What's the Startup?!

The Power of Quiet Time and Goal Setting with Sprocket Member Amy Wright

• Kaylan Thompson

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In this episode of What’s the Startup?, we sit down with Amy Wright, founder of Wright Photography Video, to dive into her journey from side hustle to a thriving full-time business. Amy shares her story of leaving the security of a 9-to-5 to pursue her passion and how quiet time and goal setting have become her secret weapons for success.

We talk about finding balance as an entrepreneur, setting boundaries between work and family, and the power of intention when it comes to achieving your goals. Whether you’re just starting out or already in the thick of building your business, Amy’s insights on prioritizing mental health, defining success, and the importance of community will leave you feeling inspired and ready to take action.

Tune in to hear how this Sprocket member turned her passion into a sustainable business—and learn how you can do the same!

Thank you for tuning in to this episode of the Sprocket Podcast! If you’re ready to dive into the world of startups and innovation, visit us online at Sprocket WKY to learn more about our mission and how we support entrepreneurs like you.

Ready to check out the space? Book a tour with Tiffany, our Community Coordinator!

Got a business idea? Apply for a mentorship session with one of our experienced mentors!

Stay connected and join our growing community on Instagram for the latest updates, inspiration, and behind-the-scenes looks at what’s happening at Sprocket.

Let’s turn your ideas into reality—together!

Sprocket is proud to be supported by Team Kentucky, the Commonwealth's Cabinet for Economic Development. Learn more about their initiatives and resources at ced.ky.gov.

Kaylan:

Welcome, Amy. Hi. To What's the Startup?

Amy:

Yeah. What is the startup? What's the startup with you? What's the startup with me? I started up tell us a little bit about you. My name's Amy Wright, and I own Wright Photography Video. And, my husband and I have been doing this since 2013. He's my videographer, and I do photography.

Kaylan:

Nice. That's a good team. Yes. We make

Amy:

a very good team. And how have things grown since then? Oh my goodness. I started out so small we photographed our first wedding in 2014. That family is still a client by the way. Nice. Loyalty there. Brand loyalty. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. that first wedding. Oh my goodness. I made so many mistakes, but I have grown so much over the last 11 years and I was able to leave my 9 to 5 in 2021 and do it full time. And it's been remarkable.

Kaylan:

You've got a really cool story about that transition to tell us a little bit more about what that experience was like for you cause I think a lot of our listeners are probably listening while they're at their nine to five and they've got their idea that they're working on. They're hustling. Yeah. And it's really exciting to hear stories like yours, knowing that other people have done it. They've made that transition as possible for me. Yeah. Tell us about that transition for you.

Amy:

It was terrifying to leave a two every two week paycheck. It was terrifying. But the door opened and I took a chance and it wasn't easy. But it was worth it. The hard work and the determination that I had to make it successful.

Kaylan:

So tell us a little bit about your photography, videography business. Who do you primarily serve and why do you love doing it?

Amy:

I love doing it because I'm a people person. Yeah. I get my energy from other people. It's when I'm around happy people, it energizes me. And it's funny because my husband's the total opposite. He's a one on one person. He will carry on a deep conversation with one person, but I get energy from crowds and like on a wedding day, it's so much fun being around all those happy people that are happy for the couple and seeing all the smiles, it just energizes me. That's what I love about photography. And serving clients on their happiest days is the best part of the job.

Kaylan:

One of the things that we wanted to talk about today, because you and I have chatted about this before. Yeah. And personally, I was taking notes. And that's all about goal setting. That's something that you're really good at. Introduce us to your approach to goal setting.

Amy:

I love writing out goals. Journaling about things that I hope will happen in the future really makes it concrete for me. For example, one goal that I had last year was being able to sell prints and wall art rather than letting my products live on the internet. Or on a hard drive or on a computer. I love seeing them on walls. And so last year I made the goal of being able to sell products. And I wrote that down in real tangible step by step directions. Like I need to upgrade my website. That costs money. So the capital that it took to get there was really the number one goal. I start my day at 6 a. m. almost every day. Today it was 5. 30 because I needed to get some more computer work done. And when you're a wife and mom that has other goals and other tasks and other things. that need to get done, you've got to be an early riser. And I've always been an early riser. I like waking up early and the house is quiet and you can sit there and the kids are still asleep. Nobody's moving around in the house. That's my time. That's my time. And I love waking up early, especially on cooler mornings. Like I love fall and winter and spring. When I can wake up and there's frost on the ground and I cuddle up in a warm blanket.

