As we say goodbye to the summer (I know it's still technically summer for a few more days), I have some very exciting news to share with you all!! After 12 years of building my career in the accounting field at the same company, I've decided to leave my current role for a part time office manager role (full disclosure, I didn't quite make it 12 years... I was 5 days shy of that mark). It's unreal to me that today is my last day at the company I've spent my entire adult life at.
As you all know, I've been working on growing my photography business over the last 18 months or so and have been doing that alongside working 4 days a week at my job in Boston. For a while that was working, but I started to feel regret that I didn't have more time to focus on my business, because that's what I'm most passionate about. I eventually found a part time role that would allow me the flexibility I need to be able to focus more on my business and all of my clients, and I could not be more excited about that!
Since making this decision, I have been feeling ALL the feels. While I'm looking forward to everything the future has to hold, I'm still very sad about leaving my current role. In 12 years, I've grown so much both personally and professionally. I've gained so many friends, some that are more like family now... and at certain times during my career, I spent more time with my coworkers than I did with my family! This past week, the incredible amount of support I have received from all of my coworkers has been amazing. It definitely made it harder to walk out that door today. It was a great reminder of what kept me at the company for 12 years. It's going to be very VERY weird to not walk into that office as an employee again.
If I'm being honest, I'm nervous. I'm nervous about starting a job in a new industry, in a new role that will be very different from what I've been doing... I'm nervous about the financial change our family will have while I'm working on growing my photography business. I'm nervous about balancing my new life, having more freedom, but also more responsibility as a small business owner... But mostly, I'm excited. I'm excited to learning about a new industry. I'm excited about learning what skills are needed for my new role, and how they will differ from the role I'm leaving behind. I'm excited to get to know new coworkers, and maybe one day they'll feel like family too. I'm excited about having more time to focus on my clients and deliver a quality product that I can feel proud of. I'm excited to have more time to spend with my family.
I want to say an extra huge THANK YOU to my husband - you are the BEST! Without you and all of your support, this wouldn't be happening. You honestly don't know how much it means to me that you believe in me. I wouldn't be able to run a successful business if it wasn't for you. You keep an eye on our little buddy while I'm out on the weekends, sometimes for the entire day, doing sessions for my clients. You keep me on track on days where I'm feeling lazy, asking if I have any editing to do, so I won't fall behind. You can't know how much it means to me that you do all of that, without complaining. I love you to the moon and back <3
I'm so excited to finally be sharing this news and can't WAIT to see what the future has in store for me!
~so~