Life's Priorities....Am I doing what I'm supposed to be doing?

Lots of changes in the last year. Some of you know that in 2010 I did a bold and audacious thing by deciding NOT to just stand there and complain about the fact that there's no suitable pants out there for women photographers....I found a seamstress, had a prototype made, found a pattern grader (someone who makes the "official" patterns for several sizes) AND secured financing to have small runs of Photopantz made at a local cut and sew factory. OH and I learned how to internationally import fabric. :)

AND I spent the last couple of years working on promotion and branding with Wendy Roe. I created a tradeshow booth and showed at WPPI's Launch Pad, ImagingUSA, got to attend Photoshop World, and more. I made SO many vendor friends... Zenfolio and Borrow Lenses and Photoflex and SanDisk...I love you guys! The Pinnacle was scoring a two-page product review spread in Professional Photographer Magazine in June 2012 !!

Actually, that wasn't the pinnacle. The pinnacle was having women photographers email me or walk up to my booth JUST to tell me that they not only bought, but they LOVE their Photopantz. The fact that I was making a difference for women all over the world. Really! As far as I know, there is one pair in Germany, a few pairs in Australia, two in Korea, and I'm really hoping the gal who inquired from South Africa about shipping costs buys a pair too!

It's pretty amazing to know I accomplished all of this with determination and the help of my family and friends. But here's where it gets real. I'm not turning a profit. Turns out passion and determination are great, but unless I figure out how to have them made more inexpensively OR sell way more, I'm at a standstill.

Can you believe after all of that, I felt like a failure?

I did. Big-time. How could I spend almost three years of my life on a project...having people say awesome things like how I'm going to be a millionaire someday because of it....and. feel. so. stuck.

You have to be careful about feeling stuck, because it usually means you're thinking too much and doing too little. Is that how it is with you too?

So at this point, I'm trying to figure out what to do next. How in the world do I find someone who will buy my company? Someone that can promote Photopantz nationally AND has the resources to have large runs made so as to decrease the production costs? Will I be able to stay a part of Photopantz if I sell it?

With the HUGE shift in photography becoming primarily a female-dominated career choice, I know it's inevitable that a company will soon debut as the first BIG successful clothing company for women photographers. But who? And when?

All of a sudden, I don't feel like the determined founder of ANYTHING. I feel like enthusiastic eccentric Julie who placed all of her bets on being able to figure her way through this, running on passion and determination as she went along.....

(To Be Continued)