Psychology of money

Psychology of money | by Morgan Housel

5 ways for you to be a better creative professional

The book is for anyone to understand the basics or to lay a foundation of financial literacy in one's life. It doesn't matter who you are and what you do, financial literacy and the concept of saving is very new. It is important to know how we behave with our money in general as most of it is often irrational and saving money should not have any agenda in general though it is important to inbuild the habit of doing so as early as possible in our lives.

I come from an era where creative professions were linked with failure, hunger and struggle all lifelong. I work in an era where the creative profession is considered for the strong heart and the risk-takers which eventually tops the chart of life considered successful.

It is sad to see though, many creative professionals often concentrate solely on creating and recreating content to generate a bank of work to prove their worth and many often neglect or shy away from the fact, that let one do what it wishes to do as long as it wants to do and when it wants to do. Money is often considered that corrupts one's mind and hampers its creative vision, in reality, it is the most important factor which let ones mind to be free from worry and create the stuff one wishes to.

If you are a photographer, illustrator, makeup artist, stylist, director, cinematographer, post-production artist or anyone who is a part of the media and entertainment industry, this book has a lot to teach you and I will also share a few aspects of how I behave when it comes to my money at the end of this article.

TO NOTE: Only a few points are been discussed considered fitting the agenda of the blog, though I will humbly suggest you pick a copy if you can. This blog is not responsible for any personal, professional, financial, psychological loss incurred if it may. Any mentioned pointers are to be considered as a mere suggestions and not professional financial advice.

1. Confounding Compounding:

Any aspirant starts their journey to be a professional from mere scratch. It either learns a skill to initiate or hold a mere talent in its native state.

Whereas any portfolio showcasing various aspects of creativity serving a set of premium audiences holds the much-needed growth gained in its past many years.

Eg: As a photographer, I started capturing images solely from a photography point of view minus post-production and creative manipulation though down the line I believed in various other mediums and owing those skills to recreate a bank of images that helps me hold an edge over others in the market.

Similarly, money, when let, grows for decades undisturbed gains power and an edge one needs eventually in its life.

Given said that, the amount is not what matters as much as the amount of time one lets it rest and grow, as like any talent needs its own time for it to get mature aesthetically.

2. Wealth is what you don't see

Spending money to show people how much money you have is the fastest way to have less money

As with any creative profession, things are required to set up its space initially doesn't come cheap. As and when an instant desire to upgrade with the latest and greatest comes to mind that one may feel fit one needs for time being and hence are kept at the top of one's shopping list may sound like a wise call to take. On the other hand, this irrational act of buying robs one's bank of the much needed financial support if and when one may wish for it.

An emergency like the much-needed service of your computer, camera or a subscription of your graphic software must be for the project you need to submit at the earliest.

The latest phone or the wifi-enabled camera. The drone you hold or the accessories you wish to add to your photography bag may create unwanted anxiety and it surely gives an instant satisfaction when finally bought, blame it partial to the social media and advertisement that makes you believe that you need it. The way to have a hold over it is by being rational than irrational about one's needs and being comfortable with what one has and a bit below what you think you can live with, comfortably.

The choice of renting exist to unload the burden of buying things that you may need to sell to buy things you need.

3. SAVE MONEY:

The only factor you can control generates one of the only things that matter. How wonderful!

Having more control over your time and options is becoming one of the most valuable currencies in the world. There is nothing that can force me to deny what is been stated.

As our parents and our grandparents, where saving and the act of investment was directly proportional to various life goals like owning a house, car, planning for a world tour and child education. Saving in the present era should not exactly be pinned to any definite agenda, though the simple act of saving, is a good enough reason to be prepared for anything, which helps you to step up in life or hold you up in the worst of your phase.

4. You will change:

long term planning is harder than it seems because people's goals and desires change over time.

We, humans, are been carried away via various phases in our lives and yet we think we will retain the same characteristics we held decades ago.

Like a child dreaming to be a superhero in his mind which holds no fear or worry of life, eventually realises the world around and hence his goals changes. We change and we keep changing ourselves to best suit our survival opportunities.

A creative professional does have its set of phases to pass through and eventually feels the need to change or grow in various aspects. Our life plans and goals changes and so so does our priority.

In the worst scenario where your creative profession didn't turn up as per your expectation in a definite time period or you need a few years to gain a certain skill set very much in demand in your area, or a sudden personal pitfall, gives anyone a valid reason to save.

5. The seduction of pessimism:

Optimism is a belief that the odds of a good outcome are in your favor over time, even when there will be setbacks along the way

The life of a creative professional is full of uncertainty, one's economy is directly proportional to its standard of living. Yet in the past decades, we have observed and lived uncertainties and hence it justifies enough to be not too sure about the coming times. The future is uncertain and so does the economy.

