We were lucky to catch up with Adam Hunkapiller recently and have shared our conversation below.
Adam, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s talk about innovation. What’s the most innovative thing you’ve done in your career?
Prior to starting my own real estate photography business, I worked for a cross-cultural and leadership development professional. As the owner was growing her business, she and I decided, in order to reach more people, we needed to create videos and put them on a website. We were essentially ahead of our time in creating an online course, the likes of what you find everywhere now. So, with no knowledge of web design, photography, or videography, I undertook the challenge of scripting, creating and editing videos as well as designing a website and creating a course format to deliver a curated learning experience for our clients. We sold the use of our content to multiple clients and received overwhelming positive feedback. Unbeknownst to me at the time, this was a foreshadowing moment of the life I would eventually pursue.
Adam, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I started my career not knowing where I was going or how to get there.
Out of high school I decided to join the Marine Corps reserves, serving 6 years in the infantry and attaining the rank of Sergeant. During that period I attended college, until my education was put on hold while I was deployed to Iraq. Upon returning home, I re-enrolled in school. After completing my military contract, I moved to Germany for a year as part of a study abroad program. Once I graduated, I moved back to Germany then to Oman, where I lived and taught English for three years so I could understand more about the Middle East from the perspective of a civilian. During my time in Germany and Oman I had the good fortune to travel around Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Afterwards, I moved to Boston to attend gradate school at Lesley University. During my time in Boston, both my kids were born. After seven years, we moved back to Murfreesboro to be closer to family and friends.
So how did I get here? Well, the decision to embark on this journey has been the culmination of a lifetime of passions I’ve had as well as skills and experiences I’ve gained. Starting this business felt like the perfect intersection of all these things. All my life I have been artistic: drawing, painting, and creating pottery growing up. When I was living in Europe, I took up photography and learned how to use a DSLR camera. In my first job out of grad school, I worked at Dreambridge Partners, where I had the opportunity to manage projects, create videos, and design a website. Then later, at an international coffee chain, I had the opportunity to lead people and manage a business.
If you imagine a Venn diagram, my current business is the spot where all these passions I have and skills I’ve developed over the years overlap: art, creativity, photography, project management, photo/video production, leadership and business management.
What I love about the work I do is that I get the opportunity to take my passion for art and apply it each day. I get to interact with clients and home owners and develop relationships and provide them the best possible service and products.
I’m most proud of the fact that I found a way to thrive out of years of rejection. After years of pursuing things I thought I wanted to do, and having all the doors shut on me, and feeling rudderless in my career, I finally had an epiphany, I was going to start my own business. I wasn’t going to let my sense of career self worth be defined by what someone else thought, and whether or not I was deemed ‘good enough’ or the ‘right fit’ for their company. And while I felt down and defeated for quite some time, I came out the other end feeling better and more engaged then I’ve felt in years. And it’s because I’m pursing something I’m passionate about! I’m also proud of the fact that I’ve been able to teach myself all the necessary skills for my business and get it up and running from nothing. I’ve used existing equipment, talked to people I know, and utilized every resource I could to make this a reality.
My goal it to hone in on what I know and have learned over the year: develop relationships and deliver the highest quality product/service possible. This is playing the long game. It may take longer to get where I want to be, but when I get there it will be worth it. You will be known for something, no matter what you do, so what do you want to be know for? For me, it’s quality, service, and genuine relationships.
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
I love to read! And there are a number of books that have helped me develop my leadership style. Which I do believe is different than management. The former being more people oriented and the latter more operationally oriented. While both are important and necessary, I believe that leadership is the foundation for management. I’ll explain. I’ve had leaders in the past that were horrible leaders and those that were amazing. I did what both said. However, the former I respected for their title, and the latter I respected as a person. And so I believe that with great leadership, you are able to have great management, because, if done correctly, you are not spending your time on compliance, your are spending your time developing people and they are doing their best for you because you believe in them, not because it’s simply what they are supposed to do.
