“My first official sale...to the tune of $1700!" 

You're about to get the confidence you need to fill your calendar, get paid what you're worth, and finally live a life of your design. 

But first...

THE MILLION-DOLLAR QUESTION

(and why it's so cringe-worthy.)

You've probably been asked this before. 

Maybe dozens of times. 

By your neighbor, your mother-in-law, even Dave in IT at your husband's company (you know, the one who wears a plaid shirt every single day). 

They ask it with the best of intentions. 

You try not to flinch, but it lands like a gut punch. 

Especially when you've worked your tail off, doing everything you can to improve your skills, gain traction, and cross off the next item on your miles-long to-do list. 

So...what's the question? 

It almost makes you grateful that parties have been canceled, that you're anonymous behind your mask at the grocery store, that COVID offered a handy excuse for not having a full roster of clients. 

In my mind, there's no question more anxiety-provoking for a pet photographer in the first few years of business. 

It's a question that can make you feel like a total fraud (or worse, like a flat-out failure). 

But even still...I'm glad that people are asking you. 

Because that uncomfortable question, and the ACTIONS you take to finally answer it with unshakeable confidence, hold the key to your flourishing pet photography business.  

...the morning sun beaming through your curtains as you wake up to a fresh stream of inquiries from your rockin' new website, feeling 100% confident that you can knock the socks off of all your new clients.

Imagine seeing your work — on a giant acrylic, framed canvas, whatever lights you up — hanging in a place of pride in their homes. 

Imagine your friends (heck, we'll even invite Dave from IT) raising a glass of champagne to toast your success, when you report back that "Actually, my pet photography business is totally kicking ass!" 

First, let me ask you a question:

What's the biggest difference between a thriving, profitable pet photographer with a full schedule of clients...and one whose inbox feels like a ghost town, with tumbleweeds blowing down its dusty, deserted streets? 

I'll give you a minute.

Think you know the answer? 

If you guessed the quality of images, you'd be wrong.

If you guessed living in a large, affluent market, you'd be wrong.

And if you guessed wizard-like Photoshop skills, an extroverted personality, or a closet filled with $20k of the latest, greatest gear? You'd be wrong.

Cause while all those things can come in handy…

They're only part of the equation. 

It's not their images.

It's not their zip code.

It's not a rich partner, showering them with the fastest, creamiest lenses and enough Profoto strobes to light up an elephant. 

No, it's something much more elemental — something that's available to you whenever you're ready to show up and do the real work...

SUCCESSFUL PET PHOTOGRAPHERS LEARN HOW TO GET OUT OF THEIR OWN DAMN WAY.

They hear the voices of fear and self-doubt, but choose to ignore them. Instead of staying stuck or paralyzed by perfectionism, they take imperfect action. They finally decide to stop playing small. 

Unfortunately, these aren't the kind of things you learn in school. Not even in the Academy, where we focus on the hard skills to master your craft and market your business. 

That's a great foundation...but sometimes you need more. 

More support. More direction. More accountability. 

More hand-holding. More ass-kicking. 

Sometimes, you need Elevate. 

Elevate is a six-month coaching program where you'll be guided by some of the biggest names in pet photography. You won't get bogged down in more content or curriculum.

You'll spend your time doing.  Setting goals, taking the specific actions that will benefit your business, getting feedback, refining and repeating.  

You'll move forward, every day. You'll banish self-doubt. You'll bid farewell to feeling stuck. It's like adding rocket fuel to your business.  

• Weekly Accountability and Support Through Regular Coaching Calls
• Plug-&-Play Marketing Templates That are Ready-to-Implement Processes Complete with Detailed Action Steps
• Community and Support in Our Private Elevate Facebook Group
• Need Extra Targeted Help RIGHT NOW?  No Worries, Elevate Also Comes With Two 1:1 Lifeline Calls With the Coach of Your Choice

Nicole begley

Nicole is the heart and soul of Hair of the Dog — not to mention the brains behind the operation. She has enough photography certifications to fill a bowl of alphabet soup: M.Photog.Cr., CPP, BA (that last one stands for bad-ass). So, sure, she's a great photographer, even authoring the sold-out "Pet and Equine Photography for Everyone."  

But Nicole's true zone of genius covers all things business: creating profitable price lists, sales processes that aren't slimy, automation to get your life back, and marketing that propels your business to success.

After spending too many years shivering under layers of blankets in the northeast, Nicole and her family moved to sunny Charlotte, North Carolina in 2018. There she shares a home with her husband, two small humans, and a Puerto Rican rescue dog named Zoey. Oh, and she's also Chief of Staff to Emma the cat. Nicole admits to being addicted to both travel and chocolate martinis, and is the creator of the #selfiedog series.

heather lahtinen

If Heather was a superhero, she'd be Wolverine. With her gleaming talons she'll shred your self-limiting beliefs, freeing you to not only dream big, but to actually achieve massive success.

