1-1-2024: Let's Get Started

Ideas and challenges for this soon-to-be crazy year.

Photo by the author.

OK, it’s here.

2024.

Yeah, it showed up last night with a bunch of fireworks, booms, and screams of joy.

I am told.

I slept through it. Always do.

To me, it is just another day, but I have never been interested in assigning more meaning to it than what it has.

Taxes, corporate papers, and such—yeah, the first day is the beginning of a new designation.

But for me, it is simply another day, another opportunity to get up, get going, and get stuff done.

A gift, really.

Every day is.

So here we are on this mythical, magical, mystical day of starting over.

Resolutions are made today. Traditional, I suppose.

I don’t make resolutions, as I have a phobia about quitting them… heh.

But I do look at my systems—the ones in place that I am working with from day to day, week to week.

Some have to be modified.

Some have or will be dropped in favor of new ones.

And a few will be started from scratch this quarter.

This year, I predict, is gonna be a mutha…

A real mutha.

Here are a few links I want to share with you for a variety of reasons.

First of all, you know that I believe that being able to offer more than just photography is going to be the biggest way to future-proof your business and art.

If you are a photographer, learn to do design, motion graphics, video, and web design.

Or find someone to do it for you as a vendor.

Finding a wide range of income channels is imperative, my friends.

We have entered the age of AI.

The dust is still settling and will be for a while, but I see too many people choosing to remain ignorant of what it can do, how it does it, and how it is going to impact our lives, both personally and creatively.

Here are ten ideas for January 2024 that can help you tune up your business to understand and use the best tools to create sustainability.

1. Check out these no-code web development tools.
   Wix Studio
   Framer
   Webflow (for those who know a bit of code)
   Start playing around and learn how to manipulate a web page. It is not rocket science, and there is plenty of help on YouTube. All of these have free plans to allow you to learn the skills needed.

2. Find some vendors to work with on Fiverr or Freelancer.
   Look for talent with lots of 5-star ratings, have them do a little gig or two, and develop a network of talented people who do what you do not. Then offer those services as ancillary to what you do. Client needs a website, great. Have your developer build in through Fiverr; add it (with considerable value-based fees) to your photo fees.

3. Spend at least three hours per week watching graphic design videos to learn a ton of great info on the art and skill of graphic and web design. I suggest these three: Satori, Will Paterson, and Flux Academy.

4. Put good stuff into your brain a couple of times a week.
   The Futur, Dan Koe, and Behind the Brand.

5. Learn to use Adobe Illustrator.
   Learn to work with vectors and design some stuff.

6. Challenge yourself to make your photos move. From simple Ken Burns effects to adding graphics, stop motion, cinemagraphs, and video clips, MOTION is the word for 2024. Do not ignore this vital skill.

7. Read more, or listen to audiobooks.
   I have never regretted my Audible account. I have been exposed to so many great ideas and executable actions, that it is one of the highpoints of my day. Driving to the store is now a brain filling adventure.
   Listen to these.
   Stop Doing That Sh*t: End Self-Sabotage and Demand Your Life Back
   Gonzo Capitalism: How to Make Money in an Economy That Hates You
   The Power of One More: The Ultimate Guide to Happiness and Success
   You’re welcome.

8. Limit social media, while exploiting social media.
   You need it for your business and your marketing. But be careful with the soon-to-come tsunami of political shit coming our way. Hate will flow like molten lave into every crevasse of our world. Be above it, and refuse to be dragged down by it.
   Be focused on building up, pushing forward, and presenting yourself as a huge positive in a sea of small and petty twits.

9. Master GPT. it is a tool that must be harnessed. Use it for outlines, checklists, to-dos, code, research, and whatever you can find for it to do at speeds you simply cannot. I am not telling you to write blogs with it, I am saying get to know this tool because it, and others like it, will dominate the coming few years.

10. Get a hobby.
    Remember before the internet when we would do stuff for the sheer joy of doing it? Hobbies are an important part of life, and just because we make a quilt doesn’t mean we have to open a Shopify account and begin a business. From painting, to crafts, to kayaking, to photography even - it is totally OK to do something that you are not ‘monetizing’.
    

Start a 365 project. A photo a day, or an article a day, or both! Perhaps you choose a specific camera or choose to shoot whatever is in your hand at the moment. A photo a day is a terrific way to build confidence and commit to doing something more than a simple snap.

Make a book of your year. One page, one image, one entry. A big, thick book of your life as an artist.

BTW, start today!

And I hope it is a terrific year for you and yours.

When you are ready, here is how I can help you succeed.

Group Mentorship: a small group of photographers who meet to show images, work on their portfolio, and build their businesses with help from a wonderful group. Lifetime membership for one fee.

One-on-one Mentorship: You and me - working together in an intense 6-month push to get you on the way to over $30K in additional revenue. The work we lay down will help you increase and scale your business for years ahead.

The Creative Class: Expand your toolset and become a one-person visual agency capable of pulling in steady and repeated income. If you have questions, let me know, and I will answer them as fast as possible.
Discount codes for In the Framers:
Cohort Discount $197: $1000  |  A23CD7E72E
Creator Discount: $100: $197  |  2BA98E4053