Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Matt Druin. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Matt, thanks for joining us today. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

I started my business toward the end of 2010 and officially opened in February 2011. I was in my late 20s with only my wife, Jessica, and very few other responsibilities. At the time, the economy was still recovering from the 2008 housing market crash and I was working part-time and going to school. I was majoring in finance and marketing when I decided to switch to graphic design because I wanted a more creative career. One of the required classes was photography. I spent the semester trading a toolbox on Craiglist for a camera and taking all kinds of photos for school and myself. Afterward, I took some additional classes, and toward the upcoming fall break, I decided I wanted to pursue photography as a career. I talked to my photography teacher about my idea, and he felt I was talented and thought I could really do something with it. My wife was very supportive, so I spent the following few months doing free photoshoots, portraits, and personal projects to get better at photography and to start developing professional relationships to build a client base by word of mouth. I spent the other countless hours with a lack of sleep, drinking a river of coffee, learning how to put together a business, getting multiple business licenses, figuring out bookkeeping, accounting, tax forms, client management, and figuring out the other aspects I had no idea about. Finally, after saving and preparing, I quit my job and school and pursued a career as an entrepreneur and photographer.

Eleven years later, I can say with one-hundred percent certainty, that it has been anything but easy. Starting out, it was a grind. Day in, and day out, eighteen plus hours I spent shooting, networking, getting better at editing, writing, web and logo design, managing expenses and a budget, constantly thinking how to get more paying clients with promotions, social media, or anything else I could think of to just get someone to pay me money. But of course, it all had to be free or dirt cheap, because I was surviving on one shoestring, Ramen, and a very strict amount of funds. After almost eight months of grinding things finally started to look up. A friend of a friend who was getting married, offered me six hundred dollars to photograph their wedding, and I took it. I had no intentions of photographing weddings, but I fell in love with storytelling and documenting split-second moments in total chaos. It fit me perfectly.

A few key things I’ve learned over the years about starting any business is it is not easy. It’s a lot of pain, suffering, and hard work, but totally worth it if that’s something you want. Of course, not all businesses have to be some big, crazy thing. Even running a side hustle like food delivery as a business will pay off huge. Regardless, the best advice I could give would be; your budget is your life in both your business and personal aspects. Learn how to create budgets and stick to them. They are not restrictions, but freedoms. Word of mouth still works in both the real world and digital one. Starting any business is hard, especially in the creative space. Be prepared for war. Lastly, it doesn’t matter if you start a part-time creative side hustle or a full-time business, you are just as successful as long as you love what you do and are prosperous.

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

Hi, I’m Matt! I have spent most of my life traveling and living in dozens of different states/cities due to my parents being in the military and experiencing life as a professional skateboarder. Atlanta, Georgia is now where I call home with my beautiful wife Jessica and rad son Mason. My son and I also have a gaming channel on YouTube called MaseBotTV where we love to create fun, family-friendly gaming content. We also have two adopted and extremely playful rescue schnauzers, Jetta and Little Bear. I love telling stories of people’s lives through photographs and delivering beautiful artwork and albums.

Can you share your view on NFTs? (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)

Personally, I’m a big fan. I love the blockchain/crypto and fintech space and I am really excited to see where the world of NFTs, crypto, and blockchain technology goes. I’ve been looking into creating NFTs for clients, but it’s still in the works.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

To get the starting capital for launching my business I worked and saved a lot. I had a part-time job, was making some from photography, bought and sold things on eBay including my own things, and other side hustles. I also created budgets for both my personal and business life and focused on keeping overhead expenses to a minimum. I slowly work on buying things for the business that I absolutely needed like a client management system, accounting software, and a really fast computer. Other things like camera gear I rented and purchased things as I saved and made more with photography work.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://matthewdruin.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mattdruin
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/matthewdruinphotography
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewdruin/
• Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/mattdruin
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDYekjKRmQgtivVo3M9kurA

Image Credits
Matthew Druin + Co. Photography