I Love What I Do!

I have fun at my job. I work for an average of 16-17 hours a day. I get maybe 5 hours sleep a night sometimes. I stress over what my next job will be and how I am going to make it happen. I worry about business taxes, city taxes, sales tax…  I am always trying to network and meet people. I am forever writing up quotes and estimate, filling out RFPs and RFQs. At the end of the day I have a big grin on my face and I feel good!

No I really don’t like any of those things but, and here it is, they allow me to do what I love to do: make images. All of the things I do every day start me down the road to doing that thing that makes it all worth it: putting an camera up to my eye and capturing an image. Making images that please and even elate my clients is worth all the long days, all the stresses and paperwork you can throw at me.

As I mentioned in last week’s post, I started working in a family business early in life. In fact I was only 10 at the time. But from that job I learned a lot and was able to work my way through and into a corporate job making twice as much as I do today. I sat behind a desk, at one time I had 42 people reporting to me. I was responsible for a multi-million dollar budget. I rubbed elbows with senators and heads of industry. But I wasn’t happy. My wife (then just my girlfriend) said that I was miserable; she could see it in my eyes and in my moods.

I left that world and decided to pursue my own business; a business in photography. I decided to follow my passion. I wanted more and I wanted less. I wanted less of the rat race and I wanted more control over my life and my business. I often said in the beginning that I was “leaving the rat race and trading in the corporate world for a new breed of rat.”

What did I know about business? Everything. What did I know about running my own small business? Nothing. I did know that I understood what my clients needed and wanted. I understand what they have to deal with to get anywhere in their corporate world. I know the trial and tribulations they have to go through just to get things done, let alone done right. And I know how to capture an image; a good image.

All this means that when I work for you I know where you are coming from.  I know who you have to answer to and what answers they want to hear. I know what it’s like to get up in the morning knowing the boss is going to want a progress report on that project or on that campaign. I understand.

That is another reason I am good at what I do. I see things in many ways. I don’t just see things as a photographer, but also as a business man and a son working for his father, and all those positions in between. I can help alleviate your pain or at least part of it.

In my job I may work 16 hour days but I work with beautiful people, kind people, passionate people and I get to make them look and feel good. On top of all that I get to make imagery that works. I get to follow my passion of photography each and every day. Most of all, I get to help people every day. The best thing I get to do every day? I get to say, “How can I help you today?”

I love what I do!