Hey Reader,
One of the replies I got from last week’s newsletter asked how I set myself up to go from a 9-5 corporate worker to full-time photographer/content creator.
So I thought I’d share the real story.
I started photography in February 2022.
At the time, I was 4 years into my corporate career working as a project manager, industrial designer, and lecturer earning about $107k per year.
And honestly, that salary and lifestyle had become part of my identity.
Then I heard a quote from Gary Vaynerchuk that completely changed how I viewed my life:
“I’d rather you make $50k doing something you love than $100k doing something you hate.”
That hit me hard.
Because for the first time, I realised I'd actually be happy making less money if it meant I could wake up each day, control my own time, and do work I genuinely loved.
That changed everything.
I stopped introducing myself as a project manager and started introducing myself as a photographer first… almost like I was giving myself permission to become the person I wanted to be before my reality had caught up yet.
Then I sat down and worked out exactly how much money I actually needed to live.
No lavish holidays.
No crazy spending.
Just enough to support a simple life that I’d be happy living.
The number came out to about $47k per year before tax.
That was huge for me.
Because suddenly the goal changed from:
“How do I become a full-time photographer?”
to:
“How do I save enough money to buy myself a window of time?”
That felt achievable.
So that’s what I did.
I cut expenses as much as I could.
Used my salary to support my lifestyle.
And saved every single dollar my business made.
I didn’t touch any of it.
But I also knew this was going to take everything I had.
I remember joking to my friends at the start of 2022:
“See you next year.”
But I wasn’t joking.
My weekdays looked like this:
Wake up at 7:30am.
Leave for work at 8:30am.
Work from 9–5.
Get home around 6pm.
Then from 6pm until 1am, 2am, sometimes even 3am…
I worked on building my dream.
Editing photos.
Posting content.
Organising shoots.
Building digital products.
Writing emails.
Learning marketing.
Building landing pages.
Then every weekend, I’d go out and shoot.
Saturday.
Sunday.
Sometimes both days plus extra shoots on top.
I lived on caffeine, Uber Eats, McDonald’s breakfasts on the way to sunrise shoots, and pure obsession.
Looking back, I know it wasn’t healthy.
But at the time, I was willing to stop at nothing to achieve my goals.
And after 1 year and 7 months of the hardest work of my life…
I’d saved about $88k and my business income was growing every month.
That’s when I quit my job in October 2023 and went full-time.
People always ask me:
“Weren’t you scared to take the risk?”
And honestly…
I’m actually a very risk-averse person.
That’s why I saved nearly 2 years of expenses first.
By the time I quit, it honestly felt riskier to stay in my 9–5 than it did to back myself.
If there’s one thing I want you to take away from this email, it’s this:
You do not need to have everything figured out immediately.
But if you want a different life, you need to intentionally start building towards it.
One decision.
One skill.
One post.
One client.
One day at a time.
That’s how it happens.
If this was useful, just reply with “yes” so I know.
And if there’s anything you want me to cover next, let me know.
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Thanks so much for spending some of your time with me & reading Filling The Gaps.
Talk soon,
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P.S. One of the biggest things that accelerated my growth early on was improving my editing and developing a style that made my work instantly recognisable online.
That’s exactly why I built my LTO Signature Preset Collection: Volume 1.
It’s designed to help you improve faster, build confidence in your editing, and create images you actually feel proud to post.
Check it out here.
