Meet My Client: Jaime Borschuk

Jaime! Hello! Tell us who you are and what you’re up to these days.

I am a freelance photographer in San Francisco. Photography has long been a passion of mine and something I studied in college. My career has primarily been in design and marketing, I came back to photography about two and a half years ago. It was a little rocky at the start to try to figure out how to make money with it, but I have slowly been piecing things together and working with you has been helpful in getting on track.

What brought you back to photography?

Around my fortieth birthday, I was laid off from a full time job. I’d been pining for a digital SLR camera for a long time, so I got one for myself for my fortieth birthday. I had also recently moved across town and decided to do a 100-day project to document my new neighborhood and I got really into photography again.

I loved your 100-day project! All the colors and angles. I really liked your portraits at home series too.

Thanks! When I learned before, it was all about film and being in the dark room. Learning how to use my digital camera was a new way of thinking about it. In college, it was more about fine art photography, I didn’t really learn any business skills, I didn’t really know what to do with my photography skills as a way to make money. After I graduated, I did a series of admin jobs and studied graphic design for awhile and tried to go to grad school. I ended up working in marketing. Photography was an interest all along the way with whatever camera I had at the time, but when I figured out how to really use a camera as a tool, I got excited again. I was working as a freelance designer, and I thought, why can’t I apply what I know about that kind of freelancing to photography? I had built a network of mostly women, watching them build their creative practices. I thought, I like doing photography a lot more than design, it feels like home to me, so why don’t I apply the business sense I have to this thing I love?

What made you reach out to me for coaching?

I had felt stagnant with a few things. Work wise, the work wasn’t picking up as quickly as I wanted to, and I’d just gone through a big relationship transition and that was also making me feel like I needed an extra kick. I wanted someone to check in with to keep things moving.

How did coaching help?

It helped a lot to have someone hold me accountable for what I was saying I was going to do. I had this mental check list, but I’m not great at making goals and then looking at them again a couple months later and asking myself did I do that? did I fulfill that thing I wanted to do? Checking in with you made me feel like, oh, I told Pam I was going to do this, I should do it. You also gave me ideas about how to break things down into more manageable chunks so my goals didn’t feel as overwhelming. Also, I realized while working with you that I do, actually fulfill a lot of the things I’m wanting to do, but I don’t really document or celebrate them. So you helped me do that too. I can say I did that! and feel the satisfaction that comes from moving things forward. Sometimes it’s harder to see the progress when I’m by myself, when there’s nobody to watch me and remind me that I’m doing things. You took good notes, and you would remind me of what I’d said in a past session, and I’d be like, I did? I said all that? And I could go back and look at the notes and see that I’d done the things I said I was going to do. For me, it’s like it doesn’t count as much when you’re doing it alone, in a way.

I remember one session you were telling me all the things you were doing and I started to wonder do you actually need me, you seem like you’re doing pretty great on your own?

Well, I never think I’m doing enough. I’m definitely not an overachiever, who doesn’t look at herself in a realistic way, but I do forget to celebrate the things I’m doing that are helping move things along. You helped me to see that and that made what I was doing feel more exciting. I can be really hard on myself and discount what I’ve done. Somehow working with you shifted how I look at it all.

We wrapped up our coaching this summer, how’s it going doing those things for yourself now? How has what we talked about carried forward?

I have lists of bigger goals and lists of shorter term objectives and I check back in with them and remind myself of what I’m doing. It’s not like I’m doing everything on my lists and I’m all perfect and awesome now, but there are still couple of things I had on my list from working with you that I still haven’t done that and then I think of you judging me…

...Which I just want to point out, as a coach, I do not do!

I know! But it helps me to picture you saying, hey, you said you wanted to do that thing, what’s up with that? Not like you’re tsk tsking me. Once I get someone else involved in what I said I was going to do — even just in my head — I don’t like to not do that thing.

I think that’s one of the things that can be so powerful about coaching, just the idea that someone is out there either rooting for you, cheering you on, and/or reminding you of what you said you wanted and what you said was important. Hey, last Tuesday, you said you were going to do that thing, how’d it go? I know when I’ve been working with a coach, letting myself down is one thing, but I don’t want to disappoint my coach. So that can be a good kick in the pants when you’re prone to procrastination or inertia.

