Archive for Career Planning
What’s Stopping You?
Posted: January 6th, 2012
[by Judy Herrmann] A new year. A fresh start. Time to rock that marketing! But before we dig in, well, there are millions of things that need to get done first. When it comes to marketing, most of us have a pretty good idea of what needs to happen. The challenge lies in getting it [...]
Risk & Reward
Posted: December 22nd, 2011
[by Jenna Close] In early 2011 my partner and I started offering aerial services with our remotely controlled helicopter. It was the culmination of a year of research, development, training and considerable financial investment. We believed that the RC Heli would be a new and useful tool for our clientele. The endeavor was a big [...]
Don’t Sit on the Sidelines
Posted: December 20th, 2011
[by Jay Kinghorn] As I’ve traveled the country delivering my Adaptation: Running a Successful Photo Business in Today’s Era of Smartphones, Tablets and Social Media, I’ve spoken with photographers building remarkable businesses despite being in the midst of a global recession. Closer to home I’ve started attending the Salt Lake City Entrepreneurs Meet-up group, a [...]
Letting Go is Hard to Do
Posted: December 19th, 2011
[by Thomas Werner] Personally this past year was one of extraordinary change. One of the most difficult aspects of this transition was the re-examination of my business, and evaluating what portions should be held onto and what should be let go of. A number of hard decisions had to be made regarding where and how [...]
People Watching
Posted: November 8th, 2011
[by Judy Herrmann] One of the most important functions I perform as a business owner is paying attention to the societal trends that affect my business. Every decision I make – from the visual approach I take to producing new imagery to the prospective clients I target and the income streams I pursue – is [...]
Picking the Perfect Personal Project
Posted: November 1st, 2011
[by Colleen Wainwright] As a lifelong sufferer of Shiny Object Syndrome, I’ve generally chosen my non-work pursuits based on whatever glittery thing grabbed me. While it’s fun yielding to serendipity now and then, bigger projects requiring lots of my precious time/energy/attention tend to work out best when they’re rooted in some deeper longing and aligned [...]
No Small Decisions
Posted: October 12th, 2011
[by Richard Kelly] “There are no small decisions in moviemaking.” – Sidney Lument , Director (pg 112 MAKING MOVIES by SIDNEY LUMENT Vintage Books) If you change “moviemaking” to photography, well you get the picture. This to me summarizes all my decisions from art, to craft to commerce. Every action has a consequence, or a [...]
Pay it Forward
Posted: October 11th, 2011
[by Jenna Close] “I challenge you to make your life a masterpiece. I challenge you to join the ranks of those people who live what they teach, who walk their talk.” – Tony Robbins Over the years I have been given many gifts of inspiration, support and friendship. Without fail, these lessons have come from [...]
To Do – Build Future
Posted: September 6th, 2011
[by Jay Kinghorn] Do you make room in your to-do lists for skills training, experimentation or creative exploration? If your to-do’s focus only on getting through your immediate business and personal tasks, but fail to move you forward, you’ll have a hard time pushing yourself into new creative endeavors, opening new business opportunities or quite [...]
Gearing Up for Fall
Posted: August 26th, 2011
[by Judy Herrmann] As those lazy days of Summer draw to a close, I’m starting to prepare myself for the crazy days of Fall. Shorter days usually mean longer hours for this working Mom, but do they have to? As the demands of my business and my daughter’s preschool grow in tandem, I’m using what’s [...]
Learning From The Competition
Posted: March 22nd, 2011
[by Judy Herrmann] Traditional business planning experts stress the importance of conducting a “competitive analysis” and it certainly offers some value. Understanding the strengths, weaknesses and market position of the people you’re competing against can help you differentiate your business, anticipate client concerns or objections and position yourself more effectively. But, it won’t necessarily help [...]
My Two-Years’ Resolutions….
Posted: January 6th, 2011
[by Shannon Fagan] On Dec 31, 2008, we entered the “tip of the iceberg” in what we all can agree was a two-year introduction to a new and permanently changed economy for professional aspirations in commercial photography. Taking a twist on “Auld Lang Syne”, I enjoyed looking look back at how the steps I took [...]
Change Everything
Posted: January 5th, 2011
[by Kevin Lock] I have to be honest with you. I text myself. Might sound dirty but it feels good. Might not be appropriate for all audiences, but it works for me. I have been texting myself the phrase “change everything” for months now. And it is working. I came up with this simple idea, “change everything,” on a cross [...]
Stepping Up
Posted: January 3rd, 2011
In my last post, I challenged us all to figure out what our assumptions are. As one of my first acts of 2011, I’m going to share some of the assumptions on my list. Some assumptions I’m questioning: I am a photographer – Why? – What does that really mean? – What else am I? [...]
Looking Forward, Looking Back
Posted: December 23rd, 2010
[by Judy Herrmann] I suddenly realized this morning that it’s not just the year that’s winding to a close but the first decade of the 21st century. When I look back at where we’ve been, my God, so much has changed. In 2000, I started working with Olympus when they introduced the first 35mm style [...]
Career planning: The long and Winding Road
Posted: December 3rd, 2010
[by Carolyn Potts] If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there. ~Lewis Carroll Yes, it’s good to have a focused and well-thought-out career plan. It’s far better than not knowing where you want to go. However, a career plan to “become rich and famous” isn’t quite specific enough But even [...]
See the Ball
Posted: December 2nd, 2010
[by Todd Joyce] “See the ball, hit the ball” is a saying in baseball that over simplifies the concept, but it’s true. If you aren’t seeing what you want to hit, you’ll never connect. You’ll swing blindly, just hoping to hit something… anything. Career planning is seeing the end result so that you can make [...]
Focus on the Things that Do Not Change
Posted: December 1st, 2010
[by Jay Kinghorn] It’s a real challenge trying to plan your career during a time of economic uncertainty and rapid technological change. To plan most effectively, begin with those elements that change the least—your creative goals, financial aspirations and current costs of doing business. Use these as a baseline for evaluating each new opportunity. Only [...]
We All Get Lost Without a Map (and every once in awhile that is a good thing)
Posted: November 30th, 2010
[by Jenna Close] Setting out towards the career you want is like planning a long trip. It requires a balance of forethought and flexibility. Just as with any adventure, stumbling blindly into unfamiliar territory without a map or a clue is not likely to result in wild success. Consider your photographic path and ask yourself [...]
“If you don’t know where you’re going…you might not get there.” – Yogi Berra
Posted: November 29th, 2010
[by Judy Herrmann] In 1989, at age 24, I started a photography studio with my partner, Mike Starke. We began by building a portfolio filled with images that looked “commercial.” These generic, safe images demonstrated our technical skills in lighting and using a view camera but left nothing to differentiate our studio but location and [...]
