A General Dissatisfaction With Life
I sure wish my means to make a decent living (money) would return! I used to do 2-3 wedding videos a week, 2 of those short ceremony-only and 1 ceremony and reception, and make $600-1,000 a week! Now I'm lucky to bring in $300 a week. Some weeks there's that or more, some weeks there's nothing.
Sanford-Brown never got back to me on writing healthcare-related articles for them. That means $0 income from writing, until April, when they need more art and technology articles written, which is what I've been writing about, and which has been paying $120 per 300-700 word article. I've researched other up-front paying writing sites, and the best of them only pay $25-$40 per 300-700 word article, which ain't going to get me anywhere.
The wedding business is rather slow until the end of March, when there's a sudden spurt of springtime weddings, and that money will pay past due bills. Then, so far, for the rest of this year, there's very little of that business booked.
I've been approached to do some sales and marketing for one of my wedding client-vendors, a DJ company who also books photography and video. They apparently can't handle the overflow of following up on leads they got from bridal shows and other sources, so they want us vendors to help out, in exchange for a small commission. It would generate an additional $50-$200 per sale if I book the company's other services, DJ and photography, on top of the typical $400-$450 I get from what I'm personally booked on to cover as a videographer, which is OK. On average, only 10% of prospects actually book, which means there will be 90% wasted time making phone calls and sending out literature. I don't really want to do this (waste time and deal with Bridezillas and their mothers) but I'm going to have to if I want to fill up my calender with a few more bookings and make a few bucks commission off other people's services.
There's a possibility of my processing data and generating leads for mortgage companies. Apparently, banks are beginning to loan money again! This will also require some telemarketing, which I'm not a big fan of, because it's a lot of spinning wheels with leads and getting nowhere, to close deals, to turn prospects into clients, and then maintain weekly relationships with those clients to keep those clients ordering more data. I feel rather icy cold about the mortgage industry. On the one hand, I find the process of credit-score parameters, to strategically target a marketing campaign at customers, kind of fascinating. On the other, I don't really feel any passion about it, and I have to be passionate about something in order to do it every week. Time will tell, as I learn more about it, get more steeped in it. I have to look at the mortgage industry as: I'd be helping people who need a place to live get into homes.
Meanwhile, there's security guard duty, lots of security guard duty, which I feel absolutely no passion about, some of which I find soothing when I get to drive around in a golf cart and paste parking violation stickers on people's cars, some of which I hate and find absolutely annoying when I have to deal with stuck-up, snotty people who refuse to show ID to allow me to see if they're authorized to enter a community through a security gatehouse, because they think they're just oh-so special, high and mighty, and are above and beyond that. Security guard duty brings in a guaranteed $55 per 8-hour day after taxes and benefits are deducted...whoopee. The security company I work for is cool in the sense that they allow me to take on a week-to-week work schedule, knowing that I have another business, that, when that business is there, pays far better. Working at a retail store like Wal-Mart is out! They need you to work days, nights, weekends, holidays, whenever their store traffic is...and they don't pay squat, anywhere near enough to live on, so screw that!
Personal relationships are OK, but not great either. All my friends are experiencing the same financial woes and doing jobs they could care less about or even hate. Seems we're all in the same shit soup. It's kinda impossible to be fired up and passionate about facing the drudgery every day...yay...let's do it again today, guys!
What do I WANT to do? I enjoy videograpy (cinematography) and want to make a liveable steady weekly income off it! I want at least $200 per day x at least 3 days a week, to film! Hell, I could eat, sleep and breathe filming! I love it! It's beautiful! I'll get up at the crack of dawn to catch the sunrise! I'll get wicked closeups of people's faces, flowers or insects! I'll work with a dolly, crane or jib to get grand shots of a vast landscape! I'll set up lights! I just need a venue, like commercials, that provides enough steady work!
Sanford-Brown never got back to me on writing healthcare-related articles for them. That means $0 income from writing, until April, when they need more art and technology articles written, which is what I've been writing about, and which has been paying $120 per 300-700 word article. I've researched other up-front paying writing sites, and the best of them only pay $25-$40 per 300-700 word article, which ain't going to get me anywhere.
