If you’ve ever wondered what we’re really like in person and what it’s really like to learn from us,  BUCKLE UP.

Today we have a TREAT for you. We sat down with a few past students of ours and asked the hard-hitting questions. They expose the real deal of what it’s like to invest in our education.

Here’s the deal, there’s a lot of business educators out there. There are a lot of online courses, masterminds, groups, workshops, coaches, etc. It can be really overwhelming to invest in yourself and your business. Especially with so many options. Which ones are the real deal? What will actually be worth the investment? How will this actually impact and change my business??

In fact, you might be asking these questions right now. By now you’ve probably seen that our flagship photography course, The Heart University,  is OPEN for enrollment RIGHT NOW. It is freaking PACKED with 38 videos, 20 pdfs and templates, and an Elite student FB group with direct access to us. It teaches you EVERYTHING you need to know to grow and scale a successful photography business.

Look, WE GET IT! There are SO many questions and nerves when investing in education. We’ve been there too and know how intimidating it can feel. We wanted to cut the crap today and talk friend-to-friend about what it’s like to learn from us. We realize we’re not the educators for everyone, AND THAT’S OKAY. Today on the show we wanted to sit down with those past students and talk directly with them. They share with us where their businesses were before learning from us, the results after, how it impacted them, some funny real-life stories we have together, and more.

It’s a juicy inside look at us as educators, our students, and their results.

 

Teresa Williams

Teresa Williams did mentor sesh with Evie, enrolled in our online course, then attended two back to back workshops. It’s been SO wild to see this girl’s growth over the past couple of years. She’s a PERFECT example of investing in education, working her BUTT off to implement it, AND SEEING THE RESULTS. DANG this girl has exploded! She’s a ray of pure sunshine and we absolutely adore this girl.

 

What did your business look like before you invested in education with us? And what does it look like now?

My business began my freshman year of college! After I graduated college, I worked for a company full time as a web designer and my business was just a side gig. I always knew that I wanted more wanted it to be at a level that I dreamed of. I had the goal of being a full time wedding photographer and only shooting weddings and couples, I just didn’t know how to get there. It was a journey to get in the mindset that it was a possibility to niche my business down to weddings and elopements. 

I heard about Evie and Lindsey through Instagram stories. I clicked on Evie’s name and felt like we were soul sisters. I began to follow both Evie and Lindsey right when their first workshop sold out. I immediately reached out to Evie for a mentorship. I really didn’t know what I was doing and the elopement scene was brand new to me. I wanted to learn from Evie’s expertise.

Evie had a crazy travel schedule that year and was going to be home for a few weeks in Ohio. I’m from Illinois and decided I would drive to Evie. I was just so eager to learn.

The mentor session felt like I was getting coffee with a friend. Evie was so open and honest with me and shared so much of what I needed to hear and know. In the past, I had mentors that gave tools for my business, but they weren’t giving me tools for my mindset and heart. I have learned that you can be told all the things about strategy, business, sales, and marketing, but until you truly do a heart check and fix who you are on the inside and fix your mindset, nothing else matters. 

I walked away from the mentorship mindblown. I had zero weddings booked at the time (in 2018). In 2019, I photographed 22 weddings, a couple of which were elopements. I knew that I wanted to keep learning and bettering myself. I knew I wanted to attend a Heart Workshop. I booked my ticket to the Utah workshop and had an amazing time. I loved the chats on your heart, the marketing strategies, the business strategies, client communication, and how to serve your clients in a way that benefits them. It was exactly what I needed for my business. 

At the workshop in Utah, I went up to Evie and Lindsey and asked if it was a thing for people to come back to workshops. I ended up booking the online course and watched all the videos.

When Evie and Lindsey announced the Seattle workshop, I felt God tug on my heart to go to the workshop again. I felt a little confused but had never had a feeling like that before. I knew I had to book a ticket to the workshop. I went because I knew she was meant to be there. 

Throughout this entire time, I kept my day job and was working 40 hours a week at her job and what felt like 1000 hours a week on her photography business. It was a season of crazy hustle. I was exhausted and mentally drained. 

