Yesterday I finished my business taxes and after 12 hours of getting everything together and organized I’m proud to look back at what I created. It hasn’t always been easy but I love what I do and wouldn't give it up for anything! So I want to talk about both sides of being an entrepreneur.
Pros
1. You are your own boss. You get to choose your hours, how much you can charge, what you can offer, and who you want to photograph.
2. The people you meet. I have met many people in my last 4 years. They all have different stories and different lives that I get to capture for a piece of history to be frozen in time.
3. The excitement. I NEVER know what to except when someone contacts me about a session. I’ve been asked to photograph an engagement shoot with the couple and their pet boa constrictors. (I’m still waiting on a response from them) haha! But in all seriousness, my favorite sessions are those people who bring their personalties forward and we make stories out of the unique ideas.
4. The freedom to be an artist. I LOVE the fact that when I get inspired to create, I can just pick up my camera and walk outside and make art. Although most of the time shoots like that don’t pay, they can lead to future clients. When I was doing my Disney series, I was getting emails everyday about people wanting to be the next subject and because of that I have booked several paying themed shoots.
Cons
1. You are your own boss. Because I get to decide my hours, self discipline becomes difficult. Let me give you a run down of how I’ve scheduled my time to make everything work smoothly.
• 7:00 am - Wake up.
• 8:00 am - Go to my job as a graphic designer at Southwest Printers.
• 12:30 pm - Head to the gym.
• 1:30 pm - Grab some lunch and run any errands that need to be done.
• 2:30ish pm - 4:00 pm - Work on any sessions that need edited, orders that need to go out, put together blogs, answer emails, etc...
• 4:00 pm - Session/Order Sessions/Meet with people.
• 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm - Head home to finish any more editing/designing.
• 9:30 - Watch Castle, Once Upon a Time, Flash... You get my point. :)
I have learned that without a set schedule, things tend to get lost or not done. My calendar on my iPhone is a lifesaver and without that, I would be lost.
2. You are always on the clock. I have received text messages at 2:30 am asking about pricing for sessions. When you live and breath your business, you better believe you will live and breath your business.
3. Competition. With living in such a small town for the amount of photographers I see popping up every day, it can be hard to stay ahead of the game. Everyone can be a photographer these days with the quality cell phones have and the apps readily available to make selfies “instagram worthy”. Staying fresh and constantly having to think outside the box can wear an artist out.
4. Leading to my last con of running your own business, the scary thought of not having a consistent paycheck. Since I specialize in high school seniors and families, the beginning of the year is always slow. I’m just getting done with the deadlines for the high schools and with the holidays in December, most families are trying to pay off the bills coming in from that. So i’m having to live off the previous checks from Sept.-Dec. This is when I spend my time with personal projects trying to drum up business.
In the end, I LOVE MY BUSINESS. I wouldn’t trade the 2:30 wakeup calls or taxes for the relationships and freedom of being a photographer. It’s my love, my passion, and my element.
Now for the GIVEAWAY!! I want to better myself as a business owner and I need your help. I've created a survey about what ya'll want to see as clients and at the end, there is a spot to enter your email (the answers are anonymous) for the chance to win a $25.00 Starbucks Gift Card.
