In today's episode of Brave in Business Bec chats with Grace Costa, photographer, artist and creative mentor. Grace specialises in brand imagery for creative entrepreneurs and large corporate organisations.

In this episode you'll hear about:

• the surprising mentors that taught Grace more than she ever could have learnt in photography school
• how Grace shifted from believing people who ran their own businesses were crazy, to doing it herself
• the business and money blocks she had to bust through from childhood to believe she could have a successful business
• the courage behind leaving a well paid job to step out on your own in business with no paying clients

If you are wanting to own your creativity and use it to your advantage in business, this episode is for you!

Find Grace Costa here:

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Website

8. Grace Costa from Grace Costa Photographer - Being Brave and Embracing Creativity - Transcript

Hi, I'm back McFarland from popular business and popular career. In this podcast, I'll be speaking to entrepreneurs who have overcome adversity, made difficult decisions, challenged the status quo and achieved amazing things in their businesses. Welcome to Brave in Business Grace Costa is an all round creative soul and is passionate about encouraging others to reach their creative potential. A photographer, artist and creative mentor, Grace specialises in brand imagery for creative entrepreneurs and large corporate organisations. As a mentor, she hosts master classes on the art of photography and building your creativity through storytelling. In 2017, Grace presented a Ted X Canberra talk sharing the story of her creative path and has been a guest speaker for Nikon Australia. Aiso Monitors and C. I. T. Canberra. Grace has won many industry awards for her creative work, including becoming a finalist in the 2014 National Photographic Portrait Prize and has featured in numerous respected Australian publications. As an artist, Grace is known for her striking character portraits of horses and his represent Bye Wes, Well Gallery in Tamworth and Blue Thumb Gallery. Grace is also one of my best friends and my personal photographer. So she took the amazing photo for our brave in business podcast start as well as many others. So if you're following me on social media, you will have no doubt seeing her work. Hello, Grace. I'm so excited to have you here in the brave in business podcast High that congratulations on your brand new podcast. I'm very excited to be here. Thank you. Absolutely thrilled. So I'd love for you to start by telling me about your business and how you got to where you are today. So I'm a branding and portrait photographer, and I work with creative entrepreneurs for their branding imagery. But I'm also a very well known corporate photographer in the government sector. The way I got there was I studied photography, and that was a three years advanced diploma at the Canberra Institute of Technology. And right from the first year of my studies, I had a photography job in a portrait studio, photographing babies and kids, and that was a fun job. But I used to have actual bad dreams about screaming babies and really, really stressed out mothers named the baby of your own. Yeah, it's like a primary mission Yeah, full circle. So, um, I was there a couple of years, and after that role moved on to another portrait studio in Kingston called exquisite Photography, and I used to photograph glamour portraits for the Canberra community. I absolutely love that job and thought I could never find a better job. I learned a lot about posing people in that role and a lot about customer service, and then worked for Kodak Australia and did a lot of printing in their labs camera sales as well. So I've been all around the photography industry. And then in 2006, I Well, there wasn't much photography work going on in Canberra. A lot of the studios were closing down, so I got a job in defence just in administration and then eventually found a job. That was my dream job for a very long time as a public affairs and corporate photographer for the Department of Defence, and I was based at the Royal Military College done Troon. Now that became my favourite job, and I learned more than I could have ever learned in photography school in that job, and I had great mentors. I had two ex military men, Phil and Mark. And they were older gentleman and they took me under their wing. And for the, you know, following 11 years, they mentored me. They pushed me. They encouraged me and made me the best photographer I could be. And I Yeah, I have them to thank for that. It's amazing. And through that job, I mean, you have photographs of amazing people, including the Queen. Yes. That also prompted another dream. Yeah, So I'm quite interested for you to talk about. I guess what happened next and the fact that you are no longer in that job. I were speaking about being brave, right? I think I was not brave for a very, very long time. That's why I stayed in that job so long. I was there over 11 years as a photographer. I loved it. I absolutely loved it. But then there became a point where it became repetitive and I became a bit complacent, and I watched myself get like that. But I still wasn't aware that leaving was a possibility. And the reason for that is I didn't believe that running my own business was my journey. I believe that people who run their own business were crazy. I