marketing – Promoting Passion

How My Business Has Never Been Better

brookeshaden — Mon, 08 Jan 2018 14:20:13 +0000

I started my career and worked completely alone for 4.5 years. It came to my attention that I was about to fall apart into a million pieces, so I hired an assistant. Things got a lot better. I felt that, while the workload was lessened a bit, the real benefit was feeling less alone. I felt like I had someone to share the failures with and the highlights, like someone really cared about my business other than me (and my Love, of course). And then, a year ago, we stopped working together and I’ve been back on my own since then.

I was nervous about how it would go, since my business has only grown over those years with a lot of different balls in the air. One big thing changed though, from the time I hired someone to the time that ended: I fully realized what having a business is all about.

I stopped seeing business as transactional
and instead saw it as community-driven.

The moment I started seeing every email as a real person with feelings, it became much easier and more motivating to keep up.

Let me just say: running a business can be lonely.

Most of the professionals I know have assistants or even teams to help out with odds and ends. I’ve always been a loner and prefer it that way. I like to know that I am the one doing the work. I also have trust issues, as I feel many people who have started a business do. I don’t trust that others will do the work as well as I can. Delusional? Probably. Maybe. Eh…

Going into this past year I was worried. I really feared that everything would fall apart. I feared I wouldn’t be able to keep up with all the emails or remember all of the things I used to forget. So, here’s my report, and my lessons learned.

My 24 hour email policy has been incredible. I’ve been able to respond to emails honestly, efficiently, and in half the time it used to take me.

I’ve never, in all my career, assistant or not,answered emails
as thoroughly, thoughtfully and quickly as this past year.

The only thing that changed was a commitment to the people behind the emails. I wanted to show them that I care and that my responses hold heart. I wanted to show them that their words are important, no matter if they are offering me a job or not, kind words or criticism, or if they’ve sent 3 emails to bypass the word limit. I see you…

Here is a great example of how my organization and emailing has helped my business. Years ago, you would be lucky if you heard back from me within a month, let alone a day. Even with an assistant, emails would get missed and never remedied. But now, since I started my new email policy, I get an email at least once a week solely to say how grateful the writer is for my quick response and professionalism. I’m not saying this to assert that my business is somehow better; but for me, I’ve grown leaps and bounds, and it is showing (and bringing in more business recommendations). That really means something.

I deal with emailing creatives a lot. I have to, to invite speakers for my Promoting Passion Convention. Only about 1 in 15 people will email me back within a 48 hour period. Maybe about half will write back within two weeks, and half will never respond. I am astounded at how difficult and alienating it is to get in touch with creative professionals, so dealing with emails in a quick and professional manner can really go a long way.

Another thing that I’ve decided to do this last year, which was easier than years past, is to say no better. I’m still absolutely awful at it. I’ve already agreed to 5 things in the first half of next year that I’m regretting. But, I did get better. I’ve turned down about 25 jobs (some big, some very small) for this new year in the past few months alone. First, it has been easier because I’m not paying an employee, so I had the extra financial wiggle-room. I know this is a luxury and I very much appreciate what a fortunate situation that is to be in. Second, I started to truly value my time more. Life is for living, let’s not forget that.

I started noticing that there is a very direct correlation between my organization and my health. When I am organized (for example, finishing taxes on a monthly basis instead of all at once, or keeping my office clean), I feel more clear-headed and ready to be inspired. When I can easily settle into a routine without worrying about all the loose-ends, I am so much happier.

My business has never been better. Period.

As a creative, that is important for health, wellness, and sanity. Most importantly, it is essential for my inspiration. To reiterate, these are the ways I managed to do it all on my own (after years of practice, mind you):

Behind every email is a person. If you met in a coffee shop, chances are you’d feel a lot more kindly to that person, so imagine every email is a coffee shop encounter. A really good one. And respond as though you were standing there in person. Emails can be annoying. And not every email is worth the time. But most are, because most are really nice people with kindness in their hearts. Call me a hippie, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that we are good to each other.
Say no so that you carve your career into what you want it to be, not what others want it to be. That will lead to a healthier and happier life, and will earn you more expertise in what you want to do.
Give priority to organization so that your creative brain isn’t distracted by clutter.
Write a comprehensive, timed to-do list at the end of every work day for the day ahead.

The past year has been transformational for me in these regards. With that daily to-do list, for example, I am hyper focused. I also feel a greater sense of accomplishment as I work my way through my day.

I’ve become really good at taking care of
myself without feeling disadvantaged.

I used to look at other professionals and whine that I don’t have help and therefore I can’t achieve what they can. Yes, that is a valid argument in some situations, but not most. I’m a one-person show and heck yes, I’m proud of that. You should be too, no matter where you’re at.

