Stop it!

Yesterday I saw a thread in a facebook group, made up mostly of female photographers.

The poster was struggling because her husband had taken a salaried job and therefore he never knew exactly what time he would be home from work, as he was no longer hourly, so she was struggling to schedule portrait sessions around her inconsistent evening childcare situation. 

I then read through the comments. There were 45 of them. The overwhelming majority of the responders had some version of this "advice." "Sorry. Thats just how it is to be salaried. He is the bread winner."

I was quite taken aback. 

Here we have a woman, a mom, who loves what she does, owns a real business, and is looking for a solution, and we as her community are encouraging her to take a back seat and just "deal with it."

I try not to preach, rather to just live out my thoughts and feelings regarding woman empowerment, but this one got me riled up, y'all. 

This is why the majority of women owned photo businesses are struggling. This is why we as a mom-entrepreneuer-squad are facing rampant burnout and depression. Why? Because we are not treating our businesses like real grown up businesses, but rather as side hustles that can be tossed aside at the drop of a "who didn't wash my baseball hat?"

And we are telling each other to just "deal with it."

Listen, for many, photography IS a side hustle, and that is ok, but your P&L sheet is a direct reflection to how seriously you treat it.

If you want it to be something more substantial, you have to take responsibility for it. You have to figure out the puzzle pieces. That may mean hiring help. That may mean moving closer to family, It may mean going extreme like we did and flipping the script, quitting my husband's job and making the business our main income. I don't know what it looks like for you, but it definitely means you have to stop making and allowing excuses. 

My advice in the thread: "Raise your prices and hire someone for the 2 hour window in question, 2 or 3 days a week. If Dad is home early, great, the sitter does laundry, dishes, dinner prep, whatever. If he's home late, the kid is covered." 

Let's quit putting ourselves in the back seat, and FOR THE LOVE, quit encouraging our fellow lady entrepreneurs to do the same. 

Never accept, "That's just how it works. Deal with it." and please don't put that on each other. 

You are powerful so deal with THAT.