You have the ability to work on what you love, be your own boss, create new art every day, and get paid very well for it.
On the other hand, 85% of creative & photography businesses fail within the first few years.
This article defines the main reasons why your business will fail & teaches you how to succeed instead.
Big is popular.
Big is headline news & social media viral hype.
Big is millions of followers, likes, clicks, and shares.
- It is how you’re told to build every aspect of your business.
- Your brand.
- Your online following.
Big is the enemy of innovation, creative thought & self-improvement.
It makes decisions for short term profits, and social clout, instead of the long term improvement of it’s products & ideas.
Big needs millions of interactions to squeeze out small profit margins.
It hates experimental and creative risks. It usually can’t afford them either.
Big is the goal of the masses. It’s their undefined version of success.
It’s what they’re programmed to aim for, in everything, without thinking twice.
Big works well for manufacturing widgets or anything else on a factory assembly line.
This is the opposite goal of a creator or a photographer.
Most big companies were born in the First Machine Age (early 1800s-1980s), which utilized physical machines & assembly lines to increase profit margins and make billions of dollars.
These machines & armies of assembly line workers cost millions, so only large companies could afford them.
That meant two choices:
- You had enough money / funding to own a large company.
- You worked for one.
Small companies didn’t have enough funding to buy or maintain the machines or people, so the big companies ate them alive.
Now, we are in the Second Machine Age (1990s – current), which I call the Digital Machine Age.
The most profitable machines have changed location & appearance. They cost almost nothing to maintain, or purchase, and scale / replicate for free.
These machines save you time by automating non-creative tasks that you used to do by hand or pay someone else to do.
They are made from digital bits, computer code, and algorithms.
You don’t need to understand code to utilize them.
They allow you to get your art & ideas out to one person or a million people, with no added work as the scale increases.
Big is starting to notice that the business methods that served it for the last 100+ years are no longer working as well.
Small companies and creators can now afford the same digital machines that big companies can.
The digital machine age made these tools available to everyone & leveled the playing field.
Now, great ideas, fast execution, and the spread of useful information hold all the value.
All you need is a computer or phone, endless dedication, and a long term vision.
Instead of employing 1000s of people to work for your company, you can employ yourself and millions of digital machines, that work around the clock, for next to free.
This means that your expenses can stay very low, while still getting your art & ideas out to the world.
Now, you can start a business with almost no money.
Your only risk is time & ego.
15 years ago this was very expensive & impossible without understanding computer code.
Moving forward, everything will become more connected, move faster, and become cheaper to implement, for everyone.
All your excuses are gone.
In the Digital Machine Age, SMALL IS THE NEW BIG.
Small is better for art and creative ventures.
Small doesn’t mean lower pay or less hard work.
Small allows you to experiment, take risks, and allocate the free time, unpaid, which is required to think of, or work on, the next big idea.
Small is the world-class craftsman that does one or two things better than anyone else on the planet.
It is the world-class creator that says no to 99% of things, to devote all free time to that important 1%.
It is the decision not to follow current popular trends, for short term payoffs, knowing that you will create the new trends for the next generation.
Small creates the next popular idea that big tries to purchase 5 years from now.
Small lets you concentrate on building better products (anything you create), to help your current customers, instead of directing all free time and energy into finding new customers (advertising).
Staying small allows you to spend 6 months on a risky new project that might fail, because it’s something that interests you and will help others, long term.
Small allows for targeted high efficiency instead of broad & sloppy scale.
Most creators make the huge mistake of trying to create their branding, videos, blog posts, marketing, product launches, and websites, to look just like the big brands.
These creators want to be the next big thing.
The McDonalds or Pepsi, of the creative world.
They want 1 million followers on YouTube or Facebook but aren’t sure why they want those followers or what getting them does in the long run.
They seem to think that looking and acting like a big corporation will give them corporate size success.
If they copy the blueprint, it will work?
In turn, they create ideas, products, and messaging, that they think the masses will like, instead of creating things that they care about & want to see exist in the world.
The problem is, this strategy is not what makes people connect, trust, and learn from creators.
It’s also not what drives the evolution of art & ideas.
It actually has the opposite effect.
What people fail to realize is that many of the current big companies were forged in a different era, the First Machine Age.
That era is slowly dying.
Software and code are now taking over everything that they can.
