We were lucky to catch up with Lexi Rosario recently and have shared our conversation below.

Lexi, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?

I am extremely happy that I am a business owner and no longer have a regular job. My entire life I worked for other companies and people. I was a great employee and made life long friends at every position I ever had. In the back of my head, I always knew that being an employee wasn’t what I was meant to be doing for the rest of my life. I grew up in a family where I got to see both sides. On my mom’s side, everyone was an entrepreneur and had their own businesses. My godmother owned her own bakery, my aunt owns her own hair salon, my other aunt in Mexico owns her own convenience store, my cousins have their own spa and beauty salon, and my mom & my other aunt are both realtors. On my dad’s side, everyone had a regular “9-5” job. From a young age, I knew that working for someone else was not in my blood or DNA and that I needed to find my own niche and make something of myself, but what? Throughout my time in college I worked at different restaurants, wedding venues, and hotels because my major was in Hospitality Management. I thought this was what I was going to do for the rest of my life. After 8 years of this, I wanted a change and landed myself into HR roles. During all of these years, I still knew I was meant to do something more, something bigger with my life but I hadn’t quite figured out what that was yet. I was always the friend that would take everyone’s photos no matter where we were because I just had a natural eye for it. I did it for fun and genuinely loved it. I loved it so much that when I was a senior in high school, I had told my guidance counselor that I wanted to major in Photography when I went to college. To which he responded I needed to pick something more “realistic” because that wasn’t a real career. Being just a young 18 year old back then, I listened and changed to Hospitality Management, but I still never put down my camera and just kept doing it as a fun hobby. Fast forward to 2020, I got laid off of my job due to the pandemic and for the first time ever, I was jobless and didn’t know what my next steps were. It wasn’t until one of my best friends came over and mentioned that I should apply for some type of photography job because that’s what I loved to do. We started looking at Indeed and found a posting for a company that would teach you how to become a wedding photographer. This was exciting and intimidating to me and I honestly didn’t think I had a chance. I applied and submitted work I had done and to my surprise got a message back saying they wanted me to come in for an interview. I passed the requirements and this company was the first stepping stone into eventually becoming a business owner that I am today. With my genuine, caring, free-spirited personality, I soon became one of the most requested photographers for the company and my skills kept getting better and better. Once I learned everything I could, I knew it was time to take that next step and branch out on my own. It was one of the scariest risks I have ever taken, but I knew I had to try and take a chance on myself. This was one of the best decisions in my entire life and has brought me a sense of joy and freedom that is hard to put into words. I quickly started to get bookings for weddings, bridals, engagements, maternity, boudoirs, and family sessions and business exploded in a way I could never have imagined. Owning my own business means I can design life the way I want to live it. I don’t have to wake up to an alarm clock anymore. I don’t have to report to a boss. I get to design the business how I want. It’s not always easy of course, there has been challenges but with all the challenges comes lessons learned and opportunities to continue to grow and improve. I can say that I am genuinely happy being a business owner and could never go back to a regular job.

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?

In short I am a traveling photographer but I am also so much more than that! I mainly do weddings but also family, engagement, maternity, bridals, branding, & boudoir shoots. I am more than just your photographer. I actually care about my clients and bringing their vision to life. I go above and beyond for each of them to get that perfect shot for them. These are memories that will last a lifetime in a photo. They start out as clients, but they can all tell you that we end up as friends by the end of our journey and I feel that that is what sets me apart. My goal is to become your lifetime photographer for all of your needs! You can feel my warmth and positive energy when you’re around me. I make you feel comfortable and it’s a fun process with me where you’ll always be laughing and have a great time. I have even had grooms tell me they loved my personality and how they didn’t look forward to photos but that I actually made enjoyable for them! I take pride in my work and in what I do. I take it all to heart because I really do care. I provide payment plans for my wedding couples to make it easier on them. I send each couple a wedding box sent to their home filled with surprises and goodies as a thank you for entrusting me to capture their most special day. I even offer discounts on my wedding packages for what I call the Big 5: nurses, teachers, police officers, firefighters, and military. On top of my discounts, a percentage of every wedding package booked goes to a non-profit for those who have ever been sexual abused. I feel that my heart and personality is what sets me apart from everyone else.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Referrals, referrals, referrals! Word of mouth is still so strong, especially in this market. Most of my new clients have almost all come referred to me from past couples and friends telling them about me and how great I was with them! A lot of my past couples have come back themselves once they’ve gotten pregnant to do their maternity session and that means the world to me. To know I made such an impact on them, that they would not only tell others about me but come back to me for their newest life moments!

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

Contact Info:

• Website: www.foreverwanderluststudios.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/foreverwanderlustphotography/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ForeverWanderlustPhotography

Image Credits
Forever Wanderlust Photography