Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2001/11/25
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]>>> If you're determined to get your masters degree, why not consider a MBA with an emphasis on marketing?<<<<< Hi Sonny, Great advice for anyone aspiring to become an independent photographer with their own business. As you and I can attest.... "it isn't all picture taking!" One can be the world's greatest photographer, but without marketing and business skills that person will always remain the "Worlds greatest unknown photographer!" Or worse, broke and still unknown! So many people think being a photographer is a great life, it is for some. Others, it's a daily grind even though they're excellent shooters taking hundreds of pictures monthly. It's just a drudgery of confusing paper work, book keeping, long hours of tedious business things no one told you about. And in those heady days of fun picture taking with friends saying, "Hey you are really good, why don't you open your own studio!" Of course you flush with adulation and accolades do it. And? SURPRISE!!!!!!! Who answers the phone, who goes to the bank to borrow money, who does the book keeping, invoicing, promoting, advertising and hundreds of admin. things required? All of the above done badly because you don't have a business clue in your head! Guess who? The photographer, who "Opened his own studio!" That's who. :-( And now he has his own studio and can take pictures all day long forever and ever and a wonderful life having fun, guess how many hours he actually does of picture taking between all the paper work? Not nearly as much as they thought they'd have and a hell of a lot less than many of you think. The bottomline always is........ many have no business sense to sell their ability to lift them out of the drudgery. And for 99.9% who thought it was going to be a wonderful life of "just taking pictures," travelling the world shooting everything and anything they want it becomes a hell of a disappointment. My advice like yours has been "DO BUSINESS FIRST!" Learn to be photographer second! And that comes from half a century of experience. Or if one is so blinded with being a photographer only, have the world's greatest business manager working for you! But you must still have business understanding. ted Ted Grant Photography Limited www.islandnet.com/~tedgrant - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html