We may not adore a negative person or an idea though it holds the most power and gains our maximum attention. This desire to survive and the instinct in us as a human lets our minds think about the worst than the best to make themselves prepared well for the pain we all must avoid. The fear to live for months with no work calls or pitches. The anxiety where the bank is not fed well for long is a good reason to think about how we behave with our money and how we set our life in general. A certain amount of self-pampering is good for mind and soul and indeed important, as money earned is not worth it if it was what you finally hold on your deathbed.

Above all, a desire to be a creative professional, where the mind holds the possibility to attain a life considered successful in conventional terms. One's financial planning and the decision will eventually help one to do and create at its own pace, choose the best of the clients one wish to work for, and live in the best environment giving the utmost standard of living.

Tips and Tricks:

1. Buying vs Renting:

As a commercial advertising photographer and a product stylist, I hold no reasons to buy the latest of the camera, computer, lens and else every time it is been launched. Instead, I believe in renting my equipment as and when required. The ability and possibility to reach out to the best of the vendors in the market updating itself with the best give me more reasons not to shed my own money.

2. Buy the best you can afford:

My investment choices are based on the factor of how often I am using it and the amount of time it will require to cover my base expenditure and how much profit I may gain eventually.

Any buying choices must be around the factor of investment vs return.

A high-end digital gadget's self-life vs its depreciating market value is a must think about,

Eg: a computer with a well-built metal body along with a fast, high-end processor which can serve you and your work demands for the next 5 years may cost you 6x, it may seem like an expensive choice to go for versus a system with an average configuration and plastic built costing you 2x and last for a year only. In the case of the latter, you will end up spending 8x more to suit your need in the coming 5 years.

3. Living below my comfort level:

I am not a fashion vista nor my job demands me to be and hence a few pairs of awesome sports shoes, formals and athleisure are all I hold in my closet. My clients demand me in terms of my work quality not how I look like. To add my occasional visits to movie halls, entertainment centres and restaurants and once in a few years, vocational breaks has helped me to be sane enough for those days unannounced.

Given said the above, it is your personal choice to splurge though keep in mind how much value it is adding to your life in general.

4. Saving for the sake of Saving:

Every nation in its democratic nature has led to various advantages for anyone running its own shop. Tax redemptions are not solely for the corporate but even creatives should be aware of. My choice around my money is more about investing in the market and government funds than splurging on things I will not need eventually.

5. Being Rational vs Irrational:

A trick learned years ago is adding all you wish to own instantly on your cart and let it sit for a week and two and if possible for a month. A month is a good enough time for anyone to understand its priorities and eventually one can take a call accordingly. The goal is to educate yourself about what is important vs a temporary gratification.

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Thank you so much for reading and I hope it helped you to understand your own relationship with your money better or share it with someone whom you think is an aspiring creative and needs a little nudge in regards to its financial understanding.

I am Shovona Karmakar, a commercial advertising photographer and product stylist based out of Mumbai, India. I specialize in portraits, editorials, people, products and cinemagraphs. If you are looking for a creative professional alike or wish to drop a Hi! feel free to ping me or use my contact form.

#psychologyofmoney #creativeprofession #photographyandmoney #moneypsychology #moneyforcreatives #advertisingphotographer #portraitphotographer

Freelancing basics 101

There is a familiar say "slow and steady wins the race", well that's what my father kept telling me and though he never had any business of his own, he did deal with many to understand the basics. It is been 10 years and I guess I have done enough mistakes and took enough chances to be good enough to share what I have learned with you.

My childhood dream was not to be a creative artist rather I wished to join the national defense. I am born outspoken and situations down the line have made me a rebel. I at times feel I am floating in an ocean and the water is taking me places without my wishes and yet make me hit the right rock to keep the passion alive. Ok! no more emo talks and let's get straight to the point and I am pretty sure you all are eager to understand how to be better at freelancing. I before share the 101 steps let me clarify every freelancer has its own journey, conscious and subconscious, all the below are from my due personal experience. You are free to stop here or feel free to read ahead and I hope you get a few pointers good enough to incorporate.

You don't earn in the initial years

The reality of earning a handsome amount against a day or few days job is not something you will see in the initial years, it took me 5 years to be well aware enough among producers and clients who considered me for the job. When I started back in 2014, I was more concerned about brands I can work for and quoted enough to cover my rent and a few basic needs. Quality variation in the portfolio was my main intention. Survival remained a question for long.

As time passed and I came across people who helped me to grab better clients with quality budgets. Every industry runs around many people who have their own specific specialization, one needs to reach out to have a team in mind to be capable of a bigger assignment.

Getting personal with work

It is in human nature to be very personally attached to its craft and skill and it becomes the whole of you. I have personally taken so many work rejections and made myself enough crazy. It took me years to understand that there are many other factors untold than our work befitting the job. Anger, having various highs and lows and getting desperate is something you are going to go through and how you deal with it will matter a lot. I have made sure to turn up with one image a day and sharing it over media platforms to be seen many who may or may not consider me for a job. Passive presence makes a lot of sense.

