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Part of PHOTOGRAPHY ENTREPRENEURSHIP 101<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n Dear friend,<\/p>\n If you don’t want to make money with your photography, please don’t read this.<\/p>\n Download PDF ><\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Okay, you still here? Cool. Let’s proceed.<\/p>\n As a liberal, socialist who studied Sociology at UCLA (left leaning school), who told myself that I’d never “Sell out to the man”, I’ve started my own capitalist enterprise. I’ve done pretty well for myself, and continue to grow, emotionally, spiritually, financially, and physically.<\/p>\n To me, life is about growth. If you’re not growing, you’re dying<\/strong>.<\/p>\n For example, if I hate smoking (I do), selling out would mean that I would accept a $1 million dollar payment (bribe) from Marlboro to shoot an advertisement campaign for them. Or to blog about how smoking cigarettes will make you more creative and inspired in your photography.<\/p>\n To sell yourself as a photographer: charge money for your services, and make a profit.<\/p>\n So, as you read this, what are your goals? What are you really trying to do?<\/p>\n There is no “right” or wrong. Just know, brutally honestly, what your aims are.<\/p>\n Okay this is my current mission statement:<\/p>\n \n I want to devote my life to creating open and free information, to empower the individual and humanity. Photography is just another channel or field I want to contribute to. Ultimately, my aim is to contribute to photography, art, culture, information, and society.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n To reach my aims in this capitalist world, I want to accrue money, power, and influence. I see money as a tool, and a means to an end. Not the end in itself.<\/p>\n To clarify,<\/p>\n \n I want to use money as a tool to help more people.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n To start, I gotta take care of my family. I gotta help myself, Cindy, my mom and sister, and Cindy’s family. That’s the first priority.<\/p>\n Then helping close friends, and others in my community.<\/p>\n Then all of humanity.<\/p>\n Okay, so this is the theory and practice I follow:<\/p>\n \n FREE or VERY EXPENSIVE.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n For example, my information is free. My products<\/a>, services, consulting, and experiences<\/a> are very expensive.<\/p>\n To me, everyone wins.<\/p>\n So essentially,<\/p>\n \n The richer I am, the more generous I am.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Ancient wisdom from Publius Syrus:<\/p>\n \n Don’t water the lawn of your neighbor, if your own plants are dying.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Another one:<\/p>\n \n Something is worth what the buyer is willing to pay for it.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Therefore,<\/p>\n To me, “marketing” is just another form of communication. You gotta get yourself and message in the public eye, ear, and heart.<\/p>\n There are many ways you can market yourself, the most ancient way was “word of mouth” and trust\/reputation.<\/p>\n So essentially my idea is this:<\/p>\n Therefore, the important things to focus on:<\/p>\n The secret is taking a lot of risks. To publish a lot. The more you swing your bat, the more likely you are to hit a home run.<\/p>\n Yet many of us are too afraid to swing. Why? Because society and bitter people hold us back.<\/p>\n A question to ask yourself,<\/p>\n \n Is it bad to sell yourself, or to “sell out?”\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n If so, why?<\/p>\n For example, I was taught money was the root of all evil. So if I made money I would be an evil person, and maybe go to hell.<\/p>\n Now, I’ve seen the light. I see money as a tool. Like fire. You can cook food, or kill people with fire.<\/p>\n \n Money, if used with wisdom, is useful (Seneca).\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Apparently it is bad to sell your art, because it de-legitimizes your commitment to your artistic vision.<\/p>\n I disagree. I agree with Andy Warhol who said, “The art of business is one of the most beautiful forms of art.”<\/p>\n I don’t think you must sell yourself or art to be seen as “successful” in the eyes of society. However, I do believe that selling yourself, services, labor, and art is helpful.<\/p>\n You need to survive. You need to not<\/em> starve to death, die of thirst, or die from the cold.<\/p>\n Money is a nice modern invention which prevents us from starving to death.<\/p>\n Money helps us pay rent (prevent freezing to death), pay for food (fight off starvation), and for water (and coffee) not to die of thirst.<\/p>\n And then we like having money for transportation, modern conveniences like our espresso machines, wifi, digital devices, cars, etc.<\/p>\n The more money we have, the more options we have in life.<\/strong><\/p>\n The more options you have, the more freedom you have.<\/p>\n You have the option where to live. What and where to eat. What kind of coffee to enjoy.<\/p>\n You have control over your time. Your schedule. Essentially, having money allows you to have power and control over your life.<\/strong><\/p>\n But you can still be a billionaire and not control your own life.<\/p>\n Easy heuristic (rule of thumb) from Nassim Taleb whether you own yourself or not:<\/p>\n \n Can you take a nap when you want to?\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n It ain’t bad to sell out. You gotta sell yourself and services to make money.<\/p>\n So how to sell yourself? Some ideas:<\/p>\n These strategies are very morally sound to me.<\/p>\n This is how you sell out, and sell your soul:<\/p>\n \n Accept money, no matter what your personal ethics or morals.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n If you wanna sell out to feed your family, that’s totally cool with me. But if you sell out just to buy that new Mercedes, I would probably look down on you.<\/p>\n And at the end of the day, just trust your gut. I think the gut (stomach, intuition) is smarter than the brain.<\/p>\n Don’t be too rational in life. That’s boring.<\/p>\n Rather, harness the creative spontaneity and inspiration in your soul.<\/p>\n And know there is nothing wrong with charging money and accepting money for your photographic or artistic labor. Just try your best not to sell your soul. And if you are gonna sell your soul, don’t sell it for cheap<\/strong>.<\/p>\n BE STRONG, Learn how to make a living from your passion:<\/p>\nWhat is selling vs “selling out”?<\/h2>\n
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What are you trying to do?<\/h2>\n
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What are your aims, Eric?<\/h2>\n
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<\/a>Barbell pricing: Free or Very Expensive<\/h2>\n
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Photo: James Lipman \/ jameslipman.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n
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How to market yourself<\/h2>\n
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Why is selling or selling out bad?<\/h2>\n
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How to overcome your shame of making money<\/h2>\n
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Why do you need money?<\/h2>\n
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More money, more options.<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nHow to sell yourself<\/h2>\n
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How to sell out<\/h2>\n
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Follow your gut.<\/h2>\n
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\nERIC<\/p>\n
\nPHOTOGRAPHY ENTREPRENEURSHIP 101<\/a><\/h1>\n
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\nHow to Make Money with Photography<\/h2>\n
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Photography Marketing 101<\/h2>\n
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How to Hustle.<\/h2>\n
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Entrepreneurial Principles<\/h2>\n
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How to be a Full-time\u00c2\u00a0Photographer<\/h2>\n
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Photography Blogging<\/h2>\n
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How to Teach Photography<\/h2>\n
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Social Media<\/h2>\n
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How to Save Money<\/h2>\n