Today, I am joined by Camila Cardoza, the Owner & CEO of Maria Camila Photo.
Camila was born in Colombia and raised in Salt Lake City where she grew a love for photography desiring to tell stories of marginalized communities. She started her photography and videographer business years after and now supports Conscious Entrepreneurs to become known for their business and brand through highlighting their authentic POVs and stories.
Camila shares the lessons she learned inside of Show Up & Lead Mastermind that helped earn her first 6 figures in her business.
Follow @camilla_cct on Instagram and get the free “How to Use Brand Photos Guide” here.
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Transcript:
Cat: [00:00:00] My name is Catalina Del Carmen and I am a wife, mother of two, daughter of immigrants and rule breaking business coach for women of color, coaches, creatives, and service professionals. I spent years trying to figure out the online business game, creating fashion blogs, YouTube channels, Instagram pages, email lists.
Cat: It’s all of the things with little or nothing to show for it. Now I run a growing multiple six figure coaching business, keeping things radically simple so I could spend more time with my babies than my business inside my programs show up real and show up and lead mastermind. I teach my clients how to build an online community using authentic revenue generating content.
Cat: Content that doesn’t require them to be everywhere, whether it’s your first four figures in business or six figures in my mastermind. Less is more when you are committed to growing your impact and revenue at the same time. In this [00:01:00] show, I tell the whole mother effing truth about what it takes to build and scale an online business.
Cat: I don’t gatekeep, I don’t tell you half the truth. I keep it real and I will challenge you to do it as well. Welcome to Show Up, real podcast.
Cat: Hello, hello, hello. Welcome back to Show Up Real podcast. I am so excited for today’s episode. I have an amazing client and my photographer who literally has taken the photos I feel the most me in. The photos I feel the most beautiful in and I just love her work clearly because she’s my photographer.
Cat: Today on the show I have Camila. Camila is the owner and CEO of Maria Camila Photo. She is first generation [00:02:00] Colombian born in Colombia. Raised in Salt Lake City and grew a love for photography because she really started like she’ll tell you her story but what I know of it is that she really wanted to tell stories of whether it was People of color, women of color, marginalized folks, especially when she grew up in an area where being Latina, speaking Spanish, having parents that were her parents were, was not normal.
Cat: Like it wasn’t the norm in a very white centric area. So she started photography and now she is the owner of her own brand and video. Um, brand. Photo and video business that helps authentic entrepreneurs who helps conscious entrepreneurs really show off their brand in a real, a really fresh [00:03:00] perspective, um, and tells their own stories of their brand of their business and really just grow their business in this very authentic way.
Cat: So I’ll let her explain, but I am so excited to have you on Camila. How are you doing? Hi,
Camila: Thank you for that intro. I was like, yes. Yeah, but I’m good. I’m excited to chat about everything. And I, I definitely am less nerve wracking feelings about the work that I do now, which I’m so glad. And that’s just a reflection of growth, but yeah, I’m excited to talk more about it.
Cat: All right. So one of the reasons that I wanted, I mean, the main reason I wanted you on the show was a couple of months ago. I think it was you hit your first six figures in business, um, which was before the beginning of the mastermind that you kind of joined into where you set that intention, right? When we had a sales call last year around this time, maybe a little around this time.[00:04:00]
Cat: Um, you had, I think, brought in something like 15k, maybe, and you really wanted to commit to growing your photography business. And you joined Show Up and Lead Mastermind. And when you joined it, this is what I saw. You can tell us. You can tell us what you took away. But what I really saw in you during the live event, um, and through the beginning of the mastermind was this like relentless trust in yourself, growing the relentless trust in yourself, but also growing trust that like, this is going to be the program that’s going to get me to my next level and like having the full belief that like, What I need is here.
Cat: What I need is like, is like, I’m going to trust what’s what the advice I get into in this program, in this container, in this group. And I’m really going to [00:05:00] practice what I’m learning. And I think it’s such an underutilized mindset that is so productive for so many people, for myself, for everybody. And you’re such an example of that.
Cat: And because I think from what I saw, because you really learned to trust the process of not only the program, but trust the process of yourself, um, your results showed and you really turned on demand felt like so quickly, um, and you, you focused on growing and growing and growing. And because of that, you hit your goals.
Cat: And I’m just, I’m excited for you. Let’s talk, let’s get into the question asking, because I have so many questions for you. Actually, first, can you just give everyone like your intro, um, tell us who you are, who you serve, and, um, then we’ll get into the question asking.
