In celebration of Danelle Hevron Studio's first birthday this week, I really wanted to do one of those down and dirty cake smashes. You know, the ones where everyone and everything gets messy.

I bought the cake, set up the backdrop and found a friend to come to my studio near Robinson, IL, fully prepared to make a mess.

Business is messy, especially when you're a newbie. A cake smash seemed fitting.

Being creative comes naturally, running a business, however, is something entirely new and different for me. This year has come with its share of challenges and celebrations.

Last year at this time, I was still trying to build the website - one element at a time. I didn't lose heart but I thought I'd lose my mind:)

Take a look on Facebook. There are photographers everywhere. Digital cameras and social media have made it somewhat easy to throw up a business. But there's a lot more to it than being able to navigate social media.

There's the gear - you have to have it, you have to know how to use it, you have to maintain it, you have to know how to improvise when it craps out on you when you least expect it.

There's the creativity - you have to keep up with the trends while staying true to your own style. (You have to figure out your own style, too.)

There's the time - the set up, the actually shooting time and the editing time.

There's the passion - you have to love what you're doing.

And then there's the business end - the taxes, the price lists the orders and the customer service.

I have to say the biggest learning curve for me has been managing the time.

I'd been wanting to have a studio for a long time, but there never seemed to be a good time to do it. Finally, last summer, I decided the time was now. I'd waited long enough. 

I want to say passion pushed me over the edge. I have a full-time job and three active children. Adding another ball to juggle wasn't going to be easy.

I applied for my business license, visited the accountant, finished up the website (it took a full month), built an identity on a few social media sites and started photographing people I knew.

In the beginning, I managed the time horribly. Each session saw way too many frames to manage, too many hours nitpicking at the computer and then playing with final edits. My daughters hated when I had a session because they knew it meant Mommy would be on the computer for a long time afterward.

It isn't like that now. 

The workflow is down to a science and, while I may load images immediately after a session, the real work doesn't begin until the little ones are in bed and even that doesn't take as long as it used to. 

Is the business where I want right now? Not yet but there's room to grow and I'm now fine with that.

I've been blessed to have a wonderful support system! My children, who stand in whenever I want to check out a new lighting setup or play with a little gossamer; my friends, who have set a firm foundation for my business by booking me for photos and referring me to their friends; and especially my husband, who watches the kids while I go romp in the woods, tows out the transportation in the back field when I get hung up and who helps me with the business-side of things.

As a rule, I'm not a huge risk taker. If all my friends were jumping off a bridge, I'd be the one saying "maybe this isn't such a good idea." 

This time, however, I took the plunge and I haven't regretted it for a second. It's allowed me to see possibilities I never dreamed of.

So you may wonder why are Caitlin and I aren't covered in cake? While the smash seemed like a good concept initially, one finger full of that cream cheese icing was enough to make me change my mind about the whole mess idea. Why waste a good cake when you can savor every bit of it?

Thanks everyone for a great year!