Have you ever received a message from the universe that wouldn’t let you escape it? Something so clear, simple, and obvious that you feel silly when the realization occurs?

In the last couple of weeks, I have encountered one consistent message from over a half-dozen sources including several conversations, blog posts, books and a trade journal. One after another, they pointed to the Pareto principle as an effective tool to be used in my decision-making process.

The Pareto principle, or the 80/20 rule as most people know it, states that roughly 80 percent of the results we achieve come from 20 percent of the effort we apply. Although this is a concept I understand in theory, in practice I often find myself mired in activities that produce very little positive outcome for the amount of time I’m investing in them.

When used thoughtfully, the 80/20 rule is a powerful tool for simplifying our decision-making process about the various areas we each need to manage and be productive in.

For instance, most businesses receive 80 percent of their income from about 20 percent of their clients. But how many of us spend an inordinate amount of time trying to satisfy requests from clients that we don’t really want to work with because they’re not helping our businesses grow. Have you discovered that the demands that many clients make are in inverse proportion to the amount of income they produce for you?

This simple but easily overlooked principle is one that can encourage you to focus on activities that produce the best outcomes for you, including doing the things and being with the people that bring you the most pleasure for the least amount of effort.

Based in Raleigh, N.C., Charles Gupton photographs real people, really well. While seeking a life of chronic joy, with bouts of acute happiness, he aligns himself with people and projects that are enjoyable to work with.
cg@charlesguptonphoto.com | www.charlesguptonphoto.com | www.charlesgupton.com

Most of us have heard the old adage: “You’re known by the company you keep.” This can be especially true when it comes to collaborative efforts. Collaborative projects often present an opportunity to raise the bar for our own work.

Foremost when considering collaborative partners, seek people who want to do what you want to do, to the standard you want to do it. Most people tend to seek out other people who are at a place that allows them to feel most comfortable.  That seldom leads to producing remarkable work. If you want to raise your “A” game, you need to collaborate with people who are going to push your standards higher rather than letting you stay comfortable where you are.

The people we spend the most time with have a tremendous influence on the person we eventually become in all aspects of our lives. It can be very difficult to be in the company of people who challenge our comfort zones and cause us to grow. Working with partners on a project who are known for working at the top of their game can influence the work we produce and enhance our professional reputation.

Collaboration is the name of the game in today’s business world. But if you want to grow your business to new heights, make sure you’re collaborating with the right people.

Based in Raleigh, N.C., Charles Gupton photographs real people, really well. With a transition from still photographs to increasingly more film and motion projects, his reliance on collaborative partners has radically grown.
cg@charlesguptonphoto.com | www.charlesguptonphoto.com | www.charlesgupton.com

One of the most important components of the sales process is differentiation. Establishing what makes you different in the eyes of a potential client can go a long way in shortening the time it takes for you to land a prospective client .

I can’t even estimate the number of times I’ve heard designers respond to the question, “What is your design specialty?” with a variation of “Everything! I just love designing anything.” When we try to be everything to everybody, we effectively become nothing memorable to anybody.

In his book, Good to Great, Jim Collins talks about the importance of finding one’s “hedgehog.” In short, finding your hedgehog means discovering what you do well that no one else does. In time it begins to make you a competition of one.

The three parts of the hedgehog process are:

• Your economic engine – This is your target market and it must be large enough to carry your business.

• Your passion – What you’d choose to do even if you weren’t getting paid for it.

• Your “Best in the World” ability – How you determine what your ‘‘world” includes is up to you, but this is the value you deliver, the experience you leave your client with.

Once you overlap these three circles, the triangle in the middle should represent your unique offering – your hedgehog.

When potential clients come to understand what distinguishes you from everybody else, you not only become memorable to them, they also get to refer anyone who needs your specialty to you — the only person who does what you do. That makes the process of making sales a lot less aggravating for everybody concerned. When you know who the primary buyers of what you offer are, you can more easily channel your energy into serving those specific people rather than burning calories trying to churn up business.