thought, Why would you do that? I had always been an employed photographer. I had a steady salary. There was no need for me to take that leap. And although in that job I was taking I was doing a little bit of freelance work on the side. I was building my portfolio as an artist. I was exhibiting in galleries right from 2012 and just doing that on the side of my defence job and my defence job sort of funded my exhibition work and I was also doing private photography tuition that also gave me a little bit of money on the side and helped build my reputation as a creative mentor. But I still never considered doing that full time. It was safe in defence. You know that golden egg for the super people always talk about and yeah, I feel like it was just too frightening to consider running my own business and also a story about my family. We used to run a horse riding school in Canberra for about 20 years, and I thought that we struggled as a business and that's why I thought I would struggle running a business. And when I actually asked my dad and I did the did the work with these Chadwick with her business business academy, and part of her course was to find out your blockages, your business blogs and your money blocks. And I asked my dad the question and he said, No, we did really great for a very long time, and we just had trouble finding staff. You know, that new knew about horses and things, and that kind of gave me permission to go. Ah, that's a myth I had in my head. I no longer have to believe that I can be a good business person if I learned how to do it. It's something new for me. And then when I finally jumped, I realised Mark and filth, my defence colleagues. They had trained me to run my own business the whole time, and I really didn't even realise that. And they taught me about sort of going the next level for customers and, you know, liaising with people in a professional manner. I didn't have to deal with money at defence at all, but you know, I had to learn that along the way. But when things you know, there's little whispers that come to you to suggest that it's time for you to leave and you can sort of hear those whispers and then, you know, try and ignore them and just keep moving on. And then those whispers become a little louder. And then it becomes shouting, Great! It's time for you to freak and leave this place. What are you doing? And lucky for me, the writing was on the wall, plain and simple when my department merged with the media department and my job changed completely and I felt like a square peg in a round hole. And another thing that helped me take the leap was looking at my Artists TV, which I was sending out to a lot of galleries and opportunities. Like when I did a Ted talk and things like that, I noticed that my artist TV was becoming really, really I was something, something I was proud of, and I noticed all the accomplishments in my photography career were outside of my defence job, So why was I not giving myself permission to grow that even more and You know, that was one of the reasons why I thought You know what? Give myself that chance before I get too old and six ft under. Yeah. I love how you just casually mentioned. Like that time I did it and talk. Yeah, that Ted talk was the first time that you came into my world. So my husband, Mac, we went to that event and actually saw you do that. Said talk. So later on, when I met you in person for the first time, you'll recall I'm like, she's a horse sleeping, and our friendship has blossomed from there. So you've already alluded to it. I guess that idea that, you know, when you eventually left that long standing career in defence that that's probably the bravest thing that you've done in business so far. Do you want to talk us through a little bit more of that? Like what was that? What was the internal process? You know, what was the fear? What and how did you overcome any of those fears or limiting beliefs in order to actually take the leak? Gee, what helped me get to that point of being brave to make that to take that chance was also a colleague who I didn't know. I was also thinking of leaving said to me, Do you want to be 40 and still be a public servant? And that was enough to push me over the edge and and I was 30. I was coming up to my 38th birthday and I left in time for my 38th birthday and I'm now 40. So what helped me set myself up? Was I? I married, so I couldn't have done it and probably wouldn't have done it if I didn't have my husband's income as back up. And you know, as much as we'd like to romanticise taking the leap, being brave and just going for it, I think that was part of the reason why I felt like I could do it. But in saying that, I left defence without having clients. The only clients I really had in the background where my creative mentoring So people I was teaching one on one photography, two little private classes. I didn't have government clients accept the job I was in. So for me to jump at that time and not having any one of my books was a brave move and I don't know, I guess the universe just works in mysterious ways, as we know, and it provided. And because one door closed, another door had opened and clients just came from connections through people I knew through defence. And also, the funny thing is, I still work for defence. But now I'm a contract, like not a not an official. I'm not on a retainer or anything, but since I left that role, they've had nobody to replace me. So I've