Creativ Rise Podcast

Watch This Video Next - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHx33G_FJs0“So... what do you charge?”2 minutes into a sales call, before you’ve asked a single question, the client wants your price. Now you’re stuck choosing between a number you can’t stand behind and a dodge that makes the whole call weird.Or maybe it’s the other version. The call goes great, they ask you a ton of questions, and 45 minutes later it’s over. You hang up with no idea what they actually need, what to charge them, or what happens next.Either way, the client was driving the call, and that makes it really hard to quote them properly or move them toward a yes.In this solo episode, Joey shares the sales lessons he picked up from his dad, a 35-year sales veteran, while running his business out of a tiny closet in his dad’s home office at 14. These are the same moves Joey uses on his own calls and teaches inside the Creativ Rise Mastermind. They’ll help you lead the conversation with confidence, get the information you need to price the work right, and leave every call with a clear next step.You’ll learn:How to set the plan in the first two minutes so the client knows you’re leadingThe simple script for answering “what do you charge?” without dodging itHow to use your notes to pull a conversation back on trackHow to buy yourself time to build a custom quote on the spotWhy introverts often make the best salespeopleSales has nothing to do with being the loudest person on the call. Lead with a plan, stay curious, and your clients will thank you for it.P.S. Want to get really good at sales calls? Inside the Creativ Rise Mastermind, members get our full sales call training plus live sales call demos, so you can practice with other creatives before it’s a real client on the line. September, October, and November all sold out. To get the info on the next intake, DM us “CRM” on Instagram or get on the waitlist at www.creativrise.com.FREE TOOLS & TRAININGS→ Pricing Calculator: https://www.creativrise.com/pricingcalculator→ Pitching Masterclass Course: https://www.creativrise.com/pitchingmasterclass→ Sales Call Formula Course: https://www.creativrise.com/offers/RM2ZPtZx/checkout→ Productivity Course: https://www.creativrise.com/productivity→ Money Management Training: https://www.creativrise.com/moneytraining→ Fix Your Inquiry Form: https://www.creativrise.com/inquiryformLISTEN & SUBSCRIBE→ Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/creativrise→ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/creativriseFOLLOW ALONG→ Instagram: @creativrise | @joeyspeers | @christyjspeers

Engagement season is almost here. Is your calendar ready for it?From American Thanksgiving to Valentine’s Day, more couples get engaged than any other time of year. They start saving vendors in December, and January through March is when inquiries and bookings really pick up.But a lot of wedding photographers spend this season waiting on referrals and hoping a planner remembers their name. And when they do try something new, like posting more or running ads, it’s easy to give up after a week when the inquiries don’t show up right away.The work you put in this month is what books you next month. That’s why the next few weeks matter so much.In this episode, Christy walks through the full booking season playbook we’re running with our Mastermind members starting November 1. It’s broken into three stages, Flirt, Make ’Em Fall, and Seal the Deal. Together they help you get noticed by couples and planners, build trust with them, and get them booked once you’re on a call. She also shares how one of our members is building planner relationships that turn into referrals.Why lead gen takes about a month to pay offTurning your top posts into $2-7/day traffic adsThe pinned post and retargeting ads that build trustHow to engage with and pitch 10 wedding plannersThe refundable 48-hour deposit that makes booking easyStick with this over the next three months, and your 2027 calendar is going to look a lot different. 🚀P.S. Our November Mastermind crew is officially sold out, and we’re pre-releasing 5 spots for our January group. If you want help building out this whole booking season funnel with us, get on the waitlist at www.creativrise.com.FREE TOOLS & TRAININGS→ Pricing Calculator: https://www.creativrise.com/pricingcalculator→ Pitching Masterclass Course: https://www.creativrise.com/pitchingmasterclass→ Sales Call Formula Course: https://www.creativrise.com/offers/RM2ZPtZx/checkout→ Productivity Course: https://www.creativrise.com/productivity→ Money Management Training: https://www.creativrise.com/moneytraining→ Fix Your Inquiry Form: https://www.creativrise.com/inquiryformLISTEN & SUBSCRIBE→ Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/creativrise→ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/creativriseFOLLOW ALONG→ Instagram: @creativrise | @joeyspeers | @christyjspeers

