Most of you know that we started out as hobbyists like most of creatives. We had full time jobs and photography was something we enjoyed doing during our free time. Then we started shooting weddings which gave us extra income while we had our full time jobs. Photography was very addictive and we just loved doing it. We found our passion and we never stopped since then. But how did we know it was time for us to quit our full time job and focus on this “passion”?
It was hard to leave a paycheck that arrives to you at the end of each month. But life got boring and the call of our dream to establish a photography studio was getting louder. A lot of people complain about their full time jobs but didn’t want to leave. I didn’t want to do that. I always believe that complaining without doing anything is not healthy and not helpful…to yourself nor to the company you work with. I felt it was time to go.
Here below are some of the things which affected our decision to make the jump. These are points we considered and these may apply to you or may not. These are just to give you an insight of our personal experience.
- Have faith in yourself. If you still doubt yourself, do not go for it. Your strongest encouragement will come from deep within. You have to have the grit, determination or passion (or whatever you want to call it) to succeed. If you always doubt yourself, you’re the one putting yourself down. There will be a lot of times that you will get rejected and you will fail. There will be times you will not get that project or client you have been pitching to. There will be some days that you will feel overwhelmed with work. You will feel burnt out. You will feel like losing hope but if you believe in yourself, you will overcome all these fears and challenges.
- Surround yourself with positive people. Build your support network. We are blessed to share the same passion. It is important to have your spouse support you if you are married. There will be days you will want to give up and that is when you will need moral support from your family and friends. Hang out with like-minded individuals from whom you can get encouragement and advise. If you can get a mentor, then better. Because no man is an island especially when you want to venture in the business world.
- Do a reality check. Create a plan. Set goals. Never go in the dark when you don’t know which direction you will go to. We didn’t have enough money to hire an accountant to manage our finances. I had to teach myself basic accounting just to assess how much we needed to support our basic needs. The first question I asked myself before we went full time with photography was “Was the business I was missing out on when I was doing it only as part-time more than my full time job salary?” If yes, time to quit your job. How much do I need to establish my business? If you want to get more clients, you have to be more credible – you should be operating legally or you will never go beyond your “part-time” income. Consider all these expenses and save for these or check if you have the money for this before making the move.
- Leave a buffer. What if you have 3 months of no business? You have to have a reserve just in case this happens. Have enough savings that can support your family or yourself for 3 months just in case you don’t get a client or a project for 3 months.
- Know you can always get back up. You failed. So what? Get back up and learn from your mistakes. If you depleted your reserved money, work harder or get a job. You can always try again. The good thing about starting young, even if you fail at it and you want to go back in the corporate field, you can still do so. Some people start a business when they are retired, when they deplete their savings, it is harder to get back up.
- Create a marketing plan and stick to it. Yes you are creative and talented. So are a lot of people. How do you make yourself stand out and make connections. I am an introvert also but I said to myself that I will go nowhere if I don’t go out there and meet people. In events, I will not get more clients if I don’t chat with other suppliers and guests. When I am out and I overhear the people on the next table talking about photography, I introduce myself. It is hard work and it takes a lot of effort but pure talent will not win you projects.
My sister’s artworks - Develop productive habits. When you do something everyday for 10 consecutive days, it becomes a habit. If you want to go full time, for good and productive habits. Develop self-discipline. You have to be organized or else you will forget a deadline or two and end up disappointing clients.
- Have faith in God. This is the most important thing for us. The first thing we did was pray about this plan. After praying about it, we somehow felt a peace of mind. We had doubts but our decision to pursue to go full time was stronger and deep inside ourselves, we felt it was the right thing to do. Being an employee, you know you will get a salary for the next months and you know how much you will get. As a creative on your own, you don’t know for sure how much business you will get in the next month or the month after that. If you let this rattle you, your work will get affected. You need to have faith and peace of mind.
It has been 1 year and 9 months since I made the move and I have never looked back since. You can read our blog here when I decided to make the move.
There will be times that you will have to work straight for 2 weeks with no days off. Sick leaves suddenly disappeared from my vocabulary. But the best consolation is that we get to spend more time with these two munchkins. All is well.
