We were lucky to catch up with Allie Dykstra recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Allie, thank you so much for opening up with us about some important, but sometimes personal topics. One that really matters to us is overcoming Imposter Syndrome because we’ve seen how so many people are held back in life because of this and so we’d really appreciate hearing about how you overcame Imposter Syndrome.
Imposter syndrome can be a really tough thing to deal with, especially as a creative-based entrepreneur in a saturated market like wedding & branding photography. But I’ve found that the best way for me to overcome feelings of imposter syndrome is to remember a few things to keep me grounded. 1 – I am pursuing this dream for a reason. It’s not a mistake that I wanted this life and this business — believing that the simple fact that just because it’s a dream of mine means that I have every right to exist in this space and that there’s a place here for me. 2 – Everybody is at a different place in their journey. My worst bouts of imposter syndrome come when I get caught up wishing I could be further ahead on my path or comparing myself to people who are. Comparison and imposter syndrome really go hand in hand the more that I think about it. So when I get carried away feeling down on myself, I stop the social media scrolling and take a break from consuming others’ content. And 3 – There are plenty of people out there who are specifically in need of YOU and all that you have to offer. Our task isn’t to out-compete each other, it’s to lean into who we are and let that shine so that those very people can find us.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
My name is Allie and I am the owner and lead photographer of Alexandrae Photo specializing in weddings and branding photography.
For the majority of the year, I have the privilege of capturing celebrations of love – weddings, elopements, and engagements. I feel so honored that this is my job and it fulfills me in so many ways. The fact that I get to be a part of artfully preserving these special moments for my couples and their loved ones means everything to me. A true romantic and artist at heart, I feel like I am getting to do what I was always meant to.
When I am not in the thick of wedding season, I get to tell the stories of fearless founders and the brands of small businesses. Being a small business owner myself, I know just how much it means for someone to understand and help you achieve your vision as a founder. I love to fully immerse myself in the businesses that I work with before we arrive on shoot day so that I can really connect and bring to life the soul of the brand through imagery. I am a huge amplifier of ideas and love to collaborate with my clients. I am especially passionate about working with fellow entrepreneurs as I also lead a yearly strategic planning retreat (Biz Retreat) for female founders. Biz Retreat is all about providing the space away from our day-to-day hustle to recenter and strategize around the future of our businesses.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Three qualities that I think were most impactful on my journey as an artist and an entrepreneur are 1- Tapping into my intuition for guidance. The more I learned to trust myself and my gut first before anything or anyone else, the better my art, client experience, and strategy as a business owner got 2- Strong communication skills. I come from a corporate background of 8 years before entrepreneurship, and I will always be grateful to the first part of my career for teaching me how to be an impactful communicator. Clients want to feel VIP, they want to feel well taken care of, and a lot of this comes from how you communicate with them. and 3- Knowing what I am good at/what gives me energy and what I am not. When I am working on a task that I don’t like to do and it’s not necessary that I’m the one doing it – It’s time to outsource. Learning to get out of my own way early and often throughout my journey by outsourcing has been a huge benefit to my business. It’s not a question of if I can do something on my own, it’s if I WANT to do that thing. And if the answer is no, and it’s not a core function of my business, then I find someone who can do it better and faster than me. On the plus side, I get to work with many talented small business owners this way, and I love that me building my dream is also supporting their dreams as well, a win, win.
Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?
My best friend and cohost of Biz Retreat, Alex of Alexandria Jean Fitness, who is also a fellow entrepreneur. We have been supporting each other in the pursuit of our dreams from the very beginning and I cannot even quantify how impactful her existence has been on my success.
We have been meeting weekly for over 3 years now as a sort of peer-support group, and this meeting of ours is a safe space to celebrate our wins (big or small) vent, problem-solve, and seek perspective from one another. Our weekly meetings keep me thinking positively, remind me of how capable I am, and keep me focused on my goals. She acts as a coworker in a space where we don’t typically have one [entrepreneurship]. I particularly love that we come from different industries and are oftentimes able to provide a neutral outsider’s perspective to the challenges we face.
I cannot express enough the impact of peer support as an entrepreneur. It’s one of the many reasons that we created Biz Retreat in the first place — we wanted more female entrepreneurs to have access to each other in the way that Alex and I have been able to lean on each other’s positive attitudes and support all of these years.
Contact Info:
- Website: alexandraephoto.com
- Instagram: https://www.
instagram.com/alexandrae. photo/ - Other: Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@
alexandrae.photo - Alexandria Jean Fitness:https://www.
alexandriajeanfitness.com/home - Biz Retreat: https://www.instagram.com/
bizretreat/
Image Credits
All images are mine 🙂
