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think two of the most popular questions I get asked when I mentor another photographer is.... 'how do I go full time... and how much should I charge.' I answered the second one a couple of years ago, and I still stand behind my answer.. so go check that out if you have time It's scary... to want to pursue a dream.. especially when that dream means changing your life around in order to achieve it.
Trust me... I know.
Not only is leaving a job hard... but leaving a job to run a small business... now that's hard.
Will you succeed.. will you make money... will you fail.. will you go broke...
I've mentioned many times on the blog before about my great paying job with great benefits.. that I up and left... to pursue photography full time....
But I really want to talk about things... I never want anyone to take 'becoming a photographer full time' lightly...
I never want someone to set themselves up for failure... ever.
So... Here are the facts...
I graduated college with 100,000 dollars of student loan debt... I've been paying my own bills since before I was able to drive a car.. and when I finished college and had to move back to Virginia.... with my mom... I paid rent, helped with groceries and utility bills... on top of my car/insurance/phone/student loans etc etc etc.... SO.. what's my point?!?! I knew I had to have a GOOD paying job -- my student loan payments alone were (are) a small house payment.. literally.. I know friends who pay less for their mortgage than I do for just my loans....
That's sad....
So I finally found an amazing job... Armed Nuclear Officer.
My starting pay was close to 40,000... without overtime.. and we worked about 2 days of overtime each week...(ugh - I hated that) we got paid triple time on holidays and time ina half on overtime days... we got raises each year, I got promoted.. and we always got bonuses... to say I... a just out of college grad was making good money would be an understatement.. especially considering -- I only had a bachelors degree....
I was easily bringing home 5000+ each month... and that's just me.. being a 'single' lady.. (insert beyonce voice)
I was able to pay my bills each month -- pay extra on my loans -- and purchase new gear for my business.... any of the money I made in photography -- stayed in my business... things were easy financially....
For three years I had been wanting to quit my job and pursue photography full time.. but deep down I knew I wasn't ready... I didn't know how to 'fully' handle any situation that was thrown at me... I wasn't 100% comfortable shooting in all different kinds of situations/lighting scenarios.. and honestly -- I didn't have the bookings lined up... It wasn't until October of 2011 that it really hit me how much money I was actually losing by continuing to work my full time job... I turned away 20,000 that month of October... 20,000 dollars.... because of my work schedule that month, I wasn't able to take on the bookings that came in.
twenty thousand dollars
It was at that point that Chase and I started discussing me quitting.... my mom had been diagnosed with Stage III cancer earlier in the year. And I was trying to do fundraisers to help her out.. we had just found out that Chase was going to have open heart surgery.. I had just been promoted at work... and here I am wanting to quit my job...
Perfect timing Sharon
But... we decided IF it was going to eventually happen a few things had to happen first.
1. A couple of our debts had to be paid off -- I had two credit cards with no interest that I wanted gone.. and Chase had something small (I can't remember exactly what it was) that we wanted to get rid of as well.
2. A comfortable six month 'emergency fund' had to be saved.. enough to cover BOTH of us and our bills.. and our love for eating out at restaurants. This meant saving up over 15,000 dollars.... and not touching it... AND still paying our bills each month...
3. I had to have enough bookings lined up for 6 months.
I worked my ass off to make this happen
February of 2012 when Chase went in for his open heart surgery.. I was still working at Dominion.. but had successfully completed all of my goals in order to go full time. I had taken a leave without pay from Dominion in order to be with Chase and my Mom the month of January and February... my plan was to return back to work in March when Chase was able to be at home by himself.
The week of March 5th 2012 -- is when I decided I was going to quit.... Up until Chase's surgeries.. I was still terrified even despite having completed all of my goals.. I had Chase's support and my family's support.. but I was still terrified of failing... but after going through everything with Chase in the hospital and almost losing him.. I literally said screw it...
Life... is too damn short.
On March 9th 2012... I walked into Dominion.. smiling like an idiot.. I get nervous and get those uncomfortable giggles.. awkward.
But I sat down with my boss and slid my resignation letter across the table... after he asked me if I was joking... he said the following.....
"You were getting a really good raise when you came back off of your leave... are you sure...?"
Seriously... one more 'thing' that made me feel like I was making a huge mistake...
But that feeling didn't last long.. in fact, only long enough for me to nervously laugh and say...
"I'm 100% sure... I'm ready to move on and follow my heart."
I remember when he was walking me out, he looked back at me and smiled... "I'm glad you didn't get stuck here, you'll always be welcome back... but you're going to do great."
For YEARS... I feared quitting.. all I wanted was for someone to tell me 'you're going to do great, you will succeed.. you'll do just fine' and to give me the exact steps I had to take.... But it wasn't until AFTER I actually put forth the work and made the leap that I was finally told - I'd do great.
My first year full time... I made right at six figures.....
Now 2.5 years later -- I'm making six figures and finally able to spend holidays with my family.. schedule my vacations without asking for permission...
And I do NOT say this to brag.. you can ask anyone -- I HATE even marketing for myself, because I just don't like that kind of attention... but I'm saying this instead to tell you that -- if you work hard... REALLY hard.. and set goals for yourself... you CAN pursue your dreams.
It may take years.. and it may take saving up for months... but if you're responsible and set yourself up to succeed -- you will.
So if you're still asking yourself if you're ready to go full time.. ask yourself these questions...
1. Do you know your gear inside and out? (Do you have the gear you need?)
2. Can you handle any situation you get thrown in?
3. Would you TRUST YOURSELF as your photographer?
4. Do you have bookings lined up for the time frame you want to quit?
5. Do you have a business/marketing plan?
6. Do you have a backup 'work' plan?
7. Do you have money saved up to pay your bills in case you hit a rough patch?
8. Do you have a support system?
9. Can you realistically quit your job at this point? (Have you figured out your yearly/monthly bills?)
10. Are you prepared to fail a little in order to succeed overall.. and KEEP MOVING FORWARD?
If you can answer yes to all of those questions -- I'd say you are definitely on the right track!!! Just be honest with yourself and your situation... don't let anyone tell you no -- but don't be so blinded that you don't actually look at your situation!!!! You don't want to be so overly-eager that you set yourself up to fail... this is your DREAM.. your passion -- so take the right steps so that you can succeed at it!!!
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