Rachael Leigh: Detangling Your Personal Identity from Your Brand’s Identity

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Have you ever had a moment in life or business when something just felt… off? It wasn’t too long into Rachael Leigh’s photography business that she realized the work she was doing wasn’t quite serving her or her clients in the way she imagined.  In the midst of a global pandemic is as good a time as any to start asking the hard (or should I say the right) questions… and today’s guest did just that.  

What began as a “becoming Rach” board on Pinterest turned into a business pivot, offer change, and new trajectory … 

Is a life and business you love possible? Here’s how this entrepreneur designed both and how she’s working to help others do the same. 

Today is a sweet treat as I have one of my past Blueprint Model students, Rachael Leigh, on the show!

Press play for the full interview or keep reading below!

In this Episode:

• Straight outta high school. 🎒How Rachael started following her dream shortly after graduating high school.  [4:21]
• Picking up a camera for the first time. 📸 Photography wasn’t something Rachael grew up doing. Picking up a camera was a way into building a business for herself. [6:00]
• The intern years 🏃🏼‍♀️The hustle of working as a wedding photography intern and learning the ropes. [7:02]
• Sitting in Your Hero’s Living Room 🛋️How a workshop hosted by Rachael Leigh’s photography hero changed the course of her business journey. [8:12]
• Bye, bye, bye 👋Watching wedding photography bookings slide off the calendar during COVID & what she did next. [11:14]
• Dipping her toes into brand photography 🏊 A drop in weddings during COVID provided the perfect opportunity to try something new. [12:40]
• Building a Business in Your Early 20s 🛠️What does it look like to become an adult while building a brand? Rachael dives into the details of her experience. [15:40]
• Becoming Rach 📌 The story of a secret Pinterest board that helped Rachael figure out who she was apart from her brand. [15:50]
• Making it Official 📚 Stepping out as a brand photographer & how she found her first clients. [17:54]
• Riding the High of 2021 📈Rachael’s first year as a brand photographer happened to be her most profitable yet!
• The Tanking of 2022 📉What happens after you work through your warm leads? Rachael & Shanna serve up their takes on marketing in today’s world.
• Taking The Blueprint Model 💸 Through taking The Blueprint Model, Shanna helped Rachael realize she needed a “time motivated” business in order to lead an “impact driven” life. Learn about your core motivators in order to build the business of your dreams with The Blueprint Model! [20:30]
• Money, Money, Money 💰Rachael’s money mindset went from viewing money as something to fear to something she now see’s as a way to have impact in this world.  [28:46]

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

“We can give all the praise hands to Tonic for that one.” [3:58]

“Picking up a camera was kind of my way into a business.” [6:09]

“The most interesting thing about the fact that 2020 happened was right before I was starting to get a little discontent in my wedding photography business, I think I had come into my own, and I was realizing it wasn’t what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.” [12:40]

“I was in my early 20s, and it’s really interesting when you build a business alongside also figuring out who you are as a human being, and I didn’t realize how much of my personality and myself as a person had become wrapped up in the brand that I had built.” [15:40]

“Okay, do I actually like that thing? Or do I like that thing because it’s part of my brand? Or do I actually like that thing? Or do I like that thing because this person also likes that thing, and I want to be liked by that person. It was just this interesting journey of finding myself that ended up breeding a business pivot.” [16:37]

“I remember the level of confidence I had in the business I was building was higher than it ever had been before. And I think it was because I was actually stepping into something that I wanted to do.” [18:20]

“The very best thing we can do to launch a business that we continue to love is figure out what we want.” -Shanna [21:46]

“Your offers aren’t broken, you’re just invisible Marketing in a post-covid world.” [23:30]

“Essentially, as business owners in the market that we’re in, we have to run a rat race, but you get to choose the pace with which you run.” [25:50]

“Money only holds the power that you choose to give it.” [32:41]

“For a long time I chose to look at money through the lens of fear and through the lens of something I was going to mishandle. Now I look at money as a way of being able to magnify the impact I can make in my life.” [36:47]

“For most people, money isn’t the end game. Money is a means to the life you want, the impact you want to have, the generosity you want to give of your time or your resources.” -Shanna [35:45]

“Instead of saying, ‘what do I want to do with my life’, switch it to ‘what do I want to do within my life or in my life.'” [44:15]

More from this Episode

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

RESOURCES MENTIONED: 

Tonic Site Shop (CODE: SHANNASENTME)

Katelyn James

Strength’s Finder

The Blueprint Model

Rachael’s Storylines & Starters Mini Course

Rachael’s Brand Mining Pocket Guide

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Rachael Leigh

Rachael Leigh is a brand photographer and strategist, self proclaimed brand theory nerd and wannabe barista who is the most passionate about coming alongside creatives and creators to catch their vision and help make it clearer. About 3 years into a wedding photography biz she’d built straight out of high school, she realized she didn’t love it or the life it created. So, came a pivot and alongside that a brand identity crisis which forged the offerings and business she now stands in. It’s been 4 years since then and now she help creatives nationwide curate a standalone brand that gives them a solid foundation of confidence and clarity to make a life and business they adore, possible.

CONNECT WITH RACHAEL:

Website | Instagram

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