Joey started his business at 14. This week he turned 28, so he’s officially been a business owner for half his life.For his birthday episode, Christy hit him with a stack of surprise questions, and we got into some stories we’ve never told on the podcast before.Like the time Joey signed his emails as his little sister so he’d look busy and in demand. Or the dream job with YETI that filled his parents’ entire front entryway with gear. And the Uber commercial in New Zealand where the agency disappeared and he never got paid.Every one of those moments taught him something that still shapes how we run both of our businesses today.In this episode, Joey shares the lessons that stuck after 14 years in business. How brands actually decide who to hire. How to take a hit in your business and come out stronger. The one skill he’d keep if he lost everything. And why getting around people who are already doing it is the fastest way to believe the next level is possible for you.What we cover in this episode:How brands actually decide who to hireTurning a bad job into a lesson on contracts and scopeWhy problem solving is the most valuable skill a creative can haveUsing proximity to build belief in what’s possibleThe question that changes everything: “If them, why not me?”Wherever your business is right now, the right room can take you further than you think. 🚀P.S. Getting around people who are already doing it is exactly what the Creativ Rise Mastermind is built for. Applications for the November 1st cohort are open now, and we only take 10 creatives a month. More than half the spots are already taken, so if you want to build a six-figure business with us, apply at www.creativrise.com.FREE TOOLS & TRAININGS→ Pricing Calculator: https://www.creativrise.com/pricingcalculator→ Pitching Masterclass Course: https://www.creativrise.com/pitchingmasterclass→ Sales Call Formula Course: https://www.creativrise.com/offers/RM2ZPtZx/checkout→ Productivity Course: https://www.creativrise.com/productivity→ Money Management Training: https://www.creativrise.com/moneytraining→ Fix Your Inquiry Form: https://www.creativrise.com/inquiryformLISTEN & SUBSCRIBE→ Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/creativrise→ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/creativriseFOLLOW ALONG→ Instagram: @creativrise | @joeyspeers | @christyjspeers

Let's go girls (cue our girl Shania).Newsflash: girls are crushing it.And right now, the women inside the Creativ Rise Mastermind are proving it in the best way.Angeli building a $21,000/month social agency (while raising young kids).Stephanie being in her early 20's and earning consistent $15k months & hiring her friends.Mary booking $20k weekends shooting weddings at venues she only dreamt of.In this episode, we highlight 10 women who are crushing 6 figure businesses, and break down the 3 things they are doing differently, and how you can do the same.PS: all these women are in our Mastermind, working together day in & day out and we've watched them reach revenue levels in their business they never thought possible. And quick heads up... today we are launching applications for people on the waitlist. We're only accepting 10 people for Nov 1st. If you want to get more details & get first access right now - jump on the list at www.creativrise.com to get early access to the application.What we cover in this episode:Pricing off the value you provide instead of the going rateBuilding a lead gen system that doesn’t rely on motivationUsing paid ads and pitching to land clients within the weekGrowing planner relationships that refer high-end clientsBuilding a business that fits your season of lifeWherever you are right now, the right moves can take your business further than you think. 🚀FREE TOOLS & TRAININGS→ Pricing Calculator: https://www.creativrise.com/pricingcalculator→ Pitching Masterclass Course: https://www.creativrise.com/pitchingmasterclass→ Sales Call Formula Course: https://www.creativrise.com/offers/RM2ZPtZx/checkout→ Productivity Course: https://www.creativrise.com/productivity→ Money Management Training: https://www.creativrise.com/moneytraining→ Fix Your Inquiry Form: https://www.creativrise.com/inquiryformLISTEN & SUBSCRIBE→ Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/creativrise→ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/creativriseFOLLOW ALONG→ Instagram: @creativrise | @joeyspeers | @christyjspeers

