320 - Letting Go To Make Space for New Opportunities with Sabrina Gebhardt

Summary

Episode Summary: "Letting Go To Make Space for New Opportunities with Sabrina Gebhardt"

This episode of "This Can't Be That Hard," hosted by Annemie Tonken, delves into the transformative journey of Sabrina Gebhardt as she shares her experiences with letting go of established aspects of her business to create space for new, fulfilling opportunities. Released on June 10, 2025, this conversation offers valuable insights for photographers and entrepreneurs navigating similar crossroads.

---

1. Introduction to the Episode

Annemie Tonken opens the discussion by addressing a common challenge faced by many business owners: the struggle to let go of elements that once brought joy but no longer align with current values or aspirations. She introduces Sabrina Gebhardt, a seasoned photographer and educator, who recently made significant changes in her business model to better serve her needs and passions.

---

2. Sabrina Gebhardt’s Background

Sabrina Gebhardt is a multifaceted professional based in Fort Worth, Texas. With 14 years of experience as a lifestyle, newborn, and family photographer, she has expanded her expertise into education, podcasts, memberships, courses, and masterminds. Sabrina has been a frequent guest on Annemie’s podcast, bringing depth and authenticity to their conversations.

---

3. The Challenge of Letting Go

Sabrina recounts her journey in 2024, where she made the bold decision to relinquish three major components of her business:

1. A Persistently Unsuccessful Course: Despite having an excellent course with positive student feedback, Sabrina struggled to market it effectively, leading to stagnant sales.

2. Fall Mini Sessions: For 13 years, Sabrina held fall mini sessions effortlessly, but she began to feel an internal resistance to continue them.

3. Biannual Mastermind Groups: Initially a staple in her business structure, she opted to scale back her mastermind offerings to once a year.

These decisions stemmed from a realization that while these aspects were financially successful, they no longer resonated with her personal and professional fulfillment.

---

4. Letting Go of the Struggling Course

Sabrina discusses her first major letting go—the course that wasn’t performing despite her best efforts. She had invested time and resources into multiple launch strategies, including live webinars and advertising, which yielded high engagement but no sales.

Sabrina Gebhardt [07:14]: "I just trusted my intuition and last year was about seeing how that worked out and what happened when I followed through."

After consulting with her coach and experiencing frustration, she finally decided to retire the course. The immediate aftermath was surprisingly positive, as she quickly developed a new marketing course that surpassed the original in sales and impact.

Sabrina Gebhardt [12:42]: "The universe was like, I'm gonna reward you for trusting me."

This pivot reinforced the importance of listening to one’s intuition and the rewards that follow when you align your business with your true passions.

---

5. Letting Go of Fall Mini Sessions

For over a decade, Sabrina’s fall mini sessions were a reliable income stream. However, she found herself increasingly resistant to organizing them, feeling that they no longer fit her evolving business vision.

Sabrina Gebhardt [16:57]: "I just couldn't do it. I kept coming up with excuses or being distracted or whatever."

After reflecting with her coach, Sabrina decided to discontinue the mini sessions. To her relief, clients responded positively, expressing understanding and even increased interest in full sessions.

Sabrina Gebhardt [20:11]: "Within two days of sending that email, I had not only several responses... They were like, 'Okay, great. When can we get our full session on the books?'"

This experience demonstrated that letting go can lead to unexpected positive outcomes and greater alignment with both business and personal goals.

---

6. Letting Go of the Mastermind Group

The third and most challenging decision was to reduce the frequency of her mastermind groups. Historically held twice a year, Sabrina felt an intuitive pull to scale back, despite the significant revenue they generated.

Sabrina Gebhardt [22:00]: "I was feeling like there's something else that's coming. And unlike the last two decisions I made, this one was much more of a question mark."

Balancing practical considerations, such as her child’s senior year, with her intuitive sense, Sabrina chose to proceed with the reduction. Although uncertain about immediate replacements, she remained optimistic and open to future possibilities.

---

7. Insights on Letting Go and Intuitive Decision-Making

Throughout the conversation, both Annemie and Sabrina emphasize the power of intuition in making business decisions. Sabrina highlights how letting go not only freed her from unfulfilling tasks but also opened the door to innovative ideas and successful new ventures.

Sabrina Gebhardt [27:36]: "You can set them down and not do them, and you can always pick them back up later."

This approach underscores the importance of trusting one’s gut feelings and being willing to embrace change for long-term satisfaction and success.

