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INSPIRE

Brilliant Business Advice from a Yogipreneur

June 1, 2017 by Kayla Ferguson 1 Comment

Brilliant Business Advice from a Yogipreneur

Very rarely does the entrepreneurial path—or any path—take us in the direction we expect. Frustrating setbacks, unexpected breakthroughs and unanticipated turns and opportunities mark the success of every entrepreneur. Mary Haberski, an LA-based corporate and private yoga instructor, is no exception.

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A 15-year yoga practitioner, Mary moved to Los Angeles from Chicago with the intention of pursuing yoga as a full-time career. In 2013, she began to more fully develop the spiritual side of her yoga practice after completing a yoga teacher-training course in India. It was upon returning to Los Angeles after her time in India that she began to see how her yoga practice and business was going to develop.

“I moved out to California with the intention to be a yoga instructor, but to be honest I had a picture of it being a certain way; me traveling internationally, doing retreats…but it’s kind of taken a life form of its own,” Mary said about moving West. “I’m just trying to keep up with where it’s taking me.”

female creatives

Mary offers both public and private yoga instruction, working with the Los Angeles Unified School District, private schools and private clients in varying capacities. And while this is a market with a lot of potential and a place she fits very well, it wasn’t how she originally saw herself working in the Los Angeles yoga community.

“I never planned to work with children, but up until now I’ve worked with thousands of children teaching yoga and meditation,” Mary said specifically about her work with LAUSD and private schools. “I thought I would be a powerflow vinyasa teacher, and now I work with children and sometimes elderly people. My heart is a little more geared towards people who don’t believe yoga is available to them…It’s not what I had envisioned for myself but it’s been going in that direction.”

The Los Angeles yoga market is highly saturated, something that Mary says can be a roadblock to making a consistent living. In some ways though, this has worked in Mary’s favor and has allowed her to find the places that most benefit from what she has to offer as a teacher.

“What I have come to find is that I’m not a studio teacher,” Mary explained. “I prefer working with smaller groups and individuals because I can physically touch people and part of my teaching is to be in more detailed alignment and use my gifts as a healer with hands-on healing through massage and pressure points.”

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And, aside from the closer relationships she is able to develop with her clients as a non-studio instructor, she appreciates the sincerity of the clients that don’t “fit in” with the mainstream LA yoga scene. “I feel that when I’m working with kids and the elderly, while there can be resistance, there isn’t as much of an ego behind it,” Mary explained.

Since 2013, Mary has been able to create a yoga business away from the yoga studios and suggested the saturation of the LA yoga industry as an unlikely asset in defining what she has to offer.

“As a teacher no one can offer what you have to offer,” Mary explained. “Spirit moves through each of us in a unique way, especially those of us who are teachers and healers….I don’t believe that we can ever have too many teachers. People just need to start branching out into other communities and other places.”

Yoga by nature is a splendid teacher, reminding us to be patient, flexible and accepting of what comes. Yoga as a practice and a lifestyle embodies that of the entrepreneurial spirit, cultivating awareness, acceptance and an ever-changing balance of giving and receiving.

female entrepenuers

In both her business and in her life, Mary has embodied the essence of both yoga and entrepreneurship in a way that other aspiring entrepreneurs should seek to emulate. When asked what advice she would offer aspiring entrepreneurs, Mary offered some very down to Earth guidance.

“Until you are comfortable on the financial aspect solely from doing your work, don’t quit your day job. It will add more pressure, more stress and in reality stifle your creativity,” Mary said emphatically. “Don’t think you are deterring from your dreams because you are doing something else (for income). It’s actually the opposite. The universe responds to your action with more for you.”

Despite the spiritual nature of Mary’s work and lifestyle, she notes some very definite and down-to-earth lessons for aspiring female entrepreneurs.

“As women, we have to fight harder for more money and more of our value to remind ourselves that we are valuable and we are worthy of a higher price point,” said Mary, a sentiment felt by women at every professional level. “We need to expect more from ourselves. Because nobody is going to offer that to you if you don’t ask. You have to be able to ask for what you know you are worth.”

