So what does one do now? :-)

Do you want to stay in NYC?

what a lovely dilemma you have!

Congratulations - what a good problem to have! And kudos on recognizing your difficulty in dealing with similar situations in the past.

I would suggest you try meeting a few financial planners, and work towards finding someone you can trust in that field. Be sure to seek someone out who has experience advising small business owners, as opposed to simply working with individuals.

Also, it would probably help to know what your goals are, both personally and professionally. Then, when you find the right advisors, you can work with them to implement a plan to acheive those goals.

Best wishes!

Valerie

dear lost and found,

I am a complete devotee of following my heart and soul--it feels good (and grows everyday)and it is touching and moving others in ways I could never imagine. Do with the money that which feeds your heart so that you feel good, moment to moment. So, simple...and you can never, ever go wrong.

As you well know, when you feel good, you know exactly what you want-- how to act, where to go, what you are moved to do. You know what gives you joy, right now. And as you give this to yourself more and more, you are practicing "being in fullness". And in that fullness, you pour over and spill out onto the world around you. Serving the world by serving yourself. It's spontaneously combustable. It's utterly desirable. It's seductive and fulfilling.

The world can always use those who know how to live by example, from the heart. Money or no money.

Use what you have been given to love your life as fully as you possibly can. Do nothing less.

Nothing less.

;) mahalo, Heather

Was your success a result of your passion for photography business? Or are you incredibly lucky? If it's business passion, why own more businesses with managers? NYC - East - West - someplace else? Consider a complimentary business to even out economic cycles or a different business to keep you challenged. No more terrifying kitties!

I guess reading " The Monk who sold his Ferrari" would help...

You can always become a Biznik supporting member, receive more business exposure, and then worry about what to do with even more money. ;]

Good luck with your "problem."

-Andrey

I'm curious; did you get all of your money from jacking the cat or was it from your other photos? Art T.

Hey Conrad,

I'm a fan of keeping it lean and mean. A client of mine used to be a graphic designer, but now owns one of the largest graphic design firms in the city. She is constantly urging me to hire people and start up my own large firm.

That idea scares the hell out of me. First and foremost, I started up, and am currently operating with zero debt. I don't have to make payroll, rent, or other overhead and production costs. So if my business ever curls up and dies, I can just walk away.

However, more importantly, I enjoy what I do, and I provide great quality. I don't want to trade in what I do to become a manager. I also don't want to spend time worrying about the quality of work that an employee is doing for my valued clients.

That totally makes sense, Conrad. This is all based on my obsessions as mentioned above, but it is just so much easier to hire a wrong person than it is to hire the right person.

A wrong person can do a lot of damage to your reputation and client relationships before you even get the chance to find out that they are wrong. More importantly, a great chef has recipes, but draws on superior instinct and experience to make great dishes. Once he tries to get people with lesser instinct and experience to follow a set of directions to make the same dish, he starts heading down that slippery slope to becoming the next McDonald's clone.

All that being said, McDonald's is a very successful business, but their products are nothing that would make any chef proud.

Of course, a lot of businesses have gone big and totally thrived. However if excellent quality is the main draw for your clients, there is a good chance they will be disappointed and you will need to find new clients who are willing to accept the change in quality.

Mind you, a large portion of my database development business is the up-front consulting process, which draws heavily from my past experience and expertise. How true that is for your business affects how important all my ramblings are to you. I don't know enough about your photography product/service to say.

As a result, everything I say may just be a fart in a windstorm to you.