12/29/2022
I am starting this page to walk along new photographers who are also juggling motherhood. I have always loved having a camera in my hand but when I turned that hobby in to a business, I wasn't prepared for how much there was to do behind the scenes.
Tell people I take pictures for $, tell them when and where to meet me, get there and take their pictures and then delver an edited product right?
For awhile it worked, and I had word of mouth advertising going for myself along with a fun FB page just for photos :) But then, I started getting swamped with FB messages and emails. So many questions that I felt like I was always on my computer or phone ... yikes ...
Clients would start texting me: "what do you think of this outfit", "Hey, where are the park should we meet you", "is it ok If I bring our dog for a few photos" ... I could probably write a book on the questions I would get and that I would need the time to answer (rightfully so!).
When I started looking at turning my side-hustle in to a full-time career though, I had to really stop and think about what would make the difference and HOW could I charge more for my services.
I had to not only have a FB page but would need to expand to IG and a full website, do I need a blog!? What about running discounts? How do I do taxes for this income? Literally, I had so many items on my list and all the while, at every stage of being a photographer, I have had children running around behind me, begging for attention, distracting me from making progress or delivering a gallery on time etc.
I would get on social media and look at other photographers that I just adored and though I could see their "success", I would then notice how many don't have children or if they did have children, they echoed how exhausting it can be.
As I get to a point in my career where I have spent $10k+ on furthering my education in the industry, countless resources and am finally at the point I can sit back and exhale .... I wanted to ease the journey for those who come up behind me. For those who are in that rut, who need a guide, who just need to know "what the heck to write in this next email", who need encouragement and to know YOU ARE NOT ALONE.
From one MomTog to another, I developed the MomTog Toolbox to be an expanding resource as you take one step at a time to achieve a growing a thriving business but also guilt-free time with your children that you will never get back!
