My love letter to the ESB Mastermind

I have been on a team my whole life. 10 years on corporate teams, 10 years with a dance company, 35 years with a family, 12 years with my partner Danny.

So becoming an entrepreneur was (and is) an absolutely terrifying concept. Being my own boss, responsible for everything from billing to social media, to customer service, was such an overwhelming concept for me.

But then I made the smartest decision I could imagine, I applied for the Elena S Blair Mastermind.

I still can’t tell you what exactly made me apply to the Mastermind that day. I had been moonlighting as a photographer for four years. Staying up late to edit, scheduling shoots on the weekend, and telling people it was just something I did for fun.

I saw the email in my inbox and got a chill. I am rarely pulled toward something that strongly. I had been following Elena for years on social media. I had taken her Creative Live course years ago, and she was the one that first made me feel like I could do this. So I took that feeling, and I ran towards it.

I filled out the application right away. (I am a procrastinator, especially if something scares me, so this was an anomaly). I talked about my love for photographing people, my struggle with depression, my desire to be a part of a community. I put it all out there. And then, I got an interview. I was on a zoom call with Elena. WHOA.

After the call, I talked with Danny and without hesitation he said, “you should do it”. I think he could see it in me and because he has always believed in me, he didn’t have the fear of failure like I did.

Well, I went for it. I joined a small group of other photographers who I now affectionately refer to as my “co-workers”. Each week we would meet and go over an aspect of our business. Each week I left the call excited, and so scared. Because each week, I knew I was getting closer to really making this happen.

We covered everything from client experience, to compassionate marketing, to book keeping. There was a light shone on every aspect of how to create a successful business and how to take care of myself while doing it. Elena was turning this looming mountain into something I could traverse.

“There was a light shone on every aspect of how to create a successful business and how to take care of myself while doing it.”

It is and will remain one of the best decisions I have ever made.

At the end of the five month Mastermind cohort, I got the chance to meet all of my co-workers in person. It was one of the most dreamy experiences of my life. A room full of artistic women who were there to inspire, lift up, and share. I got to meet almost all of my mastermind cohorts as well as Elena and the ESB team (all of whom I fell in love with).

We learned, shared, explored, and ate. There was also wine I think…

I got to really meet everyone. Talk about their lives, experiences, and inspiration. Discuss approaches to their art and to life.

I got to watch some truly amazing photographers work. The energy from each person was so different and so incredible. I learned so much from watching each person work. And then I got a chance to photograph at each of these dreamy setups. It was a rush of straight serotonin!

Lauren Wright has this beautifully calm and gentle energy that just makes you feel wonderful. She is so in tune with her subjects and how to incorporate her surroundings in such a stunning way. And she did everything with so much kindness.

Chloe Ramirez was an absolute dream. I didn’t tell her at the time but I was totally fan-girling. I got so many things from her session (technical, artistic, business), but most of all, I saw the trust she had in herself. And that trust leads her to the purest form of bad-assery I have ever witnessed.

And then I got to watch Elena S Blair do her thing. And once again I was reminded of what pulled me to her in the first place. For me she is this amazing mix of artist and business person and woman. Getting to see her work was the preverbal cherry on top of this experience of energy and creativity.

The community I have gained from this Mastermind is beyond what I could have imagined. We had so much fun together but there was also a beautiful give and take of encouragement and information that kept me moving forward. Elena knows how to put one hell of a group together! And shoutout to Samantha McRoy for being my St. Louis buddy!

I can say with certainty I wouldn’t be a full-time photographer without this mastermind group. Without Elena and her amazing team, Mary, Brooke, and Rachael, I would still be where I was at. Hoping for a change but too scared to approach it.

Thank you all for pushing me, encouraging me, reminding me to trust myself, and letting me cheer you on. It is such an honor! I know I will continue to be inspired and driven forward by this amazing group of women!!!

Meet some of my co-workers! (Headshots by me)