Mary admitted that this was a difficult lesson to learn, but she has benefited noticeably since putting it into practice. “Whatever it is that you are doing, nobody will do it like you do it,” she continued. “You will have doubt and worry and you will want to quit. That’s normal. You have to be patient with yourself. Go easy on yourself (and) don’t get caught up in the unicorn story. It’s rare that someone is an instant success….More than likely you will have to do a lot of work to get to where you want to go so you can become the person you need to be.”

Filed Under: Boost Profits, Featured1, HUSTLE, INSPIRE, WELLNESS Tagged With: female entrepreneurs, kayla ferguson, los angeles, wellness, yoga, yoga business

The Power of a Picture

February 12, 2017 by Jen Dziuvenis Leave a Comment

The Power of a Picture

We lost our beloved 11-year-old lab last year. She was an amazing dog who lived a great big life. She had shown little sign of slowing down in the ten years she had been a part of our family. Sometimes I didn’t believe she was a senior at all.

Then one night she didn’t want to eat dinner. A week later she was gone.

I’ll spare you the details of that week because, if you have lost a pet you love, you probably already understand the anguish. You know what it is like to have that rock drop on you from a thousand feet up and knock you off balance for weeks. You know how hard it is and how much it hurts.

I’m not here to talk to you about that. I’m here to talk to you about why I’m so damn happy that I busted out my camera in her last couple days. And why I will cherish these photos forever.

Maddie died in the middle of the night on our living room floor. The tumor that had been growing on her spleen ruptured and in a few hours she went from being her gorgeous, bouncy self to completely unable to walk. It was midnight and she was fading fast. Taking her to the vet would have meant carrying her to the car, driving her across town in the dark, and hauling her suddenly frail body into an animal hospital that she had never been to. I suspected she wouldn’t last very long and I didn’t want to stress her out more. So we stayed home and within an hour she was gone.

While her final decline was mercifully fast in the grand scheme of things, it was still hard to watch. This is a dog that spent her years climbing mountains and running through forests and suddenly, in a matter of an hour, she had lost control of her body. I crawled into bed after we lost her with the image of her struggle fresh in my mind. It wasn’t what I wanted to remember.

In the blur of the next morning I came across the picture above and realized it was the last one I took of her. It was just the day before she passed and she had been feeling great. When she curled up to take a nap in a sunny spot, one of her favorite things to do, I pulled out my camera to capture it.

She looks like a peaceful, sleeping angel in that picture. And this image has replaced the ones of her struggling. Because the reality is that while her last couple hours were tough, they don’t represent the reality of her final days. Her last week on earth was peaceful – and thanks in large part to this picture, this is how I remember them.

There’s a lot of reasons I love photography and it’s ability to help you shape the way you remember the past is certainly one of them. It can’t change the things that happened or bring back the dog that I loved. But it can impact the way I remember her final days. And for that I will be forever grateful.

Filed Under: Featured2, INSPIRE, Jen Dziuvenis, LIFE, Uncategorized

Beyond the Law: My Unlikely Path to Professional Photography

January 31, 2017 by Jen Dziuvenis Leave a Comment

Beyond the Law: My Unlikely Path to Professional Photography

 Ten years ago, I was finishing my last year of law school, preparing for the bar exam, and looking forward to a stressful career sitting behind a desk, navigating the American legal system. If you had told me that nearly a decade later I’d be getting paid to follow adventurous couples into the backcountry or jetting off to Iceland to photograph an elopement, I would have told you that you were nuts.

But that’s where I am and I wanted to share a bit about how I got here.

As with many of the best changes in life, my move into the world of professional photography was brought on by some pretty extreme discomfort. My “real” job had been making me miserable for way too long when one day I hit a breaking point. I realized that the small amount of money I was taking home after I paid for our son’s daycare wasn’t worth the anxiety I was experiencing at work … and that continuing to do what I was doing was the definition of insanity.

That night I had a heart-to-heart with my family, drank a couple glasses of wine, and mustered up a heaping dose of courage. There may have been some tears. Turning in my resignation the following day was equal parts scary and liberating. I didn’t know what was next but I was damn sure that I needed to be doing something different.

Beyond the Law: My Unlikely Path to Professional Photography

All images by Jen Dziuvenis.

At that time I had been doing photography as a hobby for several years, mostly taking pictures of pretty landscapes and crazy cyclists ripping up trails in the mountains. Friends had asked me to take their family photos or suggested that I shoot their weddings and I had flatly refused. “That’s not really what I do …” were the words that came out of my mouth.

