We love a good ‘before and after’ transformation, an overnight success story. But barely anyone sees what it took to get there, and almost no one is ever really a true overnight success — so this is my attempt at showing you the in-between. A little status update, if you will.

It’s been three months since I left my whirlwind advertising role — or more accurately, took up a voluntary redundancy. It was exhilarating, getting the ultimate sign to pursue this business idea that I’ve had for about 9 months since. I wouldn’t have had the guts to resign on my own — especially not to start a business and risk financial security.

But if I stayed in my job, my business wouldn’t exist in the way that it does now. There wouldn’t be a fire in me, pushing to make it work. So no matter how scary it sounds, I welcome the pressure of having to make a stable income. I need to make this work because I need to pay the bills. There’s nothing like bills to motivate you haha

The thrill of novelty

We all know what this feels like, seeing life in rose-coloured glasses. Beginning to date someone. When lockdowns were first introduced and everyone made banana bread. Doing retail therapy. Starting a new job. A new business.

Everyone starts out in business with an unquenchable fire to create the best work of their lives, to bring about the change they want to see. I have just always wanted to work for myself and have full autonomy over my time — something I’m increasingly valuing as my husband and I prepare to welcome children of our own one day.

And so off I went, doing all the usual business setup admin. Thinking of a name, setting up my website, Instagram, all that fun stuff. It is genuinely fun when you don’t have to worry about money. I set out thinking this was going to be my side hustle, and that I would only leave my job if the business grew to match my salary.

But alas, I’m not built that way, and God had other plans. I know for a fact that I can’t do two things at once. I was too tired after my job to do chores around the house, let alone grow a business. I got the opportunity to close the chapter on my corporate life, and went all in. I made it my mission to get to know as many people as I can in the photography and wedding spaces. I’m showing up on social, I hyped up the launch of my wedding packages. It was great, and armed with my advertising background, it went as well as it could have, for someone starting out.

…and then what?

This is the question I need to answer now. It’s a numbers game isn’t it, the more people you know, the more you get recommended, the more chances you have at being booked. I don’t have any legs up in the game, no trust fund (or man in finance for that matter), so I plan to carve out my space by sheer volume and grit, by consistently showing up every day.

Don’t get me wrong, there are some — no, many — days where I have no idea what I’m doing, if anything I’m doing is paying off. I guess it’s too early to tell, but I am looking forward to seeing the fruits of my efforts. I wish I could skip ahead, but don’t we all?

What’s the alternative?

Apart from having to pay my bills, this question is my other biggest motivator in forging ahead with my business. This podcast episode by Jai Long talks about never having a Plan B.

When you have a Plan B, it means you are planning to fail. Having that safety net to fall back on keeps you from being hungry for success, from taking risks, from betting on yourself. So I don’t even want to think about ‘what if it doesn’t work out,’ because I will make it work. It doesn’t mean I’ll never go back to a job, nor does it mean that I’ve failed if I do, but it’s all about playing the long game, and pivoting Plan A if things change — not giving up on it. It’s seeing a snag in the road for what it is, instead of thinking the world has fallen apart.

Hopefully that helped someone (?). I feel this pressure in the wedding industry of having everything figured out, and I’m almost ashamed to say that I’m a beginner, or that I don’t offer videography, or that I don’t know that many vendors yet to come up with a “Top 10 xyz” list. I know I’ll get there, I just have to do the hard yards and keep at it even when no one is looking, even when I don’t see it paying off straight away.

Header image by Kat Li