Episode Transcript
[00:00:13] Speaker A: You're listening to the Brand Alchemy Podcast with your hosts Jared Asher and Jarrod Brake, where we uncover the stories and truths of real entrepreneurs and their journeys of growth and brand transformation. For more information, go to www.timelesscreative.com.au/boardroom
[00:00:35] Speaker B: Welcome to the Brand Equity Podcast where we uncover the stories of entrepreneurs who've transformed their vision into reality. I'm the host Jared Herring, joined by our co host, Jared Brake.
[00:00:46] Speaker C: Jared here. Hey everyone. Thanks for joining us today. Great to have you here. So each week we share breakthrough moments, hard won victories and strategic insights that turn ambitious founders into market leaders.
[00:00:59] Speaker B: Okay. Today we are joined by Jaya McIntyre. Jaya is a women's empowerment mentor and an award winning photographer. She's dedicated her entire career to empowering clients to help them feel comfortable behind the lens. She's worked nearly three, three decades of experience and has a stellar reputation as professional creative mentor and talented photographer. Jaya is the driving force behind the women's inspired book project and Empire Art Photography. Joy has a very important story to share with us today. I'm very, very excited to have her here. And let's get into it. Jaya, welcome to the show today.
[00:01:40] Speaker D: Thanks for having me.
[00:01:41] Speaker B: Yes, lovely to have you here. Thank you for your time and energy and apologies for the few little hiccups here along the way getting this show started. But. But yes, I'm looking forward to hearing your story. I've just obviously learned a lot about what you've been up to and your background as a photographer and an award winning mentor. There's a lot to share, but I want to hear from your words. How did it all begin? Tell us a bit about your journey, please.
[00:02:09] Speaker D: Well, I'm going to fast track you. Obviously I've been in the industry for a long time, but I'm going to fast track you to my business startup.
I was working for other photographers for 17 years or so and I decided, you know what, I want to go out on my own and be able to offer clients everything that they want. So if they want to see me in the studio or up on top of a mountaintop or in the snow or in a different state or wherever they wanted to meet me, I could just say, yes, I'll be there. That's where we'll do your photo shoot. And I launched out into my own business. And as I was collecting a little team that would support me and setting up a studio space, I was actually diagnosed with breast cancer. So not ideal when you're starting up a business. You've already launched out, spent all your Marketing money moving into this space. And like, really we'd had the soft launch and we were getting a name for ourselves out there. And then suddenly me being the senior photographer and manager was not able to work in the business. So I kind of took a backseat to drive a position. And the little team that I had kind of stumbled along just paying the rent, paying their wages, kind of scathing us through because we didn't know when I was going to return to work. But as the time frame kind of stretched out and I knew that I had to have 15 months worth of chemo treatment, I was like, well, what's going to happen in 15 months when I want to go back to full time work and there's no marketing money to be spent on attracting in the clients that I needed to fill my books again.
And that's when I got really curious about marketing with no money money and growing a strong personal brand. And so for 15 months, while I was sitting on the couch having treatment and not doing a lot else, I studied pretty hard on what it was going to take to have a strong personal brand so that when I came back in, I could hit the ground running rather than having to do that build up time again.
And that worked out really well for me. And then not only did I have to rebuild the business when I came back after cancer, the photography industry got pretty hit pretty hard during COVID So again, it was like, right, your diary's wiped out for six months.
I'd spent two years filling that diary in because people do book me up to two years in advance and then suddenly my diary is empty and I had to kind of pivot and lean into something different that would fill the books again. And that just came with ease because I already had that personal brand around me and who I so filling the books again became quite easy without the marketing money.
[00:05:11] Speaker B: Fascinating story, Jaya. Fascinating story. And can I just ask, like, how long ago was this, this all transpired? Like, was this Pre covered?
[00:05:21] Speaker D: So 12 years ago.. So 12 years ago is when I was diagnosed with cancer. And so really since coming back 10 years ago, I've been helping my clients do the same thing. So building a strong personal brand, a strong visual personal brand and a great reputation and being able to, like you guys do, help them be seen in the searches. I help people recognize them easily when they see them out and about or in the newspapers and magazines and all the different touch points that you have as a business.
[00:05:59] Speaker B: Wow.
[00:06:00] Speaker D: Wow.
[00:06:01] Speaker B: So getting back to the story, first and foremost, thank you for sharing that story. Obviously, that would have been a very challenging time. No doubt. I could imagine. Just to let you know as well, now they're on that topic. My father only passed away from cancer about a year and a half ago, so I can fully relate to your story. So. Yeah, thanks for sharing that, Jaya. It's personally relatable.