“No freaking way!” is what I said in my head.

Being a wedding photographer couldn’t have been farther off my radar. I didn’t especially enjoy going to weddings. Why would I want to photograph them?

Then one day, through the magic of social media, I stumbled on photographers who were doing stuff that I loved — work that spoke to my sense of adventure and search for authentic connection. People like Ben Sasso and Jordan Voth completely changed my idea of what wedding and portrait photography could be. Stiff, awkward poses were replaced with real emotion, undeniable human connection, and some of the most incredible landscapes on earth. A fire had been lit.

Beyond the Law: My Unlikely Path to Professional Photography

I decided to step out of my comfort zone and try my hand at photographing humans. I begged my friends to model for me and answered Craigslist ads looking for photographers. I connected with an online community of local photographers and did some second shooting at weddings. I agree when a friend offered to pay me to shoot her own wedding day.

I was scared as hell and full of doubt. I did it anyway.


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In a span of a few months photography went from an expensive hobby to a baby business that was bringing in enough money to convince me that this could actually be a thing. I booked a few weddings, doubled my rates, and booked some more. I invested in training and equipment. I landed my first international destination wedding. I had photos go wildly viral. For a very new business, I was having far more success than I had ever imagined was possible.

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That’s not to say that it’s been easy or that I’ve been able to turn this into a fulltime gig overnight. Even with quick success, it’s slow going and a huge percentage of what I make goes straight back into the business. I’m working harder than I ever have — and doing it for less money.

And yanno what? I’m loving every damn minute of it.

I had a regularly occurring meeting at my last job that caused me considerable anxiety. Every few weeks it would pop up on my schedule and I’d curse and cringe. I left it on my calendar when I quit that job as a constant reminder of why I left. That message still pops up every two weeks but now it doesn’t cause me angst. Now it makes me feel proud. It’s a reminder that I left that world behind, took control of my life, and am hustling like hell to pursue my passions.

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Filed Under: Featured1, HUSTLE, INSPIRE, Jen Dziuvenis, LIFE, MOTIVATE, SHOOT, Starting Out, WORK IT

Are They Holding Back Your Business?

August 24, 2015 by The FCA 3 Comments

Are They Holding Back Your Business?

The weather is finally cooling here. I can now open my office window without a blast of heat hitting me, and instead I can sit and gaze at the blue mountains with just the tiniest whisper of breezes creeping in instead. And so I do.

I sit and I allow myself the luxury of daydreaming.

Do you do that on a regular basis, the daydreaming? It is a LUXURY that I make myself have.

And it’s not because of lack of time caused by the general mayhem of having two toddlers underfoot that prevents me from daydreaming; it’s the simple fact that I was always told that DAYDREAMING IS BAD.

I am the perpetual dreamer. The perpetual dreamer + student of the world, who loves to immerse herself in learning, in books, in lying in fields come rain or shine and at their happiest point, who just reads and daydreams and imagines herself in a million and one other places and stages and events and occasions.

Dreamers do not dream because they are dissatisfied with life, or because they need an escape, or because they do not value what they have around them- they simply dream because there is no other way.

Yet the way of the dreamer is always viewed as SO BAD, isn’t it?

As if a dreamer can not be also, at the same time, an action-taker.

Perhaps people fear the dreamer so much they worry that one day the dreamer will actually FOLLOW these dreams and perhaps risk everything they do so comfortably have;

perhaps people wonder if they will be left behind;

perhaps people are so naturally designed to FEAR risk; so that to be a dreamer, always dancing on the edge of risk and change, is why many people are nervous and uptight and negative around the dreamer-

The amount of times I have been told over the years, from school to now-

‘Stop daydreaming’

‘Is there anything more interesting out of the window?’

‘What are you staring at?’

and the worst, and the most painful

‘she’s just a dreamer’

As if it were the very WORST thing you could do or be, as if the rest of the world is going to pass you by as you sit and write and draw and shoot and as your mind wanders freely- as if that would be such a bad thing for the world to continue while you stay – gasp- happy and content and needing none of the material things in life, for you would be happy both with or without, as long as you are in pursuit of the dream–

And the worst thing is, dreaming, for the dreamer, often brings untold pain for those who don’t dream in the same way that you do.

