life of an entrepreneur

 “Tail!”  Robert yelled as he started running through the tall, unkept grass. 

“What?” I said as I followed.

“TAIL! I saw something with a tail”

OH NO! Robert zipped by me making a path for me to follow, my adrenaline kicked in and I was on the move. As we rushed through the trees and snake holes, I couldn’t help but smile. There is no one else in the world I would rather run through a forest away from danger than with Robert Goldberg. There is no one else I feel safer with. Granted, maybe I should have been a little bit more terrified of the Bobcat, Mountain Lion or whatever other terrifying animal that roams the forests of New Jersey, but I couldn’t help myself, I knew I was with the one person who I could count on. I was with my person.

“So, what would you have done if the Mountain Lion saw us and went after us” I asked as my heart beat slowed down and we stepped onto the clear marked trail. 

“I would have beat him up” I shook my head and laughed. Ladies and gentleman that is Robert for you. Of course he had a plan. Of course he would know what to do in a crisis.

This man continues to amaze me. Robert’s love for adventure and thirst of knowledge is truly inspirational. I am lucky to have someone who gets me up and out from behind the camera and hiking on a Sunday morning. I am lucky to have someone who appreciates the view of the journey instead of only focusing on the destination. I am lucky to have someone who tries to live life to the fullest. I am lucky to have my Robert. 

In todays world of glorified entrepreneurs, small business owners and collaborative work spaces, secret sauce is no longer just the hushed, untold ingredients Aunt Marge puts in her spaghetti, but its the question that keeps us, entrepreneurs, up at night and gets us out of bed early. What makes me different? What makes my company, my business, my brand, unique… What makes my clients connect with me? And what exactly is my secret sauce?

This question, this quest to find my secret sauce has been weighing on my mind a lot lately. Here I am, a 20something year old woman who loves her work, her clients and the energy that photography brings to the world. All I want to do is reach more people, photograph more beautiful events and help others document the most cherished moments of their lives. All I want is to capture emotion and love; but what is my secret sauce? What makes me the person who should do it? What makes me stand out and how, exactly do I figure what my thing is?

For weeks, months, even years, I have been trying to find the secret ingredient to the YPP’s Secret Sauce. I have asked my friends, gone on retreats, listened to seminars, read book after book, and I still cannot pinpoint what exactly it is that makes my brand unique. I couldn’t even begin to count the amount of times I have asked Robert to describe the YPP brand in three words or the amount of times I have texted Danielle with my latest perfect tagline.

As small business owners, we expect ourselves to have all the answers. I mean, it’s our own business right? We should know what’s best. But let me fill you in on a little secret… it doesn’t come easy. We spend hours upon hours researching, we seek out advice, we enlist our friends for help and we even figure out what we need to outsource. In the end of the day, owning a small business is an endless cycle of trial and error.

Today, as I was sitting in a seminar, listening to fellow entrepreneurs talk about their inspiring ventures, the question was asked… “So, Amy, what exactly is your secret sauce?” That’s when it hit me… Like all good recipes, you can’t rush it. You can’t force it. You have to keep trying different things, mixing in different ingredients and eventually, you will figure it out. Eventually, it will feel like you just stumbled upon gold. Eventually you will find the secret ingredient to your very, very secret sauce.

Happy searching my friends!

Robert looked confused… He was sitting across from me at Gryphon Coffee when I opened this fancy box and pulled out a pair of beautiful pink wide framed glasses.

“Why do you have glasses?!” he asked. I smiled and slid them on to my face.

“How do I look!?” I responded as I posed across from him.

At six years old, all I wanted to do was be just like my big sister in every way. So, when my mom brought her home a pair of glasses, wearing glasses became a dream of mine… at six year old. A decade later, it was my biggest fear, and now another 10 years later, I am waiting for the day my eyesight gets fuzzy and I’m going to take the plunge and buy myself a pair of real glasses.

As a photographer, I log more hours behind screens than I care to admit. I’m either sitting behind my computer, trying not to slouch, smiling as I stare at my phone responding to Instagram comments or even looking at the preview screen on the back of my camera… I am always behind screens and I am horrified to think of what the blue light is doing to my eyes and should I mention how it’s affecting my sleep!?

That’s why, when I stumbled upon Klassy Glasses, anti-blue light lenses, I was totally sold. I mean, I’m not one to impulsively buy, but when I clicked the Klassy link, I couldn’t get to the checkout page soon enough. I literally could not resist. Being a photographer, and a human, my eyes are pretty damn important and I want to do everything I can to keep from harming them.

Five days later they arrived and I was giddier than a school girl eating an ice cream cone. I love my Klassy glasses, they work like a charm. They work so well that you can 100% see the color temperature change when you look at your computer and phone. The screens are just warmer. Your eyes are less strained and you can stare at a screen way longer with Klassy Glasses on. For most humans, this is amazing, for a photographer who is constantly adjusting the color temperature of her photos, not so ideal.

