We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Lily Hernandez. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Lily below.

Lily, 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 am happy as a business owner. Being an entrepreneur is not easy by no means, but the freedom it has given me is why I am happy even on the hard days of owning a business. I hold on to the way of life this entrepreneurial world gave me, which brings me happiness. When I started as a business owner, I didn’t even do it because I knew it would give me the freedom to design my life and the days how I wanted. I am a mom of two, and as I started to design my days with my core values at the forefront, which are my family and how I wanted to show up as a mom, that quickly changed my life. I realized I was willing to struggle with entrepreneur life to have freedom. There have been times I have thought it would be easier to return to a regular job because, like I said, it can get hard doing everything in a business, but then I’m reminded of what this business gives me, and I appreciate it.

Lily, 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?

I have always loved photography but never imagined it becoming my career. It was an art, and in my world with immigrant parents, you go to college, you get a good stable job like a teacher or doctor. I went to college and wanted to be in Public Relations for television. I made it happen for a few years at FOX Sports. I loved my career and never imagined wanting anything else. However, as my love for photography grew, I would feel guilty for having a career many dreamed of, and here I was, wanting something else. Photography started to become a side hustle, and that’s when I wanted it more and more to be something I did full-time.

So I did it eventually. I left my 9-5 and turned my passion into my full-time business many years ago, and I’ve never looked back. I established great relationships and discovered my superpower for storytelling while working at Fox Sports in Public Relations. A week after I left FOX Sports, they called me back to come back as a photographer on their FOX NFL SUNDAY show. A show I had worked on for years but as a publicist. Now I’ve been their on-set photographer for ten seasons.

Today, my business focuses on brand photography for Female Enterpurners. I established Lily Ro Photography with a clear vision: inspiring people and brands to reach their full potential through visual storytelling. I see your story through my lens, capture your unique magic with my camera, and help you establish and grow your brand with fresh content that draws your audience in.

I’ve had the opportunity to work with all levels of talent, celebs, and entrepreneurs. Some of the people I’ve worked with include:
Sports Talent: Troy Aikman, A-Rod, Erin Andrews, Charissa Thompson
Expert Thought Leader: Ed Mylett
Celebrities: Michael Strahan, Mandy Moore, Tia Mowry
Influencers: Jacqui Saldaña of Baby Boy Bakery, who runs an LA-based lifestyle and recipe website and collaborates with big brands, including Target, Disney & more.
Entrepreneurs: Bricia Lopez, celebrity chef, restaurant owner, and author. Patty Rodriguez, founder of Lil’ Libros.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

When I started my photography business, I was shooing families and weddings. I would shoot with FOX Sports, but that was not at the forefront of my business. I would mostly only market weddings. Years later, I started shooting more content with business owners and content creators. Again I would not market that side of my work because weddings were I did. In 2019 I had already been shooting for FOX Sports for six years, and since 2016, shooting content for clients regularly, I decided I would start to pivot my business to working with brands and business owners officially. Then the pandemic happened, and I knew I was going in the right direction. However, it took me some time to tell people that knew my business what I had decided to do. Once again, I felt the need to go in one direction, but part of me was nervous about leaving what was going well, for what I knew in my gut was the next step for me. Once I rebranded and started changing my messaging, everything changed. It made sense. I had been doing it “behind the curtain” for years, so it felt like a release to show this is what I’m doing now, finally. Back when I left the corporate job, it was the same type of feeling of fear to leave the good and go for the great. But it’s worked out both times, and I’m so grateful.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

I often get asked where to start when I want to change careers. I was 30 when I decided the PR world was not my passion anymore, and I wanted a career change. It almost feels like a death in some ways. In college and in your 20s, you work hard to push your way into a career and do it well, but feeling like you want something different is BIG. It almost makes you reevaluate your whole life. I had a lot of feelings around it, telling myself things like, “YOU cannot start over. That is crazy.” Twelve years later, it was the best thing I ever allowed myself to do: explore what I felt was right for me. And that is what I tell people all the time, start slow. It may never happen, but it will if it’s meant for you. I didn’t just leave my career for photography. I, too, started with a side hustle. I needed a plan, but I also wanted to explore it enough to be sure it was the direction for me. This is why I love side hustles so much. It allows you time to make sure you want this career/business. If you have a side hustle, start talking about it with everyone! I know that sounds small, but when you tell people what you are doing and share your journey, you begin to have most people ready to support you! So by the time you go full-time, more people will be talking about your business. People will start sending you new clients and remember you when something comes up that your business can do. Referrals today are still my number one source for clients. It is the most significant way I continue to grow my business. The power of referrals is huge.

Contact Info:

• Website: www,.lilyro.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lilyro_/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LilyRoPhotography
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lilyro/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/LilyRo