Introduction

So let’s face it, there are a lot of blogs, articles, podcasts (the list can go on), that give advice on “steps” to building your business. I’m not here to bash on that. I’ve read many of those articles and listened to many podcasts about how to build my business from the ground up, and I’ve learned a lot from them!

What I want to do in this blog is bring it “down to earth” for you. I want to let you know that IT ISN’T EASY. It’s ok if you’re business hasn’t grown in the past few months or few years. Venturing into something unknown is very brave, if you haven’t given yourself some grace yet, DO IT NOW!

I made my photography business official January 2020 of this year. However, I had been taking professional pictures for about 4yrs prior to this. Never in my wildest dreams would I have ever thought I would venture into something so big! First of all, I am very aware that there are a billion and one photographers out there. There’s probably 1k in my area alone! Secondly, I’ve seen the competition out there, so much talent! It’s a little bit intimidating. Who am I kidding, it’s a lot bit intimidating! Thirdly, what do I know about starting a business? I don’t even like to do basic math, let’s be honest. I know there are a lot of logistics included in owning a business.

Ok, let’s go back to the feeling intimidated part. That feeling is very normal in life. Women feel it a lot over the course of time because, well, SO many reasons. What I want to tell YOU, whether you’re a male or female, is to please not stay stuck in that. DO NOT stay in that place. It is not a safe place to be in.

What I had to do to get over that is this: stop comparing myself to others. With me, I had stop comparing my photography style to others. What I did instead is learn from those I aspired to be like in this area. I started following them on the social media platforms, I even reached out to a few of them and asked questions. This helped me SO much! I also was so grateful that these amazing photographers took time out of their busy schedule to answer my questions.

This is what I took from that, they didn’t feel threatened in giving me any knowledge they have. Instead of having the mindset “this can be competition” let’s change it to “anything to help someone grow”. The point of mastering a certain subject or area in life is to one day pour that knowledge, wisdom, understanding, to others that want to learn from what you have. Mastering a certain area in life shouldn’t be so that you can keep that knowledge with you till the day you die. What good is that? Yes, you gained so much in life, but what did you leave for the generations to come?

I named my photography business: Jarvis Captures, LLC. I didn’t place the word “photography” in my title for a reason. What my goal and purpose is for Jarvis Captures is growth. I want my husband and my children to use Jarvis Captures for their dreams as well. Meaning that if my oldest son, who wants to be an architect, wants to use this title for his own architectural business one day, he can. That’s the beauty of not putting photography in the title. He can one day have a business called: Jarvis Captures your Architectural needs, or something simple, Jarvis Captures Architecture Firm.

You get the idea. This blog is the beginning of many to come. I want to share what I know about growing a business with YOU! Can I tell you something? Today was my first day of a photography class I enrolled in. What?! Yes, I am going back to the basics! I’ve been self teaching for these past few years so when the opportunity came up to take a class and get some type of certification for photography, I was all for it! So, give me some feedback, shoot me over some questions, let me know if you want me to continue with these blogs. Thank you for taking your time out to read this.