How To Turn $1,000 Projects Into $10,000 With Retainers

The client acquisition process can be long and frustrating.

You send hundreds of emails, book dozens of calls, and send handfuls of proposals, only to end up booking a project for a grand.

It’s a great feeling when you book your first...

I was having a conversation with some friends the other night. They were trying to think of the next big thing, the next new widget, something that doesn’t exist that they could sell. I chimed in saying you don’t need anything new, you just need to repeat what’s been done...

You are your habits. In life you’re either moving forward or falling behind. Habits are the daily actions you take that make you 1% better each day.

I have a lot of habits that I follow on a daily and weekly basis. Rather than list off all the individual habits, I’ll be talking...

Before we get started, this is not about me criticizing people who are incredible photographers. As an art form, you should aim for perfection. But as freelancers running a creative business, perfection will bury you.

At the end of the day, our creative business needs to have money coming...

Pricing hourly is the wrong way to go about it.

Your time will become directly tied to how much you can make.

If you charge 100 bucks an hour and a typical project takes 10 hours, you’ll make 1000 bucks.

On the surface, there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with this. If I charge...

Systems In Creative Business

Using systems in your business is easy. Systems will lead to more clients, a better experience for clients, fewer headaches for you, and a more efficient workflow.

Every creative business is going to differ in how it runs. My client onboarding will look different from...

How I’d Start A Portrait Photography Biz

Yes you read that right. Today we’re taking a step back from product photography, and talking about how to go about starting a portrait photography business.

This isn’t your traditional business model. I’m taking all...

Managing It All & Staying Sane

As a freelancer/creative entrepreneur, you’re going to go through some busy periods. Just like there are slow seasons, there are stretches that you’re going to have to work hard. You’re going to have multiple projects to juggle, clients...

Here’s something no one talks about in the creative business world: problem solving. My formal education is in chemistry. Problem solving was what I did every day.

It’s true chemistry and photography may seem a world apart, but the problem solving I learned by getting my...

How Doing Less Makes You More Money

The less you offer, the more you make. Don't offer headshots, product photos, videos, animation, graphic design, and prints. Pick 1 or 2 

Jack Of All Trades, Master Of None

There are a lot of good creatives out there. Your job is to be better than them....

Red Flags From Potential Clients

Let’s get one thing out of the way. I love my clients. 95% of them are easy to work with and let me help them in the best way I know how.

I ask this question to learn how to better serve them, rather than to weed people out.

But the law of large...

Humans think funny.

It’s much easier to find problems rather than to identify solutions.

If you can identify all the problems going on in your photography business first, then you can think of direct solutions to those problems.

So how do we stay poor as photographers?

Only Say Yes...