Photo Marketing Mentor

They’re two camps of professional photographers that I’ve noticed lately, their are those who are lamenting about the way things ‘used’ to be and how tough it is right now, and those who admittedly aren’t sure what to do next, but, who have made the decision to remain open to the possibilities to reinvent themselves. Which camp are you in?

Recently I was having a conversation with a new photographer friend and business colleague over breakfast. He had traveled here from Minneapolis to do some work with a new client and connect with new friends he had connected with via Facebook, myself included. As we ate we discussed the prevalent attitude amongst many in the professional photographic community about how tough it is right now and how they long for the ‘good ole days’ days to return etc, etc.

Soon after we started talking about the new breed of thinking that’s gratefully starting to take hold. One that’s focused on more than just mere self-preservation. We spoke about the new conversations happening now from within the community, conversations that are centered around re-invention, social media and social consciousness and philanthropic contribution.

We spoke about the new generation of entrepreneurial photographer whose decided to take control of their lively hood as well as their personal life and collapsing divide between the two.

So as a result of this conversation I came up with this analogy that I would like to share with you, you may agree or not, but none the less I hope it at least provides you with some food for thought.   In my personal observation I find that today’s professional photographer have found themselves in the position of  the “reluctant performer”. Essentially finding themselves cast as the lead in a film that they knew nothing about and didn’t necessarily sign up for.

And yet the lights are set-up, the stage has been set, your co-actors are in place, the camera crew is in place and finally the director is ready to roll and yells, “Action”! “But wait”… you say, there’s no script! “Where’s the script?” Then the director yells CUT and he walks up to you and says, “Oh, I forgot to tell you, you are the screenwriter as well”.

That’s what many photographers are facing right now, having to perform as well as write their own script.  The new breed of entrepreneurial photographer has elected to write and develop their script even as they continue to show up for rehearsals, that’s one camp.  While the other camp is complaining, dazed and confused and refusing to perform claiming that it’s not their job to write their own script and essentially refusing to show up.

The bottom line, everyday that we are alive we have to show up, prepared or not. Remain hidden at your peril.

Keep this in mind, for those who are bitching about the the good ole days please remember, the good old days weren’t good for everybody. Business as is life is cyclical. There will be up days and down days, but if you’re doing what you love and it’s truly your passion then make the decision to remain in the game regardless of what’s going on “out there”.

I’d like close with a quote that I came across recently that truly resonated with me and I believe really encapsulates what I’m talking about with you. The quote is about faith. “Faith, is not about having your wings in place before you jump of the cliff, true faith is about taking the leap and building your wings on the way down“.

I’d love to hear your comments, please feel free to share your thoughts below.

(c) Rodney Washington

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I was reading the blog recently of a good friend and colleague who posted a suggestion that I really took to heart and I wanted to share it with you today in this post and that is, take a inspiration day.

You would think as photographers and artists that we have much to be inspired about and by and to larger extent this is true but, as with any line of work you are going to hit road blocks.

For example dealing with client issues, collecting payments, handling paperwork, scheduling appointments, hiring and firing assistants the list goes on and on. Running an artist focused business is enough to test the mental resolve of any entrepreneur let alone one whose enterprise is centered around constantly developing creative solutions for our clients, don’t you agree?

Over time our creative well-spring can become severely depleted especially if we don’t have good self care practices in place. So in this post I want to share with you a few tips that will help to re-fill your creative tank and allow you become re-inspired.

Feel free to leave your ideas in the comments field provided below.

5 Tips for constructing a productive inspiration day.

1. Visit a museum or gallery. I recently did this and it really helped to get my creative juices flowing. After spending a couple of hours viewing the work of masters like Rembrandt, Hockney, Warhol, Koons and countless other I returned to my desk not only inspired by the art itself but by the artists and how they handled problems creatively.

2. Shoot something outside of your business focused speciality. For example if you’re a wedding photographer spend an afternoon photographing people on the street. If you’re a landscape photographer shoot portraits. You never know, you may discover a new speciality and/or develop a new body of work that you’ll want to place in a show, submit to a contest or publication.

