I wrote this back in August when I took their annual family photo on the dirt road and I think it’s worth sharing it again:
“We met in high school and were acquaintances rather than friends. Our paths crossed when we were both home with toddlers and we started having sporadic play dates. Our middle children were born within 2 months of each other and we started spending more time together.
It wasn’t until Brenda was pregnant with her son that we crossed into best friend territory. I wish we’d gotten closer under happier circumstances but it’s funny how tough times bring people together. I took her maternity photos on this dirt road and was with her the night her son was born. We took their first family photo on the same dirt road when he was only a few weeks old and we’ve returned here every summer since.
She’s the kind of friend who shows up on your doorstep at 9:30 pm with cabbage for breastfeeding woes. Who stayed with me in the hospital so my husband could be at home with our older boys after our third son was born. Who knows when I need to get out of my house, and my head, and remember who I am.
I can’t ever thank her enough for her wonderful friendship. So I hope through my photos she knows just how much I love her and her family”
It’s been an exciting few months for Brenda and I. It was probably over a year ago that we joked about her coming to work with me when her youngest started school but the more we talked about it the more that ‘wouldn’t that be funny!’ idea evolved into an actual plan.
I would be lying if I said we didn’t both have reservations. We’ve been best friends for several years and were nervous about doing anything that might jeopardize our friendship. We had some really honest and tough conversations about what could go wrong and what we were afraid of before we moved forward with the plan for her to come and work with me.
We made the announcement official in September with her photo and biography on the website. It’s important to me that my clients know just how invaluable she is to Sara McConnell Photography. As my session assistant for nearly four years she has helped 100s of sessions run smoothly and now as my session coordinator she quite literally handed my sanity back to me on a silver platter. The irony of running a successful business is that the more success you achieve, the less you get to do what you love and now with Brenda behind the scenes helping out I’m able to re-focus my efforts on shooting, editing, teaching, and learning, which is what brings me so much satisfaction.
Running my business has meant a lot of amazing things have come my way in the past five years. Friendships, the ability to be at home with my kids, pursuing a lifelong dream, combining my love of art with my business sense. At the same time there have been a lot of sacrifices and 2016 will be my year to take back some control over my life and business, which quite honestly has felt like trying to stuff a crazed cat into a tub of water for the past 18 months.
When Brenda and I began this journey in September there is one thing she said to me that stuck:
“I’m invested in your success”
From day 1 she has supported my business. She has invested in my sessions, she has referred family members and friends, and she has been patient and kind while I experienced the growing pains of a first time entrepreneur. Those moments where I didn’t want to do it anymore, where I cried, where I felt overwhelmed. When told me that she was invested in my business succeeding I realized that even though her role in my business is now more formal, from Day 1 her support and investment has been 100%.
Expect amazing things from the two of us in 2016. I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I am for what’s to come!
