From Head Trash to Inner Peace: The Self-Efficacy Advantage, with Ursula Hoppe

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I was turning 50 and I had to take stock in what I was doing and I was like, who am I making this money for? I'm making this money for somebody else, not for me.

From Others over self. It's hardcore and at ease. A show about people who are keeping their edge without going over the edge.

I'm host Shelly Rude. What if the biggest thing holding you back isn't lack of talent or resources? It's waiting until you feel ready. Today's guest is Ursula Hoppe, an Air Force veteran and award winning photographer whose work hangs in international collections. We explore how she built a successful creative business by saying yes before she had all the answers, the mentorship strategy that fills your skill gaps without stalling.

Your momentum, and her mantra for launching anything.

Build the plane as you fly it.

This is hardcore and at ease.

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When I first met Ursula, she had a jolliness about her that was impossible to fake. I hired her on a recommendation from a fellow female vet and so I had no idea what to expect. But I never could have anticipated this warmth and this life that her presence brought into our space on Selfridge Air National Guard base. Now, Ursula arrived early to the shoot and she began setting up her equipment like clockwork. I mean, she reminded me of a big game hunter and she was ready for the task at hand, large and in charge. She got a folding stool out of her trunk and she had this soft gray backdrop that was complimentary to every person we put in front of it. Her gear was meticulous. It was clean, it was organized. There was no doubt in my mind that this woman had served in the military. Ursula's story takes us from the United States, out to Germany and even out to the Pacific. She is an Air Force veteran and we'll get to that in just a minute. She graduated with honors from Savannah College of Art and Design and honed her skills in the corporate sector before actually launching her own studio. Now her images hang in international collections in the uk, in Saudi Arabia, business buildings, and in many residential walls. Now, like so many of us, military women tend to shy away from the camera. So our profile pictures tend to be avatars or pet photos. And on this particular day, Ursula and I were providing local women and military veterans with complimentary headshots. A polished image helps build trust and ensures that you're taken seriously in professional settings, which is always an expectation of a military woman. Ursula's punctuality gave us a good hour to connect, and by the time the women started to arrive, she felt like an old friend. For the rest of the evening, I enjoyed watching her interacting with her subjects, recommending jacket colors and guiding their posture. They just naturally relaxed in front of the camera. As my conversation with Ursula Hoppe unfolds, I want you to listen for just how many times she quieted her own head head trash and just simply said, yes.

The portraiture, business portraits, and the branding that I enjoy working with that clientele. I really do, because there's a different type of creativity there, and I enjoy helping those business owners, the women feel comfortable because a lot of times they're people that just don't feel comfortable in front of the lens and it shows or there's a really image up that isn't a true representation of who they are. I know that I can connect with individuals and help them there, but my landscapes truly is my first love.

I want to hear more about that. But tell me this. How often should you be updating your professional headshots?

Two years.

Lot can happen in two years.

That's right. Every two years.

And that's so true. I know. Even just me personally, I have three kids now, and when you go through the pregnancies and the weight gain and the weight loss, and sometimes you're more active at different times in life. Your hair changes, your face changes, your style changes.

When I have an appointment with somebody that I haven't met personally, I. I try to go to either the webpage or the LinkedIn and see who I'm gonna meet. And I've had a few incidences where I've walked into the business to meet the individuals, like, that's not you.

Oh, what a terrible thing when you.

Keep all that to yourself. I was like, okay, you need an update. Yep.

Why do you think people choose not to update their headshots?

I know for women, it's because they don't like what they see. They're very self critical. I do my best to let them know is like, oh, we are just so, so hard on ourselves. You know, it's like I just have too many gray hairs or my, I'm not as, as thin as I want to be, or the wrinkles are just so bad. It's just like there's things that I can do to kind of help that as a photographer. Yes. There are things that I can do to kind of help that, to kind of minimize and make you feel better about looking at yourself, but it's still you that you're seeing.

We live in a world where filters are just out of control.

Absolutely. Absolutely.

There was actually a news story. It's from another country, it's not from America. But there was a gentleman that married a woman and it was soon after the marriage that he saw her for the first time without any of her makeup on. And he used that as grounds for divorce because he said, this is not the woman I married.

I believe that there are so many filters and filters are okay, but there's something to be said about your authentic self. We can do a little bit here and a little bit there. But when I'm presented back to you, it's still you.

It's still you. And it's this cyclical negative whirlpool that.

