#303: From Decades of Dabbling to $20,000 in Wall Portraits: How This Mom of Three Finally Went All In
Worth Every Penny Joycast
Sarah Petty
5.0 • 3.6K Ratings
🗓️ 18 February 2026
⏱️ 38 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
You know that quiet voice that says, "I'm meant for more than this." And then life hits. Grief. A cross-country move. A husband losing his job. Most people would shrink back. Jamie Ross decided to go all in.
After decades of dabbling, Jamie made one bold decision, to run her photography business like it mattered. What followed was a whirlwind year of loss, courage, and $20,000 in wall portrait sales in just weeks. This isn't about hustle. It's about choosing purpose when everything feels uncertain.
Here's what you'll walk away with:
• Why running a business is a decision, not a feeling
• How to sell $5K wall art with heart, not pressure
• The mindset shift that turns fear into forward motion
If you've been waiting for the "right time," this is your sign. Jamie's story will remind you that you're stronger than you think, and your work is worth more than you've been charging. Press play. This one might just change everything.
RESOURCES:
Photography Business Tools to Get Started
INSTAGRAM – DM me "Conversation Starters" for some genuine ways to strike up a conversation about your photography business wherever you are.
www.photographybusinessinstitute.com/boutiquebreakthrough
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Today I'm sitting down with Jamie Ross, a photographer, teacher, wife, and mom of three, whose story will stop you in your tracks. |
| 0:08.1 | Jamie's been behind the camera since the early 2000s, but this past year, after decades of dabbling, detours, and doing what she should, she decided to level up and go all in. |
| 0:20.1 | What happened next? A roller coaster of family loss, |
| 0:24.1 | a family move across the country, and $20,000 in wall portrait orders. Today I'm going to talk to |
| 0:30.8 | Jamie about how she turned pain into purpose, why she refused to give up even when everything |
| 0:36.1 | around her was falling apart, and the exact moment |
| 0:39.6 | she realized running a business is a decision, not a feeling. |
| 0:45.1 | Hey there, my name's Sarah Petty, and I went from a stressed out, overworked mama with three babies |
| 0:50.7 | to be named one of America's most profitable photographers without working my kids' |
| 0:56.6 | lives away. Now I'm the founder of the Photography Business Institute where we provide guided |
| 1:02.0 | support from start to finish, whether you're a beginner photographer dipping your toes in |
| 1:07.0 | or a more advanced photographer with big income goals. Each week on this podcast, I'll show you how to |
| 1:14.1 | find and serve photography clients in a world where we can keep it free thanks to everyone having |
| 1:20.6 | a digital camera in their pocket. Take the first step to adding more joy and profit to your life |
| 1:26.7 | by downloading your free |
| 1:28.2 | photography business tools at photography business institute.com. |
| 1:34.9 | So guys, here's what I want to do. Like, I want you to hear Jamie's story, like from start |
| 1:41.3 | through where she, you know, through her Julie, or Julie is like what, what your |
| 1:45.9 | story was. So I want you to tell us like a little bit about yourself and your family and where |
| 1:50.5 | you live and where you've lived for 10 minutes. But yeah, share your story with us. |
| 1:56.5 | Okay. So I have a husband and three kids. We have lived a little bit of everywhere, but we came home this summer. So my, I'm from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and we literally closed on our new house on Tuesday. So I'm in my brand new office. My computer is precariously stacked on camera cases right now so that I'm not like, |
| 2:20.7 | you know, staring awkwardly at a weird angle. So here we go. I love it. And you put a plant behind |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Sarah Petty, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Sarah Petty and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.