and heavy for this launch, you can just be girly, have fun, enjoy the process, do the shoot. And that's going to— I feel like after the shoot, it's going to unlock all the ideas. You, after a shoot, you will send like a ton of voice messages on all the ideas. I love it. That's so true. If you ever feel stuck, just book a shoot.

So true. Like there's something about being in a studio or even like doing some sort of photo shoot, video shoot that gets my ideas flowing. And that's one of the things I miss about Nashville that I do feel like the energy and momentum being in that creative city gave me is because that was my normal. Like every week, every other week we're shooting some sort of campaign. And I feel like maybe this is why influencers and like content creators who are literally like, they create content for a living.

Mm-hmm.

I feel like maybe this is why the energy that they put into content is just a little bit different, because they're just fueling off of it because they like it. And I miss that and I want more of it. So I'm ready for that. That's all that I have. Do you have any more to mention?

I have one more. My last one is, I guess it's not really a spring clean as much as it is a goal, but we'll tie it in together, um, which is booking at least one more wedding during Q2 for each of my team members. Um, I was able to get 2 team weddings booked this Q1. I would really love 4 in Q2, and my goal is to book a total of 10 by the end of the year for my team.

Hmm.

So, um, Yeah, I feel confident about it. I feel like with all the marketing that we're doing that we can get there. But it's still an aggressive goal based off of our numbers. So that's my last one.

Hell yeah, girl. I can't wait to celebrate when you hit that this year.

I'm going to spring clean my bikinis because we're going to be rotting at the beach.

Oh my gosh. I know this is a business podcast now, but I do feel like we need an episode of just like girl chat for summer, maybe here in the next month or so because so many beach vacations coming up, so many like style inspo.

Yes.

Feeling good in your body. Like I have really been working on my confidence and my body and just like the space I take up. And I feel like there's, it's like that time of year where you start to feel that like, I'm excited. But also, I am about to be half naked, exposed. I feel vulnerable. Yes, my ass is out. Literally.

Literally.

Especially in Europe. Especially in Europe. So yeah, we should probably talk about that at some point on, on or off the pod, I suppose.

Let's do it. Let's do it. I know that everyone that listens to the podcast— well, not everyone, the girlies that are interested in it. Would love it, and I think we—it's us. And you know what? There is no business without us. So she goes, "It's us." I'm like, perfect. Say no more. On brand is all I'm trying to say. It works. You're right. You're right.

You're right. Well, I hope this was helpful hearing us chat through some of the areas that we're spring cleaning in our businesses in Q2, and just spark some thoughts for you as you look at the next three months and how you want them to. Go and the energy that you want to put into your life, into your business, into your goals. Um, and also facing things head on, like just facing the things that you're avoiding, the things that you might be putting off, the tasks that keep getting moved week over week to the next to-do list, to the next to-do list. Is, is it possible to make progress on that this quarter? And we're rooting for you. If you want merch or anything else or have feedback, On the podcast, send us a DM at inbetween.pod, and you can always reach out to me personally at Alexis Teichmiller.

And you can reach out to me at AstraJohannaPhoto. Definitely message us if you want to see some merch, and if you have something that you're spring cleaning, DM us. I would love to hear just like one thing that you want to spring clean in your business. So we love you guys, and we'll catch you next time.