“If your business looks amazing online but secretly drains the life out of you, that’s a problem.”
In a world obsessed with aesthetics, metrics, and viral posts, it’s easy to confuse visibility with success. But what if the business that truly supports your life doesn’t photograph well for Instagram?
In this episode, I’m getting honest about redefining success, setting boundaries, and building a business that feels aligned, not just impressive. I’m giving you a look into my own lessons about letting go of over-delivering, working weekends, and chasing trends, and inviting you to create a version of success that actually feels good inside your real life.
What’s in this episode:
- [00:35] Why your business doesn’t need to look “impressive” online
- [01:00] How Instagram rewards performance over peace
- [01:45] What success really looks like behind the scenes
- [02:30] The cost of over-delivering and over-working
- [03:00] Why visibility isn’t the same as joy
- [03:45] Redefining success on your own terms
- [04:40] Choosing peace and alignment over aesthetics
You don’t need a business that wins the algorithm. You need one that gives you your life back.
SUBSCRIBE: Apple Podcasts | Spotify
Did this episode give you the encouragement you need to reframe the way you think about visibility? Check out this episode Marketing Mindset Makeover: Why It’s Time for Photographers to Rethink Their Marketing Strategies with Carolina Guzik
Transcript
[00:00:00] Hello my friend. Welcome back to the show. Today I wanna talk to you about something that’s been on my mind lately. Now, if you’ve ever scrolled through Instagram and see someone’s perfectly curated feed and thought, should my business look like that, or maybe even if mine doesn’t look like that, does it mean I’m not successful?
Then you are not alone because I have been there too. And here’s the truth, I’ve had to sit with the business that I actually want. It does not look impressive on Instagram, and maybe that’s the same for you. And do you know what that [00:01:00] is? Okay. It’s more than Okay. Now, Instagram rewards the performance of entrepreneurship.
The behind the scenes reels, the I’m So Busy captions, the perfectly styled studio tours, the six figure launch screenshots, and really none of it’s bad. Visibility does matter, but if your business looks amazing online and secretly feels like it’s draining the life out of you, that’s a problem because success isn’t a vibe or an aesthetic.
Success is how you feel when you look at your calendar. It’s whether you can take a weekend off without spiraling into guilt. It’s how you feel on a random Tuesday afternoon when you’re between editing sessions and maybe the business you actually want doesn’t look like what the algorithm loves. Maybe it’s only photographing three clients a month.
Maybe it’s saying no to poses or trends that just don’t feel safe or aligned with you. Maybe it’s deciding not to overshoot or over deliver [00:02:00] galleries just to prove your worth. I’ve learned all of this the hard way, and I can’t count the number of times I’ve stayed up way too late, editing extra images.
My clients didn’t even ask for all because I was scared enough. Wasn’t really enough. And the truth is they were already thrilled. The only person demanding more was me.
Or maybe for you, it’s boundaries around your time. For years, I thought I had to work weekends because that’s when families were free. But every time I booked another Saturday, I just felt myself getting more and more resentful. So now I don’t at all. And did that disappoint some people? Yep. But in return, I honestly got my life back.
So here’s the thing. Some of the most profitable and joyful photographers I know barely post on the internet at all. They’re not chasing trends. They’re not obsessing over engagement rates. They’re just [00:03:00] quietly serving clients. They love getting referrals and just actually living their lives. And on the flip side, some of the most visible photographers I know, the ones who look like they have it all together online are exhausted.
They’re quietly questioning everything. They’re trapped in businesses that look beautiful on the outside, but don’t feel very good on the inside. So here’s what I want you to hear. Your business doesn’t need to be impressive. It needs to be aligned with you. It needs to support you. Because visibility has trade-offs.
It costs energy, time, and sometimes even peace. And if the season you’re in right now, whether that’s motherhood, perimenopause, burnout, or just needing some breathing room. It doesn’t support constant content creation. You’re not falling behind. You’re paying attention. You’re choosing sustainability over [00:04:00] performance, and that is both brave and wise. So maybe it’s time just to rewrite the rules a little bit.
You don’t need to have a business that looks good on Instagram. You need a business that feels good in your own life, one that lets you breathe, one that lets you sleep. One that makes you proud of what you’re creating without constantly having to prove it to strangers on the internet. If that means posting less, that’s okay. If that means narrowing your offers, that’s okay too. If that means unfollowing people who trigger that, I’m not doing enough feeling.
That’s not only, okay, it’s healthy because the business you want might never win the algorithm, but maybe it could finally give you your life back. And to me, that’s the real win. So my friend, let me leave you with this. What are you saying yes to when you really want to say no? Where are you betraying yourself just to keep someone else [00:05:00] comfortable and what might shift if you let yourself disappoint a few people in order to stay true to you.
At the end of the day, the only person who has to live with your choices is you and your peace matters way more than your grid, my friend. All right my friend, go easy. Go gently and just go build that business that feels like you. I’m sending you so much of my light and love today and every single day.
We’ll see you next time.