Let’s face it – most of us are not in a position to have a team of people working for us. And, something I’ve come to terms with is that right now in my career, I have no desire for that. I’m much happier when I’m working alone on the whole. I don’t aspire to hire a team. Maybe in the future I will, and I’m open to that mindset changing. But for now, I’m going to keep blasting the Alice in Wonderland soundtrack in my little office while chain-drinking tea and smiling dreamily at my imagination. Alone. Because as entrepreneurs, we can do that.

What changes have you made that
give you a healthier creative life?

Will you take any of these changes
and apply them to your business?

Promoting Passion Week 93: Portfolio

brookeshaden — Mon, 16 Nov 2015 14:23:43 +0000

My travels have taken me far away this time around, and in honor of that, I disconnected. I have four videos lined up for you this week to make up for my three week absence, and gosh was it worth it. I had the best time with my friends exploring temples in Cambodia, volunteering with rescued elephants in Thailand, and finally opening a school in India. But more on all of that later. For now, I wanted to share something I’ve been thinking of for a long time, and that is how we represent ourselves as artists.

Not everyone reading this page is a traditional artist, but this thought process applies nonetheless. To understand how and why you create, and to put that out there with everything you do, takes discipline and a unique understanding of yourself. I can safely say I do not have that down yet, but I will continue to strive for it. I’ll be sharing a video soon about a change in my own thought process and how I know myself as an artist, but first, a look into the ever-important portfolio and how we put that out there.

I saw a really casual video a few weeks ago of an artist’s work, and it made me want to know more about them. Alas, it was a video put together by someone else and there was no artist credit, so I never did find that artist. It started me thinking though about how much we can control how our content is consumed, and seeing that video inspired me to make one of my own. We are largely a visual people, so to bee able to set images to music and see them scroll without having to click buttons feels like a good way to do some sharing.

Creating a Portfolio Video:

Find a video editing source, like iMovie, Windows Movie Maker, or Animoto.
Choose your images. I chose 30 of my own images to put in the slideshow, and made sure that they flowed together and represented what I feel are some of my strongest works from the past five years, favoring newer works to take up at least half of the video.
Pick a song. When I picked the music to go with my images, I chose something with no lyrics, so as not to put any unwanted ideas into the viewer’s head. I also chose something cinematic, haunting, and timeless…all keywords that I use to describe my own art.
Create a YouTube channel if you don’t have one already. (Or Vimeo, or any other video sharing site!). Talk about easy and free marketing! You never know who is going to stumble on a YouTube channel.
Share it in the comments. Once you have your video complete, share a link in the comments of this post so that I can sit back and enjoy some amazing art.

I created this incredibly simple video of my portfolio, set to music that I feel fits the tone of my work. What I know is that it can’t hurt to put it out there, and it took me about 40 minutes to create in total – from downloading the images to putting them in iMovie to exporting. I licensed the music from SongFreedom.com and it is “Mystery” by Zero Bedroom Apartment. So, for the cost of only $30, I put together a portfolio, shared it for free on YouTube, and it has the look and feel I desire for my work.

I invite everyone to create a little video of your work, and to share it in the comments here so that we can discover one another as we would like to be discovered! Happy creating as always everyone, and I hope your past month was as exhilarating as mine…can’t wait to share!

East Coast/West Coast Workshops!

brookeshaden — Thu, 24 Apr 2014 14:37:25 +0000

2-Day Storytelling & Compositing Workshop in Fieldsboro/Princeton, NJ on June 13 & 14

This 2-day, 16 hour workshop goes through the ins and outs of finding your personal style, voice and story while applying creative techniques for shooting and editing. From inspiration exercises to five hours of shooting in a beautiful (and potentially haunted) location, to a full editing session and business lecture, we’ll go over how to be inspired to shoot creative scenes, edit those scenes, and potentially sell them as well.

Cost: $975 per person. Breakfast and lunch is included for the first day and lunch for the second day.

This class will…

– Provide exercises for inspiration and style building
– Show many different creative shooting techniques
– Focus on storytelling as a way to identify style and sell your work
– Provide a full editing tutorial
– Give an in-depth look at image compositing
– Give a business foundation for selling art work

Please check the website to download an information packet with full schedule or to sign up!

1-Day Business Workshop in Phoenix, AZ on June 28, 2014

This 8 hour workshop takes the mystery out of business. From the art of selling photography to marketing, branding, social media, pricing, and style building, we will go over how to take your business up a notch by becoming more self-aware and constructively critical of your brand.

When I started photography seriously at the beginning of 2009 I thought I had picked up a fun hobby. One year later, no one was more surprised than I was to find I was quitting my job to pursue photography full time. One year after that, as I predicted, I had the beginnings of a business but no cash flow whatsoever. Things had to change, and I started to take a serious look at who I was as a photographer and how that translated into business. My business has been growing each year, and now that I feel secure that my business can support my lifestyle, I want to pass on what I’ve learned to you.

Cost: $475 per person. Breakfast and lunch is included in price. Prepared notes will be given to each attendee to take home regarding best business practices.