When I realize that my wife is pregnant back in January 2019 than I was shock cause now we gonna have four kids in our life, it ain’t easy for sure cause since 5 years ago we don’t have any house assistant at all in our home. So between me and my wife working together for all house activities and we keep working as best as we can to run our business. My wife is running her online baby clothes store while I still running my own wedding photography business. Actually we help each other so it seems ridiculous life for someone else but this is what we gonna do in our life, and the most important things is we love for what we have now.
Hi lovely people my name is Bima and thank you for visiting my photography blog, I live in Yogyakarta Indonesia now even we figure out to move to other country in the next year. I starting my photography business back in 2009 and focusing my services for destination wedding photography, so what we talk here is I shoot wedding for overseas couple in different countries that we live as usual. Like our previous couple named Billy and Dickie, both of them are Hong Kong citizen and we just meet at the first time directly in Maldives for pre wedding shooting.
Many friends and family member asking me about why I choose to have my 4th baby and if you also want to know why and this is my reasons:
- BIG FAMILY – I always considering to have a big family cause I’m the only son from my parents who getting divorce when I was 4 year old so generally I don’t have any brother or sister who become my friend and stay in touch with SEGA games all day long is truly boring.
- BECOME THE ONLY SON ISN’T GOOD – The hardest day in my life by become the only son is when I saw my mom dying on the hospital’s ICU back in 2011 and there is no one that I can’t discuss with as a brother or sister
- IT’S FUN, TILL YOU HAVE IT FOR YOUR OWN – I know that we got a busy day and a lot chaos in my home, I sweep the floor 3 times a day and take care for every house needs together with my wife but it’s fun at least till you have it for your own cause when you are a person who belong to family guy than having a lot of kids is fun
I could say that I’m a family guy who better to stay at home and close with my family rather than working 9 to 5 and just got the money at the end of the month. My mom was working on oil company and she only visiting me who live in other town once a month, it’s not her false cause become a single parent mother is ain’t easy and I know that she doesn’t have any option during 1989. The situation is quite different cause now we have internet and able to work anywhere and everywhere so what I did is making my own photography blog and selling my services for highly specific couple who able to pay me high and once I’m done than I back home to take care my family.
If I could tell you that there is no kids in world who want to being left by their parents form 9 to 5 at Monday to Saturday, this is what I had for over than 30 years when seeing my mom leave me at home together with her assistant and only stay close with her on Sunday. Truly I don’t want it happen to my kids cause taking care of them, cook for their breakfast, picking up them at school than playing together is really fun and this is what I must do as a parents. My mom got no option in her life but now I have internet and I want to make my $700 internet marketing course worth it.
When I was join that internet marketing course, my mentor said that I can apply this system for all business that I had and this is SO TRUE cause now I live my life as an online based destination wedding photographer and in the rest of time I still got additional income from my photography blog. Kindly take a look my previous article below:
When you ever read Cashflow Quadrant chapter on Robert T Kiyosaki’s book than you will know that become a self employee or professional is still bit dangerous cause we do get paid when we working so the better way is become an entrepreneur or investor. This is true and always be so true, but everything is depend on your mindset, nowadays in case you are a professional but you still able to earn money even when you sleep like cute baby and this what I learn by having internet access for whole day.
Internet definitely change the way of life cause right now everybody can live better just by become a Youtuber rather than 9 to 5 employee so if you are a photographer than you still able to earn money from internet and having your own blog is one of the best and cheapest way to start on. Running your business with a blog means you got a 24 hours studio, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year. Photographer’s earning is not only by shooting wedding cause there are a lot of option to earn more like from education a.k.a you become a guest speaker on a seminar till earning a royalty from selling your photos online.
No matter it’s a love or money but in fact, if you keep looking for something than you always found it!
My Daily Activities as an Online Based Wedding Photographer
I used to woke up at 5 am and get pray, once I’m done I cook for simple breakfast for my kids and go the gym for work out from 6 to 6.45. Trust me 45 minutes on the gym and do it 3 times a week is cool to keep your body healthy. Generally I only need 10 minutes to get back home and took my daughter and boy go the school cause everything is done on 7.30 while I still have a lot of time to get breakfast together with my wife, 3rd and 4th son…it is amazing right!
