I know I’ve said this before, but I’m overwhelmed at how wonderful the photography community is! On Monday I’ll be flying out to Chicago to speak at Pictage’s wonderful bi-annual conference. Brian and I always love these events b/c it feels like a big reunion of old friends and than also meeting so many new ones.

With our crazy month of April, I forgot to sign up to be a mentor for the conference. So I decided to bid, and I found out today that I won a session with Robert Evans. His most well known clients have been Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston’s wedding, and he was also the photographer for Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes’ wedding.

photo by: www.robertevansstudios.com

Robert and I had a great conversation on the phone today, and I’m excited to chat more with him when we’re in Chicago. He is the nicest guy with such good stuff to share. And his work is beautiful!

Here’s some other fun news! My speaking session is on Tuesday at 1:30pm, and my talk is “Associate Your Way to the Top“. I’ll be sharing all the things we’ve learned on how to grow your business with associate photographers and also the joy of working with a creative team.

But the fun news is that for the first time, I’m bringing our new “Associate 101 Kits”!! Every thing you need to know about hiring associates from legal contracts to billing management is in this kit! It’ll include; our Independent Contractor Agreement, our Client Contracts we give to clients, our Pricing and Packages, Client Questionnaires, and 2 automated spreadsheet downloads that my amazing Brian created.

One download is called “Associate Management”. It is an AWESOME automated spreadsheet for those of you who want help in structuring out your payments and what percentages to give associate photographers. You’ll freak out when you see how easy this tool makes your life!

The other download is called “Workflow”, and you can purchase that now in our e-store. Hundreds of photographers all over the world have purchased it already. The positive feedback is overwhelming. What can I say, my husband is AMAZING! 🙂

So I thought I’d put this all into one kit and have it available to purchase for those you who are wanting to expand your studios. I only made 22 kits. We’ll sell them for $99, and if I have any left and you didn’t make it to Chicago, shoot me an email (mera@fioria.us) and let me know if you’d like to be on the list to get one!

But what’s more exciting than all this?! Blazey is turning three on Saturday! Spiderman birthday, here we come!!! 🙂