Excited to welcome photographer, teacher, and mompreneur Beryl Ayn Young of BerylAynYoung.com and Momtographie.com to the blog.

Beryl believes in nourishing the soul from behind the lens of a camera and you can see the results in the photos showcased here (they are all taken by her former students).

She’s the creator of the Momtographie Online E-course, a 6-week photography course, which begins May 5th.

Here’s Beryl …

Tell me about your business. Who do you love to serve and why?

My business is all about teaching photography to moms. But more importantly than simply teaching the technical basics of photography, I love sharing with moms how they can find a deeper sense of family purpose and confidence behind the lens of a camera too.

How did you discover photography?

I was gifted my first DSLR camera while pregnant for the first time, when we found out at 20 weeks that our daughter was incredibly sick. She was stillborn not long after receiving the devastating news. I used ‘her camera’ to process my grief and re-discover beauty and gratitude and joy in my broken world.

Since then I’ve been hooked on photography. It was the tool that helped me reconnect with my life. Now, I instinctively pick up my camera anytime I’m in need of
a pick-me-up. For awhile I owned a part-time business photographing children and families, but after our 2nd daughter, Brielle, was born healthy and vibrant and full of life I decided I didn’t want to be out taking photos of other families every weekend. So I put my studio to rest and instead combined passions – developing classes to teach
moms how to rock their cameras and find their own confidence and joy behind the lens.

It’s been the best of both worlds and I absolutely LOVE what I do!

You’ve been an elementary teacher and currently help other teachers incorporate technology into their classrooms, how have those experiences influenced how you teach photography?

It’s funny because teaching photography fits in so well with my role at my day job. A DSLR camera is simply a complicated piece of technology that moms need broken down into easy to understand terms. Just as there are functions on a computer that teachers may never need to use, there are also functions on a camera that a mom will never need to use. It’s my job to break down the technology into its simplest parts and show the important components to get the desired job done.

Tell us about your online class: Momtographie. What can a newbie photographer expect to learn in 6 weeks?

I’m so glad you asked about this class! It’s been in the works for awhile now, and is an online version of a class I’ve taught locally for the past 3 years. The goal of the course is to have moms using their DSLR camera to comfortably shoot in manual mode by the end of 6 weeks. I break down each weekly lessons almost like the steps and ingredients of a recipe where we layer one thing on top of another until it gives us a delicious final product. We start with tips and tricks for taking better photos and then ease into mastering technical settings like shutter speed, ISO, aperture, and light.

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How has the experience of teaching others photography impacted your life?

Teaching photography has allowed me to teach on my own terms and watch the positive impact my teaching is having first hand in my students work. As the world of public education continues to focus on more and more testing and less on creativity in the classroom, it’s been increasingly difficult for me to remain passionate about the work I do there. I feel like teaching photography has truly re-kindled my love of being a teacher.

You recently announced that you’re going full-time at your business in June. How did you feel when you reached the tipping point that made this transition possible?

When I began this journey 3 years ago, I asked a mentor how I’d ever be able to work my passion business full time. At the time, I had no clue how I would turn my business into a full time income and I felt like no one had the magic answer that would get me there.

The frustrating advice I was given by this mentor, and then again over and a over and over again from other entrepreneurs was, “You’ll just know.”

Now that I’m in this place of actually being there, on the brink of making my passion business my full time gig, I’m on a roller coaster of emotions!

I’m giddy thinking about what’s to come, excited to be able to be home for my daughter more, scared about providing financially for my family, and nervous about being my own CEO.

But that first mentor of mine was right. I just knew this year was the right time. There wasn’t any magical formula that got me to this place, there wasn’t really a point where I felt completely secure and ready. I just knew I was unhappy with where I was in my life as an elementary teacher and mom and the ideas I had for my business simply couldn’t be sustained anymore on a part-time schedule.

How has having your own business empowered you?

My business has made me realize that hard work really can reap some amazing rewards and that I truly can be in charge of my own destiny.

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Beryl Ayn Young is a wife, mama, teacher, and photographer offering photography lessons and classes to nourish the mind, body, and soul. She’s the creator of the Momtographie Online E-course offering moms a 6-week recipe for photographic success. Get a sneak peek of what Momtographie Online will offer by joining Beryl right for a FREE mini-class One Ingredient Fix. Check out her site for all the details. You can also find Beryl on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

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What memory would you love to have captured in a photo? Comment below…

So happy to have Mindy Crary of Creative Money on the blog today.

Mindy is a financial coach. Her site provides a ton of super practical, heart-centered, personal, and funny money advice. Read 5 Ways that T-Rex and Yoga Eliminate Money Angst, for example.

Her 7-week program, Conscious Money, starts April 9th. You can learn more about it here.