The wedding business is rather slow until the end of March, when there's a sudden spurt of springtime weddings, and that money will pay past due bills. Then, so far, for the rest of this year, there's very little of that business booked.
I've been approached to do some sales and marketing for one of my wedding client-vendors, a DJ company who also books photography and video. They apparently can't handle the overflow of following up on leads they got from bridal shows and other sources, so they want us vendors to help out, in exchange for a small commission. It would generate an additional $50-$200 per sale if I book the company's other services, DJ and photography, on top of the typical $400-$450 I get from what I'm personally booked on to cover as a videographer, which is OK. On average, only 10% of prospects actually book, which means there will be 90% wasted time making phone calls and sending out literature. I don't really want to do this (waste time and deal with Bridezillas and their mothers) but I'm going to have to if I want to fill up my calender with a few more bookings and make a few bucks commission off other people's services.
There's a possibility of my processing data and generating leads for mortgage companies. Apparently, banks are beginning to loan money again! This will also require some telemarketing, which I'm not a big fan of, because it's a lot of spinning wheels with leads and getting nowhere, to close deals, to turn prospects into clients, and then maintain weekly relationships with those clients to keep those clients ordering more data. I feel rather icy cold about the mortgage industry. On the one hand, I find the process of credit-score parameters, to strategically target a marketing campaign at customers, kind of fascinating. On the other, I don't really feel any passion about it, and I have to be passionate about something in order to do it every week. Time will tell, as I learn more about it, get more steeped in it. I have to look at the mortgage industry as: I'd be helping people who need a place to live get into homes.
Meanwhile, there's security guard duty, lots of security guard duty, which I feel absolutely no passion about, some of which I find soothing when I get to drive around in a golf cart and paste parking violation stickers on people's cars, some of which I hate and find absolutely annoying when I have to deal with stuck-up, snotty people who refuse to show ID to allow me to see if they're authorized to enter a community through a security gatehouse, because they think they're just oh-so special, high and mighty, and are above and beyond that. Security guard duty brings in a guaranteed $55 per 8-hour day after taxes and benefits are deducted...whoopee. The security company I work for is cool in the sense that they allow me to take on a week-to-week work schedule, knowing that I have another business, that, when that business is there, pays far better. Working at a retail store like Wal-Mart is out! They need you to work days, nights, weekends, holidays, whenever their store traffic is...and they don't pay squat, anywhere near enough to live on, so screw that!
Personal relationships are OK, but not great either. All my friends are experiencing the same financial woes and doing jobs they could care less about or even hate. Seems we're all in the same shit soup. It's kinda impossible to be fired up and passionate about facing the drudgery every day...yay...let's do it again today, guys!
What do I WANT to do? I enjoy videograpy (cinematography) and want to make a liveable steady weekly income off it! I want at least $200 per day x at least 3 days a week, to film! Hell, I could eat, sleep and breathe filming! I love it! It's beautiful! I'll get up at the crack of dawn to catch the sunrise! I'll get wicked closeups of people's faces, flowers or insects! I'll work with a dolly, crane or jib to get grand shots of a vast landscape! I'll set up lights! I just need a venue, like commercials, that provides enough steady work!
Replies
It is wonderful you have that passion regarding photography... One with passion can find the most treasurable moments in time, whether it be wrapped with nature\'s beauty, or the beauty in the love of two individuals... I find, for me, if I do not have my heart invested in my work, it is not productive for me nor the organization for which I am employed... I had a passion for one particular line of work for many years, but eventually tired of the constant violence... I loved the work, but not the injuries or having to look over my shoulder from day to day... What I do now is where I am, and I enjoy the work... Is it my greatest goal? I do not know if my life will ever match my dreams, but at least they are there and yours are there... When we fail to dream is when our spirit withers...
Quite true, Lila, and that is happening. It\'s pissing me off. What kind of work did you do, and what kind of work do you do now?