We are stuck in.

Right. Because we feel bad about ourselves. So we cover the things that are bad about ourselves, but then when we take off that cover, we feel even worse about ourselves. And it just keeps going.

It just keeps going. It really does. I know. Okay, yeah, I have the gray hairs. Do I do a little bit of highlighting to blend them in? I do. I'm going to be 62 in December and I'm grateful I made it to this age. There are some people that can't say that. So I'm grateful and blessed that I've made it here. Will I continue to do some highlighting in my hair? Probably, and that's okay, but you know, the grays are still there and there's.

So many other things to focus on. So I know as a photographer, especially with landscapes, it's very important for you to be mobile and have that mobility of your body to go out to these cliffs and these incredible places and you had a physical issue just within the last year, didn't you? You want to tell us about that?

I did. I'm. Oh, for the last six or seven years, I've been dealing with some hip issues, but I didn't Know, it was my hip. I always thought is like, I've been lazy, I haven't stretched enough, I need to get back in the pool. I made every excuse for it. But the last two years, my quality of life has really suffered. And yeah, it was a hip issue. I've been so blessed and fortunate being treated at the VA here in Ann Arbor and my primary care provider, when I first had my intake with her, she was just wonderful with me. We had an hour conversation. She noticed my gait, she noticed that I had that hitch to my giddyup. And she said, what's going on? And I told her and she did some, some range of motions and she burst my bubble and said, no, it's not that you have arthritis in the hip and we need to take care of it.

So, like, denied at that point?

Oh, gosh, no. So she sent me straight upstairs and she says, well, this is what we're going to do. And honest, I had it all evaluated when I turned 60 and I just had surgery in September. I'm eight weeks out. It was a full hip replacement.

Oh, my goodness. I can't believe you're even. Are you on drugs right now? No.

You know what? It was so good, you know that I haven't had any drugs except for Tylenol.

That's incredible.

Yep. And I was 100% weight bearing three weeks later. So I've been really strict with the hip protocols and pt. I've been doing PT here at home three times a day. Physical therapy has been really good to me. So I have my first follow up in person follow up on Wednesday. And so hopefully some restrictions will be lifted and that they tell me that I can drive again because right now.

Oh, you haven't been able to drive. That's so hard, isn't it?

It is hard. And I think one reason for so long of having taken my keys away is because it's the right hip and that right foot works the gas and the brakes. And they want to make sure I have that reaction for the brakes and so that I don't hurt anybody or hurt myself.

Now, where do you live, Ursula? Are you in a town where there's a lot of busy daily traffic, or are you out in the woods like most of our veterans tend to do after they retire?

Heather and I, we live here in Pinckney, around 25 minutes west of Ann Arbor.

So close enough to be dangerous, but you'll be safe on the road when you get back in there, Correct? Now, did you grow up in that area?

I did Not. I grew up in Dearborn, Mike. Yeah, I grew up. I was born and raised in Dearborn for a couple of years, and then life took me to Germany after parents divorced.

Were raised in Germany, I was.

I was raised in Germany by my grandparents and my mother.

How did you end up from Germany into the Air Force?

Well, let's see. My stepdad, when my mom remarried, he was an army major. My dad did a stint in the army, and when I got to a certain age, when I. Because I spent time down in South Carolina for high school, and then my dad had always lived up here in Michigan. And so after high school, I moved up here to Michigan to be with my father. And after high school graduation. What does an 18 year old know? You just flounder around. You don't know what you want to.

Do, but you think you know everything.

Yeah, that's right. Couldn't find my way out of a wet paper bag if I tried. But I did my best. And my dad, oh, my gosh, he saw me and he just. He saw I was struggling and we sat down and I had done ROTC in high school. I had done Air Force ROTC in high school. So I knew about the uniform, I knew about military life or the basics of it. And my dad had said, have you ever thought of the service? And I said, no, because once I finished up with high school at rotc, because back then we had to wear the uniform once a week in high school. And it was like we got made fun of wearing the uniform. So it was just a little bit of a. Not that I wasn't proud. I just didn't like the attention because it was all negative attention. And I did well in rotc, but it was just like, no, not really, but. And then when he planted that seed a couple weeks later, I went to the recruiting place in Lansing and I got there and I knew if. If the Air Force wasn't having me, I wasn't going in. But I took the asvab. I did everything and. But I was put on the delayed enlistment program because I had to. Basically, I was put on the fat boy program. You got to lose £20 before we let you in.