Camila: Yeah, well, thank you. So, yeah, so my [00:06:00] brand name is Maria Camila photo, but, uh, you can just call me Camila.
Camila: That’s what my mom calls me. And I, that’s just my name at the end of the day. But I’m a, I started out as a photographer and then I learned videography just because the world of social media, just media in general, the way it’s moving video is so powerful to convey emotions and stories in a deeper way.
Camila: And then, I serve is conscious entrepreneurs, like people that yearn to be seen and, but I just need that like extra help with visibility and showing up online. Cause I believe that people that are behind the scenes and observe a lot, have a lot of things. Things to say it’s not always about the extrovert that knows how to be on camera.
Camila: So I don’t shoot with models. I can’t even remember last time I shot with the model. I like working is just with the everyday entrepreneur that has so much to say and bringing out, uh, their expertise. And especially I like working with anyone that doesn’t see themselves are presented in media just because.[00:07:00]
Camila: Media has, has the power to shape who we see as a leader or the knower of stuff. And I really, it’s like a big mission of mine to give visibility to people that to everybody, everybody’s a leader in their own way. And especially people from my communities, like underrepresented, I heard this somewhere, underrepresented audiences, and there’s just so much depth in our stories.
Camila: And I think. Now with the way social media has grown is like, we’re shaping the narrative that as, or at least as a Latina, like I want to tell my story in the way that feels good to me and not just leave it up to a movie or like the narrow stereotypes that are out there. I want to just bring more depth to all of our individual stories yet showing off our culture.
Camila: And yeah, it’s a huge passion of mine. And I, I just love what I do so much. It like gets me. I forget I have to charge money sometimes, but we’re running a business here. Okay. But it’s really fun. And I, I’m really happy about what I do.
Cat: Oh, thank you so much for sharing. Okay, [00:08:00] let’s get into the nitty gritty.
Cat: I want to go back to you making the investment. No, you know what? It’s not even making the investment. It’s making the commitment. I feel like there are different moments where you make an investment versus you make the commitment. And I think the most important piece of this is the commitment part.
Cat: Because if you are like when you are joining, especially masterminds, because they’re so high ticket, when you are joining a program That is something you want to evolve and grow in. The most important part is your commitment. Like that is the most important part. Like the money is not going to just create the commitment.
Cat: Sometimes it helps, but that’s not always the case. And I really want to hear it from you. When did you make the commitment to yourself that you were going to create Your first six figures in, in, in this business, right? [00:09:00] What did like, do you, one, do you remember the moment that you made that commitment?
Cat: And two, like, what did that commitment look like in process? Like, what did it look like in integrating commitment?
Camila: Yeah, it’s a great question. I, I realized that I was actually very scared of goal setting of like the thought of even six figures, but I didn’t want to go back to corporate and I always knew that I was on to something special.
Camila: I had, I had enough evidence that the work that I was doing and the impact I was making was significant. I just didn’t know how to make it low, but and I, you know, Just once you get a little taste of what life is like when you see how, what you can create from your imagination and like, when you start getting traction and like, oh, this makes sense.
Camila: Like people are into what I’m doing. I got a taste of that a few years ago, and I have. Trial and error since like 2015. And, but once you get a taste, I feel like you just don’t forget. And I just never forgot the, just the adrenaline of it all. And I think it was at the end of last year, like 2022, where I was like, okay, like I, I did like a really basic math.
Camila: I was like, okay, if I want to leave my corporate job, it was very stressful at the time. It was like a great salary, but it wasn’t worth it. And I remember being on the phone with you. I remember sitting down, like in my job, I was like on a lunch break, I was like, I’m going to go take this call. And I was like, how many clients do I actually need to sustain myself?
Camila: And I started thinking about that. I was like, it’s actually not that many. And, you know, I think I could have probably stayed in corporate for another few years, but the stress was getting to a point where. I didn’t want to feel like my body being stressed out. And I, you know, the, the word that was used a lot was burnout.
Camila: And I was like, I think I’m going to feel burnout. And I was like, I really need to start showing up for myself in a way that is sustainable and possible for me. So the number I had was like, all right, six figures is kind of the goal for next year. And I wasn’t quite sure how to get there, but [00:11:00] I was like, that’s not that many people to sign on.
