"You really don't know until you try something."
I had a fun conversation with Leigh Tynan, an entrepreneur who's got three businesses on the go. It makes sense she works this way, she explained, because she was a high performance triathlete.
It's clear from our conversation that Leigh loves her work and life as an entrepreneur, and wouldn't have it any other way!
Watch and listen to the conversation here.
Leigh went to university to obtain a Bachelor of Kinesiology degree, and then completed a Masters in Kinesiology. She was an elite athlete who gravitated to creative things, and making things, but her parents wanted her to have a solid degree, or profession, or "something to fall back on."
Leigh describes herself as a "creative big picture thinker with a passion for storytelling," and explained to me that her entrepreneurial journey started when she fell in love with photography while taking pictures for her graduate work in kinesiology. She took a course in it while doing her graduate work, and then apprenticed on the side as a photographer. She then found herself building a business taking family photos. This business evolved to photographing corporate head shots, and then hiring a team -- and now doing video work for corporations, law firms, hospitals, and not-for-profit organizations. She loves telling stories that have meaningful impact when working with organizations.
On being an entrepreneur, Leigh said:
first you learn how to make money, how to be profitable.
I see more upside than down to the life of an entrepreneur.
I focus on the things I'm good at, and then delegate.
we eat what we kill.
I'm not afraid of hard work.
I don't want to be stuck at a desk.
I used to work 7 days a week. Now I don't work on weekends, past 4 o'clock, and I have a young daughter and I do tons with her.
you prioritize that you want to have a life outside of work.
you have to hold yourself accountable, and have self discipline.
be an optimist and a realist at the same time.
you need to be passionate because it will be a lot of work.
at the beginning I had side hustles.
the long-term pay off is amazing.
WHAT WOULD SHE TELL HER YOUNGER SELF:
try different things
be less afraid.
be kinder to myself.
use my idle time to enjoy things like going to visit a museum (stop worrying!)
parents' opinions are important but not everything.
Here is a summary of what Leigh is currently juggling, (copied from her LinkedIn profile):
CEO We are the Canadian distributor of Gilbert Rugby products. I'm excited to be working with rugby clubs and teams across Canada at every level of the sport from Rookie Rugby, through to provincial and national teams. We are building an exciting athlete ambassador program and currently looking for athletes to join this team.
Tynan Studio is a boutique agency in Toronto that offers photography, video and creative services to the corporate sector. Many of our clients are Fortune 500 companies, but we also work with smaller brands. We are a small but mighty team of creatives who pour passion into everything we do. From editorial shoots to same day edit videos, from training videos to creative collateral for an employee incentive trip, and many a LinkedIN portrait in between, so long as its visual - it's in our 'wheelhouse'. I am the owner and principal of Tynan Studio which makes my job different and interesting every day of the week. I shoot and direct videos (brand stories are my passion), shoot editorial campaigns, get a buzz out of helping build hype around employee incentive experiences through gorgeous branding and manage a wicked team of creative professionals.
This conversation was inspiring and I could feel the enjoyment Leigh has for her work and lifestyle (even over Zoom!)
Thank you Leigh for sharing your stories and ideas with our audience!
This interview was taped during the COVID19 pandemic, June 2020.