Make It Beatuiful

I have the great privilege of watching someone who is a master of their craft do it often. I get to watch my wife shoot photos all the time because it's my job to assist her most weekends. I get to see her look for the perfect location, in the perfect light and position people in that light beautifully. She is amazing at her job (If you need the proof just look here: Brooke Courtney Photography). Over the years of assisting and learning from my wife, I've learned that her job isn't just about taking a great, artistic photo, but about making something beautiful. There is a lot of ugly in our world. There is a lot of anger, hate and bitterness. I know because sometimes it is coming from me. There is also a lot of beauty in this world. Sometimes we see it in a great photograph that was taken at just the perfect time. Sometimes we see it in an amazing video, read it in an eloquently written book or witness it in a moment between two people who love each other. It's out there and sometimes we find ourselves lucky enough to actually witness it.

In our lives we have a lot of choices we get to make. One of those choices is to make it ugly or make it beautiful. This doesn't really have to do specifically with art or photography, but with life and the way we treat people. In our world where reality stars are praised for being obnoxious, and sports stars are idolized for being divas, it's hard to make it beautiful. We want to just follow in the steps of those we see in lights and be nasty, cruel and mean. It's almost easier to be that way.

But as we look through the lens of our life, lets try to find that perfect light, in the perfect location, and make it beautiful. Let's take our lives and make them beautiful with whatever we do. Last year, I played on a rec soccer team and we weren't very good. We lost a lot and our team wasn't much fun to play on. I became very frustrated with it and at times took my frustration out on the field. I made it ugly. This year I am playing rec soccer again and I have a great team. But before the season even started, I had to decide how I was going to play. Was I going to get frustrated when we lost and make it ugly? Or was I going to play my hardest, have some fun and make it beautiful? I hope my teammates can attest for me when I say that this year I have (with help from teammates) made it beautiful. There was one game where the ugly crept back up, and it always will, but I had to push it down and let the beauty overtake it.

I am amazed by my wife because she doesn't just make it beautiful with her photos, but also with her actions and deeds. I can be a real jack-a** sometimes - and instead of a ugly response, she reacts with grace and beauty. When we live our lives trying to find the good light, and then take it with us wherever we go, we have real power to do amazing things. We can remove the ugly, cynicism and hate from this world. And make it beautiful.

Here is another iPhone background if you want to be reminded daily:

Be Brave.

When I was 2 years old my family moved from southern California to Germany. My Dad felt called to be a missionary in Germany, so he told my Mom, and they moved with there 4 kids. At the time, we were 1, 2, 4 and 6. Yikes Spikes! I don't really have a lot of memories from living in Germany (considering I was only 2 and 3 years of age), but I do have a few select memories. They are the kind of memories that are foggy and feel almost like they happened to someone else. I remember bits of them, maybe not the whole memory... or maybe not exactly as it happened. So, here is a story, about a half-remembered memory... The neighborhood we lived in while in Germany was a safe one. I remember following my older brother and sister around without much parental guidance. We had lots of time to play and just be kids. There was a specific place that we use to play at a lot. It was a lightly wooded area near our house and my siblings and I, along with some neighborhood german friends and other missionary kids, decided to build a tree house there. Here is where my memory gets a little foggy and I am not totally sure what our actual tree house looked like.

As a three year old, I was probably too young to be hanging out in this area with my older siblings, but I remember wanting to be apart of what they were doing so badly. I think they just let me tag along out of pity. After living in Germany and traveling around Europe for two years, there is only one memory that I can recall with clarity. It happened after a rainy day at the "tree house." Upon approaching the tree house, I remember seeing my brother high in a tree and all I could think was, "I want to do that." The only problem was I was 3 years old! Not to mention, there was a giant puddle between me and the tree. Now when I say high in the tree I remember my brother being on the tallest branches that would sway with the wind. And when I say giant puddle I remember it being as large as one of the great lakes. As a three year old, whose head was way to large for my body, I decided that I would cross the great lake, climb the tree and sway in the wind high above the earth with my big brother. I took one step into the puddle, tripped, face-planted, stood-up, started balling my eyes out and ran back home, covered in mud-soaked tears, hearing laughter from some of the German kids as I ran home.