Camila: And once I broke it down to like, uh, weekly goals or like monthly goals and even quarterly goals, it was like, oh, I, that’s only a few clients that I need to, to reach that goal. And it didn’t seem as like stressful. So I was just like, okay, that’s not that many people. I’m going to keep showing up the way that I have, which is been giving a lot of value.
Camila: So I think the moment was I was at my corporate job, you know, I was just sitting down and I was like, this isn’t, I can’t do this for another few years. So it just came to the point where I was, I made that decision, like, okay, I’m going to give it my all next year. And with, without like plan B of like, if this doesn’t work, because I just knew that I couldn’t do the job I was doing for another year.
Camila: So I think it was at the end of last year. And then I, you know, found your coaching container and I was like, this is going to help me get to the next level, I think. And, um, like [00:12:00] at this point I was just like. At this point, I’m like, I just don’t want to be at my job. And so I was like, if this is going to help me get there, I need to do this now.
Cat: And what were your thoughts about, because you joined a six month mastermind. So it was a, and at the time I think you were even paying month to month. So it was like this monthly investment, but there was a commitment that you had made to yourself and that investment and the time, um, what did you have thoughts about, like how you were going to fit it in your life and what did that look like?
Cat: I know we talked a little bit about it already, but I’m curious, like what kind of mindsets have helped you create better conversions? And for the, for people listening, when I say conversions, like, okay, we go out there, we market our business, we get the sales calls. But like from a sales call point of view, like what is your mindset from getting on that call to them signing up?
Camila: Yeah, definitely. Like being in service and being curious. I cannot stand a sales call where the person talks a lot. And it’s like, so I learned to just, um, to just literally listen and just be curious about the person and ask them just, there’s a process that there really is a sales process of like, what do people need? Where do they want to go? What are the desires struggling with whatever. It’s not super structured, but there are some questions that I always ask to see like, can I help you? And like, what do you want these photos and videos to do for you? Like, I just want to have a clear explanation, and then let’s figure out if I can assist you with that.
Camila: Um, yeah, I was very curious and I would say my mindset was, okay, here’s one thing that I’ll say is that I was getting nervous on sales calls before I did nervous system work because the person that I was talking to, I was like, Oh, my God, they’re so cool. And I would, like, feel intimidated and like, I would dissociate a little bit, but once I started resourcing myself and getting, like, nervous system help and, like, not making it about me, but just, like, turning the focus back on the person. Um, I feel like my mindset towards sales calls, I was just more cool and more confident, but not salesy. I was just like, this is what it is, this is what we can do. Um, and, yeah. Just asking tons of questions, validating people and what they need. Um, I’m trying to think, being calm. And I think you told me this too. Send invoices on the same day. Don’t wait forever for people to pay you. Just like make it easy.
Cat: That same day, just make it easy to pay here. Do here.
Camila: Yeah. Anyone listening to this, if someone says yes to you, you got 10 minutes, not really 10 minutes, but I never, I feel like here, here’s why I say this now, because in my entire business journey, when I am slow to send people links to pay me. It is a clear indicator that I’m nervous, scared of something like that’s all it is like because when you are on it and when you’re like ready to serve and when you have this mindset of like, let’s, let’s, like, let’s get you what I, you know, what I sold you or like, let’s get started in the service and they say yes.
Cat: The only thing that slows down that process is thoughts that you have not either thought about yet or that like, when you’re in energy of serving, you’re sending that thing immediately because it’s the right thing to do, because it’s respectful, because you don’t want to keep people waiting, etc. But when it’s slow, it’s typically, uh, something’s up. You’re like nervous about the client or you’re, you’re nervous about taking on another client or, um, you’re in your head about the call or whatever the case is and it’ll show you your growth. Um, okay, let’s, I, I actually, I want to make sure, is there anything that, well, I want to, I want to go back to the mastermind real fast.
Cat: So like what has been your, you can share whatever you, cause I know you like had some things that you wanted to talk about. So if you want to incorporate that, you can, um, now as well, but what are like the top three things that you have taken from this, whether it’s like the actual content and concepts and methodologies, whether it’s the coaching, whether it’s the Slack group and community, um, the live events, like. I’m just curious. What has been the most like game changer for you and the way you think about selling your offers and growing your business?
Camila: Hmm. I would say is, um, I’m like the mastermind kind of like big takeaways. Am I understanding the question?
Cat: Yeah, I mean, whenever you, yeah, like, why are you in the mastermind? Like, why did you join and why has it helped you?
