Peace of mind is a luxury.
Some believe that ignorance is bliss. To a certain extent, that statement holds true. According to Buddhism’s Four Noble Truths, suffering is caused by craving. And craving only increases as we are exposed to new realms of materialism.
Take the following circle for example. As we advance in worldly exposure, ring-1 will no longer satiate our desires. However, notice how ring-2′s circumference is larger than ring-1; this is the same for ring-3 respectively.
What’s The Point?
At my SmugMug presentation last week, someone asked me whether it was appropriate to increase her prices dramatically. I suggested only under two conditions:
- if you are ready for the change (strategy, portfolio, website, business cards, etc.)
- if you have the financial cushion to survive the transition
Financial Cushion – imagine if you were ladened with bills and overdue payments. How can you think about anything else? Let alone, strategize for your business.
Shopaholic Lesson #5
Yes, I will be referencing to fictional books a lot. Rebecca Bloomwood’s (protagonist) father taught her one thing about shopping – it’s okay to be a shopaholic except that…
…you must either make more or spend less.
Bottom line – don’t bite more than you can chew. Growing or starting a business requires capital. Do it slowly. Give it time.
The moment you enter the negative (red zone), you will be so busy trying to not drown that you will lose sight of how to expand. Either
- make more money so that you can have peace of mind
- spend less money so that you can have peace of mind
- or a combination of the two
Again, peace of mind is a luxury; cherish it.
Lawrence Chan
P.S. My rule of thumb is to have enough capital to survive for an entire year without making a single penny (two years for me).
P.P.S. I still drive an ’04 Honda Civic because my peace of mind is more important than a fancy ride right now. I’m not suggesting that we all be misers — because I do go a little wild when on vacations — but just to plan accordingly.
P.P.P.S. Shopaholic lesson numbers are random so don’t try to look for lessons 1-4 lol!
No related posts.
Great post Lawrence!
Great post Lawrence!
Lawrence,
i appreciate your words very much. Thanks.
Ah, … the ’04 Honda civic is a great car!
ciao from Italy!
Lawrence,
i appreciate your words very much. Thanks.
Ah, … the ’04 Honda civic is a great car!
ciao from Italy!
Hi Julian!
Ciao from Los Angeles!
That’s funny, I recently asked my Mom how much she likes to have saved up and she said “at least one year’s worth of expenses”. I guess great minds think alike.
That’s funny, I recently asked my Mom how much she likes to have saved up and she said “at least one year’s worth of expenses”. I guess great minds think alike.
Good advice for anyone really, not just photographers. I think you can blame a lot of or economic issues tight now on people spending more then they should. Housing is a prime example. With government policies pushing to banks to lend to folks who can’t afford it and for the people themselves not using their better judgement in understanding what they can afford. Thanks for sharing Lawrence.
Good advice for anyone really, not just photographers. I think you can blame a lot of or economic issues tight now on people spending more then they should. Housing is a prime example. With government policies pushing to banks to lend to folks who can’t afford it and for the people themselves not using their better judgement in understanding what they can afford. Thanks for sharing Lawrence.
Ah, funny this comes up right now. Or maybe not. I was reading Krishnamurti’s lesson for the day yesterday (actually catching up on several days’ worth of lessons) and it discussed desire/want/need and becoming. This falls in line with much of what he said. Once you strive to attain a goal, you can easily lose sight of that goal. The solution to not losing sight of the goal is not to avoid having a goal, but to focus on that goal as part of the journey and not an end result. Seems so simple until you have to apply to real life situations. Thanks for putting this into context and into very easy to understand terms. (Common sense really is a gift, isn’t it?)
Ah, funny this comes up right now. Or maybe not. I was reading Krishnamurti’s lesson for the day yesterday (actually catching up on several days’ worth of lessons) and it discussed desire/want/need and becoming. This falls in line with much of what he said. Once you strive to attain a goal, you can easily lose sight of that goal. The solution to not losing sight of the goal is not to avoid having a goal, but to focus on that goal as part of the journey and not an end result. Seems so simple until you have to apply to real life situations. Thanks for putting this into context and into very easy to understand terms. (Common sense really is a gift, isn’t it?)
great stuff Lawrence, I love the advice to stay “car poor” and “peace of mind rich.”
great stuff Lawrence, I love the advice to stay “car poor” and “peace of mind rich.”
“I still drive an ‘04 Honda Civic because my peace of mind is more important than a fancy ride right now”
SMART!
“I still drive an ‘04 Honda Civic because my peace of mind is more important than a fancy ride right now”
SMART!
Lawrence, you are extremely smart and financially savvy. I see too many photographers living above their means buying every cool gizmo in site, along with their flashy bmw’s…it sure doesn’t seem worth it to me. I find it ironic that photographers are complaining about the economy and how people are spending less on wedding photography, when they just seem to be buying more. It doesn’t add up! Thanks for the fresh insight!
