Here’s something you might not know about me: I work full-time as a marketing technology specialist, in addition to running a business doing family, senior, and newborn photography.

Why am I telling you this?

Because photographers like me—with a 9-to-5 I’m not trying to quit—aren’t super common. (Though the more I talk publicly about being in this weird little category, the more people I meet who are just like me!)

The “majority” of part-time photographers are building a business with the goal of quitting their FT job, and the primary source of income for the family is their spouse.

In my house, I’ve always been the primary breadwinner. My husband is a comedian and online content creator. He was always the one who created. I was the businesswoman.

But then photography happened to me, and I started creating. And also building a business (which honestly, I LOVE).

Because this unique position of mine isn’t talked about very often, I reached out to Annemie of the This Can’t Be That Hard podcast to have a conversation about it.

She invited me on the show to talk about what it’s like to be a part-time photographer, on purpose, but also because I enjoy and need my full-time work.

During our conversation, we dig into topics like:

• The balance between the corporate and artistic world
• The weird stigma that comes with part-time photography
• Setting up your business to make it profitable
• Making time for your family
• My advice to those struggling with part-time work

Full-time job + part-time job = identity struggle

Having two jobs can be weird because it’s tough knowing how to answer the “So what do you do for a living?” question.

How I answer depends on the people I’m with. Clients, or other photographers? I keep mum about my marketing job. Other marketers? I tend to be a bit more quiet about my business.

“I don’t always feel comfortable sharing that I have a full-time job, because I’m afraid that I will be taken less seriously.”

The opposite is true when I’m with my professional colleagues: should I mention that I have a small business I’m passionate about, or will I look less dedicated?

I talked in detail about this with Annemie. I hope it will be beneficial for you, if you’re dealing with any degree of imposter syndrome.

RESOURCE: My Favorite Tech Tools for Photographers

See MY LIST OF FAVES

And then there’s family life…

We also dig into the trial and error of learning how to manage a full-time job, part-time job, and family life.

I’ll be the first to admit it takes a while to learn what the boundaries should be.

My goal has always been to make the most of the time I put into my side hustle, and doing more in less time.

“My goal has always been to find the most efficiencies I possibly can.”

Aside from efficiency, communication (especially with my partner) is huge to manage my time well.

Having a family with two young kids means many people and priorities are vying for my attention. If I want to continue to grow my business, I have to be smart about it.

The bottom line

If you’re on this path of full-time work, side hustle, and family life, I hope you’ll give this podcast episode a listen and know you’re not alone in dealing with the unique struggles that come along with this path.

And if this sounds like you, I’d love to hear from you! Drop into my DMs on Instagram or  Facebook. Fill me in on the secrets to your survival; I love getting tips from other full-time-job-plus-part-time-side-hustlers!

Want to hear more?

I recorded a podcast episode with Colie James that dives specifically into the systems aspect of part-time photography, and why part-timers need systems more desperately than anyone else. Listen here.

*Photo by Javier Allegue Barros on Unsplash