So far 2010 is starting out pretty well. Although 10 days cannot be a testament to much, I will remain positive.
I’m guessing that many of you have made resolutions. I too have committed to some. Before I share with you all what I have in mind for 2010, I want to talk about something called “exit strategy.”
Exit Strategy
Exit strategy is one’s plan to leave a certain situation or circumstance (usually an unfavorable one). The exit strategy that I am talking about is removing yourselves from this wedding industry. For my sake, let’s pretend that you are all photographers (since I am one).
Ask yourselves these questions:
- At what age do I want to stop shooting?
- Do I still want to carry lots of gear around… at age 45?
- Would brides still hire me…when I am 45? If so, will I need to change my pitch from young and edgy to something else?
- Can I work 8-12 hours straight…at age 45?
- Can I still stare at the monitor for hours at a time…at you know…
Just to be clear, I am not making 45 some magical number. For some of you, it might be 60. I’m just using this scenario as an example. So let’s just say that by (whatever age), you want to get out of this industry.
Planning Backwards
Take into consideration your current age. At what age do you want to (blank – leave this industry, retire, change careers, etc.)? This is what I meant by planning things backwards.
- What age are you?
- At what age do you want to exit this situation?
- Take the total amount of resources necessary to exit and divide it by the difference in ages (where you are and where you want to be)
The reason why I am writing this article is to remind everyone that, yes, the money can be good as a photographer, but it won’t last forever. We might not be as capable in the future. And even if so, we might lose interest by then.
Therefore, plan your exit strategy. Factor in retirement savings. As entrepreneurs, we do not have HRs to remind us to allocate funds to 401Ks or other deferred comps, so I am reminding you NOW.
Planning Forward
Now that we understand the importance of planning backwards, let’s plan forward! For 2010, I want to tone up. It sounds cliched, but you must understand that I’m pretty inactive when I’m not shooting weddings 
As a distant goal, @bullysaurus and I plan to move to France within the next two years. We figured that life’s too short to stick with one area. Plus, we’re young and still have a lot of adventure left in us!
What are your plans? Do share!
Happy belated new year,
Lawrence Chan
P.S. That picture above was my view from Aria Hotel. I was working in Las Vegas during the week of the new year. It was my first attempt at HDR. If you want to check out more of my personal work, I intend to practice my HDR photography with a post every week.
P.P.S. ANNOUNCEMENT — January 25th — Jeffrey Neal is hosting his first workshop! He is the dude that taught me how to use a tilt-shift lens. For meat lovers, I think he’s offering steak as dinner 
P.P.P.S. ANNOUNCEMENT — January 23rd — San Diego PhotogShootout is hosting a pin-up photo shoot with me as the guest speaker! If you want some portfolio images, these are great events to attend for a tiny fee.
{ 45 comments… read them below or add one }
you’re always on top of your game. Thanks for the insight!
Love this post ! exit strategy is SOOOO important ! Can’t wait to visit you two in France !
Once we get settled, you’re welcome to come!
So true!!! Most of us don’t plan for “retirement” and when it hits …almost nobody is prepared for it.
Hey Lawrence, What valuable advice. We don’t always think about things this way! Europe should be fun! Hopefully we can visit you when you are there!
How exciting!
You are right about the exit strategy. But i would say that it is important to have a strategy for everything that involves in your career and life. I believe that you need to know exactly how you want to live your life, that way you increase the chances to live the life you want. If you do not know what you want, you can never get it that is for sure. And one thing is for sure in life, success and things involved in that rarely comes by chance.
I believe that, in order to reach success and prosperity (or what ever you want in life) you have to have long term goals, and short term goals. Everything from how you want to live your life in a month is as important as how you want to live when you are 70 years old.
Don’t you agree ?
This is just my 50.
Btw i admire your blog and your work. Keep it up!
Really great post! Thank you!
Hey Lawrence, I think it is interesting as to what “young ” people think the definition of “old” is. There was a young boy( 10 years old) who was asked to identify a lady who he saw bumped a car in a parking lot. He said it was an “old” lady. It happened to be a 23 year old girl. To him, 23 was old. I read you questions and am amazed at how you ask about what you will want to be doing at 45? I’m celebrating 57 and have not slowed from 26. I shoot 12 hour weddings, seniors and I am in demand because of my imagery and how I relate. I think if you take care of yourself, keep learning and never stop growing and learning, you will find out as you look in the mirror that age is very superficial. I always thought I would never age, youth was perpetual, and I still believe this. The difference is that mirror. Sometimes I don’t recognize that old man. Keep doing what you love and wear the creases of experience a a badge of honor. I will keep you young.
