From Corporate Career to Entrepreneur: My Journey into Photography

If someone had told me twelve months ago that I would be an entrepreneur and small business owner today, I wouldn’t have believed them. Yet here I am.

We live in an era of constant change, where technology, markets, and society evolve faster than ever. Businesses must adapt to survive, and careers are rarely the lifelong commitments they once were.

When I joined my former employer straight out of college in 1988, the prevailing belief was that a job could be “for life.” Over the following 37 years, I witnessed that ethos fade away. The mutual loyalty between employer and employee gradually dissolved, replaced by a more fluid, competitive working environment. Staying with the same company for so long was a personal choice but one that feels increasingly rare in today’s corporate landscape.

During my career, I experienced extraordinary transformations in the banking industry. I started with primitive computers, manual bookkeeping, and highly personal client relationships. Over the decades, automation streamlined processes, reduced costs, and increased efficiency. While some of these changes brought undeniable benefits, others reduced the human connection between business and client. But one truth remained constant: change is inevitable. Sometimes it succeeds; sometimes it fails but it never stops.

When my role was made redundant as part of a business restructuring, I faced a choice: resist and dwell on the decision or embrace it and seek new opportunities. I chose the latter. I decided to turn my lifelong passion for photography into a business.

Transitioning from employee to sole trader has been both challenging and rewarding. I quickly realised that a passion alone is not enough, success requires a clear direction, a defined specialism, and a genuine value proposition for clients. Photography is a crowded field, so I knew I needed to combine my decades of business experience with my creative skills to offer something unique.

Part of my service includes drone photography, which adds another layer of complexity. Weather conditions can be unpredictable, and managing client expectations is crucial. For me, honesty, professionalism, and trust are non-negotiable. Over-promising and under-delivering is simply not an option.

I’ve been fortunate to have the guidance of a career counsellor, provided through my redundancy package. Her insights shaped by her own similar experience have been invaluable, as have the perspectives of friends in business. They’ve offered both encouragement and candid warnings about potential pitfalls.

This blog will document my journey of building a photography business in 2025. I’ll share the lessons I learn, the mistakes I make, and my observations on the photography industry including the growing role of AI and my thoughts on its place in the creative process.

If you’ve made it this far, thank you for reading. I hope you’ll join me on this journey, and I’ll aim to post at least once a week.