You Cannot Let YOU Stop You with Ivana Desancic

The Studio Takeover Podcast

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An introvert's introvert, Ivana has learned that she COULD make excuses about not doing what's required for a portrait business owner to become successful:

• Im an introvert
• Its scary
• It cant happen in my town
• and the list goes on...

But she also knows that SHE is responsible for the growth and success she's after for her business & she doesn't let fear stop her. She shows up for networking, is consistent in her organic efforts on social, and employs paid advertising for her campaigns.
Ivana had a "successful" business my the overall metrics of her business in 22 and 23. She was booked three months in advance, she was reaching her 6 figure goals...but there was more at play.
The HOW of finding that success.
Toward the end of 23 she was realizing how burnt out she was as it was deeply affecting her mental and physical health. Exhausted, sick, tired...and she knew something had to change.
Ivana came to the US in 2017 from Bosnia and officially started her business in 2019. An Artist, as many of us are she thought her focus needed to be in the creative aspects of her work; refining her camera tech and Photoshop skills which garnered the success and recognition from Adobe. However, as many of us do we expect that the creative recognition will open the flood gates of paid clients. And while that to some extent can be true, if you don't have a sustainable business model to support those leads then you very quickly realize that you find overwhelm & even resentment.
Her next step was in building out a business model that by 2023 where she was working 80 hr weeks and was no longer able to tap into the love her clients deserved.
Another beautiful insight Ivana brings is in comparison: of others work, of others businesses and instead of looking at those successes others are experiencing as evidence that she couldn't achieve the success she desired, she chose to see those successes as evidence that she COULD. It's proof of concept that it can and will work.
Now after working with Cat for 6 months in 2024 she has made more money and is working with half the clients than in 2023. She reached her highest revenue month ever in April of 2024, moved from NC to Chicago, IL and booked out through July in May AND took a month off to visit her home in Bosnia.
Relocating your portrait business doesn't immediately mean a wild dip in revenue. You CAN establish yourself before you move a single box. Ivana is proof of that and as her Mentor, I am so very proud of her tenacity and love for her work and her Art.
Be a part of Ivana's project FACES in Chicago! You can find Ivana and her work:

• Website: https://ivanadesancic.com/
• Instagram: @ivanadesancic.portraits
• Facebook: Ivana Desancic Portraits

Want results for your portrait business like Ivana? DM Cat directly on instagram to see if she can help you. https://www.instagram.com/catfordcoates/
Full video interview available on Youtube here: https://youtu.be/xjZJl0gKoKI

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