New ideas & art now spread faster than ever, at almost zero cost to the creator.
In the first Machine Age, only big companies could afford TV commercials, and advertising, so small was never seen & couldn’t compete, therefore it didn’t exist.
You will never outspend or out advertise the big brands in the category of BIG.
Trying to beat them at their game is impossible.
They will crush you.
Big needs commercials, and advertising, because it doesn’t have the personal trust of its consumers.
The creator, through blog posts, YouTube videos, podcasts, email, comments, and other free content, can grow trust & community, with like-minded people, without advertising.
They can also get these ideas out to the world, for almost free.
The creator’s only cost is time, hard work, and a long term belief in their own ideas.
You can read someone’s blog or watch their YouTube videos, for free, and get a feeling for who they are.
Big can’t play in this arena.
Big is impersonal.
It needs massive ad campaigns to squeeze out small profit margins.
People don’t gravitate towards blog posts or YouTube videos from large corporations.
They don’t look to BIG for the next creative ideas or inspiration.
Now, BIG employs “influencers”, trying to compete with small.
This worked well when it was new, but now we understand that influencers are corporate ads disguised as people, thus their trust & value dropped.
You, the creator, don’t need millions of customers or fans.
You don’t want that many either.
You’ll end up spending all your time in customer service, instead of creating things that matter.
First, you need to know the minimum amount of money you need each year to keep creating what you love, to keep heading down that path of making the change that you want to see in the world.
Do you have a bad relationship with money, or hate dealing with it?
This isn’t about money.
This is about creativity & art & the evolution of useful ideas.
This is about the funding of your goals, which will ensure you can continue to create, and help others, long term, at scale.
What’s your number?
How much do you need?
You must define it!
Otherwise, you’ll end up chasing money all your life & never get to create the great idea that’s in your mind.
Our time on this planet is zero-sum.
Chasing unnecessary money removes time from creating.
Not understanding money, or running from it, also has the same effect. Most creators are in this boat.
If you have too much, or not enough money, you’re always thinking about money.
This removes all chances of helping others & getting your ideas out there.
To create, at scale, and get your ideas out there, you need funding, long term.
You must have a plan in place or you will be part of someone else’s plan.
The goal is not to think about money, by having a plan in place, which will ensure all time goes towards creating.
1,000 true fans (read the article), buying a 100$ product each year, gives you 100,000$ a year.
You can scale that up and down as required to provide the funding for your long term goals.
The main point is, getting 1000 true fans is not an unreasonable thing to do, within a few years of hard work.
This seems simple, but most creators don’t have any idea of what they are aiming for, long term, so they eventually lose motivation and fail.
The millions of fans that BIG taught you to aim for, may seem, and actually be, impossible to obtain.
Don’t make this mistake.
Second, you must say no to 99% of opportunities in life, to do that remaining 1%, better than anyone else on the planet.
Instead of trying to do a little bit of everything at an average level, just to squeeze out a dollar, the creator must do a very small number of things at a world-class level.
Becoming world-class at one thing takes years of time and dedication, which means the payoff is always long-term.
This is why the creator must trust themselves, and trust their long term vision, no matter what:
- Long term thinking, self-trust, and dedication is something that almost anyone can learn. I call this combo of skill sets “Grit”.
- Grit is very hard to execute year after year, so most take the path of least resistance, average skill level, short term payoff, and comfort.
It takes guts to trust in yourself, year after year, to bring about the change you want to see in the world.
What ideas are currently in your mind, that could exist in reality, 5 or 10 years from now?
Do you have the guts & grit to take the daily steps to get there?
If your answer was not HELL YES, walk away now.
One of my favorite books, The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing (read it), states, “If you can’t be the first in a category, set up a new category you can be first in”.
Consider a category a niche.
Landscape photography is a category.
Portrait photography is a category.
Chinese Restaurants and Italian Restaurants are also categories.
Each category has many sub-categories or sub-sub-categories, for example:
- Main Category Example 1: Photography
- Sub: Outdoor / Landscape Photography
- Sub-Sub: Wilderness Photography
- Sub-Sub-Sub: Mountain Wilderness Photography
- Sub-Sub: Wilderness Photography
- Sub: Outdoor / Landscape Photography
- Main Category Example 2: Website Development
- Sub: SEO
- Sub-Sub: On Page SEO
- Sub-Sub-Sub: On-Page SEO Keyword Optimization
- Sub-Sub: On Page SEO
- Sub: SEO
The creators’ biggest advantage is the ability to create a brand new category. One in which only they exist.
