KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Small Business Administration is celebrating National Small Business Week! It is a week meant to acknowledge the contributions of the country's entrepreneurs and small business owners.
Here in East Tennessee, we have plenty of successful entrepreneurs. One of them is Saray Taylor-Roman.
Taylor-Roman was born in Mexico and now lives in East Tennessee. She said she worked as a Spanish teacher for seven years but felt she was lacking fulfillment in her career, so she decided to take a leap of faith and become a photographer.
"It has been an amazing experience to have my own business," Taylor-Roman said. "First of all because I am a first-generation immigrant and a first-generation business owner in my family."
The now award-winning photographer said, though, the journey to get to this point was not easy, particularly because her family and loved ones did not understand her decision to leave teaching.
However, she still went ahead and did it and now she told 10News that she even inspired her sister to leave academia and become a makeup artist.
"I feel that I am inspiring people, even in my own family, to chase their dreams," she said. "And I hope that people that are watching today will feel like, 'You know what? Maybe I can do it too.'"
If you at home have that thought in the back of your mind, that you may want to start your own business, Taylor-Roman said you should go for it even if you are scared.
"Every time I have transitioned I face that fear in the face," she explained. "And I have said, 'You know what? What is the worst that can happen? I am not going to die'. But there is freedom, there is financial freedom, and there is time freedom on the other side and I can only get there if I am brave enough to face the fear that I am feeling right now."
Taylor-Roman also recommends finding a good mentor. Here in East Tennessee, she said she found great help in the Knoxville Entrepreneur Center.
The photographer is also a mother to a 10-year-old girl. She said being an entrepreneur is possible for parents. According to her, it is all about time management.
"You can have it all but not at the same time," Taylor-Roman said. "So when I am with you, I am 100 percent with you. When I am with my clients, 100 percent present with my clients. It is all about being intentional with the time that you are giving anyone that is in front of you."