Fuel Your Business With Connection, Fear, & Hard Work

Alright, you guys, super excited for you to be joining us here on She's Crafted to Thrive. This is Nikita Williams, your host. Guys, you know, it's like 11 o'clock. I have been having crazy random issues with computers again. Yes, again. If you guys have been following me and listening to the last few episodes, it has been quite a fiasco, but I am super excited to get this episode out to you guys.. It is featuring Miss Christy Cross. She is a photographer who is doing amazing things. She's been in business for 13 years, you guys. I mean, how amazing is that? We talk about her experience, how she got started. And I mean, if you've been in business for 13 years, you're gonna have ups and downs no matter what. And I think that's something I really appreciated from this episode is realizing that whether you're just beginning or whether you're on the long haul, there are going to be ups and downs. You're going to have to make changes and shift in your business. And we talk about some really cool things. One of the topics we talk about is how to create connection with your product photography. So these are tips she shares with you, whether you are a photographer or a creative entrepreneur trying to do the photography, on your own, these are gonna be great things to keep in mind. We talk about fear and how fear can be a very positive thing in your life, in your business, and how we can use that to fuel us instead of, um, keep us down. So we talk about very specific things that we've needed or that she's gone through, and even that I've gone through, that really helps us to keep going, and so many other things in between. So whether or not you're a photographer or a creative entrepreneur, or you're just a lady thinking about starting a business, you definitely want to stay tuned to this episode. So thanks for joining, and I'll see you at the end of this episode. Welcome to She's Crafted to Thrive.

I'm your host, Nikita Williams, and this show is for all the ladies who are making and creating things that they love.

You will hear conversations about the real everyday struggles of juggling life and business while trying to maintain passion and harmony.

As women, we have the skill of getting things done, but sometimes we get in our own way. It's here where you'll see that you're not alone. You'll discover that success does not mean perfection. Fear and negative thoughts and challenges are all a part of the journey. And on this podcast, you'll find the inspiration and tools you need to have a life and business that thrives. You guys, I am excited to have another awesome photographer on the show. Her name is Christy Cross, and I love her work. I've been kind of following her off and on on Facebook. She's, of course, you guys know, on Social Curator, and, um, she's good friends with a lot of the women we've had on the show. So welcome.

Hey, thank you so much for having me.

Yeah. So tell us a little bit about you and your journey, like how you started this whole path in your life.

So I was interested in photography when I was in high school, like in my senior year, and just did it for fun. Had like a disposable camera at first from the grocery store that was film because they didn't sell digital cameras at the grocery store at that time. And then I got a film camera for Christmas from my parents and started taking pictures. And I've always been artistic or creative in some way or another, and it just fell into my lap to where photography was kind of the thing that I grabbed onto more. And then I got my degree actually at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas, and I got my degree in photography. And I learned how to just, you know, all the functions and learn how to do it through film and black and white film primarily. And it was so much fun. My major was in photography and my minor was also in photography. So I was like, just give me, just give me the whole creative field and I'm good to go.

Wow.

That's, that's how it That's how it started. And then here, 13 years later, um, still been doing it and didn't ever think that I would work with people when I was pursuing it in college. I wanted to take pictures of landscape or I don't know, just still life and working with people kind of scared me because I didn't know how to work with them and pose them. And it was very studio-like and like the way that we were taught and I felt like it was a little stiff. Stuffy for me, so I didn't quite connect with it. Then figured out how that can actually work with me and my personality and realizing that it doesn't have to be stuffy and that it can be fun and playful and you can capture movement and emotions. And once I realized that, I just fell in love with it and I love working with people.

Yeah, your work is super cool that way. I was looking at some posts the other day of your stuff and it reminds me of another photographer. That I used to follow a lot. Oh my gosh, and her name has slipped my brain.

Oh, you're gonna have to tell me when you think of it. I want to know who it is.

So I'm a big fan of Sue Bryce, but there's another girl.

She does beautiful— she has beautiful studio work.

Yes, beautiful, beautiful. But there's another woman, and oh my gosh, I became a fan of her when I was— when we were doing photography way back when. On CreativeLive, and she has all these kids she adopts. Oh my gosh, I cannot think of her name. She's like a family photographer. I mean, she's super big. But anyway, it's going to drive me crazy until we get off of this show, and it's going to drive me crazy. But anyway, your work reminds me of hers because it's so like the little moments in between a shot. I feel like it takes a really patient and amazingly-eyed photographer to capture the moments in between, because that's honestly when the real stuff comes out, I think. Um, and I think you do an amazing job at doing that.

