Your Business Gets To Support Your Art, If You Ask It To
My talented friend Marcia decided to close her beloved photo studio, but when she started moving out and handing in her keys, she felt some panic that she was giving up on a huge part of what makes her happy. I got a chance to speak to her this morning and something really amazing happened.
When Letting Go Brings You Back
Sometimes, a decision feels final, until it doesn’t. For Marcia, a brilliant photographer and fashion historian, closing her beloved studio felt like the end of a chapter she wasn’t quite ready to finish. After recovering from surgery and stepping away from photography for four months, she asked herself the question many of us secretly dread: Do I actually miss it?
Muddling the answer was this: her business was not profitable and she hated a lot of the ‘business-y’ tasks, leading her to believe that she was a failure or that business wouldn’t work for someone like her.
As the bills for her dormant business piled up and she packed up her equipment, turned in her keys, and took down the backdrops she had so carefully chosen, something surprising happened. She felt it in her chest—a sharp, undeniable knowing: she wasn’t ready to give this creative outlet up.
She thought she’d made peace with walking away, but the act of closing her studio shocked her into clarity. This wasn’t just a job or a phase of her life. Photography—and everything that came with it—was part of her. Letting it go wasn’t freedom; it was a kind of heartbreak.
A Post, a Plea, and a New Beginning
I’d been following Marcia’s journey from the sidelines, cheering her on as a quiet fan and occasional collaborator. So when I saw her post—raw, unpolished, and sharing what it’s really like to make a decision like this—it stopped me in my tracks:
"Somebody book a shoot or take me to shoot. I need to get back into photography! This ish is for the birds...what is my life right now!??"
I texted her immediately. She responded in 22 seconds flat. (Marcia’s fast when she knows she’s ready.) “Let’s talk,” I said.
Because here’s the truth: I know that post-big-decision feeling well. It’s been my traveling companion more times than I can count. And sometimes, all we need is someone who sees our brilliance more clearly than we do in the moment. Someone to remind us of what we’re capable of.
A Creative Outlet, Not Just a Business
Marcia has a stable job that pays the bills, but her creative work is where she truly comes alive. The way she weaves fashion history into her photography, the attention she pours into styling and posing—it’s impossible not to see her passion and talent shine. But here’s the thing: what became clear in our conversation is that for years, she didn’t believe the world would make space for her to work in the way she actually wanted.
So she built a business that made sense. So many of us do this. It looked like the businesses around her, run by talented photographers who worked in studios and offered affordable portraits. She (like so many of us) undercharged and over-delivered, adding hours of styling for free because she craved the creative challenge. But it never quite works, not for the long-run anyway. The math doesn’t math. The energy isn’t sustainable. She revealed that she wasn’t fulfilled even though she loved her clients. I can totally relate.
When she told me all this, I raised my hand high because I’ve been there too. We all know what it feels like to give our gifts away because it’s easier than asking for what we really want. But the truth is, that’s not generosity—it’s exhaustion dressed as selflessness. And honestly clients are getting something they didn’t always ask for, which can sometimes feel weird for them, too. I’ve had to face clients at the end of a project where they’re getting way more than they asked, and who are not quite sure how to feel about it.
Building the Business She Truly Wants
However, once we started talking about her bigger vision, it was like a switch flipped. The business Marcia wants—the one that feels aligned with her creativity and purpose—came into focus. She didn’t need to follow someone else’s model. She realized she needed to create her own.
We talked about what she loves most: the stories she tells through her lens, the intersection of fashion history and photography, the vibrant, playful energy of styling. Slowly, the pieces fell into place. Instead of trying to fit into an industry box, she started thinking about building something bold, beautiful, and uniquely hers.
Marcia’s next chapter (if she chooses to build it) won’t just be about taking photos. It’ll be about creating a digital fashion magazine—a space where her words, her images, and her vision come together to delight her fans and invite others into her creative world. This isn’t just about “getting back into photography.” It’s about centering herself as the artist she’s always been. And really showing others her talent by making HERSELF the client first. We chatted about her producing quarterly shoots with the folks she admires around Cleveland and her beloved clients to tell stories that delight HER. This is a different approach than trying to find clients with the vision. She realized that she gets to be the client and in doing so, produce her art free from the constraints of a birthday shoot or 30 minute portrait shoot. The vision for what she really enjoys gets to take center stage in the business plan, not be relegated to the sidelines waiting around for the perfect client with the perfect vision and perfect budget.
The Art of Starting Again
Marcia’s story is a reminder that sometimes we have to let go of what isn’t working to make space for what could. Closing her studio wasn’t a failure; it was an act of courage—a decision to stop doing what wasn’t serving her and start imagining what could.
We’ve already planned a spring shoot, and I’ll be helping her bring her digital fashion magazine to life. Watching her lean into her art, build something that feels true, and finally take up space as the creative force she is—it’s inspiring.
If you’re standing in the middle of a creative crossroads, Marcia’s journey might speak to you. You don’t have to give up your gifts. You don’t have to shrink yourself to fit what the world expects. You can build something bold and beautiful that centers you.
What bold project is waiting inside you? What’s one small step you could take today to bring it to life? The world is waiting—and so are your biggest dreams.
PS– If you want to have a perspective-changing conversation like Marcia and I had, schedule a call with me here.