Based in Raleigh, N.C., Charles Gupton photographs real people, really well. He loves listening to others’ stories and relishes the challenge of telling those stories visually. cg@charlesguptonphoto.com, www.charlesguptonphoto.com, www.charlesgupton.com

The Creative Process Illustrated

[by Charles Gupton]

Would you like to have the chance to get a peek into the process of some of the most respected creative minds in the advertising business today?

In the book, The Creative Process Illustrated: How Advertising’s Big Ideas are Born, you’ll have that opportunity.  The authors approached nearly 300 top creative directors, art directors, and writers in the advertising industry with a specific set of questions and criteria. They then produced profiles of 35 individuals with both written and illustrated versions of their creative process as well as additional observations from creative partners and some examples of their finished ads.

The book begins and ends with a few chapters detailing an overview of the creative process. Ironically, I found these over-written in an uninspired, textbook-ish style. However, I still found these chapters to be insightful and even helpful in a few client discussions.

But the reason to invest in this book is the illustrations and descriptions of the creative process. Although each one is very personal, there are universal applications throughout most all of them that speak to that often solitary journey we make on a constant basis.

Even though this book is not heavy reading, the ideas can carry some heavy weight.

Based in Raleigh, N.C., Charles Gupton photographs real people, really well. He loves listening to others’ stories and relishes the challenge of telling those stories visually. He is, after 30 years in this business, more excited than ever about creating images that communicate, while also ensuring that his subjects and clients come away with a remarkable experience. cg@charlesguptonphoto.com , www.charlesguptonphoto.com , www.charlesgupton.com

Social media platforms allow possibilities for connection that we could not have conceived of just a few years ago. The opportunity to be “friends” with a prospective client opens up a new way of getting to know that person, and provides a rich resource of information to help in developing a better business relationship.

But often I witness folks using an “old school” approach to marketing that doesn’t work in the new world of social media. They use the access and connections that social media can allow to push their message onto a social media-generated “community” without really investing the time and effort to be a part of that community.

The power of any community comes from the investment of time and resources each member is wiling to make. Shouting down from above, hoping to get someone’s attention, is no more effective in the world of social media communities than it is in traditional communities.

Whether it’s a social-networking community online or a community built in traditional ways, you only reap the benefits of community from making an investment in the lives of others.

If you’re going to see social media as a part of the marketing strategy for your business, the key to success is still in building relationships. Your business contacts who are also now your Facebook or LinkedIn connections don’t want to find your marketing messages cluttering up their inboxes any more than they want an annoying telemarketer’s call interrupting a quiet dinner at home.

Everyone likes to do business with people they like and share common interests with. Social media provides a way for you to connect on multiple levels with your business clients in a way that can be very beneficial. But it’s all about being “of” the community, not “above” it.

Based in Raleigh, N.C., Charles Gupton photographs real people, really well. He loves listening to others’ stories and relishes the challenge of telling those stories visually. He is, after 30 years in this business, more excited than ever about creating images that communicate, while also ensuring that his subjects and clients come away with a remarkable experience. cg@charlesguptonphoto.com , www.charlesguptonphoto.com , www.charlesgupton.com

© Charles Gupton

Although time management is a concern for everyone these days, it seems to be a particular challenge for people in the creative fields.

One of the biggest obstacles to effective use of our time is getting the things we all dread having to do out of the way so that we can focus our attention on the areas we’re best at and most enjoy. The problem is that we don’t want to do the dreaded tasks. But by avoiding them, they only seem to sap our energy for getting the things we do enjoy done.

Mark Twain said that “if the first thing you do each morning is to eat a live frog, you can go through the rest of the day knowing it is probably the worst  thing that you’ll have to face all day.”

Have you ever watched children face something on their plates that they hate, but must eat? They eat around it, make ugly faces and push it it away until it’s the last thing standing between them and freedom from the table. Not only does it ruin their enjoyment of the meal, it can have an unpleasant impact on everyone around them. By eating it first, the rest of the meal can be a pleasure.

