Going Pro series pt 1: Take the Big Step

posted October 6, 2011 in Happenings, Photographer Resources

Welcome to the first in a 7 part blog post series on Going Pro moving full-time photographer in Minneapolis.

‘Lift with my legs.’ I told myself dozens times over the past few days as I moved from Colorado to Minneasota, taking the biggest step of my life.

Within the last seven (7!) days, I sold my home with the amazing help of Faun Hauptman, left my ‘day-job,’ packed my belongings into a Penske moving truck, and drove north to Minneapolis, Minnesota. My life has been forever changed and feels great…. like….great as the-delay-onset-muscle-soreness-from-a-personal-training-session-at-the-gym-and-now-I-can-barely-walk-up-stairs-kind-of-great. A very good great. But in Minnesota?!?!?!

‘You know, there’s 11 months of winter there,’ a friend told me. Currently temperatures in Minneapolis stand at 77 degrees and clear skies, precisely 13 degrees WARMER than current cloudy Denver. Perhaps pigs can fly.

Change ain’t easy.
‘Change is good’ is an easy bumper sticker philosophy to understand, a difficult one to apply. It ain’t easy, I’ll say that. Nor is deciding to go full-time photography.

Which is why I’ve decided to chronicle my adventures of moving full-time photography in a series of blog posts aimed towards the amateur photographer deciding to do the same. The first post in the series addresses the biggest decision of them all: deciding to give it my all.

STEP 1. CREATE YOUR MAP
I can’t do it all alone, I confess. I get lost all the time, despite being a former National Geographic cartographer. Yet, I call it exploring. It’s about attitude. A road map to becoming a ‘professional’ photographer is different for everyone. As with law or medicine, the career road map is fairly lengthy, very difficult, yet clear. With becoming a creative professional, the process is almost as lengthy, arguably as difficult, yet muddy (and fun). Like the difference between a marathon road race vs marathon in Colorado Mountains. Both are running races, yet face different challenges, terrain, and skill. I only wish the journey was marked with little red stop signs and highlighted-green arrows pointing to the fast-track.

Which is why I’ve been a long-time proponet as education being the single most important part of a creative buisness. In the next month, I will be attending two photography educational experiences. Next week’s Elevate workshop in Northern Minnesota and I head to the Foundation Workshop in New Orleans. I am excited to be a student again and I know these experiences will only help my business grow successful.
STEP 2. DIVERSIFY YOUR INCOME
Keep your day-job as long as you can until you get to the point where your business demands more of you and the money beings telling you that. Money does talk and help make those decisions a bit easier. However, having at least 4-6 months of savings, a supportive spouse/dog/cat/family, and a source of passive income from real estate or investments is a really good thing. Get rid of equipment you no longer really need, sell stuff on craigslist, and pay-off your car. Being debt-free with a savings should be your baseline goal before proceeding to the next step.

STEP 3. MAKE THE LEAP
This is the hardest part and the biggest step when any creative person decides to quit their day job and give their passion 100% focus. Root in this decision is about learning to say ‘No.’ So often, saying ‘Yes, yes, yes’ becomes a knee jerk reaction especially when money is involved. Upon closer inspection, my ultimate decision goes back to lifestyle and balance. However, I am the first to admit that having a ‘day job’ is rewarding from a career perspective, as the cloak of security affords the opportunity to build a business without going into debt, allows you to build a portfolio you are proud of, and doesn’t force creativity just for the money. One thing to keep in the back of your head while making the leap: don’t pave a dark road which leads to doing the same thing over and over just for the money. Wear {with pride} that security cloak as loooong as you can.

As of this morning, on the inside my “photography business” looks something like this: wpid-kern-photo_minneapolis_wedding_photographer-2011-10-6-17-47.jpg

On the outside, my wedding photography business looks like this next photo from Jordan and Cameron’s wedding at Pastures of Plenty in Boulder, Colorado last week… two beautiful, glowing newlyweds I call dear friends, trusting in me with sparks and fire in the background, wrapped in beautiful light called love. Such a wonderful metaphor and a favorite photo {stay tuned for more}! wpid-jordan_cameron_wedding_pastures_of_plenty_boulder_1-2011-10-6-17-47.jpg Everything will work out, I remind myself.