Navigating owning a business, saying “no,” balancing family and more creative Entrepreneur thoughts

For those that don't know I've been a business owner -photographer ,videographer, social media manager, content and creator for the last 10 plus years.

Un Untold thing that nobody wants to talk about in business ownership is literally you'll be posting for weeks, days ,months.-You don't even know when a phone call is coming.

There's no consistency.

You’ll shoot 1 day- especially as a photographer, then you'll have 3 weeks nothing -crickets.

It's really hard.

Especially when you're a mom with young kids.

I've been homeschooling for past 10 plus years as well.

You have to say “no” - you have to say “no” to a lot of things.

That is very Very hard- when you see a lot of your colleagues on, social media. -They're chugging along. They're getting the jobs that you have to say “No” to because you have kids.

You have to say “no” so you can be at home with them and focus on them -focus on their childhood, their baseball games.

I have very limited availability.

I can only do it when I have child care- on the weekends nights, or when I don't have games, I don't have church and I don't have stuff for them.

But I am a very ambitious- driven person by nature.

So for me to have to purposely say “no” to Career options - “no” to career advancement and purposely put them first for the past 10 plus

This has been really hard because I think a lot of people online-  they see that 1% of social media

they see people be successful and they see “crushing it” and you're traveling around….

but

they don't see like all the “NO’s” that you've had to give

They don't see all the struggle.

They don't see all the the days and weeks without a single tag - without a single message or a single email

That’s hard.

You need to have a very special personality in order to be a full-time Creator - business owner.

Especially keeping yourself busy mentally- keeping yourself busy creatively

In the offseason and times when your phone's not ringing, how do you stay busy?

How do you look busy?

How do you continue to stay sharp and practice your skill set even when the phone's not ringing.

It’s a lot of donating your time.

Donating your time at the church- donating your time at nonprofit so you can still say sharp.

I’ve been  giving back when my phone's not ringing for actual jobs like years to non profits.

Nobody’s wants to talk about that.

So if you're kind of in the trenches right now and feel like you're giving more than you're receiving.

I'm there.

I've been there.

And someday in 10 years my kids graduate, I am literally just chomping at the bit to receive my dream clients -my dream jobs so that I don't have to say “no.”

I don't have to just volunteer my time, but for now -I'm in this messy waiting period.

As Dr. Seuss would say, my favorite book- “all the Places You'll Go” and he goes, “sometimes you play games against you. Lonely games too cuz you play against you…”

and that's kind of where I am in my life right now is just playing this lonely game.

I’m always at home. I’m a home maker, it's very lonely.

A lot of people don't understand the isolation.

Thank God for a small business because that literally keeps me sane -literally keeps me so I can connect with people.

I can see people in the community.

I can have some type of, “connection,”  “networking,” “career” - because I literally don't see adults all day.

I don't talk to adults all day.

It's hard.

If I didn't have my small business- to force myself to talk to people and meet people, get out there, get out in the community, shoot weddings and stuff.

It's very easy to just be in your house as a homeschool mom.

So those are just some ramblings about life.

And if you're in a creative messy middle of Chaos Control and yet you're still trying to work on you and still trying to grow in your career.

I'm there. if you feel like “I'm in this weird place of transition and I have to say “no.”

I'm there.

So anyway, much love and keep creative