Slowing down isn’t always easy—but for Tiffany Crenshaw, it’s become essential. As a photographer, mentor, and mom of four, Tiffany has learned how to build a business that aligns with her life instead of competing with it.
In this episode, she shares how her priorities have shifted in recent years and how she’s helping other women create businesses that actually support their families. Tiffany opens up about building sustainability into her schedule, why pricing is about more than numbers, and how she’s navigating slower seasons and a changing economy with creativity and care.
She also shares practical tools for automating and eliminating tasks, the power of community, and how she uses simple, personal marketing strategies that go far beyond Instagram.
Let’s dive in!
What’s in this episode:
- [01:51] How Tiffany’s life and priorities have been shifting lately
- [03:51] How Tiffany finds ways to slow down and manage her life and business without regret
- [09:52] Tiffany’s advice for time and schedule management
- [11:34] How Tiffany thinks about navigating the difficulty in the current economic landscape
- [18:51] How Tiffany helps other women find and create their own communities
- [21:03] Tiffany’s thoughts on marketing without solely relying on Instagram
- [25:02] Tiffany’s lightning round
If you’ve ever felt like hustle culture doesn’t work for your life—or your values—this conversation with Tiffany Crenshaw will feel like a breath of fresh air.
SUBSCRIBE: Apple Podcasts | Spotify
Meet Tiffany Crenshaw
Tiffany Crenshaw is a lifestyle newborn and family photographer as well as a business mentor for women in the industry. Inspiring others to create art that moves them and translating that into businesses that support their families is her speciality. She lives with her husband and three kiddos in Huntsville Alabama where they spend their time homeschooling their kids and genuinely just loving and pouring into people.
She’s been featured in PPAs professional magazine as well as named one of Huntsville’s Top 40 under 40.
Connect with Tiffany
Did this episode with Tiffany Crenshaw make you rethink the “busyness” in your business? Check out this episode Take Your Shot: How to Find Your Unique Photography Voice with Valerie Eidson that shares how another photographer started their career!
Transcript
[00:00:00] Tiffany: If women can start with mindset, it’s so important because a lot of the women I mentor with, it’s okay, I don’t wanna work so much and I want to stay, help support my family, but no, I can’t charge that. You know, and it’s, it’s getting through that block of there’s only one option here. It’s either be burned out and overworked, or it’s choosing to.
[00:00:28] Raise your prices and, and of course, service needs to follow, but being priced in a way that you’re not burned out and that you are able to support those goals that you have. I.
[00:00:43] Lisa: Hey, friend. Welcome to the Art and Soul Show. I’m your host, Lisa DiGeso, a mom, a photographer and entrepreneur. Tune in here for Pep Talks, conversations and advice on photography, creativity, mindset, business, life, and that messy in between. This is the place where you can [00:01:00] go when you need a boost of encouragement, a kick in the pants, and inspiration to pick up your camera.
[00:01:05] This is the Art and Soul show. Hello, my beautiful friends. Welcome back to the show. Today I am hanging out with my beautiful friend Tiffany Crenshaw, a lifestyle newborn and family photographer based in Huntsville, Alabama, and a heartfelt mentor for women in the photography world. Tiffany is all about helping mamas manage their households while mastering their businesses.
[00:01:29] Through her work at Animal House Photography, she brings authentic storytelling into. Every session and through her mentorship, she empowers photographers to build businesses that not only serve their clients, but also deeply supports their families. She’s been featured in PPAs Magazine named one of Hunts Seal’s, top 40 under 40, and is an open book when it comes to creating a sustainable, soulful business.
[00:01:51] I cannot wait to dive into what’s been lighting her up lately. Welcome. Hello. Hello. So welcome back. So since our [00:02:00] last conversation, what’s been shifting or evolving for you creatively or personally?
[00:02:06] Tiffany: Okay, so since the last time we were together, I had a whole other baby. So that has definitely shifted things in the business world.
[00:02:18] Yep. So, you know, ’cause I think last time we were together it was maybe 2022. Yeah,
[00:02:24] Lisa: I think so. Yeah. I do have a whole
[00:02:26] Tiffany: nother human, a whole nother human, which congratulations, you know? Of course. As you know. Yeah. Really just every time we have another life change, we readjust and we have to figure out what does business look like now?
