Taking your business to the next level and going full time is scary, exciting, and nerve wracking all wrapped into one! Here are a few insights into how that process played out for me…

The Dream

I was a teacher in a suburban district in Columbus, Ohio for six years. I loved my job for so many reasons. And wrestled with it for others. And along came photography. It started as a fun hobby. I loved interacting with people, seeing the final product of my work, making people happy! I fell in love with photography quickly! Slowly, as I started charging, I realized that maybe, just maybe this could be my job!? What!?

 

The Plan

My teaching job was very stable, and after six years, I had worked my way to a nice, comfortable salary. Why would I leave that? HOW could I leave that?

While I am the dreamer, my amazing husband, Ben is the more practical, logical thinker. Thank goodness! When I come to him with my wild dreams, he asks questions, challenges my thinking, helps me to make a plan. He helped me to create a plan to make photography my full time gig. I continued working full time for two years, all the while gaining momentum with my wedding and senior bookings and saving, saving, saving!!! I can’t stress that enough! (The financial piece may be a whole other post.) We had to ensure that I would have a salary to make this a full time gig. Saving was imperative!

 

The Guts

One characteristic of mine that worked in my favor during this process, was my determination. I knew this was something I wanted to do. I knew I wanted to work hard at this, and make this dream come to fruition. That really helped me to plow through stressful days and long nights. If you have something you love doing, odds are and my hope for you is, you find the determination to make it happen!

 

The Perseverance

A lot of people questioned me. In fact, most people did. Many of them did so out of love. Teaching is a respectable, amazing profession, and I have the utmost admiration for my former co-workers. They are incredible. I was just at a season of life where I needed a change. I needed to be able to breathe and express myself in different ways.

If you have a DREAM, a PLAN to succeed, and the DETERMINATION to help you achieve that dream, then start today! When googling perseverance, this is what I found: “steadfastness in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success.” On your journey to going full time with your business, expect trials, expect hardships, expect setbacks. But also expect to experience joy because you are going after what you love! Don’t give up, my friend!