Oh, Ursula.

So I put on the fat boy program and I lost my weight and. And there I went.

I love knowing that about you. There's. Were you surprised by that?

By what? The fat boy program?

Yeah.

Oh, heck no. Oh, heck no.

Was that part of your hesitation to joining?

No, it was like, you know, all they can do is say no, you know, so I went and they didn't say no. They just said, not right now until you do this.

Just ahead, what makes this Air Force veteran so hardcore and how she's managed to keep her edge without going over the edge. You're listening to Hardcore and Addies. We'll be right back.

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I love this. So part of the reason why Ursula was invited to be on the show is because she embodies the value of self efficacy. And self efficacy is the ability to not do things, but just believe that you can do things. And what you're telling me is from your youth, you had this deeply ingrained idea of, yeah, I can do that.

Honest to goodness. You know, after I left the service, I got a job, position. You know, I was offered a position over in the Marshall Islands. And back then there wasn't Internet. There wasn't anything to look it up except to maybe go to an encyclopedia or whatever. And so it's like, all right, it's, I have to go through Hawaii. It's an island in the middle of the Pacific. I'll go. I liked the water, I like the warm temperatures. What do I got to lose? So spent 10 years over there was probably the best 10 years of my life.

Off on an adventure.

It was some of the hardest work that I did. But you know, you're on an island three by one. There are only 5,000 people on there. You know, you meet some really amazing folks and you know, to this day, there's seven or eight of us that are truly, truly sisters and family.

Now how did you end up from the military into the College of Art and Design?

The photography bug hit me when I was out in the Marshall Islands because there was Just so much. And so I was doing it out there, but teaching myself. And we had a rec center over there where they had a dark room. But I wasn't quite as informed as I am now about what's a dark room and all this other good stuff. There was a gentleman there that walked me through some stuff, and I just started taking portraits of the families that were there working on a craft. And I had a dear friend that was out there that was in the Army. She had left and she had an assignment down in Georgia. And she says, urs, there's an amazing school here for photography. I'm just going to plant dead seed. And I had left the islands, came back up here to Michigan, and because I went to Lansing Community College and I got my associates from them, and that's where I picked up some really solid basic skills.

Was that after the military?

All after military? Yep. Everything was after the military. And once I got my LCC groundwork done. Chris Savannah, SCAD is a private art school. And so you have to have a pretty strong portfolio to be considered. And I had a great mentor at lcc. He helped me with my portfolio and we submitted it and I was accepted as a sophomore. So I was really happy about that. And so that's how I finished up and that's how I ended at scad.

And you were sharing a story with me about your senior year. You had to do an art show.

Yeah, I did have to do an art show. And that's where that the head trash started when artists are really hard on themselves. Because what I like, I don't know if somebody else will like, but all seniors at SCAD have to put on a senior show. Whether you're going for your bachelor's, your master's or whatever, you have to have a senior show. And so my specialty is black and white. And that's all I was doing there. And so it was time for me to get my senior show up and found my location, put it up, and you're there thinking is like, who is going to come to this? You know, who is going to like my vision? Who's going to like what I see? Because art is very subjective.

And Ursula, this is after your time in the military. I mean, you were working in weights and checks and balances. That way the planes didn't dive bomb because things were incorrect. And it's so interesting that you are still having these inner confidence battles in the service.

When I was doing weight and balance or I was working with other chiefs about doing deployments. This that and the other.

Other.

It's all very specific. It's written down. You have a check sheet, and you do it, and there's really no questioning it. Weight and balance. Can this go here? Can this go there? You check it off. Yes, it can. Okay, I can double check myself, but with art, I can. I can only do what brings me joy. And I don't know if my vision brings you joy. And so that's where my head trash is.

And what if it doesn't?

And what if it doesn't bring somebody? It's okay. It's okay. I'm not for everybody.

You can say that now.

I can say that now.

A senior.

That's right. But when I did my senior show, I couldn't say that. And the anxiety and all the knots in your stomach where you just want to throw up, it was all there. You get it. I, you know, get to get my work up. And it stays up for a week and, you know, a couple of nights, you're there in person with everybody, and it's just like, all right, people. People actually came to see my work. So I was like, it was good. And it's nice to have complete strangers say something about your work instead of your fellow classmates or your parents or some friends, because you feel like they're saying it, because they feel like they have to. But to have complete strangers your work and what you do, it was nice.