Before this is possible, they must become world-class in a currently existing, similar, overlapping category and grow a small fan-base there.
This will allow them to experiment & test new ideas while funding future category creation.
This currently existing category should be one level broader than the category they eventually want to create & dominate.
This initial category must:
- Go in the opposite direction of BIG.
- Go in the opposite direction of short term popular cultural trends (a.k.a trends without underlying utility & logic. Things that people do, just because others are doing them. Herd mentality. )
- Have a long term utility & logical value of 10+ years. (a.k.a the market within is increasing or stable and will not disappear)
Doing so keeps BIG from competing in your category.
Big needs a large number of transactions, to turn tiny profit margins, due to extreme inefficiency, so it always needs to stay up to date with the current popular trends.
The masses love short term popular trends, so BIG creates what the masses demand.
While most creators aim for the masses, place your target somewhere else, where no one is looking.
Place it somewhere that maximizes your ability to spend life creating things that matter, and hold actual value, instead of trophy collecting and stat counting meaningless numbers on social media platforms, which you don’t own.
Select a category that is small enough that you can eventually be the best within it, but large enough that there are enough “fans” to fill your funding goals.
Being world-class in two or three categories that overlap & complement each other gives you even more power.
Don’t aim for 2-3 right away.
Just start simple, with 1.
Become world-class at one thing in a single category.
If you select the main category of photography, to be world-class in, it’s worthless.
There are too many people competing to be “the best photographer” in the world.
Being a jack of all trades, knowing all parts of photography, at an average level, is also worthless.
- If you select wilderness photography, there isn’t anywhere near as much competition.
- If you select Mountain Wilderness Photography, there is even less competition.
The harder the category is to learn, or produce work within, the less competition it has within.
Mountain Wilderness Photography mixes three small categories, which are each hard to learn & execute upon:
- Landscape Photography
- Backpacking / Mountaineering
- Outdoor Endurance Sports (Ultra Trail Running & Endurance Training)
As I had said above, mixing categories that complement each other, and overlap, is a huge advantage.
It’s harder to learn all of these skill sets, and become world-class in them, so not many people can compete in this field.
There are many other examples, just like this.
If you have GRIT, and long term vision, you can be world-class in a category all your own.
You’ll be surprised how many people out there have been waiting for you to create what you’re creating.
The internet changed everything. Now small groups of people, in love with niche topics (categories), can find each other.
These groups need a leader, and idea maker, someone on the cutting edge, always looking to learn & improve.
Who will define the new categories and push the boundaries within them?
You can become this person.
You can teach what you learned from 10,000 hours in the trenches, doing work that you love, day after day, while everyone else was aiming for big.
You can show others that you walk the walk. That creating world-class products and ideas, long term, is the real reason you exist.
This is how to create a category of 1.
A category where you’re the only option.
This is the place where you can have the most impact.
Don’t do it for:
- Money (exceeding what you need to get the job done.)
- Fame
- Ego
- Social Media / internet clout
- These things will only distract you from the real goal.
Do it for:
- The evolution of creative thoughts & ideas.
- The next generation, 10 years behind you, that needs someone to push them forward, so they can eventually surpass what you create, and teach it to the next generation.
- The love of your craft.
- The proof that you can do anything you set your mind to.
Always go in the opposite direction of big.
Don’t aim to impact the masses. They don’t care enough anyway.
Lose all that corporate speak.
Be you.
Be personal.
Learn as much as you can, every day, and make sure you always feel uncomfortable.
Experiment constantly & change quickly when things don’t work.
See failures as data points in your experiments, not as part of who you are as a person.
Create things you’re interested in & want to improve upon.
Now, the hard part. You need to start today, even if what you create is really bad.
Every creator is always bad at first.
You must do it anyway.
Your ideas, art, and projects will grow and evolve as you create more and more. This is the only way to get better.
Feeling like crap about your current creations, which may be bad, is all part of the process.
Everyone that’s currently world-class went through it & still does, every day they create.
The thing is, you’ll never be as good as you want to be, so this feeling will always be there.
Start now & create things you really care about, until your 10% better than a beginner.