kept up with part of the job that I used to do serving them in their corporate imagery. So, yeah, did that answer your question? Yeah, absolutely. It did. And actually, I'm really glad that you brought up the topic of the fact that you're married and you know, you had another income in the household because your story is very similar to mine. And this is something that I'm very transparent about as well. I think you're right in the fact that often we do romanticise those big leaps and that idea of bravery. But it's not always the reality. And so I think it's important for entrepreneurs like yourself and myself to actually have that transparency around the fact that, you know, we weren't just leaping into an abyss of nothing. You know, we weren't going to ever go without food on the table or not be able to pay our electricity bills. You know, we had that support. But I think you know, from my perspective and and having now known you for a few years and and watching that transition, if you're leaving defence and moving into the business world and to really be able to see you going through that transformation and and coming into this business world into your own, you've done so well. And I think what you've done is really admirable. So I'm grateful that I've been able to to watch that journey of yours. Thanks. And one thing also, I noticed once you leave that you know the golden cubicle. I just came up with that term. I love it. Life in business is way more creative. And I'm a creative being. And I thought things were fine when they were in the in the government. But it just flourished even more. And I realised that running your own business is the most creative thing you can do. And for me, creativity is one of my highest values. So it makes sense that I'm running my own business now. I love it. I love it. This episode was brought to you by the Popular Business Conference. It's all going down here in Canberra at the stunning of All Ohnishi Hotel on the 11th and 12th of March 2022. We have the most incredible speakers travelling in from around Australia, including sues Chadwick, Sarah Jensen, Emma Norris from a Girl in Progress and Jay Born from hipster Mom. We have surprises galore, and I can promise you that this will be an event that you'll be talking about for a long time to come. And for all the right reasons. Tickets are available now at pop your business dot com forward slash conference. I look forward to seeing you there. So we've talked about the way that you've been brave and you know a little bit about your story in terms of being brave in business. And if we were to talk to other business owners about how they can exhibit bravery and their businesses, what does that phrase actually mean to you? Well, being brave in business starts with sending out your first quote and hoping that the client's going to accept your quote and value your service the way you do. I still at times get a little nervous sending out a big quote, so I think something as simple as that is being brave. I also would say starting something new in business takes bravery. I in the last two years have started my own networking community for the artist visual artist community. It's called Artist Co. Canberra, and I started that with, You know, I knew a few artists and graphic designers and visual people, but I didn't know how to start a networking group. I just invited people strangers contact with people on Instagram and invited them to my imaginary group. And that took bravery for me starting something new. I would also say bravery. Business is going to a networking event alone. I'm an extrovert, and sometimes I get a little bit nervous turning up walking in, not knowing anyone, and when you arrive, there's no one to say hello to, so I think being brave is all of those things so really around that taking action. And actually, I love what you said about going to the networking event as well, and I do think it's interesting, right, because the first time that we go to a networking event, you don't know anyone, and then the same the time that you go, you know, people. And you and I went to a networking event together recently, and I was amazed that it just seemed like you knew everyone in the room because everyone that worked fast us just seemed to stop to talk to you. So it just goes to show that you know those little baby steps. In the beginning, they do culminate, and this is how we kind of grow our businesses and grow our networks and become seen for what it is that we do. Yeah, that's right. There are so many scary moments where you do have to be brave. And one other major time that sticks in my mind about being brave, not necessarily about business. But I was invited to give a Ted talk after my first, like my really big successful horse exhibition at the National Gallery in Canberra, and I remember seeing the email and I read it to myself and it said, you know, we love what you're exhibition was about. What do you think you would be able to talk about your creative process and I automatically wanted to just reply. Thank you. And I instead, right? Yes. Okay. And I hit send before I could talk myself out of it. And then I panicked after a phenomenal job. So what I want to ask you is, why do you think it is actually important that we step out of our comfort signs? Ah, simply for growth. If you don't, you don't grow and you stay small. You stay safe. Being safe feels good, but it doesn't bring you remarkable