I never thought I would say this about myself, but I like working alone. I thrive when I can make my schedule, decide my task list, and check it off when and where I want to. Before Willow came I worked all over Hampton Roads, from one coffee shop to the next, and now that she's here the flexibility I have is a beautiful thing and what I always dreamed of. I never factored other people into my business and always thought I would run this by myself.
Over the years I have seen many other solopreneurs bring on part-time team members to do everything from social media to blogging to editing images and everything in between. I was curious how it worked and began to envision myself hiring someone in the future as my business grew. The only thing I came back to, though, time and time again, was that if I were to hire anyone I would want it to be in my family. I didn't know how this would work or when and if it would happen, but I hoped the time would come.
Well, I'm SO excited to announce that the time is finally here! My older sister Mae quit her full-time job to work at another full-time job: being a mom of two (soon to be three!) and staying home to take care of them. When this happened the wheels began to spin in my head and by February I realized I had the perfect place for her in my business. I asked her about the possibility of learning how to edit my pictures and to my surprise, she was thrilled about the prospect of working with me.
A few weeks later she brought her two kids with her and in between precious cousin time, while all the kids napped (we had to work to coordinate this!) or late at night, I sat down and showed her the ins and outs of editing. She took to it immediately, and by the end of the week she was able to take on the rest of the wedding we had begun all by herself.
Two weeks later I had another wedding and we split the duties. I combed through her pictures and it was a dream come true - she is not only a joy to work with as a family member, she had quickly become fully proficient in photo editing and worked everything to my exact specifications. I am extremely picky (as are most photographers!) when it comes to the final edit, yet somehow she met my demands and exceeded my expectations.
So, for the foreseeable future, my sister is now my photo editor, and I could not be more excited. She is the PERFECT addition to my business, and it seems that everything fell in place at the right time. After a little time off post-baby she will jump right back in and help finish my 2018 season out strong so I can focus on other areas of business and work on dreaming about the future of Maria Grace Photography. For now, the present looks pretty bright indeed, and I'm thrilled to welcome Mae to the team!