---

8. Advice for Other Photographers and Entrepreneurs

Sabrina offers actionable advice for those contemplating similar decisions:

• Recognize and Acknowledge Internal Resistance: Understand when a part of your business is causing friction and no longer serves your purpose.

• Trust Your Intuition: Listen to your inner voice and don’t be afraid to make changes, even if they feel risky.

• Understand the Reversibility: Letting go doesn’t mean losing capabilities; you can always rebuild or reintroduce elements later.

• Align with Personal Joy and Values: Ensure that the core aspects of your business resonate with what truly makes you happy and fulfilled.

Sabrina Gebhardt [28:42]: "You have unique stirrings for a reason... If it's sticking with you, if it's intriguing to you, it's probably you're. You've got a version in there somewhere."

---

9. Embracing Change and Personal Growth

The discussion highlights that as creatives and entrepreneurs, interests and passions naturally evolve. Embracing these changes is crucial for avoiding burnout and maintaining a sense of purpose in one’s business.

Sabrina Gebhardt [32:13]: "We change. Our interests and the things that spark our creativity shift more rapidly than is convenient sometimes."

This mindset fosters continuous personal and professional growth, ensuring that the business remains dynamic and aligned with current aspirations.

---

10. Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Annemie and Sabrina wrap up the conversation by reinforcing the episode’s central theme: the necessity of letting go to make room for new opportunities. They encourage listeners to assess their own businesses critically and embrace the courage to make necessary changes.

Sabrina Gebhardt [33:01]: "People get stuck in the rut of this is what I created. It's working. I have to keep doing it. And that is absolutely false."

Sabrina also promotes her various platforms, inviting listeners to connect and collaborate, emphasizing the supportive community that thrives on shared experiences and mutual growth.

---

Key Takeaways:

• Letting Go is Essential: Dropping elements that no longer serve your business can lead to greater fulfillment and unexpected successes.

• Trust Your Intuition: Intuitive decisions often lead to positive transformations and open new doors.

• Flexibility in Business: Being adaptable and willing to pivot ensures long-term sustainability and personal satisfaction.

• Alignment with Values: Ensuring that your business aligns with your core values and passions is crucial for avoiding burnout and maintaining enthusiasm.

Notable Quotes:

• "This course is now officially retired." — Sabrina Gebhardt [11:04]

• "You can set them down and not do them, and you can always pick them back up later." — Sabrina Gebhardt [27:36]

• "You have unique stirrings for a reason... If it's sticking with you, if it's intriguing to you, it's probably you have a version in there somewhere." — Sabrina Gebhardt [28:42]

---

Connect with Sabrina Gebhardt:

• Instagram: Sabrina Gebhart Photography

• Podcast Collaborations: Sabrina is open to collaborations and can be reached via her social platforms for partnerships and joint projects.

---

Tune in to this episode of "This Can't Be That Hard" to gain deeper insights into Sabrina Gebhardt’s journey of letting go and making space for new, exciting opportunities in her photography and education businesses.

Transcript

[Annemie Tonkin]

Have you ever had something in your business or even in your life that you had done for a long time, people sort of expected it of you, and for a while, you really enjoyed it. But then over time, you started to feel like it wasn't lighting you up anymore. It got to the point where you were actually. You felt like you were kind of dragging it along behind you. Maybe it was a specific offer in your business. Maybe it was a chore that you were doing at home that, you know, for a while you were really into, I don't know, like, folding your laundry in a specific way. You drank the Marie Kondo Kool Aid and were really into it for a while. And then it got to the point where your whole family was like, well, we. We can't help you with the laundry because you have such specific expectations about how you do it. So that's you. And then it got to the point where you were like, this isn't fun anymore. I'm not enjoying it anymore. I just want somebody else to help me fold the laundry. That is not the laundry part. But that, in general is what Sabrina Gebhart and I are discussing in our conversation today on the show, Sabrina is sharing the story of three different major items in her business, both her education business and her photography business that she set down over the course of 2024 because she realized that even though they were working, they were bringing in money, they were successful by all sort of outside metrics. They weren't serving her anymore, and she decided to just let them go. Now, I don't know about you, but this is something that really kind of strikes a weird amount of fear in my heart because I tend to be someone who, if something is working, I'm like, great, we're just gonna keep on pushing, keep it, keep it going sometimes to that, like, detrimental end of burnout. And I just really valued this conversation and everything that Sabrina had to say because it really makes perfect sense. Like, we are creatives, we are business owners, and especially in our business, if we have painted ourselves into a corner that we no longer enjoy, and what we need to remember is that we can just walk right over the paint like, it's okay. You have permission. So if any of that resonates for you, I know you're going to love this conversation with Sabrina. Welcome to this Can't Be that Hard. My name is Annemie Tonkin, and I help photographers run profitable, sustainable businesses that they love. Each week on the podcast, I cover simple, actionable strategies and systems that photographers at every level of Experience can use to earn more money in a more sustainable way. Running a photography business doesn't have to be that hard. You can do it, and I can show you how. Welcome back to the show. Sabrina Gebhart. How have you been, my friend?