I’ve found that some tasks I have to do are like big ugly frogs that I, and only I, have the responsibility to eat. But the task only looms larger and more unpleasant the longer I let it wait. A trick I’ve tried to employ for some time is to swallow the task I most dread first thing or as early in the day as possible and get it out of the way. Surprisingly, the dreaded task is seldom as bad to swallow as I’d made it out to be in my mind.

I keep a decorative frog on my desk to remind me that if I have a ‘frog’ to swallow that day, I need to do it first and get it out of the way.

I encourage you to look at your to-do list and see if there’s an item or two that are your ‘frogs‘ to swallow. I then challenge you to pick the biggest, ugliest ‘frog‘ and eat it first. As you work through the most difficult tasks, I believe you’ll find a well of energy and enthusiasm to commit to the tasks that you do enjoy and profit from.

Charles Gupton photographs real people, really well. He loves listening to others’ stories and relishes the challenge of telling those stories visually. He is, after 30 years in this business, more excited than ever about creating images that communicate, while also ensuring that his subjects and clients come away with a remarkable experience.

There are usually a couple of reasons why a client initiates working with a photographer for the first time. It’s often our style of shooting, our approach, or our expertise that distinguishes us from our competitors in the mind of a client. But it’s usually a different set of values that builds a client’s loyalty and keeps them coming back time and again.

Those values are often based on how we serve the relationship as expressed through our service and follow-up. As I have assessed my business through the years, I’ve found this to be an area that I consistently need to improve on.

Although I have always been particularly good at fast turn around on the photos I’ve shot on an assignment, I’ve been far less stellar with my follow-up on important, but in my mind, less urgent details. For instance, when a client calls to get information about location or model details for an upcoming project, I have frequently resisted calling back until I have every detail lined up. My client simply wants to know, justifiably, that I am working on those details and progress is being made. A one-minute call would have eased the tension.

By waiting an extra day, I may have the appropriate information for the client, but I have increased the “butt-pucker factor” for the client by several points. The quality of my work has not diminished, but the overall satisfaction with my contribution has. My fault.

It’s easy to play the blame game and say something disparaging like, “The client needs to relax and not be so anal about the project. I’ve got it covered.” But I believe it’s our responsibility to gauge a client’s needs from the start and work to meet those needs if we want to keep that client.

In the beginning, a client may be drawn to us for our particular expertise, but they stay with us when they believe we care about meeting their needs and wants.

Based in Raleigh, N.C., Charles Gupton photographs real people, really well. He loves listening to others’ stories and relishes the challenge of telling those stories visually. He is, after 30 years in this business, more excited than ever about creating images that communicate, while also ensuring that his subjects and clients come away with a remarkable experience. cg@charlesguptonphoto.com
, www.charlesguptonphoto.com and www.charlesgupton.com

We all make mistakes. That’s a given. But how we respond when we make a mistake is not. In our response – or lack of one – lies a key to our potential success in relationships, both personal and business.

Once we recognize a mistake has been made, our first response should nearly always be to acknowledge it. Although there are people who believe admitting an error is a sign of weakness, acknowledging a mistake is simply admitting that one is human. Acknowledging a slip-up is a first step in making corrections, if necessary, before moving forward with more important matters at hand.

Part of our assessment should include determining whether a mistake really was an unintentional oversight — or a willful decision we later regret. Either way, coming clean with our realization is usually the best way of clearing the slate so that more productive work can be done.

The added bonus of addressing our mistakes ourselves, rather than waiting to be confronted by a client, is that it takes the pressure off the client from having to make a difficult call. It also makes it easier for a client to know that it’s safer to admit an over-sight, should that occur.

All too frequently, the energy we spend on trying to cover our butts and make ourselves look good to others could be better invested in enjoying both our work and time away from it. It’s far too easy to waste our creativity on little details that don’t really matter rather than on the big picture projects that matter most.