I truly didn’t know what the next step was. I went to the workshop in November and was feeling so drained. The plan all along was to eventually quit my day job, but at the workshop, I went to chat with Evie and talked about where I was at with everything. Evie really encouraged me on my journey and told me I was ready to take the full time leap. I needed to believe in myself and believe that I was ready.  I constantly had the doubts that I wasn’t ready, I wasn’t going to make it, and it wasn’t going to work. I was so scared of failing and Evie challenged me to think about the worst thing that could happen and why not go for it. She asked me why I wouldn’t quit my job now.

I left the workshop, feeling on fire, and put in my notice at my day job one month later. It made sense why God brought me to the workshop. It was the personal heart chat that I needed to give me the push to make a decision that changed my life. I owe so much of my life to Evie and Lindsey. 

Now, I get to live my dream and work a job, that doesn’t even feel like a job because it’s what I love. I am now mentoring and educating others and have grown so much.

Something I have learned is that we can learn all the things and tools, but ultimately it’s up to us to build our life in the way that we were meant to live. 

 

You’ve come back, like, 100 times. Hahaha. What keeps bringing you back?!?!

The way that Evie and Lindsey structure their teaching is truly unique. There are a lot of educators out there, but something that has always stood out to her is the way that they pour into others. The fact that they pray before every workshop is so important to me. Through everything that Evie and Lindsey have done, I see God shining through it all. It’s at the heart of everything they do and it shines. This isn’t something you see everywhere. 

 

Is there anything we could have done better?

I genuinely don’t have anything. From the second that someone walks into the workshop, you welcome them with open arms. I loved that you sat at separate tables and constantly stayed present in the moments. You were in it to build relationships and share everything that you could.

As someone who has studied under you both, you don’t hold anything back and that is something that has really impacted me and how I teach and pour into others. We are a community, and so many preach that but so few live that and I love that both of you do that in your daily lives. There is nothing you could have done better.   

 

Where can everyone find you?

www.instagram.com/_teresawilliams

www.photographsbyteresa.com 

 

Carly Hardin

Carly Hardin enrolled in our online course and attended a workshop. We both met Carly in person when she attended our photography workshop in Seattle in the fall of 2019. She was already a photography course student and wanted even more education from us. Carly is the sweetest soul you will ever meet, and talented as HECK.

 

Really briefly – introduce yourself to our listeners?

I am a wedding photographer in Arizona and I focus mainly on weddings and couples. I also do senior photography, which is what I started with. 

 

What did your business look like before you invested in education with us? And what does it look like now?

Honestly, it looked successful on the outside, but on the inside, I feel like I was a super insecure business owner who wanted to do everything myself. I wasn’t confident at all in my style or who I was as an entrepreneur or person. I didn’t want to show up to my followers or anyone. My bookings really reflected that. I felt like I was running a race that I could not get to the finish line. I was trying and trying to get these bookings, but nothing was coming out of it. 

Knowledge inherently gives you more confidence. There is obviously that aspect of it of learning a ton of gold from Lindsey and Evie that gave me more confidence to know what I am doing. 

On the other end, of what I wasn’t quite expecting, is how deep the workshop got. There were heart changes that could have only happened in that type of setting. I came home with a newfound confidence and I had family and friends say that there was something different about me and that I had a new spirit and confidence. It sounds so dramatic, but I felt like a new person and I gained this insane amount of Godly confidence. I gained a new perspective. I was praying the first morning of the workshop that I needed perspective and needed to see myself and my work through God’s eyes. I left with that. To sum it all up, that is what I left with: a Godly perspective. 

The confidence allowed me to show up to my followers and to my clients and serve them in a way that I never have before. 

 

How do you feel like the experience learning from us has impacted your business?

From November after the workshop until February, I quadrupled the amount of inquiries I was getting. 53% of those inquiries were booked. That’s insane! I made more in those few months after the workshop than I did the whole year of 2019. 

 

Story from the workshop

We were sitting on the floor drinking wine at the workshop and chatting about pricing. One of the girls was saying how she needed to raise her prices and I told her it’s okay I was still charging $1400 for a wedding. Lindsey practically got whiplash and immediately was like, “No!” 

I had my laptop open and was fixing a few things on my website and Lindsey told me to open up my website right now. I turned my laptop around and Lindsey scrolled through my website. She didn’t even get past the homepage and told me that I was worth five times the amount that I was charging. This whole time I was thinking she was just trying to be nice to me. I could not believe what Lindsey was saying! 