While it seems like giant finger-blades would be incompatible with a keyboard, Heather's also an Adobe Certified Expert in Photoshop. No stranger to teaching, she's helped students with Lightroom and Photoshop for years and is the founder of Flourish Academy. Although she comes from the world of wedding and portrait photography, Heather loves animals, especially cats and chickens, just as much as the rest of us. 

Heather and her family live in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. An entire closet in their home is filled with the toasty quilts Nicole dropped off as she sped south in the Uhaul, laughing maniacally all the way.

kim hartz

You might know Kim from Pet Photography EDU, the place to master studio lighting inside the Academy. She also teaches students how to feel confident using off-camera flash in outdoor settings. Let's put it this way: If it's kinda dark, and you have a camera in hand, you want Kim's broad knowledge base downloaded into your head. 

She's also a wiz with branding, client experience and marketing, all things that have contributed to her own success and recognition within the photography industry. When she's not teaching (or shooting), Kim consults with studios all over the country. 

And we hate to sound too braggy about our instructors, but all those fancy photography certifications? Yeah, she's got 'em too.  

Kim and her family make their home in (pleasantly scorching) Houston, Texas, where she's a regular on the karaoke circuit.

Megan murray

Megan is another Houston-based certified professional photographer, which might leave you wondering...do she and Kim ever pair up Salt-N-Pepa/En Vogue-style for a karaoke rendition of "Whatta Man?" They'll never tell!

A numbers nerd, Megan worked as a chemical engineer in corporate America for 15 years before jumping into entrepreneurship. Not surprisingly, she enjoys the business side of photography just as much as the creative side. Give her a spreadsheet and a Starbucks latte, and she's happy to talk strategy to make sure you're profitable. 

Under Megan's guidance, you'll define your ideal client, get them in the door, create a knockout experience so they'll sing your praises, and then sell them products guaranteed to make you money. Because you ran the numbers! With her help!

Marika Moffitt

Marika is the Spiderwoman of the group, effortlessly spinning webs of connection within the pet community. She'll teach you to do the same, but be forewarned: You'll have to invest in your own lycra suit. 

Her gift for collaboration has elevated the profile of her business, Dirtie Dog Photography, within the greater Seattle area. Not one to sit still, Marika founded the Seattle Pet Collective podcast and is the co-founder/producer of The Limelight Pet Project, a multimedia campaign focusing on hard-to-adopt animals and the folks who care for them.

You'll benefit from Marika's ability to see the bigger picture, her experience of creating connection through collaboration, and her ethos of taking action no matter the circumstances. 

charlotte reeves

One of the OGs of pet photography, Charlotte was creating her signature vibrant work long before Instagram made "pet photographers" out of anyone with a dog and an iPhone. She's an award-winning master of natural light, something that's enviably abundant in her hometown of Brisbane, Australia.  

You know how you feel smarter just by hearing David Attenborough, with his perfect British diction, narrate a Planet Earth documentary? Same kind of thing; you can't help but feel uplifted when listening to Charlotte speak. And she'll talk to you, all right, simplifying tricky concepts and making the technical and artistic side of photography just plain fun to learn. Charlotte's created hundreds of "lightbulb moments" for students over the past seven years, both through in-person and online education. She looks forward to doing the same for you.

Kim Wishcamper

Former hostage negotiator and rodeo clown, Kim now works as a copywriter specializing in email marketing, website copy, launch messaging and outrageous biographical lies. 

She's also an award-winning pet photographer, so she really gets what you're trying to say...even when you're at a loss for words. With Kim's help you'll learn the secrets of persuasive copywriting, dial in your messaging and put your words to work as a 24-hour salesman. 

With pup underfoot, Kim loves to wander the hills around her beautiful mountain town of Missoula, Montana. She's surprisingly lively for someone who drinks decaf.

One of the biggest mistakes that most photographers make is only focusing on their goals while ignoring their current path.

Just like a plane flying from New York to LA must always be course-correcting or a small 1-degree change will lead them wildly off-course, we also need to be doing the same thing in our business!

Most photographers skip this though.  They have a good sale and immediately focus on the next sale or the next client without breaking down what worked well with their last session and what could be improved.

Imagine how much easier it will be to reach your goals when you regularly stop to examine what is working and what can be improved.  That is the 1-degree course correction that will bring success faster.

