New Year’s URL

Stuck already just a few days after your WPPI resolutions (and only two months since New Year’s)? Me too. Which is both silly and inevitable; I earn part of my living helping people get unstuck. This suggests that I should be unstuck myself. Not so.

Some people feel stuck in bad jobs or without jobs. Some feel stuck in unhealthy relationships or bodies. Some feel stuck in a general, all-encompassing rut. That’s my kind. A friend recently pointed out that knowing me is like knowing someone who’s constantly facing off with January 1, making resolutions all year long.  As proof, she pointed to my promiscuous habit of buying urls.  It’s true that whenever I’m feeling stuck, I brainstorm until I have an idea/grand vision that I think will change everything, then I buy a url to match it. I call these Zuckerberg moments.

In the last two years, I’ve had about 40 Zuckerbergs. At around $10 a pop (the average price for a url these days) this little habit could cost me upwards of five hundred bucks soon. And what has it bought me so far? A mixed bag of total duds, unrealized potential, and a handful of remarkable surprises.

To wit, recently, I found myself seated in the back row of my church in Costa Mesa, California, chastising myself for business myopia, when I started to think about how to make money off of our Airstream trailer, parked (and under-utilized) in a storage lot ten miles away. Despite caring a good bit about charity and hope – the stuff of our family’s church – the unrepentant serial entrepreneur in me won out. Hotelairstream.com was born right there, a site where my silver bullet trailer can be rented to locals looking for a retro good-time. Without any promotion whatsoever it’s been featured on AOL Travel and The Today Show. God loves resolve…Most important, I am no longer stuck feeling like an entrepreneur with one sail.

Of course, the duds are more plentiful.  Last year I bought PhotoMadeSimple.com, a website to help soccer moms use and understand their fancy-pants cameras and “smart” gadgets; then Illumizoom.com, a web application that cross-references aggregate social media feeds and shows commonalities between seemingly unrelated people (think six-degrees-of-Kevin-Bacon, only without the need for a celebrity); and then MakeYourDayYou.com, an Internet TV show targeting brides who want to make their wedding days unique.

Don’t bother checking those urls out. I’ll sit and wait for a second spark. But I love them no less for sitting. That’s the beauty of this exercise, which I offer to you with relish. Unlike most resolutions, this one requires no guilt if it goes nowhere. Buy the URL, then walk away when a better idea comes along. The Internet won’t hold it against you!

After co-producing eight episodes of the aforementioned MakeYourDayYou, I jumped ship for something I called AskDane.com. Ask Dane began as a series of comedy shorts in which I made fun of myself while educating photographers about some aspect of the photo business. After 24 episodes back in early 2009, I transitioned the site into a free weekly talk show at Fast Track Coaching with me and photo industry leaders (and beyond). It’s now sponsored and I’ve published over 100 episodes. [In fact, Seth Godin is my guest this week. Don't miss it!]

But again, the duds usually do win out. TenacityTV.com, a reality Internet TV show pitting 10 contestants in every major city (ten-a-city… get it?) to see which role in the fabric of society has the most stick-with-it-ness (are fire fighters really more tenacious than plumbers, secretaries and CEO’s…?). WorldIQChamp.com, a site that invites individuals and groups of individuals (think Fantasy Football) to take legitimate IQ tests to see how intelligence correlates to success (global rankings would yield an annual and all-time “smartest person in the world” champion). Photopedia.tv, a wikipedia for visual learners.

Failing has never been so fun!

By laying claim, like a virtual land grab, each Zuckerberg has a chance to take root and grow. This is, if it isn’t obvious, my antidote to the collective empty gesture toward change (a.k.a. new years’ resolutions). Instead of a shopping list of wishes (…lose weight…kiss wife more…get job), what is really needed on January 1 (and on every day following it) is an investment to go with our grandiose and humble visions. Intentions are cheap if they don’t cost us something.

By next week, I will feel stuck about something else; you likely will, too. That is our human, or perhaps, American lot. But, now, for just a few bucks, there is relief from the unbearable need to change.

*Viva Las Vegas Special*

Beyond your genius brainstorms, I thought it might be helpful to share a few more resources your way. My best efforts to help people make a jump with their business are the products below. I thought it might help to extend the WPPI Show Specials for an extra day too. The following deals are good for the next 24 hours…. dot com.

*CLICK HERE* to get to the store… add the codes below on checkout to get the deals listed on the menu.

Use these codes (in brackets) to get the deals…

• Fast Track Photographer (wppi11_ftp)

• Fast Track Photographer Biz Plan (wppi11_bizplan)

• Audiobook (wppi11_audio)

• Book Bundle (wppi11_bundle)

• pDNA (wppi11_pdna)

• bST (wppi11_bst)

• Vision Casting (wppi11_vision)

• Forums & get B School for free… click *HERE* and use (FTPBSCHOOL2)

• Roadshow 2.0 (wppi11_roadshow)

• The Works (email us & we’ll set you up!)