When you set up in business, you face the (probably endless) struggle with those who simply don’t understand.

They don’t understand WHY you are doing it, they don’t understand HOW you can ever really achieve what it is you are dreaming of, and they are absolutely terrified or in disbelief of the RISK that comes along with actually following everything that you have set out to.

Or perhaps, you are blessed. And, for a moment at least, you do have support, kindness, love, from every angle.

But is this without boundary or without definition- is this true, endless, unlimited support no matter what?

Perhaps you have experienced support for a while but then when it comes to taking REAL risk – a huge business loan, spending a LOT of money on equipment, spending a large period of time overseas to follow a particular project, deciding to go in a brand new direction or make a huge new business investment- or even the day-to-day SLOG of running a business for YEARS without seeing much real FRUIT starts to seem like a liability rather than an asset-

Perhaps then you have experienced support of your dream that starts to wane and fade. The reality is that THIS LIFE- this way of the dreamer – is HARD for those attached to us. Who have fallen for the dreamers, who rely on the dreamers, who fall in love with starry eyes and spirit that is hard to capture – they WANT the romance and the adventure, but HATE the unsecurity and the RISK that comes along with being, well- YOU-

Because this is the REAL problem with being a dreamer.

The

Dreams

Don’t

Stop.

They continue and they get bigger and bigger and you dream of doing more and helping more and serving more.  Always, more more more. 

Yes you know that your own dreams leave you yourself quite breathless sometimes, and your own mind racing to catch up with itself, and even in your own heart and mind you struggle to realise – how on earth how am I actually going to DO everything that I want to do? And so you completely understand why to someone who is attached to you might not truly ever be able to get their head around what on earth you are doing or WHY you are doing it or even any of it whatsoever;  you completely understand that you come across as an overwhelming, head-exploding, big bundle of RISK to MOST PEOPLE but this doesn’t ever hold you back or stop you

Because you know

You will get there

And so you just go on and DO it, you MAKE your dreams a reality in every step that you take whether they fail or falter or fly, every movement is a movement forward.

And sometimes our REAL dreams for our business + life lay hidden for YEARS, it can be so hard to say THIS? THIS IS NO LONGER REMAINING JUST A DREAM and bringing it into the light to become the living and breathing thing that you truly WANT and desire, but the point here that I am trying to make to you is this.

You are a dreamer.

It is why you are here.

It is why you started your business in the first place.

It’s because you dared to want something MORE.

And even if you quit or leave or pause or break – the dreams have begun now, they’ve been opened and are swirling around and they will NEVER stop.

You can’t put the genie back in the bottle.

So what are you going to do, really?

Are you going to let those who refuse the way of the dreamer hold you back?

Are you going to let the ‘we can’t afford it’ the ‘your business isn’t making any money’ the ‘you’re just a dreamer’

hold you back?

And if you know damn well you’ve already popped that cork, your dreams are in full flow, everything is going beautifully or at least in the general vague direction that it is supposed to and this ISN’T defined by income or profit but instead just the feeling of KNOWING;

are you going to let those FEARS that everyone else holds for you-

the ‘don’t ruin it’ ‘don’t mess it up’ ‘don’t put all of your eggs in one basket’ ‘don’t risk what you have’

are you going to let THOSE hold you back now?!?!

If I could tell you something this morning. As I sit with my coffee, staring out at the mountains, it would be this-

WANT WHAT YOU WANT.

Dream how you want to dream.

There will always be those who love you who are risk-averse, fearful; those who think smaller than you do, or who – with terrific sadness – you seem to be pulling away from, as you follow the only path and way that you know, dreamer.

Because the thing is- they most likely will not see the world in the way that you do, when you want them to, on your timeframe, in YOUR way. 

As full of endless and unlimited opportunity, as defined by YOU.

It is not your job to be their teacher. To try to persuade or convince them otherwise. To spend your precious energy and words pouring into ears that are not ready to hear and a heart that is not ready to open.

And you do not need to leave them, just like you do not leave your dreams.

You just go on and BE.

Be who you are supposed to be, want what you want.

Because otherwise, what is the cost?

To cage yourself, in golden bars maybe, but with the spirit of who you are always seeking an exit?

To dream smaller, perhaps, or to stop dreaming all together?