[00:02:38] So that’s the season we’re in right
[00:02:40] Lisa: now. I love it. I love it. Well, you’ve got a beautiful little 20 month old and we were talking just before we started and just about how life throws us curve balls, and even when running a business, it is. It’s a lot sometimes. So you’ve really been embracing the mantra, helping mamas manage their household and manage their business.
[00:02:59] So what [00:03:00] does that look like in action for you?
[00:03:02] Tiffany: Yes, so that little mantra came to me about six months ago, and it really has been kind of at the backbone of me building my education and really helping women because I know that it’s so hard. To figure out how to balance the two things. Yeah. And really for me, and I know for a lot of women, our families are what is priority, or at least we want them to be.
[00:03:28] And so helping women figure out, okay, how do I build this business that helps me be present in the way that I want to for my family, um, is what I really have been passionate about lately. I love that.
[00:03:41] Lisa: I love that I made so many mistakes. And it’s funny ’cause hindsight’s always 2020. Like I, I didn’t know I was only gonna have one, one child, and I didn’t realize how fast it was going to go.
[00:03:51] And in the beginning, like I was working weekends, I was working every evening. I wasn’t like my husband was doing bedtime and [00:04:00] books and mm-hmm. While I really appreciate the help, I do feel like I should have slowed down and enjoyed it more So in that, how do you help women find that and instead of like looking back with regret?
[00:04:18] Tiffany: Yeah, so I think. For us, a lot of us, it starts with really remembering our why. Yeah. And I think in the busyness of life, we can get sidetracked and we can start chasing certain goals, maybe financial or status or different things, and we lose sight of that. You know, why did we start this? Yes. To begin with.
[00:04:39] So helping women just go back to that, and even if it’s on a sticky note or somewhere where you can really sit back and think, okay. Why am I doing this and is what I’m doing right now aligning with what I said my priority is? So I think it starts a lot there with that, that whole mindset. And then I think [00:05:00] also just really being able to define what success looks like for you in whatever season you’re in.
[00:05:06] Yeah. Because it’s not gonna look the same. Mm-hmm. For everybody right now, success for me looks a lot different than maybe it did even. 20 months ago, or you know, two or three years ago, or what it will look like in five years from now. So just staying true to what that is, I think is kind of like at the base Yeah.
[00:05:26] Of our businesses.
[00:05:27] Lisa: A hundred percent. And even like looking at the container of how much time we actually have to allocate to clients, to family, to having a life too. Because I think, you know, that’s one thing that I’ve really been discovering is I am shooting way less than I used to in this phase. I’m really trying to be a way more hands-on mom with my 15-year-old at this point.
[00:05:48] Like I’m doing all the shuttling. I’m trying to make him a home cook meals. I’m trying to be there every night. And it’s interesting because I don’t know what to do with myself in my [00:06:00] downtime, and so I’m kind of rediscovering that for photography and business doesn’t have to be everything because it has been all encompassing for the last, you know, 15 years for me.
[00:06:12] So it’s a new phase. Yeah.
[00:06:14] Tiffany: Yes, absolutely. And I love that you said keeping things kind of in buckets and figuring out like what do those buckets of time yeah. Look like? I think following mindset, the next thing from that is really figuring out, okay, how much time do I want to be away? Yeah. And then how do I manage that in terms of even like with pricing?
[00:06:38] Mm-hmm. So that’s a big mm. That’s a huge chunk of it is it really comes down to numbers and your time has to be valuable. Yeah. When you’re a mom or a, you know, business owner that’s also really wanting to be present at home. Yeah,
[00:06:54] Lisa: a hundred percent. And even like I’ve had to make some adjusting, like before I would.[00:07:00]
[00:07:00] I would overdeliver, and it’s always been my thing. Like I promised 25 and I would give 125 and the amount of time it takes me to edit because I’m not just a preset girl. I am a very fine arty hand edit and I take a great deal of time per image. So I was spending so much time editing my sessions that I was like not even making minimum wage.
[00:07:25] Yeah. And I think that’s like, that’s something that we don’t really talk a lot about is that we kind of forget how much our time is worth and how much we really have to, while we think we’re being generous, we’re actually stealing time from our families. Absolutely. And that it’s, it’s the most expensive time.