P.S. I don’t even think about retirement, that is for old people. I’m taking it to the end, with a camera in hand and a great big smile.
Thanks for all of you insights.
I’m 26 but feel like 40 *sigh. I applaud you for maintaining such energetic perspectives about “work.” I guess you truly found your calling.
As much as I enjoy what I’m doing in the now, I find my passion ephemeral; a better word might be transitional. I found happiness in everything I did in the past all while uneasiness.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts! It’s refreshing
I would love to meet you and buy you coffee one day!
Hey Lawrence, If you are ever in Florida, I’ll take you up on the coffee and I’ll treat you to some of the best oysters and shrimp you ever tasted!. I’m in Port St. Joe, If you ever want to travel back in time, and I mean that literally, come to Port St. Joe and see what Florida used to look like.
Oh nice! I will very much like to do that! Thanks Victor
I was thinking the same thing Victor. Maybe we all just tend to think about what we will be doing in 20 years. I am 40 and I shoot 12 hour weddings. But believe me I have an idea of an exit strategy. Although at the moment it is just an idea. I have 3 kids to put through college. The last one should complete 4 years of college by 2024.
Great point Lawrence! building a business you can sell and/or planning for retirement is something I don’t see a lot of photographers doing -we more often get caught up in the passion and art of what were doing and forget about the business aspects and how it affects our life and families long term. Great things to think about as we all begin navigating the new year.
Have a great day Lawrence, hopefully we’ll run into each other this year.
~Bill
So you have 2 years to practice your french speaking and reading skills? Let me know if you need to practice! (French is my first language)
Personnaly, I just found my “calling” style in photography this year (I’m 32), even if I’m doing photography for 10 years now. So I don’t plan to leave early! I’m now shooting on location boudoir and portrait.
But I’m a natural planner, so I put cash on the side to at least slow down when my body won’t keep working.
By the way, I love your blog and your writting style! It’s refreshing.
Ack! I’m partially enjoying the thrill of not knowing French
Nevertheless, I appreciate the offer!
I am happy that you found your calling! Be it early or late, it’s still good to know what makes you happy. My goal for this post is not to urge people to retire from this profession, but to have the option to. Having that comfort lends peace of mind.
And thanks for the blog love! xo
Wow, I’m 43 and am just getting into the wedding photography biz, looks like I better make my 2 years count! (tho’ everyone that meets me is surprised at my age–I guess I ‘carry’ myself a bit younger than I am, AND my Wife is quite a few years younger than me). Interestingly, we recently listened to an interview with Jasmine Star where she said she doesn’t see herself shooting weddings in 7 years. It seems like so many “rockstar” wedding photogs quickly try to parley early success into industry guru-dom. For my Wife and I, wedding photography allows us to support ourselves with our creativity, so we don’t see becoming an industry authority as the next step but it seems like there typically may be a window of time before burnout occurs with wedding photogs. I don’t plan to go down without a fight!
PS: I know you weren’t picking on people in their 40′s…maybe my work is fresh because I’m new to the biz.
Yes, Jasmine did share that with me. There is a whole slew of reasons why someone might want to change / exit careers. I share her perspective because I was burnt out in 2008. One of my resolutions for 2010 is to get back in the groove of shooting!
For guru-dom (nice term by the way), I don’t think all rockstar photographers seek it; rather, it seeks them. As for Jasmine, I think she has many great gifts worthy of sharing Her positive energy and eloquence with words are inspiring! I always have a hoot working with her.
If not done so already, I want to cordially welcome you to the family of wedding photographers! I’m certain you will love your job.
Lawrence such a great way to start off a morning as you know I work as a photojournalist full time with the intentions of eventually leaving and going full time with my own business. I take a certain percentage of my earnings from free lance jobs and add to my mutual funds. But I hope to continue to capture lives through the lens and never retire as long as the good lord is willing to allow me to keep on keeping on!
Very insightful bro! Thanks for sharing this!
Just getting INTO the professional world of photography, this article is actually a great way to think about the steps to take from the get-go to achieve your final goals. (Setting targets, envisioning what I want things to look like in 10-15 years, etc.) Thanks for the reminder to not only live in the now, but to plan for the future so I accomplish what I want to put there.
What city is JNP’s workshop??
There is more information on Jeff’s website, but it is in Santa Ana, CA (Orange County).
http://jnpstudiosblog.com/2009/11/a-jnp-workshop-with-eliesa-fro.html
If you need his email, just let me know!
