Strawberry Blonde Photography- vision board 2016

Twice a year, or a little more often if I am honest with myself, I decide to go back to school and get a different job. I get the desire for a job with more peace of mind: a consistent paycheck, sick days, vacation time, a lunch break, a 401k and health insurance just to name a few. I usually spend about a week researching my new "secure" career. Ive taken all of the necessary testing, filled out all of the forms, paid the fees and been admitted to grad school. For some reason I come back to photography every single time. I cant go through with the change. I think it boils down to my passion. I love photography, I love my clients, I love what I get to do and I can use it to provide for my family and to serve others. My schedule is flexible and enables me to spend time investing in my children and my family. My bachelors degree is in sociology, a degree that I pursued because I wanted to help people. After three years working for the State with foster children and families on the verge of having children taken, I realized how very difficult it is to help people when they do not want your help. Photography allows me to spend time with people, to become invested in their lives and on occasion to give things of sentimental value when their hearts need it, to help them in a way. Really it is my own little type of social work from behind my camera. More than that, photography allowed me to sit at the hospital with my sister when she was diagnosed with brain cancer, to walk with her in the mornings and drive her to appointments. The flexibility in my schedule is just as priceless to me as the smiles that I get to capture for my clients. Why then do I have these little moments of wanting to "jump ship"? This year at Imaging USA (a huge photography conference) I realized that my issue is a lack of faith. When I start to look around at the sea of photographers around me (some who just got a new camera and opened up shop on the side and some who are really amazing career photographers) I get overwhelmed and think I am destined to fail. When I let my mind wander, I look at other photographers beautiful images and begin to think my work is no good. As a woman I do this in many areas of my life, so its no wonder that those insecurities flow into my business when I don't keep my focus. I look at the one client who went to another photographer and have my heart hurt instead of focusing on serving the many loyal customers that I have. In those times of loosing my focus, I start to doubt that I can succeed and that the Lord can use this business to provide for my family. My friend Amanda (during my most recent decision to pursue a nursing degree) reminded me of how this business grew. She reminded me of how a few years ago I picked up the camera without a single idea of how to use it, but slowly, through practice and many classes learned how to use my camera to create images that made me (and my clients) happy. Amanda reminded me that while photography was initially just a fun, part time thing for me, it grew and supported me and my children when I was a single mom. Every month our needs were met through a job that required my faith. The Lord used this business to provide then and He still does today. Photography, for me, is a walk of faith every single month as I grow and learn how to run a business. I am learning this year to cut out the things that make me less productive and focus on the things that I love, the things that make this business what I passionately want it to be. Being a business owner is a really, really hard process and its scary every day hoping that Ill meet my goals each month, but somehow each month things seem to come together. This year I have resolved to go into the year with all of my "eggs in this basket" so to speak. Im dropping the idea of another career and focusing on making this business everything that I dream it can be. The one quote that stood out to me the most from Imaging was "Successful people do all of the things that unsuccessful people don't want to do." I have no idea why that one hit home with me, but it stuck and has made my daily decisions a little more focused and driven. That quote has helped me to pull myself out of bed earlier, change my business model for this year and the future, and focus on small tasks each day. I am so excited about what 2016 has in store for Strawberry Blonde Photography and I am excited to focus on my dream and drop the "back up plans". This vision board is going up in my office to remind me of the "why" behind Strawberry Blonde Photography. When I start to doubt or get afraid, Ill have my reminders right at a glance :).