We caught up with the brilliant and insightful John Bogna a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

John, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What do you think Corporate America gets wrong in your industry? Any stories or anecdotes that illustrate why this matters?

That what we do is easy. I’m fortunate enough to work with clients that understand the time, effort, and skill that goes into any freelance creative career, but there are still some people out there that think it’s just typing a few words or pressing a button.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I do freelance writing and photography, running a business of one. In college, I majored in Journalism, since I knew I liked writing, but didn’t have any grand aspirations beyond that. After graduating I worked multiple odd jobs while still writing and trying to build a portfolio — everything from parks and rec to community college front desk to tiny community newspapers.

I remember reading articles about freelancing and never thinking it would happen. Then in 2017, I moved to Houston, Texas, and it sort of happened out of necessity. It was the work I got, and I kept getting more.

Fast forward a few years and I’m a full-time freelancer with work in publications like PC Magazine and Gizmodo. I’ve shot events like the first Houston Astros victory parade as a photojournalist and even taught myself to shoot 35mm film.

I do a mix of journalism and content writing work, always looking for new ways to build up the business and run it more efficiently. With photography, I’m really focused on pursuing passion projects like creative portraiture right now.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

When I moved to Houston I had no experience freelancing, no contacts, and didn’t know anyone in the city but a couple family members. It was hard getting started, but I’ve built this into something I’m proud of.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.johnbogna.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/john.bogna
• Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/john-bogna

Image Credits
All images shot by John Bogna.