Starting a new business can be tough. You may be an expert in your field but are you an expert business person? Can you market yourself like a pro? Can you network like Mark Zuckerberg? Now add to that mix being an immigrant to a new country with a child to support and an Aussie wife excited to be back home after 10 years of rain in London and you come to my equally exciting and terrifying position.
I left for these shores giving up the stable job of senior photographer at Bonhams Auctioneers, where I had the pleasure of shooting just about every fine object possible and having it delivered to my studio without any convincing and quoting. I was the lead photographer in charge of five other photographers, I was well respected in my position and I loved the work I did. Still, there comes a time in life where you have to chase your dream and throw caution to the wind, and that time had arrived. My wife and I handed in our resignations, said our farewells to family and friends, packed up our flat and arrived in Brisbane not knowing a soul or a job lined up but excited to see if we could turn our dreams into reality.
Seeing the excitement on my daughter’s face brought home the enormity of what we were doing. She turned 4 on the plane the day we touched down on Aussie shores and as well as being a new start for us she was embarking on a new journey of her own. We knew we’d made the right call when we found our house in a leafy suburb of Brisbane. We were welcomed in by a great new bunch of friends, we have great parks and cafes around us and we’re building a business of our own. Life was about to turn into a bit of a rollercoaster of ups and downs, a little scary but a whole lot of fun!
Over the next few blog entries I wish to introduce myself properly to this great country and tell you good people a few things about Tommac Photography. I’ll reveal personal projects that might not fit in with my commercial images on my website and share with you a few tricks I’ve learned over the years. I also want to learn more about Brisbane, so please feel free to write in the comments and let’s get acquainted.
