We were driving down the highway when he turned to me and said, “I know you love your job, but you LIGHT UP when you talk about working for yourself”.
I paused… But I loved coaching. I’d been a swim coach for over 4 years. I had settled upon the decision that it was a decent career, and I was decent AT it… so I would keep pursuing it.
But I lit up? Talking about something else?
My (then) fiancé looked over at me. “You should pursue that”, he urged.
That one conversation catapulted the start of how I became a virtual assistant for photographers. But I’m getting ahead of myself…
After that conversation, on that open Texas highway, I began thinking and dreaming and scheming, as I always do. I eventually decided to start my actively pursuing my photography business again, with the goal of going full time. I started working part-time as a swim coach, so I could ramp up my photography clientele.
At the end of 2019, I went full time with my business… the some month I found out I was pregnant. I remember lying in my bed wondering how I was going to be make it all work. But if there’s one thing about me, it’s that I will jump in with two feet.
So I did.
I worked my ass off growing a business. And growing a tiny human.
And then, the pandemic hit 6 weeks before my baby was born.
We were, like everyone else, thrown into the dystopian-feeling world of COVID-19. And everything had to shift.
It felt like we were living in a snow globe & someone had just shaken it up. We brought home our baby to a quiet house, meeting relatives through window and across the front lawn. My photography business came to a screeching halt. Quite the plot twist, but here we were. Every single person faced the invitation to adapt.
So that’s what we did.
I slowly started shooting again, but something was nagging at me. While I was building my business back up, something felt off. I loved the admin, loved the marketing, loved the computer work. I enjoyed having my camera in my hand, but I noticed it wasn’t the part I looked forward to.
If this isn’t the biggest clue on how I became a virtual assistant for photographers, I don’t know what is.
The next year of my life felt like it was in fast-forward. The pandemic was lingering and rocking everyone’s world. I felt like I was wrestling with my business. I wanted balance… sustainability… joy… but it wasn’t CLICKING.
I’ll never forget the day I sat down and said to myself: what if I was a virtual assistant?
Immediate pull. I wanted that.
I started exploring. Talking with my photog friends, researching what services a VA could offer, and looking into logistics. When considering my own desired balanced life, this made a lot of sense. I now had a 1 year old, and I knew I wanted to be able have more flexible work. Childcare wasn’t an option with the pandemic, and I needed something adaptable. And necessity is the mother of invention.
One of the best things I ever did for myself, was say YES to the gut intuition I was having that this is what I wanted to do.
I began to prep to add VA services as a “side hustle” to my photography. As I wrote content and business drafts, everything flowed out of my head seamlessly. I had so many juicy ideas, and everything felt SO FUCKING RIGHT. I knew I was on to something.
I launched my virtual assistant business in November of 2021.
I was sold out in 3 weeks with full time work.
And, I was hooked.
I loved the work. I had found my “power alley”. And there was no going back.
Within in a few months I had started to grow my team and expand my services. After that? I held on and said yes. The business grew and grew. We had the honor of serving dozens of photographers all over the country. Did I know that one simple conversation in the car one day would catapult how I became a virtual assistant for photographers? No. No I did not.
But every damn day I am grateful for everything this has become.
And now? My “side hustle” has grown up into an admin agency for photographers with The Focus Collective.
As I launch this week, I can’t stop thinking about this story. How everything evolved. And I am feeling profoundly grateful. And freakin’ pumped for the next chapter. There are so many good things to come. Thanks for sticking around!