[00:07:42] Right, right. Yeah. So that’s been, that’s been a hard lesson.
[00:07:48] Tiffany: And I think it’s hard for women to put value on their Yes. Work. Yes. Like, I don’t know why, why we feel that way, but we feel, I think it’s because we’re empaths. Most of us [00:08:00] by nature are very empathetic creatures. And so we feel deeply like, and we really put ourselves in the position of clients, which in some ways is a blessing and it’s why our clients love us, but in some ways it can also be our downfall.
[00:08:16] Yeah. Because instead of leading with our family and our priorities, we’re leading with what’s gonna make somebody else feel good. Mm-hmm. Right. Happy.
[00:08:28] Lisa: Yeah. Like, and, and like tapping into that like the good girl, like we’re just like so programmed to be liked and to be the good girl that sometimes we step on our own boundaries in order to be
[00:08:41] right.
[00:08:41] Lisa: Right.
[00:08:42] Tiffany: Right. Yeah. And I think that’s really, if, if women can start with mindset, it’s so important. Yeah. Because a lot of the women I mentor with, it’s okay, I don’t wanna work so much and I want to stay, help support my family, but no, [00:09:00] I can’t charge that. Yeah, exactly. You know, and it’s, it’s getting through that block of there’s only one option here.
[00:09:06] It’s either be burned out and overworked. Or Yeah, it’s choosing to raise your prices and, and of course, service needs to follow, but being priced in a way that you’re not burned out and that you are able to support those goals that you have.
[00:09:24] Lisa: Yeah, I agree completely. And, and I think you, you hit the nail on the head is making sure it’s sustainable because that’s the one thing is that.
[00:09:32] I the way, the way I was running my business years ago, it was not sustainable. And I ended up with like some serious health challenges because I was so drastically burned out. And I think that that’s one thing that when we push ourselves so hard, we actually don’t realize until we’re like almost the past of past breaking point that we’ve just taken on too much.
[00:09:52] Right. So what advice do you have for time management or schedule management? So women aren’t taking on too [00:10:00] much?
[00:10:00] Tiffany: Yeah, so I think starting with. Figuring out what are all the tasks in your business. So doing an, I like to call it a task audit or time audit, and really writing down, like brain dumping everything that you have to do in order to run your business.
[00:10:17] You know, emails, orders, client meetings is every, even the things that feel small because they still add up, right? Mm-hmm. They still, they still take time. So writing all of those things down. And then I like to color code them three ways. Things that I can automate, things that I can delegate, and things that I can eliminate.
[00:10:37] Mm. So you, you know, we’d be surprised. There’s a lot of things that we actually don’t really need to be doing, but we’re doing them. And so figuring out if you’re in a season where your time is limited, is there anything that you can put on pause for now that maybe you don’t have to attend to right now?
[00:10:55] So I think that’s helpful. And then of course, automating things. What things [00:11:00] can be done. On repeat or even, I love batching. I know not everyone is huge into batching, but it has saved me so much time and mental space when I can focus and get it and get, you know, all of my blogs for the quarter done. Yep.
[00:11:16] It’s a lot upfront, but then for three months, I am free to not have to think about yeah, what I’m going to write. And that helps me to have that presence and that time with my family. Or to go to some of those other tasks that are a little more involved, you know? Yeah.
[00:11:33] Lisa: Yeah. I love that. I love that.
[00:11:34] Eliminate delegate and, sorry, eliminate Delegate. Automate and Automate. I love that. Yes. I think that is so, that’s brilliant. I love that. That’s gonna be a mantra. I love that. Love, love, love. Okay, so right now a lot of photographers are seeing fewer inquiries and slower bookings. So what advice do you have to someone maybe feeling a little discouraged in this current economy?
[00:11:56] Tiffany: Yes. And you know, I know that not [00:12:00] everybody will be honest or vulnerable about that, uh, because I don’t know, we’re programmed to appear busy all the time. Mm-hmm. Or, you know, to say, oh no, it’s, you know, there’s nothing going on with the economy. It’s, it’s fine. Yeah. But the truth is that’s just not true.
