Running A Family And Newborn Photography Business Is Hard Work
"I'm like a rubber band until you pull too hard" - Sia
Every time I hear Sia's Elastic Heart playing, I think "this is how it feels to get a business off the ground".
Running a photography business is hard work. Getting to a point where you run a successful photography business is very hard, time consuming and exhausting work – at least for most creative people who don't have the business-side-of-things gene.The amazing thing with working for myself is that I have flexibility when it comes to my schedule (who am I kidding – I of course mean Nova's schedule). I can take a day off if my soul really needs it, and I can choose which clients to work with.In addition, I have a great opportunity to create images that will matter for future generations – at my old job as a psychologist I did not feel that I had such a strong impact on the world.
Being my own boss has its downsides, though.Nobody tells me what the most important tasks for the day are. I tend to prioritize current client work over everything else because I feel that is most important. Outside of that, there are so many things I have to do to stay relevant, to climb in Google search rankings, and ultimately to be found by new clients.Nobody pays me for 75% of my time that isn't directly related to client work, for example updating the website, posting on social media, replying to emails, and studying new techniques. Emailing, bookkeeping, newsletter writing, blogging. Once I'm at a full-time paid status the admin task workload should go down to 30%, according to my (maybe too optimistic) calculations. That's the thing when you're running a small business, there's so much work to do that some people just don't see.There are times when I think it would be easier to quit. I could work somewhere where I'm told what to do, where I get paid for the work I put in that day, and where I could leave everything at the office at the end of the day. This is precisely why it's essential that you don't take on absolutely every role possible in your business, otherwise, you will just grow to resent what you have created and the passion you once had will burn out.
According to statistics I'm might still be 1.5-3.5 years away from running a full-time paid photography business. It really does take years to establish a client base and to build a portfolio – I'm lucky enough to have a husband who can support us through this phase.According to statistics there's still a high probability that I'll give up on my business within a year from today. Although the market for family photographers is more saturated than ever, I have an edge by offering something different than most other family photographers do; real life memories.According to statistics I'll pretty much bend until I almost break, making this business a success. I say "almost break", because I do not want to be at the other side of that statistic.I'm truly grateful for all the families that have trusted me with their memories this far, and I feel privileged when they come back for more. I also cherish everyone who's been getting the word out there – I owe my steadily growing community a huge chunk of my success this far. Thank you all for your part in this journey of mine!
Did you know that documentary family photographers hungrily wait for moments like these?