Dear Me,
It's been two weeks since the conclusion of the final episode of RESTART and, no, you still haven't fully recovered. There are moments when you wake at 2am in sheer panic thinking there's another episode to produce, only to realize the chapter has closed. You'll throw your arm over the bed and rub the dog who's sleeping on the floor just below your fingers.
JD will ask if you miss it. Miss the four month roller coaster life has been and you'll look over a cup of Greek yogurt and shake your head, but he knows the truth: you do. You miss is the electric connections photographers were making in their business because this was the coal that kept the locomotive of life in motion. JD reminds you of February 5, 2013 (just days before Episode Two) when you said you quit because quitting would be better than failure in public. On the web. Live-streamed. He stood over your prostrate body as you wept and reminded you that nothing good comes easy. If it was easy, everyone would do it.
His words became the premise of Episode Two. And you made it out alive.
After the final episode March 6, 2013, you raised a glass (or two) to success. Not yours, but the thousands who committed their lives to making a difference in their businesses. People who participated over three months and dedicated themselves to change. Goodness it was hard, but you've seen so much good come from their stories. Stories so good the edges of your eyes fill become a dam of happiness.
When people are empowered to follow their dreams, live out loud, and run successful businesses, you know the big picture isn't yet complete, but it's darn beautiful.
Love,
Me

For those who are unfamiliar with the premise of RESTART, I worked with photographers for three months and gave their businesses a makeover…from the bottom up! We worked through the process of defining a brand and developed ways to create the experiences clients desire. This project was much bigger than anyone anticipated, but the team pulled together to help on every level.

Celeste Olds was my fearless producer…and Mike Oncley was a production champ. They worked endless hours ensuring the final episode went off without a hitch and their hard work totally paid off…love them.

This is me and Mike just minutes before the studio audience came in…I'm pretty sure he was telling me not to screw things up.

Kellen is a sound technician and has educated me on the finer art of hiding a microphone.

I love this photo. It perfectly captured the last-minute rush before we went live…

For the past three months I had the pleasure of working with Nikki, Ryan, and Melissa…they offered their businesses as models to be dissected (and sometimes embarrassed) in front of a world-wide audience. They were perfect, lovely, and some of the hardest working photographers I could've asked to work with. Ever. My heart explodes into a puff of glitter every time I think of them.

This is the ever lovely Promise Tangeman…she's my graphic designer. And I love her. So much. Over the years she's become a genuine friend, so when I asked her and her team of designers to join me as part of the RESTART process, she was kind enough to jump on board. All the photographers rebranded their websites and blogs in a matter of three weeks…unreal!
I absolutely love the results and each site reflects the photographer perfectly:
Ryan Greenleaf
Melissa Kilner
Nikki Closser

The focus of the final episode was on marketing and how to get new business. Getting clients and getting busy is one of the hardest components of our businesses, so I spoke about ways we could collectively improve. I also shared my marketing strategy and the most effective ways I book weddings.

I was especially thankful to have Lawrence Chan of Tofurious as a special guest. He educated us how we can improve our Search Engine Optimization and market our services organically.

Yay!

And this here? This is my favorite photo. This is the team, the studio audience, the crew, and participants of RESTART. I'm indebted to their kindness and support…and I can't wait to see what the future holds for them. Truly.

A special thank you must go to George Varanakis, Craig Swanson, and Chase Jarvis of creativeLIVE. This triumvirate of gentlemen guided, pushed, and prodded to make RESTART what it was and I'm thankful to work with some of the most talented men in the industry of online education.

To those who participated online, thank you. The support y'all have given each other blew me away and I can't wait to look back in a year and see how far we've gone. Together.