Yeah, thank you. Yeah. So just going back to the question I have for you is, you know, during that time you said it was 12 years ago. Yeah. You know, what was the, the thing, the, the challenge that was coming up for you? How did you, how did you deal with that? Like, how did you get through it? What was, what was your, I guess, your success catalyst, if you like?
[00:06:43] Speaker D: So I guess for me, I have always had a little bit of a passion for a positive mindset and personal growth. So working for other people and then suddenly working for yourself. I also took on the attitude that if there was room to grow or there was something to learn from people and that I needed in my business, that I would be right there learning it. Because when you do work for other people, you can come very stagnant in the way they do things and the way the company does things, and there can be, you know, years of no personal growth because the company's just ticking over doing the same thing time and time again. Like, if it's working, you wouldn't fix it.
So I really delved a bit into personal growth and one of the things that really sparked my attention was nlp, which is Neuro Linguistic programming. And I, I did a little bit of that, dabbled a little bit of that about 13 years ago in the sense that I wanted to be a better marketer for myself and I wanted to have more confidence and be a better salesperson because I knew they were the things that leaving a. And going out on my own, I felt like they were my weak points and I needed to work on them.
So I started that kind of self discovery in that area 12 years ago. And just about a year and a half ago, I did my practitioner training and my master's training in nlp, so that now I help my own customers just get on top of that mindset about being seen and showing up well.
[00:08:30] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah, well, well done on that. It sounds like an incredible journey that you've been on and it sounds like you've done a lot of, you know, reflective work which has brought you to where you are today. So that's incredible to hear. I'm. I'm wondering, so what strategies have you used over, you know, the previous Years, which has really kind of helped move the needle in regards to growth for yourself and business.
[00:08:55] Speaker D: Well, I think the key importance is to not be stagnant or comfortable in where you're at. Like, you know, I'm 12 years into my business, I'm in a very comfortable space. I have amazing clients, I'm lit up every day with what I get to do. But for me, I still am on that constant. If I'm learning something, then I can be passing it on to my customers. And there's always room for growth and there's always change. Like, that is the one thing I think we can kind of guarantee. I don't know whether it's different in the creative industry or it is in all industries, but I think they were saying, like, the technology advancements we're going to see in the next five years are going to be more than we've ever seen in our lifetime. So knowing how to use them or how not to use them, like, just because they're there doesn't mean you have to use them. But knowing what they are and how they can affect your business and just staying on top of the changes that are in your industry, I think is really important that you don't suddenly wake up one day and go, why do I have no customers? Why does Harry down the road have them all? And it's because he's been willing to pivot and change.
[00:10:10] Speaker B: So innovation, innovation is like staying ahead of the curb, so to speak.
[00:10:14] Speaker D: Yeah, Yep, yep. And, and like I said, you don't necessarily need to be applying them all to your business, but if you don't even know what people are doing, you can't know whether it's right or wrong for your business.
[00:10:27] Speaker B: Fascinating. What do you feel is working for you right now? Obviously you've been in this journey for what, 12 years in total now, Jay, or is that correct?
[00:10:36] Speaker D: Well, 12 years in my own business and 29 in total in the same industry.
So, yeah, I definitely think working for me is staying current with what is trending in the marketplace, like what is moving what other people are doing in my industry.
And I really tap into what's going on overseas because quite often I see trends coming through before we even see them in Australia.
And then, you know, the other thing that is working for me is that I am a. It is a personal experience to come and have a photo shoot with me. So I am a high touch, personalized experience. And even though I have automated systems everywhere, the human touch for me is more important than any system could ever be.
[00:11:36] Speaker B: Yeah, you're talking about that. And I love hearing about how, you know, business owners have transformed their systems and upgraded and what they're doing and stay ahead of the curb with innovation. That's exactly our language.
I do have a question for you, you know, about your business and obviously you've got a. You've got Empire Arts, the photography studio, but then you've got the Women's Empowerment, you've got your NLP and all of the certifications along with that. Can you just help me understand and help the listeners understand how Women's Empowerment fits into Empire Art Photography or vice versa?
[00:12:13] Speaker D: So Empire Art Photography is actually upgraded in the last 12 months to be Empire Art Photography and Coaching.