opportunities that could be coming your way. So I'd say find a way to be brave, whether it's finding an accountability buddy, bringing somebody with you, talking about the opportunities that make you feel nervous. But basically, bravery is a necessity in business, and it just takes small steps. Just do the next little bit that you can do and then the next little bit after that one little step at a time, but definitely jump in because there are only so many tomorrows, right? Right. And we're not on this planet forever. And when you think about looking back on your life, it's one of the things that you didn't do that you'll regret. Mm. And even if you stuff up in the meantime, when you do take an opportunity, you'll get over it and you'll learn from it. I guess being being brave is often tied to that fear. And it is that feel like, you say, of stuffing up or having a failure or things not trying to plan. Have you had any failures or times where things have been stuffed up in your business? And if you have what happened? How did you overcome it? I did some headshots, a group headshot day, and I was the first one I did actually. So I wanted to photograph the images directly onto the computer so that the clients could see the results in real time. And I had a new laptop which I didn't know very well, and it filled up because I was using a very heavy, heavy duty adobe software and I didn't know how bad it was at the time. But once I got home and had a computer technician. Check out my computer. I realised I'd lost all of those images from that day shoot. And that made me panic and sweat and probably cry. I can't quite remember. But that was a really big failure because I'd let multiple people down that day, and it was a reflection of my business. But I did everything I could to sweeten things up with my client. I didn't leave them in the lurch. I didn't say Oh, sorry. You know, too bad. So sad. I fixed it. I contacted them again. I said, you're going to Can we please re shoot? I'll offer you this in return a little bit extra so that you're not out of pocket or you're not inconvenienced in anyway. And so, you know, made up for it. And all the clients were so pleased to re shoot it wasn't a big deal that I was making in my head. So that was a message for me. Mm. And so just in full transparency, I was one of those clients that was there on that day. And what I will say is that even though you knew that you had made a mistake and even though you knew that there was an issue, I really you know, I really admired the way that you were actually able to remain really calm on the outside. You and I are a little bit different in that way. When something goes wrong for me, I'm a flapper. I very publicly freak out and you know, it becomes a little bit the drama. But with you, you know, you really were able to just acknowledge that there's been a problem, and on the day you really just got on with it with full professionalism and the way that you fixed that problem was it was a really beautiful outcome. And I think you know, you've already said it on this on this interview that the universe works in mysterious ways. I think it actually turned out for the better anyway. But it is interesting from the perspective of saying often we don't do things, so we hold ourselves back because of the fact that we feel like we have that fear of stuffing up that fear of failure. But as I'm talking tomorrow and more business owners, what I'm finding is that those stuff up moments are those things that you know they might matter now, but they don't matter in five years time. That's right. I mean, they just teach you how to prepare next time. I think all those so called failures and I don't really believe in that word, I think they're just little growth periods and little lessons. I call in lessons. And so that for me was a lesson, you know, Now I do things differently. Technically, when I'm working like that. So you have to sort of make these little mistakes to learn a bit of a solution. Mm, Absolutely. I love it. So what advice would you give to other business owners who aren't going after their dreams because of the fact that they've got that fear coming up for them? Well, as I say, there's only so many tomorrow. So would you rather give it a go now or look back on your life when you're, you know, 10 years older than you are now wishing that you've started something I know One thing for sure is it helps to set yourself up so you know, as is it Brown A. Brown says jump in the net will catch you Or is it Liz Gilbert? I can't quite remember. Says Jump in the Net will catch you, and we kind of expect that that's going to be the sort of magic of life. But look, set yourself up in the smallest of ways before you take the leap or before you do something brave, prepare. And then, yeah, don't look back because there's only so many tomorrows and you know you want to give it a go. No regrets, right? No regrets except the regret of not doing anything and sitting in front of the TV watching Netflix. Yeah, totally. So I am very grateful that you are actually speaking at the upcoming at top your business conference, which is happening here in Canberra on the 29th and 30th of October at the Ebola, an issue where you had your beautiful exhibition. What are you most excited about in terms of speaking out and attending that event? I'm excited to share my knowledge because every time I do a presentation like this, I know that if I've got good content, that