Are you wondering how to infuse faith into your business without losing clients? Today on the Book More Clients Photography Podcast, I’m sharing ways to start sharing your faith in your brand and business without losing ground.

In today’s episode on the Book More Clients Photography Podcast, I’m sharing how to infuse faith into your brand in a way that nurtures your relationship with God and doesn’t compromise business growth.

Sharing Faith In Business Without Losing Clients

Today’s episode came by popular request. I’ve had many of you ask me, “Brooke, how do you infuse your faith into your business? How can you share so freely and still have a profitable business? How do you not lose clients by sharing your faith or being open about your faith?”

If you are a photographer and a Christian, this can be one of those topics that could get controversial. So, I’m going to use my business as an example. Then point you toward truth and why I choose to be open about my faith. I definitely have had more positive outreach than negative. But I also had people who were offended by my faith.

I have to remember that it’s not me that they have a problem with. It’s not me that is offending them. It is the fact that I am choosing to use the name of Jesus. It is convicting! People like to replace that with a feeling of offense, even though that’s not technically what is going on.

Truth: You Will Face Persecution For Sharing Your Faith

First, I want to point you back to the truth. The Bible clearly tells us that we are going to face difficulty. We are going to face persecution. We will face people who do not agree with our faith, our way of living or with the truth. The Bible tells us that it’s not an IF but a WHEN. The first thing that you really have to do before you make a decision is to stand firm on your faith. Stay true to who you are and what you believe no matter what.

We are in a day and age where this world is out of control. It seems like there’s so much chaos. So, I really want to encourage you and let you know that you will probably lose some followers. You will probably lose followers every single week. Anytime I get more into prayer or open up about a value or where I stand on an issue – I lose followers. Whether that’s other photographers that are following me or are part of my groups or friends with me on Facebook. I know that the numbers are changing but I don’t care because I will continue to show up and to speak truth. Even if it costs me followers. You also have the ability to choose how much you share versus how much you don’t.

Infuse Faith Into Your Business With A Servant’s Heart

Let’s go over a couple of different ways that I have done this and then some ideas for you as well. The first way is the way that you treat people. I think the best way to infuse your faith into your business is through the servant’s heart. By showcasing the fruit of the Spirit : kindness, patience, gentleness, etc. Really seeing people for who they are and remembering that you’re serving humans first, clients second.

It’s super important that you take this mindset with you in every single scenario. One of the things that really just drives me nuts is hopping on Facebook, or going into a Facebook group of photographers, and seeing people just completely disrespect their clients or showing ways that they were disrespected. I see a lot of nasty comments that other photographers are leaving (like advice). I am just thinking, “Oh, my goodness, that is so selfish. That is absolutely hateful.”

It just makes me cringe. Sometimes, I can’t help but leave my feedback. And it is completely different! But it typically gets a really good response from people. You have to come from a servant’s heart. One of the ways that this comes across is the way you’re communicating with your leads and your clients. It’s the way that you are typing something, texting something, saying something. It’s the way that you are posing your clients or interacting with your clients at a session.

Are you being friendly? Being kind? Are you putting their best interest first? Or are you just trying to get the job done? Are you showing patience? Are you showing understanding?

Serving Over Selling

I know it’s frustrating when people need to cancel, or they need to reschedule or whatever the case may be. But we have to see it “human first”. We have to understand that most people say things and do things in good faith. They’re not just canceling on you to be a horrible person. Things do come up and do happen. People’s kids do get sick.

Now, on the flip side of that, I understand that some people use excuses and stories and even lie to get themselves out of situations. But please note, that’s not the majority of people. I think the number one way that you can infuse your faith into your business right now is by being very aware of how you treat people. If that’s the only takeaway you have today, I want you to walk away with “serving over selling”. It is always people first, clients second – money second.

You can sprinkle your faith and your values into your business through a bunch of different things:

• Choose package names or session types that come straight from scripture.

• Infuse faith into your emails.

• Play worship music at your sessions or while you’re editing.

• Pray for your clients.

There are so many different ways that you can infuse faith into your business.

Pray For Your Clients

One thing that I really try to incorporate is praying for my clients. I don’t pray with them at the session. But I am praying for them before their session and sometimes after. During my sessions, as we’re casually chatting, we typically hangout for an hour together and a lot can be said and done in an hour. By the time we leave, we have typically shared at least one personal thing that’s going on in our life. Or something that they’ve walked through. I will take that with me and I will continue to pray for them.

Am I perfect at this? Absolutely not. Do I do this for every single person, all of the time? No, I don’t. But I do try to put a big focus on doing that. On the flip side, I also pray for my coaching clients. The people that that come into The Blueprint, all of my Blueprint students, I do pray over them. I pray over my coaching clients because I know that faith is such a huge foundation in my business. Sometimes the success is unexplainable.