Kaylan:

I love that so much. You go sit outside. I

Amy:

do. Yeah, we've got a deck outside and the birds are chirping and it's really calm and peaceful. That's really when a lot of my ideas come to me. When I'm by myself in a calm, quiet space, a lot of my goals come from that.

Kaylan:

That's so inspiring because I think the tendency for the startup world and small business is hustle hustle. Absolutely. And we're trying to chase and manufacture these ideas all day. And then sometimes we just start hitting walls. Yeah. It's so hard to tell people that if you actually just sit and stare at a wall, Yeah. With nothing. Tell me more about that. Is, has that been a practice that you've always had? Even like the waking up and just the sitting in the quiet. Has that always come easy to you?

Amy:

It has. And really it was necessary when my children were younger. They're 12 and 8 now and we've got school routine in the morning being able to carry it into now has really been beneficial for me.

Kaylan:

How do you balance that? Even in terms of we talked earlier about job security how do you balance and plan for it all?

Amy:

So with the ebb and flow of photography business, there's slower seasons. And really busy seasons. And this year spring was extremely busy for me. So I was able to put back, finances to help maintain the household during the summer months. And I still worked, but I was really intentional on keeping things within certain timeframes when I was at home. Now going out on a session, you're out for. Usually two hours and that's two hours out of their day, but they, I would try to stack sessions like one after another to try and get as many done in one day rather than one every single day. And so that, that kind of stacking really helped my productivity, helping balance between working on galleries and spending time with them. I would have dedicated hours during the day. And then, once a certain time came say, 12. 30 p. m., lunch, then the computer went off, and the rest of the day was for my kids. And that's how I really balance out work and home.

Kaylan:

do you ever find yourself struggling to keep those boundaries straight?

Amy:

When I needed to get a lot of work done, I would set that expectation with my kids early. Today, mom's gotta do this, and then at this time, I'll get to spend time with y'all and we'll play and do fun things. But I've got to work. That's how we make money. They really respected that this summer. They were great. And so I think it was really important for me to plan my weeks out ahead of time. I have this massive plan. But at the opposite end of that spectrum, there's this give and take that if you work too hard and all they see is work, they're going to grow up with the mindset that I can't ever have fun. And so for me, it's important to instill great work ethic. But show them that even though there's stuff to do, it's okay to play. Because I don't want them to grow up and just hustle all the time. I want them to take time for themselves to really enjoy life. And work needs a good balance for that. And providing that example, they need to see that it's okay to work and play.

Kaylan:

One thing about being an entrepreneur is that some of our work is play. Even putting together a website can be fun. Absolutely. It's an expression of your creativity. So they get to see that too and we get to practice. intermingling play with work and yes work with play. Yeah. I really admire the way that you have created boundaries even for yourself so that you can put the work aside even when it's unfinished because let's be honest it's never going to be finished. It's

Amy:

never going to be finished especially when you own a business there's always going to be the next step, the next photo session, the next gallery edit, the next video edit and It's never going to stop. Hopefully, if you do it right, it'll never stop. Finding the balance, I think, is showing the example. What to do. What you want them to learn.

Kaylan:

There's one thing that I want to dive back into, Going back to that time in the morning that you have, where it's just blank space. And you said, that's when the goals come to me. Yeah. And I want to pry that open. Yeah. How do you know, I just want to know what that is like. Okay. How did they come to you? How does it how do you know, oh, this is a goal?

Amy:

My number one goal above anything else is to show love to everyone that I meet. And that's really important to me because really that's why I'm here. That's where a lot of my goals come from. How can I better serve my community with the talents that I've been given?

Kaylan:

So once a goal comes to you, what do you do next?

Amy:

I like actionable steps, and writing is one of the things that I love to do. I journal, and any idea that comes to mind, like serving the autistic community. I have a son who is autistic, and He is a joy in front of the camera.

Kaylan:

That's really sweet. Oh, I think it's so beautiful that what you do and how you provide for your family has come out of something, has come out of your family. That's so full circle. Yeah. And that passion is there. I think that's also, from the outside looking in, that's one thing that I can see that anchors you. Yeah. In your passion for your business. And maybe that's one of the reasons it's maybe not easy. But how you can be so intentional with making those boundaries. Yeah. Because what you do has come out of your family and it's for your family and it's also for you. It lights you up and I can tell that it

Amy:

fuels you. It really does. It's been the, one of the biggest sources of joy that I think I've ever experienced is owning a business and having the freedom to be there for my family and provide for them financially. And pour into other people that need it.