What a journey for you to tell us about that very first art show all the way to art fairs, and now you're just over it. One of the biggest questions that we ask all of our guests is this idea of being hardcore. What is the most dedicated, die hard, enthusiastic thing that Ursula Hoppe has really focused on and has been this foundation for you over the years? What makes Ursula Hoppe hardcore?

Back in the day, when I was younger, I don't know if there was anything that really made me hardcore except that I was really easygoing and I could adapt to almost anything. And as I've matured and gone about my business and I've learned what's important to me now, because what's important to me now versus what's important to me then are not the same. And what makes me hardcore today is on the personal side, my commitment to my family, to my wife. And on the professional side, it's just being satisfied knowing that what I'm doing, I'm giving my best, I know it's enough, and I have to be okay with it. It's that inner peace where I'm not trying to impress anybody anymore.

And that is so hardcore. That is so hardcore to have that layer of inner peace where you can just know what you believe in, what brings you joy, rock it out every day, and know that success will follow based on that foundation.

Yep. You know, it took me a long time to get here, but you know, I think, you know, I think, yeah, it's working for me.

I think it's working for you too, Ursula.

Thank you.

Just ahead, stories about cow tipping, triathlons, and recognizing your own personal value. Stay with us. I'm host Shelley Rud and you're listening to Hardcore and At Ease.

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You're listening To Hardcore and at ease with certified business and life coach Shelly Rood. Now back to the show.

Hey, welcome back to Hardcore Netties. I'm host Shelly Rude. Today we're talking to award winning photographer Ursula Hoppe, who disclosed to us in the first half of the show what makes her hardcore. It's her ability to adapt to change and, and to commit to what she wants most. We also learned that even though she hears a lot of head trash, as she calls it, she doesn't let the negative thoughts keep her from moving forward. Let's jump back in and figure out what she does to be at ease. Now, Ursula, you are a veteran of which branch?

The Air Force.

Can you tell me a little bit about your service time?

I was 84 to 91 and I had two assignments. My first assignment right out of basic training was Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado Springs, first Base command. I was air cargo and during exercises I was weight and balance, did a lot of that. And then I had a unfortunate accident, had to cross train, went into logistics management. And my assignment for that was Cannon air Force Base, New Mexico. F111D's logistics manager worked for the DCM there and we had the F111DS and we're on the flight line for the most part. And what I did was an amazing job, but the location was like, okay, let's go find another place.

What didn't you like about living in.

That area in New Mexico, in Clovis? You know the saying around town was the sun goes down, the sidewalks roll up and there are more cows than, than, what do you call it, population there For a young airman there, it was like, oh my God, we had to drive into Lubbock, Texas if we wanted to really do anything or, or cow tipping.

Is that enough?

That's right. Or we ended up in Albuquerque or Santa Fe and really that was it.

What did you do for your time off of work?

Oh my God.

Honest. Well, this is a G rated show.

I know. I did some. No, no, no, no. I did some online courses. Days off. I would, seriously, I would drive myself back into Colorado Springs because I had a lot of friends there and I would take a quick trip in, a quick trip back. But yeah, there wasn't a lot. So, you know, you went to the gym, cleaned the car, did laundry. You tried to be an adult sometimes and you just kind of.

Yeah, I heard that serving your country is one of the most hardcore things that somebody could do. And you're telling me it was boring? Boring.

You know what New Mexico. New Mexico was, you know, Peterson Air Force Base. When I got my rip out of tech school, everybody was so envious because I got Colorado Springs and everybody else, according to them, they got the hole in the walls. So I was like, you know what? I will take it. Oh, my goodness. There was just so much to do there. I did a lot of exploring of the area because I'm a big hiker and I hadn't gotten into photography that much yet, so I wasn't too much in that I hadn't picked up my camera yet. But I did a lot of exploring of the area because you weren't for wanting. You really weren't. I was actually training in some mini triathlons. That's probably pretty amazing to say that now.

Oh, I love that about you. I did a series of mini triathlons as well. The sprints, right?

Oh, my God. Yeah. Now I don't even run. No, no.

But once upon a time you did.

Once upon a time I did. And you know, I have those old pictures like, who in the heck is that?

Thank you for telling me a little bit more about your military experience. We're talking today to Ursula Hoppe, and she is a fellow woman, business owner, and a fellow military veteran. Ursula, could you tell me a little bit more about who you are now as an adult outside of the military?

