Where to start?! Maybe what inspired this titled blog.

It is the first week of January 2020, a grey Saturday morning in Wisconsin and although I have already enjoyed some bacon, coffee and my morning ritual walk with my beautiful dog…I am now sitting down to look at my numbers from 2019.  Yikes!!!!! and I should be editing (insert head-slapping emoji here)

Yes! It’s ugly! I have spent 1/3 more than I brought in when I account for all monies out and in for my photography studio.  I have been dreading this day for a long time but it’s a necessary evil.  Although I was scared to get the result of some excel math, I am unsurprised by the results. I am also surprisingly calm and comforted by this knowledge.  There is peace in knowledge, even if it’s ugly.

I have gained peace in knowing I am pricing myself fairly if not too low.  To many, my pricing is out of their budget and to many more it seems ludicrous.  However, it cost $35 000 to produce both the above and the below photographs.  With a very long list of expenditures including rent, insurance, backdrops, lighting, memory cards, beautiful dresses, laptops, software, educations and paying taxes for a legitimate business (just to name a few), a passion for photography can wane a little.  As anyone running a small business can tell you, it can be daunting, overwhelming and exhilarating….minute to minute!!

What no one tells you about starting your own business is that your love will be tested, over and over, but it is also VERY rewarding.  I knew it would be hard, I knew it would be expensive to do it the way I insist on doing it, but it is worth it.  I have met so many wonderful people that I would not have met otherwise.  I have bonded over common experiences, formed friendships and even helped some find confidence in themselves.  That is what makes this journey worthwhile.

Although I began typing this with a little anger (being honest here), to tell those who question or even scoff at my insane pricing, that it isn’t as easy as picking up an iPhone or that craigslist DSLR (Jenna Kutcher :)) So much money and time on my end goes into everything I do.  My mental rant at my financial 2019 discovery has turned into an increased appreciation for those who I have met, photographed and befriended over 2019. I am at peace as I enter the tax season.

…off to edit three beautiful sisters!

Happy Saturday!