To perhaps maybe, seek + find more joy in being in the present, in the everyday, in the BEING here + now- but then always to have that small part of you that you ignore, that part that whispers to you when you are alone and staring out of a window – what if…?

And that is why I take deliberate and specific time to daydream, staring at the mountains, turned towards the delicate morning.

THIS is how we forget a business grows, when we are full to the brim of deadlines and sessions and diaries and online marketing.

THIS is how the dreamer makes her dreams reality.

When the dreaming never stops.

When the dreams are nurtured.

When the dreams are given the permission they need to become a reality.

Let those who say dreaming is tiring or pointless or a waste of time say whatever it is they need to.

You know that without the dream, without the heart, without the intention, the goal, the focus-

Business? It’s just a series of steps designed to make you money, and it can and will, but happiness? You know happiness isn’t found in the money.

It’s in the pursuit of your artist’s heart + your soul + in following who you are and who you are supposed to be. It’s following that thing, that feeling- that says to you, you must do this, and do it regardless, every single day. And sometimes the words will be quiet and sometimes they will scream at you, but regardless you KNOW that you have no choice really – follow the call and be happy, or ignore it or smother it and always, always feel that PAIN- and that’s the only way to describe it – that pain of longing or wondering, for things to be different-

So right now I want to ask you –

Are you making time to deliberately daydream for yourself and your business?

Are you letting the thoughts + opinions of others, of society, hold you back from being who you are supposed to be?

Are you dreaming SMALL, or are you too scared to dream in the way that you want to for your business?

Are your daily actions moving you towards the direction of your dreams?

Who are you letting hold you back right now and what do you need to do to move forward?

Leave a comment below- I’d love to hear from fellow dreamers <3


 

Want to join more dreamers + BIG ACTION TAKERS in business? Check out Shining Lights, here.

 

 

Filed Under: INSPIRE, LIFE

What To Do When You Have A Complaint + It Feels Like The World Is About To End

August 10, 2015 by The FCA Leave a Comment

What To Do When You Have A Complaint + It Feels Like The World Is About To End

There are hugely brilliant days in business, and there are hugely sad and awful and tough days in business.

There are days when you feel elated, on cloud nine, and there are days when you feel like you’re not quite sure if you can hold it all together for much longer and you’re a pin-cushion waiting to implode upon the next pin.

For many of us, that sense of terrific FAILURE- because there is no other word for it,  those days when it feels like your business is about to truly and spectacularly fail- come out of the blue.

Because it comes with an email from a client that takes your breath away.

There you are, quite happy in your work – blissfully happy, even. Perhaps that’s why- I wonder often whether there is an unwritten law of balance in the Universe, where you are not allowed to be entirely happy for too long. Because you can be creative and in flow and running your business beautifully and everything is all going to plan

And then an email from a client – a client you cared about, felt you connected with, spend time emotionally investing into your session – knocks you over.

And your heart kind of feels like it’s being squeezed and you can feel it speeding up at the same time and your thoughts begin to swim as you try and regain some sense of understanding.

‘what? I just don’t understand!’ followed by tears – and there have been many tears. 

Because that’s the thing with complaint clients, isn’t it? often they come without warning, or perhaps even if you know they are brewing they sometimes come at you with such force your body reacts physically. You can’t eat, sleep, and can’t think straight. Your head goes around in circles trying to figure out what on earth happened.

All you can think about is this, and it consumes you from the inside out. 

And if you’ve never had a complaint? Congratulations. I salute you.

But this is reality for those of you reading this who do know what it’s like to stand in these shoes, to be here as your business sits in front of your eyes and you feel it falling away from you; this thing you love, the thing you work so hard for; as you watch someone take repeated blows at it.

And that’s just it – no matter how hard you work, no matter how much integrity or love or courage or dedication you give to your business – you just cannot make every single person happy. 

Perhaps there was something that went wrong beyond your control. Perhaps there is something you did that others would have done differently. Perhaps your kit failed, perhaps your communication wasn’t flawless, perhaps you took on too much but struggled through it, perhaps your personalities just clashed, perhaps there were other emotions and circumstances that were involved but you became the unwitting target of emotion, perhaps there were any number of reasons + infinity why you received these words, these words that drown you from within, because the bottom line is we are all so very human-

and we screw up.