Thank you, thank you. I— yeah, those in-between moments, those are the ones that whenever I select favorites or I select ones to post and share on my blog or on social media, those are the ones that, that I like to, to to pull out and share. You won't see very many of people smiling at the camera on my blog or on my website. I get those, but those aren't exactly my favorite. Those are the ones that I will get, like insurance, you know, you know that someone's going to want that one, right? But my favorites are the others, the movements, the connections, and the emotions. Those are the ones that I generally like to do. Yeah. And then of course I do, I do product photography too, and I've since just like the way that I connect that with working with people is just by me giving them something that they can be so excited about and wanting to share their product, their baby, their thing that they've made. And by putting professional pictures with their, with their product and their items, I feel like being able to create something for them is also just another way of me being able to work with people. I feel like this isn't coming out in the way that I want it to say.

No, it makes sense.

Okay, good, good.

It makes sense to me anyway. Look, look, I should say it makes sense to everybody. Y'all are listening, you're like, I don't know what she's talking about. I get it in the sense of like product photography. And I remember this like way back when, like my husband's really into product. Like he was like, I would do product photography forever. But I'm like, it felt sterile to me. I was very much more attached to the people part of it. But now stock photography or just photography of products to me can be like alive. It can give like the impression of someone's personality. And I know we were talking about this before the show, but you just did some for Crystal Lynn and I just like, yes, it feels like her jewelry. Like it feels like you brought her jewelry, which is an inanimate object to life. Like, it feels real. And so, yes, that's again another talent that takes time to finesse and get to. But, um, yeah, I totally get what you mean.

Absolutely. And that's kind of one of the things that for her, she and I have— we know each other already, so this— that one was a little bit easier to do. But one of the things I do with clients that I don't know for product photography is I'll ask them questions or just get to know them via phone call or email to get a little bit more guidance of who they are, who they're wanting to, who their ideal client is. And so whenever I photograph their products, then I will incorporate that and do more of a lifestyle shoot versus just a stock photo picture. And I will get those individual shots if that's what they want as well. With a plain background and plain and simple everything, just so that their product will shine a little bit more. But my favorite, just like with people, I love photographing the more lifestyle moments of those pieces of, like for her, her jewelry, those products, that piece of jewelry working in an actual day-to-day life for a woman who wears this jewelry. Yeah.

Do you find that, like this is, completely. I'll go back to what I'm thinking in my head. But do you find that that kind of approach to it helps your customers sell more because of that kind of approach to it? Because I feel like when I go on to other people's websites that have just a standard, like no background, I can't imagine myself wearing it. I feel like it's like walking into a house that's like nothing in it. It's like so hard for you to imagine, well, what would that look like with this outfit or that outfit?

Right. Exactly. So creating that connection is what you have to give whenever you're doing product photography. You have to show interaction in some way, even if there's not a model there to show that interaction by holding it or wearing it. But if you can show some type of an interaction or connection of real life, the viewer can put themselves in the place of this photograph and think, okay, that's my countertop with my jewelry sitting on top of, I don't know, on top of this cute pink bowl. I'm thinking of one of the pictures I did for her. There are a few pink bowls and they were bowls that you eat out of. So why would you put jewelry in it? I don't know. But It's, it's just like the, the other thing is like, you know, creating that soft palette, that soft color palette. It was a soft pink and then just creating shapes. So not necessarily it being a bowl, but it being a circular shape. Um, but just by creating those little connections, by showing a real life moment, I do think that it is great for their, her clients now to relate to that picture and say, oh, I want that piece of jewelry. It's just so beautiful sitting there.. And I want that. So yes, that, that is something that I'm hoping, um, that does happen. And I photograph food, I photograph skincare products, I photograph jewelry, I photograph, um, aprons. Did I mention food? Because I know I did, but I just, I love photographing food. And, um, I've done stuff for a coffee shop, so I do the drinks, the coffee drinks. And I mean, like, that is so much fun. I even photograph, um, for a pharmacy. And that, you know, that, that could be sterile.

