I have never teared up in front a stranger like I did today.

Something I'll admit is I've always hated going to expos and wedding shows. I never know what to say when people approach my booth. Do I try to sell them my packages? Talk about what makes my work unique from all the other tables? Give my classic "elevator speech"? I get so much anxiety thinking about it that I end up throwing sales out the window and giving very minimal effort into "pick me." I don't say much about my work, I just try to connect and see where the conversation goes. I thought I sucked. I've always thought I'm doing it wrong, and that I need to be better at selling myself. I wanted to quit wedding shows for this reason.

Today, things shifted. I had a client visit with me in my studio who booked me for her wedding. She informed me that she chose me immediately because coming to my table "made her feel at peace." Her words were: "The room was loud, chaotic, and full of people trying to sell me something. And then there was Krescent Studios. You have a disarming way about you." I sat my laptop down and apologized for my emotions as I held tears back. Everything I thought I was doing wrong at wedding shows is the very reason someone chose me. She hadn’t reviewed much of my work; she booked me for the way I made her feel.

Being told that someone wants to do business with me not primarily because of my work but because I made them feel at peace completely shifted things inside of my heart. This is all that I can ask for as a storyteller: to take someone's anxiety and turn it into peace while doing what I love. It's not about what you do, it's about who you are.

In the wedding industry, we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to have a unique market value. People want to know what sets you apart from others. The surprising truth here is that there are so many talented videographers and photographers in this market that are incredible at what they do, and there may not always be something big that sets my work apart. It's not just about the art, it's about the artist. The first thing I told my previous employer in my job interview is that I don't think my skills are unique, and that what sets me apart is not what I do but the heart that I do it with. I got the job.

If you have read this far and take anything away from this entry, I hope it's that you can take that weight off your shoulders to be something unique all the time. I would rather focus on how I treat clients and show them how special they are, rather than convincing them of how special I am.

You could be doing sales entirely wrong.