Fact or Fiction: The Small Business Learning Curve

I was reading an article today and it was about operating a small business and the ups and downs that come along with it. And, it got me to thinking about what I have learned, de-bunked and rationalized about the ship I run and the misconceptions that most people have about running a small business. It was interesting to look back and reflect on the past and pondering the upcoming months. Many things have changed and many more changes are on the way. It is an exciting time, however, growth and expansion are still somewhat scary. It is the nervous scared, not the chicken scared. So, here is my compilation, maybe something will help you in your ventures.

1. One pixel at a time
When you venture into the isolation of sole proprietor, I think of it as metaphorically adopting a puppy that never ages. That puppy will always be an adorable puppy, snugly, cute and clumsy. My 'puppy' I would name something super camera savvy and faux pas, like JPEG, I would love him more and more everyday. But, JPEG, cute as a button, will always chew up my beloved shoes and never be potty trained, for JPEG will never grow up.
It is like this, I will always be in love with photography, at times more than I love others, I will always want to freeze time, capture a moment. I am a memory preservationist, and I am okay with that. But I hate paperwork. It's a pain in the ass and I will do anything possible to avoid it. So much wonderful origami is not being created because I have paperwork that just has to be done.
And once you accept that in order to do what you love and live your dream you have to do and file the essential paperwork, you accept it, but it will always chew your Choo's. And it is hard to accept that there is an ugly side to steering your own ship, there are always those cons for the pros, for me those cons will never take over ownership from the pros. I love what I do. Point blank. No matter the day, the situation, the circumstance, I will always love my life, my career, my company. Hey, those shoes weren't that practical anyways.

2. 'The more we work together the happier we'll be'
Just lying. It was actually, and sadly, that I had one of those life altering epiphany moments in which I realized I own more than just my own car. I own a business. Pretty much by myself. Don't get me wrong, there are many people who have helped me out along the way, some more than others, some have lent me their advice and slash or support, others have gone further and strapped NASA grade rocket boosters to my ass. And I appreciate that more than anyone will ever know, especially those that think I am an ungrateful bitch. Yep. I said it, it's my blog not yours. This is my business, my dream, my life, my success or my failure. If I fail, it will be solely because of me and no one else, and I prefer it that way. I control my future, I control my life and whether I make it or not it will be because of me. I make the decisions and I stand by them. No one elses choices will be a catalyst to my rise or fall, not to sound to Hitler or anything.

3.'Early bird gets the worm'
Right well, as a person sympathetic towards animals, I am on a mission to save the worm from the insomniac bird. Being that I just made a statement about this being my venture, I am still only one person and I am somewhat small, hips aside. This being said, there is so much frickin work involved in owning a photography business that I could work 24-7 and still forget to fill out some kind of paperwork somewhere. I obviously am okay with this, since, I am still a photographer, but damn, can I sleep a little longer once in awhile, well no. My favorite misconception that comes from, well, ignorance, is that I have tons of free time and barely do a thing, and how do you put it....don't really have a job. Right. You betcha. Not only do I work my tail off, I have the coolest boss ever, and I should be offended by lack of knowledge statements, but I accept envious motives for what they truly are.
Anyone who feels this way is more than welcome to attend 'bring your ass to work day' where you can gladly follow me at a reasonable distance behind me, and tag along like a third wheel. You will enjoy several sessions in humid 90 degree plus weather, hours of marketing, emails and post processing, print orders, etc
I cannot say that others would enjoy this, but I love it. Bob Marley said, "Stand in love, don't fall in love" well, I am standing in love with my career and all the chromatic aberrations I can get.
I am not partial to the weather conditions, I will still love what I do. It can be freezing, scorching, it doesn't matter, I will go out in it for hours, because i love it.
There is alot of sacrifice to be able to do what it is that you love to do. Hell, sacrifice comes to dinner more than I do, because I am working. There are long hours, but they are still fun, assuming it doesn't entail paperwork. I have taken risks, given up things and it is still worth it. I get to travel, I get to meet people from every walk of life, I know a mechanic, a lawyer, an accountant, a clown, a dental tech, a contractor, a musician, I could go on and on for days, i meet the coolest people. My clients are better than other photographers, I can say that, its my blog. My clients make my day, everyday, and they think I am equally cool. They are considerate, and they trust me with their monumental life moments, I don't know if there is a better felling than that. I watch their kids grow, and they become a part of my family, too. I could go on and on. You know what though, I am an artist, I am an unconventional, free spirited artist, and my clients appreciate that, because it translates into ethereal images of the ones they love the most.
Once you know your niche, you know who is going to be your client and who wont. And I can tell now, being that this isn't my first rodeo, when to say no, when to recommend a photographer rather than take the sale, because you know it will not be a good collaboration. Some clients don't 'click' (photo pun intended) with some photographers. Accepting that sometimes you have to say no to people, that is ironically one of the choices that lead to a more successful business. It is similar to discovering that 3 rights is equal to one left.

