5 Things I Learned in the Past 5 Years of Business
I am officially celebrating 5 YEARS of Jenny B Photography and I couldn’t be more excited or grateful!!! I always loved photography growing up but never imagined my hobby would turn into a business, and my passion into a purpose. God has blown me away with His goodness!!
It’s not all pretty pictures and fun photoshoots though….I’ve had to learn a TON of things no one teaches you in school about running a small business. I’ve put in a lot of background work these past 5 years figuring out some things the hard way, and eating up all the business/photography education I can from others. I thought it would be fun to share some of the lessons I learned that have brought me to where I’m at today, so without further ado, here are the 5 things I learning in my past 5 years of business!
1. Serve Serve Serve!!
Serving your clients and giving them an exceptional experience with you should always be your #1 priority. It doesn’t matter how beautiful your product is…if your clients didn’t enjoy their client experience with you, then that ends up putting a sour taste in their mouths and they are not likely to recommend you to anyone else. Serving your clients by going above and beyond their expectations and giving them value along with your service or product will leave them singing your praises to everyone they know!!
2. If you are confident in your worth, your clients will be too.
Something that took me a little longer to learn was being confident in my work and the value I brought to my clients. So first, implement #1 above, and then charge.what.you’re.worth. The more confident you are in your service or product, the more your client will SEE that and naturally be confident in your WORTH!
3. Setting up boundaries between work & life is important to the health of each.
I can’t tell you how many evenings at home with my husband I would be spend editing and responding to clients the first couple years after I started my business. I didn’t have ANY work/life boundaries, and would be responding to clients late into the evening and still trying to bang out work. Eventually my husband had to gently explain to me that it’s OKAY to wait until morning to answer back the client that texted me at 8pm. Maaaaybe booking double header weddings multiple times a month was getting overwhelming for me. Scheduling client calls on Sunday afternoons isn’t the most convenient.
At first I didn’t want to listen to him because I thought I was being a good little hard worker…but eventually I did start to feel that burn out and even occasional tension in my relationship with Bryan when I would prioritize work over our time together. I’ve since grown in this area (thankfully lol) and have implemented a handful of work/life boundaries that have been AMAZING. They don’t hinder my work by any means, in fact these boundaries really help free up my work/life balance by having allotted days/times when I take turns prioritizing each! Sundays I don’t work at all unless its the occasional wedding. No responding to clients after 6pm. No booking more than 1 set of double header weddings a month. Weeknight evenings after 6pm are for spending time with my husband & relaxing; not editing or having client calls. Now I cherish these boundaries and have a healthy relationship with both my work AND life *praise hands*!!!
4. My work can also be worship.
It’s so beautiful to involve the Lord in my business and use Jenny B Photography as an opportunity to extend His love towards those I get to work with! God *wants* to be involved in EVERY aspect of our life, big or small, and I’d say involving Him in your business is pretty big and super rewarding. A big heart behind my business is to encourage and cheer on my couples in their relationships and future marriages! I am passionate about capturing love stories, but even more passionate about seeing my couples continue to invest in & grow their love story long after the wedding day. Marriage is such a gift! My prayer is for my couples to live out that truth together for a lifetime.
5. Celebrate your wins!
Annnd to finish off, this one is pretty self-explanatory! Always take the time to celebrate your wins and successes! Running a small business is no small feat, and running a successful one is such a huge accomplishment!! Keep track of your milestones and achievements and give yourself the permission to rejoice in them.