Kaylan:

How do you find the balance between settling on goals that are ambitious but also realistic too?

Amy:

That's a good question. And I try to look at things that are tangible. What can I actually do to attain the goals? For me it starts with writing things down. Being able to see it on paper. And that's with anything that I do. If I'm able to see a really busy to do list, I go one at a time. And so setting goals really centers around what does success look with these goals. And so if you're able to define what success looks like, you're able to take actionable steps for that. Setting goals, really for me, is about defining what success looks like. For me personally, it's having enough weekends free with my kids, not working every single weekend. How did you come about defining that vision of success for you? Time with my family is really important, and being able to spend more time with them and less time in front of the computer editing is really how I came about that goal. Becoming a better photographer really is a long term goal for me. every photographer. And so learning better technique, learning your camera better, is an actionable step to earning more money. If you want to attract a higher paying client, you're going to have to be a better photographer.

Kaylan:

It sounds before you can even set goals, you have to know what success looks like. Yeah. But to know what success looks like, you have to know your priorities. Yes. How, which, which takes a level of like self awareness that a lot of us, don't always have. Absolutely. What how do you develop that self awareness and that even understanding what your priorities

Amy:

are? Yeah. I think that goes back to quiet time. Every person needs to have a quiet space. I like that theme.

Kaylan:

Developing a quiet time why is it so important for you in order to understand your priorities?

Amy:

It really is important because being a parent is chaotic. Being, a business owner is chaotic. It takes so much hard work for both. And being able to just breathe is good for everyone. If your mind is so chaotic all the time, there's no space for creativity. And so quiet time is great.

Kaylan:

I feel like it helps you reconnect to yourself too.

Amy:

Time is our most valuable asset and it's the same for everyone. I actually wrote that down in my journal this week. Time is everyone's most valuable asset. You cannot get it back. Once it's gone. And so being really intentional with the time that you spend on tasks is key. Being really intentional with how you divide up your day as a business owner is really important because you can't get that time back. I have found so many times that I am so productive in the last 30 minutes of my business day. How do I harness that at 9 a. m.? And so I have found that creating artificial deadlines is really helpful. If I can get this gallery edited in 45 minutes, I get to go outside. A

Kaylan:

little reward system. A little

Amy:

reward system, yeah. It works for my kids, it works for me too. Or taking a coffee break and just separating from the work and creating this tiny little reward system has been really beneficial for me. And setting artificial deadlines. Yeah.

Kaylan:

And so I bet you find that you're more productive when you take those little breaks to recharge than if you just push through.

Amy:

Yeah. Yeah. Cause burnout is a real thing.

Kaylan:

Yeah.

Amy:

And I have seen it countless times, especially in the photography world. You work so, so hard and you push through so much and you don't take time to really recharge. Focus on what you're doing it for. Figuring out your why. Why do you want to do what you do? And not having that in the back of your mind whenever you're staring at a thousand pictures from a wedding. I go back to my why. The why you do something is really important. For me personally I want to impact, encourage, and strengthen people. And being able to do that while looking at a computer screen for hours, is really important.

Kaylan:

Yeah.'cause it's easy to remember your why when you're at the wedding and you're around the other people, which you said recharges you and it feels energetic and fun. Yeah. But then you get back and you have to do some of the nitty gritty work. Yes. Yeah. That's when it's so important to remember your why. Yeah. And so I'm sensing this theme, like this theme of making space for yourself so you can re reconnect with yourself. Meditate, make space for creativity and goals. Yeah. and defining your vision of success, which comes from your priorities, but then sprinkling like little priority recharge breaks. Yes. Through your workday. Yeah. It feels like this full circle recharging system to keep you going. And that seems really

Amy:

sustainable. I've done it daily for the last three years. I've been full time with photography for three years and it's been great. It really has been. I've done things that I didn't think were possible.

Kaylan:

We often even think about goals and we have action steps in our planner for things that we're working on tomorrow. Yes. And so I think it's easy to get lost in that. Day to day work. Yeah. That you forget about some of the bigger things that you're looking forward to. And so maybe that quiet time helps you reconnect with those goals and those priorities.