Yeah. I'm like, what are you doing to our pharmacy? Right.

So, I mean, I feel like on that one, I am challenging myself incredibly because it is something that is not as like inviting. It's more of the thing that you have to get because your health is not, you're not doing too good. And so you have to find a way to make that human connection. And one of the ways is by showcasing the employees and showcasing their familiar and their friendly face. And when I can showcase that friendly face and that people want to come into this pharmacy and say, okay, I have to get my medicine because I have, say, arthritis, but I love coming and getting it from the pharmacy here because they're such friendly people, or the different services that they offer. I try to portray them in a more somewhat upbeat way. Sometimes it works and sometimes it's like, you know what, this is really not an upbeat matter. So we just need a plain and simple straightforward shot, which actually just recently happened to me. I was like, too bright. Okay, I'll go back and reshoot that one. Too cheerful. Too cheerful.

Yeah.

Wow.

Wow. That is really cool. I mean, that's really cool. And I think it's like you said, it's a great way to challenge yourself to kind of just, yes. Be organic, right?

Yes.

So this is interesting because there's not a lot of photographers that I have physically met that went to school for photography. Like, all the things they may have, like, I know, did it as a minor even, maybe, but not as, like, a major and a minor. So even I know a lot of the listeners that most of them who are photographers or who have even dabbled in photography not come from that background. So what were some of the— if you could name like some of the things that you feel like helped you, like in your business as you started to do this.

So I think for, you know, let me also just say this, that the people that don't go and get their degree in college in photography, for them to understand it and learn it all on their own. Like major props to you. Yeah, because it's hard. It really is hard. And I teach it now at a, at my community college in my town, and I have to really think through slowing down the steps. Because when you're teaching the steps, it's like, wait, wait, wait, wait, go back, go back just two steps, tell me that again. Okay, I got that now. But how do they work? How does the ISO and the shutter and the f-stop all work together? So if you can teach yourself that, seriously props to you and thanks to YouTube as well. I feel like me going to college and getting my degree did help me with that because I was able to take more time and focusing on how those little moments work. But also at the time I went, I was doing film, like digital photography was not offered at that time.

But wait a second, wait a second. Film photography. If I had the patience, I think it is classic. There is nothing more amazing to me than a film shot. I still to this day, if I can pick up a film camera and take the time to make that my jam, oh my gosh, I believe those images are amazing.

Yeah. And I think that that is what I probably learned the most. I think that that is what maybe like gets me a one-up maybe, is because I was able to learn it through film. I couldn't— I didn't take a picture, check the back of my camera, which I do rely on that now. I mean, I know what I'm doing, but there's times I'm like, okay, do I want to take these a couple stops down and make it darker? Do I want to make it lighter? And I can look at that and I can evaluate it now on the back of my screen. But with film photography, you can't do that. And so you have to know what you're doing. And we developed our own film. Like, that was so much fun. Like, I really feel— I feel silly saying this, but it was magical. It was a magical time being in the darkroom and getting to develop your own film and then develop your own photographs and enlarging your pictures. Like, it was so much fun. And I recently, a few years ago, they have a black and white photography class at the community college in my town. And I took that class and I hadn't taken a film class in a long time and I had to relearn. I was like, wait a minute. Okay, what, what, how does, how does this work again? But once I got back into it and remembered how to do it, I was like, I was in there all the time. I'd try and go when it was just me and by myself because it's just such a fun therapeutic time. But I do feel like that being able to have it as my major and my minor, and with my minor, I got to use a camera that was like, it was a 4x5 camera. So the camera that you stand up, it has like the accordion fold to it. You have to put a black blanket over your head to see the picture. And on the back of the camera so that you can take the picture. And that was another one of the fun things that I got to do that I wouldn't have been able to do on my own. So, wow, I feel like that was such a cool thing and it was so much fun.

Yeah, I think—

I don't know, did that answer your question?

Yeah, I think— I mean, um, I feel like film photography teaches you to kind of be one with the camera, um, because you have to be like—

you have to be patient. Right, to be patient and to really think through getting it in the first 2 shots versus taking, you know, holding your shutter down and taking 20 shots, realizing they're all the same, wasting space on your digital card, on your CF card or your SD card, and thinking, oh, I didn't need to do that. And so even now, whenever I take pictures, you won't hear me taking 20 shots of one deal unless I'm working with kids who are like crazy.