[Sabrina Gebhart]

Hi. I'm so good. I'm so glad to be back. And I love these, like, repeat conversations because now it's been so many times that, I mean, I've lost track, which is awesome. And they're always great. So I'm excited for today's conversation.

[Annemie Tonkin]

Yeah. If we were super curious, I'm sure I could just peek into airtable and be like, you've been on the show eight times on these dates, and these were the episode numbers, and this is what we talked about. It's so much information. But what we need to know is just you're. You're a frequent flyer here on this can't be that hard. And for good reason. You always have such great insights to share. I always enjoy talking to you. It gives me the, you know, personal. I always get excited. I'm like, oh, yay. I have a. I have a official reason to catch up with Sabrina today.

[Sabrina Gebhart]

Yes, me too. It's always. We need to make this more of a. Not just on the podcast. Like, you remember in 2020 when we had the, like, Remember, the audience may not remember this, but we had what was it, a monthly, a weekly, a bi weekly?

[Annemie Tonkin]

I think it was a bi weekly little, like, zoom group that we would get and talk about, like, what we were working on.

[Sabrina Gebhart]

That was so fun. That was. That was one of the, like, highlights of 2020 was just getting to, like, constantly catch up with friends that were all over the country.

[Annemie Tonkin]

I know, I know. And then we all got completely maxed out on zoom and maybe one day we'll get back to where that's a little less painful. But sometimes putting something. And actually this is a perfect segue into who you are and what you're all about. But, like, putting something on your calendar means that it actually happens. And of course, since I've got this commitment of the podcast, this scheduling you in here just means I officially and, you know, get to get to put it at. Put you on my calendar.

[Sabrina Gebhart]

Exactly. Which is a great reason to chat today. So.

[Annemie Tonkin]

And it's. It's a great thing to record it because as I said before, you always have such great things to share. We are talking about the sort of art of letting things go, which is not something I am great at. I like to. I'm a very additive person in my life. I'm like, okay, great, now I've got this all dialed in. I'll add another thing. I'll add another thing. And even when I know that it's time to let something go, I really struggle with this. So I'm dying to hear. You know, you sort of reached out and you were like, I've been sort of mulling this over. I'd love to chat with you about it. And I was like, great, let's turn it into a podcast episode. I. Why don't you just kind of kick things off by. First of all, for anyone who hasn't heard you on the show before, introduce yourself and then, and then get into kind of what happened last year for you that had your wheels turning in this direction.

[Sabrina Gebhart]

Yeah. Hi, everybody. In case you haven't heard one of our chats before, I'm Sabrina. I am actually still, still a photographer, even though I'm here as an educator today, But I'm still a photographer. I've been a lifestyle newborn and family photographer for 14 years. I'm in Fort Worth, Texas, but I'm also an educator and similar to Onomy, I've got my hands in, like, all the things. I've got a podcast and a membership and a couple of courses and a mastermind and, and, and, and, and so I've got my hands full. But last year I went through this process of, obviously the universe was like, we're going to learn how to do this because Onomy, just like you, we are both enneagram threes. We are so similar in so many ways. And you say that you struggle with it, and I used to struggle with it. And I think last year was the year of me learning how to cope with this and listen to my intuition and follow through. And it's been such an interesting process. So last year, over the course of a few months back to back, I went through the process of releasing or letting go of three different things in my business. One of them was a course that I had been attempting to get off the ground and launching and kind of dragging behind me for a couple of years.

[Annemie Tonkin]

Right.

[Sabrina Gebhart]

One of them was the decision to not host mini sessions in the fall for the first time in 13 years of my business. And the other thing was deciding to take my mastermind, which normally was a two times a year thing, and only do it once in 2025. And so I made these three big decisions almost back to back. And on paper, it makes absolutely no sense to release these things. But intuitively I was feeling called to put them all down. And so I just trusted my intuition. And last year was about seeing how that worked out and what happened when I followed through.

