Are there any other photographers out there that have mind drama? 

It took me a long time to realize that we could learn all the tactical ways to have a great business, have coaches, take courses, follow a roadmap – but if our emotions were holding us back – then the chance of having success would remain elusive.

And this mind drama has a lot to do with a few emotions that swirl around when you are trying to do something big for yourself – like building a successful photography business.

Our brain likes to keep us safe. The brain doesn’t want us to get hurt – so to protect us – the mind has a range of emotions that pop up like self doubt, fear and worry.  

When you really start looking closer, you will discover that our emotions are what holds us back, keep us scared and small. 

A few examples for me include waiting years to go back to school to become a photographer because I was afraid, I didn’t want to be judged or take a crazy chance like this because wonder if I sucked, then everyone would know. So I found excuses and kept putting it off, keeping myself small and not going after something that I was passionate about. Until eventually I did. And guess what? I eventually found courage, resilience and a new attitude that I didn’t care what people thought. But I waited years to do this.

Another example are the limits I thought our photography business was capable of only so much. Making a lot of money was for other photographers. I didn’t even consider the possibilities of earning multiple 6 figures as a photographer, year after year. Why? Because I had limiting beliefs around me and around what was possible for this profession. 

And more why. Because I believed everyone’s story about the struggle. That creatives can’t make money. That I would be ‘lucky’ to make a certain amount each year. That having a photo business just wasn’t sustainable for the long term. And how on earth could we raise a family with photography as our only source of income?

Says who? Who made these rules for photographers or other creatives? 

But the brain picks up on this stuff. It doesn’t want you to fail or get hurt or not feed your kids. So you start doubting. Some of us may think we have to settle by not charging what we are worth because we are worried that if we say no we many never book another client again. Other don’t think they are worthy to charge what they are truly worth so they charge below industry standards. Others are afraid of what their family and friends will think as they embark on this rewarding journey of building their photography business. 

When I started to recognize that mind drama showed up all over the place – I also realized that if I didn’t address it, we would never achieve the success we were looking for in our business.

Figuring out how you want your business to be for you is a very important step. You don’t need to be like all the other photographers in your town. You don’t need to charge what they do. You don’t need to offer the same packages, use the same album company, photograph your family sessions at the same location. 

Give yourself permission to guide your mind, to retrain it and show that you don’t have to do things the way every other photographer is doing them. 

To start a business, to grow a business, to be an entrepreneur has a lot of frustrations and this range of emotions is a big part of it.  But you also need to learn to create emotions that counter this mind drama. Find the courage rather than give into the fear. Find resilience when you are frustrated. Be positive even when you are doubting yourself. Be perfectly ok with the confusion that comes from doing something big like running your business. You’ve got this!