Today’s post is something that I think about a lot. A whole lot. Even though we’ve only been “officially” in business for three years, I have found what I’m about to share with you to be true, through + through. If an aspiring or brand-new entrepreneur asked me to give them a single piece of business advice, this would be it. Are you ready for it?

All great things take time.

That’s it. That is the advice. It takes TIME to build a great business. It takes TIME to develop a following + to gain loyal fans, supporters, + clients. Yes, of course it takes a lot of hard work, late nights and/or early mornings, research, commitment, financial investment, practice, education, friendships, persistence … there is no doubt it takes all of those things. But time, gosh, time is just the reality of it all.

Over the past couple of months, I’ve found myself talking with Caleb a lot about this idea. And maybe that’s because if there is one thing I could go back + tell the “first-year” version of myself, it would be exactly this. All great things take time.

Over time you gain experience. Experience makes you better at your craft + experience allows you to make better decisions — whether those decisions be split-second decisions or big, well-thought-out decisions. You gain experience with time, + that’s just the way it is.

For us, for example, as wedding photographers, I think simply about our images. In my opinion, they get better every year. Is that because I read more books about taking pictures? Or more blog posts? Or even practice more? Maybe a little bit, but to me, the real reason they get better is because of time. Because of experience. The more weddings we shoot, the better we will get. Doesn’t that just make sense?

But it’s so easy to forget in the hustle of entrepreneurship.

We want “it” NOW. We want our business to grow exponentially … and overnight. It just doesn’t happen that way. For anyone. We personally know photographers, for example, who have VERY successful businesses — like world-renown, everyone-knowns-them type of businesses. And you know what they’ve told us? It didn’t happen overnight. Rather, it was lots of (unseen) hard work, serving clients well, + time. Time, time, time. It’s true for anyone.

I’m sharing this because it’s something I have to remind myself of daily. That all great things take time.

That it takes time to build a great business …

Time to develop a following + gain loyal fans, supporters, + clients …

So stick with it! Show up. Keep showing up. If you are pursuing your true calling, people will find you, they will notice, + they will stick around! Give it time : )