Work is what you make of it. These three enterprising moms created successful jobs out of hobbies. Their jobs bring them joy and satisfaction. Get inspired by these stories of hobbies that became careers.
Photo credit: Megan Jane Photography
Megan Jane Photography
Successful family and children’s photographer Megan Jane took a passion and created a successful business. After five years in business, she’s still learning every day, and enjoys the freedom of doing what she loves best.
Hooked on photography
Jane has had a camera in her hands since high school. “I brought 10 rolls of film on a nine-day school trip to Europe, and never looked back,” says the Massachusetts mom of two. When she visited Hawaii on her honeymoon, she invested in a nice camera to capture memories of the trip. “From there, I became hooked on all things photography,” she says. Jane threw herself into photography education, taking workshops, viewing tutorials and joining forums online.
Capturing memories in the NICU
When her daughter was born with complications in 2009, Megan spent 24 heart-wrenching days at her newborn’s side in the NICU. Not knowing if her daughter would recover or come home, Megan took hundreds of photos to help cope. She would scroll through them during sleepless nights away from her baby. “This experience became the cornerstone for my love of candid connections between people, and the desire to capture all of the little mannerisms we have — all of the subconsciously noticed traits that define who we are to our loved ones, and them to us,” Megan says.
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Photo credit: Megan Jane Photography
A business from the start
After her daughter came home, Jane began pursuing photography as a career. Getting paid to do what she loved appealed to her. She’d heard it was important to establish a small business by the books. “Being the rule follower that I am, I wanted to do this the right way, so I did this all with an infant at my side,” she says. With the help of fellow photographer friends, Jane set up her business and hit the ground running. She estimates that she spends about 80 percent of her work time on administrative tasks, and 20 percent shooting and editing photos. “My family is super supportive,” Jane says, “and I know for a fact that I would not be in business professionally if it wasn’t for their encouragement and belief in me.”
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