After the plane touched down in College Station, TX I knew changes were coming. I had recently spent a few days in Arizona with Melissa Jill and many other fabulous photographers.

What a wake up call this trip was. Since going into business full time about a year ago I’ve learned a lot.

I’ve made many adjustments and had many “ah-ha” moments along the way! One of the biggest ones has been my new website design!

The first major adjustment I realized I needed to take was my website. I loved my website, it was fun, playful and had a scrapbook feel to it. There was definitely a little crafty-ness going on and there was nothing wrong with that. However, I did realize that was not the direction I wanted to take with my business. Part of the time I spent in Arizona really helped me hone in on the future of my photography. Who I wanted to work with in the future, where I wanted to be working in the future and what I wanted my business to be doing in the future. I hadn’t lately had the mentality of, future. Most of us think in the here and now, that’s normal in our culture. We don’t have time to look at the future when we’re busy worrying about today. What an adjustment it is to make your present all about your future. Once you do start making the turn to see things as they can be you start to see everything, not just your business, in a whole new way.

So, I started working on my new brand. But let me start from the beginning…Months ago I wanted a designer in NYC to do my logo, however, I didn’t have the income to hire her. I added her to my twitter and Facebook (just to keep in touch and have someone to stalk, I mean keep in touch with! hehe) I found a local designer I was more comfortable working with in my price range. The designer I found was a Godsend! She did incredible and I love what she had created for me. Let’s be honest here, anything was better than what I currently been going with. After all, I was the creator of the logo I currently had and I hope it never leaks because folks, it was somethin’ awful!

Fast forward about 9 months, my business had had a little time to get settled and start earning some profit so I made a mini-budget and called the designer from NYC I had been minorly obsessed with, Yuling Design! She and I talked for quite a while and it turns out we had way more in common than we though. I was stretching a little to hire her but in the end…it was worth every nickel and dime!

We started off by making a Pintrest board with my new feel, I just pinned things I though would fit the future of my business and over a few days it started to take shape. Yuling walked me through the whole design process very generously and carefully, making sure to cover all the lose ends and gaps. The end product was beautiful and something I love. It took a lot of though and I could not have done it if I hadn’t been sure of where I wanted my future to be going.

I’d love to hear your interesting story about an experience of, “out with the old and in with the new”. It doesn’t have to be a website, it can be anything! Share it in an email (I love reading fun stories) or comment below!