Starting a business is one of the most fulfilling and most terrifying thing that you will ever do. There are so many questions to consider. The top question a business owner asks, Am I worth it? Followed closely by; How do I set up my business? Do I need a website? How do I market? How much do I charge? Etc…

Many small business owners start out doing a hobby that they are passionate about, only turning it into a business when nudged by friends and family. As usual I took a different approach. I had been unhappy working for other people for a long time, but had no idea how to create a business for myself. I tried every MLM company and commission based sales job just to lose interest and fail within months. It didn’t even dawn on me that a passion I had had since I was 14 could actually be a profitable business.

My background

I have a Bachelors of Science in Interior Design from San Francisco State, that I knew as soon as I graduated I would never use as they intended. The idea of going into business as a designer scared the living crap out of me. After all people are very weird about their homes, I didn’t think I would have the patience. Little did I know that 15 years later, I am indeed creating art for peoples homes in ways I’d never imagined.

It took years of failing at multiple entrepreneurial attempts, going back to school and working for several companies before it hit me. I wanted to be a professional photographer. I wanted to follow in my Great Great Grandfather Julian P. Grahams’ footsteps. I wanted to create art to essentially be an artist. The exact career I wanted when I was still in grade school! Go figure!

In the fall of 2015, I decided to take a photography class and a graphic arts class. I fell in love almost instantly. My younger sister who had chosen this path long before I considered it to be a viable option, was photographing a wedding for a friend. I begged her to let me second shoot for her. On a rainy December day in 2015, just 4 months after purchasing my first DLSR camera, I photographed my first wedding. December 27th 2015 was the day I found my calling and I have never looked back!

The Number 1 Question a Business Owner Asks

The number 1 question that a business owner asks is “Am I worth it?” As soon as I photographed my first wedding, I knew I found my love, and I knew right off the bat, that I wanted to build a photography business. In my naivety, I felt that it would be easy. I went and found a mentor at the beginning of 2016. I soaked up everything I could. Investing hundreds of dollars in a few small courses. Looking around me for how I should price, I never realized that I was devaluing my own worth. I was so desperate to do what I love for a living, that I was willing to do any kind of photography and at a very low price. Essentially I built my business on a low sense of self worth.

In short, I didn’t believe I was worth it. It took investing thousands of dollars in a year long self-development program, to even be open to coaching at a deeper level. It took another year to start to become self-aware and know when head trash is building. Each year since 2018 I have invested no less than 10k into building both my business and my self-worth. If that sounds like a lot of money, that is a lie that you are telling yourself. 10, 20 even 30 thousand dollars a year is nothing, if it means building a multiple 6 or even 7 figure business. The sky is the limit, or your self-worth is the limit, which do you prefer?

I AM WORTH IT!

Take a look at your shelf. How many business books do you own? I owned about 20, one of which was “Worth Every Penny” by Sarah Petty. It wasn’t until I came across her free Masterclass that I even bothered to open the book, 2 years after I bought it, might I add. So many entrepreneurs, believe they can figure it out alone, and that is why over 80% of all businesses fail in the first year. Don’t be a statistic. Be the exception, as Darren Hardy, author of “Compound Effects” often says.

Being the exception, requires that you invest both time and money in yourself. I started out investing just a few hundred dollars, then a few thousand, and now to date I have invested nearly 100K into myself and my business. I work every day against the ingrained negativity being hurled at us from every direction. Each day brings new head trash, and what’s even more astounding, is how SUCCESS brings doubt. It wasn’t until I booked my first 5K client that realized I still have doubt in my self worth at deep rooted level.

Awareness of self-doubt, and the ability to use the uplifting and positive tools I’ve learned, is the difference between my self-sabotage and true and lasting success.

When I hear a voice saying:

• I’m a fraud.
• Why did they pay me that much?
• I can’t meet their expectation.
• They will be disappointed in me.
• Why do they want me?

My trained higher self says:

• I’m worth every penny.
• I have invested 100k into building my value.
• I can go above and beyond their expectation.
• I have developed a relationship with them, and they trust me.
• I provide value to them they desire.
• I am worthy of success at every level.

Re-writing, re-wiring and re-stating head trash in a positive way will help build your self-worth, value and give you the courage take action even when you are afraid. Fear and some self-doubt will never leave you, it’s about learning to walk with it and use it to build strength.

You’re business and your brand is you at your core! It is only as strong as you are!

So how strong are you?

I’d love to hear your story on Instagram, send me a DM @crystalsummerbear.