This is a really interesting post and I do agree on the fundamental questions, the foreseeing, setting goals and planing. But I do miss the very first question, before asking your first one. And this is probably more along the line of how Victor sees things.
Do you think you will want to stop?
If the answer is no, then you can just slightly change the other questions and address more issues of where you want thinks to head towards.
For me personally, I’m more going along the line of “I do it as long as I enjoy doing it”. No matter if I get to age 80
(I’, 37 now). Which does not mean, that I do constantly define directions.
Btw: France is about 2-3 hours driving from here, so whenever…
Stop shooting will probably be impossible. Having the option of choose what to shoot is my ultimate goal.
So if you are still game at age 80, please ROCK IT!
When I get my groove in, we should definitely meet up
Meant to say: Which does not mean, that I don’t constantly define directions.
Thumbs up. Thumbs up. And, thumbs up. Fantastic perspective and well written. Thanks for sharing.
SDE
Thanks for the reminders to save but I have to agree with some of these other comments. 45? I’m 43 and my business is on a nice roll; this will be my busiest year yet with weddings. I know it’s hard to envision what 45 is/feels like to some one much younger but it is just a number. The only thing that has changed with me since I was 25 is a few grey hairs and some wrinkles. I am more passionate about my photography then ever and I have been shooting for 25 years! I know you didn’t mean to offend anyone by saying 45. You do so much for the community and we all love you but, really? 45? Maybe you could have picked a higher number.
Haha I’m sorry, Karen! 45 is a young age (not old). Read my comment below. I will clarify.
Thanks for the article, Lawrence! It is so easy to not think about an exit strategy when you are so pumped trying to get your business off the ground. I’ve been shooting weddings for less than a year, but I’ve found that I love everything about it. Still, I’m on a 3 year plan to get my business to be self-sustaining, but I haven’t given much thought about 10, 20 or 30 years from now. Thanks for the reminder!
Wow ! I’m going to be 45 in two months – guess it’s time to stop creatively exploring this ever-evolving craft and start creating dull, boring work… Uh-huh. Yeah, right…
The thing is, the older I get the more freedom I allow myself to walk away from the things I “should” be doing, so I can explore the things I want to be doing instead. Things such as allowing myself more time to explore the creative capabilities of my medium and apply them to my business, even if that means I lose some clients along the way. Ten years ago I was worried about where my next meal was going to come from, and I also worried a lot more about what other people thought about me and my work, so I created a lot of limitations for myself. As I’ve gotten older those limitations have actually gone away, and I’ve found a level of freedom for myself that I never would have though was possible in my 20′s and my 30′s.
As Victor so well stated, the only real difference is the mirror (that god-awful, unforgiving mirror…) In reality, the goals, dreams, hopes, etc. that you walk out the door with in your early twenties never actually leave you – they become tempered somewhat by life experience, but they don’t leave. As far as I’m concerned, this is a good thing because the combination of long-imagined dreams and life experience can be a very powerful one indeed.
It is a huge mistake to assume that the capability for innovation and inspiration belong only to the young – it puts an unbelievable amount of pressure on the younger generation to do something worthwhile with their lives before they hit their “expiration date”, and it diminishes the value of a whole community of “older” individuals who still have extremely valuable contributions to make in the fields to which many of them have dedicated so much of their adult lives.
Oh, and I’ll make sure to let my 82 year old father and my 86 year old mother know how “old” I’ve become – I can already hear them laughing their heads off…
Hi Lisa,
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This comment is for everyone else too
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In no capacity am I saying that 45 is the cut-off point. In fact, if you could do what you love until 100 years old, more power to you. I know that I don’t intend to stop shooting as long as my eyes and fingers are capable.
My goal was not to urge people to stop shooting, but to have the option / ability to if need be. I also encourage everyone to continue cultivating their art and creativity to ultimately elevate the entire industry.
This is the reason why I picked 45 — my father passed away at that age. He never really achieved any dreams (at least to my knowledge); in fact, I’m not even sure if he was in the right mindset to have them. Before he could set goals, cancer married with his body and it was game over.
The real problem is that I fear the same result. I am a super workaholic on a stimulant. Therefore I have to plan ahead on all of the things I want to do in life (say a bucket list). And then plan backwards. I asked myself the questions what must I do in order to achieve those goals.
All in all, I am not saying 45 is an old age. And that is not when creativity runs dry. On the contrary, 45 is a YOUNG AGE. I don’t think my father even had a chance to see the world as I have.
