I wrote this blogpost 6 years ago over at Nancy Ray Photography, and I’ve gotten more responses, emails, and comments about this more than almost any other post. I thought it was worth a re-share, and I hope you are deeply encouraged in your work.

“Be laborious and diligent in your callings… and if you cheerfully serve [God] in the labour of your hands, with a heavenly and obedient mind, it will be as acceptable to him as if you had spent all that time in more spiritual exercises.”
Richard Baxter

For 10+ years, I’ve been a photographer. I started my business in college while I was engaged, shooting every wedding I could. My husband joined me as my 2nd shooter, then 5 years in we decided to grow a team of photographers. Now, 10 years later, I’m STILL humbled and amazed at the amount of emails I receive that go a little something like this:

Nancy, I have a passion and love for photography, but I don't know how to incorporate my faith into my business. I desire to honor the Lord in all that I do, but I don't know how to be a business owner and a Christian without being too preachy. How you translate your faith practically into your business?

Take, for example, these few excerpts from emails I've received:

"I'd absolutely love the opportunity to sit down with you and pick your brain with a couple questions I have about the photography business, how you got started, and how or if being a Christian affects your business in any manner. I've read all the posts you've put on your blog about these topics. But one of the things I'm curious about is how you look at your work as something glorifying to the Lord. That's one thing I've struggled figuring out on my own."

"I've been praying. A lot. And I feel like God is pulling at my heart. I know that he wants more for me, and he has greater plans than I could have ever imagined. I don't want to spend long hours working at a job I don't love. I want to have the time to spend with my husband and future family. I want to be inspired by other women of God. The photography community is so selfless, and I love that so many photographers love sharing their knowledge. I want to be a part of that... I know that I can do something I love. I know that I can use that as an outlet to share Christ. And I know that I can follow where he is leading me."

This post is going to be full - so let me warn you now. You might want to bookmark it and come read it again later, when you have time. When I write from my heart, especially on an important topic such as this one, I don't like to take shortcuts! So grab a mug of coffee and sit with me as I share my journey as a believer and businesswoman.

“If God be God over us, he must be over us in every thing.” 
Peter Bulkeley

I believe with all of my heart that if you follow Jesus, you shouldn't separate the secular from the sacred. You shouldn't live one way on Sunday and live differently the other 6 days of the week. You should live your life pursuing Jesus and loving Him with your all, no matter where you are working.

This belief began when I was in my high school. At my church youth group, there was almost always an opportunity at camp or missions trips or retreats to go forward to the altar if you were "called to ministry." I was a leader: very active, on the worship team, on the prayer team. I went to every summer camp and every missions trip.  And yet every time this "call" was presented, I never, ever felt the Lord calling me forward. I was completely at peace sitting, just praying about it. I honestly had a hard time  with this "call to ministry." Wasn't all of life supposed to be ministry? Weren't the disciples fishermen? Why did I have to walk forward to answer this "call," when I believed wholeheartedly that ministry was to happen every day?

Let me quickly say that now that I am older, I do understand and believe that there is a special call and anointing on people who are called to be in ministry full time: pastors, church staff, missionaries, etc. I have come to realize that I wrestled so much with the wording of it: "Called to ministry" did not ever sit right in my spirit. We are ALL called to ministry if we believe in Jesus.

“It is in your shops where you may most confidently expect the presence and blessing of God.”
Richard Steele

“Choose that employment or calling … in which you may be most serviceable to God.
Choose not that in which you may be most rich or honourable in the world.”
Richard Baxter

I believe we are called to be Jesus followers, and our calling never changes. I believe that we have assignments with our work endeavors that change with seasons of life. Some have the assignment of school teacher, author, computer programmer, scientist, and politician. I have had the assignment to be a photographer and business owner and now, a mother. We are all called to serve and to minister to anyone in our paths, no matter what our job is! This is one thing I love about my church today: the emphasis is always to walk in ministry in the kingdom, no matter your career.

Ironically, yes, I am married to a former youth pastor! We have done ministry together in a church context on a weekly basis. It is the most fulfilling work, too - to see lives change and teenagers decide to follow Jesus with everything they are. But hear me on this: every job is important. If we were all in the ministry, we wouldn't have electricity or plumbing or the internet or food or books, etc etc etc. God put a passion in you, specific strengths and giftings IN YOU, that you might shine His light in your industry.

I think in those moments when I was young, God was preparing me for this, now. His hand and calling was on my life even at a young age. God gave me this business, and He put in me everything I need to fulfill my assignment for His fame.

