I’ve had several experiences recently that have made me think of how important it is to surround yourself with people that “get” you. This can be in any area of life: your family, your religion, where you are geographically in the world or simply your job.

I went to an event that had over 100 photographers, all in different stages of our business, and I just felt understood. Every lady in the room understood the struggles and fears of running your own business.

Just this week I met up with our Tuesdays Together DC group. This is a monthly meet up that The Rising Tide community started and is now hosted all around the world! The topic of the meeting was keeping our businesses safe -not exactly a “fun” topic and we talked a lot about LLC’s and Sole Proprietorships. But we also talked about how confusing starting a business in DC is and I found out I wasn’t the only person that left the DCRA’s office in tears after waiting 8 hours for 1 paper.

So put yourself out there, meet new people, organize a meet up or reach out to a local person and offer lunch. I treasure the relationships I’ve made. They have challenged me and made me grow.