www.suzannahscully.com/blog
"My mission is to inspire others to find what they were made for.
Basically, I get your butt in gear and help you to find a career that you love."
Suzannah was kind enough to interview me recently and I thought I would share.If you are looking for a new or different type of career path or goals in life, she's your GAL!
How Lindsey Stafford Found Her “Aha” Moment
on August 9th, 2010
Lindsey and I both have a lot in common. We both worked as a buyer in the corporate retail world, we are both moms, both went to UCLA and both now run our own businesses.
When I heard all of this, I knew this was someone I wanted to profile! She has gorgeous photos and really insightful advice on following your passion.
Here is her story:
Tell me about what you do for work.
I photograph families, kids of all ages, teeny tiny newborns, baby bumps, soon-to-be brides and grooms, boudoir for the ladies, and parties of all types.
Over the course of the last year, I started to shoot weddings and now have 5 under my belt and 5 more signed on for the remainder of 2010.
I take a photojournalistic approach to all of my sessions and my goal is to make each session and event as fun and relaxed as possible. For all of my clients I like to balance a good blend of traditional and candid, personality driven photographs for family and friends to enjoy.
I am also a huge fan of blogs and blogging and use my own to post a few of my favorite photos from each session until I complete editing the rest. To date, I have almost 20,000 hits on my blog and receive great referrals and new opportunities from it on a daily basis!
What type of work were you doing prior to what you are doing now?
For 6 years I was in the buying world at both Gap, Inc. and Pottery Barn Kids.
What kinds of frustrations did you have with your previous job(s)?
I really struggled with the aspect of work/life balance with the arrival of my daughter a few years ago. I loved everyone that I worked with, made lifelong friendships, and learned so many things that I apply to my business now – I just felt in my heart I needed to find a path that included being with my daughter more and doing something that truly made me happy and others smile.
How did you come to discover this was what you were meant to do?
I spent a lot of time swimming growing up – a path that led me to the pool as a swimmer at UCLA. I was an Art History major and when my pool time was complete I studied my Art History abroad in Florence. There I found that I loved taking pictures and documenting on film my travels throughout Europe. My favorite part about all of this was the surprise of getting all of my film developed and seeing how my pictures turned out. I truly loved it.
Flash forward almost 10 years and on my 30th birthday my parents got me a really nice camera that I started using to take pictures of my little baby girl. Throughout my maternity leave I had friends and family ask me to photograph their kids, parties, and families. With the encouragement of these family and friends, my “aha moment” hit me about 6 months later when I realized that I could possibly find my balance and make this my new career.
I am now about to celebrate my 2 year anniversary as a photographer next month.
What fears did you have to overcome to take the leap?
I think it’s really difficult not to have feelings of doubt with what you are about to do in starting your own business and wondering especially what you will leave behind financially with a stable corporate job. I remember finishing my website and blog and it taking me at least a month to make LIVE on the web. It felt really good once it was official. I haven’t looked back since.
What do you love most about what you do?
There are so many things I love about my photography business…here are just a few of the many: using my creative skills, being my own boss, meeting wonderful new people all the time, flexibility, being inspired by cute and funny little kiddos, seeing lots of smiles, balance as a mother, wife and business owner, and one of the most important of all – being a part of and documenting very special moments in peoples’ lives. It is an honor and a privilege, and I am so thankful that people choose and trust me to be a part of these moments.
If you were to give advice to people thinking about changing careers, what would it be?
If you work hard and truly love what you do, you will be successful and most importantly, happy. There is a quote that I have carried with me since college that has always made an impression – “Doubt yourself and you doubt everything you see. Judge yourself and you see judges everywhere. But if you listen to the sound of your own voice, you can rise above doubt and judgement. And you can see forever.” Go for it.