Here’s Mindy …

Tell us about Creative Money. What do you do? Who do you love to help?

Creative Money is my financial coaching practice where I help people with the practical, mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects of their money. This might be as simple as helping someone get out of debt (I know, I am the only one who thinks that is simple!) to more complex issues, like helping someone see how her thinking — not just around money, around everything — affects her current level of financial success.

What experiences have shaped your approach to financial coaching?

I started my career in the traditional financial services industry, and after a few years I could see that I thought differently than my colleagues — that advice and product should be separate, and that we weren’t there to make people more afraid of their money. It was tough to leave that security that I had built for myself, but by then I knew that I needed to find a different way. That decision led to several strange financial experiences — like the buyer of my practice deciding he wasn’t going to pay me, just take my practice (which is crazy) — that really forced me to become completely conscious about how I thought about money and decide how I wanted it to interact in my life.

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What are some of the biggest myths about money and financial planning that you help your clients bust? 

“Perfect” seems to be the biggest myth. I think there are a lot of people out there waiting to pay off debt, or reach a certain level of income to work with someone like me. But perfect doesn’t exist. You have to start imperfectly.

I also think it’s a myth that comparison is productive. People look around and assume that their financial lives don’t measure up. This is shaming, and once you start to feel shame about your financial life, it’s really hard to move forward to create your best financial reality.

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What do you love most about working with small businesses and entrepreneurs?

I love the possibility. Just recently I met with someone who obviously needed to double her rates, and I inspired her to do that by helping her think differently! How much is her life going to change by helping her do that?!

I really love all aspects of business; I love to understand how entrepreneurs decide which market to serve, what their pricing strategy is, their growth strategies, etc. I have a masters in business, so it’s a little bit of my MBA-geekiness that loves listening to an entrepreneur talk about production processes, organizational leadership, product line expansion, etc. We all tend to focus on marketing, but a good business is the sum of all its parts.

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How has running your own business empowered you?

I’ve been working for myself since 1998, and what I think has been the most empowering thing is realizing that there is no such thing as failure. During that time, my business changed and evolved, and each time I made a choice to stop offering something, it felt scary. Just by virtue of NOT QUITTING — even when things got really tough — I have created a life where I can have and do whatever I want. I am no longer afraid to let things go when it’s time to move onto new ideas.

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What did 7-year-old Mindy says she wanted to be when she grew up?

A cake decorator, isn’t that funny? My mom used to tease me about that all the time. The first one I personally remember is wanting to be a veterinarian because I love animals so much. Even though I feel like I am on a clear life path, I like to play a game I call What Would You Be If You Had To Go Into Witness Protection? I think being an aesthetician would be fun.

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Finish this sentence. I believe…

I believe we can live in world where money doesn’t have to be a struggle, and where it’s a source of stability in our lives, instead of something we have to stabilize.

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Is there anything else you’d like us to know?

The amount of financial success in my life has been tied directly to my personal and spiritual growth. It’s something I discussed in a free call I did recently (for a program I offer starting April 9th), and more than anything, I believe this connection has the power to change your life, IF you’re willing to take the growth. Saying yes is the first step.

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Mindy Crary (MBA, CFP® practitioner and financial coach) helps you become a lot more educated (never inundated) about not just your money — but the whackjob behind it. Mindy helps both your money AND you succeed, bridging the gap between the energetic, spiritual and practical financial services industry, but doing it with a creative twist. Go to Creative Money to get access to free call recordings, ebooks and video trainings. For information on the Conscious Money program starting April 9th, click here. You can find Mindy on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and LinkedIn.

Comment below: How are your thoughts impacting your financial picture? What shifts could you make to change your financial course?

Excited to have Gretchen Cawthon on the blog today.

Gretchen’s company, Girls Can’t WHAT?, develops products (apparel, cups, key chains, hats, magnets, etc) to inspire girls of all ages to follow their dreams.

Gretchen learned to draw, use Photoshop and Illustrator, and much more to bring her company vision to life. But, as you’ll see, she’s no stranger to learning new things and accepting challenges.

Here’s Gretchen …

Tell us about Girls Can’t WHAT? What does your company do? What is your role in the company?

Girls Can’t WHAT? was created in 2005 after a business partner told me women can’t do web design. Shortly after leaving that job, I decided I would build my own business, starting with a web site, of course. I checked out books from the library, watched videos and asked for help in forums until I felt comfortable with my skills. A couple of months later I built the entire site myself. I also followed that same format to teach myself how to draw the designs I use on my site. Knowledge is power.

The purpose of the Girls Can’t WHAT? company is to inspire girls to take on their dreams no matter what the rest of the world thinks they can or can’t do. The Girls Can’t WHAT? designs reflect an empowering message that “yes, girls can!”. We also use 20% of every purchase to help other women entrepreneurs reach their dreams. It’s a great feeling to be able to help others help themselves.

