Where did we go?

Just before the holidays I was on a roll - adding to this blog just about every week.  January came with all of the new-year distractions.  Events (like birthdays) come weekly in our family the first two months of the year.   Lots of magazine work, several new customers, and life in general provided plenty of excuses not to take a few minutes to write here.  

I volunteered to shoot a "Trashion Show" in February - High School aged designers upcycle discarded materials into high fashion.

But all those are just that - excuses.  When I started this blog I promised myself that I'd be diligent and persistent in keeping this up to date.  More so to help keep myself on track and also for the small but steadily growing group of you that are following these.  This morning I read a fellow photog's blog about the importance of regular blogging.  Thank you Judith for reminding me I've let this slip.  Let's catch up.

1) I'm just about done with the formal incorporation of "Images by Design, LLC."  I've hired a talented attorney (Denise's boss) to help set it up and have taken the advice of my CPA for the tax and bean counting details.  I've run my own businesses in the past, but this time I have a more ambitious long-term strategy so I wanted to make sure I started this corporation with the ability to grow into that desired end-state.  I've got a few odds and ends to wrap up like my city business license, but that's just a quick trip to Commissioner's office. 

2) We're bringing in more paying customers.  While we love creative projects and model shoots, in the end we need regular customers to make this whole thing fly.  So far those customers have been fantastic and seem to have genuinely enjoyed their products from simple digital image sets and large prints to professional albums.  The traditional photography business stream is developing steadily. 

3) Denise's business is moving forward too.  Just this past weekend we spent time creating a new pH balancing beverage.  Denise had been using a commercial product but it was expensive and not always in stock.  So we formulated our own that has the same effects - when I drink this before bed, I clearly notice that I'm not at all stiff the next morning.  And our version actually tastes better too.  Speaking of taste, I challenged Denise that I wouldn't drink protein shakes unless they tasted like a hot-fudge sundae.  Well, after much playing around (formulating, actually) she now has created one that tastes just like a banana split.  Even better!  Our next challenge - create a protein smoothie that you can blend up on Sunday evening that stays fresh in the refrigerator for a whole week.  The idea being that a lot of folks might like to have a nutritious protein breakfast but don't, simply because of the time each morning it takes to prepare.  Oh, and Denise passed her latest Feng Shui certification she's been working on since November!

4) As part of the many facets of the business, I'd been considering aerial imagery as a necessary (and fun, I admit it) component to differentiate my offerings from others and foster other business opportunities like agriculture analysis, commercial surveys, etc.  I bought a professional quality drone to replace the "toy" I'd bought years ago and passed my Federal Aviation Administration Part 107 Small Unmanned Air System Commercial Pilot's Certification - that's a very long title to say I can fly a drone for hire.

Some of my magazine work that was published this month...

5) The magazine work is keeping me busy too.  This month I have my photos on the covers of and in the supporting articles in three separate publications.  While none of them have a national circulation, it does help explain where all of my time has gone.