Juggling a Full-time job, Part-time Hustle, Motherhood, and Life
Being a mother to these two wild men is my greatest joy and challenge!
I am a mom of two wild boys, middle school teacher, and part-time photographer. People say to me all the time, “I don’t know how you do it all.” And to be honest, I’m still not quite sure how I do, either! I have always been very driven—I have the hardest time just sitting still and just being. I’m one of those people who feels like a slug if I haven’t been productive each day. And saying no to people is one of my biggest challenges. For those of you who are Enneagram fans, I am a 2w3, driven by pleasing others and working hard to accomplish my goals. BUT, I have learned over the last couple of years to simplify, outsource, and set limits, because I know I can’t do it all!
Simplifying my Business
There was a time when I wrote every single email from scratch, had to set reminders in my calendar for every single step of my projects, and created every single FaceBook and Instagram post in real time. But ya’ll…that is time-consuming! Workflows, templates, and automatic scheduling have SAVED MY LIFE in this area. Here are a couple of my favorite tools:
HoneyBook: I joined HoneyBook in December of 2016 as a “founding member,” before this company became the phenomenal resource that it has become today. HoneyBook helps me automate my workflows (keeping me on task with all the steps of my projects), stay on top of my emails, handle all of my inquiries, create and edit templates, send out contracts, set up payment plans, collect payments via debit and credit cards, track my earnings, identify my strongest leads—and they add more and more features every year! I can even manage inquiries and book projects from their app on my phone while on the go—it’s so easy! And their platform also give my business a very professional and perfectly branded platform from which to manage all of my projects and keep in touch with my clients. I would recommend HoneyBook to any small-business owner looking for a way to streamline some of your workflows and keep all of your business “stuff” in one place! (If you are interested in checking out HoneyBook and saving a little bit of money, click here for my referral link!)
Plann: Sharing your work via social media can be a wonderful way to connect with clients and build a business, but it takes so much time. And trying to do that in real time was HARD to stay on top of. I read a blog post from Jenna Kutcher a while back, and she mentioned Plann. So I tried it out and was hooked! You can pre-plan Instagram/FaceBook posts and stories, set up a strategy, create a calendar, and curate your social media presence all in one place. And most recently, they have added an auto-post feature, which allows me to write and plan a bunch of posts in advance and then just sit back and let Plann do all the work for me! There are even analytics that help you post at the right times for your audience, see which of your posts get the most engagement, and track your growth. Depending on your Plann plan (tee hee), you can even add team members to your account so that they can help create and share content.
MailChimp: Another great Jenna Kutcher tip is making sure you have a solid email list. Your social media followers can change with the wind (and the constantly changing algorithms), so you need a place where you can keep up with and connect with your tried-and-true people. MailChimp helps me keep all of my client email addresses in one place, design email campaigns and send emails en masse to all of my people, and analyze my reach. And best of all, their most basic plan is FREE! There is even a Zapier “zap” that also integrates any inquiries through HoneyBook directly into my MailChimp mailing list!
Outsourcing
My favorite part of my photography career is the time I get to spend with my people. Editing is my least favorite, so I outsource some of my editing during my busy seasons to my dear friend and photography editing expert, Chelsea Mowery Photography. Chelsea LOVES the editing side of photography, so to keep myself from being swamped and trapped behind a computer for hours on end, I send her some of my galleries during my busy seasons. Another way I outsource (which has nothing to do with photography) is by using a little of my photography income to pay a wonderful cleaning lady to come take care of the things I absolutely HATE about housework once a month—deep cleaning the bathrooms, deep cleaning the kitchen, and mopping the floors. Even though this isn’t directly related to my photography business, it does free up time for me to spend on my business or with my family! And last but not least, to keep from having to do ALL the yard maintenance on my own, I outsource our weed and feed each month.(Now I just need to find someone who will come do my laundry and plan my meals, haha!)
Setting Limits: Just Say No!
Setting limits is probably the hardest thing for me to do, especially when I am asked do something photography related! But prioritizing my family, full-time job as a teacher, and physical/mental health is a must. I take on a limited number of weddings a year (usually only one a month, maybe two during busy seasons or the summer when I have more time), and I try to limit my family/senior photo sessions to one a week. This gives me the joy of spending time with my clients, but also doesn’t overextend me or irritate my husband when I leave him home alone with our two boys too often! I also set aside entire weekends for family time during peak seasons to make sure I am keeping a balance.
It has taken me several years to establish this healthy balance, but simplifying, outsourcing, and setting limits, along with meal-planning and using Wal-Mart Grocery pick-up (oh my GOODNESS where has this been all my life?!) have been so helpful in helping me to juggle all the things and maintain my sanity. Being a wife, mom, teacher, and photographer has its challenges, but I wouldn’t have it any other way!
