We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Elena Maas. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Elena below.
Elena, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
My work ethic comes from growing up with working parents. My father is a retired high school teacher who could most likely count his sick days on one hand after working at the same school for over 40 years. My mom, always having worked part-time in order to be home when my sister and I were growing up, made sure that once we hit a certain age, we were aware that we’d have to earn our own money. I remember the moment when it hit me at 13 that I needed to make my own money. I started with tutoring and my father, being a high school teacher, was the source I needed to find those students who needed a little extra support in English, Math, and French. At one point, I tutored 4 students a week and the money was just flowing in. It was never a question for me that I’d have to work hard in order to get to where I wanted to be. Not once did I think about not working. Even having been between jobs, there has never been a time span longer than 3 weeks that I was not working. Yes, there are days today when I think about not having to work but I know that I will always find something to keep me busy, something that gives me a purpose. I strongly believe that working (a good and satisfying job) keeps us sane. It keeps us from spiraling and overanalyzing situations that don’t need to be overanalyzed.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
For the past 13 years, I have worked as a graphic designer. I love being creative and also love supporting local businesses with branding, print pieces, social media design, and websites.
But the one thing I have been working more and more on is my dog photography. Last year, I decided to spend more time on my own business and fall of last year was a huge success. Capturing people and the special bond they have with that one dog is what brings mea lot of joy at this point in my life. I have also partnered with a local doggy day care and take care of their photography needs as well as a veterinarian office whom I will be shooting for every other month. Dogs make people happy and having people in front of the camera with their dog, makes the job of a photographer so much easier. I don’t have to tell people to smile because when they interact with their dog, the emotion is right there ready to be captured. Besides capturing people and their dogs at the greatest point in their lives, I also offer Rainbow Bridge sessions for people who are faced with the sad decision of letting their dog go. My heart really beats for the bully breeds and especially for the rescued pit mixes. Being a guardian to one of these amazing creatures myself, has taught me a lot about how incredible they can be if we, as humans, do what we need to do in order for them to be set up for success in life.
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?
Being an optimist has helped me in a lot of situations. As terrible as some jobs were, they all have taught me valuable lessons. I have met some of the most amazing people, many I’m still in touch with today, in not-so-great work environments.
Being open to form new friendships has also been super helpful. I have been able to work in a lot of different positions as a designer because I knew someone. It’s more important who you know than what you know. Build good friendships and be open to meeting people who are outside of your every day bubble. I have joined meet ups, a book club, a wine club, and have done different sports where I have always had at least one person I clicked with. Relationships are important in our lives and I certainly would not be where I am today had I not met the people I have met over the years.
Trying to figure things out one step at a time. I used to be quickly overwhelmed with a lot of life and work tasks. Taking a step back and pulling myself out of that feeling of overwhelm has been a very helpful learning experience. I often get away from it fully by taking my dog for a walk. Coming back with a fresh mindset has been very helpful in a lot of ways.
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
I used to feel overwhelmed very quickly. I think just growing into really being an adult and figuring out that I’m the only one who can change something about it, has led me to researching and reading about what other people do in order to not feel overwhelmed. When I know that I have a full day of work projects and meetings ahead of me, I start my day with a good work out. It might sound silly, but getting those endorphins going really keeps me in a better mindset all day long. Also going outside first thing in the morning, walking my dog with coffee in hand is my absolute favorite part of the day. Stepping fully away from whatever makes you feel overwhelmed is my advice and strategy. Coming back to it with a fresh mindset and tackling it in small steps, is my preferred strategy.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.elenamaas.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/maas_creative/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/maascreative
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elenamaas/
