Want to know what it’s like relocating my photography business across the country? In a word: chaotic.

The COVID years have been difficult but incredibly transformative, and I spent the past two to three years really finding my footing with my business. I put in some serious work figuring out how to navigate being a freelancer and entrepreneur after 5 years at a corporate job, learning what kinds of photography make me happy, finding my voice and personal style, nurturing a support group of friends and colleagues, and carving out a place in that community that felt authentic to myself and my brand – and then I just ripped the rug out from under myself.

Honestly I feel like I became the epitome of “one step forward, two steps back” when I moved 2800 miles away from everything I spent the past few years building.

Why did we move?

This is one thing I have not questioned at all through this process – Andrew and I knew we wanted to move to California. I grew up in the Bay Area, and even though I’ve spent the past 12 ish years in New York, the west coast just always felt like home to me. Andrew and I spent a lot of time talking about what we wanted our lives to look like in the next few years, and the dreams we painted just didn’t have New York as the backdrop. We want a bunch of little kids with sandy feet, dogs and surfboards packed into our tiny backyard. We want sunshine and nature, and to be closer to my parents. What we want is a life in Southern California.

Even though right now things are a little complicated, I know we made the right choice. I just have to go back to the grindstone and put in the work again!

Where do I even start?

For anyone else looking to make the jump in relocating a photography business across the country, here are the first 5 things I’m prioritizing to make the process a little bit smoother.

1. Giving myself a grace period.

I’m reusing a rule that I set when I first left the TODAY show: don’t force yourself to get hired within the first three months. That’s right, I’m giving myself a three month buffer.

This means I will gladly take on any clients that come my way, but I’m not putting any pressure on myself to go out and find clients, at least not immediately. I feel confident that I have savings to keep me afloat for the first three months, and I know that for me personally, diving headfirst right into client work can be a bit overwhelming.

I know that this isn’t the right move for everyone, but here’s how I justify it:

First of all, I moved in December, and the winter is typically a pretty dead season in New York anyway. Most people will have just finished their holiday photos and are getting ready to unplug, plus on the east coast people are looking pretty pale and sniffly in December/January…so honestly I wouldn’t be making a ton of money in this season anyway.

There’s still work to be done! Just because I’m not seeking out clients doesn’t mean I’ve put a metaphorical CLOSED sign on my front door. I’m spending time on the backend, which for me means updating my website, changing my pricing, archiving old shoots, and tying up any loose ends with former clients. Another major thing is location scouting!! But I’ll get to that in a minute…

The last reason why I love a grace period is just to allow myself to sink into a new home. I’m spending time with Andrew and Dempsey as we explore our new neighborhood and decorate our apartment. I want this to feel like home, so I’m building in time to make that happen.

2. Getting a head start on my rebrand

Before I even left New York I started dropping hints that I was moving to California. And by hints I mean I was shouting it from the social media rooftops. A few months before we moved I updated my Instagram and website bio to read Los Angeles Lifestyle Photographer, I started tagging popular Southern California geotags on my social posts, and of course I wrote blogs, newsletters, and grid post after grid post all about the upcoming big move.

*If I could give advice to myself 6 months ago it would be to invest more time and money into building a presence in LA before I moved here. But look, I know myself and Busy Season Sam would have laughed in my damn face. So I made simple little shifts that allowed me to be as visible as possible, and I’ll work on the big things once I’m more settled here.

3. Legally moving my business to CA and hiring a local accountant

This is the most boring but arguably most important thing on my checklist. As a creative business owner, I definitely tend to love the creative aspects and cringe at the business side of things. So legally relocating my photography business to California and hiring a local accountant was a bit of a daunting task but one that will set me up for success in the long run.

4. Location scouting

I told you I’d come back to this one! One thing I love to do in my “working downtime” is location scout. Not only is it a fun way to explore my new city, but it’s great to have a list of locations ready when I do start to take on more clients. I mostly shoot in-home sessions but the weather is undeniably great out here so I might as well have a handful of outdoor locations in my back pocket!

5. Making friends

Do you know how weird it is to make friends as an adult?? I felt like I had my people in New York, you know? I had my workshop and Wing colleagues, my workout friends, my college friends, Andrew’s soccer friends, our favorite neighbors – our community was strong.

Photography can be a pretty isolating industry if you let it be. On days when I don’t have client sessions I could potentially go the whole day without talking to anyone! (Besides Andrew, obviously. We share a desk…and a bed…it would be really damn hard to ignore him.)

My favorite advice to give someone who is just starting out, relocating a photography business, or honestly even someone who feels like they’re starting a new chapter in their life, is to find your community. Sign up for workshops and events, join Facebook groups if that’s your thing, go to a coworking space – do what you need to do to find your people.

Business-wise, you never know where a client might come from; referrals are your best friend. Life-wise, it’s just freaking nice to have friends, ok?? So you gotta put yourself out there and hope for the best

And on that note I’m at the Wing and I’m going to go ask the girl at the next table if she wants to have lunch with me…wish me luck!!