After anticipating this for the last few months, I've been let go. My assignments have been steadily going down and I should have anticipated this better, but It seems I haven't prepared enough. Family is my priority now and I don't know what to do. I have my gear still which I've used with my pool equipment the paper equipped us with. I know I can easily sell the 1d mkII's that I have as well as a few lenses I can't justify, but it's really hard to make a decision. Make the mortgage in the comming months or sell the equipment.
I guess for me anyways, newspapers are dead. Any advice from you newspaper pj's would be greatly appreciated.
I'm not a PJ but if you don't mind some friendly advise? Back in November I was laid off from a corporate training job. On the drive home I thought it was a real bad deal. BUT at my exit I had a revelation, I'd been wanting to leave anyhow, so a prayer had been answered (yes in a very hard way). During the next two months I learned a few things, one I could still shoot pictures and have fun doing it and two, my skills as an IT person are better than I give myself credit for!
Finally in February I was hired at a branch campus of one of the bigger University's in our state. In this job I have to use every skill I've ever learned, from Photography and video to PC Repair to tech training for the faculty. So in my opinion if you keep a positive outlook and approach it like a positive and precisest know matter how bad it seems, you'll bring yourself some good fortune!
17 Years ago after being with a very large pharmaceutical company for almost 15 years - I was also laid off - it was a job that I was making very good money at + great benefits including expenses, company car, insurance, etc.. BUT the pressure was insane - like someone said above - it was in reality a blessing. Things can work out and in my case - for the better. I started my photography business within a few months of being laid off and never looked back - that was like I said 17 years ago. I'll never get rich - and really, have no desire to, but I'm happier now than I've ever been in my life. I'm doing what I love - I'm making the ends meet and I'm my own boss.
Hang in there - be positive and believe in yourself - it will work out !!
Regards - Tom
hyunk702 wrote:
After anticipating this for the last few months, I've been let go. My assignments have been steadily going down and I should have anticipated this better, but It seems I haven't prepared enough. Family is my priority now and I don't know what to do. I have my gear still which I've used with my pool equipment the paper equipped us with. I know I can easily sell the 1d mkII's that I have as well as a few lenses I can't justify, but it's really hard to make a decision. Make the mortgage in the comming months or sell the equipment.
I guess for me anyways, newspapers are dead. Any advice from you newspaper pj's would be greatly appreciated. ...Show more →
If you're on Sports Shooter much, you'll know it's unfortunately not uncommon. Some newsrooms are laying off nearly 30-40% of their newsrooms. It's outrageous. I would certainly keep the gear because freelancing is always an opportunity I would keep as a possibility. Although paying the bills might be more important now, a few months down the road when a publication or newspaper comes a callin' about some stringer work, you'll wish you had your gear still.
Keep the gear and try, try, try HARD not to fall behind on house payment, car payments, etc. Do everything you can to stay in the "black" because once debt starts, it will quickly get out of control and is very hard to overcome.
Try to make ends meet with photography as an opportunity to do that, or otherwise.
HOWEVER, with that all said, use your best judgement. If you are really not sure how you are going to pay your bills and are worried about eviction notices, reposition, etc. etc. than by all means do what you feel you should do.
It's ok to have a pity party for yourself but don't stay too long. I was laid off twice during the telecom bust in the early 2000s. It may be time to contract yourself out while you continue to support your family. Your bills don't care where the money comes from.
Why would you look to your gear as the first place to cut? That's your livelihood now right? Refinance your house/car etc.
Set up online for yourself. Get on craigslist and sell yourself.
I didn't find steady work for a year and blew through my entire 401k savings and checking.
Refinanced my cars, trimmed back on the eating out ( that's a killer, Ramen is great, tell yourself this over and over )
The market has changed, we have to change with it.
PS: I do empathize, I did work for a paper in Cape Coral, FL, and you feel kicked in the groin after having your rug yanked out from under you. Believe me, you will get through it. You said you didn't plan well and you don't know what to do. Sounds like you do and did, you just failed to act. Now learn from that mistake and act fast this time.
Start with a spiral notebook, write notes, look through the stacks of business cards and start making contacts. Spruce up the resume. Get your own blog/website and leverage your assets to invest in yourself. Now is the time to get self-employed if you wish to, or if you need to, go back to school, take a part time job and start networking with usergroups, Chamber of Commerce functions ( Dinner after 5 )
Barter your services out to small businesses, getting your name out there.