In my own heart, since I was feeling so insecure, I couldn’t believe the words Lindsey was saying since I looked up to her so much. Lindsey told me we needed to raise my prices right then and that my work was stunning and my branding was unreal. Then Evie comes in and Lindsey told her what I was charging and she dropped to the floor and said “ CARLY NO!” Both of them sat with me and went through my website and did a critique. I just kept thinking they were just being so nice. 

Something switched in me and God totally changed my heart in that second. Evie told me I was worth so much more, I was undervaluing myself, and that I was so talented. Something switched in me and I believed it. I am talented and I am unique. I am worthy of more. 

I woke up the next morning on such a high! I just felt so happy and so different. That was THE turning point of not just my business, but my life. My heart did a complete 180. 

Lindsey gave me the kindest, yet most aggressive, kick in the butt. 

 

Where can everyone find you?

www.instagram.com/thehardins

www.thehardinsphoto.com

 

Corrie Butler

Corrie Butler attended a past workshop and also attended our Seattle workshop in fall 2019. She’s basically the dopest mom, photographer, and human you’ll ever meet. Evie keeps telling her the minute she pops out a child she is taking her photos because she is so dang talented! She specializes in couples as well as families and is a master of both. She even took some shots of Lindsey and Eloise at the workshop and LAWD they were precious. 

 

Really briefly – introduce yourself for our listeners?

I am a family and wedding photographer based in Boise, Idaho and a mother to two boys!

 

How do you feel like the experience learning from us has impacted your business?

I have been following on Instagram for years but recently pulled the trigger and was an attendee at the Seattle workshop and it was life-changing for me. I feel like before I went into the experience, I had already learned so much through Instagram. I knew that I had to be face to face with Evie and Lindsey. I had been looking for years for a workshop to attend, and there are so many out there, but I knew that if they were willing to selflessly lead on Instagram for free, what would I be getting if I was face to face! As soon as it was announced in the Pacific Northwest, I called my husband and told him I was going to do something crazy. His reaction was, “How much are you going to spend?” 

As far as the experience, my business was honestly was in a great space when I showed up, but something so drastic changed inside of me as a mom when I attended the workshop. My mindset and priorities have shifted entirely. 

 

What does your business look like now?

For me, it was more of a mindset shift of what was I doing as a mother and business owner for my clients, where are my priorities, and how can I better serve my clients and my family. My pricing shifted the moment I got on the airplane. It didn’t take me long to realize that without a doubt I needed to be charging more for the experience I was providing. Not only the one I was currently providing but the one I was planning to provide in the future after gaining all the knowledge from the workshop. That in and of itself was super empowering.  

 

What was your favorite part of learning from us?

My favorite part from learning from you both was you, and who you are. Without a doubt, you lead with such servant hearts and my favorite thing is that you are so unapologetically yourself and I love surrounding myself with mentors, friends, and people like that. 

If you look at all the different workshops out there, I felt like we hit a sweet spot with the intimacy of the group. We had deep and tough conversations and I really valued being in a space that lent itself to that where we could speak so openly about really hard topics. 

I left the workshop with a sense of self that I really had not had before as a business owner. That is just really empowering and speaks volumes to who you are because you provided that space for us as attendees.

 

Is there anything we could have done better?

I am always looking for growth and for an honest opinion. I had to rack my brain to give you anything to have something to move forward with. As far as the workshop goes, hands down there is nothing I would change from the moment that I walked through the door. As soon as I walked in, you knew my name and knew my face. I was sold from that very moment. It was the real deal and you gave a damn about me. 

The days leading up to the workshop, I was packing and I overthink everything and I wasn’t sure what the layout of the days would look like. I wished I knew exactly what we were doing. But, had I just been patient and trusted the system, the moment I arrived I got the schedule. 

 

Where can everyone find you?

www.instagram.com/corriebutlerphotography

www.corriebutlerphotography.com

 

Leanna DiBisceglie

Leanna DiBisceglie did a mentor session with Lindsey, attended our very first workshop in Malibu in 2018, and then second shot with Lindsey + Evie both multiple times. She’s a FIREBALL and her cute New York accent is our favorite! This girl has become a dear friend of ours and literally transformed her business from photographing farm animals with a crop sensor camera to being a FULLY booked wedding photographer turning down tons of inquiries while she also kicks butt as a physician assistant. Shes pretty much wonder woman.

