March 2009 marked the full half-way point in my life to have been a freelancing photographer....fully half of my days have been with this journey!!...pretty amazing I guess, it's just all 2nd nature to me anymore. Everyday is totally different than the one before, and always I'm finding new and creative projects to develop and bring to market.
This year is no different, as I am just about to dive headlong into a new Sonoma Wine Country calendar for 2010. Info about it can be found on the web site.
While I currently have a couple of people doing spot assistant work, I want to try something different over the next month. I've never once had true interns working with me, it's always been paid part-time or full-time people, and I've trained a good number of people on photoshop and all that goes with this venture.
But this summer I want to start the process of finding a truly unique person that will develop into a key go-to personal assistant to work on all of my publishing projects, so I want to begin that with a search for a few qualified assistants, over 21 years old who are fairly tech and social networking savvy, with a complete passion for imagery. It would hurt if they were familiar with my work...and an enjoyment of our wine country would be a great attribute.
I'm seeking 2 or 3 project interns for 3 or 4 weeks ASAP who would be interested in assisting for the upcoming Sonoma County publications I'll be working on, including the 2010 Sonoma Wine Country calendar, and all the prep work to make it happen. These would supplement the couple of assistants that are currently helping out...with the goal being to find one or 2 of the people best suited for some full-time assistant help.
Ideal candidates would be those who have the next few weeks available for as much hands on interning/training, eventually developing into a key paid full-time position once the full-on crunch of the calendar season begins in August. Someone who is completely in sync with what I do & who can bring beneficial skills & talents to the table is an ultimate goal in finding the full time personal assistant I've been lacking for several years.
I've also just set up a new web site to facilitate all the wine country stuff http://www.sonomawinecountry.net so someone with experience handling web sites would be great to have as well, or at least a quick study. I might be looking for a separate person just for this aspect...we'll see.
What I photograph and publish has a niche in our beautiful Northern California location. My hours and abilities are all over the place, and it's sometimes hard for people to keep up cause I work on so many different things all at once at times. VERSATILITY IS HUGE IN MY WORLD, and I get some incredible projects accomplished in pushing myself. I am much less "demanding" when others are involved, and am actually very patient and understanding with people. It's great when someone is in the realm of really understanding and learning my process of things, which can be very causal/humorous, not make much sense on the surface, filled with intrigue, & at times, very boring and tedious, but it's definitely unique & fun to be working on something that 10's of thousands of people will eventually see, use and enjoy.
Yeah, I am a Gemini (Business/Artist), but am very approachable and communicable. While I know not many people will have the depth of ALL these techie/creative/administrative things I handle, having a "team" of as few people to cover it all is my goal, a couple of strong people for the respective things listed here, and running an intern program for a few weeks to get to the point of having 1 or 2 regular paid assistants making $10-$15/hour, or other agreeable arrangements, is the eventual goal. The freelancing lifestyle is a bit of a rollercoaster ride, not necessarily the best match for someone overly regimented or with set routines, though likewise the loose-goosy freewheeling personalities have their place, but are quite often missing out on the business aspects of all that is involved in this pursuit.
So with that said, after an initial period with a few interns over a few weeks time to see who is the best fit, pay will be based on how successful the Sonoma Wine Country program runs, and I need someone that understands and is flexible about that. Mid-August thru the end of the year, will require support for all aspects of the 16th year of my Sonoma County photo and event calendar as well, followed by new book projects for the spring, so someone with a mindset regarding the publishing industry would be the ideal person. All along the way, with each an every helper I've had, I have been able to throw in some additional perks here and there.
In-depth knowledge of Apple Computers, publishing, photography, photo editing, offset color printing, graphic design, copy-writing, creative writing, videography & editing, original digital musical creations, retail & wholesale sales, R&D, marketing & distribution, customer relations, web designing are just some of the things that I handle. It would be great to find someone with similar qualifications &/or a HUGE desire to learn more about these areas & to grow into a better understanding of this publishing process & these local industry's.
Please understand this is my life and my art, my existence is pretty much wrapped around what I do (that, and being an uncle), though I am utterly casual in my approach to everything, so someone who appreciates the seriousness of what I do and have accomplished AND can appreciate that casualness is required. My penchant for creating mountains of paperwork and a wide array of stuff and get it all jumbled together, and then all of a sudden it's gone and dealt with (sometimes just hidden away in more boxes) is almost legendary (at least in the office building I've been in for 10 years now). Those administrative items are my weak point, but they do get dealt with...the ideal person would also have a good handle on these types of things. I know, I know, it's really numerous people that I need, but I want to be realistic about how much I can take on with a "staff" verses having a key person or two to gain a trust and build a bond I can rely on. It's such an intriguing thing I get to do, I would like to find a sort of protege(s) that gets much of this...hopefully the wine country projects will take off and a full-time full staff could be developed and supported, as these projects I'm proposing will be yearly oriented, starting with some interns is the process I'm hoping will launch this.
For info please email an inquiry, but please understand, I need the best fit(s), so please only serious inquiries from those who feel strongly about this, thanks.
-Robert