My role is quite diversified at the moment. I am the CEO, the secretary, the artist, the janitor and much more. I’ve been a one-woman show up until this year when I hired a friend to help me with product development so I could keep up with demand. Ultimately I would like to be at the place where all I do is work on Girls Can’t WHAT? design creation and delegate the rest. I have a plan mapped out to reach that goal and it’s a process I’m actively working towards. Currently, my time is very limited and I also use my web development skills to help others build their sites. It’s sort of  an off-shoot business that developed after building the Girls Can’t WHAT? site. My time is usually divided between the 2 businesses. I guess girls can be web developers after all.

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What experiences influenced the creation of Girls Can’t WHAT?

Clearly, my former business partner’s comment was the kick-starter, but it shouldn’t have surprised me, based on my childhood experiences. I grew up in a neighborhood of mostly boys. We played football, shot BB guns, and rode dirt bikes on a daily basis. I’ve never been a “girly girl” and if given the choice between things like baking or shopping versus playing sports or fixing stuff, I’d be outside with my ball bat and glove in a heartbeat. I was always trying to work my way into what might have been considered “boys clubs” because that’s what interested me. Girls sports weren’t nearly as popular or accessible when I was younger, so I joined Little League and made the boys basketball team so I could do the things I wanted to do.

Since my interests were so “uncommon” for a girl, I’ve lived through my fair share of firsts or being the only girl on a team. I was always the only girl on the Little League team. I was one of two girls to make the previously all-boys basketball team in the 6th grade and I was the only girl in the percussion department in college my Freshman year. The list goes on. I guess I’ve always had an attitude of “Girls Can’t WHAT?” which pushed me to ignore gender barriers and just go after the things I loved.

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Your designs are often inspired by people you know. What are your favorite Girls Can’t WHAT designs so far?

My favorite is the drummer. It’s on my tote bag, my t-shirts, my travel mug, my laptop bag, and my iPhone case. It represents me and was one of the very first designs I created so it will always be special.

The veterinarian design was created for my sister when she received her veterinarian degree. The pug in the design was my dog, Quest, and the German shepherd and cat represented her pets.

I have fun creating them all so it’s really hard to pick favorites, but I also really like the firefighter, police officer, hockey player, bass guitar player and the snow skier.

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What skills did you have to learn to get your business up and running?

A lot of my skill set comes from my natural interests in computers and creating things. I’ve been programming since the 7th grade so building a web site wasn’t that difficult for me to learn. I also love to build things and create systems. A business is a system in itself, so I had a natural desire to learn more about building a business.

Although I have a college degree in music business, I am mostly self-taught when it comes to computers and programming. I like to immerse myself in a topic by collecting resources from the library and the Internet and studying until I feel I have reached an appropriate level of learning for that topic or skill.

To get started, I had to learn how to draw. I’ve always been involved art to a degree but never on a computer. I had to teach myself how to draw cartoons on a computer screen and learn to use Photoshop and Illustrator to prep them for printing. It was quite a process, but I enjoyed learning and improving my skills. My first attempts at drawing were pretty hideous.

Even though I love the challenge of learning new skills, I don’t try to do it all. I have recently hired someone to help me with design development and marketing, and as the business grows I anticipate hiring additional help.

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You have a great blog post about Finding Your Super Power. What’s your super power?

In that post, I talk a lot about passion. Essentially your super power is a combination of your passion and what you like to do. My passion is helping people break through gender stereotypes. I also like to challenge people to think for themselves and discover their own path. When you combine those things, my super power turns out to be “challenging women to break through gender barriers to achieve their dreams.” And that is exactly what the Girls Can’t WHAT? theme is all about.

What do you love to do outside of your business?

I have two teenage daughters who are both into sports. I love watching them play and cheering for their teams. I also love taking long walks with my rescued Boston Terrier, Lola, and playing drums in my band Four Wall Flight.

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How has creating your own business empowered you?

Creating my own business has put me in the driver’s seat. There is no limit to how I have to spend my time, how much money I can make or what levels I achieve with my business. It gives me the freedom to be me and do the things I love to do and get paid for it in the process.

But beyond all that, it has empowered me to help other people. For every purchase of Girls Can’t WHAT? gear, 20% is given to help empower women entrepreneurs through the KIVA micro-lending program. It’s immensely satisfying to know that my artwork has a greater purpose than selling a t-shirt. Girls Can’t WHAT? is able to change lives. That’s why I use the tagline “Empower a girl… change the world”. That’s my mission.

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You can find Gretchen Cawthon at her website: Girls Can’t What? and on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

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Comment below: Has anyone ever told you that you can’t do something because of your gender? What was it and how did you prove them wrong?