Can you roll with it?
Have you ever tried having a photo shoot at home, when your 3-year-old is home? Any mom (or dad) who works from home 
with their kids in tow I’m sure can relate to the standard questions – Mom can I have this? Mom, can you come here? And that list goes on.
Now don’t get me wrong, the main reason I decided to quit my job and start my own business working from home was so I could be at home with them. And I love every minute of it. Some days can be a little hard but it’s by far the best decision I’ve ever made for both me and my family.
Funny stories and dull moments? I think not.
There’s often a funny story to tell and there’s rarely a dull moment. I’m currently working on a redesign for my website and thinking about getting new photos done. This reminded me of the last set of photos I had done with Nichala C. Photography.
A few years ago now, I needed some last minute headshots done. Unfortunately, I was still fairly new in business and headshots were something I had never invested in. And I had a 3-year-old son at home, so going to a studio was kind of out of the question. Lucky for me, I had a photographer I knew well and she came to my home.
Then came the tricky part, how to keep my 3-year old son occupied so I could focus on the shoot. Now everyone knows, your attention is always needed as soon as you become unavailable. To start it was great. He played with his toys and we really got some great photos. But getting towards the end of the shoot, he was growing tired of not having my attention and quite frequently would try to climb into my lap. Thank goodness Nichala was also a family friend and had tons of patience. We were able to finish up the shoot and she was gracious enough to take some of my most cherished shots as you can see here.
Long story short I think that was the day I learned to just roll with it. Sometimes no matter how hard I plan there will always be a hiccup. And rather than get stressed, annoyed, or upset it worked out better than I could have hoped.
Has there been a time when you decided to just roll with it instead of fight it?
Today! I was meeting a client in Dundas for lunch. I always find it pokey to go through the city, so I plugged in my GPS so it could guide me another way. When I was almost to Burlington, I realized it had no clue where I was going and tried to call my client to let her know I’d be late, only to find I didn’t have her cell number saved on my phone. I called home and asked my husband to call the restaurant and let them (and her) know I was on my way, pulled off where I could safely get re-oriented, and eventually arrived at the restaurant nearly half an hour late. It was frustrating and I could have let it ruin my day, but I didn’t. We had a lovely leisurely lunch and by the time we were done, I don’t think either of us even remembered that I’d been late.
That’s awesome Janet! Way to roll with it. 🙂 Thanks for sharing.
I find working with disorganized clients they seem to have trouble managing their time. I get days that are completely booked and all of a sudden they have completely changed. Before I started my business my life was very structured in order to get everything done, housework, work, home routines, getting 3 children to music, sports and homework done. If it was Monday I knew exactly what was scheduled and it was the same every Monday. So becoming flexible and not knowing what was happening from one day to the next took a lot of adjusting on my behalf. Now I have a plan for the day and activities that can be done when the plan changes. Rolling with the flow is part of running your own business and the better you become at it the more productive you will be.