So how do I do that today? What does that really look like?

1. I strive to live a life of balance and boundaries.
My life does not exist to fuel this business. This business exists to fuel my LIFE. It's taken years of hard lessons (and I'm still learning), but this is a vital part of understanding how to live out your faith in your work: your identity as a believer is found in Jesus, NOT in your work. Taking a regular Sabbath, having firm work hours, making quality time for me and Will to spend together, enjoying a hobby, planning time and trips with friends, and saying NO to allow margin in our lives has prevented burnout. It also fuels my creativity and enhances my desire to know the Lord more. 

2. We work hard.
I believe that work is good. When the Lord created Adam and Eve, He gave him work: a garden to tend and animals to name: responsibilities and work to accomplish. I am reminded that my most fulfilling days include time with the Lord, a productive day of work, and meaningful connection with the people who are most important to me. 

3. I manage my business finances with integrity.
I wholeheartedly believe that God gave me this business to manage. He owns it, I simply run it. With that said, I strive to be completely transparent in all aspects of my business. I explain the pricing thoroughly before booking, so no one feels cheated. I charge what I truly believe is fair and good. I constantly work to increase my value in this industry. I always strive to over-deliver. We have a great bookkeeper and accountant. We organize our receipts and mileage. We pay our team on time. We do all of those little things that are tedious, because businesses run with integrity are businesses marked for success.

4. I read scripture every morning to begin my day.
My morning routine is vitally important to me! Every morning I wake up at 6am, drink coffee, read my Bible, write in my journal, and read part of a book. I am in the right state of mind to begin my day, and it re-centers me on the Lord. I strive to live out life as a Proverbs 31 woman. It's hard to do - I'm far from it. But she shows me that it can be done! Filling my mind with Scripture is the best way to start my day. It DOES translate in how I work each day.

5. I pray on the way to every wedding and session.
Oh I used to get so nervous before shooting. I still do get a little nervous sometimes! When I ask for the Lord's help, it calms my nerves. When I focus on serving the couple, it takes the pressure off of me and shifts the focus to them. The Holy Spirit is called our Helper. Ask Him to help you, and He will.

6. I keep my eyes open for opportunities to love others, and I act on them.
Faith without works is dead. This will look a little different for everyone, but you have to keep your eyes open. One time on a wedding day, I prayed with a mother of a bride who was scared to death it was going to rain. With tears in her eyes, she looked at me and wanted everything to be perfect. I knew she was a believer, so we held hands and prayed the rain would stay away, and it did.  Another time I shared my faith with a client who was not a believer - she was going through a difficult time in her life and needed someone to talk to.  Another time, when a bride unfortunately had to call off her wedding, I asked to pray for her on the phone. She was brokenhearted, and I shared this verse with her. 

Disclaimer on #6: this takes some serious help from the Holy Spirit. There are PLENTY of clients that I have not prayed with, because it would have been awkward. If you get a feeling that you shouldn't pray in a situation, hold your tongue. Build trust - do not break it! Show Jesus with who you are and how you work. Don't feel like you need to talk about Him all the time - He will do the talking for you if you stay close to Him. But if there is an opportunity, take it. Don't walk in fear, but DO walk in wisdom.

7. I walk in joy.
Being a business owner is stressful and demanding. It helps when I loosen up and have a little fun with my job! I smile when I work. I hug my couples - no handshakes here! I jump in the Photo Booth for some good laughs. I take my work very seriously, but I don't take myself too seriously. I work as if I'm serving the Lord, not men. How can you contain your joy when you think of it like that?

So, that's my foundation: I view my business as my ministry! They are not separate, they are one. I am not perfect, but I strive to  honor the Lord and love others in every aspect of what I do. So whatever job you find yourself working today, view it as your opportunity to shine the Lord's light.

"And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the Father through him."
Colossians 3:17 

And this is my favorite quote concerning our work:

“The main end of our lives is to serve God in the serving of men in the works of our callings.” 
William Perkins

To catch you up if you’ve missed it! : The last 5 weeks, I have been blogging alongside my friend Emily to share how we organize various aspects of our lives! We call the series “How we do it.” I hope it’s been a practical guide – a peek into the nuts and bolts of our lives. Here’s what we’ve covered so far, and here’s what you can look forward to!

