“I am transforming lives, and I'm transforming businesses.”

–Andre Toro

I love a story about a woman who changes her mind, because a lot of us wish we could do what someone else is doing. Portrait photographer Andre Toro made the big switch to follow her passion, and I can’t wait for you to hear her story.

Andre is the amazing soul behind my 50th birthday photo shoot (you can see some of her work in the inaugural issue of Pause Magazine. Before she launched her photography business, she studied Electrical Engineering in Venezuela, got an MBA at MIT, and worked in the tech industry.

How do you make that kind of pivot work? I can’t wait for you to hear this conversation.

We talk about: 

• The concussion that changed her life and set her on the path to her photography business
• Giving herself time to build her brand, adjusting their family budget during her growth, and how doing great for the industry wasn’t enough to replace what she had been doing
• Recognizing the skills she brought to something she had never done before, and the identity crisis when she first made the change
• Outsourcing all the non-kid, non-photography things and running a lean business
• Creating a high-touch, luxury business and becoming an aspirational brand
• How she sets and meets goals — and what happens when something falls through or health issues arise

ABOUT ANDRE

Andre Toro is a portrait photographer specializing in family photos and headshots. She’s a passionate soul, obsessed with human connection and emotive storytelling. Andre studied portrait photography at Photographic Center Northwest in Seattle and started a side hustle. After an epic concussion, Andre decided to follow her passion and started her full-time photo portrait business. Andre is a Venezuelan mom of 2 beautiful girls, married to her love-at-first-sight husband.

LINKS

• https://www.andretorophotography.com/about
• https://www.instagram.com/andretorophotography/?hl=en
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreina-andre-toro-54a23918/

MENTIONED LINKS

• https://plansimple.com/magazine

DOABLE CHANGES

At the end of every episode, we share three doable changes, so you can take what you've heard and put it into action. Action is how change happens.

Often we feel like our actions have to be huge to match the bigness of our desires, but we have seen over and over and over again that the little things add up. By stacking up a series of Doable Changes, you will create that big change that you crave. Choose the one that really resonates with you this week and really make it part of your life. 

Here are Three Doable Changes from this conversation:

• OUTSOURCE SOMETHING. Andre’s belief is that if it’s not client facing, it shouldn’t be you, and at home, anything not kid related outsource. What can you outsource at home or at work? Make a list of possibilities. Pick one to outsource now.
• SET A QUOTA. Set a monthly quota for yourself. Then break it down to see how you can meet it. What can you do if something falls through? What are the other routes to your quota?
• YOU CAN DO IT. Feeling a little uncertain because you’ve never done “this” before? Make a list of all the things you’ve done — skills, experience, strengths. How do those apply to the thing you want to do? I bet you are more ready than you think.