Elisabeth Eden of The Eden Collective
We’re so thrilled to continue our series of interviews with inspirational women and we’re honored that our next interviewee is Elisabeth Eden. We’ve been so inspired by Elisabeth’s beautiful work and brilliant business skills. We hope after getting to know her you feel just as motivated and uplifted as we do!
Tell us a bit about yourself!
I’m Elisabeth Eden, a photographer and small business marketer. My husband and I have 2 boys and we live in North Dakota! We love traveling, going to the lakes, spending time in the kitchen together, and a good family movie night.
Tell us about your business. What do you do? What do you enjoy most about it?
I’ve been a photographer for the past 14 years and in 2019 my husband quit his job and joined the team! Since then, we've added videography and marketing help for small businesses such as website design, social media management, newsletters, graphic design, copywriting, etc. We also started a content membership called The Eden Collective where we shoot and deliver “custom stock images” monthly at affordable rates for small businesses.
How did you find your calling/niche/career? How did you know it was what you wanted to do?
I’ve always enjoyed having a camera nearby (I naturally document everything) so when digital cameras became more popular in high school, I knew I wanted to become a photographer. I grew up on a beautiful farm along the Red River and would use my smallest siblings as test models to try and learn photography. My portfolio grew and I expanded into high school seniors, families, and weddings. At 19, I landed a job as a corporate photographer for a large sports chain. After a year in a studio with sneakers, fishing tackle, sports gear, or clothing on models, I knew I wanted to run my own business full-time!
What advice would you give someone starting their own business?
Don’t be afraid to work hard. There’s a funny saying about people preferring to be self-employed so they can choose which 16 hours they work! It’s not too far from the truth, especially in those early days. Hard work pays off. Also, nothing beats word of mouth advertising. Serve your clients well and they’ll do the rest!
How has starting your own business made you feel empowered? What has it taught you about yourself?
Throughout my business I always had a goal in the back of my mind, and that was to grow my business so that my husband could come home and we could work together. When he quit his job last summer, I couldn’t believe we finally did it! It’s been a wild ride since, but we’ve been blessed and had our biggest year yet!
What’s the most important part of your daily routine and why?
I’m a natural procrastinator, but you can’t beat the feeling of accomplishment! I move my “hardest” task to the top of my daily list and make sure that’s the first thing I tackle. That task being done sets the tone for the rest of the day and I generally feel more motivated!