On the YPP Scale of Awesomeness, I would give Klassy Glasses a 7 out of 10. They are effective, helpful, relatively well priced and adorably stylish. The only issue is that I can’t use them for the bulk of my screen work, processing photos. And let’s be real, I spend a ton of time processing photos!

For now, my Klassy glasses will always be with me, I will wear them proudly as I blog, respond to emails, post and work on my invoices. Yet, as soon as the photo processing begins, those bad boys are coming off. Because, as I say, “anything for the photo!”

” I think I just got a minor concussion” I told Robert as soon as he picked up the phone.

“What!?”

I laughed at my ridiculousness.

“I sneezed as I was pulling the car door open and BAM, I smacked my head . Really hard!” Robert paused, and then burst into laughter.

I made a right turn onto Spring Garden and thought to myself,  I am totally fine. I was on my way to a wedding and couldn’t wait to capture all of the love and a small bump on my head was not going to stop me. “What is on your agenda for the rest of the day?” I ask Robert and with that, the topic was switched.

One wedding, two work outs and one headshot session later, I find myself sitting in my doctors office “I’m only here because my boyfriend was worried. I think I have a minor concussion, but I am totally fine” I explain to the doctor.

Twenty minutes later and a few sad attempts at balancing on one foot, Doctor Adams turns to me and says “Well, tell your boyfriend that you definitely have a minor concussion. So make sure you take it easy over the next couple weeks. In your free time, just sit and don’t do anything.”

In my free time?! That’s a funny one.

I pushed on the door to leave and the first thing I noticed was the bright sun setting. My eyes closed shut in pain and I felt a wave of dizziness wash over me. Ok, so maybe he has a point. I need to take it easy and give my brain the time it needs to heal, but how the heck was I going to do that?!  My week was packed and my todo list was growing longer and longer with every passing minute. Spring was just around the corner and I still had a few winter projects to finish up. This minor concussion was such an inconvenience.

An hour later. 

“What are you doing” Robert asked as soon as he walked in the door. He quickly turned off the lights and closed the laptop that was resting on my lap.

“I just have one more thing to finish up”  I open it up once again.

Taking it easy to me means not reading on my phone and maybe only answering emails once a day. Taking it easy to Robert means no screens, no gym and sitting on the couch at home with no lights on. I look up from my laptop and see a concerned Robert “Fine. I can finish this tomorrow.”

See, I am lucky. I have a boyfriend who is nothing like me. I mean, yes, we share the same political views and might check the same religious box on questionnaires, but he is totally the yin to my yang. When I want to get up and get my Sundays started at 6am, he reminds me to take a deep breath in and not over work myself. When I am trying to rush out the door because I don’t want to be late to a friend brunch, he turns the music up and moves his feet to the beat.  When I want to run to the next thing, he reminds me to walk and smell the roses. And when I want to just power through my minor concussion, Robert makes me take it easy and tells me that my work will get done once my brain is no longer mush.

I am lucky to have a best friend who is nothing like me. I am lucky to have a boyfriend watching out for me. I am lucky to have Robert taking care of me.

With my photo gear rolling behind me and my coat unzipped, I take a deep breath in, it’s finally not insanely cold outside. Coming from me, that is no small feat. I hear a bird chirping from afar and I feel the sun shining strong above me. I smile. With the clocks moving an hour earlier this past weekend and with the fresh smell in the air, spring has almost sprung and it is a marvelous feeling!

Don’t get me wrong, I have thoroughly enjoyed the winter. It gave me a chance to reorganize, plan like no other, learn hard, network harder and meet the amazing couples I will be photographing this wedding season! And don’t even get me started on all the fun Robert and I have had! With all that being said, I am insanely excited for the change of season.

It means a lot more to me than simply the luxury of going outside without ten layers on or not needing to crank up the heat as soon as Robert walks in the door. It means that I made it. That Yael Pachino Photography had made it. I made it through the off season and business is still kicking. It means that bad weather and less outdoor sessions hasn’t knocked me down. It means that for the first time ever, Yael Pachino Photography made it from December to March without a supplementary income and I could not be happier. I thank god every day for the amazing companies and small businesses who had employed me over the years. Without part time jobs and the help of the wonderful community I have established here in Philadelphia, I could not be here. I could not have reached a point in my own business that allows me to put 150% of my time and effort into loving my clients, cherishing my product and growing my business.

Growing up, I always pictured myself having a steady 9-5 job. I wanted the stability. I wanted the protection. But as spring begins, I get to take a look at my life and I have never been so thankful that I didn’t fall into that lifestyle. I took a chance on myself and on what I love to do and I wouldn’t have it any other way. To be totally honest, I still day dream of having a 401K, pension and someone else to pay for my health insurance, that will never change, but nothing can replace the happiness, the fulfillment and the people that I get to surround myself with every day.

So, as I put my camera gear in the trunk of my car, hop in the front seat and get ready to head to the first wedding of the year, I turn the radio on loud and sing on the top of my lungs. Today, is a good day.