Every time I've told that story, I've always told it to get a laugh. And while you might be laughing because of it, I am telling it for a different reason today. In my life, since that point, I have fallen on my face more than a few times, both literally and figuratively. Most of the literal falls were based in stupidity - whether it was during my brief attempt to be a skater or trying to make Jackass audition tapes. The figurative face plants are the ones that I more closely relate to that little three-year-old mud-soaked version of myself. They are the type of faceplants that take guts and bravery. They require that one bold step with a mission, like a three year old trying to climb a tree. Yes, it was probably impossible for me to climb the tree, especially with my disproportioned head, but that didn't mean I wasn't going to try. In my young adult life I've been met with some of those same challenges. It did seem impossible for us to open a store and keep it open amidst the financial turmoil our country is in and the corporate competition at the mall, who have millions of dollars backing them. But we didn't let those giant puddles or tall branches scare us, we took that first step and then the second step - and then we took a bad one and fell, but unlike that three year old version of myself we kept walking even though we were covered, head to toe, in mud. I don't even think we are out of the giant puddle yet... and sometimes it feels like we won't ever be, but we keep pushing because we have a bigger, ultimate business goal.

We live in an instant world and we expect everything to work right away, but it doesn't. We expect people to just carry us over the puddle or for the puddle to just move for us, and if we end up covered in mud, we blame the puddle. It's time for you to be brave and push through your puddle, fall, get back up and climb to the tallest branch you can. It could be a business, a workout, or a relationship -- whatever it is, it will take time. And a fist full of three year old bravery.

Here is a desktop and iPhone background if you want to be reminded:

Instant Businesses

We have entered the era of the instant business. An instant business is someone who has an idea and a Facebook page - so they put the two together and expect the money to pour in. I have started to see more and more of these instant businesses show up in my Facebook feed everyday. "So and So" Photography has invited you to like his/her page. Your friend was tagged by "Point and Shoot" Photography. I have had enough. So I thought I would write to those people out there who have this idea that owning a camera and a Facebook page makes you a "professional photographer". (Side Note : I am using photography as my example because I think it's the most used right now, but this applies to any instant business). It's like saying because I own a baseball glove and a hat I am a professional baseball player. Or, since I like movies and can post a blog, I am a professional movie critic. Or since I have an oven and like sweets, I'm available for hire to make your wedding cake. I know that every business has to start somewhere, but I think so many people out there are starting in the wrong place. People have seen the success of their friends, or family members on the internet and think "They just have a website and a Facebook and they've made a living out of it! That's all I need." That is not all you need to be successful. There are thousands of books and blog posts written on what you need to start a business. I am not saying that my list is the only list you'll need to read, but I want to try and help every potential business owner out there how to start in the right place.

The first thing you should do is perfect your skill or product. If you want to be a photographer that doesn't mean the first photos you take are worthy of posting and telling the world you are now a photographer. It means you should shoot your brains out and figure out what works. Look up tutorials online, research gear, talk to photographers who are actually making a living at it, attend workshops and shoot! A couple of years ago, Brooke and I noticed that our friends younger sister was really passionate, fun and had an interest in photography, so we asked her to be an intern. She followed us, shot with us, saw how we edited, shot some more - and now she is on our team and just shot her own wedding! She didn't start with a Facebook page. Heck, she didn't even blog or post any of her first thousands of images. She started by learning from people who have made a living out of it and now she is getting paid for it. She will be the first to tell you that if it wasn't for that internship, editing and second shooting she wouldn't be the photographer she is today. She didn't just start an instant business because she could have. She trained, honed her craft and it's paying off. Literally.

Don't launch with a Facebook page. Facebook is an amazing tool, but should not be the face of your business (unless your business is Facebook.) Your business should have it's own brand, look and feel which is impossible to do through Facebook because it's not customizable. After you figure out what you want to do or sell, then start to think of what your branding will look like. Find a designer friend of yours that can help or give you advice. Put everything you like into a box or a Pinterest board - it will be obvious what colors and themes you like! Find people who will be honest with you. I see so much terrible branding online because people just ask their friends and family what they think. They are your friends and family, they are going to be very generous with their words. Find people who will tell you that something looks terrible.

