It’s Friday! That means its my favorite day of the week on the blog!! Woohoo!! Today I’m continuing in “The Heart Behind it All” series and talking about my favorite parts of owning a business. Friends, owning a business is hard, as I’m sure you’ve gathered from my previous posts (check them out here!). However, the benefits far outweigh any struggles that you might experience as a business owner and I hope that I can encourage you along the way.

First of all, my business serves as a creative outlet for me. It’s something that gives me joy, and I can get lost working for hours on end. Instead of draining me, this business energizes me in ways that most other things cannot. By simply working to better my business, I’m doing something that I absolutely LOVE. Have you found what you are passionate about? Do you know what fills you up? What gives you joy or sparks your excitement? All of these are things that I’ve gotten to experience through this business and I hope that you can find that too.

Another awesome part about this business is building relationships with my clients. It seems like every other photographer says that this is why they love this business, but after meeting some of my brides I can truly say that. By the time the wedding rolls around, I feel like I’m almost just as excited for their wedding as they are! We dream together, plan together and ultimately celebrate their wedding day together.

Finally, one of my favorite parts of this business is the fact that its given me a platform for sharing my heart for the Lord and have a personal ministry within my social media and clientele. I can share how my relationship with Him affects my business through my blogs, but I can also be open about the fact that this is the foundation for my business. As I’ve mentioned in a previous post about the why behind my business, I want to show my clients the love and grace of Jesus. I’ve had the opportunity to speak freely about my faith more than I ever have before and I love it!

I could go on and on about the things that I love about this little business of mine, but I don’t want to take away all of your time (because it is valuable!) I do want you to take away a few key things. 1) Find something that you are passionate about and go for it. If you love what you are doing it won’t even seem like work 😉 2) Determine how you prioritize different areas of your life. Do you want to make a lot of money, spend quality time with friends and family, or be successful in corporate America? Whatever it may be, make sure that your actions reflect they way you’ve prioritized your life. As a quick accountability check, take a look at how you spend your time. The amount of time that you spend on particular areas of your day reveal the emphasis of value that you place on them. If you spend your time worrying about making 6 figures, but you want to prioritize the relationships with your clients, then something is out of order and you have some work to do! 3) Find your voice and don’t be afraid to share it. We each have a unique and valuable opinion, and its important that it is shared. If its important to you, then its probably important to someone else, too.