We were lucky to catch up with Christina Martinez recently and have shared our conversation below.

Christina, appreciate you joining us today. Can you share an important lesson you learned in a prior job that’s helped you in your career afterwards?

My entrepreneur journey started in 2019. I had previously worked in the media field for five years and while I loved my career and am thankful for what it taught me, I was ready for a change. I had built incredible relationships in the community and felt passionately about working directly for them. In the spring of 2019, I founded my first business, Christina Martinez Consulting. I offered a wide variety of services that reflected my skillsets. Clients contracted me for social media management, public relations, website development and management, brand photography, and some all of the above. I gave creative direction to help local Houston businesses tell their story in a meaningful way.
Over the last three years, I have learned what I’m good at, what I’m great at, and where my strengths fall short. Learning and understanding my strengths has been an incredibly powerful experience for myself and my business. The beautiful thing about being a business owner is we get to write our story and business plan. It can transform, evolve, and grow; just as we as people can transform, evolve, and grow. The biggest lesson I have learned in the last three years is to give myself permission to evolve.
Transformation this year looks like preparing my business to niche down to a wedding and portrait photography business in 2023. Brand photography has been something I have really enjoyed the last three years but working with people and building relationships is at the core of what I love to do. I’ve had a great year getting my wedding business off the ground and I can’t wait to go full-time next year!

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?

My start in photography tracks all the way back to my extra curricular activities in both high school and college. Being a staff reporter and editor on my high school and college newspapers really shaped my next steps forward into a professional career in print journalism. I worked in the Houston media field for 5 years and at the heart of my work was storytelling. I told the stories of local people and places. I shared their words and photographed their spirit.

Today, I am a wedding and portrait photographer based in Houston, creating experiences rooted in authenticity. Whether you’re getting engaged, marrying your soulmate, or celebrating new milestones, I can’t wait to capture your joy!

Being present on your wedding day is something I value and the type of experience I hope to curate for my clients. Less posed photos and more authentic moments. That’s the change I’d like to create in the wedding space and how I position myself to stand out from the crowd.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

One of the best decisions I made in my career was investing in myself and my business. Whether that’s investing in a mentor, hiring a coach, or paying for continued learning. If you’re feeling stuck, seek advice and guidance. Getting free advice from anyone and everyone doesn’t propel your business forward. Seek trusted advice and then get to work!

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

While I do have big goals for business and a fancy mission statement, I think what’s most important in my creative journey is just allowing myself to try, allowing myself to fail, and allowing myself to evolve and grow. It’s likely that you’ve heard the term, “Entrepreneurship is a long game.” I don’t think I have fully grasped that concept until recent. I have shifted my ideology and beliefs around success to focus on the whole health of my business versus monetarily driven. While having a profitable business is certainly a priority, it’s just no longer the sole deciding factor for my success or the keeper of my peace.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.christinamartinezphotography.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christinamartinez.photography/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/christinamartinez.photography/

Image Credits
My headshot is by Anna Wright Photo. All other images are by me, Christina Martinez Photography.