Business Coaching Session with Katelyn James | Personal

The nervous excitement started as soon as I set my alarm for 11:45pm. You see, I finally saved up enough to book my coaching session with Katelyn James and the sessions "go live" at midnight upon release of her monthly newsletter. I sat with Granger in the hall, lit only by the light of my laptop, pressing refresh until the moment it arrived in my inbox. My fingers couldn't move fast enough as I filled out the booking form and then finally pressed, 'Submit'. A few minutes later the confirmation e-mail arrived and I was booked. I WAS BOOKED!! Granger didn't understand what all the fuss was about, but I knew.... I knew that this was a huge turning point for my business. In two short months I would be learning from someone I followed since 2010, before I even dreamed about getting into photography. I started my Google Doc that night with a list of questions and continued adding to it for the next two months...

Fast forward to September; that nervous excitement was still lingering as I made the drive to her home. I was fortunate that I already had the opportunity to work with Katelyn; she shot our second anniversary as well as had Rob and I 'model' (I use that term loosely!!) for a styled shoot at her Workshop Experience. She, Michael, and Bokeh welcomed me into their home once again as if I was family instead of just a client. We caught up for a minute and then dove in immediately, covering everything from shooting and editing to blogging and client experiences. I'm not sure if it was the excitement or just the length of my list, but before I knew it we were wrapping up to head to lunch. My head was spinning -- in the best way possible!! I was bursting with new ideas and techniques that I wanted to try out immediately.

After lunch I had one last treat -- headshots in the infamous parking garage. You laugh, but that light is legendary! This was actually one of the parts of the experience that I was most excited for. As an introvert, I am still working on taking charge during posing (just another area where Katelyn is a rock star!). I listened as she effortlessly flowed from one core pose to the next, all while making me feel as if *I* was the one who was the pro :) We packed up and headed back to the car and my heart sank a little bit -- I definitely was not ready for the day to end! But as I drove home, that nervous excitement slowly crept back in, this time for the direction that I could see my business heading over the coming years. I cannot wait to implement the ideas we brainstormed and revamp an amazing client experience. 

Katelyn, "thank you" simply does not suffice; you are such an inspiration and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to learn from you. You know how occasionally when a person makes it "big", they lose all the great qualities that got them there in the first place? I can honestly say Katelyn is at the complete opposite end of the spectrum; she is one of the most genuinely kind people I have ever met -- she cares about YOU and your business and wants to see you succeed. It's kind of amazing and why it makes me so happy to be part of this industry, having the pleasure of working with people like her!

Here are some of my headshots from Katelyn and some behind the scenes pics :)