Starting a business can be a scary step, but it doesn’t have to derail your plans to live debt free. With planning and hard work it can help you meet your financial goals and give you the experience of doing something you love and turning it into something that earns an income.

Get support

I didn’t just start my photography business on a whim. I spent a lot of time in prayer about it. I talked it over with my husband and some close friends. I read a lot, naturally (because that’s what I do) about business and marketing. It basically came down to this: keep taking pictures as a hobby and posting them on my blog or start a business, a serious step that would take time away from my family, therefore need to provide income. I had the support of my husband and kids and felt like (without hearing a message from a burning bush) that this was the direction God wanted me to take.

Begin debt free

When I made the decision to step out of my comfort zone and start my business, I began to put things in place to help me run it. I had a little sum of money saved up from some writing I did, and the income I make through ads on my blog. This money helped me to pay for my website, hosting, theme and hire someone to design my brand. It was important to me to start my business debt free and keep it that way.

A few months into it, my first camera, the Canon Rebel, had a break down. It was still under warranty, but I was going to be without it for at least 8 weeks. I was put into my first debt temptation: buy a nicer camera for my business or use the $700 I had saved in my business account and buy the best I could used. I fought the temptation and found a Canon 40d (a step up from the Rebel) on ebay for $600. I’m still using that camera and it turned out to be a smart purchase. I also try to keep at least a thousand dollars in my business account for emergencies, but whenever I get to 2, or 3 thousand, I reinvest in the business. I have added two new lenses this way.

Have a business plan

Knowing where you’re going will help you get where you want to be. Eventually, I want to do more than just reinvest in my business. I’d like to put my earnings towards our 6 months emergency income, family vacations and a few other ideas we have. I sat down with paper and a calculator in the beginning and figured up how many clients I thought I could handle per month, how much I wanted to make per year and did some calculations to get me to a number I needed to make per client to reach that goal. I knew I didn’t want to be too busy. I still have to educate, feed, clothe and spend time with my four children. I still want plenty of family time with my husband on weekends. Those things factor into my pricing, which steadily climbs as I work towards meeting my goal.

Enjoy the journey

For now, my business hasn’t really changed our financial journey. It didn’t put us into more debt or help move us toward being debt free (yet). We are still working on paying off our last debt, one vehicle, and are getting very close to reaching that goal. Using Dave Ramsey’s financial concepts for my business have really helped me stay on track. As with all things in life, running your business is not a race, it’s a journey. It can feel like you need to have all the best equipment, the perfect website and tons of clients right when you begin. But you don’t. Each client I’ve had I’ve felt like they were especially chosen for me and sent to me by God. I have made new friends and learned so much along the way and I anticipate the journey ahead.