Inside Elevate, we help you determine which metrics matter - and give you the tools to track them.

Anytime a coach shares a mini-training at the beginning of a coaching call we'll pull that content and add it to the Breakthrough Resources. 

This is a treasure trove of resources!

What you need. When you need it!

"The Power of Coaching is This - You Give People the Path To Find Answers. "

It's easy to hide from the work when you're going it alone. Your dog won't know. Won't ask if you've completed that one thing you swore you'd finish months ago. It's safe. And often, it's stagnant. 

Elevate isn't about curriculum, but it is about action and follow-through. There's no busywork in Elevate. You'll be busy, sure, but with the 5% of the work that actually makes a difference. 

This application-based program is for people who mean business in their business. We only accept people willing to take imperfect action. People with an open mind. People willing to take radical responsibility for their business. And their life.   

Once you join Elevate, you're invited into a private Facebook group where we'll support each other and celebrate our victories, large or small.  This will be the hub for what will become your "business family" for the next six months, and probably beyond.

You'll exchange ideas. You'll solicit feedback. You'll challenge your beliefs, test actions and find solutions. There might be virtual happy hours, and by might I mean they are called Yappy Meowers. Who can say what other madness goes on behind those closed doors?

“This is Great Nicole!
...But What IF I haven't started my business yet?!”

This is about the time where you might be saying, “Ya Nicole, but I haven’t built my business yet. Shouldn’t I do that first?" Not really!

Building your business can be confusing and wouldn't it be nice to know that you have someone (7 someones actually) on your team helping you take the right actions?

If you don’t build your business with intention from the beginning, it doesn’t take long for many struggling pet photographers to discover they are working really hard for very little pay, or they can’t seem to figure out how to find more clients or their processes are killing them and they are working far too many late nights.

Wouldn’t it be easier to simply set your business up in a way that works for you FROM THE BEGINNING?

Yeah. I think so too. 😎

“Elevate has helped me select the next task, set a goal, and go for it."

“I love to learn and research, almost to a fault. I'll research something all day long, but I might not take action. I think sometimes the learning is just safer and more comfortable. Elevate has helped me select a task and set a goal, and go for it. That alone has really helped me grow, both personally and within my business.  

A huge benefit was the opportunity to learn from the different coaches and what skills they offer. It's hard to know how to invest my time and money, which courses I need to learn some new technique. The beautiful thing inside of Elevate, depending on what my needs are at one particular time, I can ask a specific coach for advice and really learn from that. 

On top of all that, it's a phenomenal group. We help each other out, it's a safe place to bounce ideas off one another, get some great feedback. I'm so thankful for Elevate.”

“My biggest breakthrough has been realizing things are much scarier in my head than real life.”

“My biggest breakthrough from Elevate has been that things are really so much scarier in my head than they are in real life. Once I managed to push past the fear and do the thing. It's not as horrifying as I had thought.

The last thing that I've learned is that it's OK not to be the expert of everything and ask for help. I can be vulnerable and it's not a failure. It's a chance to learn something new. I've loved my time in Elevate. I've loved the members of the group, and I loved all the bonds that we have created. It's been an amazing experience.”

JILL FURLONG
Playful Paws Photography

IT CAN BE AS EASY AS ONE NEW CLIENT. 

Let me ask you something.

What would doubling or tripling your average sale do for your photography business?  What would your life look like if you knew exactly what steps to take in your business, reducing the stress and worry that you may be feeling right now?

Can you imagine what it would feel like to finally have the freedom and flexibility in your business and life so that you can take month-long vacations, spend Wednesday’s hiking with your dog, or finally leave that corporate job?

What would this be worth to you?

And we know what it takes to build a pet photography business that attracts clients and makes money.

And look, the mistake most people make when it comes to growing their photography business is they think they can just search online, watch YouTube videos, or that the latest online class that they just purchased will FINALLY be the key to a full calendar.  But let me ask you….

If the missing ingredient to growing your business was as simple as implementing a marketing solution from the latest online class, wouldn’t every pet photographer be successful? 

Sure, there are some great ideas out there and some marketing strategies that will help. But running a successful photography business is so much more than a marketing strategy - it requires feedback, community, and guidance.

We are going to get you further, faster, because we are here to help you avoid making the mistakes that we did.  Instead of spending years testing different business strategies, wouldn’t it be safer and smarter to simply learn how to do it from people with a proven process?

And whether you are just starting your business or you have been in business for years, then chances are, you can already see what this level of support will do for you, right?

And let’s not just look at your next client...

...but for every client... and for every other marketing promotion you create in the future!

Because...

When investing in photography education most people make the decision solely on price.  They assume that any photography business education will give them similar results, but if that were true then everyone would be successful, right?

