We were lucky to catch up with Julian Haber recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Julian, thanks for joining us today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

I’ve been earning a full-time living from my creative work for over twenty years, though when I started out I never thought that would be possible. When began my career as a photographer I was just like many other starting-out photographers: I had one basic camera with one lens, no clients and only a vague idea for how I would make money. In the very beginning I spent a lot of time taking artsy photos that were fun to explore but not a viable source of income and I eventually gave that up entirely and focused on event and portrait photography where there were clients willing to pay for the service. Of course as a newbie I had to find those clients – and be found by them – so I built a website and began blogging. Back then (this was in the early 2000s) blogging helped with search and so I was getting found by people looking to hire event photographers. Today the equivalent would likely be video or podcasting and social media in general — however I would caution new photographers to be careful about how much time they spend on building up their social media profiles. It can eat up a lot of time and effort and isn’t the only way people will find out about you. I’ve had far more success getting clients by doing old fashioned sales calls with a very refined pitch based on reaching the right person and knowing exactly what they need. I’ve also had a lot of business come my way through referrals – doing a great job for your existing clients is one way to ensure your growth and success in this field. Always aiming to provide value for money and listening to what your clients are asking for – and then giving it to them – is also important. One major milestone for me was learning how to price my work properly to make sure that I was getting paid enough to make the work worthwhile – as well as be taken seriously by clients. I never wanted to be the cheapest option on the market and I wouldn’t recommend it as a strategy. As Seth Godin often reminds us, you don’t want to get into a race to the bottom – you might win.

Julian, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I began working as a professional photographer doing corporate events, portraits and small weddings. Over time I was drawn more towards working with companies and specialized in corporate photography, which eventually led me to start covering conferences. As my client base expanded I paid attention to their needs and began answering their requests for videography by aligning myself with videographers whose work I vetted and who I could bring into my team to present clients with fuller service offerings to cover their events and conferences. Again by listening to clients and talking about their problems I realized that animated videos were also something I could help with and so I brought in a designer to produce these which has since grown into a sizeable business on its own. I think it’s critical to talk to your clients and present yourself as a partner, a solutions provider. Many times I’ve been hired to do a portrait for one executive and ended up landing a contract for a much larger event or conference, or developing a series of animated training videos — all as a result of talking with my clients about their work and the projects they are developing and where they are experiencing challenges. I measure my success by the success of my clients. If I make them look good and achieve their goals, it pays dividends for both of us. Today I run a creative services business where I still do a lot of the photography myself but have grown my client list large enough to be able to provide videography, animation and a wide range of photography services with a team of freelancers. I also wrote and published a book to help other freelancers thrive and avoid some of the pitfalls of freelancing called, Gigonomics: A Field Guide for Freelancers in the Gig Economy. I am proud of being able to build up the careers of other freelancers and bring in business for them as well as myself.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

The most effective strategy for growing my clientele has been a combination of doing smart, targeted cold calls and maintaining good relationships with my existing clients. As I provide corporate and event photo, video and animation services, once I’ve established my reputation with one client, there is a good chance that when they move to new jobs, they will bring me with them and I will by then be an established provider to their first company. Being consistent with the quality of work I deliver while maintaining good client relations, my best sales people are individual clients who remember me in their new jobs. I always pay attention to and prioritize the long-term relationship with all my clients over any specific individual contract. This means I am not always trying to maximize my revenue on every job I quote for. I look at every new client as an opportunity to grow a lifetime of jobs from and so I treat every interaction with that client as if we will be working together for a long time to come, even if it’s just a stranger who found me on the internet and only wants a single headshot. You never know who you will be dealing with or where your next big contract will come from, but in many cases, the best advertising you can get is having happy clients who will remember you as they grow and develop their own individual careers.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I think to begin a career as a freelancer in any creative field, or to launch into consulting or trying to build a startup takes a lot of resilience. In many ways, the hardest part is the beginning. That first year, whether you are transitioning from a stable job or just starting out after graduating from a professional program, it is incredibly hard to choose an unknown over a known — and when you go freelance, that’s exactly what you are doing. It takes courage, belief in yourself and an ability to recognize your own worth and value — especially if others don’t seem to at first. It takes time to get known, to build up a client list, and to feel confident that new work will come your way even if you don’t see exactly where it is coming from. When I first started out as a photographer I was working a corporate job, had completed an MBA, and had a steady salary and clear view on where my career could take me. The problem was I realized it wasn’t where I wanted to go. Giving up that steady paycheque for gigging seemed almost insane. But NOT trying to do what I felt I could do and wanted to do, in retrospect, would actually have been crazier. I was scared, took a significant pay cut, and struggled in the beginning of my freelance career but getting work, slowly building up a reputation and developing a portfolio that I was proud of became its own reward. Patience and resilience both feed each other and strengthen each other, but without one,!you won’t ever develop the other. I didn’t do it all at once. I took part time work to supplement my income from freelance when I needed to, and I learned to live with less. 25 years later I am happy where I am and I can definitely say that the chance I took on myself paid off, but I wouldn’t have got to where I am today if I had set an unrealistic time frame on myself or abandoned course. Plan for longer than you think to start feeling successful, but also know that just by trying you’re already halfway there.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.julianhaber.com
• Instagram: @julianhaberphotography
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julianhaber/
• Other: www.julianhaberphotography.com www.gigonomicsbook.com

Image Credits
Eva Blue (1st photo of Julian Haber taking a photo) All other photos: Julian Haber