I’m putting the final touches on the Survival 101 Kit for Moms! I’m so excited to release this long awaited kit! Brian and I are hoping to have it go live on our product site when we do our big platform session at WPPI in Vegas (which is less than two weeks away!).
But before I wrap this kit up, I’m wondering if you could tell me what you hope to find in this kit. When you think of buying a 101 Survival Kit for Moms, what information do you want to hear? I can only cover so much, but I’d love to hear what some of you are thinking.
The theme of the kit is “How to survive motherhood while pursuing your dream(s)”. π
With that in mind, what would you want to know more about when you think of this theme?
Thanks for the feedback ladies!! I’m so excited to have this go live in less than two weeks!!!
Oh, and the finalist for the L-O-V-E photo contest will either be posted later today or tomorrow morning. There are a heck of a lot of votes to count! Awesome job voting friends!!
The winning finalist gets their own Adobe Lightroom software and the random voter winner gets a copy of DVD 2, Beyond the Green Box!
Okay, now leave me your comments on this kit. I’m wrapping it up by Friday at the latest!
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For more info or to purchase any of our other 101 Kits (Weddings 101, Portraits 101, Associate 101 and Getting Published 101), go to www.refusetosaycheese.com!
I think one of the lessons I had to learn the hard way (and I’m not sure I accomplished this while my kids were younger) was how to maintain a healthy balance between being the person who had to maintain business responsibilites and the responsibilites of being Mom. My kids literally grew up within our business (which is not a photography business, by the way) and I know there were pros and cons to this. So I think it is important to help women learn how their individual situations allow them to keep that important equal focus. And by the way, I think you are an amazing Mom, from what we experienced in Seattle. You are truly on a wonderful path with your children!
The one thing I know I currently struggle with is time management. How do you manage your time building a business with 2 small (or any age) children?
i’m so glad this stuff is out there like this…because when i become a mom..i don’t want to be a “lost identity”…these kinds of things i KNOW i will invest in when i become a mom – so thanks for doing them! (and thanks for being patient with us that have not experienced this yet) hahahaahahah!!!!!
yay for winners!
Ah yes, the magic word..balance! You are hitting on a vary hot topic..the idea of pursuing your dreams while surviving motherhood vs. having to make a choice between the two. So what is the magic formula? Are you good about having “work” time vs “family” time (I’m thinking yes)? Many moms opt out of the traditional workforce and start their own businesses so they can have more time with their kids. Unfortunately, it seems many of these moms end up working all the time with not much money return. How do you structure your days so that everything gets 100% of your attention?
I think it’s important to remained focus and just because you have kids, and need to take a break for awhile, to tend to them, how do you get back on track with the dreams that you had before you had kids (or a husband) Have they changed, or staied the same. What will put you back on the path that you want to be on?
Oh – another one that I had a hard time overcoming was the guilt of working the business instead of spending time with the kids.
Maybe you can address that it is okay to spend some time focusing on your business and that the kids will not be neglected. π
One thing I am struggling with (besides the overwhelming Mom/Entrepreneur balance issue) is how to take care of myself. I feel like I am losing my identity as an individual which was so strong before marriage, then faded a little, and I was so excited to finally become a mom (with a husband commuting M-F) that I delved deep into that. Now I am struggling to find the balalnce between being with my child, caring for my family, building my skills to start a business and recharge who I am at the core. I am realizing with out that “recharge of Self”, you are unable to come to the plate with enough drive and energy to be there the way you want to be without feeling stressed and/or guilty. I am just frustrated trying to figure out how to manage it all with no outside help. (No family nearby, limited resources for childcare for my daughters age group…)
Any suggestions?
give me 2 years and I will buy this from ya!
OH! I have so many questions for you! They are all swirling around in my head and I can’t seem to get anything out!
One hard thing for me is when it comes to money. It’s hard for us on tight budget to spend money on a business. Where should I invest the money I can get? Equipment? Workshops (hee hee hee ;-)) Mailers? What? And when I do make some money I feel like I need to contribute to the family… Like the money I made with Christmas cards this year, I put it towards Christmas. I can’t seem to help it!