We screw up small time and we screw up big time and we screw up without even realising we have screwed up and we screw up and fail to meet the expectations of others and we screw up in any number of ways that we are often not even aware of until

BOOM

out of nowhere comes the list of accusations, truths, mistruths, heightened emotions and passion.

And you’re left wondering – where the hell did I sign up for THIS??

And darling, you didn’t. 

Nobody signs up for this.

Nobody would CHOOSE to have this happen to them, and no matter what we do to prevent them from happening sometimes SHIT HAPPENS.

And you can’t do a thing about it no matter how much you care or cry and want to change everything even though at the time there is nothing you could have done differently anyway, and even now you probably wouldn’t because the reality is

You can’t please everybody all of the time, and

Not everybody will love you.

In fact some people will downright hate you and go out of their way to make hurtful comments, share how crap you are on facebook and in their social circle and online, and basically do everything they can to make your life a misery.

Why? who knows why?

It doesn’t matter. 

All that matters is that this hurts. It hurts beyond belief.

Yes you can remain calm. Professional. Provide the expected apologies, ask what you can do make this better but the real hard truth is sometimes

You just can’t make this better. Not on the inside- your inside.

And that is what really SUCKS in business.

You just can’t make this agony better, and you can’t fix it, and nobody seems to quite grasp that feeling that is haunting you all day long, that sticks with you day in day out, even if you did NOTHING WRONG –

You still feel desperately, desperately sad, because this is your business + your baby and you’ve worked so hard for this and then- THIS!

That feeling like everyone is talking about you behind your back.

The unfairness.

The unjustness.

The FEAR and of COURSE I was afraid!

Afraid I couldn’t fix something I didn’t even know I had broken.

Afraid of broken relationships in a life and world full of broken relationships. Afraid of  the loss- the emotional loss because if you’re anything like me then you truly CARE about your clients, they’re NEVER just another pay cheque to you, but people you actually CONNECT with and like, even adore, and you fear the loss and the disapproval and another thing – aren’t we all raised to want to be loved? We fear that even if we don’t know it, even if it’s from complete strangers let alone people you care about which is why we all give a damn about online trolls and they still hurt us even if we know they are meaningless-  

All our emotion bound up in fear that you’re not even sure what to do with anymore.

And the worst part is? You feel alone.

Like this is the worst thing that could happen (you know it isn’t) and like this will never rest (eventually- it will because everything does eventually) and like this will change your entire life (and worst case scenario – it might, but who is to say that change might not be for the better and was ordained BECAUSE the change is necessary)?

and that you can’t tell anyone and barely dare not even WHISPER it to other photographers because hey- they’ll think you’re a complete FAILURE right? Like you REALLY MESSED UP in a way that NO OTHER PHOTOGRAPHER WOULD DO (even if you didn’t you still FEEL like this is how they’ll think) and so you dare not say a word and you just sit and feel miserable, and wretched, and alone.

Well, I’m writing to tell you that you’re not alone. 

This has happened to me.

It’s really crap and it really hurts. AND – shocker – it was one of the reasons I decided to quit shooting weddings.

Not because I am a quitter. Not because I don’t take criticism and use it to grow.

But because this experience showed me that there was another way for ME.

That I needed to bring more of what I LOVE into my photography business and use THAT. Writing, coaching, mentoring, blogging- I was doing all of those things anyway, I just decided to do more of them, and shoot less. Because that was what this taught me.

But still- the storm lingers and refuses to leave. 

But that’s ok -because it just shows us what we have to do. What we are SUPPOSED to do. 

Because? the even tougher truth is, this is business.

Every day in every single business across the world, items are being returned, complaints are being made, other business owners screw up and fail in a myriad of ways.

It’s part and parcel of being in business. That’s not me being blase and telling you not to care, but it should give you 

-perspective on the reality – and that’s what you need first and foremost. 

This NOT the end of your business, or your life, or your career, or your future, and the whole world isn’t going to hate you. 

Although you KNOW all this really , don’t you? But the reality is – dealing with this stuff is SO HARD, and it’s the stuff they DON’T tell you about in workshops, or in class– about how you will FEEL when this happens. 

And when this happens, when you feel like this – all you can do is follow one more cliche-

-Ride out the storm.

