When 1 Door Closes, Another 1 Opens

Christine DeLessio Miller is one of those people who has a heart of gold. Have you ever known someone that is so thoughtful, caring and talented? It’s an amazing combination. You can tell when you meet her that she has a drive to do more, be better and give more. She has so much energy and strength combined with an incredible talent in the form of photography.  We had the chance to chat with her about what drives her and motivates her to be such an amazing woman, giving mom and successful photographer.

Name: Christine DeLessio Miller

Business: Christine DeLessio Photography (http://christinedelessiophotography.com/)

Where are you from:  Louisville, KY but moved to Tampa, FL in 2000

HappyCrawlers (aka kids): Cate (7), Liam (2)

HC: Tell us about your lifelong dream?

Christine: My lifelong dream was to be a lawyer, but someone told me that lawyers fight everyday, so I decided I didn’t want to fight everyday. Then I thought I wanted to be a print journalist, but ended up taking a photography class in college. I eventually got a Photojournalism degree from Western Kentucky University. I caught the photo bug in undergraduate school and that became my dream. 

HC: Most difficult obstacle you had to overcome to do what you love?

Christine: The biggest obstacle for me was being laid off from the Tampa Tribune in July 2009. That’s when I started my photography business. It was hard to move from working for the Trib to my own business model and one that works for me. That was challenging. I’d call it a blessing now, but at the time it was really difficult. At the time it was devastating, but now I realize that it wasn’t in my future to stay at the newspaper. It (losing my job) was a great opportunity to launch me forward. In a way it was a blessing because the decision was made for me to sink or swim and I decided to swim.

HC: Advice to others who might find themselves in similar situations?

Christine: I didn’t realize how hard I took losing my job as a news photographer. You really need to be true to yourself and decide what is going to make you happy and how to get to that place. What made me happy was (and is) my family and the freedom to be home with my kids and the flexibility with my business and to find the balance to fill my creative need. I had to take my opportunity to the next level. I need to bring in money and need a creative outlet as a person. It (owning my own photography business) has allowed me to be my own boss. It’s just finding that grove. I feel like at 2 years for my anniversary (of owning my own business) that I am creating what I want for my company. I hired a professional mentor recently. I’m still learning the business side of my business.

HC: What’s the most rewarding aspect of your business?

Christine: It’s the fact that it is my name and I make the decisions and I’m in total control. It’s my name and vision and I’m held accountable on where it succeeds or fails and I like that I can make it go in any direction and there’s no right or wrong for me. Any time that is spent away from my family is a choice and has to give back to me (and them).

HC: How do you balance family and work?

Christine: I think that it works for me, but I give myself 20 hours per week to work, some hours when the kids are napping, Fridays when I have a sitter, I work weekends and at night. It balances me not to be home all time with my brain turning to mush. I’m working with my mentor on how to be more productive and use the time that I do have in the most productive way. I know that I can be even more successful if I use my time wiser. I’m really examining my time and trying to use it wisely.

HC: What motivates you to work harder?

Christine: I think that I have a strong work ethic because 2 parents who were hard workers raised me. My Dad doesn’t have a college degree, but worked himself up the ranks at UPS. It is sort of a pride thing that I want to do the best for myself and for my kids. If you find a passion, then you need to go all in and be your best.

HC: We love that attitude.

HC: How do you stay positive during difficult situations?

Christine: I think my family is the reason why I get up every morning. My husband is 100% committed to our family and me. He’s an amazing man who has faith in me. He’s always the one saying that I can do this or that. It wasn’t easy when I lost my job. I had been a news photographer for 12 years, so I got a lot of support from family and friends in order to stay positive. Nothing pays off as much as word of mouth for my business. My jobs are all referrals and staying positive is key to that. Since I’m home, my kids are thriving. I feel that if my heart is full, then I’m in good place and I’m in a good place now.

HC: Tell us about a role model in your life?

Christine: I think in life I look up to my Mom. She’s sensitive, kind, spiritual, she’s level headed. She’s a fighter. She has stage IV breast cancer and her spirit is so strong. It’s amazing. She has been battling stage IV breast cancer for 9 years and she still has time to listen to me and be there for my family and for my kids. I look at her and think if I had half her strength, then I can do this.

HC: Tell me about a role model who you have yet to meet?

Christine: Tamara Lackey is a photographer who I saw speak at a conference in Vegas and I look at her and her work and how she has managed to be a Mom and run a business. It looks flawless. I follow her on Twitter and she’s an amazing photographer who has photographed Barack Obama. Her work is beautiful because she captures her subjects and what they are thinking at that moment. She’s simply a beautiful photographer.

HC: Favorite story of your little happy crawlers?

Christine: It’s funny that when I lost my job, I was very upset and we were trying to explain what happened to my daughter Cate and we worried how she’d take it. As we were trying to explain things to Cate, she said that she’d hire me to shoot her pictures. She was so matter of fact about giving me a job. She’s amazing! I can’t image my life without my kids.

Is there someone who motivates and inspires you? Who would you like to see profiled on the HappyCrawlers’ blog? Email us at: hello@HappyCrawlers.com with your recommendations. Happy travels! 

Tell Us Your Story

Welcome to A Moment for Motivation- The HappyCrawlers Blog. We hope to be a bright, HAPPY spot that motivates you. The idea for this blog came to me from my experience as a journalist and fond memory of watching CBS’s Steve Hartman’s “Everybody Has a Story” (and secretly hoping he’d tell my story. I always wanted to see what he’d include. He’s an amazing storyteller). In the series, Hartman proves that everyone has a story by randomly throwing a dart at a map of America and then finding a person in the city where the dart landed and then telling that person’s story. It was so interesting. I loved learning what made someone who they are and how they got to that moment in their life.

In our blog, we’ll share with you encouragement through the success of other professionals. We’ll introduce you to some of the people who motivate and amaze us with their talents and how they are taking their talents to the next level and giving back. You’ll learn how they reached for their dreams and overcame obstacles to get there. We hope you start to believe in yourself just that much more after reading about how others got to where they are in life. Sometimes it is just nice to take a moment to breathe and hear a positive story. You can do that here.

As long as I can remember growing up, I wanted to be a reporter. I loved meeting people and sharing their stories. The memories of my first times on air reporting and anchoring are some that I’ll always treasure (and sometimes cringe at). Storytelling has always been fascinating to me. In this blog, I take that passion for storytelling along with my love for the entrepreneurial spirit and merge them.

Back when my waist was smaller, I had fewer wrinkles, and I had never had my heartbroken, I stepped into a newsroom for the first time ever. I was interning with my favorite local morning news team, WFLA’s Gayle Guyardo, Bill Ratliff and John Winter. I truly believe in helping the next person along and I think I learned that lesson from my amazing mentor, Gayle Guyardo.

Gayle, in particular, taught me so much about TV news and business in general. She taught me how to write a compelling story, how to do my make-up for the cameras, etc. But more than that she showed me that it is so important to take time out of your busy schedule to teach and guide someone else along. Through all my professional and personal roles in life, I’ve tried to follow her example and make time to teach. Gayle showed me how to rise up and meet challenges head on. She taught me you have to stay positive and focused to reach your goals. All valuable lessons that I’ve taken with me as my career and life goals have changed over the years. I want to do the same for you. I hope to teach by example as we take our business, HappyCrawlers, to the next level.

We want to hear from you. What's your story? Give us recommendations of business professionals who you’d like us to profile. Ask us questions. We might not know the answers, but we’ll definitely try our best to find them for you. We truly believe in giving back and teaching by example. We hope our stories and examples of other successful individuals help you to grow and be that much happier with where you are headed! Happy travels always!