**To qualify for all the awesome prizes from the amazing folks at Triple Scoop Music, Pickpic and WHCC simply tweet this post with #askdane in the body of your message! The drawing will happen next week.

Last spring, I had the chance to host the very first Escalate LIVE Conference.
This fall, we’re raising the bar once again thanks to some key learnings from last time around…

First of all, I’m stoked to announce that in addition to our two anchor sponsors (thank you WHCC & Adobe), I have a new partner in producing this event: Kevin Kubota is not only a friend but was an integral voice to the Escalate LIVE idea long before anyone tuned in to our Broadcast in May. I’m thrilled that he and his team at Kubota Image Tools are partnering to help make this thing even more empowering.

Second, this time around we are focusing Escalate LIVE more tightly on portrait photography. We also just happen to have some of the best and brightest coming to show and tell their skills. That’s right. Not only will you hear from amazing instructors like Julia Woods, Vicki Taufer, Tamara Lackey, Lori Nordstrom and Julieanne Kost but you’ll see them in action too. CLICK HERE for the details on what these amazing ladies are bringing to the conversation! I’ll also be up front hosting and interviewing this incredible line-up.

Third, we’re taking the conference on the road… bringing Escalate LIVE to the midwest! If that’s not home for you, don’t worry… you can watch it from anywhere with an Internet connection! That said, we have a limited amount of In-Person seats available (about 50). If you don’t get a seat, there will be both both free and premium content viewable online when the event is LIVE and it will be available as an enhanced premium download afterward.

But, you must register to get access.

Finally, we are more committed than ever to you getting the most out of Escalate LIVE. This means we’re going to ask something of you… in fact, we’re convinced that people who watch passively like a consumer or a spectator simply can’t the best out of this kind of learning experience. Instead, we’re creating incentives for you to get tangibly in the game. We want this to be interactive, where your participation will really make a difference for everyone, regardless of where it is you’re watching from. Ultimately, we want what we’re bringing to have a transformative effect on your craft and your business. In that way, this isn’t just a conference. It’s a conversation.

For all the details on what is coming with Escalate LIVE this fall and how you can play a part from wherever you want, CLICK HERE!

The formal launch for all this will happen after the Labor Day weekend (here in the United States) but I wanted to give you guys the sneak peek and to try to get the word out organically. Would you consider helping me?

As thanks, I’m giving away a FREE Video-On-Demand Suite from the first Escalate LIVE in May.

One lucky winner of this Twitter contest will get immediate access to all the the presentations from Jerry Ghionis, Jasmine Star, Jessica Claire, Becker, David Jay, Jeremy Cowart, Julieanne Kost and myself.

To enter the contest, here’s how it works:

1. Follow me (@danesanders) on Twitter… while you’re at it, Follow @EscalateLIVE too :).

2. Tweet the following message (note: #escal8 hashtag required for drawing)…

Check out new www.EscalateLIVE.com this Oct + win a Video On Demand Suite too! Pls RT. Info at http://j.mp/cDsa8i #escal8

That’s it!

I’ll message the winner with a link & promo code to get your prize.

The fine print:

• Promo code for the prize expires at 12pm PST 10/1/2010 and MUST be redeemed before hand.
• If you are already a follower of me on Twitter, you don’t need to re-follow.
• People outside the US may participate.
• You will not be able to enter as long as your tweets are private.
• No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited.

Any questions about the contest? Contact connect@danesanders.com

The winner will be chosen at random and be announced on AskDane.com on Tuesday, September 7th when I interview Melody from Sweet and Saucy -> who, by the way, was recently seen on Oxygen’s Tori and Dean Show which, by the way, you should give a shout out too if you’re into 90210 – yep, you got it… today is indeed 9.02.10 – oh how the stars align sometimes!

- Dane

PS – Thanks so much for your support and for spreading the word!

When I first started my photo business I had some core values that I idealized more than lived out. For example, my first podcast was called the “Simple Photo Minute” that was neither simple and rarely a minute long. Although I’ve figured a few things out, it was back then that I started my bad habit of spreading myself too thin and I’m still paying for it to this day.

Recently though I visited with a company called Vokle who I’m currently hosting my AskDane show with. What drew me to them was their bare bones elegance. I was nervous to meet them because I thought maybe I’d be disappointed if who they were didn’t match what they showed.

When I saw their “signage” though I was hopeful (see above). Why? Because it reflected who they were, their values, their culture of simplicity.

When I went inside and saw the substantive part of their work (the people, the conversations, the mission and actions of the company), same thing. Their outside matched their insides. It was refreshing.

