Not So Picture Perfect

Running a business while raising kids at home can feel like constant tension between work and family. Emails need answering, clients need attention, editing piles up—and at the same time your kids need help with school, snacks, and everyday life.

In this episode of Not So Picture Perfect, Alyssa Hollis shares what it actually looks like to run a full-time photography business while homeschooling her children and raising a family. After more than 15 years as a photographer and creative entrepreneur, Alyssa talks honestly about the sacrifices, boundaries, and systems that helped her build a sustainable business without letting it take over her home life.

This episode explores the reality of working from home with kids in the background, including how small pockets of focused time can move your business forward, why defining work hours is essential for mom entrepreneurs, and how creating simple systems in your business can save hours of mental energy.

Alyssa also shares the mindset shift that changed everything for her: your business should serve your family—not the other way around.

If you’re a photographer, creative entrepreneur, or mom building a business while raising kids, this conversation will encourage you to create a rhythm that allows both your work and your family to thrive.

Topics discussed in this episode:

• Running a photography business as a mom

• Building a business while homeschooling children

• Work-from-home life with kids

• Creating boundaries for mom entrepreneurs

• Time management for creative business owners

• Balancing family life and entrepreneurship

Building a business doesn’t have to mean sacrificing your family. Sometimes the most successful businesses are the ones built around the life that matters most.

Follow along on Instagram HERE

The internet loves fast success stories—photographers hitting six figures in their first year, booking out their calendars overnight, or going viral from one random post. But what if building a photography business slowly is actually the better path?

Alyssa talks honestly about the pressure photographers feel to grow quickly on social media, the unrealistic expectations often promoted in the photography industry, and how chasing rapid success can lead to burnout—especially for moms raising young children or homeschooling.

You’ll hear practical encouragement for photographers and creative entrepreneurs who want to build a sustainable business without sacrificing their families. Alyssa explains how redefining success, setting boundaries around sessions and work hours, and building a business that fits your season of life can create long-term stability and peace.

If you’re a photographer, creative business owner, or mom entrepreneur feeling pressure to keep up with the internet’s definition of success, this episode will remind you that slow growth is not failure—it’s often the foundation for a meaningful and lasting business.

Topics discussed in this episode:

• Slow growth in a photography business

• Work-life balance for photographers

• Building a sustainable creative business as a mom

• Avoiding burnout in the photography industry

• Redefining success while raising children

• How motherhood changes entrepreneurship

Sometimes the goal isn’t building the fastest growing business.

Sometimes the goal is building a life that actually matters.

Follow along on Instagram HERE

In this episode of Not So Picture Perfect, Alyssa shares the real story behind why her family decided to leave public school and start homeschooling—and what the last three years have actually looked like.

After noticing changes in her sons during middle school, including bullying, constant behavioral concerns, and the overwhelming pace of school life, Alyssa began questioning whether the traditional education system aligned with the values she wanted for her family. What started as a quiet tug in her heart eventually led to pulling her kids out of school in February 2023 and stepping into homeschooling full time.

In this episode, she shares the honest reality of that decision—from the fears and criticism that came with it, to the chaotic first year of homeschooling that looked nothing like the aesthetic versions seen online. Alyssa talks about navigating ADHD as a parent, building routines that actually work, and learning how to run a full-time photography business while raising and homeschooling three boys.

If you’ve ever wondered what homeschooling after public school really looks like, how families make the transition, or whether it’s even possible to build a rhythm that works, this episode offers an honest and faith-centered perspective from a mom living it in real time.

Homeschool Laws By State

The Cultivated Mom on Instagram

Alyssa Hollis Photo on Instagram

Welcome to Not So Picture Perfect. If you’re new here:

My name is Alyssa Hollis. I’m a homeschooling mom of three, a Jesus follower, and I run a full-time family photography business that I’ve built over the last 16 years. My days are usually a mix of editing photos, homeschooling my kids, running a business, and trying to grow in my faith while raising little a little kid and teenagers simutantiously in a world that feels like a fight for survival. 

This podcast started years ago as a place where I talked about photography and entrepreneurship. And that part of my life is still very real. I still photograph families full-time and I still mentor photographers in editing, shooting and business. 

But as my life has grown, the conversations that matter most to me have grown too.

This show is now a place where I share the bigger picture behind all of it. The motherhood. The homeschooling. The faith. The mindset work of learning to choose gratitude instead of constant complaint. The reality of raising teenagers in a digital obsessed world while trying to stay rooted in biblical truth. And the very real process of building a business while protecting your peace.