Outside of the military, I am the proud owner of a photography business. And I have two aspects of my business. It's professional business portraits and branding, and then the fine art landscape in nature. I studied at the Savannah College of Art and Design for four years. Got my BFA in photography. Yeah, it was a beautiful place. And I have always been passionate about photography ever since I can remember. Never really pursued it because didn't have anybody really guiding me. But once I got out of the service and all my traveling after the service, that's when the bug really hit. And I was smarter and wiser and I knew what I wanted to do, so then I pursued it. But now I live here in Ann Arbor with my wife and our dog, and we're doing pretty well.

I want to hear about the bug that you say you caught. I feel like it's twofold. There's this bug to go down the entrepreneurial route and have your own business and be in charge of your income. But you did this in a very creative industry as well. So there had to have been a bug there that wasn't being met.

There was a bug that wasn't being met right out of school. You are dreading Those student loans coming in. So, okay, I have to find a job. And I was very fortunate and blessed that there was a photography company just starting up, and they were based out of Charlotte, North Carolina, and I was in Savannah. They found me in school, my last month of classes before graduation, and he was looking for photographers for the photography business. So he invited me to stop in Charlotte, at headquarters to see him and for him to give me a rundown of what the company was all about. And I stopped in. He treated me for two days, told me about the business. He only had one studio at the time, but we grew it to almost 200.

Oh, my goodness.

Yeah. I was one of the first 10 employees of the company, and I was with him for over 11 years. And it was one of the best things I ever did because it really. I learned a lot more about the photography industry on the business side instead of having just the camera in front of my face.

Oh, there are so many entrepreneurs out there who think that they can do the creative piece of it, and then they go off on their own and learn really the hard way what it's like to run a business. Tell me about that. Where were some of your biggest hurdles?

So when I left after 11 years, it was one of those. It's like, what do I do? But, you know, my boss was very gracious to me. When you're in the company, you have a bucket. How full do you want your bucket and how much can you take? And ours was. For me, it was heavy customer service. We were heavy, heavy customer service and dealing with everything out there. And after a while, it's just like, oh, my goodness, how much more can I do? You know? And I was turning 50, and I had to take stock in what I was doing. And I was like, who am I making this money for? I'm making this money for somebody else, not for me. And I had the great fortune that I was able to get all the capital that I needed in regards to my camera equipment. I was able to take some wonderful vacations. So I had a library already. I've done traveling here in the state of Michigan, so I wasn't starting off completely with nothing.

So why the jump? I mean, it sounds like you were in a place financially, where you were comfortable and so you could have stayed.

I could have. But you know what? I was miserable. I was miserable. And he offered me a wonderful severance package. When I left, I jumped straight into the art fair world. Had no clue what I was doing. But I loved attending art fairs because I loved Looking at other people's work and seeing what they were doing. I always told myself there were a couple of big art fairs in Michigan that I always wanted to attend and be a photographer at, and I was able to do it. But being a guest and walking through the art fair and being a vendor and setting up two different stories, what.

Are some of the challenges to some of our listeners that are thinking about bringing their creative side into business as.

Into the art fair world? Yeah, yeah. Art fair is expensive. You have registration fees and then you get accepted and you have then booth fees and depending on how large the fair is and the prestige behind the art fair. Because a lot of these art fairs, they have a very large following. And so sometimes it's one of those, if you can afford it, then go ahead and do it, like the Ann Arbor Art Fair. But you're also subjected to all the weather. I don't know how many art fairs I would participated in where I didn't make my income until the 11th hour, so to speak. And sometimes people are just perusing and looking or they're going for one day to see what's out there and then they'll come back, but you never know. And did I turn a profit working the yard fairs? Oh, I would say just barely because a lot of times it's like didn't know what I was doing. And pricing was another. It was the huge thing for me. Pricing is like, what do I charge?

That is such a huge question for every entrepreneur out there.

Do I want to out price myself from the market or do I just charge barely enough to get through and to cover my expenses? Or what do I want to do?

What's your philosophy now that you're a seasoned business owner?

Oh, there's still a lot of, what do you call it, that imposter syndrome. I've been going through a lot of mentoring and coaching and yeah, I've worked out a lot of that garbage.

