Katie Lamb: My Business Is Profitable, but Is It Sustainable?

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Reaching your income needs without working all the time— That’s every entrepreneur’s dream, right? Finding a way to comfortably meet your enough number so that you can be the spouse, mother, or friend you dream of being. Katie Lamb did just that.  

After launching a successful (and profitable) photography business straight out of college, Katie began to ask herself how she could achieve the same profit with less time investment? With a growing family and a desire to be fully present, Katie began brainstorming new revenue streams that would continue to provide for her family without requiring more time away.

Pricing for profitability, running a 6-figure photography business, launching a course, & hiring tips— all inside today’s episode.

Press play for the full interview or keep reading below!

In this Episode:

A Heart For Missions 🌍 After her family adopted two young girls from China, Katie discovered her heart for missions. [:29]

Life in the NFL 🏈 With Katie’s husband picked up for the NFL out of college, Katie knew she needed to build a career that would provide flexibility for the NFL lifestyle. [3:08]

Money Mindset 💸 How Katie’s upbringing helped her become so debt-adverse {6:35]

50+ Weddings a Year 👰 Needing to make a large income out of the gate to help support her spouse through law school, Katie began working 50+ weddings a year. WOW. [7:50]

Running a 6-Figure Business on an Art Degree 🎨 Though Katie was able to price her offerings correctly out of the gate, there was still a learning curve on how to run a business.  [8:15]

Great Profit but Not Sustainable 📈 Overtime, working so many weekends no longer aligned with Katie’s vision for family life. Something had to change. [8:54]

No Pressure, No Diamonds 💎 The blessing of needing to make money in business right away. [10:38]

Launching First Course 🚀 How and why Katie launched her first course. [13:55]

How Can I Achieve the Same Profit in Less Time? ⏳ Making more while working less. Every entrepreneur’s dream.

Finding Balance 🧘 How finding balance between work & life reminds Katie of nailing a yoga pose. Sometimes it comes naturally & other times you have to fight for it. [18:09]

Your Enough Number #️⃣ Katie discusses how she calculated her enough number & reverse engineered her business to reach it. Learn how to calculate your enough number here! [21:43]

Money is just a stepping stone 🚶 Katie’s heart for missions helps to shape the way she views and uses her money. [24:14]

Hiring 👩‍💻 How Katie made her dream hire & why hiring has become the best investment for her business. [29:05]

Put’em on a Bumper Sticker. These Quotes are Pure Gold.

“I was averaging around $4,000 a wedding those first couple years. Shooting 50 plus weddings per year, on top of all of my other types of sessions, and my cost of doing business was very low, so my revenue and my profit were quite high.”

“Throw a young 20 year old with an art degree (let’s mention that an art degree not a business degree) straight into running their own business, making six figures off the bat. You have to learn business and money management quickly in order to sustain that. It was a lot those first few years, for sure.”

“My profit in the beginning was great, so that worked well, right? However, the amount of time I had to put in in order to actually achieve that profit was just not sustainable.”

“I feel like I had no choice but to succeed, there was no option of failing, and I had to be two feet all in.”

“No pressure, no diamonds.”

“It was 2016. I made my first course and that was my first taste of seeing something that I created continue to generate income on its own.”

“My story is a little different since my profit started from where I wanted it. Even today, that profit is still what I want. It hasn’t changed in 16 years, but the way that I achieved that profit had to change so drastically.”

“That was where the Lord drew my heart to helping others. I saw such a need in our industry of photographers that loved what they did, but they couldn’t figure out how to actually make it into a business, a sustainable business.”

“I always think of [work and life balance] as a yoga pose. I’m trying to get into this perfect yoga pose. But sometimes balance means I’m fighting to keep that balance.” 

“Sometimes you have to work harder and longer and it stinks but knowing that’s not the end game, that’s not my goal. That was the perspective I tried to keep. This is just a season. My kiddos are little. They need every ounce of me right now.”

“I’m a believer. So for me, I know my purpose on this earth and I know that my children and my family and my community, that’s the lasting impact I’m gonna leave, not how much money I made.”

“I would say every opportunity or win or setback or mistakes or paper towels in your armpits moment is an opportunity to learn but you have to be intentional about reflecting on seasons and how you can grow for them.”

More from this Episode

To hear the full story and more about Katie, press play on the player above for the full interview or click here to download the transcript.

Resources Mentioned:

How to Calculate Your Enough Number

Torrance Hart, Founder of Teak & Twine

Katie’s Session Video Course

Katie’s Instagram Efficiency Course

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Katie Lamb

Katie is a wife and mom of three and lives in Dallas, Texas. She began pursuing photography at a young age when her family adopted her sisters from China. Through the adoption, she found her passion of telling stories through photography and videography. Katie went on to major in Fine Art Photography at Baylor University to pursue her passion of documenting the orphan crisis around the world as well as the efforts of various mission groups.

She spent time in Africa, China, as well as Eastern and Western Europe living out her first life passion before starting her own family photography business in 2008. Through the years she spent building her brand and learning the ins and outs of running a successful and sustainable business, she found a passion for helping others, and for the last decade, has specialized in education for photographers through courses and mentoring.

CONNECT WITH KATIE:

Website | Instagram

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