Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Candy Meynarez . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Candy, appreciate you joining us today. Owning a business isn’t always glamorous and so most business owners we’ve connected with have shared that on tough days they sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have just had a regular job instead of all the responsibility of running a business. Have you ever felt that way?

I absolutely love being a business owner. Definitely something I never even thought possible. Your entire life you go to school being prepped to work for someone else. Being trained to choose the right company. They never really bring up starting your own business. Maybe now things are different.

I remember having to write a paper about what hotel I wanted to work for and really becoming obsessed with this company. Thinking what an honor it would be to be hired by them. I had plenty of regular jobs before starting my own business but having your own business gives you this sense of freedom that you can’t experience working in the corporate world. The fact that I can make my own schedule. Or the fact that I have no need to send my kids to aftercare because I can pick them up. The freedom of being able to go to the doctor when needed, or take a weekend or day off without worrying about being told your time off was not approved.

Now, do not get me wrong, There are days and months where you don’t have time to breathe. You feel like you are drowning and you definitely wonder if working a regular job is a better option for you. But in the big scheme of things, I wouldn’t trade this for the world. I see my friends stuck in the office, unable to pickup their kids or go do groceries in the morning when the store is empty. I see the struggles of leaving the office during rush hour only to have to rush to pick up their kids and get groceries for dinner. Some don’t even have a chance to get groceries because they need to get the kids to their extracurricular activities. Some only get the chance to come home to sleep because there just aren’t enough hours in a day.

Although owning your own business comes with many struggles it is you who is in charge. It is you who is setting boundaries. It is you making the rules. It’s liberating. Starting my business was the best decision I could have made for myself.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Starting a photography business was never a dream or a vision for me. My dream was to be a Gm for a beautiful hotel. I studied hotel and hospitality management at Johnson and Wales University. That is what I wanted really wanted. What changed? Through my studies and internships I realized that this was going to be a job that would in turn, keep me away from home and away from my family. I was going to be one of those executives that don’t have a life. I wanted a family and I wanted to be a young mom so I can’t enjoy my kids. With that career, that was not going to be feasible. Hence why I changed my major to hospitality management. I also added in a cruise concentration because I fell in love with the cruise industry. Restaurants was a definite no for me too.

I stayed with the cruise lines for a couple of years but I really wasn’t making much money at all. I honestly thought it was going to be way better. I considered going into the office as opposed to sales but the opportunity never really presented itself. Instead I was presented with a new opportunity and so I did pharmaceutical sales for 4 years because the pay was way better and the schedule was much more flexible.

Although pictures have always been a huge part of my life it never even crossed my mind to do it for a living. The day I got laid off from my pharmaceutical job back is 2011, was the day I decided that I was going to start my own business. It was rough, starting with nothing and zero idea of what I wanted to do. Zero help too because every photographer I reached out to, either didn’t respond or didn’t help at all. But that makes success even more rewarding. Knowing that I am where I am because I pushed myself to keep going. My family was a huge support system too.

I honestly don’t know what truly sets me apart from others because I don’t really know what others around me are doing. I don’t network much and I don’t really talk to too many other photographers. Not necessarily because I don’t want to but more because I like to be in my little bubble and I absolutely hate drama. There are a handful that I connect with and even then we don’t dive deep into the business side of things. I have one person who I connect with that way and we somewhat specialize in different things. So when she needs help I help her with what I am good at and when I need help she helps me. We take care of each other.

What am I most proud of? The fact that I grew this little empire with nothing. I’m proud that even through all of the downs, I still came out on the other side and although I have a long way to go, I’m still going strong. I truly adore what I do and no one will ever get in the way of that.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

I didn’t. Some may think that’s impossible but it really isn’t. You see, the thing about me is that I have the ability to hunker down and sacrifice for the things I want. I told my husband “I don’t care if I have to eat rice and eggs for the next year, I’m doing this”. All I had when I started was a decent camera. I bought my equipment little by little. I never even took out a loan. In fact I went from making 60+ and having a car, gas, parking and tolls paid for by my pharmaceutical job. I literally started with nothing but a camera. And here I am!!!!!

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

Not so much a strategy but I would have to say that word of mouth has been huge. I want to say that 98% of my clients come to me because their friend or family member recommended me. Back when I used to cover events, people would see the way I was with the kids and they would ask me for my card so I could cover their kids birthday as well. I would show up to some and run into a bunch of other clients. I must say, it’s very rewarding.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.modernimagebycandy.com
• Instagram: Www.instagram.com/modern_image_by_candy
• Facebook: Www.Facebook.com/photographybycandy

Image Credits
Photo courtesy of my husband Mike