Everyone has a passion. Being able to turn your passion into a profitable business is an amazing accomplishment, but when life takes an unexpected turn and your business becomes a demanding career, the passion fizzles out. Missy Neely experienced just that with her photography business when her husband lost his corporate career without notice. See how she turned her life around and gained back her love for photography with one phone call.
Kristina Mcguire of Classic Creations Photography in Clarksville, TN.
From Passion to Paycheck
I have always had a love of the arts, and in particular, photography.Capturing the purest and most innocent moments of life in a split-second is my passion. In 2011, I began shooting professionally and to my surprise, it quickly took off! I specialize in artistic and conceptual portraits for women; Pin-Up, Retro, Vintage, Modern Glamour, and Boudoir. I love making women feel gorgeous and proud of themselves. Who would have thought that my love for photography would turn into a paycheck?
The Turning Point
In 2016 I was viciously attacked by a dog. The attack was pretty severe and put me out of photography for quite some time. Most of 2017 and through the beginning of 2018, my spirits were pretty down. Between the PTSD and anxiety from the attack, my shoots were all over the place. The lack of consistent shooting slowly made me lose my passion for photography.
Kallisto Lowery of Uvudu Imaging in Nashville, TN
When my husband Donovan lost his job without notice, our world stopped. There were no signs that the company was in trouble nor did we have a back-up plan. I began having to accept any and all photography opportunities that came my way. My passion quickly grew into me shooting extremely long days and still not even matching what Donovan used to bring in.
One night my husband came home from a networking meeting and said he “signed me up for this thing”. You could say I was less than thrilled to watch a webcast about it after shooting all day. This webcast was about a company whose products were green, safe, and inexpensive. Well, we were only 20 minutes into the call and I couldn’t take notes fast enough. I was so intrigued!
I decided I needed to try this store and their products as I had nothing to lose and I loved the message of the company: Better products at a better price. It didn’t take long for me to not only see the value of shopping this way, but I knew so many people who would benefit as well!
Putting Fuel Back Into My Fire
After a few short weeks of teaching my friends, family, and anyone else who I could reach about these amazing products and how they’re changing my life and I was able to take a step back from my “job”.
Being a part of this great company allowed me, for the first time in months, to reevaluate my photography business. Photography is my passion again! I don’t dread picking up the camera because I know I have the option of doing so!
Because of the new income that my side hustle is bringing in, I am able to shoot sessions that I want to shoot because I want to shoot them! Not because I have to! This extra income has truly given my family financial freedom. The weight of finances is no longer bearing down on me.
Last month, our family had an unexpected bill come up. I didn’t have to quickly book another photoshoot to cover it; I didn’t have to borrow money. I had the money thanks to this company!
Being a part of this company has done many things for me; but most importantly, it has given me purpose again through my passion for photography.
Kallisto Lowery of Uvudu Imaging in Nashville, TN