That kind of syncronicity reflects a focus that impresses me and I crave more of for myself. And, of course, it just makes sense. By choosing to be modest with our metaphorical “signs” it frees up time for focus around things that matter most: how people experience us (aka… our real signage).

So, what can you and I learn from a shoddy little sign? Whether you’re a bride planning a wedding or a creative planning a business or a family planning a life, what do you say we all take a day (maybe even today) and ask ourselves if we’re in sync… if we’re keeping it real… if “cutting out” might free up time to focus on what matters most? I wonder if it might be just the kind of calibration we need.

I finally found a way to keep updated info on where I’m at in the hopes we can extend our virtual community to in-person community. Every time I hit a city, I try to have at least a couple totally free events so whether you’re joining a Roadshow or want to come for one of my free PUG talks, I’d love to see your mug more often!

If you want to see what I’m up to CLICK HERE.

You can RSS it too for updates so you won’t need to remember to check back all the time. I’ll do it for you :).

I’ll be landing in Laguardia in a couple hours. I can’t wait.

I love New York.

Dane

What an amazing privilege it is to hang with the Austin Crew at the Fast Track Roadshow workshop. What a gift!

The PUG was awesome and the workshop even more intimate. Looking forward to coming back to that neck of the woods soon for PartnerCon New Orleans!

Special thanks to the Portland crew for blessing Austin too… Yum yum yum…

LOVE you guys. Can’t wait to share some pictures from the lightning storm shoot-out… incredible! Special thanks to all the sponsors for their support. We couldn’t do these things without you! Also, Studio 563 were just amazing hosts. Thank you.

- Dane

PS… NEXT STOP: SEATTLE!

I’ll post them over at AskDane as often as I can but if you want them *LIVE*, be sure to follow here!

Episode 1

Episode 2

Episode 3

Hope you like ‘em!
- Dane

I have been using my Kubota SpeedKeys for a week and I LOVE them. This is a serious tool. In particular, the ability to edit in Lightroom‘s Library mode is a massive time saver and I’m saving thousands of key strokes and mouse clicks per event.

Even if you outsource portions of your workflow, you’ll still save oodles of time as you dial in your front line systems. Plus, you get Kevin’s presets built in along with his RAW workflow video!

Here’s a demo:

Keep it simple.
- Dane

WPPI is one of the coolest things in our entire industry. The only bummer is we have to wait a year for it to happen.

But, not anymore.

“Skip’s Summer School ‘09” is filling the gap!

Where: MGM Grand in Las Vegas, NV
When: Sunday, August 16th – Wednesday, August 19th
What: 13 workshops in a classroom style setting
Cost: $279 (which also gets you a free full registration to WPPI 2010 – March 4-11, 2010)
Topics: Style, tools & techniques for mixing photography & video, indoor & outdoor lighting techniques, lightspeed workflow, album design, focusing on your business, web promotion, promotions & location lighting
Teachers: Jerry Ghionis, Robert Evans, Jim Garner, Bambi Cantrell, Skip Cohen, Tony Corbell, Ron Dawson, Mitche Graf, Matt Hill, Kevin Kubota, Charles & Jennifer Maring, Ken Sklute and me

There is even a special MGM room rate of $69 a night for Summer School attendees.

CLICK HERE for all the details! It would be great to see you guys there.

Thinking about WPPI reminded me of this past year and how fun it was. Here’s a free little clip from my talk.
The password is: teaser

Standing Out in a Crowd – Teaser from Dane Sanders on Vimeo.

Keep it hot.
- Dane

San Francisco was incredible.

I’m so grateful for the crew that joined forces to make the Fast Track Roadshow a reality. Melinda Bunker, Aung Aung, Joy Bianchi-Brown, Gustavo Fernandez, Andrew & Rachel from ShootQ, ShootdotEdit, Pictage, SmugMug, ShowIt, KISS, and the whole crew of students rallied big time.

It’s easy to overlook how much goes into pulling an event like this off, especially from one city to the next. If it weren’t for the local heroes, they just wouldn’t happen.

From The Big Picture to Declarations we had a blast too. I’m seriously blown away by how much transformation can happen in 2 days. Seeing the twinkle in students eyes as they catch a vision of what’s possible is what truly makes all the hard work worth it.

It costs a lot on the home front too. Tami and my kids really sacrifice a lot to create the opportunity. I don’t ever want to take that for granted. It stokes me out too when students remember them in their feedback and thank you’s. You guys are the best!

Finally, I can’t thank Gene Higa and Ann Hamilton enough. In the midst of some really crazy (and tough) circumstances including a video shoot with Robert Evans and the sad goodbye to @bogiethepug, Ann & Gene basically gave me the perfect environment to do the Roadshow. Thank you both.

Give it.
- Dane

PS… There’s still time to sign up for San Diego… CLICK HERE for more!

PPS… Interested in the last first copy of Fast Track? CLICK HERE!