Leeann Marie | Pittsburgh Wedding Photographers

Today is my birthday. It’s the beginning of my last year in my 20′s, although the first year in my 20′s seems like forever ago. I’ve already taken advantage of my free yummy dinner from Big Burrito (we went to Soba! Yum!), and we’re heading to History Uncorked tonight. Lots of celebrating and people doing nice things for me, and all truly appreciated. Thank you!

I, however, would like to not post a list of “What did I learn this past year” or “What do I want to do while I’m 29“, but instead I’d rather like to tell you about my parents. After all, they’re the reason I even get a birthday, so they should be celebrated too.

My Dad:

I have this memory. I can’t even remember how old I was, but I would guess young… around 5. My dad always stood in the same place in our kitchen – at the end of the counter with a Pepsi in a clear white glass watching TV and monitoring what went on in the house. He would stand in his spot and pull up one of the kitchen table chairs (his chair) and rest one of his feet on it’s arm. Sounds silly as I’m writing this, but that’s just my dad’s spot!

I would sometimes sit in the chair and look up to him and talk to him. But on this day that I remember, we were singing. We were singing Somewhere Over The Rainbow together and he told me that I had a good voice. My dad has always been a great singer, and I always love it when he sings like Elvis. I remember feeling like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz and thinking that I could make magic happen. That I was his special girl and together we would always love to sing.

He’s the kind of dad that had my brother and I out doing yard work at an early age, who taught me how to use tools, and who bought me a new car when my used one had bad brakes. He’s the dad who calls me “Shorty”, even though I’m taller than him. He’s the dad who makes the best stew and soup and who would stand on the back porch and watch the Monroeville fireworks with us. My dad’s the best, and I’m glad he taught me to remember that birds fly over the rainbow… why, then oh why, can’t I?

My Mom:

I was always in dance classes. Tap, jazz, ballet – you name it. Once, I took gymnastics, but my mom told me that I was so bad at it that the other mom’s would say “That poor little girl can’t even walk on the balance beam..” and she’d have to break it to them that the “poor little girl” was hers! Despite the fact that I was no good at gymnastics, I was really good at tap dancing. I loved that it was loud and bold and fun! I loved smiling big while I danced on stage and practicing with my heeled tap shoes on the floor of our garage.

Every week I went to dance class, and every week my mom would come with me and sit and watch. Always. And she would come to every single dance recital, even though she had seen the dance already close to a million times. She would always tell me that I was the best one up there (even if I wasn’t), and she would bring me treats sometimes too. She would bring my grandmother to some of the special nights and together they would watch 20 other dance groups until it was finally my chance.  She helped with fittings of my sequined costumes and told me when my posture was poor.  We would have inside jokes about some of the other girls in dance class who seemed to have two left feet (whoops!) – she’s always also been my partner in crime.

My mom is the lady who helped keep my speeding tickets a secret from dad (he knows about them now!), who I can spend an hour on the phone talking about who-knows-what, and who I know always wants to give more and more when really she should be taking time for herself. She’s my best friend.

Yesterday I received an email from one of my brides. She expressed that she was hopefully finishing up her last year in her current job and looking out on an unknown path. One of mystery and excitement – a new career – working for herself or stepping way outside of her comfort zone.

These emails hit me to my very gut. They make me want to write back novels and novels and novels of encouragement and warnings. But, inevitably, I always have to refrain myself from ending every email with ::hugs xoxo hugs go get ‘em!:: 

I’ve written about self-employment before, but I think that there can never be too much encouragement or advice out there about the topic, so here it goes!

Some big things to know about being self-employed, why it matters, and why your dreams are bigger than anything on this list:

You don’t want to end up here.

1) YOU HAVE TO PAY MORE TAXES

Yep, MORE. Why? Because your employer actually takes out 7.65% of your taxes and pays them for you. When you’re self-employed, you have to pick up that %, and 30% or more of what you make gets paid to the government. I try to be really proactive with this and have a separate tax account, where 30% of every single client payment goes right into the fund for the Big Man. I’m not complaining about taxes. If I tried to avoid paying them completely then I would be in jail, so… I’ll take the alternative! Just know that you have to be really smart about doing this or your April could suck big time. (I’ll end this one with a  :)  )

No roadmap. Not even a Shroadmapz.

