*doing the Ninja Turtle Theme song in my head right now*
I can’t believe this is my life.
We did the presentations. They were so good. You cannot believe how many great ideas are out there. Devon, this girl from Meadow, had this awesome idea for a clothing line, slightly higher end, clothing with an Aboriginal accent to them. Beautiful sketches. And Jana, who placed second, is doing this hilarious casual wear clothes – my favourite is the pants that say “BANNOCK” on the ass. I am getting me some of those. Adam is doing BIGG Entertainment and he sang and talked and didn’t even look at his notes. He was a pro. Gerald Ratt (you remember him…) and his partner Tynella did a presentation on workshops building confidence in young FN women. Brady is working on a fire-fighting crew idea. We did this presentations and for each and every one, I was all “I could totally plan a shoot around that. I could work with him/her.” I was so inspired.
So then when it was my turn, I wasn’t nervous. I was giddy. Wired. Way too much coffee. But happy. Finally. I had worked my butt off on a business plan, which still requires work (I’ll be working on it the rest of April) and now this presentation and I had no fear – just had to talk my way through it.
So we did it and then we were free until 5:30. At the banquet, we had a short speech by Kendal Netmaker (who I accidentally called Kendal Neechiemaker, which I think actually work out awesome) of Neechie Gear. He won the contest in 2010 and it gave him the boost to start Neechie Gear. Then we had a wonderful meal at the Marquis Hall in Place Riel (nom nom nom). I had TWO glasses of white wine (what a wild child). Finally, the winners were announced.
Jana Ross won runner-up with her business, Bannock Republic. So funny.
I fully expected someone else to win, so I was very surprised when my name was said. So much fun. And wine.
And then I won a door prize!
It was kind of a busy blur after that. We had to do our presentations over again. That was fun. We thanked the sponsors. We did photos. We got big checks (fer’ real, huge checks) and we signed contracts. We did a short video snippet about the program. We shook hands with everyone. Got business cards from everyone. Me and the photographer shooting the event, Karen, talked shop and local businesses. She was full of information and sharing. Loved.
Finally, we were done all the PR and legalities and we headed home to pick up our baby from the babysitters.
I was thisclose to going and buying a lotto ticket.
So what I on was some cash to use towards my business. I am planning on upgrading my blog template and hosting site, so that will be fun. I’m planning on working with a designer on branding my name so it’s more recognizable. I’m planning on using some of it for travel/photography getaways. I want to use some of it for samples such as canvases, prints, albums. I’m buzzing with possibilities. Oh! And a new prime lens (or two!) – I’m not sure which one yet but something that will be amazing, I’m sure.
The other part that I won was a year-long mentorship with a professional in the same field as I am. It may not necessarily be another photographer, bunt someone who works in the arts. They don’t know just yet but I’m very excited. I think this part is going to be so helpful on guiding me through the technical, financial part of this all.
So that was my Friday.
A good day.
**Thank you, SIFE, for hosting this competition and for giving me the tools and opportunity to make this business plan a reality.
