Business building and photography have always been two things that I’m really passionate about. I fell in love with taking photos in my high school photography class and that love led me to become a professional photographer. After running my business for a short while, I quickly discovered that it wasn’t just photography that excited me. Much like taking photos, I loved how building a business allowed me to start with nothing and turn it into something beautiful. And from both of those passions came my love for teaching other entrepreneurs how to do the same.

When I first started taking photos, I was using my grandpa’s Canon AE-1. It probably wasn’t the best option for a beginning photographer as it could be hard to operate (hello, manual focus), but I was up for a good challenge.

But when I got the photos back (you know, back in the day when you had to send your film away and wait forever to view them?) I was devastated by the number of photos that were blurry and out of focus. I had worked so hard to master the skill of manual focus and I was certain each photo would be developed just as I saw it through the lens. I immediately wanted to throw the pictures in the trash, sell my camera in a yard sale, and give up on photography altogether. It was too hard and I was never going to be good at it.

But then as I continued to flip through the photos, I found that many of them actually did turn out beautifully, that I did have an eye and a skillset for capturing a moment perfectly. Suddenly my mindset shifted from calling the whole thing off to dreaming of the beautiful photography business I was about to build.

And that’s exactly what I did. For years, I ran a very successful photography business that laid the foundation for everything I have accomplished since and I am just so grateful that I didn’t let a couple of blurry photos keep me from chasing those dreams.

Lately, I have had this overwhelming feeling that this is exactly what it’s like to be an entrepreneur, especially in the beginning. That something this big and this important takes a lot of practice. That a roll of film is more like running a business than you might think. Sometimes things don’t turn out as we hoped. At times the direction feels blurry and our goals seem out of focus.

But other times, our hard work pays off in the most beautiful ways. Our dreams seem super clear and our mission is captured perfectly.

I have been running my business for many years and the more I grow, I find less of those “blurry photos” and more of those “perfect snapshots”. But I promise you, it took time, and it took practice, and it took asking for help and learning how to hone in on that “manual focus”.

Whether this is your first or tenth year as an entrepreneur, there will always be new skills to learn, new places for growth, and new goals to achieve. It will always take hard work and it will always require a lot of practice.

As you build your business, I want to encourage you to change your mindset and shift your focus. Don’t spend all of your time worrying about the things that set you back and more time rejoicing in the journey. Running your own show isn’t always going to be easy. But you weren’t called to take the easy road. You’re a strong, resilient, talented business owner who can and will handle the challenges thrown your way.

So strap on that Canon AE-1 camera with me and boldly proclaim that you don’t need autofocus to find success. You have the skills and the drive to manually focus your way through this beautiful thing called business.

 

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