And when I say women's empowerment, I think, you know, being a woman shooting a bit of glamour boudoir, as well as doing the business, personal branding profiles, I tend to attract a lot of women who perhaps are lacking in confidence and they've been through a journey, whether it be a health journey or they've just got divorced or they've got postnatal depression, like there's something in their life that has knocked them down and they're not quite feeling themselves. And that's where I help them, through coaching and photography, just fall in love with themselves a little bit more.
[00:13:02] Speaker B: I love that.
[00:13:03] Speaker D: I love that.
[00:13:04] Speaker B: So, yeah, I can see that's, that's, that's really the point of difference, isn't it? That's really the nuts and bolts, is you're. You're leveraging and talking about your, your journey as an entrepreneur, yourself and your experiences and being able to help women create more empowerment for themselves, and that's through photography and that's how they integrate. Is that, Is that correct?
[00:13:24] Speaker D: Yeah, definitely. And then obviously that, that side of thing is just for the women, but for the men and women, I do do that with business are a little bit fearful of being seen and being seen with a big ego or, you know, whatever they're fearful about.
I can definitely help coaching, you know, on how to elevate your brand and feel comfortable and confident with it for, for any business owner.
[00:13:51] Speaker B: I love it. I love that. Yeah. I mean, just talking about myself for one moment here, I. I can relate to your, your skills as an NLP practitioner or a master practitioner. I actually did mine. I was certified in 2013 as well, Jaya. So, yeah, it's definitely a good set of tools and it's, it's simply a way of life underneath it all, isn't it? And how you can communicate with Oneself and communicate with the world around you. And I guess it's better understanding of self knowledge at the end of the day.
[00:14:20] Speaker D: Yeah, and absolutely, like, I did it for self and for, you know, to improve myself in my business. But then when I obviously went through and followed through on the Masters, I was like, how can you not share this with your clients? How can you not take this a little bit further with your clients? Like, yes, I could just do a nice photo shoot for them. But to know that you can go a little bit deeper and how quickly and impactful, you know, a breakthrough session can actually be for a client, it's almost like I'm not being of service if I don't share it with them.
[00:14:55] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, you share that wealth of knowledge that you got and it can contribute to them and their lives. Right.
It's a value add. It's not just you delivering a service. You're actually helping them on a much bigger, much greater level. And that develops trust and people start to identify as an absolute legend and a leader.
So, yes, I fully understand.
I've got a couple of questions, but Jared, if you've got any questions, feel free to jump in.
[00:15:23] Speaker C: Yeah, just in regards to what you're saying, it sounds like you've helped so many people, including yourself, get to where you are today. I'm wondering, is there a, I guess a moment or a story like this moment that kind of stands out and, and why.
[00:15:42] Speaker D: That'S a hard one, right? Like your proudest moment. I just think the, the attitude that I have going into the workspace, like it's a hard industry to be in, in the fact that it's not like, you know, you're not like a hairdresser. The people don't come back every six weeks for another photo shoot. So it is a, it's an industry where they might come back every year, they might come back every couple of years.
My customers definitely come back time and time and time again.
But it is one that you still wake up and your diary is empty. You know, I've learned not to fill it two years in advance. Now I only open up a couple months at a time so that I can keep a little bit more control about where I'm going to be in the world and what I'm going to be doing. But just the, my. I think I'm most proudest of my attitude and grace that I get up with. And no matter what the world is throwing at me, I put a smile on my face. I do what's right for Me first and then I do what's right for my business next. And I think my customers really benefit from my good attitude in that part of the world.
[00:16:55] Speaker C: Yeah, I think that probably shines through in the relationships which you, which you create with your, with your clients and I think that's why they keep coming back.
[00:17:02] Speaker D: Yeah, definitely.
[00:17:04] Speaker B: Yeah. That's awesome. And what's, what's, what's, what's next for you? What's the, what's the brand looking like? Or what's Empire Art Studio Photography, I should say, what's next for the business and the mentoring, how does that look for you in the future?
[00:17:18] Speaker D: So we're just launching into our edition four for women inspired. So that's been four years. It was born during COVID was my bit of a pivot. And that project is about shining a light on the stories that people have been through because quite often, you know, you might meet someone and they never share their story with you.
Like, you know, for example, the mayor of Noosa at the time when she was in it, she's the mayor of Noosa, she's in politics. But what you don't know about her was that when she was a young woman, she was trapped under a bus and she almost lost her legs. That would very rarely ever come up in conversation. But it's such a pivotal part of, of who she is and what makes her strong for today that that's what the book's about. So, yeah, pretty proud of going into Edition 4 as self published and just excited for the customers that I see coming up in the diary and the things that they are creating and the things that I get to be part of and help them create, you know, anywhere from startups to customers who have a million followers on social media and we have to keep them happy. So I'm pleased to be part of that little part of their business as well.