2) THERE’S NO ROADMAP

No one out there will give you a handbook and tell you that it will lead to your success. You have to experiment and be willing to fail. It seems that every month I try something different. Some things are wins and some barely are noticed. You’ll get bummed out a lot when things fail, and you might want to give up. Keep in mind that the BIGGEST way to fail … is to quit. The BEST way to succeed is to try again after a failure. Just keep going. Believe in yourself and your product and there will be a way. You will find it.

You are your brand.

3) YOUR STOREFRONT IS ONLINE

I put this one in there because it’s a personal gripe of mine (hehe). It’s 2013! Your storefront is digital, so please. please. please. if you’re going to start a business make sure your website ROCKS and that it says a lot about who you are as a person.

People may think you’re crazy. Do it anyway.

4) PEOPLE MAY THINK YOU’RE CRAZY

When I started my business I got a lot of “Wait. You went to engineering school, why would you snap pictures?” (It’s not just snapping pictures). You’ll get this, especially if you want to enter a creative field. Be prepared and, again, believe in yourself. Others may not get it, but as long as you do – that’s all that matters!

Make living healthy important.

5) HAVE HEALTH INSURANCE 

Brad works a full-time job, so we could get it through his employer. However! We don’t, actually! I’m on my own Highmark individual plan. It was a less expensive alternative for us (look into this… sometimes employer plans are more). Keep in mind that if you hope to get your own health insurance, you’ll need to be in tip top shape. I was denied the first time I submitted and they told me it was going to be $$$. Got checked up and now it’s good to go. Weigh your options and make sure you take care of your mind and body no matter what.

Be a self-starter. Even when staring at a beach.

6) YOU MAY WORK ALONE

This can be tough! Make sure you’re a self-starter and that you’re prepared to not be around people all day! It can be weird, and sometimes lonely. I make sure to get out of the house and hit up the gym just to chat with folks and people watch. Schedule lunches and dinners. Make time with colleagues and friends. Don’t go crazy.

What other self-employment questions do you have? Are you considering making the leap?

Oh these winter months are still lingering, but I definitely saw the first bulbs of flowers blooming while I was in NYC this weekend, so spring is on the horizon!  What’s new these days? Well, just working and traveling and enjoying life! I’ve got a few things up my sleeve between my fashion blog, business coaching, and wedding photography – that means lots of fun events on the horizon!

Loren, Melissa, and I are gearing up for a big event at the Omni William Penn and are excited about the new brides and grooms we’re hearing from. Loren is booking up for the season and my calendar is open for 2014 – lots of fresh new faces and we love meeting everyone!

For me, it’s all about a few things:

Otter Box.*sad face* I’ve always tried to avoid an Otter Box because I thought they were clunky, but alas, I dropped my iPhone again at the gym the other day, so off to the Verizon store I went! They have new models that are a bit more slim now, and so… I am an official Otter Box convert. I think Brad is happy.

Fashion blogging! Call it a random project, but I just wanted to do something different – so fashion blogging it is! I’m currently working on a series of “What to wear in Vegas“, since I’ll be heading there at the beginning of March to speak at the largest photography conference of the year! This set was created using Polyvore, which is awesome for helping me put outfits together! 

While I was in NYC, I was sitting in Cafeteria eating some Sunday morning brunch – a tradition I wish we had in Pittsburgh (brunching). I was mid granola-parfait-bite when this truck caught my eye. And now all I think about are Insomnia Cookies and how the guy that started that company is pretty much the smartest person on earth.

I have such a love affair with New York City, and every time Stefon comes on Weekend Update I get really giddy. He’s by far my favorite SNL character, and the places he describes are seriously hilarious. Needless to say, I think I finally had my first Stefon experience this past visit when we visited….. Graffiti! This place was described by Diana as “a new place everyone is talking about in the East Village”, and it was SO out of an SNL skit. It was mini! Like seriously mini, and we had “community dining” just because the restaurant really could only fit about three tables. The food was super unique and I was just waiting for Bill Hader to pop out of the kitchen on roller skates.  Don’t know who Stefon is? Video below!