Six Peeps

November 10, 2007

Some thoughts at the stroke of midnight…

Happy Friday night! I hope all my peeps are out getting drunk. I’m in AZ doing a few things. Another wedding here this weekend and some work to do at the Scottsdale gallery.

I think people worry about me. Anyone who knows me knows that I don’t sleep much. Going to bed at 1:00 AM and waking up at 5:30 is not abnormal for me. I do this a lot. Sometimes I will do it over and over and over again and then suddenly its like I will decide, “OK I better get some sleep” and I will sleep in like crazy until like 9:30 AM or something (usually on what else, but SPLURGE DAY!). It feels good, but I hate thinking about all the good living that goes to waste when I’m sleeping. Last weekend my wedding clients and now friends Tom and Nicole, put me up at the St. Regis Dana Point near Laguna Beach, CA. Oh man this bed was HUGE. I slept like crazy, easily until 10 AM. I really needed that. I’m working on my favorites from that wedding now so their blog post will prob show up here in the next day or so. Awesome stuff.

I blame myself for the monster I have created. My wedding photography business is doing well. I have always loved being a wedding photographer. I just love photographing people. Unlike lots of photographers, I’m not totally obsessed with having clients that look like models. Everyone has that certain trait about them, a toothy grin, profiles, and features, and those things that makes us different. Mostly it’s our expressions that define us and I like the challenge of capturing them. I always want to be a wedding photographer, but I am trying to really rebuild my workflow so that it’s efficient and, well… flowing. This means I am changing a lot of stuff. That means lots of work. Should result in a more enjoyable lifestyle, NOT in ten years when I hope to retire, but 6 months.

There’s another business that I have not really talked about that I started 5 years ago… and FINALLY I am realizing how stupid it has been of me to not give it the sunshine and fresh water it needs to flourish. So lately, it has been a big project, bringing my online proofing company back to life. Online proofing is competitive, but our new system is going to kick serious booty in the funniest way. I can’t break the news to you of WHY, but it definitely will be making a huge comeback this year and I am really excited. OK, I’ll at least give you a sneak preview a’ la Cory “Grunk” Grunkemeyer, my bike advisor, web developer.

We need a new logo, maybe even rename the whole thing to something less “businessy”, something more fun and catchy. But the new design is CLEAN. I hate clutter. This is not too cluttered.

Our new system is going to be one that I will (finally) be proud to use myself as a photographer. I hope other photographers will be proud to use it as well. The new version will allow us to reintroduce it to the market and give an old fashioned sharp kick to the shins of our competitors. I don’t know if it will ever result in a KO but I’m happy with a kick to the shins.

I remember a few years ago, I had stopped working on Pro Photo Alliance. We had like, 65 photographers using it, but I was tired of working on it. We got it too the point where it would work on it’s own - handle incoming transactions, route orders, pay photographers their net, etc. But I sort of forgot about it. I was at a party and overheard these two girls talking about girl #1’s sister’s wedding. Girl #2 was like, “oh I want to see the pictures” and #1 was all, “oh man they are online on this web site called “pro photo alliance”. Girl #2, “who was your photographer?” Girl #1; it was… she gave her name but I didn’t know who she was… Then suddenly it hit me… “hey!” (I thought to myself), “They are talking about MY pro photo alliance!”. That was a neat realization. I hope to hear that same conversation some day when I am not in Colorado. Tokyo maybe. But would they still call it Pro Photo Alliance? They might be talking about it but I just don’t know the language!

Back to Stranger than Fiction…

These past few days I have felt like Will Ferrell, as I have been listening to an audiobook on my iPhone over and over and over again. It gets to the point where there is a voice talking to me and occasionally I forget my earphones are in and have to remember it’s my iPhone and not some weird voice in my head. It’s the most valuable audiobook I think I have listened to yet. I will continue to listen to it until I really feel that I understand every single bit of it. Just a book on business, nothing too exciting to most of my peeps, I’m sure, but to me I really believe it holds the secret to something specific that has recently been on my mind. It’s about business, but I think it just might save my life.

Blogging: Keep it all weddings, or Blog the personal stuff?
My friend Jim and I have had some debates on blogging. His blog only shows wedding photos. And here at sixpeeps.com I am bearing my nipples for all the world to see! Jim thinks that the blog won’t help your business if you post personal stuff. I say, “general interest” topics keep people interested. I don’t want JUST brides visiting my blog, I want every one in the WORLD visiting my blog. Then if one of my peeps gets engaged or has a friend that becomes engaged, well, I want to be the first person they think of. Anyway, maybe Jim will see the light one of these days. ha. The guy shoots upwards of 300 weddings a year as a studio so what does he know. I will continue to hold my ground and provide great general interest posts for my peeps. Even if it means shaving my chest and taking off my shirt! Hey Jim, enroll in my Master Class this year. I’ll be talking all about the blog, the number one free marketing tool. Just kidding. Jim to me is like the God Father of wedding photography. He’s like Mister Miagi and I am like the Karate Kid, black eye. “Show me PAINT THE FENCE!” “WAX ON”! “WAX OFF”! (jenny and I were just reminiscing about that flick. I think Jenny said she saw it the other day.

Here’s to “general interest”. Good night!

November 10, 2007 |