LIFE UPDATE

• We’re taking the kids camping this week to my family’s annual campground.
• I’ve switched up my morning routine and it includes an app called Sleep cycle and Mushroom coffee – DM me on Instagram if you’re into it @majestapatterson
• I bought wine in a box (for camping), we’ll see how that goes.

EPISODE

Reasons why I’m creating an online course:

1. I’ve always been drawn to education and helping my friends with their businesses. I often found myself in the role of giving advice, going to lunch (or coffee) to allow others to pick my brain, seek my insight and opinion or offer marketing advice.
2. Creating an online business became appealing to me when I realized how much freedom it could give me. While I’ll be involved in the day to day, this business is less one-on-one while still being able to make a big impact.
3. Less time away from the kids, specifically, on weekends.
4. Lastly, I was really sad and stressed trying to figure out how to raise my kids while being passionate about my business. I’ve wasted a lot of time doing the wrong things to try to get to the right things. My entire goal is to help my mompreneur members find that physical AND mental balance.
   1. The pattern of women who start businesses based on a passion
   2. Birth businesses then birth babies.
   3. They don’t know how to balance both.
   4. Without sacrificing mental stability which just leads to physical and mental health problems and burnout.
   5. It weighs on their self worth, their marriages, their ability to be the mom they want to be, their self care, and their identity.
   6. It’s soo hard.
   7. I have no idea where this course will lead but here’s my hopes: it will create a community of women, mom entrepreneurs, who are badass CEO’s and run their businesses, lives and motherhood with ownership and ease. 
   8. And look: this is my work in progress. This is my personal goal, ulteimately. I’m on the journey with you and them. I feel that it’s not a destination and it’s something we can continue to evolve and change.
   9. I’ve learned and gained a lot of tools and tips during my 3.5 year journey thus far that excites me and inspires me to help other moms find the same fulfillment that I’ve been able to receive.

Which leads me to what’s going on with my photography business:

• As of right now: nothing is changing! Business as usual.
• I’m still booking weddings and still shooting weddings, in fact, I just booked a wedding for 2020 last week and celebrated with champagne.
• I’m still taking on families and will probably forever shoot family mini sessions in the fall, as long as clients are booking.
• Long term, I knew I would never shoot weddings forever. They are physically taxing and no one wants to be away from their family 30 weekends out of the year.
• The only thing that’s really changed with my photography business is that I’ve created more boundaries for it. I’ve limited the weekends I’m away from home, I condense my shoots to 1 or 2 days if possible and I’m always making sure to take at least 1 weekend day off (usually Sunday).

Update on the course progress:

• I’ve set a launch date for the beginning of September.
• While I originally set the launch for Spring, I didn’t anticipate how much work would be involved in creating the course, creating the launch and running a business AND doing it with part-time hours.
• Zach’s job.
• I’ve bought courses worth $199-1495 and I’ve paid A LOT of money for courses that I was disappointed in, there’s no way I want to do this!
• My experience as a photographer, starting my own business, growing the business AND becoming a mom encompasses so much so figuring out the best working flow and experience for my “students” without making it overwhelming and making it bite-sized & enriching is …a balance. It’s been really fun and hair-pulling.