Making your mark is all about impact: impacting people, impacting the world, and achieving big accomplishments while you’re at it. To find out how people just like you are making their mark, we’ve interviewed individuals with stories to tell and advice to share. Read on to be inspired, and check back often for more stories that are sure to get you motivated.
Today we’re chatting with Yuriy and Julia, the husband and wife duo behind Mr. & Mrs. Globetrot, about their experiences running a photography business and traveling the world. Together they photograph weddings, while Julia is also a graphic designer and illustrator. When the couple isn’t working, you’ll likely find them mountain biking, sailing, hunting for estate sales, working on a motorcycle (Yuriy), doodling (Julia), or heading on a road trip.
Yuriy in our #1926s and Julia in our #1098s
Launching a business and continuing to operate it successfully is hard work — and even more so as a married couple. What are some obstacles the two of you have faced, and how have you overcome them?
Yuriy & Julia: When you run your own business and work from home, it’s easy to end up talking about work things at breakfast, in bed at night, and in-between. We make an effort to get away for weekend trips without bringing work so we can be best friends and not just business partners.
After your wedding, you traveled for six months. What were your favorite places to visit and why? Can you share a few highlights from your travels?
Yuriy & Julia: We loved indulging in Paris first. We were amazed with Turkey and its colorful food, music, textiles, and history. We had nobody but each other for Christmas in Hong Kong, which was sad and sweet. We’d love to relive the drive down the Australian coast in a camper van. One of the most memorable highlights of our trip was visiting Ukraine together (where we were both born) for the first time since we left the country 20+ years ago. Traveling for a good chunk of time after our wedding was one of the best investments we could have made. We’ll be talking about it for the rest of our lives.
You’ve both been bitten by the travel bug. What (or where) is next?
Yuriy & Julia: We’re planning our first trip to South America this summer. We don’t have any locations nailed down yet, but hopefully it’ll include some hiking, mountain biking, and sailing.
What is your next goal, and how are you currently working towards achieving it?
Yuriy & Julia: Julia is busy getting a graphic design degree (one more year!), and Yuriy is working on shooting more personal projects that stray away from our usual weddings. We hope to marry our photography and design skills more down the road.
You both have made your mark by running a blog, operating a successful photography company, and maintaining a loving relationship. Do you have any advice for other couples trying to achieve similar goals? What is the key to making it all work?
Yuriy & Julia: We’ve invested a lot of time into our work, but we don’t have it figured out yet. It definitely takes sacrifices, but the reward feels so much better when it’s your business and your project — and especially if you’re in it together. If we weren’t both in the creative industry, we can’t imagine how it would work. But we have friends where one half is a creative and one half is in a totally different industry, and they can’t imagine it any other way. Every couple works differently, and success comes in so many different forms. We strongly believe if you make some goals and put in some effort, you can have your heart’s desires. Traveling around the world for six months made us feel like we can do anything.
Thank you to Yuriy and Julia for sharing their story with us. Follow these two adventurers around the world and see where they’re off to next by visiting their blog!