[Annemie Tonkin]

I guess my first question was, you say last year was all about, you know, following that intuition. Was that something was the. Was that set first and then you were letting things go, or did you notice I'm letting things go or I'm feeling called to let things go. I am going to sort of. Do you know what I mean? Was it like a proactive approach or was it reactive to where your head and heart were?

[Sabrina Gebhart]

Yeah, definitely reactive. I did not start off 20, 24 saying, how many things can I let go of? Right, right.

[Annemie Tonkin]

It's my year of no.

[Sabrina Gebhart]

Yeah, exactly. That was not where I was. And it started with this course. So this course I had is a great course. I've had plenty of students go through it. They still rave about it years later. I know the material is amazing, but you and I know as educators that that doesn't matter. That doesn't matter. That the what's inside the course and the value you provide doesn't matter if you can't market it and the audience isn't interested in it. And for whatever reason outside of my control, it just wasn't landing. And I had tried everything under the sun. I had tried different kinds of launches, I had tried different price points. I had tried all kinds of things over the years to get it going, and it just wasn't. And I decided early last year that I was going to do a live launch of this course and I was going to do a brand new free webinar ahead of it on a new topic that I was really excited about. I hadn't done the live launch webinar thing in a while. And so it was kind of fun and exciting to do it again. And I had, I ran ads to this webinar for the first time. And so I did lots of new strategy that time. And I thought, okay, this is, this is going to work. Like, this is the thing that's going to get it going. And the webinar got tons of new people on my email list, lots of signups, high attendance rate to the live webinar, which is really. That's like, yeah, yeah, lots of engagement and questions asked on the call. So it felt like this is going really well. And then at the end of the webinar and into the launch of the course after that, I made zero sales, which was like, okay. And, you know, I'm one of those people that I know there's always a lesson. I know there's success points in every part of the process. And I was focused on the webinar went great. I forgot how much I love live teaching to new people. I loved the part getting a bunch of new people on my email list, also successful. But what's not landing is still this dang course. And so I was boxering with my coach about it afterwards. And I'm. I'm a verbal processor. And so as I'm verbally telling her how I'm feeling and what happened, all of a sudden my intuition is like, put this damn thing down.

[Annemie Tonkin]

Right?

[Sabrina Gebhart]

And so I'm. I'm messaging with her and I'm like, am I dumb? I feel like I should just retire this thing. It. It feels like I'm dragging it and it holding me back. And I was so frustrated, but it felt wrong, so to speak, to put a course that's already made and built and created and, you know, that passive income thing. And she was like, if you need a permission slip, I'll give it to you. And I was like, okay, we're done here. And literally, just like that, I was like, this course is now officially retired. Took it off everywhere on my website. Sent an email to students saying, like, you still have access. It still is alive. You can still log in, but you're not going to see it anywhere anymore. And the immediacy that I like, the immediate reaction, physical mental of just not dragging it anymore.

[Annemie Tonkin]

Yeah.

[Sabrina Gebhart]

Was huge. And the cool part about this lesson, with that first experience of letting something go, was almost immediately. Within just a couple weeks of letting it go, I had this incredible idea for something new. And it flowed out of me faster than anything ever has. And within, like, 45 days, I had created a launch plan for it. Created, like, a free thing that would lead into it. I had mapped out the entire thing. I created the. Like, it happened so fast. And this new thing is a marketing course. And when I launched it originally, I sold more sales of that first launch that I ever did combined of the other course that I had set down.

[Annemie Tonkin]

Wow.

[Sabrina Gebhart]

The universe was like, I'm gonna reward you for trusting me. I'm gonna show you that there's something better on the other side of this. And that's kind of where I got hooked. I was like, okay, so listening to our intuition pays off. And I have always listened to my intuition, but not in a, like, setting down things sense.

[Annemie Tonkin]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Sabrina Gebhart]

So I learned the lesson, and that kind of kicked off everything else, I guess.

[Annemie Tonkin]

So. That's amazing. And I love that there was this sort of immediate validation of the move that you had made. I'm going to play devil's advocate here and say, all right, well, okay, first I will acknowledge that if it had been like low sales in your launch, it's almost like that would have been a little stickier and harder because that's like, well, okay, so I have these students and they're, I'm, I'm working with them. Like, I find it easier to cut something off certainly if it's like completely dormant. But I also find that every time that I close a door, it's like all of a sudden I have all these people knocking on that door and I'm like, what? Where were you? And I was actually like, the door was wide open. Like, I talk to people sometimes about how for a while now I've had a pop up on my photography website that says I'm not taking new clients. And now I get all these people being like, I know it says you're not taking new clients, but like, are you kidding me? Anyway, I digress. So in that situation, my instinct I think would be like, okay, fine, live launch isn't working, but I have a good course that I have like testimonials for. I know that people get value out of this course. It's already built. Everything is set. I'm not going to do anything to actively market it, but what's the harm in having it stay on my website with a passive evergreen sort of funnel saying like, hey, here's this thing. Sign up for a recorded webinar and then you get a series of automated emails, whatever, that you've already created. Like, why was your decision to actually close it down as opposed to doing that?