Time: Em’s post and Nancy’s post
Finances: Em’s post and Nancy’s post
Home: Emily’s post and Nancy’s post
Personal Life: Em’s post and Nancy’s post
TODAY: Em’s post on Work
February 20: Relationships
February 27: Spiritual Life
March 6: Kids

My aim for today is to give you an overview of how I approach my work as a business owner, and I how I keep things organized practically. This is going to be a doozy! Last time I blogged this, I divided it up into two parts. In an effort to simplify things, I’m going to keep this brief yet thorough, including all the most important points under the roof of this one post. Let’s dive in!

Side note: I’m really excited to hear from Emily today. Since I own my own business and since she’s part of an amazing team, we will surely have ways we differ in organizing our work. And just FYI, we don’t collaborate at all on the content of our posts – we just dive in and then read each other’s perspectives! This is gonna be good!

Organizing my work

Organizing the Big Picture with EOS! - I am a big picture kind of person. I have to understand where we are headed for my day to day work to make sense. That’s why the the Entrepreneurial Operating Systems (EOS) always comes up in these discussions – it has given me a vision and track to run on that helps me see exactly where we are going in 5 years, 3 years, and in the next 12 months! Want to learn more about it? Read the book Traction and you’ll have everything you need!


VTO / Vision Traction Organizer 


On a two page document, the VTO clearly describes our 5 year plan, our 3 year picture, and our 1 year goals. It also outlines our Core Purpose, our Core Values, our Target Market, our financial targets, and the clear things we should accomplish in order to gain traction and more forward.

Quarterly Rocks


Every 90 days, we set “rocks.” These are the things we much accomplish to keep the business moving forward. You can read more about them here.


Weekly Level 10 Team Meeting


Our team meetings last for 90 minutes. We follow the same format every time, and we leave with action items and a clear understanding of where we’ve been and where we are going. At the end of the meeting, we rate if from 1-10, ALWAYS aiming for a 10! (In the world of NRP, it *only* gets a 10 if we start on time, end on time or early, if someone cries, and if there is delicious food.)


Weekly Scorecards


Scorecards are like weekly report cards for the business. Each team member is responsible for filling out the numbers they are in charge of. We have target numbers each week, and it’s the perfect way to concisely check in and see how the business is doing at a glance.

Daily Organization - Now that I have 5, 3, and 1 year pictures, along with our 90 day rocks and our weekly meetings and scorecards, it’s time to break it down for TODAY! 


My to do list


I have a running to do list that is filled in the pages of my Simplified Planner. When I get overwhelmed or aren’t sure where to begin, I take a blank white sheet of paper and do a big brain dump of all the things I need to do. Then I write them all out for this week and next. (There are bigger project to do lists within different Google Docs.) Anything that doesn’t get done just rolls over to the next day or week.


3 Priorities


Every day I set 3 priorities / tasks to accomplish. I do this FIRST THING IN THE MORNING! This is vitally important. This practice had really changed my work life. Organizing my tasks in order of priority BEFORE I begin my work has helped me accomplish what’s important and has left me feeling satisfied at the end of the day, knowing I did what I should have. When setting these priorities, I always make sure to check in with my 90 day rocks. A least 1 of my priorities should be working toward accomplishing my rocks. The other 2 priorities are decided based on what’s most important and urgent that day.


One thing at a time


I do my best to block my days off in 1 to 2 hour increments, focusing on one thing at a time. Two things can interrupt my work and I’ll happily stop what I’m doing: their names are Milly and Lyndon :).

Organizational Practices, Systems and Tools that hold it all together

Emails


Be an email ninja, have a thorough filing system, use unroll.me, and aim to keep you inbox at zero.


Clients


As a wedding and family photography studio who serves many leads and clients throughout any given day, we highly recommend using a Client Management Software system. We are in process of switching from ShootQ to Dubsado. In addition, we have client folders that we take with us on a wedding day, which includes their questionnaire, contract, important emails and notes.


Photos + Work files (Drobo)


We use a Drobo – a multi-hard drive base that connects to all of our computers via Wifi. We have an extensive file folder system to organize all of our photos and business files, and the Drobo automatically backs everything up. We back up all final galleries online, and we have additional portable hard drives for back ups as well.


Equipment


A cubby system inside our studio closet organizes all of our cameras and lenses. Shelving units organize our bags, aprons, and film.

Blog Calendar


Callie and I plan out the blog calendar 3-4 weeks in advance on a shared Google Calendar. All of the posts are written and populated with images and links the week prior, and scheduled. That way content is consistent and timely!


