The Transition to Full Time

I started my photography business in 2013 while I was working in finance, and I took it full time in 2017 after carefully calculating the transition. My only regret is not doing it sooner! I am naturally a risk-averse person, so I was cautious and built my photography business up for 4 years on the side of my full time career. Many other people have made the transition to full time sooner with success, but I would never recommend skipping over any of these steps. Here is how I made my transition:

1. Eliminate debt. I made sure I paid off debt in my business and my personal life. I never had a formal business loan (just a “loan” from my personal savings), but if I did I would want it paid off in full. As for personal debt, I paid off student loans and car loans to make my monthly obligations as low as possible.
2. I priced myself for this move years in advance. My pricing in 2014 reflected what I needed to make if I did photography full time. Need help with pricing? I have a pricing course here. 
3. I built up an emergency fund. I had built up two savings accounts: one with 6 months worth of business expenses, and the other with 6 months worth of personal expenses.
4. I had steady bookings. I made sure I was booking enough clients that I could earn the compensation I was leaving… and that included salary + benefits. Need help getting more bookings? I have a marketing course here. 

With these four things in place (combined with a ton of prayer) I had a smooth transition to taking my business full time!