Even just having the appointment to talk sort of makes it feel legitimate — what I’m doing is a real thing, I’m not just a person calling myself an entrepreneur who's not doing anything all day long. There are things I’m trying to do to move my business forward.

You are doing a lot of things. You said I’m going to have a photography business and then you hustled and experimented and made connections and got the word out and now you have a thriving business.

Well, it’s not quite thriving yet. When your income isn’t what you once had or what you think it should be, then you think you’re not doing well. Everybody who has gone freelance or started their own business knows there’s a couple of years where you’re sort of investing in the whole thing and trying stuff out before you see return on your efforts. So you have to have a lot of patience. Having a coach remind you of that is really helpful.

That’s one of the things I really appreciate about you is that you seem to always be trying things. You try a bunch of stuff, either because you like it or because you think it’ll be smart for your business and then you bring what you learned back into your business. You’ve apprenticed with other photographers, you’ve applied for artists’ residencies, you found a studio with other photographers and built a little community — it seems like you’re always experimenting.

It’s probably accurate to say this year started off rough for you with your relationship ending…

Yeah.

… and we’re almost done with the year, what have you learned this year?

Really, it’s just this: Do what feels good. I took a creative workshop at the beginning of last year and one of the things I took from it was, go for the feeling, not what you think you should be doing. I knew that intellectually, I want to follow the feeling, but I couldn’t do it last year. This year I can, and I am. When I have opportunities coming my way, now I feel more intuitive about what’s good for me and what’s not worthwhile.

That’s something I talk a lot about with my clients — how do you want to feel? Okay, you want to leave your job because things feel bad… how would you rather things feel? Or, you’ve got a really busy month coming up, how do you want to feel in the midst of this busy month? Or, you’re making a big transition, how do you want to feel during it and on the other side of it? Then we can ask, what will help you feel the way you want to be feeling? If I’m feeling deflated and unmotivated, I can ask, what helps me feel energized and motivated and how might I start doing those things that support the way I want to feel? If I want to feel like my business is more professional, what are the things or behaviors that will make me feel that way? Maybe it’s new headshots or a website or a better bio on LinkedIn, or to give a talk somewhere. Great! Now we know where you can focus your efforts.

I knew that coaching would be a support system to help … I knew I was ready to stop behaving that way — following the shoulds.

What has stayed with you from our coaching?

You reflecting back to me that I am doing this and that it’s real and that I’m not pretending that this is my job, this is really my job. I needed that reflection to legitimize my efforts for myself. And more practically, I really like all the notes you took during our session. I like having them and looking back at them. It’s made me think more about documenting what I do. I’m still not as thorough as you were in our sessions, but my list making feels like it’s stepped up.

What’s helpful about documenting things? What does it do for you?

I can look back and see all the things I wanted to do and see that I’ve done those things. As time passes it’s so easy to move on to the next thing and not pause and acknowledge where I’ve made progress. At the time, these things can seem far off, but when I can look back and see where I’ve come from, it feels exciting.

What do you think the value of having coach is?

I think coaching is a really good support system. It depends on what stage you’re at. I had the fire going and you were helping me fan it. But I think a coach can help with all the different stages. I’ve done a lot of workshops and therapy, I kind of knew what I needed, that little push and the accountability. I could talk to a friend about this stuff, but it’s so good to have a dedicated person who can take in all the different pieces and give you really useful specific feedback. When you talk to your friends too much about stuff, it can become kind of a burden to them, so it’s nice to just have someone objective you bring that stuff to, to help you sort it out.

I’m happy to have been a fire fanner for you. Burn, Jaime, burn! Where can people find out more about you?

At my photography website. I also have a radio show on Saturday mornings. And if you’re in the Bay Area, I’m doing a day of portrait photography on November 19th — there will be a hair and makeup artist working with me that day, so you can look your best! If you’ve been wanting new headshots, this is a great opportunity. There are still a few spots left, sign up here.

This originally appeared in my Autumn 2019 email newsletter. To get on the list and receive this and other goodies in your inbox, sign up at the bottom of the home page pamdaghlian.com .

pamela daghlianNovember 10, 2019newsletter, meet my client