We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Bianca Flanagan a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Bianca, thanks for joining us today. Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?

I AM happier as a business owner! Being a mom of two small kids, I wanted to work, but I didn’t want to spend too much time away from the home (and let’s be honest, daycare is essentially a second mortgage.) I wanted the opportunity to step out of the mom role, and jump into something that was my own. Something where I can be social with other adults, stimulate my creative side, and just grow in a new area.

There are definite downsides, where I drift into wondering how a “regular” job would fit into our lives. Being a business owner, I take on every role. Yes, I’m the photographer, but i’m also the editor, the marketing manager, the social media manager, customer service, etc. It’s a type of job where I have to be SO intentional about setting boundaries and being present in my personal life, otherwise I can just think about my to-do list 24/7.

The idea of a regular job where I can leave work at work sounds nice, but ultimately, I feel like where i’m at works best for me and my family. The flexibility in getting to set my own hours and decide how I spend my time has been too valuable to give up.

Bianca, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Bianca Flanagan and I am a family photographer! This wasn’t something I had in mind as a career growing up. It sort of fell in my lap and I am SO grateful for it. When my girls where small, I just wanted to learn how to take better photos of them. I got a camera, watched youtube videos, and then I started to invest in some education courses. A short while later, I had friends asking if I ever took photos of other families, and that’s when I considered actually diving into the professional photography world!

It started off slow, and my style and process has changed over the years, but by word of mouth and people stumbling across my social media accounts, it actually grew into a legitimate business.

I tried a few types of photography, but ultimately, my heart was set on families. Kids just grow so fast, and I want to help families have photos that really represent their kids and family in the season they’re in. My approach is more child-led and play focused. Yes, we’ll look at the camera for some photos, but I also want parents to throw their kids up in the air, run around and chase each other, have a little dance party, or even just walk around and explore their surroundings.

A fun little perk I also offer is a client closet and help with styling. Parents are already deciding so many things day to day, that having to coordinate everyone’s outfits can usually be the most stressful part of a photo session. My goal is to make taking family photos as easy and fun as possible.

At the end of the day, I want my clients to look good, feel good, and look back at their photos and be so glad they booked a session.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to unlearn comparing myself to others. When I was just starting out, I was so overwhelmed with the things that I had to do, but even more so with the things I thought I SHOULD be doing. Social media is super cool, but it also makes it too easy to compare yourself to what others are doing and how they’re doing it.

I had to remind myself that things take time. I can’t do everything all at once, and what works for others may not work for me. I had to figure out the steps I needed to take for myself specifically, bite off a little bit at a time, and keep my blinders on.

Everyone has different life circumstances, different amounts of time and money to work with, and some have been building their business longer (like years longer) than I have. How can I compare myself to someone in a different position? It would be unfair to all of us.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I take pride in my client experience. The feedback I hear the most is that working with me was such a great experience, I made it so easy and stress free, and my communication is top notch.

Making my clients feel heard, providing an abundance of information and communication, ACTUALLY helping them be prepared, and being calm and flexible when kids don’t want to be at a session is all part of my brand and how I operate. Because of this, word of mouth is a huge part of how I gain new clients, and why so many come back time and time again.

Kindness (with boundaries) and communication go a long way.

Contact Info:

• Website: biancaflanagan.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/biancaflanaganphoto
• Facebook: facebook.com/biancaflanaganphoto