We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Aubrey Tran a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Aubrey, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.
If you truly want to take life into your own hands and make your dreams come true, there is no way around it – you have to take many risks. If something equally terrifies and excites you, you’re probably in the right place.
Taking risks to reach your dreams requires lots of vulnerability and courage but it is almost always worth it. You learn more from accepting a job just to figure out that you hate it and want to try something new, than sitting around for years contemplating if you really would like to be an interior designer or not. Follow the dream, take the risk, and learn about yourself. Either you will love it or you will learn and confidently move on without regrets.
Taking a leap of faith has paid off in my life more times than I can count. Two risks that stand out are deciding to buy a one-way flight from my small Michigan town to the island of Hawaii with about ten dollars to my name. Then a few years later I took the leap of faith to start my own business with virtually no entrepreneurship experience. In both cases I was terrified. In both cases I had so many reasons in my head why I would not succeed. In both cases I had many friends and family telling me it was a bad idea. Not to say my friends and family aren’t supportive; I know they love me and want the absolute best for me. The thing is, those that deeply love us and want the best for us are speaking from their own fears in order to protect us. But living your life based on other people’s fears is no way to live at all.
When I decided to move to Hawaii from a small town in the midwest, I was terrified. I almost didn’t go. One day when I was driving my hour-long commute home after a full week of working and bartending on the side, I was thinking about the progression of my life. After high school I wanted to take a year off and travel but society makes you feel that if you don’t go right into college, you won’t be successful or you will never go. Then after college society makes you feel if you don’t get a good job right away and start moving up, then you’ll never be successful. (Don’t get me wrong, I am a strong proponent of hard work, building your career, and planning financially for life, but when you start to realize your hard work is directing you to a goal that isn’t truly even your dream, you realize you’re climbing the wrong ladder.)I thought to myself, when do I get to do what I want to do? That night, I bought a one way ticket to Kona, Hawaii. I was only supposed to be gone for 3 months. They were even holding my position at work for me. But the risk paid off ten-fold and I loved my new life there. After three months, I called my boss and told her I was staying in Hawaii. It has now been over three years living and learning in a new place that is much different than where I grew up. This move helped me learn so much about myself and what I want from life (not what others want from me). But most of all, it made me realize the power of action. Just take the risk. I don’t want to look back on my life with a ton of what-ifs. I want to look back and say, yes I took the leaps and I learned and grew from them all.
The second big risk that comes to mind is starting and truly plunging full-force into my photography business. For me, this risk took much more vulnerability. My photography is my art. To show your art to the world over and over is nerve wrecking. To offer your art as a service to others can be even more scary. Maybe the most terrifying is the statistic that the majority of businesses in the United States fail within the first five years. But, I decided to look at it in a different way. Even if my business did fail, it didn’t matter because I would learn. The amount that I have learned about myself, others, the world, and business through this experience is absolutely priceless.
You may be thinking, “Okay listen, no matter how much I’d love to, I am not ready to jump on a one way flight to live on an island in the middle of the Pacific.” That’s totally okay! Take risks that make sense for YOUR LIFE and YOUR GOALS. We have to take risks in the areas of our lives that we want to change and improve. If you want a meaningful relationship, take risks such as joining new organizations where you can meet people or ask someone for their number next time you are out and about.
The more we do things that scare us, the less scared we are. Life is not a one way path. There are so many twists and turns it can take. But taking risks and being vulnerable opens us up to so many new paths and possibilities.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
For those of you reading this who don’t know me, I am a traveling wedding photographer based in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. My passion for my business is driven from my love for being creative and my joy of being around others. Growing up, I did well in school but my teachers never forgot to mention that I talked way too much. In college I wanted to study something that married my interests in business and creativity so I decided on Public Relations and Advertising from a book of Majors my first day. Though I am no longer working directly in my field of study, I have combined my creativity, business enthusiasm, and need to constantly be chatting with others in order to build a business that I love.
I would describe my photography brand as joyful, authentic, and timeless. I want my work to tell a story about a moment or big day in your life. I also know that not everyone is used to being in front of the camera so I use a variety of prompts and poses to help my clients to have fun and relax.
One thing that people say makes me stand out is that I genuinely enjoy getting to know and having fun with all of my clients. I think the photoshoot experience and comfort level definitely shows in my final photographs.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
Though I have most definitely not mastered this one – I have had to unlearn to be a complete people pleaser. There is no doubt that I am a strong willed person but there have also been so many instances in my life where I lost sleep over trying to please anyone and everyone in my life. I especially had to unlearn this as I became a leader of organizations with over a hundred people or more. In these experiences I realized that no matter what decision you make, someone will be unhappy. From these experiences, I learned that I am in the position to make big decisions for a reason and had to go with my gut to do what I believed would benefit everyone. I have gotten a lot better and making a decision and going from there.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
I am a firm believer that those who genuinely want to help people and bring value to the lives of others will succeed. I believe in knowing my worth but also being generous, going out of my way to make sure I am accommodating others, and genuinely loving and being there for the people in my life. Be a good person first and success will follow.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.aubreyelizabethphotography.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aubreyelizabeth.photography/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Aubreyelizabethphotography/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aubreytran
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHEcERqVYZihvDje_XZ2i1w
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/aubrey-elizabeth-photography-kailua-kona
- Other: https://www.google.com/search?gs_ssp=eJwFwUEKgCAQAEC6Bv2gg5fOraWUPqFf7KqbUZCIgfX6Ztpu3Ecpr-TnTGeExg5QF6MV8OpYEwXtZgvVEyKpSa3MLA3C1uNDObwiXMeHFEoUKd7l3jOm-P4-_xuQ&q=aubrey+elizabeth+photography&oq=aubrey+eli&aqs=chrome.2.69i59l2j46i175i199i512j0i512j46i512j69i57j0i512j69i61.3091j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
Image Credits
Aubrey Elizabeth Photography LLC