BUILDING A BUSINESS

This is my prayer as I daily strive to build LifeSong Photography: Lord, cause my work to be produced by FAITH, my labor prompted by LOVE, and my endurance inspired by HOPE.

The learning curve is endless. Now that I have a basic sence of my camera and its and my ability. It's now the challenge of venturing into the territory of marketing...there are so many ideas running through my head at any given time. I love that the creative juices are flowing and Spring is on it's way. I have built a solid photography portfolio over the past few years and now speading the word in a new community will be fun. I have spent time learning about Blogging, creating new business cards, researching web desighners, using Pictage and editing in Photoshop. At times all of this makes my head spin. Perhaps it's not all the research or energy it takes that makes my head spin rather the time of life I am in. I am trying desperatly to balance family, photography and contsant physical pain caused by Aostio Arthritis. I more often than not find it difficult to do any of my basic roles in life with much ease. I am stubburn to keep, keeping on , I love being a stay at home mom but at the same time I have a dream of contributing to my families finances as well as flourish and challenge myself in creative outlets and endevours. Just this week I had one of those days that really made me question if this was the right timing for all this? The photo shoots themselves are my passion. It's all the behind the scene efforts at home on a computer that is in the middle of our central living courters. There is no place to hide for this mama....It is difficult and frustrating to be constantly interuppted with needs of a 2 year old and a busy 6 year old who does not know how to entertain herself. Winter is the worst, "Mama, look at me? Mama, Come here! Mama, I need help! Mama, I'm hungry! Mama, can we watch a little show? Mama, mama mama!!!I really have to be disiplined to walk away from the computer and focus on my family. These precious lives that God has given me to love and raise are truelly my first priority. Finding those quite blocks of time have become the late evening hours leading to midnight. I pray I will learn to balance building this dream into reality as I also meet the needs of my family. I daily seek wisdom from other women who are several steps further in the process of motherhood and who are now running a thriving photography business as a side job. I find encouragement in their success stories and so apriciate when they too share their struggles. I don't want to give up on a passion, I just need to pace myself one day at a time. My biggest fear is that I would look back and feel like I neglected my kids for the sake of my own endevours and need for creative outlet. What seams to drive me is that I know that in having an outlet of my own outside of the role of wife and mother. I am much happier and full of life and joy than I would be other wise. So I have come to the conclusion that this "building a Business" is a journey, as with all of life it has it's peeks and valleys. I have come to appriciate the beauty of darkness, in that it makes the light that much brighter. May photography be a means to shine light upon dark places to expose the beauty within others and within myself. Let there be LIGHT and LIFE in LIFESONG!