Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessie Shaw.
Hi Jessie, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I was a photographer for almost 10 years! I loved the industry and was growing a full time business. Enter: 2020.
We all have our COVID stories of how the world stopped, and for me it was having our first child in April of 2020, right as we watched the world shut down. It seemed that everything in our lives changed those few months. Like a snow globe, turned upside down and shaken around.
And as the dust began to settle, I began to realize that photography was not feasible for me or my family. And I started listening to my gut intuition that I really wanted to work in admin. I was in my happy place behind a laptop with a fresh iced coffee, creating a system and making everything click.
I started putting out feelers to my photography friends about what they would need in a virtual assistant and the response was so affirmative that I started making plans. I knew I was on the right track when everything felt so natural and organic to build. This was further confirmed when I sold out with full time VA hours within 3 weeks of opening my offer.
The rest is history. I’ve been full time ever since, with a growing team of women who work with me to help busy photographers scale their business sustainably. We build systems, we create blogs, we send out monthly newsletters… we keep the wheels turning behind the scenes. And I’ve never been happier ever. This truly feels like the role for me, and it’s been fun to connect with so many other women business owners doing what they love too.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Nope! Not at all! My business coincided with the world of COVID, and the start of our family. I am one of those people that doesn’t have easy pregnancies, so through the “start up” mode of my business we faced multiple lengthy hospitalizations and specialists that helped us navigate some scary medical times. And one of my children had a very medically complex first year of life, so we spent time in the NICU and ICU – as well as having multiple surgeries. It was a wild ride to also have momentum building in my business.
But since we are all about sustainable work/life balance, it was the perfect opportunity to “practice what we preach” and have systems and support in place to help us navigate a challenging personal time without losing business growth. And we did it!
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about The Focus Collectiv?
We help busy, ambitious photographers take their six figure business they have built, and create something sustainable. We keep the wheels turning behind the scenes with everything from invoicing and scheduling to crafting blog posts and writing monthly newsletters.
Our photographers are then free to invest in their business, go on real vacations, do something creative with their camera, take a nap, attend their kiddos soccer games and enjoy the life they have built for themselves.
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
I swear I spend half my time in Honeybook! We also love Flodesk and Plannthat!
For inspiration/education, I love KC Davis content, Emotional Agility by Susan David, Atomic Habits by James Clear, Don’t Settle for a Seat by Karrie Brady, and Creative Collective program by Photos by Hannah Marie. All great materials on both business and life.
Pricing:
- $500
- $1500
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.the-focus-collective.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefocus.co/
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@thefocus.co
Image Credits
Headshot by: JC JONES https://jcjonesphotography.mypixieset.com
https://www.instagram.com/jcjonesphotography
All BTS shots by me