Oh yeah.

Others like 3-year-olds. Yes, I will. Yes, I will. Because one's blinking, one's not. And then eventually they will both be looking at the camera at one point. But usually I will take my time and grab the shot I need instead of just taking a bunch and say, oh, look at 'em later and see which one works. I don't have time. I wanna get it right now so that whenever I go and edit the pictures and cull through and select the ones that I want, it speeds up that process.

Yeah, I bet it does. Yeah, my husband always says, yeah, if you can get the image almost perfect in the shot, your time afterwards will be less stressful for you, like if you're doing photography. So let's talk about, like, first of all, your mom. Yes. And so you have a family and you're running a business. You've been doing this for 13 years. What have been some challenges for you?

So I have two boys and one's 11 and one's 7 and they're complete opposite and they're so much fun. And I think the part that has helped me in my business is by my husband. Like he's, he's not just like, oh, can I have your help? It's, we're a team. So we work together whenever I do need a little bit more assistance. Or he needs a little bit more assistance, we help each other out and we balance each other out. And it's so great. Like, there's nights, um, even just last night where I'm still at the computer working, and if I get up, I will get distracted. And the family's home, so it's at night, it's dinner time, and I should be in there eating dinner, but, you know, this time I'm, I'm not. And I needed to get things done. And like I said, if I get up, I'm gonna get distracted. And here he comes in and he brings me a plate of, of dinner. And it was so helpful because I was able to still focus on this and he was able to help the boys and feed them and get them ready for bed and that kind of thing. So I feel like that, that is a big help. And yes, there are challenges where days that, um, maybe he's not able to be there because he's doing his work too. And both of us just have to figure it out. And then you just have to close the computer down. Walk away and just say, I'll get to it tomorrow. And when you can figure out that balance of also just knowing that your family really does come first, um, by having the goals, whenever I can look at my goals too, that helps me be more mindful of my time when I am working to get focused and get to the point and don't dilly-dally around and look at social media and get distracted. But whenever I can look at my goal, I can stay focused on working for my family, um, by, by getting money for my family so that we can go do some fun things. Like, that's kind of how I see that. On my list of goals, it's places that we can go as a family, places that we can travel. And so that is one of the things that I try to keep in the forefront. I'm not perfect and I don't do it every day, but that is something that helps me stay focused and keeps me somewhat more balanced with my work and my personal life.

Yeah. Earlier when I started the show, like, way— oh my gosh, it's been over a year now. It feels so funny saying that, but one of the— it does. I mean, I'm like, oh my gosh. Anyway, so one of the episodes, the girl said it's like finding harmony with all of your things. Like, we use the word balance with everything, but like, everybody's balance is different. And which thus leads you to thinking harmony. Like, not everybody's harmony goes well with each other. Yes.

But actually just read something along with the harmony. I forget what it was. Maybe you know the quote. I don't know. Maybe you're about to say it.

No, I wasn't going to say a quote. I don't know. She probably said the quote, and I'm just thinking about the word harmony. Harmony. Like, everyone's harmony is going to be different in different families. And the fact that you can work together and find those things and have mutual goals and work together is like, yeah, really great to have in mind. So what are some fears? Like, I know I feel like— do you, do you have less fears because you have had like that, like, technical training in photography, or do you deal with fear in a different way?

Well, you know, there's always the fear of, am I going to disappoint a client? Are they going to be happy with what they got? So there's always that.

Mm-hmm.

Um, I like, sometimes I'll just wait. If I haven't heard from them, I'll think, okay, do they like it? Do they like it? And I have to remind myself that they have other things to worry about, that I'm not the forefront on their brain. Like they are doing their own thing and they've got kids and they've got a family and they'll get to me when they get to me. Um, and then the other fear, when you had asked me this in the email earlier, it wasn't so much about technical stuff. It was one of my biggest fears that I had to overcome was a few years ago, I wasn't, I wasn't in a mindset of creating goals. Like I used to always think like, I don't need, I don't need to create goals. I'll just do life and go with the flow. And I was not a hard worker, just plain and simple. I wasn't a hard worker. I would do the jobs. I would work with the clients that would come back to me year after year, but I wasn't doing a good job at promoting myself and trying to get more clients or trying to figure out ways to get more revenue. And like, I just wasn't, I was, I was getting lazy. Plain and simple. I was getting lazy.