But it’s true. Ride out the rainy days in business, even if they are tough and hard and FEEL lonely

Because we know – that this happens to all of us. Even the best of us. I’m not the first photographer this has happened to – in fact almost every photographer I’ve ever worked with has had this happen in one way or another.

And it won’t break you. It will simply bend and shape and mould you and point you in the direction in which you are meant to go. 

Perhaps you will change pathway all together, like I have done.

Or perhaps you will carry on down the same route, and it will be no less beautiful and no less shiny for you. 

But whatever route you end up along, as the storm and winds lash you and you want to cry out – this is enough! I’ve had enough! Know this-

I will stand with you. Photographers all over the world, all who have been at the receiving end of bitching, of criticism, of unkindness, of untruthfulness, of hurt and lies and pain and confusion – they all stand with you too. 

We have all been there. 

You are not alone. 

I understand. And I want to take your hurt and pain away, but distraction does a good job too- ten minutes downstairs with my beautiful daughters completely refreshed my perspective and made me get a grip on the world again, to know that as long as we are all ok- I AM OK-

But for those times when you feel alone-

These words are for you. 

This is business. You are getting better at it every time you fail. So let the winds carry you where they may. Feel the emotion but do not fear it.

In the end, it doesn’t matter – and this is not the end.

It’s just a storm, storms pass,

and know you do not stand in this one alone. 

 

Love + Light xox

 


 

Want more support? Join the FPA free group for photographers, here. 

Filed Under: INSPIRE, LIFE

What Happens If There Just Aren’t Enough Clients?

July 10, 2015 by The FCA 3 Comments

What Happens If There Just Aren’t Enough Clients?

Do you know what scares me witless?

That one day I will wake up and find that the people I LOVE working with have run out.

That’s it, no more photographers, creatives, artists, free spirits, intelligent free-thinkers who understand their photography and creativity can be used as the most incredible GIFT and TOOL FOR CHANGE in their lives.

Because what happens?

What happens to you then?

When you wake up and realise that there actually, just aren’t enough clients?

That one day you wake up and there are just so many fabulous other photographers out there and you *forgot about taking care of your marketing and instead spent all of your money on kit just like every other photographer and then all of a sudden you went from standing out to being just like EVERY OTHER PHOTOGRAPHER, just another product for sale, swimming in an ocean overrun with other photographers

And you think you can just about scrape by if you drop your prices but the reality is THERE JUST ISN’T ENOUGH WORK TO GO AROUND now

Not without struggle

Not without fight

What then???

What happens when you just can’t get clients, because you don’t think there are any??

Is that it??

Is that THE END for your business; for your dreams of success, for your pride, because let’s face it everything else would probably recover but our PRIDE and our HEART???

How would THAT truly heal?

And what else would we actually bloody DO?!?!

I mean, you know you’d think of something. Something always comes up, right?

But it wouldn’t be this. This thing you have fallen head over heels for, ploughed time and money and hopes and dreams into.

BUT- what WOULD you do if your clients ran out?

Tell me.

Or – don’t tell me – tell yourself.

Not sure?

Look, this post isn’t to scare you.

It’s to show you something else.

What if – you were to use this fear – this fear that actually, there just might not be enough clients out there for you – and use it to actually help you?

IF you got to that point in your business where you were to look back and say – I literally don’t have any clients or whatever your big fear is– and you could rewind time to six months earlier to change everything –

What is it that you would need to change?

Or-

what is it right now that you NEED to FEEL in order to MOVE TO WHERE YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE?

We are taught to be so risk- averse.

To always have plan B’s.

Back up plans, pensions, savings account.

But don’t you see?

The world is changing.

Like all of those people here who have brought over their entire life savings here to Cyprus, believing it would ‘go further here’, and then overnight the banks literally took the savings of EVERYONE who had over 100k in their account.

Literally – people’s entire pensions, house sale profits, entire life savings – gone when they woke up one morning. With no warning.

Their Plan A AND Plan B – gone.

‘But the banks are safe! Corporations look after us! I have an insurance policy! I’ve bought a house!’

And your bank might be fine and they might do and everything might be fine-

But the sooner you realise

Nobody else is going to be your Plan B

Only YOU

Because you just don’t know what is going to happen, and yes, one day the day might come when your worst fears about your business are realised.

What then??