What I like to look at is potential return on investment.

How many new clients would you need or how much would your average sale have to increase to pay for this program?  Many of our students find that just one or two additional clients more than pays for the full cost of this program. 

So that leads me to how much the investment is to get the support that your business needs…

In the past, if you wanted to work me and this group of coaches, you would have had to travel to each of us and spend thousands of dollars at each stop - for only a few days of support. 

But now, you can have 6-months of access to ALL seven Elevate coaches for only $3000, of $599 a month if you prefer a payment plan.

At that price, it’s a no-brainer. Why? Because we will help you create a business that not only serves you, but also serves your lifestyle, and your bank account.

Plus, you can rest easy knowing I’ve taken out all ALL the risk from investing!

“So, I was previously in the Academy and I have done all the videos of the business of pet photography, but I hadn't done anything on the list. It was when I got into Elevate that I was really pushed to get out of my comfort zone and inspired to finally take action in my business.”

KIM HOSHAL
Kim Hoshal Photography

The Hair of the Dog online summits bring together the best of the best instructors from all over the photography industry.  Learn the art of dreamy edits, discover your own style, rock your website's SEO, and make marketing your business your BLEEP.  With over 35 classes, your resource arsenal will be deep!

Get ALL of the previous online summit recordings!

OK, LET'S RECAP!

When you join Elevate, not only will you be able to start joining our live calls immediately, but you will also have access to everything inside the Elevate program.  Including...

• Metrics that Matter successful photographers track their metrics as we can't grow what we don't measure. 
• Breakthrough Resources for when you need extra support running a Facebook ad, or updating your website, or just about anything else!
• Weekly Coaching Calls to give you the support and guidance for where you are RIGHT NOW.
• Plug and Play Marketing Templates from our Elevate Coaches.
• The Community is so much more than another Facebook group - it's become family.
• Three 1:1 Lifeline Calls with the coach of your choice throughout the program.
• Complimentary membership to the Hair of the Dog Academy.
• ALL summit recordings from past Hair of the Dog Online Summits.

And much, much more!

I've been told numerous times that I'm charging far too little for this program - but I'm committed to helping you succeed.  You can get started with all of this for only $599!  

Ready to take your pet photography business to the next level?

The Elevate coaching program is for those photographers that are serious about business, and ready to make an investment in theirs.

It's time to make a choice.

Are you interested in building a profitable pet photography business or are you committed? 

What’s the difference?  If you are committed you will find a way and if you are interested you will find an excuse. 

If you find yourself saying there are too many cheap photographers in my market, no one will pay for pet photography, my market won’t support this, or any of the other lies that struggling pet photographers tell themselves - you need to dig deep and ask yourself how important becoming a successful pet photographer is to you. 

And then, you need to choose your next move.

If you already have a high-performing pet photography business that is breaking sales records and you are living your best life... you don’t need this program... you need to be celebrating!

But, if your business isn’t bringing what you want it to bring to the table, or you are trapped in a pit of overwhelm, then your options are simple:

• Option 1: You can choose to do nothing... and then of course nothing changes. The problem may even become worse.
• Option 2: You can get 100% committed to becoming a successful pet photographer and take some action!

If you choose Option 1, you can just click right off this page!

If you choose Option 2,  Elevate is your ticket to your desired destination and applications are open now.

But CHOOSE Quickly!

The enrollment for our next class of Elevate is only open until March 30.  As a bonus for our fast action takers, the earlier you apply, and therefore enroll, the more FREE Elevate time you get! 

When you enroll, your official start date will be April 1st but once accepted you will get immediate access to the entire program and any remaining March coaching calls, essentially giving you a few weeks to almost a month completely FREE! 

That means there has never been a better time than right now to get started!

If you would like to schedule a 15-minute discovery call with Nicole or Heather, just click here.

"I've gotten more inquiries during the COVID lockdown than I EVER had prior to it." 

Before Elevate, I was in the startup phase of my business for a lot longer than I'm proud to admit. I put myself out there a little bit on social media, then wondered why I wasn't getting any bookings and no one was taking me seriously.

I wasn't even taking myself seriously! I feared that my photos weren't good enough. That I wasn't business-savvy enough. That *I* wasn't good enough. That random people were going to judge me. That my friends and family would laugh at me. I feared that everything had to be completely perfect before it became anything more than a hobby. 

I've gained so much clarity not only about my business, but about my life, and about myself."

KRISTEN MURRAY
Kristen Murray Photography

QUESTIONS?

Shoot us a message here and we will get back to you.  The next round of Elevate will open summer 2021.