It was never my intention to begin a business. My thoughts were stable and grounded. First a job with benefits, in a cubicle, working away. Save up, buy a house, get married, have kids. Ya know – the “dream”.

Little did I know, meeting with a lawyer and accountant would jump start a thirteen year career doing something I grew to love. My dream shifted because my business became my baby. It pushed me, fought with me, and loved on me. It was the emotional turmoil that kept me routined through my twenties. Friends, lovers, adventures: they all flit in and out and the only thing that grew, keeping me grounded, was this little business of mine.

It gave me a reason to go back to my own bed every night.

Thirteen Years ago I received the official letter for my LLC. My business was born. This Spring we are a seventh grader.

It’s been a beautiful ride, so here are thirteen things I’ve learned and want to pass along to any young aspiring entrepreneur.

1. Set goals. Small or large. Long or Short. Whatever they are write them down. Whether you achieve them all or only one, keep dreaming and creating.
2. Get a lawyer and solidify your contracts. Yes, send contracts, invoices, proposals.
3. Find yourself a solid CRM (Client Relations Management) System. Whether it is one system that does all you need, or multiple that fit what you are building. Utilize technology and how it can aid templates and platforms.
4. Don’t be afraid to draw boundaries. You don’t have to share your entire life online. It is okay to showcase what you want people to see. Same with what time you answer emails, send off galleries and to compile it all in one word: work. Your business should never be your life. It should be a part of what you love to do.
5. Consistency is Key. Websites, Socials, Email Lists, Design, Packaging Brochures. Whatever your business is, keep it consistent. How you come across should feel fluid. The best compliment is someone seeing your work or websites and immediately knowing it is yours.
6. Communicate efficiently, and effectively. This can aid in being emotionally stable and grounded. Making yourself clear and concise takes out any emotion you might be feeling. Don’t let your stressors influence your words. Bring only clear communication and the day stays about the client. Think: Facts, not feelings.
7. If something isn’t serving your business, stop offering it, or outsource it. There was a time when I was booking over 25 weddings a year, and editing was overflowing. For those few years, I outsourced my base editing to a company who helped streamline my time.
8. Speaking of, time is priceless. You only have so much time, and you cannot recreate moments. Schedule, price and spend your time the way you feel comfortable doing so. There is no one outline that works best for every brain. You need to make it work.
9. Believe in yourself. Believe in your creative work, in your personality, in your skills. Educate yourself, continue to grow.
10. Be okay wearing multiple hats.
11. Be flexible. Things happen, especially if you are shooting a wedding. A bus may break down, wedding parties may drink too much, priests may get sick, wedding dresses may get dirty. Move with the flow and always expect the unexpected.
12. Keep track of your own expenses. Constantly check your bank accounts, and stay vigilant in how much you expense vs how much you receive as income. Hiring an accountant helps tremendously in making sure everything is filed and sent in on time. HOWEVER, knowing the ins and outs of your business is critical to understanding your business.
13. It’s okay to be scared. It’s okay to fail or have big dreams need shifted. It doesn’t make you a bad person, it should remind you that learning through life is the key!

 

And just for fun, let’s see how my photography has grown over the years. To the vault:

My first “Wedding” in 2010:

Right after college, I had a friend work at an Oatmeal company. They would send me recipes every so often for their social media pages. This jump sparked the idea that food photography is a possibility.

2013

I captured restaurants and still life for companies.

And then I had close friends getting engaged:

2013 – 2014

And other friends hosting events with hundreds of people. (This pushed my initial surge into weddings.)

2014 and on

 

Then weddings arrived, and by golly I’ve never looked back. I’ve honed my style, my editing, my approach to the entire wedding process. It took years to be where it is today. And I regret nothing!

2014

2015

Becoming more confident in my candid style and editing:

2016

2017

2018.

The year of Romania, Ireland, Hawaii, NYC, Chicago + DC && taking on double + triple wedding weekends.

Exhaustion definitely hit, but by golly was there so much love!

2019

The year of Aruba family sessions with bowling alley basements, NOLA second lines, and beach weddings!

For the sake of your scrolling brain take a look at my blog for the rest of the weddings in the last 6 years! 🙂

Cheers to you!

// xo