Up until the launch of my business in July 2021 I had been mostly getting clients based on referrals. I called it practicing with a camera in hand. I was texting examples of my work, or sending quotes only through messenger, etc. Changing my style with every shoot, also changing my session structure each year. It was a mess to be honest. I had a lot of room to grow, and still do.

Before we get into the meat of this story I feel compelled to tell you that I was toying with the idea of starting my business for many years. I confided in friends, mentors, family, you name it. Whatever it was though, I was holding myself back. I never had the courage to start because I felt like it wasn’t perfect, I wasn’t ready, I didn’t have it all figured out, etc. etc. etc. I was scared to start messy, to me that looked like failure. But it also was inhibiting me to even start. What I had to do was jump in with both feet, and it wasn’t until I had the birth of my second child where I felt compelled to do so. I had this calling inside me that said, “This is your time.”. And once I set my mind to it, it all happened really quickly.

I leaned on the Wyoming SBDC, and enlisted the help from an accountant from the start to ensure I was doing everything properly. This wasn’t just a side gig anymore. If I wanted others to take my business seriously I had to take it seriously myself. I started creating my brand, setting goals, and committing myself to booking out my calendar. This was it. I had hit the ground running while pouring everything back into my business.

Word of mouth kept me very busy in 2021 where I sold out my books. I met with so many great people, and enjoyed the work I was doing. While to others I looked so busy – how could this mom of two, wife, and full time 9-5’er do this? They weren’t wrong, I was busy. But the funny thing was, it was exciting. It was what I wanted to be doing. It fulfilled me. After the kids were tucked in I was busy working on sessions, working on my bookkeeping, trying to touch on my website but that was not as simple to get up and going as I had thought… and all of this kept my glass full so I could pour myself into other areas of my life.

Flash forward to now. This website is up (finally!). I’m investing in more education. I’ve worked with enough people to find out the small things in my business that I need to improve not only for myself, but for them and ease of use.

I share all this so you can get to know me a little bit better, understand where I come from and where I’m headed. I pride myself in not only the quality photo and video I provide, but the service that goes along with that. And I mean that.

Sarah