Empowering.

"I am #PoweringTomorrow by following my dreams and building my own business."

This morning I came across an interesting article in my newsfeed that, quite frankly, drew me in to click on it because of the cute graphic it had right next to it. I clicked on it and read the article which discussed some amazing facts about women entrepreneurs and the impact that women-owned business are having in the American economy. 

Wait, before you think I have gone crazier than usual and going to babble about economic development, policy, and success among other fancy financial terms you are wrong.

Sort of.

What I am going to discuss and share with you are some of the interesting facts I found in the article and what I, as a small business owner myself who is a woman, have experienced on my journey. 

Deciding to build a business out of something I loved has made my career dream come into fruition. The very first step, deciding to do this for a living and do it well, catapulted me into a vague, unknown, and very often scary stratosphere. Me, a business owner? I still find it hard to wrap my head around it. I have always known I wanted to be an entrepreneur; from my second grade career paper, I have never thought otherwise. What I didn't write in that paper was exactly what I wanted to do as an entrepreneur. As I have come into my own and discovered the woman, the human being, and the person that I want to become my dreams of have become much more streamlined and, quite possibly, found a streamline trajectory path to entrepreneurial-ship that I strive to follow. Please note that my path, although streamlined, is still not completely known to me. What would be the fun in that?   

Part of the success in building a business is figuring out how. That, my dear friends, has always been tough for me. But through trial and error and multiple mistakes, I slowly garner the knowledge required to keep going and to keep building. Each step often followed by fear and a headache. 

Some of the biggest mistakes I have made when starting out is not trusting myself; allowing the little bit of fear inside me to take over and lead me on a diverted path. The final destination is the one I originally wished to attain but getting there was much more difficult and headache inducing. I wasn't originally prepared for sales taxes, franchise fees, property taxes and a multitude of other things. But, again, trial and error have nonetheless served me well. 

My road to photography, to owning a business, has been exciting. I am now looking forward to the next step. As a business owner, I strive to make goals so that I can work hard to accomplish them. I feel great when I can smile, throw my fist in the air and do a little booty-shake when I realize I accomplished something I worked hard for. Don't you?

To grow, I need more knowledge so knowledge is what I am garnering. I have so many ideas to incorporate into my business. So many places I want to see and visit... 

I am planning my next big step... moving. Stay with me, I am not moving this summer (I already did that, ha!) or in the fall. But I am planning and strategizing for the next big city I will sink my teeth into. This means research, research and tons of research. It will be a challenge of course, but really to me understanding the sales tax monster has made me a tiny bit tougher. Who knows what I can conquer...

You can read the article here: http://www.openforum.com/articles/celebrating-women-entrepreneurs-the-magnitude-of-the-movement/?extlink=sm-openf-womensbiz-2012

Are you, dear reader, a business owner? If so, what was the toughest thing you learned about being the boss? If you're a photographer, feel free to share with me some of your experiences. 

Now my friends, go out and conquer!

Corey + Tessie... Austin, Texas

Back in May I had the pleasure of photographing a beautiful wedding at the Driskill Hotel in Austin, Texas. Tessa and Corey, the bride and groom celebrated their "I Do's" in full Texas style in the beautiful and historic Driskill Hotel downtown. The wedding was absolutely beautiful and I have it all to thank to Miss Amanda J. from AJ Love Stories (http://ajlovestories.com/) for inviting me to tag along and photograph the wedding as her second shooter.

A second shooter serves primarily to assist the main photographer in capturing the story of the wedding day. It was my job to make sure Amanda was well-prepared throughout the day as the photographer and as a perk I got to hang out with her all day. This was my very first time, EVER, serving as a second shooter! I was very nervous and felt like I was about to photograph my very first wedding. When I first started wedding photography I jumped right in. Completely clueless but ready for a challenge. 

Second shooting for Amanda was great. I had such a positive experience and once I made the first click of my shutter my game face was on and I tried my best to assist Amanda with whatever she needed. As the second photographer, I got to experience different things behind my camera. Rather than having all of the pressure of capturing the wedding from beginning to end, I felt much more flexible to be creative. While Amanda was poised to get the main shots, I went with the flow of the wedding and really just blended in with the crowd. The result, in my opinion, was a different and much more candid perspective to this beautiful wedding. 

I hope I made Amanda proud.

Thus, I figured I would share with you some of my images and show you their wedding from a different perspective... 

Amanda!! Thank you for allowing me to tag along! I am so glad we got to meet each other and, most importantly, that we became friends :) I hope I assisted you well and that my images were up to par. I am excited to have worked with you again since then and very much look forward to the future!

Friends, I hope your week went well! Hugs :)

Ben + Marissa

A few months ago I received a call from a lovely young woman inquiring about the Mommy + Me Collection I offer. Marissa and I spoke on the phone and exchanged informative emails for a few days and when she felt comfortable with her decision, she chose me to photograph the newest chapter in her life.  

A hesitant Marissa exclaimed how she was quite uncomfortable in front of the camera... ha! Marissa you are BEAUTIFUL!!!! You and Ben are full of that "soon-to-be parents" glow. Take after take, you guys rocked your session. My job is a breeze when I get to photograph people like you.. full of life, love and laughter. 

 You are beautiful Marissa!!!

Marissa and Ben, I am delighted to have met you and more so to have had the opportunity to document such an amazing time in your lives. The two of you are amazing individuals and so very much in love with one another. The excitement about the pending arrival of your new baby is clearly visible in the way you look at each other and interact with your surroundings. Marissa, your glow as you approach motherhood is inherently apparent. Congratulations on your soon to be here baby!!! I can't wait to meet the newest addition to your family!!

Happy Friday friends :)

New Location!!!

I'll make this brief...

I have moved my office from Weslaco, Texas to McAllen, Texas and now have a new mailing address. Dearests, you may now find me at 6508 N 17th Street in McAllen, Texas. I am in the process of getting set up so I do not have access to interenet at the present moment.

If you need me, email me at mary@marisolizaguirre.com and I will immediately get back to you. I am hoping to get everything organized and back to normal as soon as I possibly can. Promise!!

In the meantime, email is the best form to get a hold of me for any inquiries. I am hoping to be back to blogging continually within the next few days as well... I have lots of sessions and new things to share with you.

Have a great day!!!