Caught in your own dream?
I’ve had the pleasure over the past 5+ years of speaking with hundreds of photographers. A common thread running through so many of these conversations are dreams turning into nightmares.
You dream of owning your own photography studio. You dream of being your own boss. You dream of living life on your own terms.
Then you do it. You create and run a full-time photography business.
Something goes wrong…the dream becomes a nightmare. You don’t know how to deal with staff, you can’t figure out your workflow, you are never home, you lose your life to your own business.
Sound familiar?
I’ve spent the last year learning how to turn my nightmares back into dreams.
I spent it understanding what freedom really means. I’ve learned how I can have more freedom in my life.
It’s part of the secret to making your dream come to life. It’s how you keep your dream from turning into a nightmare.
Here are 3 steps to reclaim your dream.
1. Be intentional.
If you want things to change, you must be the change agent. Life will continue to stay the same until you or someone else changes it.
If you don’t change your life, be sure that someone else will. However, the changes that someone else makes may not be the ones you want or need.
Intentionally learn what you need to make your photography, business and life better.
Intentionally choose to change areas of your photography, business and life.
2. Define your business.
The last 5 years has seen a lot of conversation around creating a boutique studio business. In essence, this is learning to say NO to those things that aren’t you. In turn, learn to say YES to what is you.
Know what you love. Make your business work for you. Hire or contract out work that is keeping you from making money (or sucking your time). Stop doing what is slowing your business down.
It’s not always the answer, but most of the time it is a great start.
3. Move to open space.
Moving to open space could easily be 2b – the second part to defining your business.
What is moving to open space? It is not blindly doing what the photographer on stage or online is doing. Not copying your competitors look because it seems to be cool or successful.
Moving to open space means (again) knowing who you are and what you love, and then creating a business around those passions.
It’s TOM’S Shoes. It’s Starbuck’s Coffee. It’s Chik-Fil-A.
It’s creating your business based around their passion for a product and service (and more).
I want FREEDOM for you.
I realized in 2011 I want this for the people who are following me. I want to see you live a full and real life.
I wasn’t, and I wanted more.
Soon, I’ll share my entry into Photographer’s Ignite. It’s based on this very concept. I hope to share it with others.
Thursday, I’m going to share with you my word for 2012. It’s going to be a brand new adventure!
What about you? Have you been caught in a dream? How did you get out?
header image courtesy of Flickr/Hertzen.
wow Andy, that is a really powerful post. It’s so ironic, yet such a common experience. I feel that a big part of the problem is that without any experience in marketing or business skills people are just blinding following the dream of “do what you love and the money will follow” as if by magic everything just falls into place. It takes a few years before you get to the nightmare stage, and then a few years to get out of that hole. Your blog is a great gift to the community, and I will keep reading and sharing your articles.
Lara – thanks. I will throw the “gift” tag right back at you with your photomint.com blog.
You’re right – it’s a look before you leap issue (most people aren’t doing it), but the key is to figure out how to get out of the nightmare once you’re in it.
Skills in business and marketing is huge, and it starts with figuring out what you really want. What is it you want your business and life to be – then use photography as a tool to get there.