We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Janet Eckles a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Janet, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
The risk I took by going full-time with my photography/video business came from finally believing that I was worth more than what I had been offered by the traditional workforce. After five years of working in male-dominated toxic environments and getting laid off during the height of the COVID pandemic, I gave up on finding a job that suited my needs and decided to create it myself. My relationships and mental health had suffered the past five years due to the constant abuse I faced at work, and I could not willingly allow myself to go into a similar work environment for the sake of a steady paycheck.
Older generations have a different version of success. To them, it means getting a college degree and a well-paying job, regardless of how you feel about it. I did what I was “supposed” to do – I got the degree in video journalism and then the well-paying video marketing job. I put in the hours, tolerated the constant microaggressions from male coworkers and clients, and made my bosses a lot of money. Despite the sacrifices I’d made for the sake of my career, I still ultimately got laid off. I did everything “right”, and like millions of Americans in 2020 I still found myself suddenly without income and health insurance.
Working in a marketing agency as a creative is emotionally and mentally draining, and working in the video world as a woman can be degrading, infuriating, and at times physically unsafe. As I began my job search fresh from my layoff, I knew that I needed to be extra critical when researching potential jobs in order to avoid the same types of scenarios I’d already experienced. And that’s when I started noticing the red flags in hundreds of postings: “must be a tribe-builder” (actual word choice, gross), “person needs a Must Get it Done Attitude with no excuses for performance” (aka stay late because the client’s social media post that 12 people will see needs an “urgent” last minute change), “must provide your own laptop” (that the company won’t compensate you for using), “salary information is not available at the moment” (probably well below industry standards, but they won’t share it with you until the 3rd round of interviews). Companies I interviewed with boasted about their incredible office culture, which was made up of on-site kegs or sporadic team outings to baseball games. But in terms of DEI initiatives, fair compensation or work-life balance, they all came up short. Time and again I would hang up the Zoom call feeling more and more discouraged and frustrated that companies don’t care about what actually matters – their employees’ wellbeing.
And then I hit my breaking point. I had applied for over one hundred jobs in the span of a few months and had no viable offers. I had been stood up for interviews, been rejected for not giving a company free work, and even had a job offer rescinded when I questioned the pay disparity between me and a male new hire who was less experienced (I found out that he would be making more than me). I knew I was worth more than how I was treated, and I was determined to give myself that worth even when nobody else would. I had zero business skills (I hadn’t even taken a single business course in college), nobody in my family or friend circle was an entrepreneur so I had no one to go to for advice, and I had no idea where to start. But I had the technical skills and some gear to get started (I’d slowly started building up my gear while working at my marketing job to do personal projects on the side). I was determined not to go back into marketing, so I would just have to figure it out and hope for the best.
It’s been 2 years now and the growth has been slow, but the journey is rewarding. I’m still learning about sales tax, the best file backup systems and charging my worth. I’m so happy to say that my mental health and relationships are so much stronger, and that my worst days as a business owner are still infinitely better than my best days in marketing. From weddings with local and sustainably sourced items to a documentary about a local apple tree farm to the freedom in my schedule that allows me to capture my favorite musicians onstage, the type of work I get to do now makes me more excited about video and photography than ever. The agency that I now have to either accept or deny potential work is incredibly empowering, and I’m so grateful to get to take work that speaks to my heart. My community of friends and fellow like-minded creatives has filled my soul in ways that I didn’t even know was possible. The version of me that took this risk two years ago was afraid, but I’m so proud that she did it anyway.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I’m a full-time videographer and photographer, which is still kind of funny to me because I never seriously considered a creative path as a kid (even though I had always loved music, creating, and telling stories). Growing up I would never put my camera down at a concert (I was one of those fans, sorry) and was drawn to making little home movies in my backyard with my tolerant friends and pets. I had a story in my head that I needed the world to see, and would get to work crafting scenes, directing my pals, and selecting just the right music to accompany my shakey handheld footage.
But my parents strongly encouraged my sister and I to choose “practical” careers, and I really did try that route at first. I’m not great at or interested in STEM subjects though, and my well-intentioned college major in health sciences lasted approximately one week before I gave up on chemistry for good and switched to undeclared. I had never considered a career in video because I assumed you could only work in film or TV and I didn’t think I was cut out for LA or New York.
