Seasons of Life as a Business Owner | Atlanta Photographer
New Years Day this year was actually my little girl's due date (she wasn't born until 2 weeks later), so it's probably no suprise that I didn't partake in any New Years Goal Setting... unless you count the goals of not going to bed at 8pm and not waddling so badly in public! Now that my little one is here, I've gotten somewhat of a handle on this new mom life and am slowly easing back into the role of business owner... I thought it may be time to assess my business goals for this season of life and today I'm sharing those with you.
1. Know my worth. My time has always been valuable... it doesn't take having a child to make your time valuable. However, I'm finding it far easier now to say no to discounting my work and am not feeling guilty about keeping deposits for sessions missed.
2. Before I became a real life mom, I was "fantasy mom". Fantasy Mom could easily wear her baby for a fashion blogger photoshoot, breastfeeding and changing diapers when my client was changing clothes. Real life mom learned that babies don't get hungry and poop only when YOU want them too. A HUGE thank you to my client (turned friend) who was patient enough to let me test this theory out during her 3 hour blogger photoshoot. We made it work, but it wasn't something I'd like to do again. I went home that day and hired a mother's helper ;)
3. There is a season for growth and there is a season for maintaining. Those of you who have known me from the beginning, know that I am a VERY hard worker. I set my mind on starting a business and immediately started in on 10+ hours a day of marketing and social media management to achieve my dream. So it's hard not to beat myself up these days over going two weeks without posting on instagram. But it is what it is... right now I have to be kind to myself and allow for some down time. Do I still want to work? Oh absolutely. But can I expect myself to work the same number of hours? Not at this moment. What should I sacrifice? Certainly not my current clients or clients seeking me out. So I sacrifice on marketing. Which is SO odd feeling after 2 years of marketing with almost every breath I took.
I know, I know, these don't sound like lofty goals to you. But knowing my worth, accepting that I may need help with child care and giving myself permission to "just" maintain my business instead of hustle were astonishingly hard conclusions to come to for some reason or another.
Talk to me about your goals at the moment... and how they differ from the goals you set during another season of your life? I'd love to hear about the ebb and flow you came to accept and love! Below I'm sharing some of my favorites from my first photoshoot since the birth of our daughter. To learn more about these looks, head on over to NikkiFreeStyle.com!
