Me: Hello?  [Confused by the unfamiliar number].
Client: Hi, is this Hannah Q. Photography?
Me: Uh…yes!  Yes it is!  [shocked but still confused].
Client:  I wanted to inquire about your pricing + packages?
Me: Um.  Okay.  Yes.  Well.  Let’s see here. [I continue my um’s what well’s while I frantically flip through my papers and attempt to log-on to my slow computer.  I finally get to my pricing sheet and begin rambling until I realize that the other end of the line has been too quiet].
Me: Hello?
[Silence. Gone].

Just like that without even giving me a chance to answer the question she called for.  It was the frailty and anxiety in my voice that told her everything she needed to hear.  It was my first client phone call ever and I botched it.  Nope. I mutilated it.  For days I shamed and questioned all my efforts.  You can’t even answer a phone call.  What makes you think you can run your own business? I found this uncertainty to remain as a powerful influence for quite some time.  Soon after, I got another phone call.  And another.  This time, you betcha I had prepared an outline of how I wanted to answer, deliver, and sell my services.  And with each conversation, the more comfortable and confident I felt in the business I was representing.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve made mistakes like this.  I still make them.  But with time and experience, I’ve learned that failure is a constant in entrepreneurship.  When the rewards to success are great, embracing possible failure is key.  Make the mistake but learn from it.  And remember that life’s greatest lessons are usually learned at the worst times and from the worst mistakes.

Thanks for reading! xo