Just Go For it
This is a photography blog, yes. There will be tons of blogs discussing photography. There will also be lots of blogs discussing life.
What I’ve found through my years photographing others is how much of a connection you form with your clients. We are all human, we all need to connect, and I cannot tell you how great it feels to really just connect with someone and feel seen. This is the reason for my ongoing transparency and being an open book.
About 5 years ago, I was a nurse. I turned to my husband and said I wanted to start a photography business. He was skeptical, but said, “Okay, let’s go for it.”. About 3 years ago I was working my full time nursing job, photographing on the weekends, and basically running a business in my spare time. I was burnt out, thinking I wasn’t good enough, but I loved photography, so I kept going. A little over 1 year ago, I had a breakdown. I could no longer do both of the things I loved - nursing and running our photography business. I confided in Troy, fully ready to tell him I was going to give up the business. He told me I wasn’t going to do that, I was going to follow my dream. And I was gonna rock it. I was nervous, but I agreed to give it my all.
I failed to mention that I was 6 months pregnant with our second daughter at this time. I told myself that I just needed to do well enough to get us through until our daughter Isla was born, and maybe until she was a few months old. After that, I could find a nursing job on the side. To my surprise.. I never did.
It has been a full year of being a fulltime photographer. A full year of running my own business. A full year of being home with my babies. A full year of getting to volunteer to be homeroom mom for holiday parties. A full year of incredible clients. A full year of getting to be a part of people’s most important moments. A full year of spending my time (most days) intentionally and being exactly where I want to be, with my family.
All that, because of this little business. I am my own worst enemy, and my toughest critic. The little voice inside my head told me “You’ll never make it sister”, but my stubbornness wanted to prove her wrong. I’m making it, and I’m making it with truly the most amazing clients.
I was very afraid to fail, and there have been plenty of things that I have failed at being a business owner. But the important takeaway - in order to succeed, or fail, you need to start. If there’s something that’s been weighing on your heart to start, just go for it. I promise you your future self will thank you in about 5 years. Believe in yourself, just go for it.