Don't copy! Brooke and I have worked hard to create a very successful photography business that is growing both in team size and in reach. We've started to see local photographers try to copy or mirror what we do and it's not going to work because they aren't us. The way our team shoots, blogs, edits and creates is unique to us and copying it wont work. Your business is going to be unique to you, so take pride in that uniqueness. Don't just do what someone else does because they are successful, it won't translate. That doesn't mean you can't be inspired by others! But don't blatantly rip them off. Take that inspiration and use it in your own way.

I think it's easy to see people on Facebook and think, "I can do what they do." So we take our camera, shoot some portraits and start a Facebook page expecting the same results. They aren't going to come. You need to perfect your craft, develop your brand and work hard to get to that point. Don't start an instant business or you'll end up being frustrated, disappointed and probably give up.

*For those of you who have recently started an instant business and realize it's not going super well. - Don't be afraid to start this process now. - Put your Facebook page to the bare minimum while you develop a brand and your skill. - Ask for help. Most small business owners are very generous and want to see others succeed... so ask for help!

What Story Are You Telling?

I love Instagram. It is by far my favorite way to share my story with the world. I love looking at my feed, seeing what friends liked my photos and so on. I think it's the greatest social network out there. It's weird to think that I've been alive for the inventions of all the different social networks that have come and gone. While Myspace will always hold a special place in my heart, there is no doubt that Instagram is and will be my favorite.

This past month I challenged myself to have a plan with my Instagrams. I didn't want to post just because I could. I wanted to tell a story through my Instagrams about who I am and what matters to me. I even wrote down my Instagram mission statement : Through my Instagrams I want people to know that I am a passionate, happy, artistic person who loves life.

With the creation of all these social networks and ways to share parts of our lives we've taken off filters. We share things that we never would have shared or should have shared in person. We've all started telling the story, "THIS IS WHAT I AM DOING RIGHT NOW!!!!!!" We have started living with this idea that because we can post it, we should. And I think we need to stop. We need to think about the story we are telling to others. We need to have a plan for what we share. We need to start asking questions before we hit that send button. I always ask, "What is this adding to the conversation? Is this something worth posting? Does this go along with my mission statement?" If I can't say yes to those three questions then I cancel out of it.

With this idea of "what story are your Instagrams telling" I've been looking at a lot of homepages of people and here is what I have concluded. There are a lot of people out there who are telling stories about themselves in different places. There are people who are telling the story of their kids growing up. There are people telling the story of the sunset every night. There are people telling the story of stupid internet crap. There are people telling the story of what they eat. Beside the kid thing, I have done all of these things, so I am not saying they are bad. They are only bad without purpose and vision.

Psalm 107 1-2 says, "Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, His love endures forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story." If you are a Christian you are telling that story to anyone who is not a believer, so what story are you telling? Is it a selfish one? A dramatic one? Is it one where you shove bible verses down the throats of those following your feed? Or is it a beautiful one? Full of the great life that forgiveness has given you.

We Can Be Better

As a business owner it's hard for me to walk into a store, restaurant, church or  any establishment and not think of what I would do differently.  It's hard for me to be on a website and not think about how clean it runs or what kind of branding they have in place.  (For those of you who don't know my wife and I operate two businesses.  One is walk in love. - a clothing brand that has one retail store in Lancaster, PA.  We have 12 team members and sell a lot of shirts!  The other business is a photography business - Brooke Courtney Photography.  It's a five member team photographers that specialize in natural light portrait and wedding photography.  Currently there are two main shooters - Brooke and Jeff, a full time assistant - Maddie, an intern -Sam and myself - the manager.)  For this blog post I am going to focus on our photography business. My job, as the manager of the business and team members, is to make sure things run smoothly. That's the bottom line.  I make sure we have all the information we need for shoots and that clients are paying us on time. I do all I can to make sure that brides are happy with the final product.  I assist Brooke at almost all of her weddings, and I could very easily transition into being a full time shooter (I do shoot weddings by myself from time to time)  but I don't for one simple reason : We Can Be Better.  I think our work is fantastic! Brooke, Jeff, Maddie and Sam are extremely talented and super fun to work with... but I still think we can be better.

