As some of you may know, I’ve been behind the camera much of my life. I have a BFA in Photography from MSU here in Missouri, and I taught myself web design while in college. As it happened, the only decent job I could find right out of school was web design for the local newspaper. I was newly married with two new step-sons, and so my focus was on earning a living and taking care of my family. We had also just moved into a rented house and I did not have space for a darkroom – no digital cameras back then.
Ten years and two more web development jobs later, I was getting burned out on web development and the general atmosphere and attitude of the IT world. Being a programmer is quite unrewarding: No one cares about you or what you do until there is a bug to be fixed or a problem to be solved. Plus, the lack of creativity over the years often let to a melancholy that actually affected my marriage once or twice (in minor ways) before I realized what my problem really was: I needed to be a photographer!
It was then that I decided to sell all of my old film photography equipment – cameras (I kind of miss my old Mamiya C330) and my darkroom setup – and go digital. I saved my money for six months and bought my first DSLR in November of ’07. I’ve been doing mostly fashion, glamour and creative nude work since then, getting my artistic self back into shape. I’ve had a lot of great response to my photography in the last year, but I feel like I’ve just barely started. I haven’t even had my first show.
My day job started going down hill back in June, when the former owner of our company bought it back from the big corporation that bought him out two years before. His financial reserves were nearly depleted due to the buy-back, then the economic recession hit, and a string of poor management decisions through the end of the year sent the company into a tail spin. We went from a staff of over 20 to a count of only 8 by the end of December.
More and more, I felt the pull of my passion for photography. I wouldn’t be surprised that it showed in some respect in my work.
Those of us employees who remained had positions dumped on us that we were inexperienced with, causing more issues. Finally, the owner decided he was going to cut back to only our Operations team, eliminating all other positions, including the entire IT staff… which was really just myself and the actual IT Manager by this point. The IT Manager expects to finish a move of all web sites to a 3rd party hosting company then he, too, will be out the door.
During the end of last year I did do some job hunting, but my heart just was not into – in even in the face of a very real possibility of losing my job. I just hung in there, hoping to keep the paychecks coming and the health care in place for my family. After I was given the boot on the 2nd of April, I felt a definite relief instead of the panic or anger most others in that same position would feel. I told my wife later that morning, and she actually felt the same way. She has been very supportive of my photography and is excited about me following my dreams with it. She intends to increase her work load to cover some of the loss of my income while I get a photography business rolling.
I’ve never owned or started a business before, and have never been paid officially for any kind of photographic services. Starting a photography business with a limited budget – my last paycheck – is a scary prospect, to say the least! I am confidant in my skills and talent as a photographer, but not so much in the business side of things. I plan on relying on friends and family for word of mouth, and to PPA and fellow photographers who are willing to offer advice for the business and marketing side of things.
I feel this is a leap of faith for both myself and my wife. The idea that we are actually exploring the kind of entrepreneurial spirit that makes this country so great is very invigorating. I hope to share the significant milestones here, the successes and the failures, in hopes that others will gain some insight or learn from my mistakes. Maybe shed a tear or two… or just have a few laughs at my expense.
In any case, it’s going to be an interesting ride!
Tags: Business, entrepreneurship
I think it’ll be a bumpy ride at first, but ya got friends cheering you on and hey, you’re good! so no worries!