Were you like settled? Like, were you feeling like just like you're good where you were?

Yes. And too, it was, you know, it's like around the wintertime and the springtime. And I usually know that that's a little bit slower time at this time. Now it's not. Now I feel like that it's generally pretty even balance throughout all, throughout the whole year. Um, because I have figured out ways to make myself consistently continue having work throughout those months. But at this, you know, at this time, through about 3 years ago, I was like, I know that it's slower and that's just what it is, and I'm not making chance— I'm not making time to go and make more work for myself. And I've also was probably burned out. I was primarily doing portrait photography and wedding photography, and I didn't do— I didn't do any product photography. I was just doing portraits and weddings, and so I didn't do product and commercials. And, um, I think I was burned out, and so I wasn't really inspired to go and do pictures. Well, all this to say that my bank account for my business was almost gone, and the fear of me losing my business that I had built up for 10 years— wow, like, that was a fear, and that woke me up and and my husband had to have a hard talk with me, like, you're going to have to do something now, like, with your business, or you're going to have to go get another job. And I was like, uh-uh, no, no, no, no, no, no. Like, humility was setting in. I was like, no, like, no.

Right.

And that happened. I just, I started getting myself into gear and I started listening to podcasts. I hadn't listened to podcasts before. I run and whenever I usually run, I would listen to music. Well, now when I run, I listen to podcasts and I listen to Audibles and I love it. And I barely listen to music. And that is like a totally different person of who I was 3 years ago.

Wow.

Um, so I, that was, that was my fear. When you asked me that question, that's the first thing that came up to my mind. And so now keeping goals, And staying plugged in with groups like Social Curator and listening to other people who are mentors to me online. They don't know that they're my mentor, but they are. And just staying plugged in with people who are also motivated and building their business helps motivate me and helps keep me going in my business as well.

Well, first of all, thanks for sharing that because that's a big deal. Like I was thinking while you were talking, I was like, yeah, I wonder if I might be so somewhere in the middle of that where I don't even— figuring out where I need to go next, figuring out what do you need to do. You can get in such a rut of the rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat, and then you feel like, okay, what now? In your business, especially when you've been doing it for so long, you're just like, okay, what can freshen this world for me? Yes.

And I tell you what, now I've got like, I teach a digital single lens reflex. Basically that means basic photography. I teach a basic photography class. I teach an iPhone class or a smartphone class. It can be any smartphone. I teach at the community college, um, basic photography. And I have a digital photography class that I'm working to have online now, which was a huge thing for me to even get to that point. Cause I love that human connection.

Yeah.

And then I also sell presets. So I'm like, girl, I like—

I look at you. Let's go. Let's do this.

Let's be an entrepreneur and have some fun with it. I don't need to be a stale entrepreneur. I'm going to have fun. I'm going to do something that I enjoy. And I'm going to now start doing product photography. And I've been doing that for almost 2 years. And it has just by, I think too, when you can just like push past that fear, which is, which is hard. Once you push past that fear, and I try to teach this to my 11-year-old all the time because he's very much an introvert when you don't know him, and he's in middle school right now.

Oh my gosh.

I'm like, buddy, you just have to push past that fear, and when you do, you will be so proud of yourself. So I think that that has helped me. Um, you had asked me about a quote. As well, I'm jumping the gun a little bit.

That's okay.

But one of the quotes was by James Wedmore, and it says, when it gets hard, just remember, this is the point at which everyone else gives up. So I try to keep that in mind too.

Yes, yes, yes. That thought, that quote that he says makes me think about so many people that I have seen over the years who have start and stop, start and stop something and like something brand new. They don't start and keep like stop and do the same thing better. They start and start something new. They don't stick with the old thing. It's like such a good point because every now and then if you look back at the people that were kind of in the same place as you but stuck with what they were doing, even though they may have taken breaks or whatever the case may be, they're in like way bigger places now. They're in way bigger places than you could ever have imagined. And I think it's really cool that that's what you did. Basically, that's what you did. You just took a moment. Yes, it was not necessarily how you wanted it to happen with that fear, but it was like, okay, I need to reshift and rethink about what I need to do to make this be successful. And that's what you did.