Once your 10% better than a beginner, you can teach 10% under you, something new.
Aim for 1 person at first.
Teach them what you know or impact their current idea structure by showing them a new way of thinking or doing things.
This can be done through all forms of art, photography, writing, videos, content, or anything else you want to create.
Now go for 10 people, then 100, and 1000.
While doing this it’s imperative to constantly improve your craft, then you can teach more and more people as you improve.
Some of these people will become your true fans.
They will tell others about you.
Aiming too big at first will ensure you quit and have zero impact, long term.
Big companies scale fast with massive cash flow, hundreds of managers and thousands of bean counters.
If you don’t have millions in cash flow, and don’t want to manage people or count beans, then don’t play in this arena.
You’ll never scale quickly or obtain big numbers, then you’ll feel like a failure.
How would your art & business change if you aimed for small?
Aiming for small removes the noise and filtering costs associated with creating for the masses.
It ensures you don’t spend your life in meetings dealing with customer service & advertising issues.
If you only have 10 customers at first, it’s easy to give them all a world-class experience.
The same goes for 100, then 1000.
Do it for your students & the creation of world-class ideas, not the money.
By students, I mean anyone who’s ideas you impact with your creations.
The money will come, but it will only stick around if the students always come first.
Move slow, make your creation or product world-class for a small number of people.
Make the thing you wish existed when you were in their shoes.
This allows you to stop creating generic things, aimed to please everyone, and start creating stuff that you, and a small group of others, really care about.
How much time are you currently allocating to improving your craft versus getting new people to see it?
When your work is really good, you no longer beg others to interact with it.
It spreads on its own.
Staying small allows you to obtain the most valuable assets, which create a stable, long term, highly efficient business.
These assets are:
- Specific knowledge or craftsmanship.
- Problem-solving ability.
- A customer (student) base, built on long term relationships, that you actually know and understand.
Staying small allows you to experiment, move quickly, learn new skill sets, and adjust on the fly.
When hard times hit, which they will, you and your business will quickly shift to new demands.
This will ensure you stay around for the long term. It’s the only way to execute your vision!
Big doesn’t have this choice. It’s slow and clunky. It takes too long to change.
Start building those ideas in your head & bring them into reality.
It starts now, today, through small steps.
A very compelling read Dave and agree in the digital word, the time has never been better to make your own impression and bring your own ideas to life. The work you produce is testament to that and serves as as exemplar of what can be achieved. I have some creative ideas and slowly getting the personal space I need to give them the attention they need so hopefully in time I will be able to bring those ideas to fruition
Great to hear it, Jim. Thanks so much.
Good luck & let me know how it goes.
Dave
Thanks Dave. What a great article. I will start today. I have loved your work and ideas for several years now. Do you use a particular web hosting program to display your work or did you build your own, I’m currently on Smugmug but I have so many categories of photography. I love being out in the wild macro as well as landscape, also night and city photography.
Thanks again.
You’re welcome, David.
I use smugmug for photos and wordpress for website.
The wild is the best place to be:)
Take care,
Dave
Inspiring article Dave and good advices, thank you for sharing!
Anytime, Mauro.
Dave
Dave
I really enjoyed your blog: Why Your Photography Business Will Fail & How to Succeed Instead
As a photographer for many years, I found your remarks right on target. I am about to launch a new website focusing on Texas Revolutionary War in 1836. I have progressed from: http://www.etsy.com/shop/rontylerphotography to http://www.Texas1836.com and from 30 million prospects to just 5,000 proud Texans. You are so right, “small is the new big.”
Thank you for posting this message. Your wilderness pix are the greatest.
Ron Tyler
Hi Ron,
Thanks buddy! Much appreciated.
You’re most welcome
Dave
I’m lovin’ it Dave. You lead by example and you’re out there making it happen. Great inspiration and insight. Always enjoy your articles from the technical to the contemplative.
Thanks, Phil. Good to hear it!
I really appreciate the comment.
Dave
This is dead on. All is very hard to do but starting with the objective of only being 10% better than a beginner and growing from there is both brilliant and encouraging advice. The issue of strategic long term meaningful purposes, as you point out, is the ball game. Always a fan of Kevin Kelly, you have taken his advice even further. We should all aim to be a “category of one”. Many people don’t know what their “one true thing” is. I spend each day helping them do so and your sage words of advice resonate with what I see working with people on the same journey you have taken. Thanks for the very thoughtful piece. I will recommend it to others.