[00:12:18] So it doesn’t mean we can be successful right now, but there is a lot going on in our world. And so I find that during these times really leaning into your, your in-person networking, finding ways to really connect face-to-face with people is going to go a lot further than even just your digital presence.
[00:12:41] Yeah. People are craving connection and so if you can actually get out, attend some different events, find, find other small businesses that. Compliment well with your business and partner with them and, and see about different creative ways that you can work with them to [00:13:00] be introduced to a new group of clientele even.
[00:13:02] Mm-hmm. So I think that’s really smart right now, going back through and looking at your last year or two at people that have booked sessions and that have been great to work with and actually making a list of, you know, maybe your 10, 10 best clients that you’ve had in the last two years. And making personal phone calls, like this is a time where you’re gonna have to really get on the phone and say, Hey, you know, I haven’t seen you guys in a while.
[00:13:28] I loved taking pictures. Are you guys, you know, are you interested in having enough sessions? Sometimes it just people, their minds are elsewhere. Yeah. So if you can just be really personal and intentional, I think that’s going to really go a long way in helping. Increase some of those bookings during this time where it’s a little bit more quiet.
[00:13:48] Lisa: Yeah, I love that. I think that’s really, really great advice because we don’t often hear like get out and network ’cause we’re always behind your computers. We’re always, you know, we’re always in front of our screens or behind the camera. Right. You know? Right. It’s funny [00:14:00] ’cause recently I just would blossoms recently, apple like cherry blossoms and apricot blossoms just were on the trees and I didn’t have a session booked during that time.
[00:14:08] So I ended up messaging one of my. Wonderful clients who’s been coming to me for years and said, you know what? Why don’t you grab your daughter and we’ll just go out and take some pictures with the Blossoms. ’cause I know you love that. Well, because I did that and because I posted and she posted, I got four inquiries just from that.
[00:14:25] And only really took me like, I think I did 10 photos for the whole thing. Just for something to do something fun. I wanted to do something creative for me and something fun for her just to like say thank you. And it always sort of comes back, you know, like. So I always just, that’s sort of my thing is like even though things may be a little bit slow or a little bit tough, do something good.
[00:14:47] Put it out there. Show up on social media. Right. And hopefully things will come back to you too.
[00:14:51] Tiffany: Right. Yeah. I love that. And it reminds me, even when you were talking about calling her up and saying like, let’s go shoot. I think people [00:15:00] are also because of how busy the world is, how much is going on, people are also just a little bit overwhelmed by Yeah.
[00:15:08] Information. Right. And so a couple of months ago I was releasing some headshot and branding minis, and I have a regular client that I knew had mentioned before that she wanted some new headshots and she hadn’t responded to, I mean, I had sent probably seven emails about these headshot minis. And so I thought, you know what?
[00:15:28] I’m just gonna send her a text. Yep. I send her a text and she says, oh, are you doing headshot minis? And I’m like. I mean, I’ve, yes, I’ve been saying that for like Right. For so many and she didn’t, she hadn’t seen any of them. Yeah. Within 30 minutes, not only had she booked, she had two coworkers that signed up for these, and it was just a simple, I haven’t seen, so we may feel like we are just like on, like a broken record.
[00:15:56] Yeah. But people are busy and they’re not reading their [00:16:00] emails even, or looking on social media. They’re just a little bit distracted. Yeah. So I think not being afraid to step outta the box a little bit and send that little personal message or that email, that one-on-one email or, or pick up the phone and just, yeah, and just call because you never know.
[00:16:16] Who just hasn’t had the opportunity to see what you are offering?
[00:16:20] Lisa: A hundred percent. Recently, I’ve really noticed with deliverability, with, uh, I’m, I’m a Gmail user, but with my deliverability, a lot of times clients actually may not get the response to the inquiry. So what I’ve recently done is I add in their phone number.
[00:16:35] When I do the inquiry booking, and so I always try to send them a little text too that says, Hey, this is Lisa from Milk and Honey. Just making sure that you got my response to your inquiry. That’s it. Sometimes we respond, sometimes they don’t, and that’s okay too. But at least I feel like I am crossing all the, the spots instead of just assuming when I don’t hear back that I’m either too expensive or they don’t like my work or something.
