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

Christa, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Almost all entrepreneurs have had to decide whether to start now or later? There are always pros and cons for waiting and so we’d love to hear what you think about your decision in retrospect. If you could go back in time, would you have started your business sooner, later or at the exact time you started?

Yes, most definitely! About ten years ago, I started as a hobbyist photographer right out of college, not really sure how exactly to run a business. As business began to snowball, I wish I had taken the time to learn how to set up systems. At that time, there were not a ton of business coaches, and business owners were not sharing how they got from point A to point B like they do now. Next thing I knew, I needed to legitimize the business because it was more than just a hobby.

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?

I’m a Lincoln Nebraska based Wedding and Family Storytelling Photographer who helps couples to retell their story so that it can be retold for a lifetime. In 2020, I went through some very trying personal endeavors that pushed me to go full time and niche down into Weddings and Families. After several years of only being a part time photographer, I finally went Full Time in 2021, and have not looked back.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

After going full time in October of 2021, within the first few months I had several set backs—from my first wedding cancellation, a personal loss, illness that cost me a wedding, I pushed through slow season and got really scrappy. Flash forward to today (November 2022), my family and I welcome our third child last month, I’m exceeding my previous salary, on track to hitting my financial goals for the year, booked 17 weddings for 2023 + a 2-day convention and won Lincoln’s Choice Awards for 2022 as Best Wedding Photographer!

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

For years (before going full time), I had to unlearn the stories I was telling myself— i.e. “that I wouldn’t make it as FT entrepreneur.” or “I wouldn’t be able to replace my salary in my full time corporate job.” I also had to learn that what you put more time into, you’ll be able to nurture more. The small little steps add up quickly.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.christaschiesslphotography.com
• Instagram: Instagram.com/christaschiesslphotography
• Facebook: Facebook.com/christaschiesslphotography

Image Credits
Christa Schiessl Photography