There’s something about holding back all the details of your photography business from your friends and family that can feel wrong. After all, these are people who have known you in some cases your entire life. So why am I advising you not to share certain details about your business with them? I’m not talking about lying, cheating or being deceptive. We know that, as humans, we don’t have to share every thought, dream or fear with everyone. I would like you to consider things that might actually serve you if you don’t share them.
As an entrepreneur and coach of photographers, I have realized there are just some things that are better kept within the walls where other entrepreneurs and dreamers live. Once we understand how to navigate our friends and family’s views on us taking big risks, the actions we don’t take are what allow the sunbeam to melt the snow of doubt.
- Pricing
I always say to take advice from someone who’s doing what you want and succeeding at it. People who love you are wired to protect you. Know that and understand that. I want to challenge you to just accept that they aren’t going to understand what goes into pricing your products, especially a product like ours, photography. it’s one where people have easy access to that for free and protect yourself from allowing them to plant more seeds of doubt in you.
- The Details
When you are a high-touch custom boutique photography business, you get to create your own rules. You get to decide what products you offer and how they’re delivered. You get to decide the key parts of your process that should be designed to thrill your clients. You’re the one who understands less is more, and that making things simple and easy is so much better than offering the all-you-can-eat buffet of digital files for a cheap price.
- Your Struggles
When you open the door to sharing your doubts and fears about your business in a casual conversation, it really is inviting someone to comment who is completely uneducated and unqualified to do so. Then, they’re unleashing their doubts and fears on you and reiterating your worst fear.
Name one person who’s accomplished their dreams without struggle. For whatever reason, the people who love us, their instinct is there to protect us and keep us from taking more risks. This is why I love doing what I’m doing in my company. I love helping people have a voice in their business. You don’t have to share your failures with people who see the world from a different perspective. When you’re going for your dreams of being a professional photographer, not everyone’s going to understand it. Keep them close to you in every part of your life and share the wins that you have in your photography business. But if you want to stop getting stuck and you want to keep forward momentum, the best thing you can do is set up a completely different support group of people who are in the same arena doing the same work as you. You can do this.
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