The Pivot...

Pivot is a term I learned at a young age when growing up on a basketball court.  In basketball, a Pivot is a movement in which a player with the ball steps once or more in any direction with the same foot while the other foot(pivot foot) is kept at its point of contact with the floor.  This move…in basketball, and in life, sometimes is an underutilized move.

In this world, we are taught at a young age that you have to pick a path.  You pick a career, you pick a school, you pick a sport, you pick the city you want to live in.  Once you pick, you work hard and continue down that path. No turns, no stops, no change lanes.  You pick a destination and you continue on that road.  Most of the time, other options or changes are not discussed, or heaven forbid, they are deemed as a “failure” because you didn’t stay on the same path.  I don’t believe in this method.

Here is where I like to put in a PIVOT.

Recently, I decided to move out of a 1300 square foot studio that I worked hard on for 3 years to build my business in.  It had everything I needed. Space for all my things, room to have an office, big dressing and makeup room, and a separate bathroom.  I built walls and painted, even put a new bathroom vanity in because I wanted it to look good and on brand with my business.  All of this work, and 3 years, seemed to go by in a blink of an eye. I photographed over 100+ sessions and had some great events in that space.  I had large images of my work in the windows, a dream I had wanted for as far back as I can remember.  I was blessed to have been in such a great space. But a shift was happening in me and my business and after looking over the last 3 years, doing lots of praying, I realized a decision needed to be made at the end of my lease.  

I made the decision to move my physical office and studio location back to my home, and instantly I felt a sense of relief that I had made that decision and I knew that was the path God wanted me on. Soon, I was posed with the question. “How come you want to move when you did all that work?”.  It wasn’t that I didn’t like the space, or that I was quitting.  Agendas, plans and priorities change and the studio just wasn’t working in the capacity that I thought I needed any longer.  I needed to PIVOT, to discover what is next for me and my business.

In business, a quarterly, yearly and even ideally a monthly assessment needs to be taken to see where you are, what you need to do, and where you want to go. Not just in financials, but in processes, systems, client management, and the health of owners and employees.  In doing this, I realized I wanted more creative freedom from just the single place I was located.  Many times I met clients at their home and created portraits in a meaningful place, and other times I needed only a small shooting area in the studio to create what I needed before heading out on location. Also my studio space served a need at the time because right after COVID, my husband also was working from home, AND we had 3 children who were home and had lots of things.  It was a lot of family and business in one area that just didn’t work.   So after doing that analysis, I realized that maybe after all the dreaming and planning, and thinking that what I needed was a studio space to be successful, turned out that I didn’t need a studio space at all.  I didn't need that space to continue down my dream path.

This was my PIVOT. 

As I take a moment to craft what my new plan and new objective looks like, I have to remember the planted foot in this pivot.  What is the planted foot you may ask? It is what I am rooted in. In my business, in my life, and in my soul. It's when I go back and connect with my mission, my vision, my passion.  I find that I have everything that I need to succeed.  It’s my WHY.  I have always had everything that I need to succeed already in me.  My heart. So that pivot foot is firmly planted in Gods plan for me, and my life and my business.  The moving foot will change and flow with what I need and how I need to adapt to continue down that road. 

So for many watchers, listeners and observers and for those who love me thru it all. 

I AM STILL HERE.  

I'm still taking portraits, creating art, and giving confidence to my clients one beautiful piece at a time and I can't wait to do more and more of it!!! 

So just like in basketball, sometimes you have to pivot and change directions when an opponent comes to block you.  We can’t change what happens to us in life, but we can pivot to get a better look at where we need to go.  

Cheers to this next pivot and thank you for being there with me for all these years:)