Additionally, creativity does not run dry at that age neither. If art is in your veins, then cultivate that passion. To be honest, when I move to France, guess what profession I will be doing? (hint hint: involves a camera)
I apologize if I was not clear earlier. Again, don’t stop what you’re doing. I’m just preaching to have the ability to if need be.
Sincerely,
Lawrence xo
Hey Lisa, you have a gift for words, that is very eloquent. Experience is priceless.
Hey Lawrence, had to chime in here. First, love the idea and yes I have an exit plan.
I agree with some of the posters on the “idea of old” I’m 40 something, I do photography full time and actually just did a rocking gymnastics event yesterday that was so fast paced I thought my arm was falling off! BUT, I did it!
40 something is not bad, but think of 60 something that is the time when we all should have our time to relax and enjoy the fruits of our labor. I got into the business late, had some issues I had to resolve first and I still love what I do.
At 20something I thought 40 something was one foot in the grave, now I kinda look at 60 something like that and then I think of Yervant and Joe B who are AMAZING.
I’m not sure my exit plan will work, but I am working on it and that is the main point, something may come up in the middle of my “plan” but till then, I’m working on my goals
Great post! Be well!
Great post Lawrence! So good to remind us to step back and take stock of the big picture, especially when it’s so easy to get caught in the day-to-day.
Fantastic post.. It really made me think about this today…
Could not stop laughing when I got to the “45″ part. Very good ideas, however; at 45, my business is just taking off and allowing me to leave my regular job. I think there are two perspectives…one “rockstar” young shooter….and one “rockstar” EXPERIENCED shooter. I have been to more weddings than I care to admit and that experience allows me to anticipate and “see” things other younger photographers might not. I realize what the purpose of the post really was…however, not everyone starts their passion career at the beginning:)
Excellent post homie! Planning for the next year is MUCH easier than the next 40…. I don’t have an exit strategy at all actually, so i’ll need to give that some thought. I imagine that when you end up in France, your plans will change… its that Parisian Romance!
P.S. the 40 somethings get ruffled easy, so be gentle on the elderly =)
I just had the opportunity to preview a great book that won’t actually be out on shelves until Feb. 1, titled, “Built To Sell” by John Warrillow, that is about building a sellable business. Like your article, the book points out that it is important at the start of your business to plan for the day that you might have to sell it. Everyone and every business owner should plan this way.
To stop being a career photographer is one thing but if you still love it, you should never quit. You can still making money here and there doing small jobs or selling your work.
As always, great insight Lawrence. I got into the photography industry, and more specifically the wedding photography industry, at what I thought was a late age. I was 32 when I second shot my first pro wedding and 33 when I shot my first solo wedding. I knew being a wedding was the perfect “exit strategy” for my IT career which I knew was no longer my passion nor part of my future. I got into photography knowing two things from day one — first, that photography was my exit strategy from a career I needed to leave into a career (and lifestyle) that I love and want. And second, I got into the photography business with an exit strategy from day one, knowing full well my body, my eyes, or my spirit may no longer be up for shooting 20 or 30 weddings per year when I’m in my late 40s or 50s.
I struggled (and I still do at times) being in my mid 30s when so many others photographers are in their 20s. Then at WPPI in 2008, Joe Buissink talked about how he shot his first wedding when he was 40 years old. When I heard that, I knew I would be just fine. Hearing Joe’s story, and also learning about how Dane Sanders got into the business, really inspired me and made me realize 33 was still “young enough”. Nowadays I meet all sorts of wonderful photographers in their 40s, 50s, 60s, and beyond!
Lawrence is onto something big here. The cool thing is that what Lawrence is proposing is unique to each person. It’s not about the number 45, it about proper planning and foresight. It’s about making your dreams come true, which is different for each of us. But while doing so, we need to honestly ask ourselves how long do we really think we’ll be chasing around brides and grooms on hot summer afternoons or staying inspired. In this industry, there are endless opportunities for transitioning from, or simply just supplementing, our careers behind the camera.
““Aging is not ‘lost youth’ but a new stage of opportunity and strength” – Betty Friedan
Amazing landscape photo. I love the vivid colors!
Thanks for the very useful career advice for your fellow pro photographers! Also, looks like your off to a good start with your HDR photography.
Great insight…thanks for the post.
Regards,
Carl from T.O.
Great post Lawrence! It is definitely something to keep in mind! I have no doubt that you will find success in whatever venture comes next for you!
It’s 11:27 at night and I’m sitting at my desk googleing for some inspiration. And here I am enjoying everyone’s comments. I love how everyone is able to agree and disagree while adding there two cents into the bucket.
Time for an exit plan.