The Thing You're Not Brave Enough To Begin
Why do we struggle to believe our ideas are worth something?
I’ve kicked myself a hundred times for missed opportunities of the past.
In hindsight, I probably would have failed miserably at most of them because I had no clue how to “sell” a concept back then, especially if it was something I’d never heard of before.
Go figure. The lady who had the courage to quit her career and move to the tropics didn’t have the balls to try executing one simple thing. Back then, my train of thought was, “Exactly who in hell’s half acre would pay me for that?”
Self-doubt is a b!tch that’ll slap you every chance it gets.
But now, I believe to my core that people will pay for ANYTHING that appeals to them. Your only job is to make it appeal to them.
I totally missed the boat on one that pretty much anyone with a decent smartphone or digital camera could have started up and thrived. Especially living in a touristy destination.
A Missed Opportunity
When I lived in Jamaica, I thought it would be really cool to follow vacationing families around for a day and take photos of them. But NOT professional photos, just normal pictures that look like real life happening in real time.
This idea was born from always being a solo traveller without a camera crew. I rarely took selfies because, newsflash…NOBODY cares about your face in front of a gorgeous backdrop. Trust me.
I wanted REAL pictures of myself doing REAL things - candid and unposed.
Since I never had that luxury, I thought about how nice it would be for families, couples, girl groups, etc, to have vacation memories captured in photos they didn’t have to pose for or ask strangers to take.
Basically, I wanted to get paid for being their quiet, invisible shadow for a day. I wanted them to forget I was always ten paces behind them so they could go about their business while I took a shit ton of candid photos.
At the end of their day, I’d give them a memory stick (this was years before cloud storage 😁) and be on my merry way.
Can you imagine that I never believed a day full of memories like this would be worth, say, a hundred dollars to a family? A girls’ getaway group? A couple?
All it would have taken to sell this concept would have been a unique business name and some marketing pizazz. Why did I never think it would fly? Especially when I would have easily paid a hundred bucks for this service for myself.
If you sift through my personal website, you’ll find countless photos of me from behind. None of them are candid; all of them exist because I asked someone to take them.
Several Ways This Idea Could Work
Since my Jamaica days, I’ve thought of many other ways an idea like this could serve average people without the high ticket cost and posed feel of a professional photographer.
Take the dog park, for instance. Why wouldn’t you want someone off to the side, capturing moments you’d never capture on your own? We all know how much we love our dogs and Instagramming them.
I’ve paid upwards of $1000.00 for studio photography with my dog. If I walked into the dog park one day and someone was sitting there offering to take real-life candid shots while I played with her, I’d pay them without hesitation.
Of course, I have a name for this 😁
I wouldn’t be Kristi, the idea-weaver from Wildhood Wanted, if I didn’t already have the business name and a fully laid-out idea for anyone who wanted it.
In fact, I have several names for it.
Shadow Shots
Shadow Shoots (I also thought of Shadow Shooter, but that sounds too much like real life, depending on where you live 😬)
Your Daily Shadow
A Day in the Shadows
Life in the Shadows
Or, if you’re in a tourist destination, your biz name could be more location-based.
OR…if you’d rather be the King or Queen of an empire, start an umbrella company and contract “Shadow Shooters” in a bunch of wonderful locations!
Just my thoughts. 😉
The truth is, I hadn’t been until recently, when I figured out how to package my brain dumps in a way that genuinely helps others who might be struggling to find their footing.
Now I’m having an absolute BLAST putting Biz in a Box in motion! I never knew how joyful and gratifying it would feel to offer others a leg up in this way! I’m even working on one project that put a lump in my throat (I’m not crying, you’re crying!)
Anyway, if you eventually find yourself getting paid to photo-stalk families or dogs because of this post….all the power to you!! You’re welcome, and I love this for you!
Have you had any bright ideas in the past that you wish you had tried? Do you still think they’re viable? What’s stopping you?
I love this idea of being shadowed by a photographer! That’s brilliant. I love stills that capture everyday, candid moments
It's a treat just to read about your brilliant ideas and the bonus part? I get to enjoy your writing and story telling along with it. Always a pleasure.