A letter to our former selves: What has a year done for you?
Nearly one year ago we went in to a Nation wide lockdown, for what we thought was 2 weeks - maybe a month - tops!
Little did we know that one year later we would still be locked in our homes and our lives would change forever.
We've seen some videos of people giving advice to their
former self, and we wanted to give some advice to our former Booths, and take a look at what this year has meant for us, as we navigate a whole new landscape. You might even find yourself in our shoes, and hopefully our words help you on the part of your journey too.
Here's our letter to our March 2020 company and the Rachel & Jim that were:
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Dear Booths,
There will never be a right time
You might feel comfortable on your regular salary right now, and I know we've put off taking the leap in to freelance because 'it's never been the right time', but pretty soon you won't have a choice, and the time will be now whether you like it or not. In a year's time you would have wished you'd done it sooner, which brings me on to our next point...
You can do it!
You might not believe it right now, hell you might not have ever truly believed it, but you can own your own photography business. This is a viable career option, and you do not need to be employed by someone else to make a living.
It will be tough
You're used to being given tasks, or working towards goals, or knowing exactly what your working day will look like. In a year's time you won't have any of the security of your previous employment, and you will be the master of your own destiny. Goals must come from you, missions must come from you, motivation must come from you, accountability is all on you as well as the performance of your company and your ability to live because of it. It's a scary thought that holds a lot of us back, but I promise you it will be worth it. No, you won't make £10k in your first month, you might not even make £1k, but it will grow as long as you keep growing with it.
Your life will change
In one year from now, you will be sat on the sofa and it will suddenly hit you that this is it. You are not waiting to return to normal, or waiting to go back to work like some of your friends and family. This is it. You wake up each day, do your work, grow your business. And the day that hits I promise you, you will feel EPIC! You might supplement your income with other ad-hoc jobs (mainly teaching of photography, which you love too!!) but it is completely up to you. I mean, WOW!
Feel the fear, and do it anyway!
In a year's time, you are still scared. You still have so many fears, so many worries and so many questions about your future. They will not go away, we may need to accept that they never will. But it is time to take your finger off the pause button and start living your dreams.
I'm not sure where we will be in another year's time, but we hope it is fully booked with amazing clients, meeting new people, opening our first premises and living the life we dream of. But only you can make it happen.
Best of luck,
Rachel & Jim
Booths Photography
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