What's that old adage about not seeing the forest for the trees? Meaning that you should not get so preoccupied by one tree (detail in life), that you miss the whole, beautiful amazing forest of trees (the big picture).
Well, a little over 2 years into my little photography business venture, after ups and downs, days that seem like I'm on the right track, and days where I wonder what I was thinking, I realized that I have the opposite problem. I've been standing here, staring at the forest this whole time. Sure, I've had my moments, but in general, I've been wasting precious time looking at the big picture, and, because I am at the stage that I am, becoming completely overwhelmed by it.
My grand mistake has been ignoring the smaller pieces of the big picture: those metaphorical trees... and more specifically, the trees in my own back yard. Interestingly enough, I think that this problem goes hand in hand with another issue I'll address shortly. Anyway, the mistake I made while throwing myself into this business is going into it with a large load of impatience, and always looking around, over the fence, past the trees. In some sense, it's just darn awesome to look forward and "reach for the stars", so to speak, but not when you're ignoring what's at your feet, begging to be addressed. The little things, those little details, that turn out to be some of the most important and fundamental instruments when building a foundation for this type of business. At least it seems so, from where I'm standing.
My mistake has been assuming that I can be "as good/successful as (fill in the blank)" while looking through another professional's portfolio, without considering what it took that person to get to where they are. I don't like the thought of instant gratification, but I think that we're in an age where no matter what, some of that mentality becomes part of our lives, and results in impatience and some level of depression. Hence the days that my frustration at "not being good enough" or where I want to be, boils over and lose my momentum.
I've spent the last several days finally giving myself time to sit back, not over-think it, and just try to learn something new each day. Reminding yourself that it's okay to still have A LONG WAY TO GO... that it's part of the whole journey, and that the journey of whatever career a person chooses is never over, that there is always room to grow, discover, and educate yourself... it's so important to keep in mind. A little humility doesn't hurt either.
Now the second issue that I alluded to earlier, is that of confidence. Yes, starting up and growing a business takes hard work, education, patience, money, family support.... and CONFIDENCE. Confidence in the business is one thing, but I think that it wont get you very far without confidence in yourself and your abilities. I'm not saying I'm not a confident person; I'm extremely proud of how far I've come since my teenage years. However, running a personal business-- or running a working social adult life, for that matter-- requires a special kind of *social confidence*, one which I was not tuning into.
Not until recently, when I joined a local female photographers group, and coincidentally read a post by a photographer I follow on Facebook that addressed the topic of mutual support in this field, did I realize that this whole time I've been running my business, I've had the mentality that it's ME AGAINST THE WORLD.
No, no, no and no. So wrong!! Well, then again, it was absolutely true, but only because *I* had chosen to make it that way. I had made no significant effort to support, reach out, connect to my fellow photographers or really anyone in my community. Here I was wondering how in the world to get more jobs, while completely ignoring the community here, in my backyard.
Thankfully, just over the past couple of weeks I've started to learn how beneficial it is to support, rather than ignore my fellow photographers. Especially in this particular profession, no matter that it's all "Photography", each one of us does it differently. Therefore each one of us still has a different clientele. There should not be feelings of enmity, but rather of community, of respect, and of support. There is so much we can learn from one another. There will be times when we cannot take a particular job for one reason or another. A good rapport with another photog will make referral a much simpler decision.
Also, as far as my community is concerned, I realized that not only is it important to establish a good photography network, but also one with local businesses. I never felt comfortable with the idea of solicitation, and that pretty much kept my mouth shut when visiting local businesses, whether cafes, restaurants, etc. However, I realize now that it's not solicitation when you approach it correctly. And no smart entrepreneur will say no to local networking, positive word-of-mouth, and mutual benefits.
So today I stepped out of the house, and out of my comfort zone, and made two new local connections. And you know what? It wasn't scary at all. I was received with smiles and a lot of positivity. I got two great conversations out of it. And you better believe I'm feeling more motivated than ever before.
cheers-
Monika