[00:16:59] There’s just [00:17:00] something some reason. Right, right. Because we always assume it’s something that we’ve done wrong or they don’t like us, or like we have this weird perception where it may not even be true at all. Like we’re just telling ourselves these silly stories. Absolutely. Right. Yeah. So that’s my little tip is if you don’t have text or anything on another way to reach people.
[00:17:18] On your inquiry form, add it in there if you
[00:17:20] Tiffany: can. Yes. And even taking a step further than that. Yeah. Something fun that I’ve been enjoying lately has been making little videos. Oh, and there, so these videos are not polished? Yeah, they are not it. It might be when makeup is on, it might be when there is no makeup and they’re really just short little videos that I’ll either send in their dms on Instagram if they’ve reached out there or if they’ve sent me their phone number.
[00:17:47] And it’s just, Hey, this is Tiffany. Thank you so much for inquiring. I’m gonna get back to you really soon, but I just wanted you to know, so excited to talk about your family session. I think it’s gonna be amazing. I love that. And so just that like [00:18:00] personal video connection, people feel like, oh, like this is a real mom, this is a person.
[00:18:06] Like, you know, sometimes Zeke’s in my lap, sometimes he is not. Like, I’m very honest with. My business is centered around my family, so I don’t try to hide that. Of course, professional, like I’m, I’ll be professional and I’m, when it’s time to shoot. I’m all yours. I’m there, but I want people to know that primarily I am a mom and that’s also what helps me to shoot in the way that I do.
[00:18:29] Yeah. You know? And so just showing up and doing those little extra touches that maybe the person next to you isn’t doing Yeah. Can really just, if they’re deciding between price and they have all these tabs of prices pulled up, but then they are like, oh, I talked to her. They might make that, it might just make it that much easier for them to say yes to you.
[00:18:50] Mm-hmm. Yeah. I love that.
[00:18:51] Lisa: That’s really, that’s a really good tip. I’m gonna try that one. That’s good like that. So let’s talk a little bit about community. How important has community been to [00:19:00] your growth and how do you help other women find their communities or create their own?
[00:19:05] Tiffany: Yes. Community has been crucial, especially as I’ve been just really learning and leaning into what does this season look like, and with my photography, with coaching and all of those things, and surrounding myself with people that can.
[00:19:20] Encourage me inside the photography industry, also outside of the photography industry. Mm-hmm. I just got back from a conference called Creative Educator and it’s, it’s a conference of all different small business owners, which was beautiful because they have such different perspectives. A lot of them have never held a camera and so, but there’s so much that transcends Right.
[00:19:40] In any industry, and so prioritizing. Those face-to-face when you can, or even finding an accountability buddy mm-hmm. That you can check in with on Zoom, like once a month or once, you know, however often you can, where maybe you guys are just coworking, maybe you’re turning the camera off and you’re checking in [00:20:00] every like once an hour, once a 30 minutes.
[00:20:02] But just having someone. There so that you’re not just alone and you feel like, oh, I have coworkers. Yeah. You know, it’s really given coworkers back to this industry, I think. I
[00:20:13] Lisa: love that. And you know, I don’t know about you. I have a DHD and a thing with A DHD people is a lot of the time, we work a lot better when there is someone else around.
[00:20:22] And it’s called, I think it’s called body doubling. And I find like when my business partner’s here, we have some staff here like I. I’m so much more productive because it’s almost like I can feel everybody else working and I’m like, okay, I gotta work too. Like,
[00:20:36] Tiffany: like better work. Gotta get stuff done, right?
[00:20:38] Absolutely right. So it’s just interesting. Well, you get less distracted too, I think, because you know somebody, you know that you’ve told them, this is what I’m working on for the next 30 minutes, as opposed to when it’s just you. And you’re like, you know what, I’m gonna go run a load, or I’m gonna go and scroll on Facebook for 30 minutes for no reason.
[00:20:57] Yeah. Susan
[00:20:57] Lisa: cracker time. Right,
[00:20:59] Tiffany: right, [00:21:00] right. You know, so it’s, it is, it’s really nice. Yeah.
[00:21:03] Lisa: Love that. Love that. Alright, so what is your favorite way to help photographers rethink their marketing without relying on Instagram?
