What Photography Business Success Looks Like To Me
The edges of the lush island of Hawaii peered out in the distant blue. A promise of warmth, leisure, and piles of sultry fruit – all eager to tend to tired souls.But I was focused on that comforting moment when wheels would hit tarmac and I could pull out my phone, to make sure no fires needed to be put out at "the office".I've seen far too many entrepreneurs, my dad included, never take a true break from work. Or if they were taking a break, they'd still be so tense because of the uncertainty about what was going on when they weren't paying attention to their business. And I'm absolutely afraid of heading in the same direction.Every morning I wake up before my travel companions. Today I heartily gulped down a tangelo, made a mental note to start buying some when we're back in California, and sat down in front of my laptop to see what needed tackling. I started writing this blog post, because it felt very important to get it out.This is not how I want running a business to be like – being busy every day year-round is not success. Worrying about not replying to a client on time, missing out on crucial info from a webinar, or trying to keep track of when the next blog post needs to be linked on Facebook. Not being present during a vacation, a movie night, or heck – Tuesday morning breakfast – is not success.Taking a week-long vacation without having to worry about the business toppling over – now that's going to be a success!Of course, I don't want to minimize the importance of having a full-time paid work status, but I deserve a proper break even if I'm not there yet. Starting year three with my documentary family photography business, the heftiest chunk of time still goes to reaching new clients, educating myself about running a business, and bettering my craft. Which is crazy hard work, and should be rewarded.As I'm contemplating biting into another tangelo (omg they are delicious), I promise myself that there will be at least four work-free weeks per year.The decision has been made – but what are the steps to make work-free days a reality?Hiring a virtual assistant seems like a good way to go. Someone who can communicate with clients, who can fill up my calendar, and who can make sure social media posts are going out in the world while I'm taking a break.With the baby photography workbook for parents coming out towards the end of February (yikes that's getting close!), having some help will be more important than ever.This hero/heroine of mine would have to be someone that shares my vision, and has a genuine fire to help parents see the beauty in their everyday. I have a feeling I would be able to find someone like this amongst my readers.Somehow this post ended up somewhere very different from where I intended it to. It looks like I'll be looking to hire a virtual assistant, very randomly-part-time to begin with.I'll keep you guys posted when I have some more details figured out. After this vacation.