When I am asked what i do for a living, I usually stop and think about it, and it sounds weird to say im a photographer, because it what I love to do and its not a job to me, its a choice. And I am alays reminded of that choice when i hear, "you could have been a doctor"
Yes, I could have, but I am okay being a smarter than the average bear memory presorvationist.

Time can do so much...

In a recent episode of Through the Wormhole, with Morgan Freeman, the theory was brought up that some people support about time. Basically, some theorists think that what we know about time, in terms of hours, minutes, seconds, etc is not completely legit. They suggest the idea of time having two dimensions instead of just one dimension. I liked this idea because I feel like it validates why I am always late. As, what we know about time may not be as valid as we thought. So, after watching this I have become somewhat occupied with the thought of time, and portraying time visually. Time is the one common denominator in every persons life, no matter who you are, where you live, what language you speak. You are none the less affected by time. Time is like the huge elephant in the room in every one's life, whether it is not enough time left to a terminally ill person or too much time to an unemployed or transient person. Time is what draws us all together, even if some of us are running 10-15 behind.

So, I have noticed that I keep photographing time, and I have been doing it subconsciously for awhile. It is like taking a picture of where you parked your car when you get somewhere, by far one of the coolest thing I was taught by my editor at JU. Anyways, I have noticed looking back at some of my pictures, like this one I took when me and my boyfriends went to watch the shuttle Atlantis launch. I take tons of pictures of time. So, if what we know about time is, in fact, expired, what does that mean about how we relate to time now?

Well, we don't really have to worry too much about that as times other illegitimate dimension is just a theory, for now, until it needs money for college. Anyways, so in browsing my play instantly Netflix options the other day, I came across this movie, Timer, well, that seems up my alley already and I am solely basing it on the title. So, I watched it. And it takes this odd sci-fi approach to finding soul mates and totally takes the fun out of life and instills frantic paranoia. So, this was a great movie. Modern science is able to install a timer on your wrist and it will count down to the day you are to meet your alleged soul mate. That is, assuming, that your alleged soul mate also has had a timer installed. This makes me think, can I have a timer that will tell me when I meet people in my life that are real friends? Or rather maybe I could get a bull shit meter, or something similar. I am not a fan of a soul mate timer, as I am not a believer in soul mates, but that is for another day. I really think that a device can be fabricator to determine if and when we meet people that they are good people and will make a good friend. Aside from carrying around a lie detector machine and awkwardly hooking up random people you just met to this device, thus challenging any chance at actual friendship by immediately questioning their trust, morals and friendship capabilities, there must be a way to filter out the assholes.

Maybe there is a way to alter the current watches, clocks and other devices with alarms to where the alarm will sound when someone that is a little shady comes into life. Maybe like a loose morals monitor. I am no scientist here, but I am almost certain there is a way.

I am being legitimately serious here, I am not getting any younger and I am growing tired of having people in my life turn into raging bitches of betrayal. Now, you all should know, if you have the ability to read this, I am clearly not talking about you. If you can see it but don't understand it, maybe you just simply cant read. I like my life alot, I love everything about it. I have a cool job, I wish I made alot more money, but I have a great ass job. I love my boyfriend, sometimes it pisses me off when he changes the channel when I am watching stuff, but I still love him to pieces. I have a great family, and I have great friends, for the most part, but I cannot take the people that have multiple personalities all of which have personality disorders.

I would like to know where I can purchase my loose morals monitor and if I can pay online uses my debit card. This post has gone completely off track, and I am okay with that, as I dont have time to write it over.