TheCareerCreator.com Interview with Mark Robert Halper
April 24, 2009 by careercreator
Mark Robert Halper; Photo by Angela Marklew
TheCareerCreator.com is excited that we got the chance to talk about creating your own job with Mark Robert Halper, a premiere photographer who created his own job.
For the past twenty years, Mark has put his photography skill to work for a wide variety of photography projects, including corporate, celebrity, advertising, portraits and architecture.
Mark shared some of his time with us to talk about some of the ups and downs of starting your own business. Here’s what we learned from Mark (paraphrased) in our conversation:
TheCareerCreator.com: What is your “job”? Please tell us a bit about your company and what you sell or what service you provide?
Mark Robert Halper: I am a commercial photographer. I provide images to companies to help them market products.
TheCareerCreator.com: How long have you been in business?
Mark Robert Halper: For 20 years.
TheCareerCreator.com: You had a natural interest in ??? that is now the basis of your job?
Mark Robert Halper: I loved photography and I loved taking pictures. And I realized that I responded well to assignments and being given a set of parameters to work within. Photography is an exacting profession and I enjoy challenges.
TheCareerCreator.com: Tell us a little about how you got started…give us a bit of your Once upon a time…
Mark Robert Halper: In high school, I had an interest in film making. I went to college at UCS and discovered that film making wasn’t really the direction I wanted to go in. I took several different classes, including a couple of photography classes. When I got out of college, I really had no idea what I wanted to do, and I applied for a lot of different jobs.
In 1988, I got a job photographing houses, and unfortunately that business went under about a year later. I decided to take an extension course in advertising photography. I realized that this was definitely the route I wanted to take when I would get upset if I didn’t have any homework! That’s when I knew I loved it, and I began to build my business from the bottom up.
TheCareerCreator.com: What were some of the materials or technology you needed to get started on a very basic level?
Mark Robert Halper: A basic camera, lenses and hopefully good lighting. Cameras cost more now, but it is far less expensive to shoot because digital is free, making it so much easier to get started.
The cost of film made you more careful about how you took pictures. Once I had a $5,000 lab bill for testing. A lot of your income went to paying for your film, but that was just part of the territory. It made you value what you shot and you put a lot thought into it.
Now you can get a really good camera for about $1,000. When you’re looking for a photographer, it’s as simple as finding someone who does good pictures. There’s a value to experience.
TheCareerCreator.com: What’s the best part about creating your own job?
Mark Robert Halper: When I’m working I get to do what I love and I can get paid really well. I’m my own boss to a certain extent, but actually, my clients are my boss. And I get to choose my bosses (clients).
There’s no upper limit on how much I can make, it’s all about what I can do. And it’s great because I can wear what I want to wear (into the office, not on my photo shoots) Sometimes I can set my own hours but sometimes I have to keep working until the job is finished.
One drawback is when I go on vacation, I lose money because I’m not working, but again, that comes with the territory.
TheCareerCreator.com: What’s the toughest hurdle you’ve encountered in creating your own job…and how did you overcome it?
Mark Robert Halper: My toughest is hurdle is right now, with the economy. I’m overcoming it because I’ve always assumed that things would get tough, and I saved and kept my overhead under control. I saved for a rainy day and assumed that things wouldn’t be great.
So now, when things are tight, I can still make it. I don’t know that I’d actually recommend being a photographer right now because the economy has made things more difficult than they were when I started in the late 80’s. And now with the easy start up, there are not only too many cooks in the kitchen, but there’s probably more cooks than customers.
Today there are so many resources for photography and stock photography, etc. and people are bidding against each other to provide the lowest possible price. As a result, the quality of work has gone down. There’s more photography available at a lower cost, which makes it harder for photographers who are trying to survive.
Photography is becoming a quickly shrinking market and people don’t need as much original photography. It’s easier to get halfway there and a little harder to get all the way there.
TheCareerCreator.com: Any words of wisdom or encouragement to anyone wanting to create their own job?
Mark Robert Halper: It’s best to plan for the hurdle instead of waiting for it to hit you. Know that when you own your own business, you’re on a roller coaster. It goes up, and it goes down.
Don’t assume that things will always be great, but don’t live in fear either. Work for the best and prepare for the worst.
TheCareerCreator.com: Any favorite resources you recommend to other entrepreneurs?
Mark Robert Halper: One of the smartest books I’ve ever read is, “The E-Myth Revisited”. I wish I would have read it years ago, but I only learned about it recently. It’s phenomenal and if you haven’t read it, you need to.
And I also recommend, “The War of Art” (not to be confused with The Art of War). Both of these books are short, to the point, and very, very valuable.
More About This Company:
Founder: Mark Robert Halper
Company Name: Mark Robert Halper Photography
Products or service offered: Commercial Photography
Website: www.studiomark.com
Thanks Mark, for sharing your wisdom with us! We know that future entrepreneurs will be able to benefit from your advice.
~TheCareerCreator.com