[Sabrina Gebhart]

So two things. Number one, we had had it set up that way in between live launches. And I think maybe it sold two courses that way ever.

[Annemie Tonkin]

Like, okay, okay.

[Sabrina Gebhart]

It just wasn't landing. The other reason is even if it, let's say I did just leave it completely passive. Completely. Like I don't talk about it, it's just there, people can find it. You still have that like little nugget in your mind that's like, I have this course and it's awesome, but nobody wants it. It's like this little sticky thought that you're carrying it around like, like the fly that won't go away. It's kind of buggin.

[Annemie Tonkin]

Yeah.

[Sabrina Gebhart]

Especially for us Unneagram threes where we. I've got other things that are awesome that people want all the time. And so Then it's like the performance of like, why won't this one thing just go already?

[Annemie Tonkin]

Totally.

[Sabrina Gebhart]

You know, and it just felt better to just say, you know what, bye, we're like, we're done. I'm not going to drag you around anymore. And I think the other reason, honestly is because the things that are taught in that course are still things that I coach on. There's still things that my one to one clients talk about with me that my route to Rise Mastermind women get from me that we talk about from time to time in the membership. Like, it's not like I just am not coaching on those things.

[Annemie Tonkin]

Sure, sure, sure.

[Sabrina Gebhart]

You know what I mean? And so it was just that package wasn't working. So the container, the container for some reason wasn't cool. So that's, that's fine.

[Annemie Tonkin]

Yeah. Okay. And I sort of figured that those were going to be your answers. It's like the mental space that something takes up is not zero. But you know, physician, heal, heal thyself. I can talk all day about that. Makes perfect sense. Doing it is a different thing. Okay, so, so you made that decision and then what was it in the summer that you were onto the mini session process? Talk to me about that.

[Sabrina Gebhart]

Yeah, so normally, historically, again, I've been in business 14 years. Last year it was 13. Every summer for 13 years. I released my fall mini sessions in July.

[Annemie Tonkin]

Okay.

[Sabrina Gebhart]

And as you can imagine, after 13 years of it, I could do it with my eyes closed. Like it's a well oiled machine. It's not hard, it's, it's super easy and I know how much money it's going to make me.

[Annemie Tonkin]

Like, it's just probably really easy to fill them up too because you've got the list and people expect it.

[Sabrina Gebhart]

And yes, it like is so easy and not hard at all. But I was having so much pushback or what I recognized as internal pushback for sitting down and doing the work. I just could not bring myself to do it. I could not bring myself to sit down and block off the dates and schedule the studio and get the email. Like even though there wasn't a ton of work involved because it is a well oiled machine, I just couldn't do it. I kept coming up with excuses or being distracted or whatever. And I recognize that because I coach women through this as like there's, there's a pushback here. Like something's going on. And so again I sent a message to my coach and I'm like, this thing is happening and is it Because I'm on vacation. I was in Colorado at the time. Is it because I'm on vacation, is something else coming up? Like, talk me off the ledge, tell me to just do it already. What? I'm being silly. And one of the things I kept coming back to was I have to do mini sessions to stay relevant as a family photographer.

[Annemie Tonkin]

Right.

[Sabrina Gebhart]

Which we know is not true.

[Annemie Tonkin]

Sure.

[Sabrina Gebhart]

But I was telling myself that story. But more importantly, not necessarily to stay relevant as a family photographer, but if I'm not still a family photographer, I won't be as relevant of an educator, which was the bigger piece. Piece for me.

[Annemie Tonkin]

Yep.

[Sabrina Gebhart]

And she basically talked me off a ledge and she gave me some really great advice that was like, you know, kind of vision casting. What would my fall look like without mini sessions? If I do decide to try this, I'm not, you know, ending my business. I'm just putting one part of my business down. Right. And the great news is if I decide in a year or two years that I want to pick it back up, I can, because I know how to run a photography business.

[Annemie Tonkin]

Right.