I start blogging in the morning but when I choosing to shoot on microstock photography than I will blogging at night after my kids goest to sleep. Generally I shoot wedding less than 10 couple in a year and it’s way more enough from me cause rather than selling my collection in cheap than I choose to sell my collection over than $4000. Generally it’s a choice, you can sell $1000 of photography packages for 50 couple or you simply sell your collection like $4000 or more and shoot for at least 10 couple in a year and still earning more from other photography online income source.
If I had an overseas photo shoot like what I had for socialite portrait shoot in Hong Kong than I will ask for permission to all teacher for get a day off for 5 days and took all my kids to Nina’s parent which is only 3 km from my house, I would like to say thank you so much to all kind teacher that give me this special permission cause I don’t have any choice to ask Nina’s mom to take all kids to the school and I still want to run my photography business together with Nina.
Somehow I also invited as a guest speaker in photography seminar both in Indonesia and other country so I definitely still earn income from a short seminar that I had, may be I will make my own workshop someday. I used to pick up my kids at school at 11.30 and 14.00 and both of the school are only 150 meter from my house which is I will walking everyday.
Once my all kids at home is the best time for us to get lunch together and playing a Playdoh or Lego block together for an hour or more. Sometimes my kids are take a nap but sometimes not but mostly I still blogging or going our for shooting for microstock photos. Generally I focus on my work at early morning (I also used to woke up at 3 am to edit my photos) or working till late night for for photo retouching or publishing my photos on Shutterstock.
In other day I’m recording my Photoshop action while retouching wedding photos and sell it on my digital shop than I still wrote ebooks or making photography tutorial on my online course. So actually I still got enough time work on my business while having adorable and lovely four kids in my life.
Twice a year I keep trying to get a family holiday with my wife and four kids even couple months ago when my 4th kids not born yet than we take a short holiday to Bali and Singapore and it was fun. I took my kids to go to Legian beach and eat at great Menega seafood restaurant after enjoying the beautiful sunset in Bali, look at the picture below,
Last March I took my 3rd boy to get his first fly experience so we going to Singapore for 4 days and enjoying the city so much. We stay in a nice home at Tanjung Katong and exploring Clarke Quay, Sea Aquarium till having fun at Arab Street and Haji Lane. Generally by sharing this time together and not just looking for money and money again for whole day than I feel I’m a lucky person, this what I want in my entire life.
Running My Business and Taking Care My Four Kids
If I could share for what I do here, running my photography business and taking care four kids than I could tell you about:
1 – Built Your Own Blog
Having your blog is the first step to make your business online for 24 hours and whenever your future clients want to hire you than they just drop you an email like what I had from my Canadian couple who ask me to shoot on their pre wedding in Hallstatt, Austria.
You might also can read my story about:
2 – Think What You Can Do On Digital Era
Too many ways to earn money in a digital era like now, you can sell your Photoshop Action like what I had on my shop, write an ebook or selling your photos online. Like what I said before, if you keep looking the way than you will always find the right way….just don’t stop!
Down here I will put some links where you also can see for what I do in photography business.
3 – Find the Best Time to Talk with Your Life Partner
I always got a time to talk or having a nice discussion with my wife, we often go to cafe which has a playground so we can talk while our kids playing for an hour or more or talk each other while our kids is take a nap. The best way to face this chance is by always fine a good time to stay close to your life partner.
When you don’t have a good time together than there will be a conflict, the main reason is communications and it always be about it. Somehow communication failure is the first problem that make marriage couple divorce so just be concern about it.
4 – Concern on Family Holiday
It’s not about how far you travel or how expensive your traveling is but the most important thing is you must finding the best time to get off from your home and star super close with all family member. You can go camping or fishing at the lake till traveling to another cities like what we had.
Our photo below is our 3 hours family holiday on a water dam that only take an hour of driving car, we eat cheap street food there and play on the grass and ride with the boat during the sunset time, it’s beautiful and we spend for less than $20 on this trip
5 – Set a Good Business Mindset
Business is simple, as long as you can earn money by doing for what you love than you find the best business for your own. I love photography better than other job in this world so what I did is keep shooting on wedding day and make my photography blog become of my money machine.
In fact you can sell anything from anywhere by using internet and your blog, life is changing and blog is superb platform to sell every product and services that you’ve got. Stay positive cause having four kids and running your business is really possible as long as long you got a good mindset. So now it’s your turn to share your opinion on the comment below, let me know what you do in your life.