Category Archives: Business

Different Approach

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I have been in deep thinkers mode lately; just too many questions in my head. A letter came in this morning from the Lowlands and it ended up unopened on top of the one that has been lying on my desk for at least two weeks now. Both from the same sender. I wonder what is keeping me from opening and reading them. I don’t know the answer but if I had to guess it’s probably because I might be afraid of having to read about someone’s disappointment. Knowing that I can’t be there for her, coz I have my own worries.

Mine are that I don’t understand what I’m dealing with over here and it’s utterly frustrating because I’m in a catch-22 so it seems. So I’ve decided to adopt a different approach to things which basically means I will have to work extremely hard over the next couple of months to get where I need to be after the summer. No more time for faffing but trying to stay focused. It’s not just a personal situation, it’s also the fact that whatever is going on in this country, it ain’t positive at all and not just scare stories…

I don’t watch the news and I try to avoid the free papers. Reading about a recession and how it affects the economy is not very uplifting. It’s ‘just’ another thing that adds up to the list. I’ve exchanged emails with an English friend and told him that I was thinking about moving back and how it would feel like a failure to me. Admitting to someone that those thoughts have crossed my mind was a hard thing to do. But he reminded me of something he wrote last year when we first started to exchange emails.

He said it’s good to always know that I could return to the Lowlands and that I shouldn’t view it as failure. If anything I should see it as England failed me… He is right, giving up is not my style but having to deal with e.g.: negative figures, a credit crunch, people who take their savings out of the bank and a rising number of unemployment etc. plus struggles that I have in reaching my number one goal which is basically related to everything I just mentioned is not that simple and can be really disheartening most of the time.

But I’ve made a decision and I’m gonna stick with it… Next week I’ll be visiting the summer fair and will network my way into more business. I’m gonna prepare a strategy, keep a stack of business cards ready, wear a gorgeous dress and my nicest smile and talk the talk. Because by the end of the summer I want to have at least six showcases online. I have one showcase in already and will start working on it tomorrow. It’s a total redesign for an online shop that sells leather products to high street department stores like Debenhams, House of Fraser etc.

It’s an exciting project because I’ve never used e-commerce software before. It comes with my hosting package as well: so first thing tomorrow will be installing it on my server. That way I can test the redesigned templates and get familiar with the front- and back-end of the software. Sunday I’ll be meeting up with a garden landscaper to chat about a web design. And today I’ve finished a second Flash website for a client in Scotland. Over the weekend I’ll have to finish a gallery to add to the first website that I did earlier this year.

So forgive me if I seem to have vanished, it’s temporary because I really need to stay focused…

Networking Images

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I’ve met up with my friend KB. yesterday. We’ve known each other for quite some time but while I was still living in the Lowlands she decided to move to London at some point, came back to the Lowlands after a few years and then moved back again to London. I moved a few times myself over the years and because of that I lost contact with her. Lucky me I registered a while ago with a website similar to Friends Reunited and found out that she basically lived ‘around the corner’ from me in London for two years before she decided to move to Surrey. I asked her to come along to the annual Picture Buyers’ Fair organised by the British Association of Picture Libraries and Agencies. It’s a good opportunity to do some networking and see MvdM. at work *LOL*. Although I didn’t expect much it turned out to be a really awesome day.

I talked with some very interesting people which reminds me that I still have to visit a website of a photographer who had some amazing pictures on display. I promised to email him because we ended up having a discussion about web design and how most websites look like crap and so unprofessional. When I mentioned this I was trying to be modest and didn’t use those exact words but he bluntly corrected me and we had a good laugh about it. His pictures are the kind that will keep you intrigued for hours, staring at them. Pictures of forgotten ancient places, specialising in the fantastic and the supernatural. Eight books have been published by him and he had numerous exhibitions worldwide. Some of his pictures are part of famous collections in London, Paris and California. I will ask him if I have permission to use one of his pictures here.

I also met a very nice Dutch woman: while KB. and I were discussing something, she overheard the conversation and we ended up having lunch together and talked for at least half an hour. She lives in Scotland, is a photographer and has her own business. She was extremely interested in my photography and offered to represent me. So if all goes well my pictures will be archived and for sale soon. This is the third professional photographer who shows interest in my pictures which is great. I will also be represented by another company who asked me a while ago if I was interested in putting my pictures up for sale. I haven’t done anything about it yet: I have about 4000 on archive and will have to make a selection first which is going to take quite some time, but it will be fun and I’m really looking forward to this!

In the meantime I’m still busy designing the second phase of a website for a new company that needs branding. I’m not allowed to write anything but it’s fun and quite a challenge and I’ll be working on this over the weekend. I’ve been looking at cameras for some time already and always said to myself that the one I currently use is fine but if this is going to be a success it won’t take much to convince myself to upgrade to a better camera… Just the thought of all this is extremely uplifting and the fact that people seem to appreciate my images on a professional level is the best compliment I could ever get! I’m eager to take the next step! *hehe*

M. at work *hehe*

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