[Sabrina Gebhart]

And so I decided, I said, okay, I don't know what this is going to look like. I don't know what my fall is going to look like. I may be shooting myself in the foot right now, but I need to trust this process. I am obviously not in it this year. I would rather does. I asked myself, did it mean that I don't want to be photographing at all in the fall? The answer to that was, that's not it. I still wanted to be photographing, but I wanted to be doing the babies. And the first 48. That's where what I really love, especially the first 48, I didn't want to be in the hustle and bustle of the fall.

[Annemie Tonkin]

Mini sessions, holiday minis. Yeah.

[Sabrina Gebhart]

And so I just said, you know what? I don't know what this is going to look like financially. I don't know what this is going to look like to my clients. Are they going to be mad? I don't know. But I'm trusting my gut. So I sent an email to my email list saying, in case you're waiting for these, I'm not going to be doing them this year. I will still photograph your family. I will still photograph your newborns, but everything is a full session. And then I waited. And I love.

[Annemie Tonkin]

I'm just gonna pause and say I love slash hate that feeling after you hit the publish button or the send button on an email, and then you're like, oh, and your stomach bottoms out.

[Sabrina Gebhart]

Yes.

[Annemie Tonkin]

You're like, well, it's out there now. We'll see.

[Sabrina Gebhart]

Right? Right. Literally, within two days of sending that email, I had not only several responses to that email of longtime clients that literally didn't even care. They were like, okay, great. When can we get our full session on the books? Literally, they didn't even care. But I also. And this was again, like, that nod from the universe saying, like, I got you. We're in the right spot. I had three, count them, three Google inquiries from new clients who wanted to book first 48 sessions. And I was like, oh, we're going to be just fine. Because the photographing I was going to be doing in the fall was going to be what I wanted it to be.

[Annemie Tonkin]

Yeah.

[Sabrina Gebhart]

And then seeing myself, now that we've gone all the way through where the fall has passed, I've survived it.

[Annemie Tonkin]

Sure.

[Sabrina Gebhart]

I was as busy as I wanted to be. And I can't tell you how many times it was like, a Saturday or a Sunday afternoon, and I'm seeing or hearing about peers with mini sessions, and I was, like, reading a book on my back porch, like, yeah, this is. I'm so glad that I listened to myself.

[Annemie Tonkin]

So, yes, absolutely. After Riley, my husband, retired from wedding photography, which was a very stressful decision, and, like, who am I to turn down, you know, thousands of dollars when I'm perfectly capable and I have all the equipment and it's on the weekend and then to this day. And that was back during, like, the early part of COVID To this day, if it's a beautiful Saturday afternoon, inevitably he will turn to me and be like, do you know what? I'm not sad. I'm not doing right now.

[Sabrina Gebhart]

Yep.

[Annemie Tonkin]

So I. Yeah, I totally hear you on that. Okay. And then round number three of setting something down came in the fall.

[Sabrina Gebhart]

Yeah.

[Annemie Tonkin]

Or in the late summer.

[Sabrina Gebhart]

Yeah. So at this point, I had made two big decisions to let things go. And I had already seen the positive, like.

[Annemie Tonkin]

Yep.

[Sabrina Gebhart]

On the other side, like, I knew I felt good about my choice. I. I still. I wasn't regretting anything. And so at this point, I was leading into the launch for the spring route to rise that was building up. So I was doing all of the, like, prep work for that. I was getting the, you know, the sales page ready and the guest speakers lined up and the house booked and everything like that. And I kind of had this intuitive hit in that process that I should only do it one time this year. And historically, I had done a spring Run and a summer fall run. And immediately my brain says, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. This is a huge, huge revenue in your business. Yeah, you want to put half of it down? Like, where's this coming from? And I. So I started to think through, like, why was I thinking that? And a couple of things were coming up for me. One was the practical sense of my oldest child is going to be a senior in the fall and she plays a fall sport and obviously I don't want to miss any of that. But also, like, logistically, her last homecoming and all of these lasts for her that I don't have those dates that far out. And if I'm booking a retreat or, you know, like, I don't want to mess that up. So practically speaking, that was coming up for me. But also I was feeling like there's something else that's coming. And unlike the last two decisions I made, this one was much more of a question mark, you know what I mean? Like. Like, I felt like I was literally having to step off of a cliff into the vast unknown. But because I had just successfully set down to other things, I was very in tune with, like, my intuition and I trusting everything. And so I was like, okay. It wasn't hard to. It was. This was the easiest decision to make interesting. It was the easiest to make because I had flexed that muscle, you know. But here we are, what is this? Six or eight months later? And I still am like, I don't know. I don't. I don't have anything officially planned or replacing that. I said, still, I was telling you before we started recording, I've got some ideas. Yeah, things are brewing, but I don't know. And so I'm still kind of sitting in that unknown. But on me, I'm not scared. Like, I'm excited about it, which is really cool.

