When we rebranded the Photography Business Institute, I wanted us to have a mascot. Right away there was a clear winner. The squirrel! But not for the reason you may think. If you’re facing a slump in your photography business right now, or you have in the past and you want to know how to recover faster when you do, this episode is for you.
Since the Photography Business Institute is a business training center for professional photographers, we decided a squirrel would be the perfect mascot because instead of being the poster child for distraction, I really wanna reframe the squirrel and what the squirrel means. The squirrel is a reminder to take action over distraction. Here are five lessons we can all learn from the fabulous tiny little squirrel about not just surviving, but thriving in the competitive photography industry.
- Prepared
Squirrels plan ahead. They gather and store food months before winter. They’re always preparing for bad weather. Not only do they have stored food, they have places to take shelter in a storm. As photographers, we must be preparing our marketing and promotional planning ahead of time, not last minute.
- Resilient
Squirrels don’t let their little bitty size hold them back. They adapt and find ways to survive. If you think being small is a weakness, it’s also a strength. In business, you don’t need to be the biggest, have a giant studio or a ton of gear.
- Connected
You never see squirrels by themselves. You might see one by themselves, but I guarantee if you pan around, you will see many more squirrels. This is because squirrels depend on their communities to stay safe and thrive. Just like we do. You cannot build a photography business without ever leaving home. We’ve got to get out into our communities. We’ve got to meet vendors, frame companies or other business owners who might be good partners with you.
- Have fun
Squirrels play, fight, and chase each other all over the place. If you’re just going to build a photography business with the sole intention of making a lot of money and you’re not willing to have fun and enjoy the process, you’re not going to make it very long.
- Impact Makers
You probably haven’t thought about this, but this itty bitty animal is responsible for planting thousands of acorns that turn into huge oak trees that they live in and it gives shelter and food for other animals. As humans we use the wood to build houses, furniture and so many things. As photographers we too must be planting seeds, not just for our own tree, but for the betterment of the world. That is how we make an impact. Every interaction, every piece of content, every connection that we have is planting seeds. We teach, we mentor, we inspire, we show our kids that we can go do hard things by building a business and that builds a lasting legacy. Money doesn’t go on but the lessons you teach your kids can.
