As I write this, it’s 5:30am and I’m sitting on the train heading in to DC, already having been awake for 2 hours. This is a post I’ve had in my head and on my heart for a while, but I’ve been scared to write. Scared that someone might not see me as successful if I admit that I still – gasp – work full time.

I know some of you are already aware, but it’s not something I talk about often, largely driven out of the fear I mentioned above. I’ve seen SO many other small business owners I admire talk about their struggles of building a business while working full time, so I decided it was time to share mine.

As I talked about in my post about working to live vs. living to work, trying to do it all is nearly impossible some days. Balancing a 40-hour a week job, with my photography business (a 50+ hour a week job during the busy season – shooting the wedding is just the tip of the iceberg!) all while being a good wife, friend, daughter, and dog mom can be daunting. There literally are just not enough hours in the day. I’m that person that always wants to say yes, but I’m slowly learning how to gracefully say no if I cannot give something or someone my all that day.

It isn’t all bad; after all, I have chosen my choice. The biggest perk is I get to do something I LOVE! For me, photography isn’t just a hobby or another job, it’s my passion. I wake up every morning excited to shoot and truly miss it during the lulls. And while my full time job doesn’t get me quite as excited as photography does, I am still so incredibly grateful for it. It allows Rob and I to live in our home, take some of our dream vacations, and save for the future. It also is one of the main reasons I have been able to build my business so quickly; if I hadn’t been working full time, I wouldn’t have been able to put as much of my photography income back into my business to build my equipment and brand.

I’m constantly being asked, “When do you want to go full time with photography?”. And the answer is, I don’t know! Right now I’m enjoying the balancing act and while juggling both can be a struggle, it also affords me the ability to live comfortably while still doing something I love – and it doesn’t get much better than that :)