Thanks, Burnes. Glad you found it insightful.
I really appreciate you reading the article and getting back to me.
Dave
Thank you Dave for yet another article that spins the wheels in my mind! It’s always inspirational to hear your perspective, which cuts through all of the “noise” and gets straight to the point. Failure in any life aspect (business, relationship, personal goals) is hard to face for a lot of people and I think the way you’ve brought your thoughts here will be helpful to many!
I haven’t defined what my personal creative venture is, but I always enjoy your blog and PS- your recently updated work that you added is just breathtaking! Thank you for sharing 🙂
Hi Rachelle,
Thanks for looking at my new photo work. Really glad you enjoyed the article too:)
Take care & thanks again for reading.
Dave
Thanks Dave for another inspiring and helpful article. I really appreciate the thought you put into what you share. You’re ability to analyze, and stay aware of where your at and what your accomplishing in life on a daily basis is a gift! I struggle with knowing how and where to focus my energy on building my own business with my fine art work and your articles always help. Truly respect that you don’t just philosophize about it all, but live it out! Thanks!!
You’re welcome, Jeff.
Thanks for taking the time out of your day to read the whole thing.
To tell you the truth I struggle to know how and where to focus my energy too.
The best method I found, is to pick a direction, and go after it really hard for 6 months to a year.
From there look at everything and pick the next direction to move.
I have problems making decisions sometimes.
All a big learning process.
Thanks for the feedback! Talk soon,
Dave
Inspiring words Dave. Thanks for being such a big inspiration.
Hi Alex,
You’re welcome buddy. My pleasure.
Really glad you find this stuff inspiring! That’s a huge help to know that.
Take care and keep getting after it.
Dave
Excellent post, Dave, and pertinent advice in an age when everything is designed to crush the little guys. I’m an old man now but I hope young people read this – and believe it.
Thank you, Barry.
I hope they do too! If you know any pass it along:)
Thanks for reading,
Dave
Love the way you think, Dave,
This method of growing can be applied to so many things, eg. selling on Amazon, or writing a book. It makes complete sense and I’m glad you reiterated to go away from Big, it’s a schoolyard fantasy to want to become the next Big, and for 99% is not attainable. But becoming the person you were meant to be, as a number one in a sub or sub, sub, category, is entirely possible.
Educational and astute. Thank you.
Thank you for the compliment, Paul & for reading the article!
Take care,
Dave
Hey Dave,
This blog really struck home with me. I’ve been trying to shift my business from one of a freelance videographer/photographer to a content creator. I’ve have been working freelance for twenty years and made a decent living but now realize all the content I created over the years was for others and I own none of it. As I move into the second half of my work life, I want to have control over my content and hopefully monetize it so it may be a source of future income.
I really admire the way you have followed your own path and have complete control over your time and work. This is my goal and have been recently putting in the time to figure this out for myself. Thanks for the great article and information from your photography lessons. They have really helped with my photography from someone who who mostly in the video production business.
Thanks again!
Daniel
Awesome, Daniel. Love to hear that.
That’s going to be a very big shift, but well worth it and rewarding.
I’m sure you can do it. The long term game is key!
I’ll have some more articles coming out that may help you in this new line of work.
Thanks for reading & good luck with the new venture!
Dave
Thank you, Dave!! I’ve bee following you for ?? years, loving your individuality and dedication to your art, and, how you shared it with others. I’m at a major crossroads in my life…about to turn 74, being forced to find a new place to live as my heavenly rental is being sold and deciding to just go on no-time-limit road trip. I will of course go back and read every single word of your blog as I think you are speaking to me and I’m listening. I wish you the very best in life, you are so deserving, and I thank you for always wanting to teach and inspire. Happy Holidays!
Thanks so much, Barbara. That’s really nice to hear!
Your new adventure sounds like a blast.
I wish you the very best too. Check back in and let me know how the trips going.
Take care,
Dave
I really enjoy your thoughts and I think you hit things right on the money so to speak! But I do feel a dilemma. What if you truly are interested in a number of different aspects or categories and feel compelled to learn and do without a very distinct and small niche. At what point does carving a smaller and smaller niche become a corner you have backed yourself into because you want to build a business. It seems that in that instance you are trading away the joy for the (potential) money. I guess one needs some real introspection on this!