Some episodes will feel like a Bible study.
Some will be reflections on motherhood and mindset.
Some will talk about homeschooling and raising kids in this extremely loud world.
And sometimes we’ll still talk about photography and creative entrepreneurship, because that’s a big part of my life too.

But more than anything, this podcast is simply a peek into my own journey as I’m walking it out in real time.

If you’re a mother trying to build a meaningful life, grow in your faith, raise your children intentionally, and maybe even run a business somewhere in the middle of all that chaos… you’re in the right place.

Life, faith, motherhood, friendships and business isn’t picture perfect.

And that’s exactly why this show exists.

So if that sounds like a conversation you want to be part of, I’m really glad you’re here.

Follow along on my business instagram: www.instagram.com/alyssahollisphoto

Follow along here on my motherhood/homeschool Instagram:

www.instagram.com/thecultivatedmom

So many photographers are pouring all of their energy into social media and still wondering why inquiries feel inconsistent.

In this episode, we’re talking about why your website should be the loudest part of your marketing, especially as a mom with limited time. Social media is a tool for visibility, but your website is the foundation that works for you long after a post disappears.

We cover why relying solely on social platforms leads to burnout, how your website builds trust before a client ever reaches out, and why blogging and clear messaging matter more than posting every day.

If you’ve been showing up online but still not seeing steady leads, this episode will help you shift your focus to what actually lasts and what quietly works in the background while you live your life.

The Photographers guide to blogging

So many moms believe that if they just had more time, their business would finally work. More hours. Fewer interruptions. A different season.

In this episode, I’m breaking down why “more time” isn’t the solution exactly and why waiting for it can actually keep you stuck. We talk about what it really looks like to build a business in pockets of time, how systems matter more than availability, and why clarity and intention will always beat trying to do more.

This episode is an honest encouragement for moms who feel like time is their biggest obstacle, and a reminder that you don’t need a different life to build something sustainable, you need a strategy that fits the one you’re in.

⁠The Photographers guide to blogging ⁠

In this episode, I’m sharing a very real, very present-day look at what building a business as a mom actually looks like.

Today is one of those days where I didn’t get up early, work is happening in pockets, and I’m squeezing this episode in before getting my son ready for preschool. And it’s a reminder of how different my days feel when I don’t have that quiet, early time for myself.

This episode isn’t about perfection or productivity. It’s an honest encouragement for moms who are juggling work and motherhood and feeling like they’re always chasing time. We talk about why early mornings help when they’re possible, why they’re not always possible, and how small pockets of intentional time can make a big difference for both your business and your life as a mom.

If you’ve been feeling behind, scattered, or discouraged, this episode is a reminder that you’re not failing at all...you’re just human, and you’re doing the best you can in the season you’re in.

As always find me on Instagram + Tiktok

In this episode, I’m sharing why I decided to revive Not So Picture Perfect and what this podcast is really about now.

When I first launched this show in 2021, my third child was one year old. I had the vision, but I hadn’t lived enough of the process yet. Over the last three years, I’ve rebuilt my business during the most time-limited season of my life, while staying home with my kids, and everything I teach now comes from that lived experience.

This episode is for moms who want to grow and scale a business without sacrificing their kids, their peace, or their values. We talk about why time feels so scarce in motherhood, why most business advice doesn’t work for moms, and what it actually looks like to build something sustainable in this season.

If you’ve been feeling behind, overwhelmed, or unsure how other moms are making this work, this episode will help you feel seen and grounded as we start this next chapter together.

Want to be friends? You can find me on on IG or Tiktok!

Not So Picture Perfect is a podcast for moms building real businesses that allow them to enjoy their real life.

Hosted by Alyssa, a mom of three who rebuilt her business during the most time-limited season of her life while staying home with her homeschooled kids, this podcast is an honest conversation about what it actually takes to build something sustainable in this season.

This isn’t hustle culture.
This isn’t “do more.”
And it’s definitely not picture-perfect.

Each episode explores faith, building systems that give you time back, creating lasting content, why social media is a tool not a full marketing strategy, and how to grow slowly and intentionally without burnout.

If you’re a mom who knows she’s capable of more but needs a way to build that actually fits her life, you’re in the right place.

Real, raw and vulnerable unedited car chat/prayer + encouragement for today on my way to my 1:1 mentorship session. After feeling immense pressure and feelings of attack today instead of sulking in my lies of emotion I decided to record it all for you to hear my open thoughts as a processed the lies the enemy was throwing at me today.

Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis

Follow along on Instagram