Yes. Yes. And another one that I look to see if I made this up or if I stole this from someone else and I couldn't find it. So I put my name on this one, but I say, don't let fear stop you. Let fear drive you. And maybe you're going to be like, Christy, so-and-so actually says that.

You know, there's some good quotes.

I know, I know.

But I like that one.

But it's true. It's like, don't let fear stop you. Let it drive you. Let it, let it motivate you. And again, I just get fired up whenever I think about my son. I want him to be motivated.

Yeah. Fear can either hinder you or it can fuel you. It's one of those things, like how you were just saying with your dream, your moment of like, aha, I need to do something because it was like, I might not have my business anymore. We think of fear in such a negative way. Um, but it can happen.

Sometimes that's what lights the fire.

Exactly. Sometimes it can have that positive influence on you where you're like, oh, that's the fire I need to get my butt into gear and to work, right? Like, so I think that's amazing that you shared that because we do talk about fear in a very negative way, but it does have its place. There's a reason why it's there sometimes. Um, and if we use the right mindset shifts it can get us to, to, to do the work.

Yeah, yeah, exactly.

What are some of your favorite moments in your business? I asked— this is not one of the questions I asked you, but I'm asking. I'm like, hold on a minute, hold on a minute. I know I throw random questions in here every now and then, um, because I, you know, a lot of the women I have on the show have either been in business for you know, 3 to 5 years. And I've had a handful of business owners who've been in business for more than 8. So there obviously are like ups and downs in a business that's been in business for so long, but there are amazing moments. So I want to know what's your favorite.

Yeah, gosh, you know, I guess really this may be kind of just a big broad, a broad one, but when people genuinely email me right back, when I send them their web gallery of their pictures, or they get to see a sneak peek and they're like, I'm crying. This is beautiful. I love them.

I don't even know.

I'm speechless. I've had emails like that. And when I get that, I'm like, okay, I did my job. I did my job. I got those moments that help them be able to see their kids in the fun and energetic and sweet side. I was able to give them that gift. Yeah. Um, and so I feel like that's just like the biggest compliment ever to receive something like that. And, um, when I do, and especially for clients that keep coming back to me year after year, I have some clients that I'm taking pictures for them tomorrow, and they've been coming to me for 12 years.

Oh my God.

And so, and they have 5 kids. They have 5 kids, and 2 of them are now in college, and one of them's a high school senior, and then the other 2 are still in school, in high school and junior high. So all this to say, I've been with this family for 12 years, and so I'm having to be creative every single year. I'm like, what are we gonna do different this year? And for them to keep coming back and telling me, like, for them to just keep coming back, period, clients, that's the hugest compliment too.

Yeah. Well, one, that means you're doing a great job in like not shoot and burn. This is what I call shoot and burn. So many photographers, I have coached so many photographers where they're like, oh, I can't keep up with my business. Like, I don't have any more clients. And I'm like, but did you have clients before? And they're like, well, yeah, I had like 30 sessions last year. I'm like, how many of them came back? And they're like, none of them. And I'm like, well, did you call them? Did you send a thank you card? Did you just follow them on Instagram? Are you DMing them? Like, what's going on? They're like, no. And I'm like, well, that's why you don't have any more business.

Yeah, it's true. You have to keep that connection. And I feel like you instantly make that connection when they book their session or whenever they email you. You show genuine excitement that they've reached out to you. And then one of the things that I try to remind myself whenever I'm talking to a client or whenever I see a compliment on Instagram, like, oh, this picture is so great. I, I, I'm like, it's not about me. This picture is not about me or them coming to me, um, as this, as a client. It's not about me. It's them wanting pictures of their family. It's the picture of their family. And so I have to remember that this is not about me, but I need to talk to them about them and about their kids and about their family. And the moment that was so fun in that picture, like when someone sees a picture of a family picture, for example, and they're like, oh, I love this picture. I'm like, yes, that family was so great. They were so much fun. Their kids were hilarious. They kept making these goofy faces, or I don't know. I don't go into like, well, I mean, I don't do like a whole paragraph, but I do like to make sure that it isn't about me. And so you have to make that connection with your client and make them feel comfortable and make them feel wanted and make them feel like, you know, that they can come back to you.

Yeah.

And sometimes, and some I do and some I don't. And I have some people that I know that they hop around and they like to go to different photographers. I've noticed that.

