Jenny Beck - Melissa, thank you so much for writing this blog post. This is something I've been contemplating for some time and it is a scary thing. I'm trying to save and set myself up financially, but would love to go full time in the near future. It's reassuring to hear that it was scary for you and you're now a huge success story. =)
Melissa Jean - Loved reading this today! I just had a conversation with the hubby about what we need in order to make the leap (as he is unfortunately unemployed currently). I want to be debt free before jumping but I'm mapping out WHEN I can make that happen by and I'm sticking to it!
Casia - Thank you for being so honest and for publishing this post. Life is way to short and so precious to be wasting away at a dead-end job you don't love, that seemingly gives a steady paycheck. I've learned that NOTHING is guaranteed and that you can be let-go at any moment. True story for BOTH my husband & I. So when that happened we decided to JUMP and that we did. We made major financial sacrifices and downsized everything. We're going on almost a year and it's the best thing that has ever happened in our business. I'm so amazed at how little people can/will live on when forced to and to make their dream a reality. I really could go on & on about the pros/cons but it really comes down to how much of a risk you are willing to take for something you know you're destined to do. I'm the kind of person that doesn't like to wonder 'what if?'. Thanks again Melissa for sharing... I'm thinking it's time for our own LEAP blog post.
Vanessa - This is such a great post! I'm not at a point in my business to go to full time yet but this definitely got me motivated to work towards this in the future! Thanks for sharing :)
rich - this is something we definitely think about and your advice is really really priceless - thank you for sharing!
Michelle Koechle - Great post, Melissa! I love hearing stories about photographers that started out as photography being just a hobby and then developing it into a business later, like I did. It's so inspiring. I was laid-off in 2009 so that was my jump to full-time. I really had no choice. But I'm grateful for that.
Tira J - OMG! First, thank you for sharing your story in more detail. I went to the older post and look at the comment I left back in 2007! Here we are today in 2012 and I made that leap! It is truly AWESOME how God has worked in both of our businesses and our friendship. Here's that blog entry. http://www.tirajphotography.blogspot.com/2007/12/networking-with-other-christian.html I need to blog about my leap too. I'll add that to my list. Love ya MJ!
R. J. Kern - Wonderful pearls of wisdom, Melissa! My adventure of becoming a full-time photographers has been made easier thanks to your blog posts and thoughtful advice. Cheers to you and Dixie in 2012!
Brooke Schultz - Thank you so much for sharing. It's so encouraging to know that everybody was once where I am, you know?
Larry - Thanks for sharing, Melissa. This is a great post!
Allison - Love this post, Melissa! I totally agree that it's always scary...even when the past years are successful, it's always scary looking ahead to the next and wondering what it will be like!
yadira - Melissa, you are such an inspiration. It is amazing what a leap of faith can do :) thank you for sharing your story!!
Jessica - I can't tell you how relevant this post is to my life right now. For the last 5 years I have been taking jobs that pay nothing and leave me completely dissatisfied and at the beginning of the year when I finally decided to give it a go at becoming a wedding photographer I new early on that I wanted to make this full time. As things continue to go down hill in my current job I'm struggling to decide if it's worth staying. If the stress and frustration is worth it considering how it's effecting my mood and my ability to work on my own business? Luckily I have a husband that fully supports me quitting yet it's still scary to think of losing that steady paycheck. That's why I've decided to set a goal date in order to prepare myself mentally and financially.
Anyway, thanks for this post!