Create space to know what you think.
My best advice for small business owners + finding your voice is to create quiet space to know what you think. It is essential to finding your voice and developing your brand position. I’m writing this blog post during the COVID-19 quarantine where we’re all home with a lot more time on our hands. Every time I open my social media, my email and podcasts, there are a thousand plus opportunities to learn from experts in so many fields and they are all right at my fingertips. Each one has an amazing thing to teach that will in fact help me be a better person, mom, wife, photographer, business owner and definitely dress more stylishly. In a world filled with so much noise my anxiety escalates just thinking about all of the opportunities because I want to do all the things and my FOMO kicks in. I’m sure every one of these tips and tutorials will absolutely change my life, or at least I hope.
We’re living in an age of amazing information where you can literally become an expert in anything with a Google search bar.
Thank you YouTube and online courses, this is a huge temptation for a small business owner that doesn’t have a solid game plan, roadmap or direction. It is also dangerous for those of us who don’t have clarity on our lives, businesses and what unique thing we have to offer to the world that is our best contribution.
I fall into this trap of chasing shiny new things and changing directions often.
When I was about two years into my business journey, after I had mastered my camera, my Photoshop skills, and was making some money, I was overwhelmed. I didn’t have my own voice yet photographically. I didn’t really sit down and figure out what my best yes was or what I could go big on in my business or in my life. I desperately needed to find my voice, both as a photographer and a business owner, so I started collecting these gurus. I was listening to all the top podcast in my industry. Voices like Rachel Hollis, Jenna Kutcher, Gary Vaynerchuk, and Amy Porterfield and Marie Forleo filled my earbuds daily. I was looking online to Pinterest and Instagram and to other more seasoned photographers to follow in hopes that my work would maybe someday begin to resemble the level that they had reached.
I was signing up for online courses right and left trying to learn about business, marketing, SEO.
I was drowning in information and suffering from major anxiety trying to do it all and hustle, hustle, hustle. Then I realized all these gurus I collecting were giving me tactical advice and helping me implement ideas, but I didn’t have direction. I didn’t have my own ideas or my own voice because I had never taken the time to actually discern what I personally wanted to say. What did I have to offer the world? Where was my voice in all this? Emily P. Freeman in her book, The Next Right Thing, lays out a process for finding clarity. The first step is to create room for your soul to breathe. For me, this meant hitting the pause button on all the voices and getting off social media for a time. Don’t worry, I’m not suggesting that social media is evil, that you have to take a break forever, it’s just a quick sabbatical. It meant finding a quiet place to allow my brain to think, process and organize all of that information that was swimming around in my head.
Let’s just say I spent a lot of time on long walks with no earbuds and journaling. This process of getting quiet and allowing my soul to breathe was the beginning of helping me find my voice. It’s not the easy work, it’s not shiny and it’s not sexy, but it is the most important thing that I have ever done for my business. While there is no magic formula and I’m not saying my way will work for everyone, I encourage you to hit the pause button on all those noises that flood your day to day if you find yourself losing or not having your own voice. I started keeping a journal and writing down random thoughts and hopes of looking for some common threads. Pay attention to what you are drawn to and what you’re curious about. Notice what makes your heart rise and what feels heavy and comfortable and not right for you. Spend some time getting to know yourself again. Spend some time in prayer asking for guidance and direction.
While this is an ongoing process I have uncovered so many things and found new directions for my photography, my business, and my personal dreams.
My most recent discovery is that I have to write to know what I think. Good old fashioned pen to paper with a lined composition journal. I’m currently in the 30 day writing challenge to create and refine my message. It is through writing these journal entries that I am learning what I think and learning what my voice is looking like in this new part of my life. The exciting thing is that I’m seeing some big changes coming both personally and professionally, but more on those in a future post. Today I leave you with these thoughts in hoping that my journey will get you thinking about your own. Once you have personal clarity, you can find those select gurus who will help you along that journey and listen to them and listen well. Knowing your direction and your voice will help you filter out everything else and it is so freeing, I promise.
SENIOR | FAMILY | TEENS | BRANDING
Shelly Niehaus Photography is a Boise, ID-based branding and headshot photographer. Shelly specializes in professional headshot photography, personal branding photography, and lifestyle photography. Shelly serves the greater Treasure Valley area including Boise, Meridian, Eagle, and Nampa.
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