Hey y’all! I am so excited for today’s blog post because it is something very near and dear to my heart — obviously! I LOVE taking pictures, and I have enjoyed it for the longest time. Growing up, my dad was a filmmaker, so I was always around camera and editing, and I loved it. As I go older, I wanted to go to college to be a director {but that’s a different story, for a different time}. Nonetheless, I’ve always loved taking pictures. I would set up scenes with my American Girl dolls, ask my friends to “model” in junior high, and I loved taking nature photography!! {Seriously, I have SO many pictures of flowers from when I was twelve.}

With the world constantly changing into a more media friendly/crazy society, it seems that more and more people love taking pictures. Whether it’s just to post on Instagram, to hang in their house, or to create their next wallpaper. Now, more than ever, there are MORE people wanting to take pictures. If you’re like me, there came a point when I asked myself could all of this fun, free photography be something more?! Should I charge for my services? Can I do that? Should I start a photography company? There were MANY factors that played into my decision of becoming a photographer and starting a company.

Today, I’m going to share 5 tidbits to consider before making the jump into starting a photography company.

1. Do I really LOVE it?!

   Okay, so this is a basic question, but I think it’s often overlooked. Do you really love photographing? Starting a company and continuing to provide business can be exhausting. You’re going to need to LOVE what you do before you decide to commit.

2. Am I only in it for the money?

   A little straight forward, but a serious question you need to think about. What is your motivation? Are you wanting to start a company because you love it and you want to share your passion with the world? Are you wanting to start a photo company because you see others being successful with photographing and making money of it?

3. Is it sustainable with my lifestyle?

   Now, I don’t expect you to plan out the next ten years of your life, but I think it’s something to consider when thinking about starting a business. Are you able to sustain a business with your current lifestyle or are you willing to change your lifestyle in order to sustain your business? Before heading down the business ownership road, think about if this is real desire of your heart or just something that sounds cool and you’ll move onto something else in three months.

4. What can I bring to the industry?

   Now, this is a GREAT questions because as I mentioned earlier there are SO many photographers out there. The market is ridiculously oversaturated. So before committing to starting a business, you’re going to need to figure out what makes you different from everyone else. How are you going to bring in business? I believe it’s great to find inspirations from other creatives and photographers, but make sure that you don’t copy them.

5. Am I ready for this?

   So this is definitely a personal question that you will need to ask yourself. Owning a business is not for everyone. As a business major, I knew that there would be so much more than just “taking pictures” to keep my business afloat and thriving. Are you ready to tackle these challenges? You don’t need to know everything to get started, but are you ready to face unknowns?

Anyways, those were just a few, of SO MANY, questions that I asked myself before I jumped in on this crazy journey of being a business owner. I certainly did not know everything, and I still don’t! However, it was such {and still is} a big desire of my heart that I was willing to fight for my business. I wanted and dreamed of it, and I was ready to take whatever craziness came my way.

I’m so excited to be sharing more about starting a business in this upcoming year. If you have any specific topics you’d like me to cover, feel free to comment below, message me on Insta, or send me a message via the contact form!

xoxo,