I know it's going to be hard, but I'm just some stranger on the internet who has been there, made it through it twice, is an artist, has a family with 3 kids, and owned my own store. Act, don't think and have analysis paralysis.
rick duff wrote:
It's ok to have a pity party for yourself but don't stay too long. I was laid off twice during the telecom bust in the early 2000s. It may be time to contract yourself out while you continue to support your family. Your bills don't care where the money comes from.
that was an awful time... so many of my friends were let go... luckily I wasn't one of them... my company went through 13 layoffs in 2-3 years.
I'd agree with Rick Duff's post although others have given great advice. I have worked in I.T. for over 23 years now and have experienced two layoffs myself. The first was about six years ago and it was almost 1.5 years before I got another full-time job. I eventually landed a part-time job (which had nothing to do with I.T.) and ended up keeping it for over three years to make ends meet. The full-time I.T. job lasted about four years but paid a lot less than my old job.
What did I learn? I had too much of my identity tied up in the job I had, found out that ME wasn't defined by the job. My family was far more important than any job I've ever had or could have, so I invest more time and energy into that today. Cutting back on expenses isn't fun but it does teach one some valuable lessons. Things owned aren't nearly as important as they seem to be. My people and organizational skills are quite useful in a variety of jobs and have helped me to get interviews and gain some part-time work.
Be sure to let all your friends and acquaintances know that you are looking for work. Don't be bashful in asking them to pass along any job leads they find. Part-time work may help float you financially until a full-time position comes along. I became a lot more aggressive in promoting my part-time photography business while underemployed and also spent a lot of time polishing my portfolio, creating new business cards and rethinking my business strategy.
The last layoff a few months ago didn't bother me very much at all because I had a part-time business for income and could see the writing on the wall (badly run business in a shaky area of the economy). Thankfully I was unemployed less than two months before landing a much better job. In the meantime, I got to do a lot of (low-cost) things with my family and finished many needed jobs around the house. I am a *much* more confident individual now because of those two layoffs. Best of luck in getting through this rocky place on the road of life!
I sensed an impending layoff of our entire R&D department about 3 years ago. I knew I would marry my wife at that time, so I decided to go back to school and make a career switch about 2 months before they would have canned me. I think that was one of the best decisions I ever made; two years into my three year graduate program, I've secured a job that pays over four times what I was earning before, and confers more responsibility and satisfaction than the laboratory ever did. Were I not faced with the prospect of joblessness, I might've continued living as an unhappy associate researcher for god knows how long.
With kids and a mortgage, your situation is much tougher than mine was. That said, the period following a layoff can be a time to make changes you never would've made were you tethered to a job. I wish you all the best, and encourage you to keep an open mind with respect to your career options, and to never underestimate your own capabilities.
hyunk702 wrote:
After anticipating this for the last few months, I've been let go. My assignments have been steadily going down and I should have anticipated this better, but It seems I haven't prepared enough. Family is my priority now and I don't know what to do. I have my gear still which I've used with my pool equipment the paper equipped us with. I know I can easily sell the 1d mkII's that I have as well as a few lenses I can't justify, but it's really hard to make a decision. Make the mortgage in the comming months or sell the equipment.
I guess for me anyways, newspapers are dead. Any advice from you newspaper pj's would be greatly appreciated. ...Show more →
are you a staffer?
in any case it is tough, staffers, freelancers, agencies coming up from nowhere, search engines on the net for free.
First sell the big cameras and get a couple of 20D/30D , keep 2-3 lens and the flash.
don't lose the contacts but invest more time on stocks (photo stocks I mean), the good ones) and of course there are weddings still.
I'm in the airline business (aircraft mechanic) & fuel prices and mis-management are driving layoffs to unprecidented levels...Keep the faith, use your skills & equipment to
Keep yourself moving forward, as most everyone else said there may be the silver lining...
Papers are way down due to the net but that may change with the advent of internet 2 which may be coming soon , Canada will be first then the US . While reading the other day I saw that in the first 6 months of last year around 15,000 companies that employ less than 100 filed bankruptcy , total for the same time period this year , around 29,000 companies have filed . Hard times ahead for this country .
Unfortunately it's a market and you can't fight it.
What really goes against the craw is how executives who having totally screwed up their businesses walk away with HUGE "bonuses" while workers who've been hard working and loyal for YEARS just get pink slips without a further thought.
Looking at the Banking industry in the US currently is a prime example of "toxic Business Models" -- and I'm no socialist either. The words "Sub Prime Slime" come to mind here instantly.
Don't get too hassled by "litigation scumbag lawyers" if you really can't pay debts --it's not the end of the world to walk away and start again.
In the US (unlike Europe) a mortgage is levied against the PROPERTY not the person so if you do have to hand the keys back then that's it. In Europe the Bank can hound you for the difference between what you owe on the mortgage and what the Bank can sell it at.