Well, your photography is phenomenal. And I know that you have a love for portraits, but the landscaping is something that speaks deep to my heart because I truly believe in just the beauty of creation. And you do have some landscape photography. That's not just pieces that you can have in a museum. You have some incredible pieces and you made it usable and accessible to the average person to be able to have in their home.

Thank you. Yeah.

Now, when we were chatting before, you had mentioned that it's very easy to go over the edge. It's very easy to spend all your evenings out, your Friday nights, especially in the military and just kind of wasting time. But you never really did that. You always were very grounded. You had some idea of life, values. Could you tell me a little bit more about your belief system?

Oh, my goodness. So my belief system is that I've learned to be authentic. But prior to now, I need to say the last 15 years, maybe 20, it was hard to be authentic because I was always in environments that kept me from be doing so because I came out when I was in the service. But when I was in the service in the 80s, it was kind of had to hide. Don't ask, don't tell.

Was there retaliation?

I personally never experienced any of it. Okay. But I had to live a lie. I had to live that lie. And. And I did. And I got out and. But you're so programmed and ingrained to live that lie because that's all you've done for so long. But when I went over to the Marshall Islands was the very first time where, you know, I was just doing my thing over there and just learning how to fit in. And I had a co worker, we were done with work, and we were about to go scuba diving. And he asked me, he says, if you don't mind me asking you a personal question. I was like, sure. And he asked me if I was gay. And he'd stand there for a minute and it's like, wow, I can actually answer that honestly. And so that was the very first time I answered it honestly and honest. Jelly. I have never felt so much weight leave my shoulders to actually say it out loud, to say it out loud to somebody that doesn't know my past. And I think from that day forward is where I started to learn to live authentically and be okay with it. Has there been some struggles since then? Early on, there was a little bit. But like I said, you get to a certain point in your life where you just. You just. You don't have the spoons to give anymore. And if you like who I am, great. And if you don't, that's okay too, because I'm not for everybody.

You don't have the spoons to give anymore.

I love it.

When we come back, how Ursula kept her business from failing. And it worked pretty well until she outgrew her mentor. Stay with us. I'm host Shelly Rude, and you're listening to Hardcore and at Ease.

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All right, welcome back to Hardcore and At Ease. I'm host Shelly Rood. To be at ease, all you need is to be authentic. Well, at least that's what today's guest, Ursula Hoppe does.

And that's only been for the past.

20 years or so that she says she's been able to do this. This fine art photographer says that being authentic means that you're not for everyone. And that's okay because you get to a point in life where you just don't have the spoons to give anymore. In this last part of the interview, Ursula shares with us the secret that has kept her business from failing more than once. Now, there are a lot of young people who are interested in starting businesses and being authentic, and you're nowhere near done. You still have a lot to go. So first tell me what's next for you? What's next for Ursula Hobby?

What's next for me is honest because of the hip surgery and everything I've given myself until the new year, where in the new year I'm going to really be striking out in a little bit more of an aggressive manner with my professional business portraits, doing a little bit more marketing because I've hired a person that does social media and she's going to help me with that. And I don't want to lose sight of my landscapes anymore since I've been recovering for these last eight weeks, I've had plenty of time to go through my library and do what I need to do. And I created my Etsy store. I have things up and running, things are selling.

So we can actually go on to your Etsy store and we can purchase some of the landscaping.

Oh, absolutely. But now since surgery, though, and I'm feeling so much better, I'm actually Motivated and excited to pick up my camera. For the last two years, it's been so hard because just breathing sometimes hurt and you just didn't want to do anything. Yeah, I have energy. I'm ready to go.

So take us with you. Ursula Hoppe, who else is going to be on this journey with you?

Heather, for sure. And definitely everybody that follows me on my Facebook page, my business page. So new work is coming. I've been doing some new work, but yeah, I'm really excited about it. Winter, hopefully, is going to be a good winter here because I love winter photography. Really going to dive into that now.

One thing that I've heard you talk about is the importance of mentors. You've had a number of mentors and your life, and now you have the opportunity to serve as a mentor. As a seasoned business person. Can you tell us a little bit about mentorship?