Hi Howard,
Love to hear that. Thanks for letting me know.
That’s a great question.
I’m always experimenting with a bunch of mini-projects, in different niches, but they all seem to revolve around creating new ideas, processes, photography and the outdoors.
I’d say pick something, it doesn’t have to be perfect, that you want to spend 2-3 years building out.
Start a blog, and write about a bunch of different stuff to see what you enjoy most and what clicks with others.
Then just pick something. It should be something that you’ll learn from even if everything else fails.
It’s a really hard decision. There isn’t a good answer.
Hope that helps. Any move in any direction you’re interested in is usually better than inaction.
Dave
This is on time and on target, Dave!
Just what I needed…
Thanks!
That’s great, Jason.
Your blog is really good. Keep building it out!
Take care buddy.
Dave
This was a great read. Very inspiring and eye opening! It’s maddening trying to figure how to go about the journey to full time artist. Your points about about spending too much time chasing fans and not creating great art is huge. Thank you Dave.
Love to hear that, Rafael.
From experience. Everything will often feel like chaos. It will never seem there is a clear path or a right choice.
Make one anyway and move foward. Learn as much as possible.
See everything as a small experiemnt.
Learn from mistakes.
Make the next move. Repeat.
Keep learning. Keep creating.
No one really knows what they are doing.
Create stuff you care about. The rest generally falls in line!
Take care & thanks for your comment.
Dave
Dave, thanks for your perspective. This approach really works for any creative field (I’m an illustrator and nature sketcher). I always enjoy your blog and artwork – in my previous career I was a landscape photographer and your work reminds me of all the hikes I did with my camera. These days all I bring is a sketchbook and paints. 😉
It is a hard path to have the dedication and make this thing that you love work, but for some of us maybe there isn’t another path. I believe the important thing is to not sell out (when big businesses catch on and want to instrumentalize what only independent artists can do) and stay on your path. I love the idea of investing half a year into a project and then readjust. It’s what I’ve been doing for a few years now, too. I’ve found that people are grateful for authenticity, and they will stay interested in your work, even if you take breaks or pivot from your previous focus. People just don’t want to be bombarded with aggressive marketing any more, and they’re tired of social media and ads. (Those who love the social media circus are probably not in my audience..)
Anyway, keep up the great work, Dave, and thank you for sharing your thoughts!!
Hi Julia,
Thanks so much.
I agree with you. I think the “true fans” will stick with you even during a small pivot because they are interested in your ideas & how you interact with the world.
Seeing all of life as small experiments or data points always helps me not to take things or myself too seriously as well.
I’ve always been interested in sketching. What a great thing to take along on hikes!
Just checked out your website & blog. Very cool!
Enjoyed the read on why you quit social media.
I love that you’re selling courses too!
Keep walking the walk. You’re awesome.
Dave
Thank you Dave, that means a lot!
You’re welcome!
Oh, and I totally forgot to mention, Dave, when I came across your work on Youtube I had – for the first time in years – the wish to do landscape photography again. Though it’s very different from sketching outside. Both are wonderful ways to connect with nature.
I find selling courses is a great way to keep in touch with my audience, give back to the community and at the same time make a living. It has given me a lot of freedom.
That’s great. Love it! Glad I could inspire you with your photos.
Selling courses is a great way to build a community and fund your goals.
Currently, I’m building out a video membership website, which is a brand new, and somewhat scary step to take, but I think it’s the future of the internet for creators.
It will be interesting to see how it differs from selling individual courses.
Freedom is the key component to creating new stuff:) Glad your courses are doing well.
Take care,
Dave
A lot of very good advice. Thank you for sharing.
Glad to hear you found it useful, Dave.
You’re welcome,
Dave
As always, your content is inspirational. I have reading more in this topic of ‘Niche Focus’ of lately and believe that it is true on how we as content providers can change our ways. Thank you for sharing.
Hi Nigel,
Thanks buddy, I really appreciate it.
Niche is the way to go for creators.
Good luck!
Dave
I always read what you share, Dave. You are absolutely spot on. I had a huge corporate sale when I first started my photography journey, but have never been able to duplicate that single sale. I finally realized my best market is local and have been steadily building a small but loyal following. Currently mulling over next steps and goals for 2020, so your newsletter is timely. Thanks!
