Business advice from Big Head

The agenda for Tuesday

I've been away from the corporate world for two months now.  As I sit and think, it doesn't seem like I've done much or made much forward progress.  But then I look at the easel with my giant notepad full of stuff to do.  Pages full of lists, most of them with items crossed out as completed.  In a couple of months I've become a legitimate business with local, state, and federal tax IDs.  I have a bank account, an accountant, and a registered trade name.  I have all sorts of insurance and can take credit card payments.  There are Photo Steevo ads running in print and online.  I've gone from working with one other photographer to three.  I've sold big prints, signed wedding contracts, and have a cover shot on an upcoming magazine.  I'm going to Toastmasters meetings and getting involved with the New Orleans Photo Alliance.  In the next two months, business will take me to North Carolina, Ohio, and Florida.

There's a little corner store two houses down from me run by a Vietnamese guy who calls himself Big Head.  It's a simple, cash only business, but it's his.  When we got to talking about me starting my business, he gave me one piece of advice - be patient.  Things will not always go as quickly or in the direction that you expect, but keep at it.

When meeting with my accountant to talk about how messy my taxes are going to be, she responded to my self loathing about this year's drop in income with "be patient, you're a startup."

Every day I wake up and look at how far I am from where I want to be.  Every day I have to remind myself to be patient.  The list above doesn't show any individual giant leaps forward, but taken together, the items show a gradual increase in forward momentum.

This is me being patient.

And this is me going to buy an energy drink from Big Head.  There's so much that I want to do...