A lot of people take offense to a statement like that, ("we can be better" or "you could do better"), when talking about their business.  Because when you own a business it is personal and any criticism of the business becomes a criticism of you. But when I tell our team that we can be better, I only mean it in a positive way. I think all small business owners out there need to start looking at themselves the same way.  There are times when you need to step back and figure out the weak links in the chain and find solutions to make them stronger.  It's not bad to admit that you don't do something well -- as long as you are willing to do something to change it.

For example: currently our photography team isn't good at connecting with clients after they get their final product.  We see some of them here and there, but now that we have so many clients, it's hard for us to remember to send out anniversary cards, or go out to lunch from time to time.  This is an area where I think our team can be better.  It is not something that we can fix instantly. It will, without a doubt, take time and energy. We know this, but that doesn't mean that we don't try to get better.

Your business is always a work in progress and you need to start looking at it that way, and if you can't then you need to find someone who can. Which is exactly what I do for our team.  Sometimes I have to tell Jeff or Brooke that they could have done better because I have made myself an impartial viewer.  I often say to Brooke, "If I were a bride, what would I think of that?"  You don't have to be a wedding photographer to have that view either, just insert your client into that sentence.  For walk in love. it's "If I walked into this store what would I think? What direction would I go? What grabs my eye right away? Is it easy to understand what things are? etc." Sometimes just asking these hypothetical questions out loud to yourself, or with your team, will give you the answer quite clearly!

Fix things. Sometimes things that need to be fixed only take minutes or seconds. But, sometimes things are a bit harder and might take money, but that doesn't mean you don't start to save to make them happen.  Right now walk in love. desperately needs a new website/web store that better integrates with our retail store's inventory. But, as you can imagine, that is going to take some serious money and we aren't ready for it now -- so we have to work with what we have.  And that's okay.  I am not saying that you have to fix every problem today, but you have to at least be aware of the problems and have an action plan on how and when to fix them.  Even though we can't afford the new site now, we have been e-mailing designers to figure out pricing and how much of a budget the project will need and how we will save for it.

Try to stay away from quick, cheap fixes.  If you need a new website make sure you find the right designer for the job and not just whoever is cheapest. Because more often than not, you get what you pay for.  So even though your new, cheap website might seem awesome right now, you'll probably want something better sooner than you think.  Quick, cheap fixes almost always end up costing more money.

Stay impartial.  Critique yourself or your team often, but make sure they understand it's for the greater good and it's not mean spirited.  If your whole team has the attitude that they can be better, your business will start to take off because everyone will constantly be putting out their best work. Clients will notice.

Don't be afraid.  It's scary to start pointing out things that need work! Because as soon as you do it means you have to start fixing them.  It's kind of like when you finally admit (out loud, to someone) you have to break-up with your boyfriend/girlfriend.  You can act like everything is fine... but, as soon as those words come out they require action.  Don't be afraid of it! And don't get overwhelmed by it!  Some of the things will take time and that's okay.  Acknowledging them is so important though!

Never Give Up.  This is one of the most common phrases used in our house.  Brooke and I use it for the simplest things -- like when we are looking for our keys or planning our budgets! And as a small business owner you have to have this attitude. There will always be something else ahead of you to tackle.

Keep Moving.  Whether you are in your first year of self employment or your 20th, it's so important to never stop moving, adapting and critiquing.  I think that when businesses stop moving that's when they start to go out of business.  It doesn't mean that you have to be changing things wildly all the time, that is definitely not what I am saying.  It just means that you have to understand your customer, what you are offering, and the best way to connect the two.

I think that your business is only as good as you let it be.  So many business books talk about how you are most likely the problem with your business, but you are also the solution.  We Can Be Better is a great battle cry that all business' should have -- and it starts with you.