[00:21:13] Tiffany: Yeah, so I think helping them, like we kind of talked about, really, really find some other creative and person ways.
[00:21:20] To market. Email lists are huge. I’ve been a huge fan of the email list in the last year, and because your email list are people that want to be there, you know, they, they’re clients that want to be there, it’s yours. So it’s not dependent on a platform or an algorithm. And so that’s super important because as we saw, like.
[00:21:43] I mean, TikTok only went away for like five hours, but I know there that’s so silly. But there was such panic, right? Because some people that was their whole Yeah. Business, right? I know. And so, you know, you own an email list like you can, it’s yours to nurture. And so thinking of [00:22:00] that as, as you’re like side by side conversation with people as opposed to where social is kind of shouting to everybody and maybe only 1% hear it.
[00:22:11] Yeah. Here you’re, you’re sending information just to the people that want to listen. Mm-hmm. And that are engaged with you. And so I think that’s a big one with marketing. I think really spoiling the clients that you have is some of your best marketing, you know, checking in with them. It’s been a, Hey, it’s coming up on your baby’s one year birthday, happy birthday.
[00:22:32] How’s this first year been, you know, following up and doing little things. I just had like a client appreciation little. Dinner for some for my membership clients. And I surprised them with a print, like for each one of them, um, like an 11 by 14 for each one of them. And it was just beautiful. Like they were able to come meet other families.
[00:22:54] And I know that’s an experience that they’re going to want to share, and that when that picture’s [00:23:00] on their wall that and someone says, oh my gosh, like, where did you get that picture? So it’s little things that. Aren’t just captions. Right? Yeah. It’s getting people to really engage with you and it doesn’t have to cost a lot of money.
[00:23:13] Like, you know, send thank you notes. Yeah. That doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. Mm-hmm. Just little things that show that, that you are a person. Yeah. That you care, you know, deeply. I think those are some of our strongest marketing efforts.
[00:23:27] Lisa: I love that. So tell me more. ’cause that, that perked my ear up membership clients.
[00:23:31] So tell me more about that.
[00:23:33] Tiffany: Yeah, so this is year two of membership, and what I do with my membership is I have clients that have already worked with me, so they have to have already invested in a full session, and in February I open it up to those clients. It’s only open for a week for enrollment because you do want to, you know, create a little bit of urgency.
[00:23:55] But what it is, is it kind of takes one full session and it [00:24:00] breaks it up over the course of a year. And then they, so they pay monthly, but they get their full session and they have some other perks in there too. Like they can schedule minis. I don’t do mini sessions typically. Yeah. So my members can say, Hey, I’d love a mini couple session.
[00:24:15] Yeah. And we can schedule it. And so there’s different little perks, but it’s been really beautiful one on the business side. Mm-hmm. It’s a consistent paycheck each month. And so I know for photographers that’s something that’s really hard, is. Not knowing if it’s feast or famine. So you know, it helps to know like, okay, each month I know there’s gonna be this much coming.
[00:24:37] And then for those clients, they love the fact that they don’t have to make a huge purchase at one time. Mm-hmm. We know each other like I know their children. It’s just we’ve been building a relationship. So it just feels. Very like an easy win for them. I love that. And I’ve been loving that. It’s given me a little bit of predictability and so yeah, the membership has definitely [00:25:00] been a fun little add in the last couple of years.
[00:25:02] Lisa: I love that. That’s a great idea. Interesting. Love it, love, love that. Okay, so are you ready for our lightning round? Oh, is it lightning round time. Okay. Yes. So what’s one thing that your kids have taught you that made you better at business?
[00:25:19] Tiffany: So I’m sure every, maybe a lot of people’s children are like this, but my children, their interest can shift with the wind, right?
[00:25:29] So one day they love something, the next day they never loved it, and you can’t convince them that it, they ever loved it. Some things they stick with and they’re passionate about for a long time. But I love that children don’t, they don’t feel afraid to say when the season has moved on, you know? Mm-hmm.
[00:25:46] When they no longer love something, they make it clear they don’t wanna do it anymore, they don’t love it, and it’s time to move on. And so I feel like in that my kids have really taught me the power of, of pivoting. Yeah. And the freedom in [00:26:00] pivoting that we’re not held to, because I said I was going to do this means this is what I have to keep doing, or how I have to keep doing it.
