Find Your “Why”

Oct 24

I’ve always been drawn to being a teacher.

My mom has been an educator for decades and I used to sit in her classroom after school, writing on the chalkboard, banging the erasers together, reading all of her classroom books, riding my scooter around the empty halls, and using all the ink in the vis-a-vis on her overhead projector (remember those things?). I believe there is something extremely admirable about a person who takes the time to pass along learned information or experiences. It’s usually a labor of love and can sometimes be a thankless endeavor. So, huge kudos to all the teachers out there - you’re the real heroes.

Following in my mother’s footsteps, I decided to start writing again - about my journey in business and as a wedding creative. I want to teach other folks who have that side hustle, or want to start a side hustle, and want it to grow into something powerful and life-changing.

I wanted to kick off the first blog by touching upon one of the most important ingredients in your entrepreneurship journey - your “why”. One of the quintessential qualities of a business owner is that they want complete autonomy. To make decisions for themselves and to take control of their life.

Starting with “why” allows you to tap into that power and self-select your path to time and financial freedom, each and every single day.

In 2009 Simon Sinek started a movement to help people become more inspired with their work, which in turn, inspired the people around them (including their customers). It’s a powerful idea and provides a framework upon which organizations, businesses, LLCs, solopreneurships, hobbyists, lifestyles, and more can be built. It’s a statement of purpose that describes why you do the work you do and why you live the lifestyle you do. It’s your calling, your conviction, your mission statement - a vision for your life and your work. So why am I doing this?

To inspire wedding creatives to scale their business with confidence, so that they can live the life they’ve dreamed of.

I would be hard-pressed to find a topic that I wasn’t more passionate about than leaving the 9-5. I feel like it’s my life goal to encourage and inspire other folks to leave the corporate grind - after all, I’ve spent most of my life trying to stay in school so I didn’t have to get a job, and then once I got the job(s), spending my time figuring out how to find a better one, one that paid more money, one that had better co-workers, one that made me happy, one that made me fulfilled, one that made me feel empowered, and let me tell you - that job doesn’t exist for me. That “job” needed to be created - by me, for me.

Once I got really “real” with myself, I realized that it didn’t matter who or what I worked for, the only thing that mattered was full autonomy. If you’re feeling stuck in your 9-5, this is the place for you. Maybe you only have one foot in the door (of the corporate world) and one foot in the door (of your own business, a.k.a side hustle), maybe you are right on the edge of making the entrepreneurship leap, maybe you are currently searching for that skill, passion, and drive to get started.

No matter where you are at, just know, you’re in good company here.

This is going to be a place where I tell you my story. A story that I think can be relatable, hopefully, funny at times, probably full of grammar mistakes, and most importantly, will have some golden nuggets that you can use to propel yourself to a better tomorrow. I’m not going to regurgitate the same fluff you can get from any given “guru” on any given social media platform. I’m literally just going to tell you what I did. I’m not a 7-figure-earner, or a scaled-out drop-shipper, I don’t invest in fucking bitcoin, and I sure as hell don’t give a damn about a pyramid scheme. I’m going to tell you exactly what I do, with hard numbers and specific action steps. That’s how I learned from some of the brightest coaches out there - I just wanna know what you did and how you did it.

Okay, here is the part where you may roll your eyes and want to move on.

But as you read this, I want you to check in with yourself. Think about yourself from a birds-eye-view. Are you happy with where you are right now? Do you believe that you were meant for something else? That there is something greater out there for you? I do… and I’m only going to tell you all of this because I want you to trust me. I want you to believe in me and believe in the process. It’s a long road and it takes grit, stamina, and determination.

The proof is in the pudding, as they say, so I’ll give you a bit of background on myself and my current journey. I have a degree in Marketing and Communications, my minor is in Photography. I have a baccalaureate in Naturopathic Medicine (random, I know). I’ve worked at a Fortune 500 company and an EdTech disruptor as a marketer in various roles. I’ve managed 6-figure social media advertising budgets (so yes, we can chat about Facebook and IG ads). I’ve spent a ridiculous amount of hours in seminars, trainings, corporate retreats - and a ton of time taking personal development courses, learning cutting-edge marketing tactics, and investing in myself every step of the way.

Mindset is key!

I took that corporate knowledge and brought it over into the small business world. I started Young Plant with Sharlene and we scaled our business into a multiple six-figure photo + video team within 12 months of our first wedding. We built our side hustle until it matched (and then beat) our corporate paychecks and in 9 months we left the corporate world and haven’t broken stride. We leveraged enough resources to buy a house on a couple of acres in one of the most beautiful places in the country, paid down massive portions of student loans, and upgraded my 2007 Corolla to something a little nicer… all during a damn global pandemic. These aren’t insane, million-dollar concepts! At the time, when we were setting these goals, they seemed ridiculous. But after we broke things down, got clear, got focused, and got to work - things started to fall into place.

We continue to book smarter and book with our ideal couples (more on that later). We continue to raise our prices, add value, and bring something new and fresh to what is perceived as a “saturated” market. We innovate, stay creative, stay forward-thinking, and we go into new projects with excitement and bull-headedness. We scare the shit out of ourselves with new ideas and then we go do them. We stay grateful, we stay humble, and we don’t forget our “why”! If you are here now - you should stay for the ride. It’s going to be a good one.

This isn’t just for wedding creatives (but that’s where we shine). This is for anyone looking for the confidence to take control and win back their life.

So how do we do it? I’m going to be releasing a series of content that touch upon various facets of entrepreneurship. We are going to talk branding, marketing, social media, sales, scaling, mindset, client experience, and so much more. Every single thing that I write, post, and talk about is going to come from a very unique and personal place. After all, the only thing I’m an expert at is my own individual experience.