Hi, I’m Rachel.

I’m an adventure lovin’, thrill seeking, photographer and writer based in Phoenix AZ, and Minneapolis, MN. My heart beats for cacti, city skylines, handcrafted old fashioneds and potatoes in any form.

In 2017 I lost my mom to suicide and spiraled down the awkward and emotionally isolating experience commonly referred to as grief. My story doesn’t exactly have an a-ha! moment because the light bulb that lit up for me was on a dimmer switch but since her death I slowly discovered that grief doesn’t happen in a vacuum, but alongside a mixture of all the other human emotions—joy, hope, fear, anger, and even love. Grief’s imprint taught me that life is precious and sparked me to quit my 9-5, uproot my life to the desert, and pursue my passion for creative storytelling full time.

Now I navigate life with my camera in one hand and a pen in the other and my blog is a mashup of love stories, brand stories, mental health and grief stories (it’s a niche), and my “real life” (I can’t make this shit up) stories. I bring heart and a little humor to even the toughest of stories and candidly share about a range of topics including living through loss, grief, and new beginnings, and how to run a creative based business.

Latest From The Blog

Posts tagged overcoming competition in your industry

7 Mindset Shifts For Freelance Artists

Business, Personal, PhotographyRachel SmakFebruary 26, 20195 MINDSET SHIFTS YOU NEED TO MAKE TO GROW YOUR CREATIVE BUSINESS, 7 Big Mindset Shifts If Launching Your Business, 7 mindset shifts for creative entrepreneurs, 7 mindset shifts for entrepreneurs, 7 mindset shifts for freelance artists, 7 mindset shifts you need to make to grow your creative business, 7 Powerful Mindset Shifts for Creatives, 7 POWERFUL MINDSET SHIFTS TO GO FROM BLOGGER TO SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEUR, advice for every creative, advice for every freelancer, advice for every writer, advice to grow your business, “Progress Over Perfection”, charging what they're worth, Don’t Be Afraid to Say No, Embrace and Live By the Mantra “Progress Over Perfection”, Embrace the Mantra “Progress Over Perfection”, Freelance Artists, Grow Your Biz with One Mindset Shift, Grow Your Biz with these 7 Mindset Shift, grow your income with these mindset shifts, grow your instagram engagement with stories, Have a Clear Vision, Here's why having a clear vision is so significant to your success, how to be successful as a wrtier, how to be successful as an artist, how to be successful as an introverted entrepreneur, how to charge your worth, how to find success as a writer, how to get paid as a writer, how to get paid as an artist, how to get paid for your work, how to grow your brand, how to make money as an artist, how to not be a struggling artist, How to Shift Your Mindset and Build Wealth as a Creative, How to Shift Your Mindset and Build Wealth as a Creative Artist, How to Shift Your Mindset and Build Wealth as a Creative Entreprenuer, How to Shift Your Mindset and Build Wealth as a Creative Freelance, How to Shift Your Mindset and Build Wealth as a Creative Freelance Artist, How to Shift Your Mindset and Build Wealth as a Creative Freelancer, how to stop struggling as a freelancer, how to stop struggling as a writer, how to stop struggling as an artist, how to think as a creative, how to think as an artist, if you are serious about growing your creative business, know your why, Learn from mistakes and move on, limited money mindset, mindset shifts, Mindset Shifts Creative Entrepreneurs Can Learn From, mindset shifts for artists, mindset shifts for creative entrepreneurs, mindset shifts for entrepreneurs, mindset shifts for freelance artist, mindset shifts for freelance creative writers, mindset shifts for freelance writers, mindset shifts for freelancers, mindset shifts for photographer, mindset shifts for writers, MINDSET SHIFTS YOU NEED TO MAKE TO GROW YOUR CREATIVE BUSINESS, MINDSET SHIFTS YOU NEED TO MAKE TO GROW YOUR Income, minneapolis boudoir photographer, minneapolis brand photographer, minneapolis commercial photographer, minneapolis commercial photography, minneapolis content creator, minneapolis copy writer, minneapolis elopements, Minneapolis Engagement, Minneapolis Engagement Photographer, minneapolis flatlay photographer, minneapolis freelance copywriter, minneapolis freelance photographer, minneapolis freelance social media stratagist, minneapolis freelance writer, minneapolis golf course wedding, minneapolis lifestyle photographer, Minneapolis Mn elopement photographer, minneapolis wedding photographer, minneapolis wedding photographer tips, minneapolis wedding photography, Minneapolis Wedding reception, minnesota brand photographer, minnesota commercial photographer, minnesota commercial photography, Minnesota Editorial photographer, minnesota editorial photography, Minnesota Engagement, Minnesota Engagement photographer, Minnesota Engagement Photography, minnesota photographer, minnesota photography, Minnesota wedding photographer, minnesota wedding photographer tips, Money is merely an exchange of value, mpls wedding photography, overcoming comparison, overcoming comparison in your industry, overcoming competition, overcoming competition in your industry, phoenix blogger, phoenix boudoir photographer, phoenix brand photographer, phoenix commercial photographer, phoenix commercial photography, phoenix copy writer, phoenix copywriter, phoenix editorial photographer, phoenix editorial photography, phoenix engagement photographer, phoenix engagement photography, Phoenix Engagement Photos, phoenix engagement session, phoenix freelance copywriter, phoenix freelance photographer, phoenix freelance writer, phoenix lifestyle photographer, phoenix photographer, phoenix social media stratagest, phoenix wedding photographer, phoenix wedding photography, phoenix weddings, phx blogger, phx engagement photographer, phx wedding photographer, power of thinking, scottsdale boudoir photographer, scottsdale brand photographer, scottsdale commercial photographer, scottsdale copy writer, scottsdale copywriter, scottsdale editorial photographer, scottsdale editorial photography, scottsdale engagement photographer, scottsdale engagement photography, scottsdale engagement photos, scottsdale engagement session, scottsdale freelance copywriter, scottsdale freelance photographer, scottsdale freelance writer, scottsdale lifestyle photographer, scottsdale photographer, scottsdale wedding photographer, scottsdale wedding photography, scottsdale wedding photos, scottsdaleweddingphotos, Shifting your mindset, Shifting your mindset to "progress over perfection", small business mindset shifts, St- Paul Minnesota Engagement Session, starving artist syndrome and how to fix it, stillwater minnesota engagement photos, Stop taking everything personally-, Surround Yourself with Other Entrepreneurs, The best way to know when to say no and when to yes is to ask yourself these ..., The Canal Club, The Canal Club arizona, The Canal Club at The Scott Resort, The Canal Club bar, The Canal Club restaurant, the scott resort, you should take your business seriously- But you shouldn't beat yourself up o...

How To Break Free From The Comparison Trap

How To Break Free From The Comparison Trap

Photography, Life & Style, EducationRachel SmakMay 9, 2018break free from the comparison trap, community over comparison, community over compitetion, comparing yourself to you're peers, comparison, comparison struggles, comparison trap, competing with your peers, creative comparison, creative competition, empowered women empower women, entrepreneur comparison, facebook comparison, how to celebrate other people's success, how to deal with comparison, how to deal with competition, how to deal with jealousy, how to overcome comparison, how to overcome comparison struggles, how to overcome creative comparison, how to overcome creative competition, instagram comparison, overcoming comparison, overcoming comparison in your industry, overcoming competition, overcoming competition in your industry, social media comparison, stop comparing yourself to others