Watch This Video Next - https://youtu.be/fHx33G_FJs0Ever wonder how some creatives get paid to travel, shoot in the mountains, and work with the outdoor brands they already love?Most talented creatives can make a great video. The hard part is explaining what that video does for a brand's business. Without that, it's tough to land bigger clients, and even tougher to keep them around.That's exactly where Ian McFadden was when he moved to Colorado to go after brand work. He had the skills, but no proof and no clear sense of what brands actually wanted from him.In this episode, recorded late at night in Canmore, Alberta, right out of Ian's camper van, Joey sits down with Ian to talk about how he built a business as a content strategist for outdoor and travel brands. He shares how he learned to put words to the value he brings, why founder-led content is driving growth for small brands, how he plans a month of retainer content, and the communication habit that has kept one client around for almost three years. Plus, this one lands on the six-year anniversary of the Creativ Rise Podcast!Explaining the value your content brings to a brandUsing founder-led stories to grow small brandsPlanning retainer content with content bucketsKeeping clients for years through constant communicationBuilding momentum with your personal workGet clear on the value you bring, and brands will want to keep you around for the long haul. 🚀P.S. Ian says the biggest thing the Mastermind gave him was hearing the business side over and over until he could say it confidently on his own sales calls. The Creativ Rise Mastermind November cohort has 10 spots, and inside we'll work through your pricing, your offers, and your pitches with you. Get on the waitlist at www.creativrise.com.FREE TOOLS & TRAININGS→ Pricing Calculator: https://www.creativrise.com/pricingcalculator→ Pitching Masterclass Course: https://www.creativrise.com/pitchingmasterclass→ Sales Call Formula Course: https://www.creativrise.com/offers/RM2ZPtZx/checkout→ Productivity Course: https://www.creativrise.com/productivity→ Money Management Training: https://www.creativrise.com/moneytraining→ Fix Your Inquiry Form: https://www.creativrise.com/inquiryformLISTEN & SUBSCRIBE→ Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/creativrise→ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/creativriseFOLLOW ALONG→ Instagram: @creativrise | @joeyspeers | @christyjspeers

Booked $4,500 this month and completely exhausted? Had an amazing sales call, then got ghosted? Pitched your dream brand and got offered a free jacket?These are three of the most common spots we see creatives get stuck in. And the longer you stay there, the more it wears on you. You start to resent your clients, dread sales calls, and check your phone every five minutes hoping it's them.Most of the time, the fix comes down to how you price, how you close, and how you pitch.In this episode, Joey puts Christy on the spot with three real scenarios she's never heard before, and she walks through exactly what she'd do in each one. You'll hear what red flag pricing is and why it can cost you bookings, the refundable date-hold deposit that keeps a great sales call from going cold, and how to answer free product offers with a pitch that brings in paid work. Plus, we share the mock sales call we ran with Hudson from Harbor Film Co and shout out this week's Mastermind wins, including a $12,000 month of tourism work.​Auditing your offers and pricing when you're burnt out​Spotting red flag pricing and raising your rates​Booking clients before you hang up the sales call​Setting a follow-up date so a great call never goes quiet​Turning free product offers into paid pitchesEvery one of these scenarios has a clear next step. Take it, and you'll work less, close more, and actually enjoy your business again. 🚀P.S. Getting around creatives who are already booking the work you want changes everything. The Creativ Rise Mastermind November cohort has 10 spots, and inside we'll work through your pricing, your sales calls, and your pitches with you. Get on the waitlist at www.creativrise.com.FREE TOOLS & TRAININGS→ Pricing Calculator: https://www.creativrise.com/pricingcalculator→ Pitching Masterclass Course: https://www.creativrise.com/pitchingmasterclass→ Sales Call Formula Course: https://www.creativrise.com/offers/RM2ZPtZx/checkout→ Productivity Course: https://www.creativrise.com/productivity→ Money Management Training: https://www.creativrise.com/moneytraining→ Fix Your Inquiry Form: https://www.creativrise.com/inquiryformLISTEN & SUBSCRIBE→ Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/creativrise→ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/creativriseFOLLOW ALONG→ Instagram: @creativrise | @joeyspeers | @christyjspeers

