Super Woman | The Business Belle | Virginia Wedding Photographer | Sarah Houston Photography
People always ask me: "How do you do it all??" working full time during the week, having a family and shooting weddings on the weekend-pretty much every weekend for months. It's crazy y'all...like head spinning, no sleep kinda crazy. But remember that feeling you'd get as a kid when it was your birthday and you had all your friends around with some really awesome presents? Well shooting weddings is like that for me. My couples are literally like my friends and I can't wait to spend an entire day-THEIR day-with them. It's like the best present of all sharing those special moments that no one gets to see but me and my camera. It's definitely a balancing act, the job, my family + weddings but the lack of sleep is totally worth the moments of him seeing her for the first time all dressed up or capturing that smile that she ONLY give him...those glances, those intimately shared moments make every.second.worth it.
So how do I do it?
Monday through Friday and every other Saturday I dedicate my time between the two jobs, Financial Advisor-then Wedding Photographer. Luckily I am really blessed with an AMAZING manager who is patient and understanding, he really supports me and my career choices-it's like having my best friend as my manager which is SO RARE! So I multi-task during the week. I schedule blog posts, scan contracts on my lunch break while editing between bites of taco. Then once I am finished for the day I head home and start the process of editing. I will block off 2-3 hours of straight editing in TWO days. It's tough and I'm not going to lie when I say Gumball & My Little Pony have raised my Five-year-old....but it's only for the times I need to knock out editing. I know, I know y'all are probably ready to bust out those soap boxes...but it's honestly NOT that terrible & Lord knows that method isn't for everyone. This is just how I do things!
Scheduling blog posts and having the blog posting app on my iPhone has saved me time...So I'll have my handy-dandy app on my phone and when I am standing in line at Target, or sitting in the line at Starbucks and a blog post idea comes to me...I open my app write down the title and a few descriptive words to help me remember (I'm getting old y'all....I need help sometimes!) Then I'll come back to them...finish the posts and schedule them to be published. I do this with Facebook posts as well! Also another thing to consider is outsourcing. I DON'T at this time...outsourcing just isn't in my budget at all, BUT if you can afford to outsource it can save you a TON of time! & definitely consider scheduling posts!!
I know that not everyone who works full time will have this availability, so finding that "balance" can be a little more difficult, but I'm here to tell you it CAN be done. If you designate "editing days" and have a schedule that you stick to, you can editing, blog posts and social media posts ALL DONE. Putting in those long hours for a few days will truly pay off in the end. Those days of burning the midnight oil may be tough, but sometimes you've gotta put the blood, sweat and tears into your small business. I know that it's tough, but just know that I am with ya when you are up at 3:00 am editing-so if you need a virtual hug-I'll send it your way<3
So how do I do it? I just...do. It becomes a routine, go to work till 5:00 then edit till it's done. I push through the exhaustion and even though I'm rocking the "edit bun" for a few days I still make it work. I KNOW you can too!! So hang in there, try to find a schedule/balance that fits you....you'll find that rhythm!
If you'd like more tips or want help with scheduling you can email me {at} hello@shoustonphotography.com
xoxo
Sarah