 

Really briefly – introduce yourself for our listeners?

I go by Leanna Alexis Photography and I have a couples and wedding photography business based out of upstate New York. Right now I am working through this business and a full time business in medicine. My heart is on fire for photography and so much of that has come from Evie and Lindsey and where I have been able to take my business through the education and mentorships. 

   

What did your business look like before you invested in education with us? And what does it look like now?

Looking back, I have laughed at what my Instagram feed looked like before my mentorship. If you want to talk about no direction, that is where I was. I knew where I wanted to be deep down, but how I was executing it was far from it. My portfolio consisted of farm animals, babies, and family sessions but that wasn’t what I wanted to do. I wanted to be a couples and wedding photographer. I was going about it in the most roundabout way. I think I was just trying to get as much experience as I could and was shooting anything and everything. 

Going into it, that is where I was. I knew where I wanted to be but had no idea how to get there. I had been following you guys for a while and found Lindsey first. I think Bachelor Nation brought us together. I followed Jade and Tanner and saw Lindsey’s session that she did and it opened my eyes. This was years before I even considered getting into the photography business. Seeing what she did, and growing with Lindsey and following along, when it came time for me to enter into that avenue it was a no brainer. The two of you have been so influential for my growth and business. 

 

What was the decision to do both a mentorship and the workshop in Malibu and what did you learn?

I had kept an eye on Lindsey’s travel schedule and messaged her awhile back and told her that I wanted to learn from her. I saw what she had already done, the heart behind her business, and how she was communicating that with the world and knew that is what I wanted. I wanted to learn from the best of the best. 

I saw Lindsey’s travel list and saw that New York City was the closest you were traveling to me. I made the decision that I was going to go there and make the weekend drive up there and it was the best decision ever. At our session, we went over everything from start to finish building a business, and Lindsey came alongside me and looked at my portfolio. Lindsey was so honest and abrupt of pointing out where I was not thriving and why it was not consistent with where I wanted to be. It was such an encouragement from start to finish. We photographed a couple side by side and it was so eye-opening to see the way Lindsey was able to direct them and infuse her personality into everything she was doing. We edited a little bit together and had the time to chat one on one. I will always look back on that experience with heart eyes because it lit a fire under me. 

From the time I left New York City, I was focused solely on weddings and couples and where I wanted to be. I did styled shoots and some second shooting and that was when I was able to meet Evie. I was able to second shoot with Evie quite a bit. This was a completely different environment. Being able to shoot by Evie’s side and see how much she gives to her couples was incredible. Both Evie and Lindsey are so genuine and give their heart and soul to everyone that they work with. It is so plain to see and has been so inspirational to me of how I want to conduct business. To this day I try to emulate Lindsey and Evie and that is what I want to put out into the world.

I then started booking my own weddings and used the strategies that Evie and Lindsey gave me and it skyrocketed pretty quickly. 

 

What does your business look like now?

It is phenomenal and I could not have imagined looking back then that I would be in this place now. I am booking years in advance and am fully booked for 2020 and looking forward to 2021. I could never have anticipated that. It came so fluidly and came when I learned to stop taking the mindset that it’s not for me. It’s completely from the aspect of service, which is ingrained into me. It’s about focusing on service.  

The Heart Workshop was a pivotal moment for me in my business. It was one of the most incredible weeks of my life. If you asked what the best week of my life was, it would be The Heart Workshop. 

 

What was your favorite part of learning from us?

Honestly, it is just seeing your hearts behind what you do. You consistently exceed expectations. Seeing you both in individual settings and group settings, I have seen how you consistently exceed expectations. I always come out so overwhelmed and on fire for what we do. It speaks so much to the two of you and your hearts. You pour everything into your businesses and your students. It pours over into everything else. I’ve seen it time and time again and that is why I keep coming back. 

Are we as crazy in person as we are online?

I honestly can say that what you see is what you get. If anything, you would think they would be more dialed back in person, but they aren’t. 

 

Where can everyone find you?

www.instagram.com/leannaaalexis

https://leannaalexis.com/

 

The Heart University Course

www.theheartuniversity.com/photography