3. Take a short class. I recently participated in a one-day photo-transfer course at a local art center and it was so much fun. First of all it reacquainted me with my love of art and painting, but more importantly it got me of the office and out among other creatives who wanted to learn how to do something new.

4. Take a road trip. Nothing gets my creative juices flowing like travel especially a day road trip. Hopping in the car and getting out of town for the afternoon or even the train ride for a couple of hours gets the juices flowing.

5. Give yourself a personal project. I mentioned this in a recent blog post where I shared several ideas and resources that photographers can use to implement fresh prospective and creativity into their photography. To learn more and become inspired click here to read that post titled: How Much Fun Are You Having In Your Photography Business?

Okay, I know I said 5 tips but I’ve one more for you, consider it a bonus.

6. Start a journal. Journaling about your thoughts, your feelings, your struggles and joys is a great way to access your inner being. As visual artists we direct so much of our mental energy towards creating our physical work that we need to be reminded of something greater, something inner. Our inner voice.

Our inner voice constantly gives us ideas, clues and direction all the time, because our inner voice speaks to us throughout the day. The key to hearing it is taking the time to listen and journaling is a great way to accomplish this. So the next time you find yourself feeling restless grab a notebook, pen and a coffee and write down what you’re feeling.

Go get inspired….

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The article you’re reading today was inspired by Michael Gerber, New York Times best selling author and creator of the E Myth.

If you aren’t familiar with Gerber’s work on the subject of business development and entrepreneurship I highly suggest you investigate his material.

I recently read an article on the authors blog titled, “Entrepreneurial Artist to Business Owner” if you’d like to give it a read I’ve provided a link here for quick access. I’d suggest you read it as a basis for the tips I’ve provided below.

After reading Gerber’s article it got me thinking and it inspired me to take it a step further by providing you with some additional tips and steps that you can implement immediately into your business. With that said I took Gerber’s 5 myth’s and decided to turn them into 5 tips + 1 additional and here are my 6 tips to ‘Owning’ Your Own Business

In Gerber’s article he discussed 5 myth’s that are stereotypically associated with artists in business and they are:

1. Artists are childish
2. Artists are absentminded and forgetful
3. Artists are disorganized
4. Artists don’t care about business
5. Artists are all a little crazy
6. (Insert your own here)

In his Gerber’s article number six was listed as (Insert your own here) so I did, and this is the idea I’d like you to consider, “Artists are frightened”. We’ll discuss this more in moment but for now read on.

BUT, before I get into the 6 myth’s I want to reiterate that the author did not say that artists are these things, his point was that artists are mistakenly viewed this way. I just want to be clear.

So let’s examine the 5 Myth’s to ‘Owning’ Your Own Artistic Business

1.  Artists are childish – I say bravo, not I’m suggesting that adults should behave poorly with clients and vendors. No, I’m suggesting that artists maintain a child like since of fascination and curiosity about their business or how else can they create? Keep this in mind, a curious mind finds to solutions to business challenges, a closed mind does not. I believe maintaining a child like curiosity can be an asset to an entrepreneur, not a liability.

In other words I’d like to suggest that artist hold on to that same degree of curiosity and fascination in the marketing and running of their business. How? By closing the gap between the distinction of “this is creative i.e. fun” and “this is business i.e. drudgery”. Successful artists embrace business believing that running one can be very creative especially when you remove your mental blocks and see how your work affects the people you connect with.

2.  Artists are absentminded and forgetful - No more so than any over worked or stressed out individual. How can you overcome this? Write things down, refer to your to-do list first thing in morning before you do anything else. Centralize your daily tasks by placing important meetings, calls and correspondence into your iPhone or online calendar. Utilize timers and alarms to remind you of what needs to get done.