Slack


We LOVE Slack! It’s the best communication tool for our team. We organize all our conversation threads regarding different work projects within Slack. We have conversation threads for our new website refresh, our Dubsado migration, any feedback we get (good and bad), TIL “today I learned”, and a general studio thread. We can also message each other privately. It’s completely eliminated the use for emails within our team!


Google Docs 


This is a great place to create documents that we can all access and update from anywhere. Google Docs is where we host a lot of copy for email sequences, website projects, and course launches.


Dropbox


Dropbox is where we share files easily for posting to Instagram, where we host our Scorecards (so we can update them remotely), and where we save files when we are working from different locations on a big project. Side note – it’s also where I back up my personal photos!




I hope this has been helpful! Next week is Organization in Relationships, and I’m pretty excited about it.

Don’t forget to read Em’s post today too!

2013

Caroline and I hosted Branches and Light in Texas, and it was stunning! Truly, it was one of the most beautiful experiences we’ve had. Shortly after, I checked off a big business dream: getting featured by Martha Stewart Weddings. In March, I had the privilege of speaking at Making Things Happen in Chapel Hill, which I’ve been speaking at every year since for the past 5 years.

2013 was a year marked by growth. We realized we were turning so many brides away because we were already booked up. We were fully booked for 2 years straight, we knew we had to make a decision: stay where we were, or grow our team. After much prayer, we launched Callie and Elizabeth in January as NRP team Associate Photographers!

I knew I had to choose people who were willing to learn, who were teachable, who had a wonderful attitudes, who were hard workers, and who could easily identify with the brand and culture of Nancy Ray Photography. I had to choose people who were completely trustworthy.

Other notables in 2013: I photographed an editorial in Nashville, TN for Southern Weddings Magazine, we threw a party to celebrate 5 years of being in business, I ran another half marathon, and Will and I celebrated 5 years of marriage by living on a boat for a week in the BVI!

2014

After several years of hosting Branches and Light, Caroline and I prayerfully decided to close its doors. It was a hard and wonderful decision, as she and I were simply moving in different directions of life, (even though we remain wonderful friends to this day!) You should follow her current work on un-fancy.com : she’s amazing.

This year was one of growth and learning. We all began to shoot in film on a regular basis, which was such a wonderful challenge.

I had the privilege of photographing Callie and Jamie’s beautiful wedding that May, while standing by them as a bridesmaid! It was such a joy, and later that year it was featured in Southern Weddings as a featured Real Wedding. It was such a joy!

I also photographed another editorial for Southern Weddings Magazine in Nashville, TN – one of the hottest days of my life!

I truly began to learn the ropes of leading a team. We started our newsletter and had regular team meetings. We had team days and we read books together. I quickly began to realize how much I truly do love leading, and how rewarding it is for me.

Elizabeth approached me about transitioning to family photographer, instead of wedding photographer. We had so many conversations, and it was such a wonderful learning experience for all of us. The important lesson we learned? It’s vital to have the right people in the right seats. I had the right people, but families is where Elizabeth is most gifted! While she was an excellent wedding photographer, it didn’t make sense with her giftings.

We decided to hire another associate photographer, and we began the interview process late that fall. We also decided to hire an intern, which launched our current internship program. With the shifts and changes of our business, we knew we had to keep things growing and changing along with it!

In the middle of fall wedding season, I found out I was pregnant! My due date landed right in the middle of spring wedding season the following year (May 27th, 2015), so I knew the following year was going to look quite different for all of us.

One of the most significant personal changes (other than getting preganant!) was that after 5 years of leading the Youth Ministry at our church, Will decided to step down. He began his own financial coaching business, so we were both officially self employed… and expecting our first baby! It took a lot of faith and trust to walk through those doors together, but God was in every step of our journey.

2015

I entered 2015 with my sleeves rolled up, ready to go, but also unsure of what was ahead of me. How would I do this whole business owner & mama thing together? Could I do them both well? I knew one thing: it would take a lot of preparation and a wonderful team to pull it off.

At the very end of January, we offered the associate photographer position to Olivia Wolf (at the time – now Olivia Suriano), who has been an incredible fit to our team. Goodness do we love her! We began training her, mentoring her, and teaching her everything we could. My belly was growing, and maternity leave prep was in full force.

I photographed yet another editorial for Southern Weddings, this time very pregnant and with a tiny piglet! It was one of my favorite accomplishments in my business, partnering with some of my favorite vendors and creating such a lovely experience and shoot for a magazine I believe in so much.

