Partnership success stories are everywhere. From business innovators like Larry Page and Sergey Brin of Google or Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak of Apple, to less formal partnerships like authors JRR Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. There is a trend in the creative world to tout either big collaborative teams or solo introverted lone-wolf style work. I’m here today to tell you that the magic number is actually two, and why having a business partner is the best choice I ever made.
Background: For the past three years I've run a commercial photography studio out of Edmonton, Canada with my business partner, Thomas. For part of that time we even lived in different cities as I expanded our business connections to Calgary before moving back to Edmonton permanently. I’ve experienced, first-hand, both sides of the equation; at times being a solo creative, doing it all, and other times working on large projects involving six-plus people.
Let me break it down and share with you why our partnership works, the big benefits of working in a pair, and what you should look for in your own dynamic duo.
Accountability Buddies
Running a successful photography business requires you to be a self-starter and always thinking ahead. If you’re not constantly pushing yourself to create new great work, or getting out there in front of new potential clients, then you’re dying.
Still, even the most ambitious person has their moments of laziness and apathy and it can at times be a long and winding road with ups and downs. When you have a partner, there’s an extra urgency to your work, because you’re not just letting yourself down if you’re being inactive. This is a surprisingly good motivator that helps me follow up on new ideas and projects that would otherwise make it onto another “someday” list.
Even without a formal business partner you can have someone you trust be your accountability buddy. Talk with them about your ideas and raise the stakes. Have reoccurring conversations or meetings and make sure you bring up previous topics and see what’s come of them.
A Shared Vision, But From Different Perspectives
It’s really important to have a clear and decisive vision when working in a creative field like photography. However, it’s easy to develop tunnel vision and be too close to the project, photo, etc., thereby missing the forest for the trees. Thomas and I have very similar taste but with very different backgrounds, experiences, and ways that we see the world. That combination means that we can work closely together on the same work but see it in a way that has a kind of overlap where we notice different problems, places to improve, and so on. It's a fresh set of eyes that elevates the work immediately.
Complimentary Skills, Like Yin and Yang
In that same way, the last thing you want from a business partner is a clone. When Thomas and I are at a shoot, we can bounce back and forth between different roles if needed. One person may cover more of the lighting and technical requirements while the other person can focus attention onto being personable — either entertaining the client or developing rapport with the subject.
Of course, we wouldn’t be very good photographers if we couldn’t multitask, but we definitely excel and prefer different roles. Besides, research shows time and time again that multitasking degrades performance. We find this is especially the case with developing rapport because the most important part of developing trust with the subject is being present with them when you’re talking. It’s nearly impossible to do that when you have to think about 20 million other things that could be going on.
Vacations and Breaks From Work
Have you ever noticed how your client work is so dependent on timing and momentum? Thomas and I have a running joke that as soon as one of us books a vacation, our inbox will be flooded with inquiries for jobs.
You may have experienced just the same thing, followed by the hard decision to either turn down the job, or your hard-earned trip. And if you turn down that job, don’t you know in the back of your head that there’s going to be someone else who does the same (or lower) quality of work as you, but because they were the one to get the gig the client will go back to them time and time again?
Man that’s frustrating! It really feels like you can’t possibly step away from your livelihood.
Now imagine that you can step away and leave everything in the hands of your trusted equal, who will knock it out of the park while you’re sipping piña coladas by the pool. Or sometimes it might not be a vacation at all. What about personal matters and emergencies?
Last summer my wife and I were crushed when we suffered a miscarriage. I don’t know that I would have been able to focus on the emotional healing and taking care of my wife if I also had to worry about the business. Having Thomas as my business partner was beyond valuable. Even considering at times that we could maybe earn more money independently, there’s no way that we would be able to live as rich of a life as we do.
I can’t possibly capture the importance of my partnership with just a quick article, but I hope I encouraged you to consider the relationships in your world, and to cultivate and cherish those people who make you better. For further reading on this topic I highly recommend the book “Powers of Two” by Joshua Wolf Shenk.
I'm seeing partnerships more and more frequently, especially among my stylist contacts. Many are joining forces, which makes sense considering they spend a lot of time travelling to and from different PR companies across the city, collecting and dropping off clothes.
My only concern personally in doing it with another photographer would be the evidently different shooting styles. Surely the two of you shoot differently, no? How do you handle clients requesting the style of image of Thomas, if he's away and Bryan is to be shooting it? Do you try and mimick each others style to merge it into one? Genuinely curious!
Interesting article - thanks!
Thanks for the comment, Jack! I think you brought up a good point about formal business partnerships when art is involved. Photography is still seen as a solo visionary field where one person drives the look, but we instead work much like a collaborative team would on a movie set. We've worked and grown together through the years as photographers so it sounds incredible but it would be impossible to tell which photos were taken by who. We usually dont even know or remember. And it's not important, because thats only about ego. Sometimes we even shoot at the same time from different vantage points and with different lenses. In the end these photos still have a cohesive look and feel to them. I understand that established photographers who are set in their ways about how they shoot might have trouble delving into a full-on partnership. In that way I think the assistant role or the relationship between equals in the field can be vitally important to the emotional and psychological health of a photographer. There are lots of ways to build collaboration and partnership in work that don't have to be exactly like what works for us, that's for sure!
funny...I was recently named a "lone wolf' by an outdoor magazine...http://www.mountainonline.com/the-lone-wolves/
And I imagine that being somewhat isolated from other photographers is both lonely and difficult, but also fulfilling in some ways? Do you get back some of that comraderie/commiseration from the people you ski and explore the back country with or is it mostly solo treks?
Its kind of strange, I actually feel like I am on a photographic island at times. I do get tons of comraderie from my adventure partners for sure. While I do know many of my photographic counterparts I rarely see them and the business is so competitive many shooters are bummed when they see another photog out "getting the shot". There are some good guys too(I like to think I'm one) but plenty of jerks to be sure...