Yeah.
[00:18:31] Speaker B: Pardon me. You know, I have noticed as well, Jaya, obviously Jared and I've done a bit of research because this is officially the first time you and I have met. Right, yeah, but of course I want to find out a bit about people. So I know it is who I'm talking to and what it is we're going to discuss in the first place.
But what I've, I found is that there are obviously you're very active online and I can see that you're very active in the local community and women's networks and things like that. So it's really cool to see and I'm sure over the next 12 to 24 months. Things are going to continue, as you say, growing, and you're going to be busy. So I'm looking forward to seeing that, actually. And this conversation has been very insightful for me because I love hearing the stories and the fact that you've, you know, 12 years ago, you went through a pretty significant life event, and anyone that's been through cancer and come through the other end is, is. Is transformational. And I mean, a question on that is, you know, was, was that part of. Obviously it has been part of your success, as you said, but how has that been for you and where you would say, has it accelerated your growth as a. As a business owner? Has it been part of your journey to grow? And obviously not grow personally, but, you know, your dreams for the future?
[00:19:48] Speaker D: I think it has been a big part of my journey in not chasing things that I'm not interested in. So when the little local sporting club say, would I come out and photograph soccer on the weekend for them? I just let them know politely, maybe I'm not the best photographer for you. My passion is people in business and obviously helping women go through a journey. So I've become very laser focused in who I work with and who I volunteer my time for. As a photographer, you get asked to volunteer for hundreds, if not thousands of things year in, year out.
And I have become very laser focused in helping the breast cancer charities on the coast that helped me or nationally that helped me at the time.
And then obviously I give where I can in other ways to all things. But I feel like as a business, you, you can be very. You will. You get asked a lot to volunteer for a lot of things. And I think becoming laser focused on who you're actually helping and, and whether it will benefit your business or not. Like, I never give just solely for the reason of benefiting my business, but I'm also very careful because I have to be with my time and my resources and, and the, the main resource being your energy that you put out. It has to be an aligned place that I'm putting that energy to.
[00:21:22] Speaker B: Yeah, Bully can understand that. And, and it's funny you're saying that because Jared and I were just having the conversation about this only two days ago on the weekend. So, yeah, it's, it really is important that you, you are laser focused and it's. Yeah. Just brought up that memory.
Laser focus is, is. Is important. Otherwise you can split yourself too far and wide, can't you?
[00:21:43] Speaker D: Absolutely.
[00:21:45] Speaker B: Yeah. Well, Jaya, I just want to say thank you for, for being here today. And, and you know, thank you for expressing your story and journey. I know you've been on podcast before and thank you for giving us the time today and your energy.
So, yeah, thank you for that.
[00:22:01] Speaker D: Thanks for having me. Can't wait to listen to the rest of the podcast attendees.
[00:22:06] Speaker B: Thank you. And for, I guess the last thing is for all the listeners that are out there and I'm sure there'll be a few of them. Where can they connect with you? Where would you like to send them so they can follow you and your journey in your business?
[00:22:18] Speaker D: So I guess, you know, I'm on all your Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, so Empire Art Photography, and on LinkedIn it's just Jaya McIntyre. So if you want to come and connect and have a chat in any way, definitely just reach out.
[00:22:36] Speaker B: Yeah, and I, I'll make sure that everyone gets that link as well, Jaya, so that way everyone can connect, connect with you when the podcast goes live next month.
[00:22:45] Speaker D: Awesome. Sounds great. Thank you.
[00:22:47] Speaker B: Thank you again and thank you to listeners out here today. Obviously, we're grateful for you guys being here because it wasn't for you, this wouldn't be happening and wouldn't be able for us, me and Jared to share these journeys of these successful entrepreneurs that are coming up in the world. We're grateful for that.
So if you are interested, from our perspective, if you are interested to deep dive in your business and you want a strategy to help you break through on some level with your journey, you can reach out to us on timelesscreative.com that's timeless creative.com boardroom. Thank you again and we will see you next time.
[00:23:30] Speaker A: You've been listening to the Brand Alchemy podcast with your hosts, Jared Asher and Jared Brake. For more information or to request your spot as a guest speaker, go to www.timelesscreative.com a.