Amy:

There's a quote that came to mind while you were saying that. What if you woke up tomorrow with the things that you were thankful for today? What set of problems do you have now that you used to wish for in the past?

Kaylan:

Yeah, that hits hard. I think that raises an important thing too, is that community is so essential for us. We talked about that, how we can recharge ourselves with a quiet time, priorities, knowing our vision for success, and it helps us keep going. But then I really feel like community is a component that comes alongside us and helps us stay on track.

Amy:

Yes. Yeah. I think that's one thing Sprocket does really well. Every time I'm here, every coffee hour that I come to, it is so energizing. Like everyone that's around gives you a little boost. It does. It does. Community is so important and we couldn't do live without community. I, yeah, I love that thought and it's really inspiring. I love what Sprocket does.

Kaylan:

Have you ever experienced burnout? So I think there's two paths. There's the recharging, healthy entrepreneurial path, but I guess it's too optimistic for me to think that all of us can get in that habit forever. But then there's that hustle culture path where we get inspiration, motivation, and we just go until we're all drained. Then we have to pick ourselves back up and start again.

Amy:

I've definitely experienced burnout a hundred percent. Before I went full time with it. I wondered what was it all for? Why was I working so hard for this? And then it became evident, this is why I'm working hard. But yes, burnout is a very real thing and if you don't take actionable steps to counterbalance that, you're going to be in the hole. What are some of those steps? Really for me, it's quiet time. Yeah, going back to quiet time. If you go 100 percent of the time, it affects every aspect of your life. Sleep is impacted. Your mental stability is impacted. And when you can't sleep because of the stress in your life, you can't be productive. So yes, I have experienced burnout. in many different areas, not just in work,

Kaylan:

but yeah, in life, whenever the burnout does hit, what are the ways that you recognize it and get out of it?

Amy:

I really noticed that I'm more irritable. I don't want to be around people.

Kaylan:

And that's what recharges you. Yes. That's a big red flag. The thing that used to recharge you.

Amy:

Is now draining. Now draining. Yeah. Yeah. So maybe making a list

Kaylan:

of, so then again, knowing your priorities and what matters to you. Yeah. Knowing that and meditating on that on a daily basis, then you're able to recognize the signs of burnout as they come before they settle in and take you down. And then you can get back into that morning, the quiet time.

Amy:

It doesn't have to be in the morning. My husband's a night owl. He does more work between nine and midnight than I can get done all day. He is definitely a night owl and I am a morning person. Whatever that looks like for you. Wherever it could be. On your lunch break, if the weather was nice, I would go outside and eat my lunch. Even if I brought it, I would sit in my car with the windows down and just feel the breeze.

Kaylan:

So for those of us who struggle with the concept of taking a break, for the concept of recharging ourselves, which may not feel super productive. It feels like something that we can skip day to day or maybe I just won't do it today. I'll do it tomorrow. I'll do it tomorrow. Yeah. What would you recommend to those people?

Amy:

Prioritizing mental health is productive. It may seem counterintuitive to just take a break, but it is productive in its own way. You can't pour from an empty cup. No one can. And when you just give constantly. Eventually you're going to run out and be bitter about the things that you once enjoyed. And so finding the balance between not hating what you do, but loving what you do is important for everyone. Every entrepreneur that owns a business, you don't want to hate what you do.

Kaylan:

That makes so much sense, I can think about in my own life, you're pouring from your cup, and as soon as you're empty, because you haven't refilled it back up, you start to resent the things I gave you my water I poured it to you, I poured it to my business, and that's why I'm empty. Yeah. That's why I feel this way. And so you start to take on that mentality, and starting to resent your business, and Yeah. even family members or community members that you have given of yourself to, but if you're constantly pouring and recharging. Yes. You keep that steady stream. Yeah, and you don't fall into that.

Amy:

And that's where balance is really important. You can't pour from that empty cup. It's eventually going to fall over. And who knows what repercussions that's going to have in your life, in your relationships. If you constantly give, you're eventually not going to have anything left to give.

Kaylan:

What would you say is one takeaway that a listener should put into action right away?

Amy:

Find your why. Focus on why you do what you do, in anything that you do in your life. Not just entrepreneurial work. Because that's important, but that's just one aspect of life. Why do you do what you do? Focus on that.

Kaylan:

Amy, thank you so much for gifting your time and your wisdom and just yourself today.

Amy:

Thank you for

Kaylan:

having me. I've enjoyed it. Thank you for having me. Cheers. Cheers.