Camila: I would say that for the larger part of my life, it was the lack of self-trust, and I think that when you, growing up as an immigrant, you’re just like, told to obey, and to assimilate, and to basically, like, you’re now an American, and you, like, do what we say, and just like, this mentality of doing what others say, and obeying, and maybe growing up religious too, whatever, but, the, just the concept of trusting myself, and trusting that the way that I process and look at the world, is of, is of value. And, and also studying, like, how do I buy, like, how do, like, how do I actually, like, how do people build trust with me and examining myself with how trust is built with myself. And I, I’ve just really studied myself on a deeper level and studied clients, too, and studied you, too. Like, literally looking at, like, looking at how you were showing up, looking at the way that you were carrying yourself, and like, cause people that are more successful than you have something that you don’t, they do show up differently. There’s a way of being that is differently, and so I started being more observant of that, and also in how you would coach people, and just how your mind process things. I think all of that has just.
Cat: I have a question specifically around self-trust conversation. We had a conversation on a coaching call, I believe it was when you were getting busy and you kind of knew that you needed some help, but there was some reluctance in hiring some, any help, like any help for you. But the load was getting bigger and it felt bigger. And I remember you were a little back and forth or just like indifferent about getting help and receiving help. Um, in your case, it was like editing help. I’m curious, like, how did you overcome that? Because I remember that conversation specifically and like, that’s definitely a scaling challenge. Like that’s a part of the challenge. I’m curious what shifted in your brain for you to like, actually get help when you need it and like create a person that you can go to when you need that support.
Camila: Totally. Okay. This actually came from a thread tweet thing from Adam Grant that I saw like on threads or whatever. Yeah. And one of the things he said was, Ego is threatened by something along these lines, but it was like, ego is threatened by talent, or like, good leadership isn’t threatened by talent, but they see it as like an asset to like, being successful, and I realized that I, I was like, oh my god, I don’t want to be ego, I want to be a good leader, and then I realized that I made the switch that I, maybe sometimes I have like a, a chip on my shoulder of like I’m just really good and I’m passionate about what I do. But I’ve had to learn that I’m just like actually I think I want someone that’s better than me like in my world and and I also had to make the shift of going from solopreneur. This is about me. I had to make the shift of like founder of like thinking about it. It’s like I’m building a business and this business in order for it to thrive and it’s people in it and me running it. That means that I need to step up my leadership skills and having better leadership skills is that that’s what I mean by looking at my business objectively and what it needs and how, if I hire someone for help a, I needed to clean up my mindset with just like the negative thoughts about myself, about even as a woman, I was like, oh my God, if I’m just like bold, are they going to think I’m a bitch and I’m just rude. And I, everybody hates me and for asserting myself and had to work through that. And then after that, I, um, I, I realized that if I’m getting someone to help me, my job is to set that person up for success. It’s not to be like, why didn’t you do it this way? Why didn’t you do it that way? And to be in like my ego self, which I don’t think I really ever was, but I did, I just had that awareness. Um, and I, and, and that’s when I had to shift from like, oh, leadership skills, leadership actually is a whole different skill set that I’m still developing, but knowing how to communicate and inspire someone for them to be in your world for you to not be a toxic cop, like partner with them. All of that awareness came to me. So I would realize once I made that switch of, it’s not about me, it’s about the business, I think that helped me be more, um, kind of like focus on setting people up for success. And then that’s when I started writing SOPs and organizing my business and thinking of my business in more structural ways instead of like, this is my passion project where I express myself. Even though I still have a soft spot for that part of my business, but like truly maturing is like looking at it as structurally.
Cat: Yeah. Yeah. A hundred, a hundred percent. Okay. Is there anything you wanted
to bring up on this conversation before I close it up?
Camila: Um, I’m trying to think, um, no, I think that, I think that’s it. Just like, just this was, it was such a good conversation of looking back on like, your sales calls and kind of where your mental space is, like, is it about you? Or is it about them? And how are you regulating yourself through it? And what’s your, what’s your, what are you really selling? It’s the transformation and the service of the person that you’re helping.
Cat: Oh, yeah, that’s a, that’s a great way to like, close it out. Well, thank you for doing this with me. This was really fun. This was really, really good. And you, I, I appreciate you taking the time. I know you have a really busy schedule. So thank you so much, Camila. I’m sure people are going to love this. So thank you.
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