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Brandi Inman
Barefoot Imagery
We got the chance to speak with Brandi Inman of Barefeet Imagery on what it's like to be a female founder, what she's learned, her struggles along the way and what she wants to share with others.
We'd love to learn about your business and what you do. Can you share more?
I connect with fun families to help tell their life stories through genuine, carefree photography. Specializing in natural light, lifestyle portraits and events, Barefeet Imagery has been an award winning photography business since 2003. I was born on the sunny beaches of southwest Florida with a creative mind and free spirit. After spending my entire childhood in art classes I decided to go off to college and major in commercial photography and create a career. There is not a day that goes by in my life without creating something new. I currently live in the beautiful city of Atlanta, GA and shoot my photography on location. I look forward to helping you capture memories that will last a lifetime.
Achieving a balance between personal life and business demands is a hot topic. What strategies have you found effective for maintaining harmony in your life?
It took me a long time to really set boundaries in my business. It’s very important to treat my home life as if I’ve left the office. It’s very easy to quickly check an email or answer a client question after hours but it was something that was interfering with my personal time. Setting timers and quiet time on my phone along with putting my laptop away for the night has been a very big help, especially when trying to avoid burnout.
How do you leverage community and collaboration in your business strategy? We're keen to explore how female entrepreneurs are strengthening ties and creating synergies with other businesses and community members.
I’m the biggest cheerleader for my fellow photographers. I’m always open to chat, offer advice or give referrals to the photography community. None of us can photograph the entire city of Atlanta alone. We are all in this together.
Failure is often seen as a taboo subject, but it can be a powerful teacher. Could you share an experience where you faced failure and how you turned it into a learning opportunity?
I personally love failure. I know that sounds crazy but it’s really the only way we can eliminate the things that don’t work for our business. I look at it like a check off list. Every time I fail, I can then focus on the things that are working well for my business and lifestyle.
Every entrepreneur faces hurdles along the way. Can you talk about a significant obstacle you've overcome and what you learned from it?
Oh goodness. Yes. I rally had to tune out the negative influences in my life for a long time. It’s not easy going into an artistic career. Especially going off to college. The phrase “starving artist” was thrown at me too many times to count. To this day I still get asked if I will ever get a real job or think about switching to a more stable profession. Those people will never understand. And that’s ok. Tuning them out and focusing on my passion has helped me so much.
What advice or tips would you have for other female founders starting their businesses?
Just do it. It’s scary, it’s unpredictable but it will most likely be a lot of fun and rewarding in the end. You don’t have to prove anything to anyone.
Find Brandi on Instagram at @barefeetimagery
Photos by Brandi Inman of Barefeet Imagery
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