I know people are going to get a lot of value out of that excites me. I love, sharing information and sharing knowledge about imagery about photography, about the creative world. So I love giving back. So I'm excited about that. I'm also excited to see you, Beck have this massive achievement of your first conference, and I think so many people are going to get a lot out of it. And it's something that we need in Canberra. It's something that business owners want to attend. They want to be involved in, and they want to be part of the community as well. And you're really good at creating that. So I'm excited to see you and your little feathers do your little peacock dance. Bring it to everyone. Yeah, it's going to be amazing. Thank you. I keep saying that it is going to be the event of 2021 I have no doubt in my mind, because behind the scenes we are working on all the ways to surprise and delight everyone. And I just I think it's going to be so much fun. You're very good at the surprise and delight. Thank you. Thank you. So what else is coming up for you in business that you'd like to tell the audience about? Well, I'm continuing to grow my artist co network. So my creative networking group with them I'm starting new little events as well as our coffee catch ups. This year I've started my creative sessions there. We meet together, you bring your creative project, and it's dedicated time to work on that project in the presence of all the other creative boys and girls in the group. I'm also teaching a posing Everyday People Workshop at the National Portrait Gallery in September. I'm very excited about that. And when that came about, I I also had to be brave when that opportunity came up, because I was once that person that attended all these workshops about photography and lighting and posing and all the things. And my colleague in defence many years ago said to me, Grace, why are you still paying for these workshops? You could be teaching them by now, and I said, No, I can't. I can't. I still need to learn. I still it can't be me yet. I still need to just soak up all these workshops and talks and things and and now that that young girl is me and I'm the one teaching at the National Portrait Gallery. And so that really brings me pride. I'm really proud of that opportunity. So that's coming up, and I'm teaching image creation workshops. So this is perfect for people coming to the conference. It's a workshop based around the flat lay technique, so small business owners, bloggers, artists can learn how to create imagery that's perfect for their brands without having to hire a professional photographer. It's something they can do at home in natural light. You don't even have to own any fancy photography equipment or even a professional camera. You can just do it with your mobile phone. So that's another workshop. I love teaching, and I teach on a regular basis. And also I've got some headshots sessions coming up, so I'll be planning them towards the end of the year because I love serving my Canberra community, and I always make lovely new friends when I do the headshot days and everyone has so much fun. So my business is ticking along and haven't done maternity leave very well at all. So, um, there's too many cool things to keep doing, so I'm just gonna keep ticking along and create things that bring me joy and bring other people joy. Fabulous. And I love your headshot days, and I also really love your flat lay workshop. But I've got to say I'm really pleased that you're actually teaching that posing class at the portrait gallery. So we often joke about the fact that you are incredibly bossy behind the camera because of the fact that you've got the most intense attention to detail that I've ever come across. And so when you are photographing me, I'm very used to you yelling out at me and telling me, Move your finger, not that finger, the other finger. It always makes me laugh. And I think you know, the attendees of that workshop will have so much to learn from you. So it's such a great opportunity. Where can people find you online if they want to find out more about what you're doing? I mean, your instagram account is absolutely banging, banging. I love doing my instagram. So that's at grace Cost to C o S t a photographer p h o t o g r a p h p are not photography. I'm very active on my instagram Uh I also have Facebook at grace. Cost a photographer. I'm not as frequent on there, but you'll still see some content. And my website is grace costa dot com. That's where I mostly play in those three. Littlefield's beautiful Well, thank you so much for being here on the brave in business podcast today. I really enjoyed this chat with you, and I know that people will really get so much out of it. Thanks, Vic. Thanks for having me. And I look forward to being a new subscriber to your podcast. Amazing. Thanks, Grace. Thanks so much for listening to this episode of the brain in business Podcast. Don't forget to hit that subscribe button. Leave me a rating. Five stars, preferably and a review. You can also join me over on socials at popular beers. If you want to hang out with me and my fabulous community of small business owners, you should definitely think about joining bex business Besties. It's an online membership with mastermind vibes and is honestly my favourite place to hang out on the Internet. You can find out more at pop your business dot com forward slash BBB. I'll see you in the next episode.