I'M A LIFETIME LEARNER
MY LEARNING DIDN'T END AFTER COLLEGE
I was a radiologic xray/MRI tech in a former life. Did I ever tell you that? I graduated from the University of Nebraska - Kearney in 2004 with a Bachelor's degree in Health Sciences - Radiographic Comprehensive... and worked at a growing sports medicine clinic for 7 years until taking photography on full-time. And to be honest, I was so bored at the job I poured all of my creative energy into building my side hustle. 12 years later and man, do I LOVE my life. Being your own boss is the BEST. But there are qualities you must overcome as a business owner/one woman show... read on, friends.
Things I'm working at mastering:
- self-starting
- accounting (or marry a handsome banker, like I did! just typing the word 'accounting' made me nod off)
- time management
- marketing
That being said, my advice to anyone starting out at whatever creative thing you desire, get rock solid on your business mindset FIRST. The rest comes naturally.
Sure - anyone with a camera can take pretty pictures, but learning how to run a sustainable business (without losing your mind) takes lots of mindfulness and work. It doesn't happen over night. You have to grow and change with the times and always be learning.
I joined Professional Photographers of Nebraska and Professional Photographers of America in 2011 and since then have skilled up, made some kick ass friends, and grown my business. Quite proud to say I'm a member of life-long learning. There's so much I don't know and so happy I have a network of dedicated mentors to bounce ideas off off, borrow equipment as needed, and sometimes I just need a bitch session to vent. Only a fellow photog could understand.
Here are some pics of my last conference. Especially loved the live shoots and geeking out over new gear.