[00:26:08] It’s not serving me or my family anymore. So I think
[00:26:13] Lisa: just that freedom. That’s beautiful. I love that. Love that so much. What’s a business trend you secretly can’t stand?
[00:26:26] Oh gosh,
[00:26:27] Tiffany: I got a few. Do you have a few? I kind of wanna know one that you can’t stand. I I need to that. Oh, bro. Marketing,
[00:26:34] Lisa: bro. Marketing like the. Just in your face marketing that’s like so aggressive. Yeah. I do not like that at all.
[00:26:43] Yeah. Right. Yeah.
[00:26:44] Lisa: And hustle culture. Hustle culture. Like the glorifying of busyness of you’re only successful if you’re exhausted.
[00:26:52] That’s right. One, I can’t stand
[00:26:54] right
[00:26:55] Lisa: And
[00:26:55] Tiffany: 5:00 AM Yeah. I definitely agree with hustle culture and it, it’s so tempting to fall into that, [00:27:00] right? When you see a lot of these really big names and they’re like. You know, build your seven figure business and do this and like I can get you there and it can be tempting to be distracted by that and forget that.
[00:27:12] Well, that’s not really the business I wanted to begin with. I just wanted to be able to spend time with my family, have a good time raising kids, help support my family. Yeah. That, you know, and remember that it’s okay. Not everyone’s dream has to look as big or you know, I think also the trend of. Just really not giving valuable information, if that makes sense.
[00:27:36] Like the trend of, you know, join this or do this and you’re gonna learn this, and then it’s just pi a pitch. I really don’t like that. Mm-hmm. You know, and we all have things to sell and that’s great. That’s fine. But I think adding value to people, they’re going to still want to work with you. Yeah. Like even when you share from the heart, like you don’t have to, it doesn’t have to be like.
[00:27:59] Stringing [00:28:00] people along. I think you can be authentic and, and share with your audience. So I don’t know. I think that would probably be a strong one that I, I love that dislike. I
[00:28:09] Lisa: completely agree. That’s like the whole reason retreats actually came to exist is because I kept signing up for these free summits and it was just pitch, pitch, pitch, pitch, pitch, pitch.
[00:28:18] And I was like, I just wanna sign up for something that I learn and I don’t have to buy anything else. And then we were like, right, let’s create that. Let’s do that. Yes. Yes.
[00:28:27] Tiffany: I love that.
[00:28:29] Lisa: So what’s your current obsession? It could be a show, a snack, a podcast, or a product. We just
[00:28:35] Tiffany: started watching this show called Paradise.
[00:28:38] Oh. And it’s like this. Kind of post apocalyptic world where they’ve built an entire new civilization under Colorado. Oh. So it’s like very intriguing to me. Interesting. You know, just, yeah, it’s, yeah, it’s just, well, and I think also, ’cause we don’t watch tv ’cause we just, once our kids are in [00:29:00] bed, our eyes don’t stay open anymore.
[00:29:01] Yeah. So. The fact that we’ve even started a show, it could be terrible, but I’m like, oh, we’re doing something fun. Oh, that’s so funny.
[00:29:12] Lisa: If your life was a book, what would the title be?
[00:29:19] Tiffany: My Life was a book would be a comedy. That’s for sure. I don’t know. It would probably be a hot mess express, like I love it. That about sums up any, I thought it would be Welcome to The Animal
[00:29:30] Lisa: House.
[00:29:31] Tiffany: Yeah. Yeah, exactly. I mean, I am kind of my own title, so that’s why. Great. Yeah, that’s exactly, exactly what I should, what our house should be titled.
[00:29:39] Yeah, it’s,
[00:29:40] Lisa: I love it. I love it. Do you have any non-negotiable rituals in your week?
[00:29:45] Tiffany: So I do a brain dump to start every week, either Sunday or Monday, and I write down everything. That exists in my brain that needs to get done no order, just literally spill [00:30:00] it all. Yeah. And then I go back through and I highlight and prioritize it.
