What if the biggest thing holding your photography business back isn’t your camera, your marketing, or even your strategy?
What if it’s something happening beneath the surface – in the way you think, the stories you tell yourself, and the things you choose to focus on?
In a recent episode of Beyond the Camera, we sat down with our good friend, mentor, and personal development coach Brad Bizjack to talk about the connection between mindset and business growth. In this blog, we’re sharing some of the lessons that have challenged us, helped us grow, and changed the way we show up – not just as photographers and business owners, but as spouses, parents, friends, and people.
If you’ve ever felt stuck in a cycle of overthinking, comparing your work to someone else’s, hesitating to raise your prices, or wondering why you keep doing things you know aren’t helping your business, this conversation is for you. Brad helps us unpack why our brains resist uncertainty, how our focus influences our emotions and decisions, and why having the right strategy isn’t always enough. So grab a notebook, get comfortable, and let’s look beyond the camera at what might really be driving your business.
1. Your Mindset Is the Software Running Your Business
When we talk about mindset, it can be easy to picture motivational quotes, positive thinking, and telling ourselves everything is fine – even when it clearly isn’t. Jon even admits that he’s had conversations with Brad where he’s thought, “I can’t just rainbows and butterflies myself out of this situation.”
And honestly, we get it. Running a photography business comes with real challenges. There are bills to pay, clients to serve, decisions to make, and a whole lot of uncertainty along the way. Pretending those challenges don’t exist isn’t going to make them disappear.
But mindset goes much deeper than simply being positive. It’s the combination of our underlying beliefs, thought patterns, emotions, values, and identities that influence how we behave, often without us realizing it.
Think of your mind like the software on your computer. You can have a great computer with all the right equipment, but if the software needs an update, the programs you rely on might not work the way they should. You can get frustrated with the computer, blame the program, or keep trying the same thing – but sometimes the real issue is happening behind the scenes.
The same thing can happen in business.
You can have a great camera, a solid marketing plan, and a strategy you know works. But if you’re operating from the belief that you’re not good enough, that nobody will pay your prices, or that putting yourself out there will lead to rejection, those beliefs can influence how you use every tool you have.
But repeating patterns you know aren’t serving you doesn’t mean you’re simply broken. Our brains are wired to seek safety and certainty. They tend to favor what feels familiar, even when that familiar pattern is frustrating or painful.
That means growth can feel uncomfortable – not because you’re incapable of it, but because it asks you to step into something unfamiliar.
Think about what that might look like as a photographer:
- You know you need to raise your prices, but you keep putting it off because you’re afraid clients will leave.
- You want to share more of your work, but you worry about what other photographers will think.
- You know you need to market consistently, but you find yourself busy with less important tasks instead.
- You want to grow your business, but when a new opportunity comes along, your first instinct is to list all the reasons it might fail.
Recognizing these patterns is the first step toward changing them. Instead of beating yourself up for getting stuck, get curious about what might be happening underneath the behavior.
The question isn’t just, “What do I need to do differently?” It’s also, “What am I believing that’s influencing what I do?”
That’s where change can begin.
2. Check Your Focus: Fear, Comparison, and the Stories We Tell Ourselves
One of the biggest themes in our conversation with Brad is the power of focus. What we focus on influences how we feel, how we interpret situations, and what actions we take next.
And as photographers, we have plenty of opportunities to focus on the wrong things (pun intended)!
It’s easy to scroll through social media and notice another photographer booking dream clients, buying new gear, traveling for sessions, or showing off beautiful BTS. Before we know it, we’re comparing our behind-the-scenes reality with someone else’s highlight reel.
We start wondering whether we need a better camera, another course, a new website, or a completely different business model. Sometimes those things really are useful. But sometimes we’re looking for an external solution to an internal struggle.
We have look at what’s really driving our decisions. Are we investing in a tool because it genuinely supports our goals, or because we hope it will finally make us feel good enough? Are we taking action because we’re excited about the possibilities, or because we’re afraid of falling behind?
Those questions matter because two people can take the same action for very different reasons – and the emotions behind those actions can change how they experience the process.
Shift from fear to possibility
Fear often gets loud when we’re approaching something unfamiliar. Raising your prices, showing up more visibly, pursuing bigger clients, or making a major business decision can bring up thoughts like:
- “What if this doesn’t work?”
- “What if people think I’m not qualified?”
- “What if I lose clients?”
- “What if I try and fail?”
The problem isn’t necessarily that these thoughts show up. The problem is when we treat them as the only possible truth.
Jon shared an analogy that has helped him when his inner critic takes over: imagine your mind as a boardroom. There’s one particularly loud person who grabs the microphone and spends the entire meeting telling you that you’re going to fail, you’re not enough, or nothing is going to work.
If that person gets all the microphone time, it’s easy to believe there are no other options.
But what happens when you acknowledge that voice and invite someone else to speak?
You might ask yourself:
- What else could be true about this situation?
- What evidence do I have that I can figure this out?
- What possibilities am I overlooking?
- What would I do next if fear weren’t making the decision for me?
We love this strategy because it doesn’t require you to pretend your fears don’t exist. You can recognize the fear without handing it control of the entire meeting.
And the more you practice looking for other perspectives, the easier it can become to see possibilities that fear was keeping out of view.
Practice gratitude and redirect your attention
Another powerful part of this conversation is learning to notice where your attention goes. When we constantly focus on what’s missing, what’s going wrong, or how far we have to go, it becomes difficult to appreciate the progress we’ve already made.
