Journey to Kimber Images

David started up Kimber Images in January 2013, just two months after we got married. 
It sounds glamorous and all, but the circumstances were quite the opposite. I mentioned a little bit about starting this business in my very first post, A Little Bit About Me, but here's the full story of how Kimber Images came to be. 

Moen Media & Dan Moen
David graduated from the Art Institute of Vancouver with a Film & Video Diploma in April 2011. At his final presentation evening at school, a man named Dan Moen came by his computer and was very impressed with David's work. He and David chatted on and off for a few weeks after that, and then David officially started working with Dan doing Real Estate Photography for Moen Media. 

Dan taught David everything he knew, and even rented out a basement suite next to him/the office for VERY cheap (we're talking $200/month here). Before long, David had the title of "Production Manager" for Moen Media. He oversaw all the products that were sent out to realtors and ensured everything was up to snuff with the other few employees while Dan handled most of the scheduling of shoots and other business ventures.

David and two other employees, Jeff and Marielle, were working with Dan on January 8, 2013 when all of a sudden all their lives changed. I'll never forget it. I was attending a Fraser Health Program Clerk course, and I got a call from David. He just said, "Dan had a heart attack...I'm on my way out there now..." I was in the elevator at the time and was in shock, but I had no idea how serious it was. It wasn't until I got home and got another call from David. He told me that Marielle had received a call from Dan in the next room, and Dan just said, "I think I need an ambulance." When Marielle got to his room, Dan said, "Call Sarah..." and then he was gone.

There were so many things going through my head. First, I was thinking about David, Jeff and Marielle. Were they okay? Were they traumatized? What are they going to do? Then thoughts moved on to Dan's family. He didn't have a Will, what will they do? How many kids does he have? How will they hear the news? Thoughts trickled down, and reality set in. What are WE going to do? David is all of a sudden out of a job.

During all of this, Marielle told David she had to call Sarah, Dan's partner who lives on the island to let her know what had happened. Marielle was shaken up and they were all running on adrenaline. David wouldn't let her call Sarah, and he offered to do it instead. He had to tell Sarah that her life partner had passed away. He told me he could hear her heart break over the phone. I cannot imagine...I tear up now as I write about it. David showed incredible courage, compassion and maturity way beyond his years that day. Much more than I ever could.

I remember having the weirdest ominous feeling a couple weeks prior to this day. I kept asking David things like, "What if something happens to Dan? What is our plan for work if something happens and you no longer have a job?" I don't know why I had these thoughts or what I thought was going to happen, but I wonder if I was being somehow prepared. 

While still grieving, David also took on the duty of receiving calls from realtors trying to book shoots and informing them of the tragic news. While informing Dan's clients/friends, a long-time client of Dan's suggested David continue doing Real Estate Photography, starting up his own business and keeping the Moen Media clients happy. "I want to make you a rich man," were his words. 

David and I had many discussions about the future over those next couple weeks. Ultimately, we came to the conclusion that it would be silly not to try. Why not try carry on Dan's legacy. Thus, Kimber Images came to be. 

Starting it up
We had MANY questions starting out. How do we start a new business? Do we need a business license? Do we need to register with the government? How do we pay taxes? How do we collect money? How do we contact people? How do we do our accounting? Do we have to hire someone for that? How do we collect GST/HST? How do we gain clients? and MANY more.

We talked to some family, friends and other small business owners and were able to get some answers to some of these questions. Ultimately though, we made a huge leap of faith. 

David's first year of business was an adventure (it still is) with ups and rather significant downs. However, since January 2013 Kimber Images has grown drastically. We are now on page 1 of Google if you search "Real Estate Photography Vancouver". It is always tricky working in this sort of industry, but between David's excellent customer service/relate-ability, competitive pricing, and high quality photography he has made a great name for himself!  

Cotala
In June 2014, David and I went out for lunch to White Spot and we saw some guys come in with camera gear and sit at the booth right behind us. Odd, considering the rest of the restaurant was vacant as well, but we didn't mind. David recognized the logo on their shirts as "Cotala" one of his competitors in the Lower Mainland for Real Estate Photography. Cotala is a big-fish company; they're one of the largest in our area. David, being the outgoing guy that he is, struck up a conversation with one of the guys. He turned out to be Tavish, the founder of Cotala. They traded information, and kept in touch over the next couple weeks.

Since then, Cotala and Kimber Images have developed a very healthy working relationship. David sub-contracts to Cotala, and does an average of 6-8 shoots/week with them. They have been such a blessing to us. If it weren't for Cotala and the business they bring, David may have had to give up Kimber Images as his primary occupation. 

Kimber Images
Here is the link to David's Kimber Images website (KimberImages.ca).

The Future
In the past few months, David has been working to expand his portfolio from purely Real Estate to a more artistic style. He's been working with architects, construction companies and interior design companies. 

Where do we see Kimber Images in the future? Hopefully being a reliable source of income for us to raise our family, while still having David work from home when he can. David loves what he does; that has made this whole journey worth it.    

You can see some of David's work on his website and Facebook page, but here are a few of my personal favorite photos.

I am so unbelievably proud of David for all he's done. I could never have pulled off what he has in the past two and a half years. He has come so far. There have definitely been some low points where we wondered if this self-employment thing would work out, and we still have those thoughts occasionally, but looking back at this story is all the encouragement I need today.