[00:30:06] Yeah. Into, okay, this is how many things I can do. Five things this week, let me highlight the five. And then anything else is just like icing on the cake. But that has really helped me to kind of close some of the tabs in my, in my brain. I hear you on that. My husband told me recently that I have a DHD.
[00:30:25] Yeah. He, he said, did you know? And I was like, no, I don’t. And he starts listing all these ways. He’s like, I’ve been noticing. I’m like, what are you a doctor? But he’s a, he’s, he’s actually right. So I’m like, wow. I am, I’m kind of all over the place. So this has been helping. It’s easy
[00:30:42] Lisa: and it’s easy with a DHD especially to get overwhelmed.
[00:30:45] Very easily. And so finding ways to like, organize ourselves, that’s one thing that I’ve really had to, to take on too, because I will, I get overwhelmed and I won’t do anything. Right. Yeah. Or at least [00:31:00] nothing that’s actually important. Yeah. No, I’ll scroll on TikTok and somehow, like I, I swear this weekend I was at Coachella, I was on Coachella, TikTok, and I had the best time and I never left my house.
[00:31:13] Yep. What’s one thing motherhood prepared you for? That no business ever could. A business course.
[00:31:22] Tiffany: Sorry? No business course. Yeah, no business course. I think expecting the unexpected as we were even talking be this morning a little bit before, but there’s so many curve balls, you know, you have to be flexible and I think just.
[00:31:37] Having children, homeschooling children, you know, having a baby kind of later in the game from when we were even like expecting. It’s just one curve after another.
[00:31:46] Yeah.
[00:31:46] Tiffany: And you have to learn to like notice it, acknowledge it, and keep going. And, and I think, you know, with without my kiddos, we still can learn those same lessons.
[00:31:58] It just maybe takes a little longer. Yeah. [00:32:00] And I think they’ve kind of accelerated the. Learning process of be flexible. ’cause you don’t know what’s gonna happen tomorrow or like in 10 minutes from now. A hundred
[00:32:08] Lisa: percent. A hundred percent. Who’s drawn on the wall.
[00:32:13] Tiffany: Yep.
[00:32:15] Lisa: So where can our listeners learn more from you?
[00:32:19] Tiffany: So they can head over to my website@animalhousephotography.com or find me on Instagram at animal house photography. And actually, who knows, by the time they’re listening to this, my new education site may be launched and up and running. It’s almost finished. So I’m super excited. But if they definitely stay in touch on Instagram, they will.
[00:32:39] They’ll get updated when that is live and ready to go. I love.
[00:32:42] Lisa: That’s awesome. You’re also teaching for the Online family retreat this year, so what are you gonna be sharing?
[00:32:49] Tiffany: So we are gonna be, um, well I say we, I guess it’s just me, me and my assistant that’s in my mind. We’re gonna be teaching on in-home, like lifestyle, in-home [00:33:00] family sessions.
[00:33:01] We’ve got super cute, fun family that just love spending time together. So I’m looking forward just to documenting time with them and helping the listeners and the viewers that attend Milky Way just really see how to have a. You know, emotive but relaxed in-home family session. I love it. It’s gonna be good.
[00:33:22] It’s gonna be awesome.
[00:33:23] Lisa: So I love to end my interviews just with this last question and it is, what are you currently curious about or artistically curious about?
[00:33:31] Tiffany: I think really just, I mean this isn’t super artsy. This is like businessy. Artsy. Yep. But the whole world of like ads Yeah. Is really like perplexing to me.
[00:33:45] So I’ve just been really trying to like learn the inner workings of analytics and ads and things like that, which sounds super boring. But outside of that, artistically I’ve been super excited to learn [00:34:00] more about branding
[00:34:01] and
[00:34:01] Tiffany: I’ve been having fun just experimenting with some different small businesses and it’s a little outside of the family.
[00:34:08] Yeah. Realm. But love just being able to. And to see women in their element. So that’s been kind of fun lately. Oh, that’s great. I love that.
[00:34:17] Lisa: Well, Tiffany, thank you so much for joining me today.
[00:34:20] Tiffany: Thank you. It’s always a good time. You always
[00:34:23] Lisa: have so much fun. Oh my beautiful friends. I hope you have loved this conversation just as much as I have.
[00:34:30] I am sending you so much of my light to my love today and every single day. We will see you next time.
