Can you introduce yourself in a few lines?
My name is Audrey, I'm 34 years old and I'm a photographer. I live in Charente Maritime, a region I've adopted and which I've completely fallen in love with.
How did you come up with the idea of starting your own business?
I have always had an entrepreneurial spirit, as far back as I can remember, being self-employed corresponds to my personality and my need for freedom in work. It was during my expatriation to New Zealand where I lived for 10 years and where the entrepreneurial spirit is very strong that I dared to take the plunge. There people are not afraid of failure, not succeeding the first time is not seen as a shame but as an opportunity to bounce back , it removed a lot of the pressure that had paralyzed me until then. Today I am really happy to have started, even if entrepreneurship requires a lot of work and is a source of stress, I am very fulfilled in this status.
How do you balance your life as a mother with the pace of being an entrepreneur?
I don't have a magic recipe unfortunately, succeeding on your own requires a lot of work and resilience . I try to impose a daily rhythm on myself but it is not uncommon for me to work once the children are in bed, I try however to cut everything off from the end of school. I also worked a lot on weekends but for about a year I have managed to establish a client base solid enough to no longer have to do it. We share all the tasks in my couple and the fact that my husband is also an entrepreneur and can manage his hours as he wishes gives me a lot of freedom and time range if I have to travel for example, I would not be able to do all this without him.
What are the little things that bring you happiness and inspiration every day?
The light that falls on the walls of the house in the morning, the walks I take by bike in the marshes behind my house, watching nature change with the seasons and reading a lot.
A word for those who would like to get started?
Overcoming your fear of failure doesn't matter if a project doesn't work, at least you'll have the satisfaction of knowing you tried rather than regretting never having done it!
