One Year of Full Time

It just occurred to me the other day that it’s already been just over a year since I left my teaching job and pursued photography (and motherhood) full time. When I think back on this past year in my business, there are just so many things that I reflect on!

Firstly, my life isn’t glamorous, but it’s my imperfectly perfect, beautiful life and I love where I’m at. But! That doesn’t mean that this past year has been so easy and that my business has exploded with success. Now, I’m not failing by any means (yet! and hopefully never!) but the thought of not being successful lights a fire under me every time I sit down to work. When I left my job, I knew that the result of failure was to just get a job again. That made the transition less scary because I knew that worst case scenario, I’d go back to teaching or I’d find a job. I’m still totally prepared to do this if that’s what it comes to!

There have been small wins along the way, and definitely some big lessons learned. The biggest lesson that I’m currently dealing with is NOT using a credit card. It’s an interesting journey to how I ended up with some credit card debt, because when I used it for the first time, it was to purchase a laptop. A laptop that I had actually saved up all the money for! I literally had all the money in my bank account to pay for it all out of pocket. I thought it’d be a great way to build up some points! But, for whatever reason, I didn’t pay it off right away.  Before I knew it, the money that I had saved up was used for other things and there I was with this credit card bill. About three or four months ago I finally got a handle on it and am far more disciplined with it now. It was such a surprise to me that this ended up happening because this was the FIRST time in the five years I’ve had this business that I’ve gone into debt! That’s something I’ve always been proud of! After a hard winter where I actually ended up owing almost five times more in taxes then the previous year, I was able to start making some headway again and paying that bill down!

The biggest win for me was starting to pay myself monthly! Last fall, Steven and I sat down and figured out what I should put for “Linda’s income” in our budget spreadsheet. I was able to set a small number that I knew I could contribute to our finances each month. This spring I was able to increase that amount by $200! I’m hoping that by the end of 2018 I’ll be at my goal number for monthly income! It’s been a slow process, but it’s still progress that I’m psyched about.

Pursuing photography full time has also given me major opportunities to invest in my education and in my business. I’ve done SO much work since January completely re-doing all my client experiences and communication, creating a marketing strategy and constantly pushing myself to learn more about the technical side of photography. That’s something I know would have been very difficult to accomplish while working a full time job, so I’m grateful for the time to get things super squared away!

I’ve also stopped wearing busy as a badge of honor. I focus my time and energy on things that matter and that will directly have an impact on my business! I only get roughly two hours a day to work and I am incredibly intentional with that time!

There are a lot of days where I stress and worry a lot about the future and trying to make sure I get enough weddings, families and maternity sessions booked so that I can meet my goals. That’s part of the life of a service based business I suppose! But most days I feel very thankful to be where I am in my life and in my business. I definitely could NOT be doing this yet if Steven wasn’t working a full time job. I would’ve had to work full time for much longer if I was doing this all on my own. In the end, staying home with Lily and not having to pay for childcare was of far greater value to us. We aren’t swimming in oodles of money. For now, we’re able to pay for all of our bills and put a very small amount into our savings and retirement each month, and that’s okay. Eventually we will get to where we dream of being financially!

I think that when I was preparing to go full time, I did a pretty good job getting myself ready for that. But, like with most things, there’s no way you can really be prepared for the leap! I work really hard every day and I try to serve my couples and families as best as I can!

Overall, we are doing okay!

Linda is a Maine-based photographer specializing in weddings and creating family legacies. You can see more of her work online at lindabarryphotography.com, on Instagram, or on Facebook. If you want to reach out directly: linda@lindabarryphotography.com

I pursued wedding photography full time one year ago! Click here to read more about the journey!

 

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You can usually find me adding books to my never-ending “to read” list; challenging myself to do things like not shop for a year; sneaking crispy m+ms from my secret hiding spot so I don’t have to share them with my daughter; and melting over seeing my children smiling at each other.

Oh and I guess I should mention - I’m a seasoned Portland wedding photographer who provides not only kick-ass wedding photos, but also a meaningful and laid-back experience from the time you book to the delivery of your final images. 

I share all things personal, business, tips, and life as a mom and business owner here on the blog!

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i'm a mama of two, a razzleberry peace tea hoarder, and a photographer

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