The Truth About Work/Life Balance When You Have Kids and You Run a Photography Business
I started my business before I had my twins. I remember being worried about how I was going manage it all once they were born. I know I'm not alone. I frequently hear from talented photographers who love their craft and really want to turn it into a business but are worried about balancing a business and a family.
They're afraid the business will take too much time and will pull them away from their kids. They worry they can't have a successful business without giving the business 200% of their time, but they want to give their family 200% of their time.
Luckily, none of that is true! I'm living proof that it is 100% possible to run and build a profitable business while being a mom. I was a full-time, stay-at-home mom to my twins when they were little and still am—even now that they are teenagers.
I'm at home in the morning helping them get out the door, and I'm here when they get home. When they were little, I walked them to school and picked them up. I volunteered. I ran carpool. I did all the "mom" things that I wanted to do, while running and growing my business. I learned a few things along the way about balancing the two that I share in this episode!
HIGHLIGHTS
You're the boss, so create a business that works for you.
The great thing about having your own business is that you are the boss, so that means you make up the rules. You get to set your schedule, decide who you work with and even decide how much you get paid! How amazing is that? Having that kind of freedom and flexibility makes us some of the luckiest people in the world!
Maybe this seems like an obvious thing to point out, but I have found that a lot of people forget that they are actually the boss in their business. They put a lot of pressure on themselves to work hours that aren't a good fit for them. They take on work they don't want to do because they think they should. They set rates for themselves that are too low, so the work they are doing isn't really profitable.
Creating work/life balance starts with knowing what your needs are and creating a business that actually accommodates those needs. In order to do that, you need to know what you want.
For example, when my twins were little, it was important to me to stay home with them. I didn't want to send them to childcare, not because I have judgement around that, but because I just really wanted the experience of being home with them while they were young. To accommodate that, I set up my schedule so that I only saw clients on the weekend when my husband would be home to take over childcare duties. As they grew and started school, our needs shifted! I wanted more time with them on the weekends, so I changed my system and no longer worked on Sundays. I made sure my rates were profitable, so when I was away, it was worth it.
Was it always easy? No, but when things did get hard, I would remind myself that I'm the boss, which means I get to make the rules. If the rules needed to change, I gave myself the freedom to change them. I encourage you to do the same!
Remember—you run your business, not the other way around!
Set clear boundaries with your clients AND your family.
This brings me to my second piece of advice for people who are balancing family and business. Set clear boundaries with both your family and your clients.
Your family needs to know that what you do is a "real" job that needs to be treated with respect. I see way too many (mostly) women trying to squeeze in time for their business between every thing else. They end up working when they should be doing things like eating and sleeping—and that's not good for anyone.
When you have clear boundaries, you have work time and family time— and both are healthier. When you are at work, treat it like work and let your family know!
Likewise, when you are with your family, set the boundary that work time is over! That means no answering email, texting clients during dinner, while at the park or when you're in bed. Trust me on this one—you will be so much happier!
I had terrible boundaries for years, which left me feeling like a failure as a mom and as a business owner. No matter what I was doing, I always felt like I was being pulled in the other direction! That stopped when I reminded myself that A) I'm the boss and get to make the rules and B) I set boundaries for myself with my family and with my business.
Create Systems
Now setting and keeping boundaries gets a whole lot easier when you have systems set up in your business that help with efficiency. When you are at work and away from your family, you need systems so you don't waste your precious time re-inventing the wheel!
Creating systems for marketing, on-boarding, session flow, sales and post-session flow will save you SO much time! When you're in business, time is money. When you're a parent, time is EVERYTHING, because kids grow really fast!
Having systems in place helps you make the most of your time away from family. It's also really good for your business because when you can create systems and automate things like marketing, sales and post production, you have more time to work with paying clients!
I spend a lot of time teaching specific systems for everything mentioned above (marketing, on-boarding, session flow, sales and post-session flow) to the photographers I coach inside the Six-Figure Studio. What I see over and over again is that putting the systems I teach into practice has a direct result in helping people spend LESS time working while booking MORE clients and making MORE money!
Get help when you need it
My last piece of advice is this: you don't have to do it alone.
Photography can be a very isolating job. Most of us work alone. We don't have colleagues to bounce ideas off of. We don't have people who understand our industry to ask for advice.
It can be hard.
If you are struggling in your business or need help setting boundaries, getting more clients, creating systems to make it all easier AND you want a supportive group of likeminded people who are working on the same things as you, let me know!
The Six-Figure Studio, my group coaching program, is currently open for enrollment. We'd love to have you join us inside this amazing community!
If you are struggling with work/life balance, remember that you are the boss! You get to make the rules, so create a business that works for you and your needs. Trust me, you'll be so much happier!
