Fi Mims

Nick Abregu: Hey Google, where can we find Melbourne’s best branding photographer?

Fi Mims: Right here, in this building with Fi Mims.

Nick Abregu: Fi Mims, welcome to the show!

Fi Mims: So good to be here.

Nick Abregu: So, for those that don’t know, you are, you literally about six steps.

Fi Mims: We’re neighbors!

Nick Abregu: We are neighbors. And I think you were the first person that I met after the landlord of this place.

Fi Mims: Yes. I think, yeah. Lucky you, lucky me!

Nick Abregu: Lucky us.

Fi Mims: Now it’s been great having you guys in the building. Really good.

Nick Abregu: And so, can you tell us a little bit about what it is that Fi Mims Photography does? I mean, I suppose the name gives it away but…

Fi Mims: Yes, it does. Although there are many types of photographers in the world. I’m a photographer specializing in personal branding photography.

Nick Abregu: Lovely.

Fi Mims: Which I didn’t start out that way. I’ve been in the game for 15 years, a long time. And I did my time as a wedding photographer for 10 years which I loved, really loved. But as I had my kids, I decided for a lifestyle decision to phase those out and…

Nick Abregu: Not your kids.

Fi Mims: Not the kids. Unfortunately, it wasn’t an option. Guys, I love my kids. I love my kids.

Nick Abregu: They don’t come with receipts, right? You can’t give them back.

Fi Mims: No thought of sharing or anything. No. Now looking back from there, no there was no. I love my kids just in case they’re listening.

Nick Abregu: They also might. I saw your New Year’s videos on your social media videos.

Fi Mims: Oh, we went to the Dromana Drive and that was great fun!

Nick Abregu: Yeah, I’m like oh! I know that place.

Fi Mims: I was falling asleep and they wanted to stay watching. Yeah, but now, so as I had my kids, I think the beauty of having your own business and a little bit of flexibility. One of those benefits is being able to evolve and change things. So, I decided to phase out of the weddings and I was also doing a lot of family photography at the time which I kept up. But as I phased out of my wedding photography genre, I built up a, we started working more with people in terms of business photography. Back then it wasn’t really personal branding photography, that term. Wasn’t really spoken about a lot. It started to come in a couple years later. But I just, there was a, started to be such a need for people to need business images, mark themselves. I worked mostly and still do work mostly with women. And as of the last few years it’s pretty much been the core of my business. And if you go to my website now, you’ll see that I am promoted or I am advertised as a personal branding photographer which I love! It’s the right work.

Nick Abregu: Lovely. And where are you based?

Fi Mims: I am, well my studio is in Elsternwick so Melbourne Australia but I do travel.

Nick Abregu: You do.

Fi Mims: I’d go in Hawaii in April.

Nick Abregu: To shoot?

Fi Mims: Yes, to shoot.

Nick Abregu: Wow.

Fi Mims: Yes, there’s a company, fantastic coaching, coaching company called Beautiful You that travels occasionally every year. And I sometimes go and shoot their events. Which is also fun.

Nick Abregu: Oh, that awesome!

Fi Mims: So, I don’t get those gigs often but yeah, that’ll be great fun.

Nick Abregu: Well not yet. You didn’t get them often yet but they’re,

Fi Mims: Yes, I’m open for business people.

Nick Abregu: I always thought about running an add on a, in another country saying Australia’s best videographer is coming to town. So, booked me out. Just to see what happens.

Fi Mims: Yeah, well you’ve just gotta try things, don’t you?

Nick Abregu: If you get a booking, just go!

Fi Mims: Yeah, yeah, yeah. But most of my work is Melbourne based. I used to live fairly central but I moved to the peninsula about a year ago. And I’ve probably found that most of my work is sort of Bayside. But photographers, we travel everywhere, you know, wherever the gig takes us.

Nick Abregu: Yeah.

Fi Mims: Which is which is great as well. I do a lot of interstate work and yeah. But mostly Melbourne.

Nick Abregu: What’s it like living in heaven?

Fi Mims: Well you’re in heaven too. Aren’t you?