Human behavior

If you think understanding your better half in a relationship has taught you everything about how one behaves and why one behaves then you have not yet started with the basics. I have learned so much how people react and how they react as against when dating a person.

Negotiation is a skill you learn along the way or hire someone good enough to do so on your behalf but let's be practical, how many can hire someone and how practical it is to have one. Negotiation has not to be done with every possibility, you need to learn and understand when to negotiate and when to be under the clause of "Non-negotiable" how much to cut down and when to step your foot down. I encourage people to observe how local businesses negotiate and learn to understand the terms they put it down.

Financial dependency

I have read enough, seen enough and been myself one of them who do depend on folks for survival. I reside in Mumbai in a not so pocket-friendly corner, and I do go little out of cash from time to time. I don't have much to say about it except it is ok, do justice to the money and cut down your expenses where ever possible. We Millenials need to understand the concept of saving and the sooner you get into the better are chances you handling any crisis with ease.

An unstable social life

There is nothing more dangerous than being lonely on the path of becoming a freelancer. It so happens the best of the people who made big in life are often lonely. We humans and we tend to live in a tribe, as a communal animal we need to have a basic human interaction on day to day basis. Sadly there is a truth many are able to handle it well and many tend to sink into depression. As we grow people get their priority sorted and tend to live in their own world. Having a schedule is important above everything and I can't stress enough to the fact you will be your own friend down the line.

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Hii, I am shovona, a freelance commercial photographer who resides in the economic hub of India, Mumbai. As an artist, I undergo the above almost every day and I am here to support others to let them feel cool about anything happening in life.

Feel free to contact me for any portrait, corporate, food, product photography related queries or just drop a hi! at

shovonakar@gmail.com

#freelancecommercialphotographer #mumbaiphotographer #womanphotographer #product

#food #portrait #advertisingphotographer

WHY DO I BLOG???

because....

Blogging is a trend past many years since the accessibility to INTERNET came into existence. I remember very well one of my BROssss was writing and sharing his poems (way too difficult for me to understand back in those days) over his page. Anyway back to me... The freedom, the evolution blogging gave was really awesome and is really awesome.

BLOGGING became VLOGGING and more and more social media came into existence. Personal branding became important, though it depends the way people presented themselves in whichever mode they chose to be out in public. Freedom of speech as per our constitution was on the way to get more fancied, at times very serious and other times it was meant to be on a lighter note.

The evolution non-sarcastically started bending the knowledge which was been integrated into us from various television channels. People having the power to share their personal views in mind lead to the revolution. In-short we get to know the reality a little more than the brands wishes us to know. Adding to the benefit of having more transparent views it added a star value to the individual and led to the start of non-conventional stardom.The numeric in terms of followers, subscribers and viewers mattered. It was the thing which determined the "Non-Conventional Stardom Value".

If you are in India you have seen the growth of being badass from VJ Bani to something like Dhinchak Puja (seriously....)

Anyway, that's the power of being non-conventional and Blogging aka Vlogging.

As long as I have the desire to be one, I will try to decode myths, I will be more honest and I will be more reachable.Plus I don't earn from my social channel, its completely self sponsored

Sadly the truth post being one recognizable is to start getting molded the way your sponsors wishes you to be.

Making your content more and more opaque, cause all the hard work you have put to get the celebrity status is on the stake of either dancing on the given tune or loosing it for all.

I am a freelance portrait, food and product photographer, who runs a company of herself under the name of SHOVONA KARMAKAR and with utmost pride I have a GST number to display on my client bills to let them know how legit and how serious I am with my agenda to solve their visual problems aka I am a freelance professional. Mumbai being the financial capital and with opportunities which other metro cities cannot provide, I shifted myself to here from Kolkata in 2013.

The path to where I am right now sounds cozy even to myself and I am sure to you too, but past many years things where not rosy, and I mean it. I may have started sharing my understanding about blogging pretty late but I guess I have enough at present to share to people looking for answers. Freelancing happened to me by accident and as I have been experimenting myself with my life to be what I wish to be in future. I alike my batch-mates was running behind marks as it mattered then and wanted to join a firm and live a safe life completely unaware of the fact what my future had it for me and I am more than happy to be here.

Blogging matters to me to have an opportunity to let people know what it takes to be one and how it effects ones life. It's not as easy as living in it's comfort zone and dreaming big, sustenance is a question we keep asking to our self every second and at times literally every second. I may or may not have answers for everything you wish to ask and know but I will try and I will learn things my way on the path.

Things one can understand from me of how to deal and go about. The list is long, the facts are personal and view is subjective.