And the biggest one for me may not have to do with being a mom, it very well just may be me, but the fear of success.
What if I am good enough and what if this photography thing does take off?? What do I do now??
I have to stop. I don’t even want to think about it! I’ll go crazy!!! π
My biggest issue is that I already work full-time at a bookstore and my husband works full time. I have a 4 year old son and I struggle with spending time with him but I also crave time to myself. It gets worse when you see moms that HAVE all the things you care about and things seem to go seamlessly.
I always treasure those comments when random strangers think my photography is amazing, it reaffirms and keeps pushing me.
Anyway, we’re not perfect and neither are our kids… being assured that it’s okay, goes a long way π
Thanks for the wonderful blog that I love to frequent π
Hi Me Ra and Brian.
So glad you’re back!
Issues for me:
*Time management
*Workflow (takes me forever, hence time management is #1 on my list!)
*Finding my own style — how do I get there and when will I know?
*Thinking out of the box (different sessions…not just like everyone else’s)
*Portfolio building ideas
*Confidence boosting — actually calling myself a photographer
*Budgeting
*Photographer Resources
*Marketing (before word of mouth hits!)
*Setting (and seeing) long term goals
*Pricing (this is a BIG one!)
Best of luck! I know this will be a great kit. π
Yeah! What Maggie said!
A woman from my church recently saw my pictures of my son and asked if I would photograph her dance recitals (shes a teacher)- I said yes and she suggested posting the photos online and the parents could order prints if they wanted… I totally want to be a children’s photographer but my question is: how do you know if you’re any good??? I’d feel so stupid saying, “I’m a photographer” because I don’t have that much confidence and I’d feel like people would see right through me – The dance thing is about a month away and I think it could be a good opprotunity to meet a lot of parents – so I’m trying really hard to prepare myself until then… π I can’t wait to order a bunch of stuff from Refuse to say cheese.com – my husband says I can’t until I pay off my camera π That’s another thing: Working with a tiny budget!!!!!!
The previous posts said everything I was going to say. I’m just excited that it’s coming soon. Have a great day! Your blog is such a spot of respite while I sit working “part time” with a toddler on my lap demanding to play the sesame street game… again…
Denise, don’t worry about whether or not you’re able to call yourself a photographer. After my book was published and I was writing for magazines, I STILL felt insecure calling myself an author or writer b/c I didn’t own any tweed coats and I can’t recite any poetry to you by heart and my friend who is a total bohemian type gal pulls of the look of a writer way better than i do (even though she doesn’t write). π
Does that make sense?
Just do what you do, with your eye that only you have, enjoy it, and pat yourself on the back b/c you have totally stepped out of your comfort zone and grown. This is something to be proud of.
Thank you thank you thank you – that totally made my day! I was so surprised when I went back to read some comments (I usually click on their names to see who the other people are on here) – thanks so much for taking the time to respond π
Okay, I’m slow to post, but here goes!
Mommy vs. Building a Business:
I think the biggest struggle I have is that these two roles constantly fight for my attention. Thus it feels like a “this vs. that”, kind of a battle. I dreamed of being a wife and mom and now that I am, there is something deep within trying to spread my wings and fly to create beautiful things other than healthy kids or PBJ sandwichs. There is guilt involved with this and a constant nagging voice in my head that says “Your kids will only be little once, so don’t miss it”. Photography will always be there. What I hope to learn is balance and patience as my kids grow so will my business. With this said, I find much encouragement from other mothers stories, successes and struggles.(Especially, how do you stay on track and focused with the costant interuptions of little onse) That’s one of the blessing of your blog MeRa- You keep it real! Sometimes web sights and blogs make it all look so easy, when in fact it’s allot of hard work and often sacrifice for the whole family. Real moms with real insight on the steps they take to manage it all would be priceless! I want my business to be a gift to myself, others and my family. When I feel it is a burdon it makes me question if this is the right timing for this dream! Can anyone relate?
Kimberlyn, I can TOTALLY relate! π