Great post and sage advice. Thank you for sharing Lawrence :)
Great post and sage advice. Thank you for sharing Lawrence :)
Great article man. Basically after I spent time attending workshops and money with branding and logo design I knew it was time for a increase in pricing and I also noted pricing subject to change without notice.
Lawrence you are real wisdom guy of business, thank you for sharing your wis with everybody, I think you are living buddhisms in photography business., giving and being moderate etc. Thank you
Lawrence you are real wisdom guy of business, thank you for sharing your wis with everybody, I think you are living buddhisms in photography business., giving and being moderate etc. Thank you
Thanks, LChan! I needed this reminder – I am a bit of a shopaholic for anything, especially electronics when I do not need them. I have had my share of life lessons with purchasing above my means which have cost me dearly. I appreciate the candor.
Thanks, LChan! I needed this reminder – I am a bit of a shopaholic for anything, especially electronics when I do not need them. I have had my share of life lessons with purchasing above my means which have cost me dearly. I appreciate the candor.
Hey Lawrence :)
You just gave me advice I was expecting for somehow. I mean that about saving and not eating to much money. Big THANK YOU. Sometimes you are aware of something in subconcious level, but in everyday life you seem to forget about it. Thanks to You That importances are pull out into light. For me – Awesome.
Regards from Poland,
Piotrek
Hey Lawrence :)
You just gave me advice I was expecting for somehow. I mean that about saving and not eating to much money. Big THANK YOU. Sometimes you are aware of something in subconcious level, but in everyday life you seem to forget about it. Thanks to You That importances are pull out into light. For me – Awesome.
Regards from Poland,
Piotrek
Rock solid advice, Lawrence. I still am driving my 2001 Acura MDX – because it still runs. I had 2+ years of savings before I finally made the big plunge into full time photography as well.
Thanks for the wisdom,
Curtis “More is Less” Copeland
Rock solid advice, Lawrence. I still am driving my 2001 Acura MDX – because it still runs. I had 2+ years of savings before I finally made the big plunge into full time photography as well.
Thanks for the wisdom,
Curtis “More is Less” Copeland
Great stuff as always. Thanks for your insight!
Great stuff as always. Thanks for your insight!
all true
all true
Great advice. I’m on board with that. I drive a ’93 Civic and my wife a ’98 Avalon. We own both cars, that’s all that matters. We live off of less than we make and give to our church, charities and help others when we can. It’s a good feeling. And, like you pointed out, it’s easy: Spend LESS money than you MAKE, unlike the government ;-)
Great insight, wish I’d had that this time last year! Though I’m not a Buddhist that is very sound reasoning. As for the Honda vs. the vacation, 15 years from now you’ll be telling your kids about that trip to (fill in the blank) but will be hard pressed to remember what car you drove. I live my life for experiences not for stuff… but that’s just me.
Great advice. I’m on board with that. I drive a ’93 Civic and my wife a ’98 Avalon. We own both cars, that’s all that matters. We live off of less than we make and give to our church, charities and help others when we can. It’s a good feeling. And, like you pointed out, it’s easy: Spend LESS money than you MAKE, unlike the government ;-)
Great insight, wish I’d had that this time last year! Though I’m not a Buddhist that is very sound reasoning. As for the Honda vs. the vacation, 15 years from now you’ll be telling your kids about that trip to (fill in the blank) but will be hard pressed to remember what car you drove. I live my life for experiences not for stuff… but that’s just me.
No worries :) I’m not Buddhist too, but good philosophies.
Funny that you should mention the type of car you drive. As relayed to us by one photography tutor of wedding photography, “Would you employ a wedding photographer who turned up to your first appointment in a bomb of a car?”
But it also follows that one should not take that literally though because if your wedding package rates are sky high there is probably nothing going to grind a couples gears more than you (the photographer) turning up in a really flash car – and you really wouldn’t want to turn up to a couples home with such a car when they’re just starting out in life because it is more than likely that some folks drive around in the bombs but still want a professional wedding photographer. I think my tutor said he had two cars. One was a modest drive around to use when he visited the bride and grooms in the less affluent areas of town and the other was for the opposite – the more affluent people. Pays to stick with something that falls somewhere in the middle. An economical well looked after car for this reason I should think.
Funny that you should mention the type of car you drive. As relayed to us by one photography tutor of wedding photography, “Would you employ a wedding photographer who turned up to your first appointment in a bomb of a car?”
