We recently connected with Michael Poe and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Michael, thanks for joining us today. Looking back, do you think you started your business at the right time? Do you wish you had started sooner or later

I have had the dream of owning my own business for years and was searching for what that might be and look like. Over the years I’ve had different ideas, but I kept coming back to the thought of starting my own photography business. With photography being such a broad subject then I had to write out all the different types of photography there are and determine which one’s I was really interested in by basing it on photos I’d taken over the years. This led me to starting SunDawg Photography as a Nature & Wildlife Photography business. I started the business at the correct time in 2019 as it helped me to realize how much I loved it, but also that my corporate job was not allowing me to do it to my fullest potential. Once I realized that I had to get past the fear of leaving a steady job in an industry I’d been in for 24 years and realize that I could do this. That is a very big hurdle that some people are never able to get past, and it took me a couple years to make that decision, but once I did, I haven’t regretted it for one minute. The satisfaction of creating and building your own business and being able to make the changes you need to make it grow is worth it. For those that aren’t sure of starting their own business and are scared to leave a corporate job, then my advice is to look at where you are in life, and pray about it, and then make the decision whether to make the leap now or in a few years. If you don’t try, then later in life you will think back on that time and regret not knowing what could have been if you hadn’t gone for it.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

You may be wondering where the SunDawg name originated from. The name SunDawg comes from my love for the sun, beaches, lakes, and ocean. These bring me life and get the creative juices flowing and I become a more relaxed, fun, and creative person in those atmospheres.

A little more about me. I was born in Montgomery, Alabama and moved around a lot as a child. Since 2002 Tennessee has been home, but that will change in the future. I have a Bachelors of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Tennessee Technological University and worked in the automotive industry for 24 years as a Quality Engineer and Engineering Manager. I semi-retired from the auto industry as a Senior Manager of Quality at a major OEM in 2021 to focus on my passion of photography. From the time I was a child, I was taking pictures a lot of places I went. I started SunDawg Photography in 2019 in order to share this passion for photography with you. I offer my photography and motto in multiple formats, whether it be prints, jigsaw puzzles, coffee cups, hats, shirts, etc on my personal webpage and on Etsy. This diversification is what I’m most proud of at this point as it’s forced me to stretch my thoughts about photography and that I shouldn’t stay with one medium of selling only prints. At SunDawg Photography the main focus is providing quality nature & wildlife photography to brighten and inspire others to get out there and see the world.
And Remember to get out there and “Create Life Stories!”

How’d you think through whether to sell directly on your own site or through a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc.

I currently sell on multiple platforms. I created a website through Squarespace where I sell prints in canvas and giclee in various sizes and this is where my latest compositions can be seen. I enjoy using Squarespace as it provides the flexibility I need in order to share my work and it’s easy to generate the flow through the website. I also use Etsy for sales, and this is to diversity away from selling on prints. On Etsy I sell jigsaw puzzles featuring SunDawg Photography prints as well as other media to share the prints and SunDawg’s motto of “Create Life Stories”. I feature “Create Life Stories” on various items such as hats, coffee cups, and bumper stickers. Etsy has allowed me to diversify more in what I’m providing to customers and give them an opportunity to spread the word about SunDawg Photography and enriching peoples lives by reminding them to “Create Life Stories”. By diversifying products across multiple platforms, I feel this gives me the opportunity to reach more people and to stretch myself to understand I don’t have to stick to one type of media. In 2023 I will add Amazon to that list, but at this point I’m focusing on the website and Etsy.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

The last two years has been a transitional period for me in business, career, and life. In November 2020 I met an amazing woman and we got married in November 2021. Between that timeframe I left my job of Senior Manager of three managers and 20 engineers at a major OEM to owning my own business in July 2021, sold a collector car, which I’d owned since December of 2000, and sold my house of nine years in September 2021. I’m still located in the Middle Tennessee area, but on a photo shoot in Florida in April 2022, we purchased a lot to build our future house on. We are currently working on getting the house plans structurally approved and plan to start building next year. During that time we will move SunDawg Photography to Florida where I can focus more on Wildlife photography as the area we are moving too is abundant with different types of wildlife(bald eagles, alligators, black bears, loggerhead turtles, etc).

Contact Info:

• Website: https://sundawgphotography.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/sundawgphotography
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/sundawgphotos
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sundawgphotography
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/sundawgphotography
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj3QbNALLIs9TjNZKhfIEaQ

Image Credits
Michael Poe