Meet Melissa & Manny | Photographers

We had the good fortune of connecting with Melissa & Manny and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Melissa & Manny, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
To answer this question, I first have to examine what it means to live a balanced life. For many, balance can be as simple as 50% work, 50% play. For some it can be 25% work, 25% fitness, 25% family and so on. Balance tends to shift from person to person. What we have discovered is that balance is very difficult to achieve. When Manny and I decided to leave our jobs and embark on this new entrepreneurial journey, we knew that our so-called “work-life balance” would be interrupted. We left our 9-5 jobs in hopes of having more freedom, enjoy more family time, and do things on our own account – you know, a little more balance. But what we discovered was that being an entrepreneur entails the exact opposite of a work life balance. In order to succeed in business, you give up time with your family and friends, you go broke for months or even years, you sometimes go as far as sacrificing your health. Gary Vee said it best, “eat sh*t for 24 months and eat caviar for the rest of your life”.

We also realized that sometimes when you live an imbalanced life you learn to appreciate and have gratitude for the family time, your health, and all the little things that make life enjoyable. However, we would not give up what we’ve learned to live a more “balanced life”, whatever that means. The hours training first hand to be an entrepreneur has taught us about grit, fortitude, determintation, perseverance, and discipline. It has taught us to learn every aspect of our business – accounting, marketing, negotiating, contracts, licensing, and much more. All the things that would probably make you think twice when starting “just a photography business”. These are traits and important lessons that we may have never discovered if it weren’t for being a little unbalanced. I’ll end it with the wise words from Patrick Bet-David, “what I’ve learned about living a balanced life is that some of the greatest, most exciting things that happen in our life typically are imbalanced. And almost all of us, in certain phases of our lives are living an unbalanced life. When we try to force balance – that’s when it throws everything off.” The real question is, which way will the scale tip?

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Pryme Production is a commercial photography business. We specialize in architecture, product, and hospitality. We are a B2B business and we work with local, national, and international brands. Manny and I both worked in the interior design business for several years which is why we decided to merge our love of photography and design. Individually, we’ve always been creative in our own ways. Manny realized his love for photography when he started photographing cars in his younger years, something he still gets to do today. I realized mine at an early age as well, always consumed with documenting my life. Collectively, we had an appreciation for capturing moments and so it was effortless to start a business together. As it turns out we make a great team! Manny has a natural ability to work with lighting and composition. He understands what angles look good and how to portray certain moods with lighting. We both enjoy the retouching process, tedious but fun – and we have our individual styles. When it comes to project management, scheduling, and putting together treatments or mood-boards, Manny happily hands it over to me, it’s “my thing”.

When we first left our 9-5 jobs we weren’t sure if we wanted to start a business-to-consumer or business-to-business model. We settled on B2B because we figured there was more room to expand and we were up for the challenge. Honestly speaking, we should’ve held off on quitting our jobs until we had a more solid plan but you know what they say “no pressure, no diamonds”! This forced us to learn a lot and learn fast. We needed to know our target audience so a lot of the time was spent researching. We learned the ins and outs of the retouching process, and artificial lighting. For the first time it felt foreign to reach out to potential clients. Nobody realizes how easy it is to speak to a prospective consumer about licensing and pricing until it is your own business that you are trying to promote. Selling yourself and your brand is not as easy as people think, it takes a lot of confidence, knowledge, and self-awareness. Running your own business feels personal but once you manage to let go of the “personal” part then all the emotions are set aside, and it’s all business from there. You can better serve the customer that way. That has been one of the biggest lessons we’ve learned so far.

Another lesson has been to just go for it! Sometimes you have to take the risk, do the job and learn as you go. There will always be new challenges with every job you take on. It’s better to go in with an open mind knowing that there may be some road blocks, some issues that you’ve never dealt with before that require you to come up with a solution on the spot. We like to embrace those moments! Sure, it’s frustrating at the time but next go round you will be better prepared!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Oh, this is fun! When in Miami, everything below applies.

– Everglades or Big Cypress for airboat rides, alligator encounters, and good food)
– 8th street for your Hispanic fix (Versailles, Sergios, La Carreta, or any legit Cuban restaurants)
– Hoy Como Ayer and Ball & Chain for some live Hispanic music
– 7 Seas for Karaoke (Tuesday, Thursday, or Saturday)
– Oasis in Wynwood for some outdoor fun, live music, and good eats
– Chica and Lagniappe near Wynwood for a fun vibe
– Kayak around Virginia Key – if you’re up for the challenge they have beautiful views of the city, manatees,
and dolphins. You can always rent jet-skis or go on a boat ride.
– Whiskey Joe’s on Virginia Key for some good food after your outdoor extravaganza
– Museums: Superblue, Science Museum, Gold Coast Railroad Museum, and so many more
– Venetian Pool if it’s a hot day – since it’s fed by spring water from an underground aquifer
– Flanigans, an obvious choice for anyone outside of South Florida
– Bird Bowl, Frankies Pizza, and Arbetters Hot Dogs for some Westchester classics
– Other places: Coral Gables, Brickell, Downtown Miami, Wynwood, and South Beach

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
A huge shoutout to our family and friends who have stuck around during the good, bad, and nitty-gritty of starting our business. It’s not always rainbows and sunshine, but it is amazing to have people who support your dream and cheer you on along the way. We also have to shoutout the incredible entrepreneurs that we dedicate so much time listening to or watching for inspiration, motivation, and education. Some of those include Patrick Bet-David with Valuetainment, Andy Frisella with Real AF, David Goggins, Chris Do with The Futur, Robert Kiyosaki, Kevin O’Leary, Tim Grover, Tony Robbins, GaryVee, and so many more.

Website: https://www.prymeproduction.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prymeproduction/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC-LnlkeU3tL95CjzUe40IQ

Other: Behance Profile: https://www.behance.net/prymeproduction

Image Credits
Pryme Production