The push you need
Sometimes we are just chugging along, and then something slaps us in the face and we have an epiphany, or realization. And while I advocate maintaining control over our businesses as much as possible, we are human and sometimes at the mercy of our own human-ness. Remember how I talk about the psychology of design, where our brains need automations and shortcuts in order to able to cope with what otherwise would be a chaotic world. Our habits and patterns put us to sleep in some areas when we need to focus attention to others. And it keeps us sane and is welcomed. But sometimes it also hides the need for change.
I recently photographed a wedding. I absolutely love weddings, and have always worked within all the constraints. But this event finally woke me up to a few things that weren’t working. And I also realized that it wasn’t just the one event. It’s like when someone points something out to you and then you see it everywhere where you didn’t see it anywhere before. You can’t unsee it. I realized there were some niggling issues that I sort of ignored, or kept on autopilot.
So the Universe gave me the push I needed - it shook me awake to an issue. And I know I have to deal with it. I am the trusted expert, after all. This means I need to help my couples understand how they need to arrange their day in order to maximize what they hired me for. They want a beautiful, authentic record of their day and to reflect the efforts that they and others made to make it happen, and to document all their important people who came together to celebrate. Thus it’s important to plan it for success. Not giving enough time in their day sets up for rush and stress.
A change is coming. I am planning to re-work my packages and prices. I need to educate couples to be realistic of what is needed to truly honour their day. Many try to squeeze things into shorter timelines to save on their budget, and I understand, but by accepting that, I do an injustice to them and me. And while things have been mostly good, I’ve had some pretty strong examples this year of how things roll out when enough time is dedicated, and when not enough time is dedicated. And it’s not about hours; I’ve realized it’s about how complex their day is, relative to the time they want to hire for.
Is reading this blog post going to wake you to something that’s been brewing? It is the push you need to make a change somewhere?
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