As a proud parent I look at other babies and want to know if we are doing okay. (It’s the first time and we have no standard to work from.)

When two babies meet it is easy to overlook the needs of the other parent as you well up with pride in the achievements of your offspring.

Photographers can be the same with their personal prides.

Good etiquette with babies is to resist outdoing the other parent with the successes of your own child (sleeps through night … makes own breakfast, gifted, etc). Because even though it is reassuring to acknowledge the superiority of your genealogy it has no social benefits (unless you have cities to conquer).

Why do I mention this?  It’s about respecting the success and pride of others. It makes the photographic community stronger and of greater value.

Cheers, Johannes

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He always found it difficult going to a new supermarket … so he stuck with the one he had used for the last five years. He knew where the dried apricots were, and the gluten free pasta was always down the third aisle on the second shelf up.

He didn’t see the need to be a supermarket slut chasing the best price on freshly dug potatoes.

He felt safe. He shopped safe, and a diversion from the standard shop might be an adventurous purchase from the delicatessen’s department.

He liked that nothing changed except the weekly special.

On holiday recently he went shopping with a friend and suddenly the apricots were in the fruit section and gluten free was just too hard. He bought prunes and asian sauces that he had never seen at his regular supermarket.

He ate like a king on new foods and drank many new wines.

When he returned home he went back to the same old supermarket.

He dreamed of living like a king.

Fear of change often limits our ability to move forward. It also blinds us to a world outside of our experiences.

That same fear of change is what can also make us uneasy when our suppliers make changes to the way we habitually do things.  Embrace change and see it as an opportunity to move forward and to grow.

Cheers
Johannes

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Final feedback from my email, Your next album company

Unless you have someone on the ground talking to people you are never going to get the real story…

That comment’s from the UK, where we actually do have someone on the ground – take a bow, Jo!

But Jo, a Londoner, is the exception not the rule. Most of our client support people work from New Zealand. Gino, for example, gets up really early to talk to people in North America, while Kirsten works really late to help Jo with the Brits.

But it’s great to meet people face-to-face, so why don’t we base more people locally?

First, where would we base them? Think about a few people we’ve featured here over the last year or so. Darlene’s an Albertan who helps look after our North American clients (hey, Canada!). But she can’t realistically drop in on Christian in New York, or the Costas in California. At least Manpreet’s Canadian, but he’s half a continent away in Toronto.

The UK’s an island, not a continent, but Jo still doesn’t get to see Simon in Yorkshire very often. Besides, we have a lot of clients elsewhere in Australia, New Zealand, Europe and Asia to service.

That’s why we’ve set up to be truly international. To think globally and act locally in the modern sense. Skype, email, toll-free phone, eCare, webinars. They’re how our team talk to lots – lots – of photographers every day.

Well, what about local distributors? Been there, done that, no thanks. We prefer to connect direct! Trying to talk to you through distributors is like trying to thread a needle wearing welding gloves.

By the way, that’s why we operate our own lab, our own IT team, our own support team. The buck stops here.

But all said and done, it is great to meet face-to-face, which is why trade shows are important to us, and why we’re planning… No I can’t talk about that just yet

Cheers, Ian

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