The path to starting my own business
I won't bore you with my first job, working retail at the mall, so let's skip ahead to after high school, when I joined the U.S. Navy. While serving in the military, I became an advanced radiologic technologist, a certified EMT-B and I even got to work at a small doctor's office located inside the U.S. Capitol. I thought my life would forever be in healthcare. But then I met the love of my life and just like that we got married, I left the military, and then we moved overseas for his job.
Our first year abroad in Thailand, I was lucky to get a job at the U.S. Embassy in the security office. It was my first job outside of the military, but I felt it was an easy transition. I had a supervisor who I reported to, there were standard operating procedures outlined in a manual for me to follow, and I had on the job training. Then a year and a half into my job, I gave birth to my first child. I knew right away that I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom for the time being...
Then we moved back to Virginia for about a year before my daughter turned 2 years old. I stayed at home with my daughter until it was time for us to move back again overseas. Shortly after arriving in Austria, I was hired for a part-time job in the community liaison office. I got to engage with and help members of the U.S. Embassy community. This involved a lot of customer service, but I had been used to engaging with patients for years, so I felt this position was an also easy adjustment. A year and a half into our tour, I gave birth to my second child, and I decided to stay home again to help raise my daughter.
Then it was time to move back to Virginia again when my oldest became a rising kindergartener. My husband and I decided we wanted to be stateside for the long haul and establish some roots. I had to decide what my future was going to look like. It had been 7 years since I was in the Navy and 7 years since I performed an x-ray. I could look for a government job like my previous jobs. Or I could finally use my G.I. Bill for college...
I chose the latter. My husband encouraged me to really figure out what I WANTED. That whatever it was I wanted to do, I could finally use my G.I. Bill from the military to pay for my degree or for training. And that's when I knew I wanted to go to school for photography. I had become more deeply invested since traveling the world and documenting our growing family. I had a desire to capture people, connection and love. I had always thought about being a family photographer and had taken many portraits for family and friends. I knew school would provide training I couldn't get from just teaching myself the way I had been.
I was terrified to go back to school. I didn't know how I was going to manage being a full-time student, mom, and wife... There was no operating manual that could tell me how I was going to juggle my life the next two years. As all things do, it took some time for me to get in my groove, but when I did, I never knew how much I would enjoy being a student again. 4 semesters later, I obtained my A.A.S. in Photography and Media and earning an Academic Achievement Award and remained on the Presidential Scholar's List.
When living overseas and during school, I photographed for friends who kindly paid donations to the startup of my business, but with the completion of my degree, I knew it was time to make things official. I finally registered my business as an LLC and enrolled back into school to take business classes. I obtained my C.S.C Entrepreneurship with another Academic Achievement Award while maintaining the Presidential Scholar's List.
It's a scary thing, starting your own business. There isn't an operating manual that can tell me exactly what I need to do, I don't have a supervisor to fall back on or co-workers to rely on. As a mompreneur, I'm most importantly a mom, but I am also an entrepreneur, whose business solely relies on me for everything. It's scary because there's a risk, but I know I am ready because I've taken many steps to get here. I'm excited to make connections in my community, I'm excited to grow my business, and I'm excited to show my daughters what I am capable of.