So here it is...

1

Well unless you are born into someplace which belongs to your own industry or have a God father to show you the way, things are going to be difficult, I assisted someone and I don't think it was a right thing to do, though my experience was somewhere I regret but as it was not in my hand I think I can totally forgive myself. As eventually time passed my desire to make something out of myself in the industry led me to meet some awesome people who helped me generously.

Connect to as many people as possible.

The desire to work led me to grab as many brands as possible in my portfolio devoid of what they paid me. The early years were truly difficult, I at times hardly made enough to pay my rent but the desire kept it going, I managed to bring the minimum needed to sustain.

Create content, generate as many ideas as possible, don't run for a style. Style is something which should come to one gradually, one's experience and understanding should get reflected which is gonna make it something fresh and will help you to stand out of the crowd.

2

It takes decades of experience and thousands of validation from others to let you have the power to earn whatever you wish from every project been thrown to you.

Negotiation, is important to understand what they have to offer you, its is not smart to loose on an experience in-case you are rigid but yes don't let yourself way to low for others to not to value you enough.

Money is the way you will sustain, sadly money is the only way you will dare to dream.

Ask the person contacting you what he/she has to offer you and calculate the basic minimum you think you require to do the job, even if your a new-bibe don't be shy to say NO..! in-case the offered price is way too unpractical.

3

Freelancing is literally a lifestyle that you plan to lead like and its very much like life, totally unexpected, your annual income is not fixed, your taxable income is going to fluctuate. Your daily schedule is nothing you at times can be very proud off and you are more prone to uncertainties in life and almost in every corner. Insurance is your friend and saving is more than priority.

In past few years of being a freelancer, I broke my heart multiple times and it do affected my work, I lost a dear friend and I almost closed my shop though I restarted with a plan and power I wish to keep it to myself and the biggest fear of all, I am an adult with old parents back in hometown and they may not wish me to send them money but my on going struggling phase doesn't let me have enough opportunity to visit them, though I should. A job gives security which doesn't exist as a freelancer and the sooner one is comfortable with its reality with the perks it also gives, the sooner it's going to make your life easier.

The very security rest in our hand and specially in our mind and we need to practice enough as long as possible.

We are mere human, we will do mistakes and that's a part of evolution and we can't avoid it.

4

Don't buy because its cool, its trendy, conscious decision making is a habit which will give you benefits in long run and I am pretty sure you will thank yourself, but give space and opportunity to self to make enough mistakes. Buying tons of clothes is not a very smart thing to do unless you are into the very profession which asks you to do so. Buying endless memberships doesn't make sense unless you use them. Buying gadgets is quaky but be sure what you wish to, keep in mind, it will be obsolete in few months (that is the nasty trick of technology industry.)

I have invested quite an amount in terms of Lakhs in my venture and I am happy to say I have revived the money, but I had to be smart when I did, I literally jumped myself from a basic DSLR to Processional series, got myself a pro tripod and set of strobe lights from Elinchrome (that was the only thing in my budget) a semi pro Rode mic and few pro sd cards and hard drive... well a different article for my equipment list. In-short I had to invest a little more but it was worth it.

In my case of being a photographer a good upgraded equipment helps my client to have content as per the industry standard and I don't have to rent it out or rely on anyone at times when needed, specially the overnight assignments.

Apart from equipment my investment is also for a good internet connection to see some awesome ventures over YouTube.

Make every penny count...!

5

keeping all the biggest life quotes and motivation speech in front of you, it will still be a struggle to keep self motivated. It took me quite a few months to change the way I think I am gonna write and present my blog, I feel I am more invested in the present one than just typing for the sake of doing so. But evolution is something no one can run away with and maturity comes with time and experience and has nothing to do with age, the fear of loosing your engaging capacity finally forced me to do something different, try something more something which needs effort and little planning.

Motivation is my enemy as I do everything for the sake of being happy about it. Motivation is a mere chemical, a happy hormone which is very infectious, its very much reflected in your effort and communication to all the possible presentation skills.

The problem is everything doesn't motivate us and we are taking longer and longer to get over with procrastination.

My personal advice: go out, walk as much as possible, eat fruits (it does work wonders), sit over a corner with a coffee in your hand and ponder how to fix the very thing going in your head since days, weeks, months or even ages. Or just change your perspective in your room or house and try to push yourself a little to think over the issue and solve it. Getting excited is one thing and working over an issue is another. Create an utmost important and urgent need to do it.

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That is pretty much I had it for the day, there are more coming so don't forget to subscribe and if you wish to see more of my work

visit: www.shovonakar.com

If you wish to stalk me over Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shovonakarmakar/

Email me for any work related query at : shovonakar@gmail.com

#freelancephotographer #mumbaiphotographer #foodphotographer #advertisingphotographer #mumbai #blogging #freelancelife