Years ago, I had a photography business. I was really young when I started it and had it for a number of years. It did well, business wise, despite me not having any education in business. However, my Father and step Mother were very critical. They had a lot of opinions on what they thought I should do. They thought I should have a different career.
Then when I kept going, they compared my business to other successful businesses they saw elsewhere and kept pointing out how I wasn’t successful enough because I wasn’t doing what they were doing and when I had failures and didn’t make as much money as they thought I should to pay for my life they told me I failed because I didn’t listen to them and did my own thing. My step Mother even went as far as hiring me for her granddaughter’s Communion. After the event, I uploaded the images to a website to view and order (like I would any client). A few days later my Father called. She was outraged I would charge that much. They expected I would tell them it was for free. I thought they hired me because they finally believed in me. I eventually stepped away from that business as finances dried up and I was getting no more clients.
Years later, I feel called to step forward again as a photographer with new work. However, their voices are still in the back of my mind. I find myself feeling VERY apprehensive and I’m hiding what I’m doing. That feeling is translating into me getting out there and marketing, talking freely about what I do around my family and even out in the community. With social media, I posted for a little bit then stopped and haven’t shared again. I have gotten no clients yet. People have been very interested. But they haven’t booked. Any help to get past this would greatly help and be most appreciated. Thank you.