Pursuing a creative business does not mean you shouldn’t earn what you are worth

Earn what you are worth. Sounds so easy.

Let’s start changing the perception that photographers or artists oftentimes are not financially successful. 

Any one of us can remember a reference to a “starving artist” or a parent who wanted you to go to medical school instead of embarking on a career as a creative because you weren’t going to “have stability or make any money”.

Just because you are creative does not mean that you can’t or shouldn’t monetize this passion. Creatives need to view themselves the same way anyone looks at any business.

Why on earth can’t a creative business earn a living (and more) for you?

Take yourself seriously as both a photographer and a small business owner, realize that the artist is the business and give yourself the structure to achieve success. 

Over the course of my career I have come to the realization that there really are no overnight success stories. The truth is that luck favors the prepared. Showing up every single day.

We have all said it – “Why is so and so more successful than I am? I am more talented. I have a better website. I put out better content. I am nicer, sweeter, whatever. They just got lucky”. 

Did they just get lucky?

I’ll go out on a limb and guarantee that what looks like luck on the outside is really a ton of hard work + discipline behind the scenes. 

And the hard work I’m talking about certainly includes working on your craft, being the best at what you do. But being “lucky” involves more than that. 

The other work that can honestly be considered more important than being the best photographer is having a solid framework for your business.  This is like eating peas, it might not be something that you want to do, but it’s something you have to do.

Pursuing your photography business does not mean that you need to be broke. Taking these tangible steps, establishing structure and shifting the way you think can bring you all the “luck”, stability + money you want.

Honeybook (they have so many on point articles regarding creative businesses!) has a great read on Tackling Pricing so that you earn the money you deserve. I don’t personally use Honeybook but they are a great resource.