As cliche as it sounds, (like many other parents) I’ve realized my kids are only little once. They are little, needy, interesting, and fun, and I’ll never get this time back. My core values in my family portrait business are based around spending, documenting, and ENJOYING time with your family. My first maternity leave went from July-Sept and I was FREAKING OUT about the thought of taking a September (IYKYK) off from the photography business. But then I did, and my clients understood, and everything was ok. Once I knew it was possible, it wasn’t scary.
In fact, the timing of taking a month off to reset and spend with family before jumping into my busy season of weekend sessions and post-bedtime editing was the best thing that I could have done for my family and for business. Not having to grind right into the busy season without a break had me feeling refreshed, energized, and excited about photoshoots. And I didn’t have to go in with the guilt of less time with my kids because I just spent a whole month with them.
Here’s How I Did It:
1. Made sure I had an OOO with a clear message - I would be checking in on email once a week (say every Thursday for example), and therefore slower to respond.
2. Made sure my booking calendar was set up, automated, and easy for clients to book and receive confirmation emails without my help.
3. Planned content ahead of time. Blogs, social media, and Newsletters were scheduled not just for the month I was away, but through the busy season so I could focus on sessions when I returned.
4. Had a team member I could rely on. My assistant does not typically respond to emails for me, but I made sure I was able to loop her in on anything that needed attention while I was gone.
5. Didn’t stress about it. Did I miss out on scheduling a few photoshoots that were time sensitive? Yes. That would have majorly stressed me out in the past. I am more on the “I can’t serve everyone” train these days. And that’s ok with me.
Confession: Since the pandemic, I’ve been taking a winter month off too. Winter is the slow season for me, so I spend about 2-3 weeks on back-end things like updating my website, content planning, and general maintenance. Then I take one month where I work one day a week. Me from 5 years ago would have died over this.