Mindset by Carol Dweck: This taught me about having a growth mindset, which has been invaluable to me. I have always learned things quickly, which I have also learned is a blessing and a curse. Because, if I ever struggled with something in the past, I just assumed I wasn’t good at it and needed to move on. I had a fixed mindset. It wasn’t until I learned how to persevere that I got better. And that growth mindset is a necessary component in people I lead. They must either have or develop this, because I have to be able to give feedback to help them grow and develop, and they have to be able to accept it as an opportunity for such. If they can’t, then I can’t coach them, they don’t grow, and it doesn’t sever either of us
Turn the Ship Around by David Marquet: After reading this book, I started leading differently immediately! This had one of the most profound impacts on how I lead. I realized, as a leader, I can’t take everything on myself. I have to develop leaders and put faith in them to lead in my absence. Otherwise, I will run myself into the ground trying to have my hands in everything and do everything myself. At some point that is simply unsustainable.
Leading Change by John Kotter: This book is basic change management and lays out a framework for how to make that happen. Change is necessary, and as I’ve discovered, it’s not about the things your implement, it’s about the people. No change is successful without changing the mindset of the people who have to implement or work through the change on a daily basis.
Also, anything by Edgar Schein or Brene Brown.
The thread that ties all of these books together is people. If you coach, develop, and treat people right, I believe you will have a team that is capable of anything.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
I have been on a journey to discover my career path for a long time. I always felt like others knew what they wanted to do and I, for whatever reason, was still trying to figure it out. At first I didn’t know what I wanted to do so in undergrad I just studied things that interested me: German, philosophy, and psychology. Fun, but not very marketable. I went to grad school to study what I wanted to pursue – international education. Because living abroad had such a profound impact on me and my outlook on the world, I wanted to be a part of fostering that experience for others. I discovered consulting during my graduate studies and decided to pursue something along that path instead, but from a cross-cultural perspective. It would give me the ability to help build the skills in people to make them cultural decoders and problem solvers and become more successful. After a few years of doing that work, I ended up at well known coffee shop chain where I learned leadership skills and managed multiple stores over a number of years. I was certain this was my career path. I had plans of working my way up to district manager and beyond. So I took on extra projects, led an area-wide roll out of a new system, mentored my peers, and had mentors of my own. Despite all my efforts, that path didn’t pan out. I didn’t know what my path was anymore, because that was the plan all along! So I went back to the drawing board, tried to dig deep and figure out where I wanted to go. After some time I realized it, learning and development! I had always had a passion for teaching, helping people solve problems, and develop skills. This was what I really wanted all along! So I networked, and got selected to a project management mentorship program. I was also part of a very selective group of about 100 managers nation-wide that participated in an internal project management certification program. This time it was happening. I applied, interviewed, and nothing! That’s fine, I thought. I’ll just look outside of the company. More than 130 applications later, still nothing, other than about 130 rejections. I was totally defeated. I had finally known where I wanted to go, took all the right steps, networked and listened to the advice of my mentors, and still I couldn’t find anything. I felt stuck, like this was going to be it for me. I had peaked in my career as a store manager, I thought. And I sat with this for a long time, trying to figure out what went wrong, why I wasn’t selected for anything. I’m and Eagle Scout, I had military experience, a BA and MA, international work experience, years of leadership experience with a great track record. What was I missing? It was the lowest I had been in my professional career. And then one day, and I honestly don’t know how, it popped in my head – real estate photography! I knew realtors, how to use a camera, and how to edit videos. The start-up cost was low because I had some equipment already that I could use. I just needed to learn a few new skills and apply what I already knew and there I was! I was going to plot my own course! And off I went! I was free of needing the approval of a hiring manager to move on in my career. I was free of trying to fit into the perfect box that was needed to fill this role or that. I was free of trying to be what everyone else needed me to be in order to be successful. I was free of it all, and I had a path and purpose again! I felt like I was being an authentic version of me. And that gave me so much drive. I would come home from my job and dive into building the business late into the night and on my days off, and I wouldn’t even be upset about it, rather even more engaged by it, because it didn’t feel like work, it felt like something I got to do! It’s been such an exciting journey thus far, and I can’t wait to see where it goes!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.picmyhometn.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61574912581284
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-hunkapiller-2963b036/
Image Credits
Adam Hunkapiller