What it's like creating a photography business as a full-time mom.

I’ve been asked many times how I balance my family life and running a business and I always answer I just make it work other day I was sitting down actually reflecting on the struggles and all it took for me to get to this point being able to provide for my family with the business I created photography start it off as a hobby for me five years ago I decided that I wanted to pursue it further I really didn’t think it was going to leave to where it has now you see a little background about me by college major was film production so filmmaking was and partly still is my dream in college I remember having to take mandatory photography classes as part of our requirement for my major and those classes I learned a lot about the history of photography and right there I learned that I didn’t see a lot of woman photographers that showcased their motherhood or family life I always wondered do they not have children and not have a family or are they just very private about this because as I finished college I knew I always wanted to become a mother and start a family of my own like many woman we’re stuck with a conflict between having to choose career over family life as the oldest sibling in my family I’ve always had a maternal instinct and I guess that became my priority I completely drifted from my dream career paths I don’t want until mental health I became a behavioral therapist it was a fulfilling career I learned so much from that I think if I wouldn’t have been a behavioral therapist I wouldn’t have the patience and caring I do now that I’m able to incorporate when I work with my clients well being a therapist Ballin steady income but it wasn’t what I wanted at the end of the day to do for the rest of my life so I decided to quit my job and pursue photography and let me tell you my life was completely flipped upside down it was definitely not easy and didn’t understand how it all worked how you actually made money from it I started regretting my decision right away so I wanna share with you how five Oceano photography took life.

Skill or talent 

I believe that if you say your mind is something you can accomplish in the industry. I've heard other photographers and peers talk about having the talent to make it in the industry, but talent is nothing without skill and determination. I knew that I had to use what I knew and expand it to learn to trust Mika and be a better photographer. When people see my work, whether photography or video, I want it to make them feel something, whatever any emotion, but I want to trigger something in them. That has to do with talent, but it needs the skill to execute successfully. I didn't know I wanted my photos and videos to be considered pretty. This is why many beginning photographers think that that should be their outcome. I mean the start of the steam; I'm learning and continuing to improve. It takes years of practice, and I have incredible role models and people I inspire to be like one day. 

Can you do both

You absolutely can do both. You just faster yourself if you're willing to work to be successful at them both. Of course, success is interpreted differently by each, and a visual for me, being successful means knowing I have tried my best regardless of failure. Whether that brings me closer to my goal or farther from it, I have given my all. I work from home, so being a mother without a full-time job is entirely stressful, so adding a 24/7 job only adds to the craziness. I think that having a schedule in place makes a world of difference. I have to get up extra early than everyone else so I can get some work done, then I'll make breakfast clean up, spend time with the kids, head back to work for a few hours, then get ready to make dinner finish the day the workday by sending off the last emails wrapping up whatever I need to wrap up and doing bathtime and whining it's a crazy hectic scale it's super packed I don't even have room for anything else but you have a family works for you. 

One thing I can say for sure is time with your child is very valuable, and although it might seem like you have to give up your career to be there for them, you don't. There is a way to find balance, which might take some time to figure out, but you will, and once you do, it'll all feel worth it. Don't give up. You got this.