[Annemie Tonkin]

Yeah. Well, the bigger the void, I think the more time it takes to thoughtfully fill it and to bring it back to Riley's sort of career shift journey. He went through a solid two years, three years where he was like, I don't know what's next? Yeah, we have short term rental properties that were keeping us afloat with in terms of, like, his income. But his time was definitely, like, underutilized and he was antsy about it.

[Sabrina Gebhart]

Yeah.

[Annemie Tonkin]

And I just kept being like, just keep the door open. You can't. If you jump into something else and it's the wrong thing, you're gonna. You're gonna regret it and that's gonna be harder again. That was like his 15 year career as a wedding photographer wasn't just going to like, instantly flip over into something else.

[Sabrina Gebhart]

Right.

[Annemie Tonkin]

So that makes sense to me that it's taking you time to, to figure out what the. The next step is. And I'll be curious to see whether root to rise goes down to once a year, every year, or whether this year is sort of a blip or what. And of course, I'm dying to know what you end up filling it with. But the thing that has come up for me as you have told these three stories, is that through it all, you've been extremely thoughtful. You have a coach who you're bouncing these thoughts around with and all that. You know, I always am hesitant to give advice like, listen to your intuition or like, leap in the net will appear.

[Sabrina Gebhart]

Right.

[Annemie Tonkin]

Because I know that the net doesn't always appear right in the way that we want it to. So my thing is always make sure that you are not putting yourself in an unsafe position.

[Sabrina Gebhart]

Right.

[Annemie Tonkin]

Is there any other advice that you would give to somebody who's got something that they're. That they feel like they're kind of dragging along, that, you know, they're feeling all this friction when it works, It's a tried and true thing, but they're thinking about letting it go, or they want to let it go, but they're afraid to, you know, what advice would you give somebody as they, as they consider that?

[Sabrina Gebhart]

Yeah, so when we're talking about photographers, obviously one thing, and, and this is again, something that my coach reminded me. If, if we're talking specifically about one of your offers, which is probably what we're talking about, just reminding them that you built the offer to begin with. So if you decide that you're going to set it down, let's just use the mini session example. You don't want to do mini sessions anymore. You want to still do all the other parts of your business. Cool. You can set them down and not do them, and you can always pick them back up later.

[Annemie Tonkin]

Right.

[Sabrina Gebhart]

You know what I mean? You can, you have built a business before, you can build it again. That's the amazing thing about being an entrepreneur, is we know how to make money. We know how to make money, and sometimes we have to get scrappy, but it's. It doesn't feel as risky as a massive career change, you know, and so we have that ability literally at our fingertips. And I truly believe that we get rewarded for taking these big, brave steps. I truly believe that. And if you have had something stirring about something you don't love Something you don't want to do, something you want to try, but you're scared. Whatever. That stirring is there for a reason and you really have to take action on it because you're. You're almost doing yourself a disservice not to. You're not being brave enough to step into what your reality is. And now we're getting like super woo woo. But I, I believe that, like. Yeah, we don't just have, for example, you know, we have these. When we talk about, like, big visions for our life and like, what are your ultimate dreams? We all have different ones.

[Annemie Tonkin]

Yeah.

[Sabrina Gebhart]

Okay. So that should be really obvious that we have ones that are aligned for us, that are things that we are capable of stepping into, making happen. Okay. I have never once wanted to be a doctor, wanted to be an engineer, wanted to, like, develop apps. Like, there's a lot of things that, like, I just. Nah. Like, my brain's not even there. Right. But then there's things like writing a book or opening a flower shop. There's those kinds of things that I'm like, maybe I could do those things.

[Annemie Tonkin]

Yeah, yeah.

[Sabrina Gebhart]

You know, and it doesn't mean I'm going to. But, like, we have unique stirrings for a reason. And so, so often when I coach women on this, they kind of push back on. Am I just having this idea because I saw somebody else do it? Is it really my idea? And I'm like, well, sit with it for a little bit. Is it your idea? I think probably it is. Sure, you may have been inspired by somebody else, but if it's sticking with you, if it's intriguing to you, if it's, you know, perking your curiosity, it's probably you're. You've got a version in there somewhere.

[Annemie Tonkin]

Yeah.

