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

Holly, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

Simply belief.

If you do not believe in your success – no one else will.

I remember people used to tell me that I was crazy for asking or quoting 5+ figures on my photography services.

I did all the things “right” but it still didn’t seem to make much of a difference. Doing things “right” can work, but you can do everything right, and if you don’t feel inspired from a place of worthiness and believe that your services are providing value and that they are creating the change you wish to see in the world. It will never work.

While I hired a business coach to help me get there, I also was doing DEEP belief work. I was doing all the correct marketing moves, but I was also sitting with myself every single day – visualizing and having gratitude for my first $10,000 photoshoot.

Then as simple as it sounds. It showed up in my inbox, on a lovely afternoon.

It gets to work, simply if you believe.

Holly, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

In college I majored in Visual Communications, and minored in Photography (running the school newspaper as a the photo editor I may add) I knew more than anything that photography got me out and moving around, not sitting behind a computer the entire time, I naturally leaned into photography to start my path. I came out of college with an internship at a newspaper in Calgary, Alberta. At the time the path of journalism wasn’t for me. I seeked more to “direct” than to simply document. I turned to my other skillset of Graphic Design and landed an internship at a full service boutique marketing agency in Vail, Colorado.

In theory I had the “dream job” I was the first full on designer hire, working on $50,000 websites, creating custom brands, and managing several retainer clients for the company, I felt full-filled in my accomplishments, received praise, and was helping others TELL THEIR STORY through marketing materials. I even had “powder days” where if it snowed more than 6 inches, our whole team was out skiing till noon. PAID! But something was missing. First and foremost, I was capped at making $40,000K with no health benefits, the debt started to pile up for health insurance, and after 2 years I started to get antsy, and after 4 years I knew that no matter how much bigger and better I wanted to grow, I couldn’t do it at this company, they fit into a box, and I wanted to fly free. I wanted to push the creative boundaries, and grow bigger. Before reaching the point of quitting, I started to lean into what “felt good” – and at the time what felt good was hiking 14 thousand foot mountains on the weekends with my lady friends, throwing our skis on our back with the potential to ski a chute in late June – all while photographing the whole thing. I started documenting the moments that encompassed true joy, the mishaps, and the in-between stuff of the journey. I started to share these moments, and people started to notice.

Time and time again, I got the feedback that people could feel my photos, they would read my story recaps and recreate them. They would experience the joy, that I experienced in the moment quite literally.

And thats when it clicked for me, I could find that spark of crazy human connection that I craved from journalism, be creative in my photography storytelling, and be outside on adventures, all while getting paid! For me, it became all about creating authentic stories with photos and words – where people could relate to what they were digesting in their content. It became about the human emotion, the human experience and connection.

Before quitting my job, I started having people reach out to ME, for paid adventure opportunities and more.

I realized that settling was never an option, and that what I felt in my gut was that I was here to share stories with others in the outdoors. Because the outdoors provide a feeling you can’t get anywhere else. A feeling of aliveness.

And what’s better than being alive?

My photo career brought me success I had always dreamed of, along with plenty of lessons and mountains to climb. It also brought me valleys that shook me to my core.

But what stood with me through my first 2 careers of design and photo was the belief in myself, the belief that I WAS worthy to have it all, that I was worthy to have get paid what I wanted, while creating value-able impact for my clients.

I decided to start coaching and teaching others to chase their dreams, because I saw how fulfilling my own dreams had provided me with life changing growth in every area. I wanted others to have that same joy.

I wanted the impact to spread.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

Get yourself a business coach. As a creative you are GIFTED in the fact that your brain is not linear, perfectly logical and set. You are the gift that others are not.

Let someone help you with the things that drive you crazy.

So you can continue to do what you love. Or at least streamline the things you don’t love.

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

Just start your business, where-ever you are.

I was working full time at a 9-5 when I started.

IF what you’re doing is aligned and for your highest good, you will be SHOCKED at where seemingly endless energy can come form. I started on weeknights and weekends. Creating, creating, creating, and SHARING.

It does not matter whether there are folks out in the world who like your work, what matters is that YOU like it, if YOU like it, and you are inspired, others will see that too. Hate comes from a place inside. When someone throws shade your way, it’s likely not about you, it’s about what they are feeling.

Don’t take things personal, keep going if it lights you up, never make assumptions, and always make time to have personal work for you, as you start to get clients, you’ll learn to create for others, but never stop creating for yourself.

Contact Info:

• Website: hollymandarich.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/holly.mandarich
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hollymandarich/

Image Credits
Holly Mandarich