If there is one thing I have learned over the years of being a business owner, it’s that life evolves. The older I get, the more I see that. I am learning to continually hold life and business with open hands, realizing arriving is not the goal. There is no destination that will give me the privilege to sit back and coast. There are ups and downs, good times and hard times. The sooner I can accept that and flow with life, the happier I will be.

We are launching a new endeavor in just a few short weeks. It’s called STORY. It’s been rumbling in my heart for some time. As we are in the thick of the details that go into new projects, I thought I would share a bit about my personal story and how I began the journey of business.

Like all things, it is ever evolving.

(From this past week, when updating team photos)

Eight years ago, I was a full time mother and never wanted or was even hoping for more. I loved gardening, cooking, decorating, and found all sorts of projects keeping me on the go. I was happy and owning a business was far from my thoughts. Honestly, I barely knew what a logo was. I can still remember the feeling when I stumbled into the world of portrait photography. I came across photographer’s work from Texas and California and I was blown away with what was captured. The quality, the emotion, the beauty, all natural light and lifestyle.  This kind of work was new to me and largely central PA at the time. I was enthralled and would get lost online studying their work. A deep passion gripped me to learn how to take photos this same way. I knew life was too short to ignore deep passions. Later that year my husband took his Christmas bonus and we purchased a Canon DSLR 40D, my first digital camera. I remember the man behind the counter showing me how to slide in the memory card. I carefully placed the camera on the floor of the car and drove home. I signed up for a basic computer class at the library, wanting to learn digital photos skills. I registered for a class at the local college and learned about shutter speed, aperture, and iso. I remember the exhilaration as I started to understand manual shooting. I entered a photo contest at a local camera shop and won. I was beyond thrilled, proudly taping the winning postcard inside my journal. I dressed my two boys in baggy jeans and bowties, scouted for red barn doors and long lanes, and shot every chance I had. I remember the night I choose my business name with my two best friends. ‘Authentic You Photography’ it was. In the spring I started my blog and wrote my first blog post ever (yikes). I remember the vulnerable, scared, wild feeling of hitting publish. Word got out I was taking photos, and inquires started pouring in. I spent hours in the basement on our old dell computer, getting up by 5am to answer emails and edit photos before my sons woke up, working every spare minute I could find. That summer I booked my first wedding for $500. I don’t think I slept the entire week leading up to it. My camera became an extension of me. On the way to every shoot I would open my hands and ask God to help me use my hands and the camera to capture realness. I jotted client notes and shoots in my planner. It was October, and I remember looking over my month and almost every little square had a photo shoot scribbled in. I remember the disbelief hitting me, I was doing this. The second summer rolled around and I was busier than ever. I learned about the brutality of taxes for the small business, pricing, and balancing numbers. I learned a lot those first years. I was stretched way out of my comfort zone. Feeling overwhelmed one minute and on a crazy high the next. I remember telling God, you show me the next step and I will walk. And so I did.

That’s the beginning of eight years of smile and tears, highs and lows. Business is incredibly rewarding and incredibly hard too. Lean years make us question everything. Exhaustion hits and we wonder why we are fighting for it. We know taking risks is needed, but struggle to know where wisdom lies in that. There is always more too learn and always others that seem to be leap years ahead of us. But we know it is worth, we believe in what we are doing.

The marketplace and the culture has changed a lot from when I first began. It is easy to look at entrepreneurship thru rose colored glasses…we think of freedom, making it big, and coffeeshop work sessions. In some ways, being in business is easier than ever today. In other way’s it is harder than ever. There is a lot of noise out there. As business owners, it is more important than ever we build something our customers care about and connect with. We can have a ton of passion, have the ‘best product’, read the recommended business books, and listen to all the podcasts we find time for; but if we are not connecting with our customer, we are not going anywhere.

At it’s very core, business is understanding people…and caring about them.

STORY integrates business with understanding people and today’s marketplace. STORY is communication, across multiple platforms and touchpoints, online and offline. Our story, when done well, is our all encompassing presence in the marketplace; seen, felt and experienced. STORY is creating something people care about, setting our brand apart, and growing our business.

I am excited, knowing STORY will evolve. As all things do.

Stay tuned…we will be sharing more about STORY over the next few weeks.