Hi Nancy,
Good call by you. That’s the smart move.
Have a good one & thanks for reading,
Dave
Hi Dave,
Last Friday I left my secure job of 24 yrs in order to start a small photographic project that has been nagging in my mind for at least 24 month. Since Friday I have been inundated with doubts about my decision.
Your articule gives me the courage to stop doubting my judgement and to start experimenting.
Thank you
Esther
Hi Esther,
Good for you. Sounds like an exciting new project.
Glad you found the article helpful.
Have a good one,
Dave
Your post was great, Dave! I share it on Facebook and with email friends. You inspire people to look deeper, go further, and be true to themselves. You’re a role model and a muse. Gratitude pours out to you.
Creating relationships is my current goal in life – deep, real, sustainable relationships with those who matter most. That is what I’m building over the next 5 years. Keep writing! Your thoughts, words and actions matter so much to all of us out here! You’re being witnessed by many and mentoring many into a lifestyle that brings happiness.
Thanks for reading & sharing.
Really glad you liked the article.
That’s also one of my goals in life as well. It’s really hard to do.
Have a good one,
Dave
Great article. I needed to scratch my head couple times because I was not okay with some ideas. Not because those ideas were bad, quite the opposite. Biggest scratch came at the end with the very last question. Honestly, I don´t have any answer, but this is definitely great food for thought. Thank you!
You’re welcome, Stefan.
Let me know how it goes once you think everything over:)
Take care,
Dave
This was a very well written, informative and thought provoking blog, Dave. I appreciate your willingness to compose and share your thoughts, doubtlessly derived from your years of experience in and out of the field. A part of me reads it as how an ‘artist’ should approach the first stages of a Business Plan and maybe even a SWOT Analysis. And in that light you’ve given me a lot to think about. I especially like how you narrowed down the categories to help us pre-visualize where and we should direct our desires. I’m using that word ‘pre-visualize’ given how you’ve used it in prior blogs regarding your approach to photography, and how now, it is also an integral part of business planning. The bottom line is, many thanks. And stay safe.
You’re welcome, Chris.
Thanks for the kind words. They are much appreciated.
Have a good one,
Dave
Good points Dave. I started on a photography journey about 2 years ago and my goal going forward is to develop a niche. Looking forward to your future content!
Hey Pete,
Good to hear from you.
That’s great. Good for you man.
I have some previous articles which may help you out as well.
Best of luck!
Thank you! I’ll have some new photography content & writing up soon.
Take care,
Dave
Another great post Dave. Succinct and timely. Quite a few home-truths in the mix as well. I really like your style of writing too. Kind regards.
Thanks Gerard. Love to hear that.
Really glad you enjoy my style or writing too.
Always trying to improve.
Take care,
Dave
Keep it up Dave , I first found you through your book , which I really enjoyed . And I have been following you ever since . What I like best is your positive ideas / attitude on this rapidly changing world .
Merry Xmas
Hi Dwight,
I appreciate your kindness.
Thanks for purchasing my book as well!
A positive mindset never has any downsides, even on bad days:)
Take care & enjoy your Christmas as well.
Dave
Hi Dave,
Very well done, this is a great article and applicable widely, not simply to photography.
Kind regards
Gavin Wehlburg
Hi Gavin,
Thanks buddy. It’s a useful mindset for any business, that’s for sure.
Talk soon,
Dave
Awesome article my friend! Keep the inspiring content coming.
Thanks Iron.
Thanks Dave,
Great read. Your comments are always very insightful and thought provoking. Discussing the business and planning part of photography is an important topic. As a long time follower I’ve learned to trust your comments.
Thanks Tom, Glad you enjoyed it!
Have a goo done,
Dave
Both excellent and inspirational. At age 69, I only wish I had more time left on my clock to consider making a serious plan and committing to it. Excellent direction and advice for younger souls. I’ll continue to learn from you and maybe even live vicariously through your videos. Keep up the great work.👍
Hi George. Thanks for reading.
I don’t know you personally, but I bet you have enough time left to do some more big projects.
There’s some pretty good science that ties longevity to having a big purpose for living.
Having big projects also keep the brain thinking and neurons firing. There is also some good science that ties continued learning, later in life, to brain health, and longevity.
