I’m a what - you - see is what you get kind of gal
If you’ve spent any time with me on social media, you know I’m a fan of the top knot, comfy tee and leggings — with a steamin’ hot cup of coffee in one hand and my daughter’s scooter in the other.
Seriously — have you ridden a scooter lately? You should.
The truth is, too much of my life passed me by when I put my business before everything else in my life. Now, I’m running a successful business with systems in place that help me get my work done, love and support my cattle-ranching husband well, and walk my daughter to school every day. (Rain or shine, she rides the scooter there, and I ride it home.)
I fell in love with photography (and, really my own creativity) after my own wedding when I borrowed my father’s camera just to play around with it — turns out when you do something you love, you want to do it all.the.time.
Enter my season of burnout.
I’d been in business about five years and I had just hosted my first workshop for photographers to teach them tools to run their businesses successfully. After a year of life and business’s highest highs and lowest lows, I discovered that I was using my business as a place to hide from the things I needed to heal from. The honest-to-goodness truth?
I was more prepared to quit than fix the real problems. I tell the story because:
1. I came out the other side of it a better version of myself, and who doesn’t love a good happy ending, amiright?
And 2. Because if it happened to me, I knew it could happen to other business owners and photographers, as well.
Because, if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.
Right? Nah, I call bullsh**.
Yep, you read that right. This is work, and I love it. But, I work freakin’ hard and it took me a long time to work smarter instead of harder.
So, yeah, I wear top knots and leggings, and I talk to the screen of my iPhone so you can hear my story on Instagram. What you see is what you get. I spent too many months of my life, holding on for dear life and trying to convince myself and everyone around me that everything.is.fine.it’s.fine.really.we’re.fine… Not anymore.
Now, it’s actually good—GREAT, even. Because I made the changes that mattered.
And, I’m still a photographer. Still a web designer. I’m a business mentor and workshop leader, plus a bit of a health, wellness and fitness buff, to boot. But now, I get to be all of those things from a place of authenticity and hard-earned, real-life wisdom.
