Guys, I can’t believe it’s already been a year. ONE YEAR! Three hundred sixty-five days. Fifty-two weeks. Two hundred pots of coffee (probably fairly accurate.) One year ago I said “PEACE OUT!” to corporate life in pursuit of something that really made my heart sing. I hope you’re ready for a down right honest post about what my first year was REALLY like. For those of you that know me well, I have a knack for being a bit (too) honest, but I feel like this post is the perfect place for it. So here we go…

Five things I learned in my first year in business:

1. Entrepreneurship is down right HARD work:

No longer was my business something I simply did “on the side.” I was completely all-in. No pressure, right? Well, I found out very fast that just because you go out into the world and say “HEY EVERYONE, I QUIT MY JOB FOR THIS! HEY! HEYYYY!!!” doesn’t mean that business is going to come flooding in and knocking your door down. It also doesn’t mean that I work a few leisure hours here and a few more there all willy-nilly. Being an entrepreneur more often than not means working 12+ hours a day and often sneaking off into my office late at night when I’m really supposed to be spending quality time with Jon (probably watching The Bachelor, Forensic Files, or the MN Wild!) Many days it feels like I never stop working. I’m constantly thinking about what’s next, how long my to-do list is, that lead I need to follow up on, etc. But you know what? I never really feels like work because I truly love what I do. Yeah, I know you’re thinking “Awww, Sarah that’s so cliche! Cute!” Honestly, it’s true!!!

2. Know your numbers:

Taxes. Cost of goods. 1099s. Write-offs. Insurance. Literally all things I dread but needed to learn now that I became a legal business. To be honest, this was probably the most overwhelming part of this past year because it was a HUGE learning curve for me. I quickly developed a deep respect for all you other business owners/hustlers that know your numbers like the back of your hand. It also completely changed the way I viewed pricing for not only other photography business, but everything else I ever buy! People don’t just randomly slap a price tag on something (hopefully) and rake in 100% of the profits. There’s so much that goes into the product that we don’t even see.

3. Be inspired, not jealous:

I could probably write an entire post about this. Maybe I will at some point! Between Instagram and Facebook alone it becomes so easy to fall into the “I’m not good enough” trap. I can’t tell you how many times I saw another photographer’s image or page and thought “Wow, this makes my work look like shi*t,” “Fourteen thousand followers?! Are you freaking kidding me?! I only have *this* many!” or the classic “Dude, I could NEVER do that.” Some days the negativity still creeps into my mind. Over the past year I have fortunately learned how to stop playing the comparison game and focus on beating myself at my own game. I’ve continued to turn away from self-deprecating thoughts and replaced them with actionable questions. What am I going to do today that makes me better than yesterday? What new pose am I going to try this session? How can I better serve my clients? Or if I see another photographer’s work that has really caught my eye I will say to myself, “How does this inspire me?”

4. Choose your tribe wisely:

You know that saying that says you are the most like the five closest people to you? It’s true in so many ways. You friends, your clients, the photographers you work with, and even the photographers/inspiration you follow should really ring true to who you are, who you want to be, and where you want to go. I’ve become incredibly careful about who I let into my inner circle (both professionally and personally) because my business is a reflection of my true self. I’m also really careful about who I follow on social media, especially within the industry. I want to associate myself with others that believe in me and vice versa! With that being said, I’ve also begun to learn the power to networking with intention because you never know what opportunities may be right around the corner.

5. My clients are THE BEST!

Please give yourself a giant hug right now if you are reading this and have ever hired me (consider this an I.O.U. until a see you in person!) at some point in time. Seriously, I love what I do because of YOU! YOU are the reason why this business exists. YOU are the reason why I keep going even when I have a tough day or two. YOU are the reason why this whole crazy life is so freaking worth it.

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