We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Joy Dionne a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Joy , thank you for joining us today and sharing your experiences and acquired wisdom with us. Burnout is a huge topic these days and so we’d love to kick things off by discussing your thoughts on overcoming or avoiding burnout
Working for one of the Top IT Companies in the World, Building a Photography Business, and Prioritizing family along with Self- Care is a challenge that bring on tons of stress, worry, and overthinking resulting in burnout. November of 2022 I entered the busy season for Photography, End of the year for work, and juggling still showing up as a parent running on fumes most days and still trying to manage attending 5:30am workouts with Body By Lee and then my body forced me to stop and slow down. I began to experience the most vigorous pain in my lower back that stopped me from working out for a month and forced me to rely heavily on my team and family to make sure bookings continued without canceling all why still continuing to build and grow J Dionne Photography. During my down time I began going to CTC Chiropractor and I recall my 1st visit like it was yesterday and Dr. Cornell looking at my X-Rays and my age and he was like how did you get this way and I told him my crazy schedule and he instantly told me No I am going to get you back together, but you have to stop the burnouts you are wearing your body down.
As I mentioned I didn’t workout for a month during that period it was very dark I was forced to sit down and thats something that I am not use to doing, but it was the eye opener that I needed to show me what I was prioritizing, helping me better align my business goals /strategy, and for me to focus on my own Brand identity not get caught up in the hype of other Business owners in the Photography industry and most importantly self-care to over future burnouts.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
Hello !! My name is Joy Dionne I have been in the Corporate World for 12 years and currently serve as I am a Worldwide Digital IT Strategist and in my Entrepreneur life I and a Photographer 3.5 yrs that focuses on Professional Branding, Weddings, Special Events, and Lifestyle Portraits. As a Photographer I have learned that everyone is not my client and every photoshoot is not for my brand/style. My speciality of focus for J Dionne Photography is to help my clients that are Small business owners, Realtors, leaders of Non profit & service organizations, and families tell a story through Photography and/or capture lasting memories that will be cherished for a lifetime.
The one thing that excites me the most is that most of my clients are not professional models and most event hate being in front of the camera, but as I am able to show up as my true genuine self allowing me to meet my client where they are and produce beautiful portraits.
Every Photoshoot is a Highlight, but some of the key highlights that I’ve experienced with Photography have been taking Professional headshots of the WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert, Graduation portraits for the class of 2023 and the Portrait is now handing in Hampton University’s Dining Hall, and most importantly having all the different Black Owned businesses trust me with helping build their brand.
J Dionne Photography is not just Photography we also run a 360 Photobooth within the DFW Metroplex area and now also offer Drone footage for our clients for Weddings, New /Investment Home Listings, and Community Events . Our Fall and Christmas Mini sessions will begin in September of 2023.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Three qualities that I have found to be most impactful are as follows:
1. Investing in a veteran photography mentor that took time to invest in my knowledge of learning and understanding how to operate the camera.
2. Forming a sisterhood of supportive woman that were all seeking knowledge as starting the Entreupenurship journey.
3. Always remaining humble and a student to master and learn a new skill and we are in a ever changing Digital environment.
For individuals that are just starting I would suggest that they know there why and passion for Photography as you will get pulled in so many directions very fast and before you know it you and overcoming burnout due to not being in alignment with your own personal goals.
How would you spend the next decade if you somehow knew that it was your last?
The challenge that I am currently face is keeping up with all the media trends. As the Digital World continues to shift knowing that all trends are not for the best and that understanding who and where your target audience is as it relates to the trends.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jdionnephotography.com
- Instagram: @jdionnephotography
- Facebook: J Dionne Photography
- Linkedin: Joy Spellman
- Yelp: J Dionne Photography
Image Credits
J Dionne Photography