Yeah.

And that's fine too.

Yeah.

And maybe they just get an idea and do research on their own of how other photographers do it. And I think that's pretty smart.

Yeah, I think it's awesome what you just said though, for other people that are out there. Like, it's not about you, it's about them. And even how you respond to them, like what people are saying to you about your work on Instagram, like that's such a good reminder, I think, for everyone, whether you're a photographer or web designer or whatever. It's like, how was the experience for them. Like, talk about how it was amazing to be working with them. And that in turn makes someone think, oh, wow, they're not even owning that. Like, they took the picture. But you know what I'm saying? It's just really cool how you brought that out. And that hit me. That hit me. So I'm sure it hit everybody else.

I have to remind myself that often because it is nice when you get a compliment. But it's like, and you should say thank you.

You should.

You should say thank you. You should never diss a compliment. You should always say thank you, but then also remember why you did it.

Yeah. So there was like 3 different quotes in that conversation just right there that I will definitely be putting on the show notes because I love that. Like, it really hit me and resonated with me and something just to keep in mind. And it kind of reminds me, you know, it's biblical. Let your yes mean yes, your no mean no. Something about just letting it be what it is about those people. And you said this was for them, so let it be for them.

And I love that.

So what are some tips since we're talking about successful things that you would give another entrepreneur or woman in business running their business?

Okay, so I would say know the business side of it. I feel like that for me, that was one of the things that I didn't really know. And you will gradually know that because I feel like that that's what has happened for me. I have learned business things through experience. Um, I didn't get my degree in any business thing at all. So that was, that's one thing that I would say is, is don't shy away from learning the business side of it because that is what is going to keep you going. You can be creative and you can do photography, and, or you could do, I don't know what, you could create, um, letterpress products, right? But if you don't know how to keep a business going, then you're going to struggle and you're going to bottom out. And if you're interested in wanting to just change and do something else later, that's fine. And you can bottom out in that one thing and then go try it in another thing. But you want to stay consistent and you want to keep this being your job, plug in with a group like Social Curator or go to conferences that are about business. Um, another one that I really wish that I was at right now is the, um, oh gosh, the Business Boutique with Christy Wright. It's going on right now.

Yeah.

And I wish that I was at that one. She is, Awesome. So that just reminds me too, like, if you can't go to a conference or you can't be a part of a group because of money or anything, just listen to podcasts and start writing notes because all of those podcasts is basically free education for whatever you want to learn about, but specifically business. And, uh, The Business Boutique with Christy Wright is really awesome. And that's something, that's one that I have really gained a bunch of knowledge from, from her. Um, but I mean, you can, if it's so, podcasts, workshops.

I mean, there's so many things.

There's so many things.

If you're feeling like you don't know how to run a business, just go to Google and YouTube.

Like, you know, one person I learned a few years ago that, you know, you think for me, for example, I'm in photography, I should probably learn from other photographers that are more Alytha and me, but it doesn't have to be that you can learn business from someone who's in a completely different business field than you. Yes. Like my dad, he sells insurance. He sells farmer insurance, like crop insurance.

And oh yeah, that's totally different. Wow. That's totally different.

No, it's totally different than what I do. But the way that he does business, I learned from that. He's very personal. He's always about the people. And I've learned that from him. And he's also taught me like to work smarter, not harder. And I think that that's, again, that, that's something that I've learned from him who does something completely different than me, but you can learn different business etiquette or business ways through other people in different fields. And I, I challenge people to do that because it is interesting to see and gather information and do your research of how other people do business and how they stay in business.

Yeah, I totally agree with you. There's a book called Blue Ocean, and it's basically— I think it's called Blue Ocean, or you guys, the notes, you guys know, if you want to really know what I was talking about in the show, you have to go to the show notes. But I will. Yeah, but the book is talking about how all these really amazing companies that now we are like, what? Who thought of that? What they basically did was look in other industries and then they look what was missing. And then it was like, boom. Like, for example, Airbnb. Come on. Who thought of Airbnb? Like, there's tons of— simple, right? But someone thought, man, there's a lot of hotels and it's so expensive. Like, somebody had to look out some— out of something different. Maybe they looked at the boutique model and was thinking about retail. And then they came up with this idea about Hey, we could do this with other people's homes, right? Like, so genius. Exactly. So it works. If you are going to try to learn from other people, it enriches your whole experience of running a business. It makes it a lot easier for you. Plus then you have like all these network fingers in the universe talking to different people that you can connect with.

