James Patrick did not plan to become a photographer. In fact, it seemed to be more of a hobby for him until he took a job after college that led him to the world of journalism. It was from there that he began to hone his skills and made his hobby into a career.
“Becoming a photographer was actually not part of my plan. Out of college I took a “safe” job working in marketing for the better part of a decade. But while doing that I was still growing my independent photography business to the point that I was working two full time jobs. At that point I made the jump to just owning my own business versus working for someone else,” James explains.
Now, James is an internationally published photographer and is only beginning his path to success. In addition, he is also a bestselling author with his new book FIT BUSINESS GUIDE: The Workout Plan for Your Brand. This still doesn’t cover all that James does.
“I am an internationally published photographer with more than 500 magazine covers to my name, I am the best-selling author of the book FIT BUSINESS GUIDE: The Workout Plan for Your Brand, I am the host of the Beyond the Image Podcast for entrepreneurs and I am the creator of FITposium, an annual conference and online education network to help fitness professionals grow their brands, market their brands and profit from their brands.
At the core, my mission is to support others in achieving their goals in business. I am gifted with a bevy of mediums in which to achieve that through my photography, my writing, my podcast, my events, my online courses and my coaching practice,” James says.
James boasts numerous accomplishments including having photographed more than 500 magazine covers. However, his story is not without bumps in the road. He has had to overcome numerous obstacles to get to the level of success he has now. Despite these frustrations, he surmounted those difficulties.
“The mistake many make is to assume they can do the same thing in the same way forever. I don’t believe I have ever had two years that were the same.
You have the choice to see every year as a new obstacle because of change. Or you can look at every year as a new opportunity to show up in a new and even better way for those who need you the most. Every single entrepreneur faces obstacles constantly. Changes in the economy, shifts in the industry, new advancements in technology. As a photographer I grew my business to a multi-six figure brand at the bottom of the great recession. I created a conference platform that sold out every year for five years. I wrote a book which became a best-seller on Amazon having never written a book before.
None of these things happened because I was the most talented or gifted,” James states.
After achieving so much, James has some advice for those who wish to start their own businesses: get started even if you feel that you are not totally ready.
“The quick answer is to always launch before you feel you are ready. That gives you the feedback you require in real time with your idea as it connects with your target audience.
Your job as an entrepreneur is to know your target client’s current status at an emotional level. Who are they, what do they think, what do they feel? And then what do they aspire to? It is important to understand the pain point they have now and the goal or aspiration they wish to achieve. Then your brand, product, service is the bridge that connects their today to their tomorrow.
Now deliver that bridge to the marketplace,” James advises.
To find out more about James, you can follow him on instagram here and check out his website here.