Based in Raleigh, N.C., Charles Gupton photographs real people, really well. He loves listening to others’ stories and relishes the challenge of telling those stories visually. He is, after 30 years in this business, more excited than ever about creating images that communicate, while also ensuring that his subjects and clients come away with a remarkable experience.
cg@charlesguptonphoto.com, www.charlesguptonphoto.com, www.charlesgupton.com

At the start of a new year, many photographers focus on building their revenue by focusing on finding new clients for their services. Those prospective clients, like all of us, solve their daily challenges by selecting people and services that add the most value to their lives. Most photographers define “providing value” based on the cost, quality and type of photographic services they provide.

As we have all found, however, photographic services are often viewed as a commodity among many potential buyers. When the market seems saturated with suppliers, how do you differentiate your strengths from everyone else out there pushing theirs’? I believe one of the greatest differentiators is likability.

I have come to believe that success in business can be modeled on one of the same principles that lead to success in junior high school – it’s a popularity contest.
Being part of a popular group involves adding perceived value to the group’s status without being a drain on the other members. Social media has heightened our access to gain and share information, leaving a trail of who we are and what our values are. It can also give a clue as to what one’s minuses are as well.

Social media tools allow us to research — better than ever — the people who share our vision for the work we want to produce. But the same tools can also be used judiciously to allow a potential client to see if we are the one they want to invest their time, energy and financial resources in to get a project completed. In short, it doesn’t take much effort these days to read about a number of photographers — from their own words — and determine if they’re likable enough to warrant follow-up.

After the initial screening, many photographers lose points when they take offense that their phone calls are not returned or requests for portfolio visits are not readily followed up on. A major component of likability is not appearing needy or desperate. Although persistence is a major virtue in getting on the radar of a prospective client, so are patience and graciousness.

Psychologist John Kinnell, in an article entitled, “The Roots of Popularity,” reports the results of his studies into the relationship between likeability, popularity, and success in adults. He wrote: “Likeability was the greatest predictor of popularity and social acceptance in a group for adults, more important than wealth, status, or physical attractiveness.”

The good news is that being likable is a skill that doesn’t require the purchase of any new equipment or hardware — and the return on the investment of time and thought is better relationships all around.

Based in Raleigh, N.C., Charles Gupton photographs real people, really well. He loves listening to others’ stories and relishes the challenge of telling those stories visually. He is, after 30 years in this business, more excited than ever about creating images that communicate, while also ensuring that his subjects and clients come away with a remarkable experience. www.charlesguptonphoto.com / www.charlesgupton.com

© Charles Gupton

One of the activities I enjoy most during the winter months is building a fire in the fireplace then relaxing on the couch with a good book to watch the flames. I find it far more enjoyable, however, when the work to build and maintain the fire has been done in advance.

One of the biggest factors is having plenty of wood in the house so that it is readily available. Cold, damp wood straight off the outside woodpile is a lot harder to get started and even robs a great deal of energy from a fire that is already blazing.  And anyone who’s tried to burn freshly cut wood knows it’s far too frustrating to invest in the effort. Planning ahead makes all the difference in having an enjoyable fire experience.

I’ve found the same to be true of sales and business cycles. When we wait until we need the ‘heat’ of new business, it’s particularly difficult to gather unseasoned, un-ready potential clients we’ve just cold-called on and expect them to be ready to light on fire with a project. It requires effort and a great deal of planning to build relationships with people well before we ask them to engage us on the assignment front.

Just as placing a cold or unseasoned log onto a roaring hot fire robs a great deal of energy, we can lose momentum or heat when our business is roaring along if we have to look for new clients or even start a new relationship.

As difficult as it is for artists who love spontaneity and waiting for the muse to strike before taking action, having a strategy and action plan in place to build sales will make it far more plausible that there will be work for us to do when the opportunity arises.

What steps can you take to build relationships you want to have with the people you want to work with before you call upon them to generate your financial fire?

© Charles Gupton Based in Raleigh, N.C., Charles Gupton photographs real people, really well. He loves listening to others’ stories and relishes the challenge of telling those stories visually. He is, after 30 years in this business, more excited than ever about creating images that communicate, while also ensuring that his subjects and clients come away with a remarkable experience. www.charlesguptonphoto.com / www.charlesgupton.com