So it really is amazing. Yeah.

Yeah. So how can we find you? Like, how can we find you online? And, and do you have any cool, exciting things coming up in your business?

Okay. So first on Instagram and on Facebook, my handle is Christy Cross Photo and it's C-R-I-S-T-Y C-R-O-S-S Photo. My website is christycross.com. And anything exciting coming up? Oh gosh, I feel like, yes. What is it? I don't remember. I am working on my digital photography course that will be coming up. I don't have a date on that, but I'm getting that going. And I have my second round of presets that I will be putting out., and gosh, I'm gonna kick myself if I forget something in telling you. But so basically just follow me on Instagram and Facebook and I'll tell you all about it there if I forget it here, because it's there on social media for sure if I forget something now. But there's always something coming up and I love, I love being able to do things spontaneously. So like sometimes that's the best way I work. I'm like, do you wanna do, you wanna do this gig? Okay, let's do it. Let's do it right now. Yeah, right now.

That's cool. I think that's really great if you have that kind of personality. Go for you. But tell us, I do want you to tell us about your— you have a— I can't talk. You have a phone course.

Yeah.

Tell us a little bit about that.

So I have a smartphone course, and that started through, a friend approached me saying, hey, we want to do these different events at our coffee shop. It's a brand new coffee shop in our town. They've been here for almost 2 years now. And she just wanted to have an event there. And one of the events could have been doing, teaching a smartphone class. And so I was like, uh, I don't know. I'm a little nervous. And I decided, go for it. Just go for it. I already teach a class at CCC, or sorry, that's what it's called. You don't know what that even means, but it's the, it's the community college here. And I was like, you teach people, it's fine. You'll be fine. Just go with it. And I've been doing, um, I've done it, I guess maybe 3 or 4 times there. I can't, I'm going blank on how many times I've done it there. And then since then I've actually done private classes with their own grouping. So one class is for a person that does, um, they actually train horses. And they wanted their students to learn how to take better pictures of their horses so that they can get their horses adopted out to people. And so they brought me in to teach them how to use their phone and take pictures. And then another one has been a MOPs group, like a moms, moms of preschoolers. And so I now have these private groups that are like, hey, we want to learn how to do photography with our phone. But what I've also done is I've put I put out a free camera phone workshop. Um, the one that I do in person, I do give you more information, and so that one is a paid one. But the one that I have free online, it is free, and there's a lot of great tips on there. So if you want to learn how to use your smartphone, Google phone, Samsung, iPhone, whatever it is, um, I can teach you. Now, the new iPhone 11, I don't have that information on there. I actually I still only shoot with a 6S Plus. So that's like way, way, way, way back, like super old compared to the one that we have now. So these things that you could learn on your, on your phone, I mean, you don't have to have a fancy phone to learn. And if you do, more power to you, because they're probably going to be amazing. Yeah. But yeah, so I have that too. And I have that link in my profile. On Instagram and it's just titled Free Camera Workshop or Free Smartphone Workshop, something like that.

So I am definitely going to go and grab it. I'm definitely going to check it out. I think I signed up for it. I just haven't had the bandwidth to check it out, to actually look at it. But I definitely want to check it out because there is— I would like to get a new camera camera, but I'm like, I don't have time for that. And I've taken just random shots with my Samsung, like the new Galaxy Samsung, and I'm amazed at how amazing this thing is.

Yeah, those cameras, those Samsung phones are— the camera quality is amazing.

Yeah.

So I'm like, it really is. I just think I need to learn how to use my phone on my camera. So anyway. Yeah. Yeah. Well, you guys, we had Miss Chrissy on. I'm so excited. Thank you so much for being on the show.

I loved it. It was a blast. It was a blast. Thank you so much.

All right, ladies, that's a wrap for this episode of She's Crafted to Thrive. Thank you so much for joining me. Please share with your friends and be sure to like and subscribe and leave us a review on iTunes. In the meantime, check us out at sheescrafted.com to check out the show notes for all the goodies and things that we talked about, and there'll be links there for you guys. So in the meantime, just remember, you are crafted to thrive.