We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Elizabeth Percy a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Elizabeth , so happy to have you with us today and there is so much we want to ask you about. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others developed certain skills or qualities that we are struggling with can be helpful. Along those lines, we’d love to hear from you about how you developed your ability to take risk?
Risk is necessary to succeed. Every time I take a big risk, even if in the moment it’s terrifying, I am always so happy I was brave enough to take that jump, sometimes literally!
When I made the choice to go full time with my small business, no backup career or income, it was absolutely terrifying. As a newly postpartum mom with a very difficult baby and a pretty traumatizing birth, I needed the option to be able to be home with my son, while still making an income. I’d been doing photography for about 4 years on and off, never full time, and not all for myself. I’d always had the dream of making the jump to full time business owner, but fear held me back. I’d dream about owning my very own studio, doing lots of photo shoots, and creating a business I loved.
So I had to make a choice. Go full time with my photography business despite the risks, or sacrifice me and my newborn babies happiness. Even though on paper, going full time might not have made the most sense, this wasn’t the first time I’d had to take a risk.
Discovering what taking a risk truly meant didn’t come easy. Throughout most of my childhood and early adult life, I competed as an elite athlete in a very competitive and extreme sport. Every day competing was taking a risk, and sometimes, those risks ended up with broken bones and broken bikes. After I would decide to take a risk, then came the hours and hours of grueling training on the track and in the gym. Back breaking, soul crushing stuff. Sometimes I’d win, more times I’d loose. But every loss pushed me more and more, and through hard work, I surpassed my dreams. Taking a risk is the very start. What you do after you make that choice, determines if your efforts will be worth it.
When god opens one door, he truly opens another, and as I was shuffled out of my sport and into photography, I applied the same risk taking to my career. So faced with the ultimate decision, I took that risk. Sitting on a couch, newly postpartum is by far the perfect time to start a business. But never less, I persisted. And the journey to where I am now, has been full of risks. Showing up on social media, advertising, working with clients, and all the never ending tasks that being a small business owner entails, are all little risks preparing you for the big risks. Recently, I took a very big risk, and opened my own studio. And although there have been many challenges along the way, I am so very thankful for taking every risk I have taken, because without them, I would be still sitting on my couch wondering what I was going to do next, without ever getting to enjoy all the little moments with my baby.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
Well, I’m a wedding and newborn photographer and videographer! Everything about my job is special, but to me, I love it because I get to create art for people in one of the most important life stages. As a wife and mom myself, I love getting to help my clients, and give them something extra special to cherish during two of life’s biggest moments. The confidence a maternity shoot gives a new mom, and seeing the joy in a parent’s face when seeing their precious new baby all posed is worth more than anything to me. And for weddings the entire process is special, but experiencing the couple I’ve helped and guided for up to two years has me tearing up during their ceremony. I love helping my clients experience joy, love, and happiness, and getting to capture that is beyond monumental to me.
I also just love taking photos, and although that might sound cheesy, I just genuinely do! I love the science and technical aspect during shooting, and I adore getting to be creative and artistic while finishing and editing.
I’ve been extra busy lately perfecting and creating my new studio space for my clients, in downtown Spokane, and just started welcoming my lovely clients in! It’s so great being able to have a dedicated space for all my props, maternity and family dresses, and children’s clothes so they aren’t taking over my house anymore. I also love the creativity the space has provided me, I’m living out my dreams! I’m planning a grand opening event later on in the year as well so stay tuned for that.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Oh definitely always trying to grow and learn. During the off season, I’m doing mentorship’s, workshops, and online classes. If you’re always learning, you’re always growing! Everyone has unique qualities that will help them succeed and grow their brand, so really focusing on myself and what makes me unique, and how I can apply that to my business and client experience has been so helpful. I love serving, so I’ve implemented different ways I can help my wedding couples by actually creating their wedding timeline as well as family photo list with them. So, if you find what you love, and turn that into how to help your clients more, it’ll be so beneficial.
Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?
As any small business owner knows, there’s so much to do, and by far not enough time. Being able to work through feeling overwhelmed is definitely a necessary skill. For me, I like to find the task I’m most stressed about, or the biggest task, and try to complete that first. After that task is finished, I feel so much better and less stressed. Then going into the smaller tasks I have confidence and trust I can complete the remaining list! Life just feels less daunting!
When I find myself getting very overwhelmed, it’s important to make sure I’m taking care of myself. Doing something I love, spending time with family, working on a passion project all help me refocus my energy and continue pushing forward. And in those moments we’ve all had of wanting to quiet, there’s always a client who is a shining light that reminds you why you have to keep going! Recently, I was feeling more overwhelmed than I’ve experienced before. At my next shoot, my lovely client surprised me, not knowing what I was going through, with a gorgeous floral bouquet. It meant the world to me and helped me push through those feelings of overwhelm. There’s always a light at the end of the tunnel, and there’s always a solution. Just keep going!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Www.baystphoto.com
- Instagram: @baystphoto
- Facebook: @spokanevalleyphotographer
- Youtube: @spokaneweddingphotographer
- Other: TikTok: @baystphoto
Image Credits
None applicable
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