Rely On God Through Tough Seasons of Life and Business

Sometimes I will go through seasons. This year, in and of itself, has been God. I’ve had to rely on God to faithfully provide for me financially, emotionally, physically – in all of the ways. I have gone through such an intense healing season. From surgery (so, physically), through relationships (so, emotionally) and spiritually.

If you looked at my photography business just in 2022, you would be like, “Wow, you have not really marketed your business at all.” You would be absolutely correct. I haven’t! I have fully relied on God to get me through because this has been one of the toughest six months I’ve ever walked through. We thought the last two years of COVID was bad. Then here we are dealing with so many other things that I literally have had to rely on Him.

Faith is such a huge foundation in my business, that sometimes I can’t tell you why my business is successful, except to put my hands in the air and point you to God. That’s it. That’s all I can do. I know the marketing, the business strategies and the foundation. I’ve laid the work and I do my part. But sometimes I just have to step back and say, “Listen, I don’t have the capacity for this right now. I’m putting my full faith in You. I don’t know how you’re going to do it. I don’t know where these clients are going to come from, but I am fully trusting You.”

That’s another way to infuse faith into your brand and your business is to literally say, I’m giving up complete control, I’m going to do my part, I’m going to show up, I’m going to follow the blueprint, I’m going to do the steps. But I’m also going to rely 100% on you. As long as you’re showing up and doing what you know how to do – God will meet you halfway. God will meet you there. Wherever the gap is, God will meet you there.

Reignite Your Faith

Okay, I think a lot of us need to have our faith reignited. As I am recording this, my sister delivered her baby boy at 26 weeks, on Sunday. It has been an absolute prayer warriors’ zone at this point. We have had to hit our knees on more occasions than I can count in the past 72 hours for this baby. I have seen absolute miracles. It has reignited my faith.

You cannot tell me that there’s not a God. You cannot tell me that there is a bigger purpose than just putting us all here on Earth, to live and to sometimes struggle, there has to be a bigger purpose. I feel like God really wants to remind you right now that He is real. He is not distant. He has been there the whole time, waiting for you to turn back around and say, “Hey, I’m here. I want to have that relationship with You. I want to invite You in and to all of the areas of my life.”

That in and of itself will allow you to believe bigger. When you believe bigger, and you know the foundation you’re standing on, it is so much easier to just live each day. It will just naturally come out of you.

Sharing Your Faith Will Attract Faith Based Clients

A couple of other ways is in your branding, your marketing and who you’re serving. Now, not everybody does this. I don’t just serve Christian Faith Based clients, right?

But I do know that because I’m open about my faith, more than likely, most of my clients are probably going to share that or at least be inspired of my openness to share my faith.

With branding, it could be that you base your photography name off scripture, or it’s faith based, or whatever that looks like. It could be colors. It could be in your marketing, that you’re sharing scripture, sharing stories, showing behind the scenes of you in your Bible time and what you learned today. You’re sharing stories about your clients, about how God moves.

Nurture Your Relationship With God

There are so many ways that you can infuse faith into your brand and business. But I think it needs to come from your heart. It needs to be real. It needs to be you. Honestly, Jesus says in the Bible that we are a light.

We are meant to be a light and the best way is not to shout out, “Hey, I’m a Christian, I’m a good person!” The best way is just to be a good person. Let it be your personality and to allow it to be the way that you show up day in and day out.

It takes discipline and it takes practice to really be a good steward of your faith and to have that relationship with God. It is just like a really like a general relationship. Whether that’s a friendship or your marriage. If you just ignore each other, and you don’t have conversations, you don’t feel close.

A lot of the time, God’s always there. I think we just get distracted. We walked down other roads, where we just we just we just get consumed in life and what’s in front of us. I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve been in those seasons. We just have to remember, He’s right there. I just need to initiate the conversation. and say, “Hey, I want to do better. I want to be closer to You.” The Lord promises that when you draw near to Him, He will draw near to you.

Do Some Soul Searching to See How You Can Start Infusing Faith Into Your Business Today

All right – that was heavy and that was truth all in one. I hope that this gave you some examples. If you want more tangible examples, just pop into my DMs and let’s talk about it. I think the place you have to start is with your own relationship with where you stand. You get to choose how little or how much you share about your faith.

It doesn’t mean you have to share every single belief that you have. It doesn’t mean that you have to not be friends or not have clients that aren’t Christians. That’s absolutely not the case. How would we ever spread the gospel, or the good news about Jesus or ever impact other people to draw near to God, if we only stayed in our own circles.

I want you to do some soul searching today, reconnect with God and figure out ways that you can improve in your business? What is one specific way that you can infuse faith into your brand and your business, and be truly authentic with that? And be yourself and be that light? Be the salt of the earth that the Bible encourages you to be? I hope you found this helpful. Please let me know some feedback about this post. Hit up my DMs – I’d be more than happy to talk with you!

Want more marketing tips, editing tips, styling tips, content ideas and more? Tune into the Book More Clients Photography Podcast.

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