I thought I was going to explode. I was holding my ten month old in one arm while trying to entertain him and help relive his teething gums as he screamed in my ear, and trying to blog a session with my other hand. That was it, I could not do it anymore. I quickly shut my laptop, put Boston down, and put my hands in my face. This was a daily occurrence of trying to juggle taking care of Boston, editing sessions, dishes, laundry, blogging, cleaning the bathroom, answering emails, marketing, social media, etc. The list goes on and on and it never seemed to end. My days would end with a messy house and long nights of catching up on photography tasks. Being a mom and trying to run a business is NOT easy work! I decided I need to change some things if I wanted to keep my sanity. So I did some research from some of my favorite photographers and I hope their words and mine are able to help you in some way! I found a webinar by the lovely Kylee Ann of Kylee Ann Studios on how to run a business and raise a family. She gave some amazing steps that I want to emphasize on: #1: Commit- Commit to your business It sounds kind of ironic, but you need to commit to your business in order to be there for your family. EVERY little part of your business you need to commit 100% to; your pricing, hours, style, brand, etc. You need to take that leap from realizing your on-the-side-hobby is now a business and you need to treat it like a business. Commit to your pricing means really committing to it. This is the hardest to do sometimes especially when you want to give your family and friends discounts. You are doing your business and your family a disservice by spending your time and efforts on your products if you are just going to give away your services/products for free or at an extremly discounted price. Commit to your style and brand. When you get inquiries and people wanting you to give them exactly what they want by changing your style, you are again hurting your business. When we try to be people pleasers and chameleons changing our ways for everyone, it ends up being exhausting. The amazing Amy and Jordan said, "When you try to be everything for everybody you end up being nobody for anyone." You can't be a million things for a million people. Stick to your style and brand and people will value your work and come to you for YOU! #2: Learn to say YES- Saying yes to your family If you hate saying NO to people, then say YES to your family. Set hours for your social media of when you are only 'open' to where people can message you. Have full days out of the week where you do not schedule business tasks and stick to it! One thing Kylee Ann loves to do is to 'cut out the fluff'. Cut out anything in your day that is not necessary. A good example is unsubscribing to emails. Cut down your inbox with unnecessary ads and offers. If you go to Unroll.Me, you can unsubscribe from there. Separate your Facebook and Instagram business accounts from your personal ones. Don't just follow or friend people in hopes to grow your likes or following. Only follow people and other businesses that are inspiring and motivating; unfollow or unfriend people if you need to. Turn off your push notifications on your phone/computer. Turn your phone on do not disturb mode if you need to; when you are with your family, actually BE there in the moment! #3: Create Systems- Set daily goals This step comes from the amazing Katelyn James! First sit down and make a list of all of the tasks that you have to do for your business. These could include emails, social media, marketing, websites tweaks, etc. Organize your lists into two categories: maintaining tasks & growing tasks. To do this, identify things that slow you down and what fires you up. Maintaining tasks for photographers for example would be answering emails, editing, blogging, etc. Growing tasks for a photographer for example would be creating a new education source, a new website & logo launch, etc. "Don't miss out on special family moments you can't get back for a business that can always grow." -Katelyn James I seriously love that!! Some other systems to help you get organized would be to create email templates you use everytime for inquiries and excel spreadsheets for keeping track of finances. #4: Outsource
This might be something some of you aren't ready for yet and that's ok! You can pretty much outsource any part of your business. There are people out there dying to do $10-15/hr jobs and are itching to be part of a business. You can outsource social media, marketing, website building, blogging, house cleaning, babysitting, etc. Like I said, if you don't think you can afford major outsourcing, there are high schoolers and people in college that have the time that you don't that agin would love to be part of a business. If you cannot afford any help and have family near you, have your mom watch the kids for an afternoon or have your sister take over social media! Katelyn James suggests getting things done with "Cram Days". Do all of your errands or business tasks in a certain amount of time. This could be 2 hours during your little one's naptime or 4 hours while your kids are in school. Make it a goal to set a time limit so you have a deadline. This doesn't mean rush and run around like a chicken with its head cut off; it means to be efficient in a timely manner. I feel like I do my best work when I have short window of time and create a deadline for myself. I feel like my work kind of drags out and I just stare at my computer screen not knowing what else to do if I leave all of my work for the late late hours of the night. "It is possible… if you stop doing it ALL."- Katelyn James #5: Find a support group There is no manual to being a mom and raising a family. There also is not a manual telling you how to run a business. There are though resources, educational sources, but most of all-support groups. It’s can sometimes be lonely to be a business owner and a mom sometimes. What I have loved the most about moving to Utah is the community of people cheering you on for your business. 'Community over competition' is what is preached in my neck of the woods and it has changed my whole business. Get added to a Facebook group, meet with other creatives and business owners like you every so often, read inspirational and motivating books and blogs. Make friends with other business owners in your industry and community. I hope some of my words and words from others helped you in some way! My best piece of advice I could give you is to not give up and believe in yourself!! I know that sounds clique and cheesy but it will help you so much! There are so many moms and people that do things on the side that get drowned out, loose their creativity, and forget the WHY of their business; why they started out in the first place. They lose confidence and quit, get rid of, or drop their business in a manner of months. It's not going to be easy, but you have to keep going! Think about why you started your business. Was it to gain financial freedom? Because you've always wanted to and feel like if you waited any longer it wouldn't ever happen? Maybe because it's your DREAM and you loose sleep over new ideas. Whatever it may be, we are all in this together. Encourage others, love your clients, serve them to the best of your abilities, and you will go far in your business. ;) Credits and Resources: Kylee Ann Studios The Photog Blog Amy & Jordan Katelyn James Jasmine Star Dave Ramsey Books
17 Comments
Jessica Ajeman
12/28/2016 09:35:43 pm
Yay I'm so glad!!
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12/28/2016 08:15:19 pm
I especially love Number 2! I want my little ones to know I'm always here for them, and that starts by putting the phone down and giving them my full attention. Thanks for the post
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Jessica Ajeman
12/28/2016 09:36:19 pm
Yes it is sooo important! You are so welcome!!
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Hiliary Stewart
12/28/2016 08:31:41 pm
Jess! I'm so grateful I have you! You're a constant support and reminder to me of the wife and business owner I want to be! This is my favorite post ever.
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Jessica Ajeman
12/28/2016 09:37:18 pm
You're so sweet!! I'm so glad you liked it!
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12/28/2016 10:38:15 pm
I LOVE ALL OF THESE! Thanks for sharing.. Thisis a great reminder. I struggle with this!
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Jessica Ajeman
12/29/2016 10:40:17 am
You are so welcome! So glad you liked it!
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Kallie
12/29/2016 01:03:59 am
Thank you so much for the valuable advice.
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Jessica Ajeman
12/29/2016 10:40:43 am
You're welcome!!
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Brekka
12/29/2016 08:20:49 am
I needed to read this today!!!!
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Jessica Ajeman
12/29/2016 10:41:11 am
Yay! I'm so glad it helped you! That was my goal :)
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Jessica Ajeman
12/29/2016 09:17:10 pm
You're so welcome!! I'm so glad you benefited from it!
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Jaime B.
12/30/2016 09:27:01 am
Thank you for sharing this post, it was much needed!
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Jessica Ajeman
12/30/2016 10:42:11 am
Glad you liked it! You're so welcome!!
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Melissa
1/2/2017 10:11:31 pm
Such great tips!
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