[Sabrina Gebhart]

So why not take the big brave step and go for it? If it's a fail, you can always pick back something else, but it's not going to be a fail.

[Annemie Tonkin]

Right. Right. Did you, did you see that movie? Everything everywhere, all at once?

[Sabrina Gebhart]

No.

[Annemie Tonkin]

So that movie is a total, like, people love it or they hate it. Like, it's not. There's nobody who's like, no, it's fine. I am on Team Love it. Like, I thought it was great. But the basic premise is that, you know, there's like infinite versions of the universe out there, and in the movie they figure out a way to, like, hop between them. And I just thought it was like, brilliantly done and the amount of creativity and sort of the number of shots and sequences that they had to film were mind boggling. But it really does get you thinking about, like, could Sabrina. Is there a world out there in which Sabrina opened a flower shop instead of getting into photography at all? And the answer is absolutely, like, there are these paths not taken. And I agree with you that when you've got something that at one point you were really excited about or you built because you felt like you needed to or whatever, and then as your own boss, you're having to be like, come on, go do that thing. I do feel like that is a giant red flag. And if you don't pay attention to that red flag, the potential is for, you know, burnout, resentment, et cetera. And there's really no excuse for that when you're running your own business.

[Sabrina Gebhart]

Yeah. Oh my gosh. I agree so much if you're not. I, I don't want to say you have to love every part of your business because, like, nobody likes finances, nobody likes the spreadsheets, nobody likes the whatever. But if you don't like the big highlights of your business and the majority.

[Annemie Tonkin]

Of the main thing you're selling.

[Sabrina Gebhart]

Yeah. Something's wrong. Like, you are. Being an entrepreneur is freaking hard. And if you're not happy most of the time, what are you even doing? Like, why? Why? You need to really have a heart to heart with yourself about like, why did I get into this again? What do I want to be doing? And honestly, on me, part of it is like, we change.

[Annemie Tonkin]

Yeah. You know, we're creative people, so I think that we, I don't want to say we change, but our interests and the things that spark our creativity shift more rapidly than is convenient sometimes.

[Sabrina Gebhart]

Yeah, definitely. And you know, something you used to love or you weren't interested in at one point now sparks your interest in this new season of life. Let yourself explore it. And if you love it, like, it's okay to make pivots and put things down and pick things up and, and also like decide that you don't want to be a photographer anymore because you'd rather open a flower shop. Like, that's cool too. I mean, I, I just, People get stuck in the rut of this is what I created. It's working. I have to keep doing it. And that is absolutely false.

[Annemie Tonkin]

Yeah, absolutely. Be mindful of the bills that you have to pay and all that sort of thing, but don't be overly mindful of them. If you can't afford to go open a flower shop, go work part time at a flower shop in between photography gigs to, to figure out if that's a course that you want to follow and do so responsibly. That's my little caveat. Oh, Sabrina, you are just always such a joy to chat with. I loved this. It's really got my wheels turning about. Of course, we all have that one thing and I'm like, oh, she's calling me out so hard on it. So I'm going to have to go do some deep thinking about that after this. But in the meantime, let everybody know where they can find you. Follow you all the. All the things.

[Sabrina Gebhart]

Yeah, you can definitely find me on Instagram. I spend a lot of time there. I still am one of the people that enjoys it over there. So come say hi at Sabrina Gebhart Photography. Send me a dm. Tell me you loved our chat. Onomi. Anytime I'm on your podcast or you're on my podcast, I get more messages about, like, when are you anonymy going to collaborate on something? I could listen to the two of you all day. And then when you and me and Coley did the podcast together, that was like the trifecta of messages of, like, what universe can we do something with you three? I mean, it was wild. So I do feel like there's, like.

[Annemie Tonkin]

Some magic with the three of us. It is really fun.

[Sabrina Gebhart]

There is. I already have my wheels turning if y' all don't.

[Annemie Tonkin]

So that big space in the fall.

[Sabrina Gebhart]

Exactly. Exactly.

[Annemie Tonkin]

Cool. Oh, man. All right, well, I will let you go and I will talk to you soon.

[Sabrina Gebhart]

Thanks for having me.

[Annemie Tonkin]

Thank you. Bye. That's it for this week's episode of this Can't Be that Hard. I'll be back same time, same place next week. If you like the show, be sure to check out thiscan'tbethard.com to explore all the resources we have for photographers. And of course, it would mean the world to me if you would leave a review of the show on itunes or Spotify. As always, thanks so much for joining me. I hope you have a fantastic week.