A Word From An Entrepreneur - Make Your Own Job In Photography
Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 4:13PM I was listening to Leo Laportes Triangulation Podcast the other day when Leo was interviewing French Entrepreneur Loic Le Meur. The discussion covered many topics, but the common theme was the different ways that new start-ups and businesses could be encouraged.
What appealed to me was a phrase Loic used,
"Its a lot better to make your own job than look for one."
In my world, most people work for somebody else, more likely than not a large company. I myself have always worked for large retail organisations - Halfords, Woolworths, Jessops and Machine Mart.
I've never even considered starting up on my own, and always dreamed that if I ever managed to make my living from photography, it would probably be working for someone else.
Loics statement got me thinking. If I really want to make photography my job, why don't I start thinking about how I could make that job myself. How could I create a company that would earn its revenue from streams related to photography.
This is the first of a series of posts where I consider that issue. What should my job be? What's the business plan? What are the alternatives? How can I make a career of my love of photography?
Watch this space.
Thanks, Rob.
Reader Comments (2)
Yes isn't this the hope of many. Making this photography passion; make money. I am exploring the say thing.
Interesting post. I work in software development and often consider the pros and cons of becoming a floating independent consultant rather than a company man. While I do enjoy software work, it's not a hobby I pursue after hours, so my situation is a little different.
So far my conclusion is that I'm not after more money but freedom and the ability to work with a wider variety of interesting technologies. The trade-off would be that I'd have to market myself more, be my own HR/recruiter, and be more aware of financial matters. All of these things would take time away from the actual software development! Catch 22.
I hope you'll find a path that stays aligned with and leaves time for your original interest in photography. It's a little sad to hear photographers complain about having to do weddings or baby shoots, or to see them spend so much time teaching or self-promoting that they don't take as many photos. I often wonder if these people would be better off leaving photography alone as a hobby.
Good luck!