Oh, my goodness. I really dove into mentorship when, you know, I just couldn't get my photography off the ground. And so I enlisted the help of a woman in Arizona who works nothing but with photographers because we're all good behind the lens, but we are terrible in front of it and doing all the, the grunt work, so to speak, in regards to the business, the, the pricing and we have the head trash and everything else. So she was really good with me on that and I spent a year with her and it was really good and got the ball rolling. And I got to a point where I was able to do a lot by myself, but I just needed more. But I don't think she wasn't able to take me to the next level. And so I found another mentor who was really good with mindset and it was all about keep telling you you're worth every penny mindset and having confidence. And sure, everybody has that imposter syndrome but us as women, because the majority of people that she was coaching, we were all women. And there's some gentlemen in the group, but the women of the group had the hardest part in regards to, am I overcharging? So it was definitely a lot of mindset. And so once I was able to shoot, put into practice some of some daily habits, some morning habits really helped. And a little bit on some personal mantras.

Do you have a personal mantra you can share with us?

I do. And one of them is build the plane as you fly it for me at one point is like, I can't advertise anything because I don't have my website done. I don't have this done. I don't have that done yet. And I wasn't doing it because I didn't know how to build my website. So it's that endless circle.

I have a feeling a lot of our listeners right now are giving you fist bumps in the air.

Yeah. So it's like, just do it. Who cares? You know, so. And then eventually the website came to be. But is. Is it perfect? No. But do I know a lot about website?

Never perfect.

It's never perfect. But do I know a lot more about all these platforms in regards to getting a newsletter out, getting the website going? And I sure do. So.

And what I've been hearing you say, really, about mentorship is when you feel as an individual that you don't know something, not stopping believing in it. Right. Because you can just stop there and you can say, oh, I don't know anything about these business things, so I'm gonna stop.

Right.

But you actually go and find a mentor. You find somebody who's smarter than you in those areas, and you trust them to guide you.

When I know that now I'm at a point where I have some strong skill sets in those areas that were really frustrating me and forcing me to walk away sometimes. And now that I have those skill sets, it's like, okay, I can do it.

And so your confidence grows as you work on those things that you're not sure of.

Correct.

Love this. Now, do you have a piece of advice for someone who is just constantly hearing. What did you call it? The head trash?

Correct. I. You know, and I have to pick it up again. I had a gratitude journal, and it was part of my morning routine because I'm an early riser, and I think probably most military members, we are early risers. So you get your morning coffee and, yeah, write my gratitudes down. It starts me off with a smile, and I know that not everything is going to go perfectly every day. And I just keep my head down and keep moving forward. And I do have the support of a. Of a loving family that understands what I'm. What I'm doing, and that it's not easy. And they continue to encourage me. And I do my best to only surround myself with individuals that support me.

So don't do it alone.

Don't do it.

No.

I was. Used to be one of those. I can do it by myself. I don't need anybody. And one of my mentors said as well, so what did that get you? Truly? She said that to me. So how's that working for you? Like, oh, okay.

Excellent, Ursula. Well, thank you so much for sharing your story with us. I deeply appreciate having you on today and you are a perfect embodiment of what it means to be hardcore and at ease. Ursula, for our listeners that want to follow you, maybe purchase some of your photography or hire you to do some portraits, where should we send them?

If you want to go to the Etsy store, it's ursulahaphoto Etsy and you'll see it.

And Hoppe is H O P P E correct. Thank you so much Ursula.

Thank you Shelley. It's always a pleasure.

That's Ursula Hoppe, Mid Michigan fine art photographer and owner of Ursulahapi Photography.com by the way, on her website she describes herself as an old school photographer who composes in camera. She says, I set up the shot just the way I want to see it. I do minimal editing, so what you see is what I shot. Ursula, I can't help but feel that this is also your mantra for life. We always end the show with two things, action items and gear recommendations. These are simple things that you can do right now to enhance your lifestyle of living hardcore netties. The first nugget of wisdom from Ursula is to build the plane as you fly it.

So identify one thing that's serving as a brick wall in your life and.

Then figure out how to breach it.

And if you can't figure it out.

Then the second wisdom is to find someone who does and then enlist their help. Finally, if you can't tell, I am a total gear junkie. I've done all the research and the testing of these products so that you.

Don'T have to waste your time.

Today's gear recommendation is the camera that my team uses for quick photo and video shoots. It's the Panasonic Lumix 4K mirrorless camera. For roughly 500 bucks, you can take professional quality photos and headshots or you can just hire Ursula. But if you're a DIYer like me, then the link to purchase is in the show notes. Hey, thanks so much for listening to the show today. You can subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and let's keep the conversation going@join.othersoverself.com I'm Shelley Reed and you've been listening to Hardcore and at ease. See you next week.