We had the good fortune of connecting with Joyce Li and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Joyce, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
When I initially launched my business, I committed to putting in intense effort during the initial years. I was prepared to make the necessary sacrifices to foster its growth.

Within less than a year of transitioning to full-time entrepreneurship, I began to feel extremely exhausted. Balancing freelance work for four different companies alongside building my own business took its toll. I found myself overwhelmed with stress, grappling with anxiety about the future, and unintentionally directing my frustrations at those closest to me.

I became a version of myself that I didn’t recognize, wrestling with anxiety and other mind games at a more heightened level than I had ever experienced before. I was easily irritated and would lash out at people close to me. At my breaking point, I took a step back and realized this wasn’t what I wanted. It was time to take a step back and re evaluate my strategy.

I decided this balance wasn’t sustainable and decided to take steps to reduce my workload. I raised my prices so that I could take on less bookings while making the same amount of money. Now I’ve reached a point where I’m extremely happy with my work life balance. My life this year looks so different from last year and I’m so grateful to be able to be where I am now.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I love that I get to combine my 3 favorite things – photography, romance, and traveling – into my job! I’m also so grateful for the flexibility I get from being self employed. I feel that my job is perfect for me because I hate following rules and could never imagine myself working a corporate job following someone else’s orders. I like my freedom and being my own boss!

The first year going full time was not easy. I grinded really hard and sacrificed everything in order to focus on my business. I was busy pretty much every weekend and worked nonstop. I didn’t have a social life but I was okay with that because I had already determined that the first few years of going full time would be the time to grind. I am incredibly grateful and blessed that I was able to reach my financial goal in just a year of going full time, so now I can pull back much more.

Some lessons I’ve learned is to outsource things that are not your zone of genius. Anything that you put time into that you are not the best at but someone else can do, outsource that and put your time to something that you are best at, something that only you can do. For example, if you don’t enjoy editing and your time can be better spent on brainstorming new ideas for your business, or doing things only the CEO can do, you should outsource editing so you can invest in your business by spending that time on doing CEO tasks rather than mundane tasks like culling or editing.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would take them to my favorite food spots in SF or SJ, or a day trip to Santa Cruz. My favorite food spots always have to be be cute and aesthetic and have a vibe, along with have good food. For my birthday I organized a day trip to SF where we started off at Farmhouse Kitchen Thai in Palo Alto, got Urban Ritual, then headed up to SF and took photos at Queen Wilhemia Tulip Garden, and then headed over to Sutro Baths to watch the sunset, where my friends surprised me with a cake. We picnicked by the water while watching the sunset, then headed to Burma Love for dinner. Then we went to Kaiyo Rooftop for drinks and hit the club after!

Some spots I would take someone to in San Jose include K Cafe Patisserie, Cali Spartan Mexican Kitchen, the Breakfast Club, and Pho Ha Noi. I would also take them to Mr. Sun Tea for their special boba and of course 7 Leaves! Then at night we could hit up Pure Nightclub haha!

Another spot I would show them is Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk! I showed some out of state friends this spot and they loved it and wished we could have stayed longer there. Honestly the bay is such a nice place, there are so many spots to take people to.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would like to shout out my best friend Olivia. We have been best friends for over 10 years since middle school, and somehow both of us ended up becoming entrepreneurs straight out of college. When we moved out to Arizona together during Covid was when I first told her that I was thinking about pursuing photography as a career. Olivia didn’t just listen; she became my biggest cheerleader, constantly motivating and pushing me to chase my dreams. She saw the fire in my eyes, believed in my potential, and encouraged me every step of the way.

Olivia is my greatest encourager and motivator and has been there through the highs and lows of both my business and personal life. It’s incredibly empowering to have a best friend who understands the entrepreneurial journey firsthand and shares the same fervor and determination. When we do work together, work becomes play and work doesn’t feel like work.

Even though Olivia is currently in South Africa, our bond remains unbreakable. I eagerly anticipate her return so we can dive back into our co-working sessions, content creation days, and those moments where work seamlessly transforms into joy. Olivia, thank you for being my rock, my inspiration, and my partner in crime on this incredible entrepreneurial adventure. Here’s to many more adventures together!

Website: joyceliphoto.com

Instagram: joyceliphoto

Twitter: joyceliphoto

Facebook: https://facebook.com/joyceliphoto/ 

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