Take care,
Dave
Hi Dave,
Love your thoughts on big v’s small but there’s one thing that puzzles me. You said, “The creator, through blog posts, YouTube videos, podcasts, email, comments, and other free content, can grow trust & community, with like-minded people, without advertising.”
But elsewhere you recommended ditching social media because it steals your time. But if I work in my studio creating without a social media presence, how’s the world going to know?
Thanks for any advice.
Hi Robert,
Thank you.
Depending on social media is a really bad long term game. See my post on the topic here:
https://davemorrow.blog/2019/07/hidden-costs-social-media-for-creators
I would recommend not depending on it at all.
In that paragraph you mentioned, I didn’t mention the use of social media at all.
I put all my time into getting articles to the top of Google Search Rank for specific keywords. The same works within Youtube or any topic.
This is how you build long term traffic, without having to constantly post to social media.
Building an email list is also crucial, so when the traffic arrives, you can keep in touch with them once they leave your website.
This method was working very well before social and will continues to do so now.
I write about this in my other blog posts:)
Take care & good luck,
Dave
Dave, Bravo! I follow you from the very beginning, your articles are always original, helpful and excellent! guess it’s nature’s company and inspiration rubbing off! never give up!
Klaus
Thanks so much, Klaus.
Good to hear from you & I’m really glad the articles help you out.
Talk soon,
Dave
I enjoyed this article! The meaty part came when you mentioned to prepare for always being uncomfortable. How does one pin down exactly what is worthy of sharing? Thank you so much for a new way of thinking. I love your video intro with the 20 minute editing time limit. Thank you for the honesty and clarity in this article.
Glad to hear it, Rocky! Thanks so much.
Great read Dave. I also took your advice of reading “Deep Work” by Cal Newport and that was a great read. Although I’m still having issues balancing a work life with setting aside time and scheduling to that level. I think in the next 3-5 years I want to get that scheduling down and see where it takes me. Being from a BI-racial background, I think my work is to be done in that arena. It seems to have some gravity around me. Thanks for the inspiration as always! Since I’ve read DeepWork I’ve finally dumped all my photos onto my website (check it out if you want) and used your photo workflow (w/ some modifications) to simplify my process. It’s been great to use and let final edits be FINAL and not always be in a current state of tinkering.
Hope to see you popping up with some new videos soon.
-Paul W.
Hi Paul,
Glad you liked deep work.
Personally, I never find balance, but huge swings in some specific direction, then another, which seem to offset over time.
Best of luck!
Dave
How’s your winter going, Dave? I hope things are going well and look forward to seeing more of your 2019 season’s content and imagery.
This article was an incredible read, I’ve gone over it three times now. And more importantly, and actually taking action, haha.
Hey Matthew,
Winter was good, spring and summer have been busy & enjoyable.
How are your projects and actions going?
Dave
Hello Dave.
Thanks for the article and the motivating words and the new impulses. I was definitely able to take a few things with me.
The part titled “Now, the hard part. You need to start today, even if what you create is really bad.” is a bit tight for me and I would have liked that you could share more of your experience here – you might add to that.
How was it for you, did you just start sharing your stuff as a beginner on the blog?
The article says “think long-term”. Wouldn’t it be more damaging to just share the “bad” things? Would you scare off many readers with the “bad pictures”?
And I can remember in one of your videos where you mentioned only including the really good pictures in your portfolio and that you are very critical there.
Suppose you shared your beginnings as a photographer and grew over time. Would you then remove the bad articles, pictures, videos, etc. and rewrite, rotate, or just leave them online so your progress can be tracked?
As a reader, I am interested in the details and I do not hesitate to read an article that contains over 3000-5000 words.
Hope my constructive criticism helps you 🙂
Hi Adnan,
Good questions. I would recommend reading the rest of the articles in the blog, which cover many of them.
If you’re interested in learning everything, check out my landscape photography school membership. I cover all these topics in depth: https://www.davemorrowphotography.com/upgrade-membership
Take care,
Dave
Your blog has been very refreshing! Hope to see some more posts on here 🙌
Thanks Iron! Working on some right now, actually! Rainy days are good for writing.
It is the most important thing the photography’s professional life. We should always follow this content’s DO things and avoids the DON’T things. I think it is the best effective idea to set my mind on the Photography business.