a tale of two businesses

For a long time now I have been promising big changes and hinting at a name change. I thought I would explain what’s going on with a little story time. What can I say, I’ve been reading a lot of children’s books these days….

Once there was a boy named John who got a guitar for his 6th birthday.

He sat on the stoop and played that guitar with such passion that by the end of the day, almost all of the strings had broken on that guitar and he didn’t even notice. He loved music and everything in his being wanted to play music and play with all his heart.

He grew to be a young man who chose his instrument, a euphonium. Playing that euphonium paid a large part of his journey through college and continued to shape his musical growth.

He then took many different paths that finally led him to realizing that it wasn’t just playing music, or teaching music, that he really wanted to do. He really wanted to write music. Music that told stories and brought images to life.

He left the security (and creativity stifling boredom) of an 8-5 job to create his in-home studio, Metta Audio. (yea for John!)

He felt amazed and blessed that he could write music on his own schedule and be home with his family.

John also enjoyed photography on the side and his wife Betsy shared that love with him. Betsy, in her own way, loved telling stories and sharing them with the world. As she began to tell the story of their life with their new son, people started to take notice of their photography.

One day, Betsy came to John and said, “There are people who want us to take the same kind of photos for them that we take of our own family. Are you in?”

Even though he had his own business that kept him very busy and was growing, he selflessly didn’t even question whether he had the time or energy for his wife’s passion. Betsy & John Photography was born.

Every time Betsy and John blinked their eyes their little business grew and grew and they learned more and more. The photography business grew to the point that Betsy started shooting on her own and started to come into her own.

Betsy was flourishing and invigorated that after years of searching for what she was meant to do, she had finally discovered it. She too was amazed that she could pursue her dreams but still able to be home for her family.

After time, it was clear that John was torn. He loved writing music and that’s really what he wanted to do all the time. He found that he had less and less time to write music. He loved capturing the beauty of people with Betsy and loved working on something together with her, but it became too much to balance.

So at the end of last year, Betsy and John decided that John would focus on Metta Audio.

Betsy & John Photography, though it will always hold a special place in their hearts, will become Betsy’s business of her own. She will change the name to reflect that, but to her, it will always be a venture based on their passion for doing something you love and sharing it with the world. (Something they hope to instill in their son someday.)

John would like to think he’s also off the hook for doing the taxes, invoices and late night tech support for Betsy’s photography business, but John loves Betsy and knows if she were to do these things on her own he would have to check her into a mental institute.

This story has a very happy ending as John already feels energized and writing more music than ever as he approaches this year without any distractions.

Look at how happy John is!

(Except when Betsy or Miles barges into his office to say hello, which he doesn’t seem to mind too much.)

Betsy is excited to step out and really own her work and see how much she can grow as an artist this year. It’s already shown some surprising challenges, but she’s excited for the opportunity to grow and see what the next turn has in store for her and her family.

Oh, and of course, Betsy, John and their little guy Miles, who was the cutie in the photos that got people to take notice, all lived happily ever after.

Thank you for hanging around for story time today! If you would like to learn more about what John does over in his side of the house at Metta Audio, check out John’s blog by clicking here. He posts music he’s working on often and he loves to hear feedback from musicians and music lovers alike.

Stay tuned this week! Now that you know the “why” behind the changes yet to come it’s just about time to make those changes HAPPEN! Things are taking longer than expected, so I’ll be in transition with the new name for a bit as I wait for the final logo, but hang in there. It’s still me behind the camera!