Ever send a proposal, hear nothing back, and decide they must not be interested?What if that silence has nothing to do with you?Last weekend at Lake Tahoe, Christy spent a good chunk of the afternoon yelling at her identical twin sister Leslie from a hundred yards down the shore, trying to get her to jump off a cliff. Leslie kept shaking her head. But Christy could tell she wanted to do it.Most creatives treat a quiet inbox like a no. They send a cold PDF, get ghosted, and move on. Meanwhile, the client is standing on the edge, interested and just too nervous to take the step.In this episode, Christy tells the full story of how Leslie finally jumped, and we break down the sales lessons hiding inside it. You'll hear why hesitation usually comes from fear, how Mastermind members Haley and Gabriella stack small yeses before a client ever gets on a call, and why getting closer to your clients changes your close rate. Plus, we shout out this week's Mastermind wins, including a $12,500 branding project and recurring revenue that doubled in six weeks.Why hesitation rarely means a lack of interestHow to remind clients what life looks like after they say yesUsing micro yeses to build trust before the big askSwapping cold PDFs for sales calls and Loom walkthroughsWalking clients through your process so the decision feels safeSelling doesn't have to feel pushy. When you understand how people work, getting a client to yes feels a lot more like helping someone off the rock. 🚀P.S. The October cohort of the Creativ Rise Mastermind sold out within hours, and 9 of the 10 spots went to people on the waitlist. Applications for the November cohort open October 21st, and inside we'll help you build a sales process that gets your dream clients to yes. Get on the waitlist at www.creativrise.com.FREE TOOLS & TRAININGS→ Pricing Calculator: https://www.creativrise.com/pricingcalculator→ Pitching Masterclass Course: https://www.creativrise.com/pitchingmasterclass→ Sales Call Formula Course: https://www.creativrise.com/offers/RM2ZPtZx/checkout→ Productivity Course: https://www.creativrise.com/productivity→ Money Management Training: https://www.creativrise.com/moneytraining→ Fix Your Inquiry Form: https://www.creativrise.com/inquiryformLISTEN & SUBSCRIBE→ Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/creativrise→ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/creativriseFOLLOW ALONG→ Instagram: @creativrise | @joeyspeers | @christyjspeers

Nobody wakes up and decides to have a flat year.But plenty of creatives get to December with the same revenue, the same pricing and the same empty calendar they had last January, and no real explanation for it.In 2021, Joey put on a shirt and realized he was 20 pounds heavier than the year before. He was playing sports, going to the gym, and eating tacos three or four times a week. He never decided to gain the weight. He just never decided not to. That's drift, and it works exactly the same way in a creative business.Here's the part that makes it dangerous: drift only ever moves in one direction. It never takes you toward better clients, better pricing or a fuller calendar. It takes you away from all of it, quietly, over about twelve months.In this episode, Joey breaks down where drift hides in a creative business and what actually pulls you out of it. Not more hustle. A narrow focus on the real problem, and then building the thing that solves it.Why "something will come through" is the most expensive plan in your businessHow to spot drift in your lead gen, your pricing and your money before it costs you a yearTurning one-time clients into recurring work so next month isn't a guessGiving every dollar a job before it lands, so six figures doesn't feel like nothingThe build, book and deliver audit for finding exactly where you've driftedTwelve months from now, your business will reflect either a direction you picked or a direction that picked you. This episode is your reminder that it's still early enough to pick.P.S. Drift ends when you stop guessing and start building with people who hold you to it. That's exactly what we do inside the Creativ Rise Mastermind - a 12-month program where Joey and Christy work with 10 creatives per cohort to build a six-figure business. Applications for the October cohort are open now at www.creativrise.com.FREE TOOLS & TRAININGS→ Pricing Calculator: https://www.creativrise.com/pricingcalculator→ Pitching Masterclass Course: https://www.creativrise.com/pitchingmasterclass→ Sales Call Formula Course: https://www.creativrise.com/offers/RM2ZPtZx/checkout→ Productivity Course: https://www.creativrise.com/productivity→ Money Management Training: https://www.creativrise.com/moneytraining→ Fix Your Inquiry Form: https://www.creativrise.com/inquiryformLISTEN & SUBSCRIBE→ Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/creativrise→ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/creativriseFOLLOW ALONG→ Instagram: @creativrise | @joeyspeers | @christyjspeers

