A little raw update for you all
Hi there! I hope you all are enjoying this holiday as well as remembering everything and everyone who sacrificed so we could live in a place where we can do what we love and quite literally chase our wildest dreams; which is what I have and am currently trying to do.
You know, you get out of school after you studied to do what you thought you wanted your career to be [or what someone told you to study] and you're thrown into the real world, with real bills, to figure it out. For the first few years, you follow the path you think you're "supposed" to take until slowly [or abruptly all at once] you figure out that you have the ability to do things how you want to do them, in a way that makes you happy. And sometimes, that means following a new [or old] passion and potentially starting over.
Then, somewhere down that path you lose your identity again, whether it be because bills got out of hand and you're just trying to get by or whether you decide you want to pivot your path or business once again in a way that more currently and truly aligns with what you're interested in or how you want your life to be structured.
I've personally been somewhat stuck in a [business] identity crisis loop these past few years after starting my own real estate firm [Salty Air Living], not wanting to completely let go of my photography business, but still needing to streamline things in order to put my attention full force towards real estate. I am a creative and part of me will always need a creative outlet in my life but real estate is a full time career in itself which needed my complete attention, especially in getting things off the ground initially. I pondered whether photography needed to just be a "hobby" and that scared me even more.
The catch though, is you need cash to start a business and I happened to decide to start my own brokerage at a time where inflation was high and rising in addition to the wariness of an election year; which usually puts things on hold for fear of what the next four years hold with a new president in the White House. Most of my clientele in real estate are investors so possible purchases weren't cash flowing, they were worried about things like potentially new capital gains laws and some even bought in the height of things a few years prior, so if they were to sell, it had to be at a price that unfortunately was above current market value. Therefore, I heavily relied on my photography services as my cash flow in between my lower than normal transactions, in order to not only keep me afloat, but my business as well. It did have some perks though such as getting to see properties before coming to market.
Before popping my brokerage into existence though, I was trying to decide whether to niche my business down and cater to my biggest passions and what I believe to be where I shine creatively, or to just keep flowing and taking anything and everything because that meant a steady flow of money. I hate to turn down money [I mean who does?] when I know I have the ability to satisfy a potential client, but also know I really wouldn't [truly] enjoy the process. I also knew I needed a certain amount of time in front of my computer to keep Salty Air Living moving along. Now, I know sometimes you do need to suck it up and grind things out but it's also a good idea to take a step back and see if there is a smarter pivot you can make instead.
At the time, mirrorless cameras were a new thing, drones were absolutely necessary in the real estate realm, insurance was doubling in price every year and every couple months a new app or program would release that could streamline workflow and up your quality. Basically, my cost of doing business shot up drastically in order to stay in line with competition and push my creativity and design skills higher as well.
So, in order to keep elevating my business, I again needed cash. In my mind though, that meant that I should keep taking any and all business. Although expenses were shooting up, I was still scared to raise my prices for fear of losing clients even though logistically I needed to. I also never truly sat down to create a true profit and loss sheet even though my accountant suggested I should. Yes, those were mistakes on my part but I was so overwhelmed trying to stay afloat [while sometimes even needing to borrow money from my parents] that I mentally couldn't take that step back. I was mentally stuck and in a hole that I felt like I couldn't get out of.
Photography was getting me by in order to make payments I needed to make at the time but it wasn't actually making me any profit, which was a problem.
It's the scary "jumping off" part that is the hardest in life in general. I knew I, at the very least needed to raise my prices but also knew that it might price out some repeat clients and friends who have supported me throughout the years. It took me some convincing, but I actually went for it and raised my prices. The problem though, was that I was still giving people discounts and giving old prices over the phone because in all honesty, I was scared of rejection.
The only rejection that I kept initiating though, was a rejection of my own needs and expenses.
I was to a point where I was putting in all this time, energy and work to now actually lose money which prompted me into sitting down here to write this and put it out into the world. I needed accountability with myself but also wanted to explain to you all where I am coming from, in addition to sharing with others who may be in the same boat that sometimes [ok most of the time] running a business is stressful, lonely, overwhelming and just hard.
Each person's situation is different. People have different needs, overhead costs, a lifestyle they want to live by and experience in their industry; and all of that goes into account when pricing a service. Everyone isn't supposed to cater to everyone and that has been my hardest thing to reconcile with. Sometimes our clientele is someone totally different than what we expect or even want it to be and that is ok. I say that while in my head still struggling; but I hope one day I can not feel the imposter syndrome creep in and take over, and also have the confidence I have in other areas of my life [ like having no shame in taking the last chicken wing at a get-together haha].
For me, I can't offer a $75 "mini session" and make money. I can't even offer a $150 "mini session" and make money. Between gas to get there and back, parking fees, shoot time, equipment costs, wear and tear on equipment, editing software, drone insurance, business insurance, culling time, editing and retouching time, business fees, website and marketing costs; it just doesn't compute; plain and simple. And that doesn't account for knowledge, final service output an user experience. For those out there trying to get their business started, that's totally fine, but for me and my situation, I am finally re-evaluating things in a realistic manner and taking all aspects into an account.
In order to keep the spark in my creative flame, I also need to adjust the types of shoots I take as well. Certain areas just are not my forte and by leaving time in my schedule to shoot things that are, it will hopefully attract those ideal clients where when together, magic appears in the form of imagery.
I do want to thank everyone who has supported me so far and continues to do so; even if it's just a like on a photo I post! Please know that if I refer things out to someone else, it's not because I didn't enjoy our past sessions, but because I want you to have the absolute best images possible and that may not be with me shooting them. In regards to new pricing, I also now have the option to "buy now - pay later" which I hope can help offset things for you, if needed.
I actually almost wrote this next sentence about giving discounts, however stopped myself before I retracted the whole point of this blog post. Running a business is really hard [and sometimes messy along the way] and I'm doing my darndest to offer the best services I can offer while [now] hopefully taking into better account of my own needs as a human.
I am excited to connect with even more of you out there moving forward and again, thank you so very much to everyone who has supported me so far in my photography journey; you all are the best!
And if you read this whole thing, thank you and you deserve some ice cream or a piece of pizza because I know it was long haha.
Jenna