A few months into my freshman year I saw a documentary that completely changed both my world view and my mind about pursuing video as a career. Up until then I had just made videos for fun – I hadn’t realized the impact that a well-crafted story could have. That documentary got me to seriously consider video as a career option, and I became a video journalism major soon after. As I learned the technical skills needed behind the camera, I also learned how to ask the right questions and how to listen. Telling stories had always come naturally to me, and I took so much joy in getting to meet new people and figure out how to tell their stories in an engaging and visually pleasing way. I taught myself photography soon after graduation, and immediately fell in love with it. The power to capture and preserve a moment that will never happen again was, and continues to be, immensely gratifying to me.
I was hesitant about running my own business for a long time, but I’m so glad I took the leap. I now not only have the freedom to choose my own clients and create my own schedule, but I also have the privilege to document my favorite things – live music and weddings. Those might seem like the complete opposites of each other but in reality, they share a lot of qualities that I love to capture – deep emotion, genuine moments, and people coming together to celebrate and enjoy what they love.
In my line of work there are so many opportunities for connection, and that’s incredibly important to me. When people view my concert work, I want them to feel what it was like to be there – the energy from the crowd and the passion from the performers. As a huge music fan, I want my work to engage with other fans, especially those who might not have access to attend shows in person. With my wedding work, I want folks to feel personally connected to the couple – their anticipation to walk down the aisle, their goofy side that only comes out when they’re together. And I want my clients to look back at their photos or videos and see themselves portrayed as wholly as I can capture them, to know that they are worthy and loved for who they really are. I am so grateful to have found this career path that allows me to be completely myself and play into my strengths.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
A lesson that I’m still working to unlearn is that a 40-hour workweek is sustainable and works for everyone. Running a business and setting my own hours has shown me that I (usually) am most focused and do my best editing work in the morning, and also that sometimes time isn’t relevant. Some days I hit a wall by 2pm and I struggle to make any progress on projects, and other days I can work nonstop and skip meals because I’m so focused that I forget to eat. Sometimes the mental energy that it takes to complete certain edits leaves me so drained that I can’t work the next day, and sometimes I get an idea or the creative urge strikes when I’m trying to fall asleep. You can’t count on creativity to happen during normal office hours – you have to be ready when it strikes even when it’s inconvenient.
Giving myself the space to work with the creative flow instead of forcing productivity when it’s just not happening has been instrumental for my mental health and my work. Giving myself permission to step away from a project and do something entirely different, usually involving movement and fresh air, will always restart my creative flow more than staring at a screen and hoping for a breakthrough ever will. Taking long breaks or giving myself permission to work at my body’s pace was never allowed at my previous jobs, where we were slaves to billable hours and timesheets. Allowing myself to step away from work and “not be productive” for a few hours or days at a time is productive, and also helps me to remember that I am more than what I create.
Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
– Profit First: This book by Mike Michalowicz makes the money side of running a business way less scary and overwhelming. His formula is all about making sure your business gets paid first: Sales – profit = expenses
You’ll transfer percentages of each paycheck into different bank accounts (or envelopes if paid in cash), starting with salary, taxes, operating expenses, and profit. Percentages vary per person, but a good place to start is 40% for salary, 25% for taxes, 25% for operating expenses, and 10% for profit. This is a great way to keep track of where your money goes, and has been so helpful for me in making sure I always have enough set aside for taxes and new gear.
– CPA: Does the thought of doing your own taxes and potentially doing something wrong scare the shit out of you? Same. Now add quarterly sales tax and self-employment tax to your list of tax-related worries. This is where a CPA (certified public accountant) comes in. This person will take care of all that for you and will help you determine how much you owe so the IRS can go bug somebody else. Also, they can help you get lower taxes based on how much you use for your business!
– Lawyer: You HAVE to have a solid contract that protects you and provides clear expectations for your clients. I prefer having a relationship with an attorney rather than buying a contract online because I have someone I can go to for random legal questions or if I get a sudden hit of anxiety about something and need to add more protection to my contract.
– Amplify Her Voice: I wish I’d known about this group when I was first getting started with concert photography! Amplify Her Voice is an organization dedicated to advancing gender equality and empowering women in the music industry, and they have so many opportunities to connect with seasoned industry professionals and other like-minded organizations. From podcasts to mentorships to real-world job experience, this organization is committed to helping women (and non-men) thrive in the music industry.
Contact Info:
- Website: Concert work: www.janetecklesmedia.com, wedding work: www.rebeldiamondsstudios.com
- Instagram: @janet.eckles, @rebeldiamondsstudios
Image Credits
Janet Eckles Media, Rebel Diamonds Studios