$1,450 for a newborn session, and the client says yes without blinking. 👀If that sounds impossible in the portrait space, this one is for you.The portrait space comes with a story attached, and most of us got handed it early: this is the work you do because you love it, not because it pays. Sessions get priced at $200. Packages get sold by the hour. And the whole model quietly trains you to compete on time instead of on the experience you actually deliver.Amber Brown has been building the other version. She's a family and birth photographer in Roseville, California, a mom of a four year old and a two year old, and she crossed six figures in the first eight months of this year. She closed 2024 at $22K and 2025 at $80K.Local family sessions are now $1,250. Newborn sessions are $1,450. And the month she's about to post her best numbers in is her lowest session count all year.In this episode, Joey and Christy get the whole build out of her: the move off hourly packages and onto value-based offers, what goes into a session a client happily pays $1,450 for, the Instagram ad funnel bringing her one to three inquiries a day on $5 to $20 of daily spend, the sales move that takes the risk off the client and gets the date locked, and how she runs all of it on two babysitter days a week.Why value-based offers change what clients ask you aboutWhat a $1,450 newborn session actually includesThe three-ad set and message funnel doing all of her lead genThe fully refundable hold that gets people off the fenceWhat she spends on childcare, and how that math worksYou don't have to shoot more to earn more. You have to sell something that's worth more. 🚀Want the funnel drawn out? DM us “FUN FUNNEL” on Instagram and we'll send you the video where Amber maps it end to end.P.S. Amber built this inside the Creativ Rise Mastermind, and she's still in the room today. The next cohort is capped at 10 creatives and starts October 1st. Public applications open September 15th, and if you're on the waitlist you get access earlier. Get on it at **www.creativrise.com.**FREE TOOLS & TRAININGS→ Pricing Calculator: https://www.creativrise.com/pricingcalculator→ Pitching Masterclass Course: https://www.creativrise.com/pitchingmasterclass→ Sales Call Formula Course: https://www.creativrise.com/offers/RM2ZPtZx/checkout→ Productivity Course: https://www.creativrise.com/productivity→ Money Management Training: https://www.creativrise.com/moneytraining→ Fix Your Inquiry Form: https://www.creativrise.com/inquiryformLISTEN & SUBSCRIBE→ Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/creativrise→ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/creativriseFOLLOW ALONG→ Instagram: @creativrise | @joeyspeers | @christyjspeers

Two weeks into dating, we started working together. Six years later, we still do it every single day.Working with a spouse, a sibling, or a best friend is one of the most requested topics we've ever had on this show, and for good reason. Almost nobody talks about what it's actually like.Here's the tricky part. When you build a business with the person you live with, there's no line between the workday and the rest of your life. Every deadline, every big decision, and every win lands in the same house you eat dinner in. Nothing gets postponed, which sounds hard until you realize it's the reason you sort things out faster.Then there's the working styles. One of you locks in at 9am and is done at 7pm. The other is a slow burn who finally hits flow at 9pm and doesn't want to stop. One of you runs at every new idea. The other wants to make sure the foundation holds. Neither is wrong, and the whole thing gets easier the second you stop expecting your partner to work exactly like you do.In this episode, we sat down and answered the questions we get asked the most. Joey wrote his list, Christy wrote hers, and neither of us saw the other's until we hit record. It's the honest version.How to divide the work so you stop burning out on the same tasksWhy output matters more than hours, and how to stop keeping scoreWhat to do when one of you carries more of the drive than the otherThe green lights and red flags before you say yes to any partnershipHow to protect the relationship underneath the businessBuilding something with someone you love is one of the best things in the world. It just works a whole lot better when you build it on purpose.P.S. If you want the business side of this dialed in, we're running the $10k/Month Creator Workshop again on September 15. Live, cameras on, and we break down pricing, lead generation, and sales for $9. Applications for our next Mastermind cohort open that same day, and we're only taking 10 creatives. Get on the waitlist at www.creativrise.com.FREE TOOLS & TRAININGS→ Pricing Calculator: https://www.creativrise.com/pricingcalculator→ Pitching Masterclass Course: https://www.creativrise.com/pitchingmasterclass→ Sales Call Formula Course: https://www.creativrise.com/offers/RM2ZPtZx/checkout→ Productivity Course: https://www.creativrise.com/productivity→ Money Management Training: https://www.creativrise.com/moneytraining→ Fix Your Inquiry Form: https://www.creativrise.com/inquiryformLISTEN & SUBSCRIBE→ Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/creativrise→ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/creativriseFOLLOW ALONG→ Instagram: @creativrise | @joeyspeers | @christyjspeers