In your situation -- just take stock --if you can't pay just tell the scumbag laywers to "Go and make a sexual move with Ducks" (Go and F--- a Duck !!) and leave it at that.
NEVER EVER EVER pay any debt collection agency --EVER EVER EVER (these are the WORST scumbags on the entire planet who really have very limited legal powers) unless they can get hold of the original S.A.R(Subject Access Request) and CCA (Consumer credit agreement) which they by law have to send you on request as the chances are the debt will have been sold on for a few cents in the dollar --but in Law you don't owe the new company anything.
In the unlikely event (happens maybe 1 time in about 2 million) that some sleazebag actually finds these documents --then it's a different story but you can assume they won't as these documents have to be sent to you within - I think 12 days (not even working days) from the original request and this type of document is rarely archived. Even if they come up with the C.C.A they will almost certainly not be able to get the S.A.R within the 12 day period.
The new Debt Collection agency just thinks Guy A owes Bank B 3,000 USD, I pay Bank B 300 USD to take over the debt - well if I can even get 1500 USD from Guy A then I'm (as the Brits say) Quids in.
(US and UK law in this regard is fairly similar although individual states might have slightly different provisions).
Finally getting the debt situation out of the way there's actually a very very good market for pro shooters --find your niche and offer the BEST not necessarily the cheapest service.
You might find once your business takes off that getting a pink slip was actually the best thing that happened to you in years.
Cheers
-K
Edited by Kyle Yates on Jul 24, 2008 at 10:21 PM GMT
Edited by Kyle Yates on Jul 26, 2008 at 12:27 PM GMT
ericevans wrote:
Papers are way down due to the net but that may change with the advent of internet 2 which may be coming soon , Canada will be first then the US . While reading the other day I saw that in the first 6 months of last year around 15,000 companies that employ less than 100 filed bankruptcy , total for the same time period this year , around 29,000 companies have filed . Hard times ahead for this country .
Papers actually are making a bit of a comeback now -- with high Gas prices (even judged by our exhorbitantly high prices in the U.K -- around 80 % tax by our great PM "Gordon Clown") people are going back to using the railways for commuting (when they - the trains - are actually working) and buying more and more papers to read on the train.
There are also a load of specialized papers some of which are free whilst others are only available by closed subscription -- but the photographic market is HUGE.
Don't give up the faith just yet because some CEO / EXEC can't see beyond next weeks share price. This type of "Short-termism" caused havoc a few years ago in the I.T industry where for the first time in a generation huge numbers were laid off due to outsourcing in India and elsewhere.
A lot of this went really belly up -- it just didn't work in any way like it was intended to do and the considerable savings expected didn't materialize so this has now (at least in Europe) not only generated a HUGE consumer backlash but also delivered to the I.T industry its biggest shortfall of skilled labour for years.
Business models that only rely on Net advertising will also fail -- almost everyone I know gets really irritated by Net adverts and tries every trick in the book to switch these off.
The Sites that really irritate the most are those that have a popup just over the place where you are trying to read. -- These sites I bookmark and NEVER visit again.
Finally "What goes around comes around". If you've got a valuable skill you'll always be able to sell it.
This seems like a contrarian view here, but I would sell off all but one body and two or three essential lenses while the value of the equipment is still high, and before the equipment value falls. This, of course, is only if you don't find a job or niche where you can use the stuff quickly.
Even if you have to take a different kind of job for a while, in a year you will most likely be able to buy back a new body that will be cheaper and more advanced than your current camera.
Of course I would look for photographic opportunities non stop first, but it sounds like there are going to be a lot of pjs out of work and that might be a competitive field.
Just thoughts.. I am sure your situation is a lot more complicated than can really be understood here...
hyunk702 wrote:
After anticipating this for the last few months, I've been let go. My assignments have been steadily going down and I should have anticipated this better, but It seems I haven't prepared enough. Family is my priority now and I don't know what to do. I have my gear still which I've used with my pool equipment the paper equipped us with. I know I can easily sell the 1d mkII's that I have as well as a few lenses I can't justify, but it's really hard to make a decision. Make the mortgage in the comming months or sell the equipment.
I guess for me anyways, newspapers are dead. Any advice from you newspaper pj's would be greatly appreciated. ...Show more →
I've never been a photo journalist...always advertising, event, portrait and sports...but I'd recommend advertising your services for senior and family portaits and sports shooting for an event photographer.
No need for a studio since most seniors are wanting their pictures done on location...with a photojournalist's touch...they could be very unique.