But it also follows that one should not take that literally though because if your wedding package rates are sky high there is probably nothing going to grind a couples gears more than you (the photographer) turning up in a really flash car – and you really wouldn’t want to turn up to a couples home with such a car when they’re just starting out in life because it is more than likely that some folks drive around in the bombs but still want a professional wedding photographer. I think my tutor said he had two cars. One was a modest drive around to use when he visited the bride and grooms in the less affluent areas of town and the other was for the opposite – the more affluent people. Pays to stick with something that falls somewhere in the middle. An economical well looked after car for this reason I should think.
I have a different theory on that too ;) One of which removes completely what medium I transport myself in.
Leonardo Dicaprio drives a Prius.
Does it puzzle you guys the fact that my packages start at $10k and I drive an economy car?
If you’re interested, come ask me at WPPI. I’ll be at booth 1240 – all day and all night (well up to 4:30)!
I wanted to thank you so much for your amazing (and incredibly inspiring) smugmug presentation last week! (I am that hesitant photographer that was wondering if/when my prices should be raised dramatically). I came home completely inspired and with tons of things to consider – all thanks to you! I am taking steps towards that whole raising prices thing… starting with taking my prices right off my website :-). I would have never had the courage to even consider this before… You absolutely ROCK!!!!
Thanks Aurora! I’m glad that whatever I shared helped. Hope to see you around!
There’s still much more to marketing a business, but we can talk about that more when you’re ready.
The scary “M” word! haha! that’s something I’ve been trying to figure out for years and still can not seem to get the hang of it! lol! I have so much to learn from you (I think I’ll be come one of your web-stalkers from now on… if you don’t mind :-)). I’m ready to listen to any and all your tips! :-)
Don’t stalk! Participate!
Hi Lawrence. I love that you drive around in a ‘04 Honda Civic. Kudos to you for sharing that bit of info. I would much rather have financial margin than drive around a phat SUV that I know not only sucks down gas, but also my hard earned income every month. Rock on dude!
Hi Lawrence. I love that you drive around in a ‘04 Honda Civic. Kudos to you for sharing that bit of info. I would much rather have financial margin than drive around a phat SUV that I know not only sucks down gas, but also my hard earned income every month. Rock on dude!
I loved reading this post!! I try and also save as much as I can and put it back into my business and I only purchase things that I need, not that I WANT (unless I want it to use it for something good).
My supporting fact is why I am staying at the Excalibur during wppi. I don’t need to stay in a fancy hotel if I am only there for a few hours during the night. The value of wppi is on the tradeshow floor and in conversations with others… not in the hotel rooms. ;-)
I loved reading this post!! I try and also save as much as I can and put it back into my business and I only purchase things that I need, not that I WANT (unless I want it to use it for something good).
My supporting fact is why I am staying at the Excalibur during wppi. I don’t need to stay in a fancy hotel if I am only there for a few hours during the night. The value of wppi is on the tradeshow floor and in conversations with others… not in the hotel rooms. ;-)
“Live like no one else, so later you can live like no one else” – Dave Ramsey Love it!
“Live like no one else, so later you can live like no one else” – Dave Ramsey Love it!
I have more fundamental reasons for driving an economical car. To the extent that if I earned a substantial amount, I’d probably stick with economical cars anyway. When I said “Bomb of a car” I hope you interpreted it as I meant it which was something not WOF’d or registered because if you took it within a mile of such places they would not even entertain giving you either. lol
As for pricing on packages, I think people will pay you what you are worth and sometimes that worth needs to be earned in the way of reputation.
Ironically, if I am buying any goods I decide exactly what I want and then I shop around for what I consider to be the best price. Yet if it is too cheap I’m left thinking why is that? Possibly from learning the hard way that cheap often equates to disposable a lot more quickly. Sometimes you get a real bargain, but most of the time it is just not the case.
I have more fundamental reasons for driving an economical car. To the extent that if I earned a substantial amount, I’d probably stick with economical cars anyway. When I said “Bomb of a car” I hope you interpreted it as I meant it which was something not WOF’d or registered because if you took it within a mile of such places they would not even entertain giving you either. lol
As for pricing on packages, I think people will pay you what you are worth and sometimes that worth needs to be earned in the way of reputation.
Ironically, if I am buying any goods I decide exactly what I want and then I shop around for what I consider to be the best price. Yet if it is too cheap I’m left thinking why is that? Possibly from learning the hard way that cheap often equates to disposable a lot more quickly. Sometimes you get a real bargain, but most of the time it is just not the case.
Thank you for your sound words. I am 2 months away from car payments and can’t wait. Will use this money to add to the nest egg for when/if rainy days come.
This year I will only purchase items that will be used for each and every photography session.
Thank you for your sound words. I am 2 months away from car payments and can’t wait. Will use this money to add to the nest egg for when/if rainy days come.
This year I will only purchase items that will be used for each and every photography session.
enjoyed reading this! Thank you and Hondas are awesome cars! No complaints! =)
Wow I really like this post! I think I’ll go buy the book and have a read =)