Gratitude gives us a way to redirect that attention.
This doesn’t mean ignoring the areas of your business that need improvement. It means allowing yourself to recognize what’s working while you continue building what’s next.
Maybe you’re not booking the number of sessions you want yet, but you’re serving your current clients well. Maybe your business isn’t where you pictured it would be, but you’ve developed skills and confidence that you didn’t have a year ago. Maybe you’re still figuring out your next step, but you have the opportunity to learn and grow along the way.
You can acknowledge the challenge and still choose to look for what’s possible.
Try this: The next time you catch yourself spiraling into comparison or fear, pause and ask, “What am I focusing on right now, and is that focus helping me take the next step?” Then deliberately identify one thing you’re grateful for and one action you can take.
You don’t have to solve your entire business today. You just need to choose your next step from a more helpful place.
3. The Three Keys to Success: Energy, Beliefs, and Strategy
As business owners, we naturally spend a lot of time looking for better strategies. We want to know how to market more effectively, book more clients, improve our sales process, and build a business that supports the life we want.
And strategy matters. We’re not saying you can skip the practical work and hope everything magically falls into place.
But Brad offered a helpful way to think about success: imagine a combination lock with three dials. The combination requires energy, beliefs, and strategy.
If one of those dials is off, the lock won’t open as smoothly as it could.
Energy: How are you showing up?
The emotional and mental state you bring into your work influences how you approach it. When you’re overwhelmed, discouraged, or constantly anxious, even simple tasks can feel heavier than they need to.
When you’re more grounded, grateful, and connected to the reason you’re doing the work, you may find it easier to approach challenges with creativity and resilience.
This is one reason it’s worth paying attention to how you feel before making an important decision. You don’t have to wait until you feel perfect to take action, but you can learn to recognize when your current state is influencing your perspective.
Beliefs: What do you think is possible?
Your beliefs shape the way you interpret opportunities and challenges.
If you believe you’re not talented enough to attract your ideal clients, you may hesitate to put your work in front of them. If you believe that raising your prices will automatically drive everyone away, you may never test whether your services are worth more. If you believe you’re capable of learning and adapting, you may be more willing to take the next step even when you don’t have every answer.
The goal isn’t to convince yourself that everything will be easy. It’s to examine whether your beliefs are helping you move toward the business you want to build.
Strategy: What are you actually going to do?
Of course, you still need a plan. You need to understand your audience, communicate the value of your work, market your services, serve your clients, and make sound business decisions.
But a great strategy can be difficult to execute when your energy is depleted or your beliefs keep pulling you in the opposite direction.
That’s why it’s worth looking at all three dials instead of assuming you just need another tactic.
If you’ve been working hard but feel like you’re constantly taking two steps forward and three steps back, consider asking yourself:
- Energy: What emotional state am I bringing into my business today?
- Beliefs: What am I assuming about myself, my clients, or my future?
- Strategy: What practical action would move me closer to my goal?
These questions can help you identify where you need support. Maybe you need a clearer plan. Maybe you need to challenge a belief that’s making you hesitate. Or maybe you need to take a step back, reconnect with what matters, and stop expecting yourself to build a business from a place of constant exhaustion.
And remember, this isn’t just about your photography business. The way you show up as a business owner also affects your relationships, your family, and the people you encounter every day. When we work on how we think and respond, the benefits can reach far beyond our work.
That’s one of the biggest reasons we wanted to have this conversation. Building a successful business is important, but so is becoming the person you want to be along the way.
Key Takeaways: Put These Mindset Shifts Into Practice
If there’s one thing we hope you take away from this conversation with Brad, it’s that your next breakthrough might not start with a new camera, another course, or a more complicated strategy. It might start with paying attention to what’s happening beneath the surface.
Here are a few practical ways to put these lessons into action:
- Get curious instead of critical. When you notice yourself repeating a pattern that isn’t helping you, ask what belief or fear might be influencing your behavior rather than labeling yourself a failure.
- Notice where your focus goes. Pay attention to whether you’re concentrating on problems, comparison, and worst-case scenarios—or on opportunities, gratitude, and the next step you can take.
- Pass the mic. When your inner critic gets loud, acknowledge what it’s saying and deliberately consider other perspectives. One negative thought doesn’t have to be the only voice in the room.
- Check your three dials. Look at your energy, beliefs, and strategy. Identify which one needs attention before assuming you simply need to work harder.
- Take action before you feel completely ready. Growth often involves uncertainty. You don’t need to know every step in advance to take the next one.
- Remember that knowledge becomes powerful when you apply it. Instead of collecting another idea and moving on, choose one lesson from this episode and practice it in your daily life.
Want to Dive into the Full Conversation?
Listen to our first ever guest episode on the podcast: Episode 8 – Check Your Focus: What’s Really Driving Your Business? with Brad Bizjack
And for more honest conversations about faith, photography, business, purpose, and building a life that’s bigger than your portfolio, subscribe to Beyond the Camera.
Ready to Go Beyond the Camera?
If this conversation has you thinking differently about your business, we’d love for you to keep the momentum going. Brad also shared his Success Accelerator, a free five-day experience designed to help you identify the goals you want to pursue, uncover the limitations holding you back, and start putting new ways of thinking into practice. In the episode, Brad said the challenge was scheduled to begin October 19; check his current information for the latest details.
Comments +