If you’re still having trouble getting tasks completed ask yourself, “can this be passed on to someone else?” Typically when we procrastinate it’s often because we’re trying to force ourselves to do something that’s not a strength. There are some experts out there that will tell you to “strengthen your weaknesses.” I say strengthen your strengths and hire out your weaknesses. If making sales calls is not your thing hire someone else to do it.

3.  Artists are disorganized - I’ll give you a simple tip that will help you get organized and get a handle on clutter immediately and it’s quite simple. When ever something crosses your desk don’t let it settle there. Instead do one of three things with it, 1.) deal with it immediately, 2.) pass on it, or 3.) toss it. That’s it.

Having gone through a major clearing out myself I’ll tell you, when you get into the habit of holding on to stuff (especially papers) believing that you’ll get to it later chances are you won’t. Remember out of sight, is out of mind. Generally all you’ll end up with is a pile of papers that you won’t want to deal with until you have to and even then you’ll just end up throwing out 90% of it.

Don’t go there, get into a habit of handling correspondence as you receive it, eventually disorganization problems will gradually take care of themselves.

4.  Artists don’t care about business – I’ll admit there is some truth to this statement and I addressed some of it in tip number one, but I want to take it further. I do agree that some artists aren’t necessarily in love with business, but they are interested in money. So with that said you can’t want money and not be interested in business, even if it’s a 9 to 5 job.

The way to get over this I suggested earlier by replacing apathy with curiosity and fascination. Did you know that are some artist out there like the infamous Jeff Koons for example that embraces business as much as art creation? How? By applying the same childlike since of wonder to marketing and getting his work out there to the public. In other words he’s just as excited about having his work seen and appreciated by large audiences as he is devoted to creation of the work itself.

I’ll give you a simple exercise to stimulate your thinking, grab a notepad and pen and jot down as many ideas as you can come up with to get your work seen by a large audience, let’s say 100 people. Once you have several ideas jotted down on your pad pick at least three that you can move on immediately.

Don’t attach yourself to the ideas just “test” them to see what results you receive. Did you reach 100 people? If so great, now expand the number 500, 1000 and on and on. Our subconscious mind lives to solve problems and to come up with creative solutions. Give it something to do.

5.  Artists are all a little crazy – No crazier than the frustrated postal worker who goes on a shooting rampage. No crazier than half of Hollywood, (have you watched any reality shows lately?) and certainly no crazier than going to a job you hate year after year after year. My suggestion, be crazy. Remember my suggestion from above all it takes is one crazy idea to turn your whole world around. Take that crazy idea and put it out there, the world will let you know how they feel about it. Just promise not to shoot anybody.

Okay so these are my 5 tips based on Michael Gerber’s article Entrepreneurial Artist to Business Owner. Now as promised here is my (fill-in-the-blank) tip number 6 and one that I feel is a fundamental truth.

6.  Artists are frightened – At the end of the day I believe this is the number issue that stops Entrepreneurial Artists from becoming Business Owner’s. Let’s face it, it’s not easy to put yourself or your work out there into the world to be judged. The truth of the matter is that some people just won’t get it, or they’ll ignore you, leave negative comments on your blog, scoff at your ideas, think that you’re any -or- all of the above five myth’s listed above. “So what?”

I’d like to leave you with this thought. Ask yourself, “Is creating art my life purpose?” If you know down to your bones that the answer is yes then not creating art or worse, failing to get your creations out into the world to as many people as possible is no longer an option. It’s an obligation to create and sell your art work. Yes I said sell your art work!

In other words when you approach your purpose in this way then you understand the role you are here to play in the world and if part of that role is to maintain a child like since of curiosity about your marketing, set up systems to organize and run your business, care about your customers and employees then you’ll eagerly own your crazy ideas.

From this place all the previous ‘myth’s’ listed in Gerber’s article will remain just that, myth’s. It’s okay to be afraid just don’t languish in it, now go forth and create.

Additional Resources:
http://blog.entrepreneurthearts.com/
http://www.artistswhothrive.com/
http://craftside.typepad.com/craftside/

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