Hi friends! As I am sitting down to write this post, I am reflecting on the past 2 years on my life and how everything is changed! One of my favorite things to do every morning is to hop onto my TimeHop app & look at what I was doing years ago. When I looked at it today I saw that today was the day I shot my FIRST ever senior! It is so crazy to think how far someone can come in just one year and how someone can learn SO much in such a little amount of time! So today’s blog post is going to be the top 5 things running a business has taught me.

1. Money Management

Money is something that is not easy to manage! ESPECIALLY when you are a young girl who has never made a huge purchase or made an investment into anything! Over the years I have learned to manage and balance what I make. A lot of people who don’t understand what it’s like to run a small business, think that us small biz owners profit soooo much. Now, me and you know that’s a lie. We have multiple expenses, we have to worry about taxes & when we do have any little bit of “spending money” we invest it right back into our business! Am I right? When I first started my business I didn’t think I was going to have to worry about much! I thought I would purchase all my equipment and then just save up! Oh boy was I wrong! Over the year I have learned SO much when it comes to managing money and even though I will maybe spend too much money on something here or there, I have still learned so much! Here are some tips and tricks I’ve learned about managing money;

a. Put a percentage away! You always want to make sure you are saving a little bit from each session to prepare for taxes!

b. Put another percent into another saving account! I have a separate account where I put money aside to save & I DON’T touch it!

c. Make investments! Make your investments one-by-one and have a list of things you want to invest in. List them from most important to least important, that way you can save up for the next investment in line!

2. Do What You LOVE!

Owning a business has taught me SO much about myself, and what my aspirations are! It has taught me so much about who I am and where I want to be! Before I started my business I was in a rough area of my life and I had nothing to dream about & nothing to push me. When I started by business, it gave me something to enjoy each & every day! It gave me joy every time I woke up & knew I had a session that day. It also taught me that this is what I LOVE to do, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world! I had so many people (even my family!) tell me that what I was doing what stupid and I wasn’t going to go anywhere in life but to me I knew that I had a love for serving others and a love for capturing moments and I was NEVER going to give up on what I loved to do! No matter who told me I wasn’t going to make it!

3. Be 100% You

I know it sounds silly but running my own business has taught me to be myself, it really has! For years and years (and I’m sure all of us can relate to this) we have tried to conform to the society that we are in, to make us just like everyone else. Even if that means being someone that isn’t yourself. I’m the first person to say that I’ve done that! For so long I never knew who I really was and what made me different from everyone else and for a long time I didn’t want to be myself. I wanted to be like everyone else. Owning and running my own business has truly brought me out of my shell to proudly be 100% myself and no one else. It has taught me that the only way you can live happily & live a true life is to be 100% all you, which is awesome in my opinion. I couldn’t imagine ever conforming to someone else’s society again.

4. It’s Not Easy

Owning a small business is filled with so much love and joy, but it is certainly NOT easy. It is time consuming, it is stressful, at times you want to rip your hair out! It is also hard to find your path in it, and there are times where you get down in the dumps & question yourself and all that you’ve done. I know for a fact that this happens to EVERY small biz owner. Everyone. Not just the ones that just started out, but everyone. Sometimes it can get really hard, it really can. I know that I compare myself to everyone & I always ask myself “why aren’t I as successful as her?” “what am I doing wrong?” But I always have to remind myself that success is not weighed by money. It’s weighed by your happiness, and if you’re happy then you are successful & that is all that matters.

5. You Have To Work Hard 

The last thing that running a business has taught me is that in order to do what you love, and in order to achieve your dreams you have to work, and hard. Non of us just woke up one morning and we had a fully successful business. Although I wish that were true. It’s not. We all have worked endless amount of nights with lots of stress and tears just to build up something that we love. And in this some people learn that it’s not for them. Nothing in life is ever handed to you on a silver platter. You have to work, and sometimes that hard work pays off and sometimes it doesn’t. But that is what growing a business is. You will fail at times, but at other times you will succeed. Your heart will get torn to bits, but at other times your heart will be filled with so much joy. Running a business is really a give and take relationship, but you have to be willing work your butt off to make it happen. And if you are willing to do that, then you will succeed.

 

I hope some of you found this helpful & keep rocking out your business! You SO got this! XOXO