This was the year of speaking for me. I spoke twice at Making Things Happen, I spoke at the Influence Conference, I spoke at the Pursuit Retreat, and a few online workshops as well. It was full of wonderful experiences and connections.

We also decided to re-launch our brand and website to be more of a reflection of us, our team, and our heart for legacy. We worked closely with Flosites throughout the first half of the year, and I planned to launch the website 1 month prior to my due date. Of course it took much longer than I thought it would, and when I went into labor on May 25th, I worked on finalizing blogposts and emails while I was having contractions. Hilarious, right? I said it was my entrepreneur side of nesting.

On May 26th, 2016, we welcomed our beautiful daughter, Milly Elizabeth Ray, into the world.

Goodness has she changed me. I love her to pieces – she is incredible. She makes me a better business owner, a better wife, a better person. We KNEW she was a boy, so she’s kept us on our toes since the moment she was born. She is such a joy!

I joke that May 26th, 2015 was the most productive day of my life. Not only did I give birth, but we launched our website that day! Callie took over and carried the new brand and website launch to completion.

Let me just take a moment to say:

Callie is WONDERFUL. She carried me through maternity leave. She gave me a gift that I could never repay – a wonderful 3 month leave with my baby girl, not worrying about one single thing. To this day, I am so grateful for her. She taught me how important a team really is, but more than that, she demonstrated how much she loves me and is a loyal friend. I can’t say enough about that lady.

Meanwhile, Will gets an offer to join the C12 Group, and after praying quite a bit throughout the year, he decides to take it! So that fall, another job change happens for our family, and Will becomes a local C12 chair.

I transitioned back to work, and it was challenging and good. I knew I needed help with the baby, so the grandparents stepped it up for the rest of the year while I got used to my new roles as mama and business owner.

2016

We hired a very important team member at the beginning of 2016: a nanny! Rachel was the biggest blessing to us. She came to be our nanny for 3 days a week beginning in February, and little Milly adored her. She STILL does. Even though Rachel doesn’t work with us anymore (she just recently transitioned), she will always always ALWAYS be part of our family. We adore her, and I may or may not have cried for 2 weeks straight when her season with us ended.

This year was so… unique. I only photographed 4 weddings, and I really began to see the effects and blessings of building a team. They were carrying the bulk of the weddings, and I had time to really focus on growing the business.

The most exciting thing that happened in 2016 for our business? The launch of the Nancy Ray Shop!

For the first half of the year, we prayed and planned and learned about digital content and education. We launched the shop in the Spring, and much of my time was spent creating and writing and producing the educational content that it hosts.

Callie and Olivia did incredible work photographing such beautiful weddings, Elizabeth continued to capture sweet families and mini sessions, and we had 2 amazing interns help us in the studio. Will continued to pour into this business with his incredible wisdom in finances, technology, and organizational structure.

Shortly after Thanksgiving, I found out I was pregnant again! It was so exciting to close out the year with that fun news which I announced at my 30th birthday on New Years Eve!

2017

Once again, it was time to hire. Because of the increased growth of weddings we were photographing and Nancy Ray Shop customers, I knew we’d need to expand our studio team if I was going to take another maternity leave. After much prayer and consideration, we offered the job to Olivia! She continued her role as associate photographer, but also took on new responsibilities for the Nancy Ray Shop and in the studio.

We had several huge goals to accommodate our growing team, increased amount of weddings, and educational side of our business. First things first: reorganizing and refreshing our studio space! We spent all of January getting new furniture, painting, and re-decorating so we could be all ready for Olivia when she joined us in February.

We launched our very first online course, Foundations in Film, this spring! What a whirlwind of an experience, and a GOOD one. We have loved hosting this course, and we plan to re-open it again soon.

There are even more exciting things happening this summer and fall – another course all about growing a team, a new website refresh, and shooting some incredible weddings!

On July 29, 2017, we welcomed our baby girl, Lyndon into the world! She has been an absolute joy, and my time away has once again been such a gift. Callie and Olivia, you both are amazing.

Today I find myself incredibly humbled and grateful to have the team that I do. To be shooting in film and creating work I’m so proud of. To have had almost – 10 years of doing work that I absolutely adore. To have a husband who supports me, two beautiful kids who I adore, and a team that I love linking arms with every day to do work we believe in.

Nancy Ray Photography exists to glorify God and inspire legacies through photography and education. We will continue to hold that banner high and do our best work for His kingdom and the legacies of others. I am so grateful for every step of this journey, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds!