610: George Tatakis – Turning Creative Obsession Into a Thriving Photography Business

Premium Members, click here to access this interview in the premium area George Tatakis of  www.tatakis.com was a rare and beautiful find for this podcast episode. It's rare to feature a European photographer on the podcast, particularly a photographer who shoots in the style and income-producing strategy of George Takais. After exchanging a few emails, I learned enough to ask him to do this interview. I'm pretty sure we can all learn something from his entrepreneurial spirit and go-getter attitude. To give you a little background… He's currently bringing in well over $100,000 Euro through photography. He's based in Greece. He shoots exclusively in black and white. He has multiple income sources, including selling his work through a gallery in Geneva, photographic book sales through Amazon, licensing fees for using his photography in commercial applications, partnerships with a travel company, selling work through museum shops, mentoring and portfolio reviews, and commissioned work. He left his job as an electrical engineer to chase his dream of being a photographer. It was a hard slog, but photography is now his primary source of income. In this interview, George shares how he has been able to turn a creative obsession into a thriving photography business. Here's some more of what we covered in the interview: What’s on Offer for Premium Members If you’re on the fence about becoming a premium member, join with the $1 trial today and get access to the FULL interviews each week, a fantastic back catalogue of interviews, and have ALL future interviews delivered automatically to your phone or tablet. Plus, special member-only interviews. Business is the biggest part of the journey. I mean, I would say that 80 or 90% of my time goes to the business side, and then it's only 10 to 20% which is the creative side. And I know that many artists don't realize that, and I think I'm blessed in a way that I started as an engineer. – George Tatakis You'll also receive access to the members-only Secret Facebook Group, where you can connect with other Premium Members and interview guests to help, support and motivate you to take ideas you hear in each episode and put them into action. The group also has FB live video tutorials, role-play, and special live interviews. You will not find more friendly, motivated, caring and sharing photographers online. Seriously, that's not all. I think filmmaking is a more lucrative work in these days. I think that even social media move toward this direction of videos. I also find YouTube to be an exciting place to be, because I think you do work that lingers on the platform, actually. So for example, you can do the video today, and after a couple of years, people will still be watching that video, which is not the case with other platforms. Also, there is more money in creating videos. – George Tatakis In addition to everything above, you'll get access to instructions on forming or joining a MasterMind Group with other premium members. These groups are super motivating, make you accountable, and build friendships with other pro photographers with motives similar to yours – to build a more successful photography business. What is your big takeaway? Following this interview, I’d love to know if you're taking anything from what George shared. Is there something you heard that excited or motivated you to the point where you thought, yeah, I'm going to do that! If so, leave your thoughts in the comments below; let me know your takeaways and what you plan to implement in your business based on what you heard in today's ep...