The thing is –

You won’t know what then.

You can’t predict or control the future with any level of real certainty.

You’re not supposed to be able to.

So what CAN you do?

What can you do when actually, it seems like this job is often WAY harder than it is meant to be and actually the what-if FEARS are sometimes so big and scary that you completely hold back and play it small and never really fully embrace all that your business IS and COULD BE??

WHAT CAN YOU DO???

THIS is what you can do.

You can take your fears.

And you can use them.

To show you the way.

WHAT are you REALLY running from, and why?

Is it fear of the future? or fear of the past?

Fear of not standing out? being judged? of standing out and being hated? or being lonely?

Fearful of losing money?

We are ALWAYS taught to avoid risk, and so with risk comes fear.

But what about when you wake that day and you stare fear full in the face and you say instead of ‘i’m worried about this’

You say
instead

‘Thank you’.

Thank you for your teachings, for your guidance, for your insight, and wisdom.

Thank you for SHOWING ME THE WAY

Because if you listen to your FEAR

It will tell you

Exactly what you SHOULD BE DOING

In order to avoid its presence in your business + life.

Whatever that is – whatever it looks like –

Whether that’s marketing more or praying more or building relationships more or WHATEVER IT IS THAT YOU KNOW IS THE TRUE ROOT CAUSE OF YOUR FEAR

The root of fear lies within us.

We aren’t born fearful, or afraid.

So what is it you are running from?

Or fearful of?

How can you EMBRACE that fear, and what it is that you KNOW that you need to do, to eliminate that fear?

Perhaps this isn’t about eliminating risk, about forming a plan B

But instead about jumping without a safety net

Without fear of failure

Or loss

or the future

Or what might be and what might never be.

Focussing on your Plan A for you – your loved ones – and MAKING IT WORK

As if there was no ‘Plan B’!!!

Focussing on your Plan A- ONE HUNDRED PER CENT

GIVING IT EVERYTHING NOW

GIVING IT YOUR ALL

Stop waiting for your backup plan to materialise

For your work-life balance to exist

And just. start.

As if there is no tomorrow.

Use your fear not as your primary driver (this should always be Love)

But as your guide, your companion, your ally.

What are you NOT doing? Running away from? Why?

How can you USE this as a tool to understand and completely focus on your Plan A?

Are you focussing on your society-determined Plan B, when really, all you need to do is dedicate yourself to you + your plan A?

I examined my fear and realised that beneath that fear of my clients running out

Was the fear of blending in. Of not being noticed. Of falling away.

Which is strange as I am a massive introvert who actually hates standing out, but perhaps it is the fear that after I am gone, people will never remember that I even existed maybe, who knows? You can go as deep with this as you want. 

What my fear showed me – is that I need to release my true voice. To speak out. To not be afraid of haters, of trolls, of anything whatsoever.

It won’t mean that I will be remembered after I am gone. But just that while I am here – I can reach those that need to hear me. 

Which is how – my clients will never run out. Because there will always be someone that needs to hear you. To see you + your work. To know you. 

Which is why I am posting more, my words are often strong (though said in love) and I write huge long posts like this which have gained far more shares and Likes that my posts ever have before DESPITE the ENTIRE internet world saying ‘long posts don’t work any more’ and ‘people get bored’.

Not MY people

Not MY tribe

Not those that need to hear MY voice

And that’s what I learned from staring fear in the face

Working to understand it

Where it comes from

and then EMBRACING IT

And letting go of Plan B.

So can you do it? Right now? The same thing? 

Not run from your fear anymore

Release your Plan B

and EMBRACE whatever it is that you need to, in order to finally claim the business + success that you deserve?

What do you KNOW you need to concentrate on TODAY so that in six months time – or whenever the worst happens- you don’t need your Backup Plan?

DO IT.

START NOW.

PS.

This will never be easy. It’s ingrained within us to be risk-averse. ‘be careful!’. This takes work every single day. But it is entirely WORTH IT.

To no longer need catching when you fall.

To no longer live in fear of fear itself.

To understand that you have been given the power to choose.

So now, all you need to do – is choose yourself. 

 

Love + Light x


 

 

Want to truly get over your fears and start to TAKE ACTION in your business NOW? Check out Shining Lights here.

Filed Under: Editor's Letters, INSPIRE

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