Nick Abregu: Oh, yes.

Fi Mims: You know what? It was such a big change and I previously always said I was a very urban chick. And I still love the city but I don’t know whether it was timing or just as you grow older but I love it down there. And we literally moved almost to the day a year ago. So, we moved and the next day, the kids started school and it was just crazy. So, we didn’t really have a lot of time to enjoy the summer but we’ve just obviously had a month of summer. And we all got surfboards and stand-up paddleboards and stuff for Christmas. So, we’ve been surfing around the peninsula and not very well mind you. No fun, actually call it surfing.

Nick Abregu: You see? That we have to get stand-up paddle boards.

Fi Mims: Yeah.

Nick Abregu: We have to.

Fi Mims: Yeah. Absolutely.

Nick Abregu: I don’t know if our garage is big enough though.

Fi Mims: Well then, you’ve got to join one of the yacht clubs. And you can store it down there.

Nick Abregu: That’s true. Just leave it there.

Fi Mims: But no, get an inflatable. There’s inflatables kind of paddle boards.

Nick Abregu: I saw that.

Fi Mims: A lot of people are using them.

Nick Abregu: And I’ve been looking at them. They seem, they’re tempting for sure.

Fi Mims: But, no, I love it. I love it and it’s, it’s great that again my business has allowed me that flexibility to move down there. And still I can travel for work and yeah, it’s great but I feel might sound silly but I feel more of an Australian living near the beach. And I was never really a beach person either. Like I enjoyed it but I’m, you know, I don’t necessarily love me in the beach. But I feel like that’s kind of changed as well. Just being near that water and I think that is what our country’s about. I just yeah, I feel like I’m, gives me a lot of respect for the country and also just lucky that I’m able to soak up what it’s got to offer a little bit more these days.

Nick Abregu: How beautiful is it coming up over Oliver’s Hill or even Mount Martha. And just seeing the ocean on the right-hand side. It’s just so gorgeous!

Fi Mims: Well we used to rent right on the Nepean Highway over the hills. So, every morning I drove down that hill but now that we’ve moved, we moved into our own house about four months ago. I don’t get that anymore. So, I have to go out of my way to get that view but it is stunning, like it’s just beautiful coast down there. Yeah.

Nick Abregu: So nice. I think we’ve spent more money on sunscreen than we ever have ever in our entire lives.

Fi Mims: With good reason.

Nick Abregu: So, do you want the good news or the bad news?

Fi Mims: The fruit platter is not coming?

Nick Abregu: Well we had a naked man, sort of here but I don’t know. It was all for you apparently. I didn’t get a say. But he’s stuck in traffic. He’s gonna sushi stuck somewhere. So, do you want the bad news?

Fi Mims: Okay.

Nick Abregu: You got a parking fine.

Fi Mims: Oh, no!

Nick Abregu: And I’m sorry I had to tell you on this podcast.

Fi Mims: Oh my gosh! Do you know what my car alarm went off and I just ignored it? It keeps working and you know what? I haven’t, I’ve been doing that for months now. And I’ve been so lucky. I knew today had a chance.

Nick Abregu: You know, every time we don’t get a parking fine, we’re like, yeah let’s go have a nice dinner somewhere.

Fi Mims: D** it! D** it. Got to get my shoes mate that I wanted buy.

Nick Abregu: Why don’t you just take it off and put it on someone who’s got a rich car.

Fi Mims: Think I might not read the fine print that would be quite awful and mean but funny.

Nick Abregu: but it’s biohacking. What’s like a….

Fi Mims: Officer, it flew up in the wind. Yeah. Gosh had a real pit height for parking and speeding fines. Mostly it’s speeding fines like I know we shouldn’t speed but man they really suck you these days with the fines, don’t they? That’s so, yeah. Anyway, don’t start me.

Nick Abregu: I like that the, being on your phone fine has gone up to $1,000.

Fi Mims: Oh, has it?

Nick Abregu: Or something like that. I think that’s good.

Fi Mims: Yeah. I mean that is really dangerous. It is, yeah. So that is good.

Nick Abregu: I’ve got that little…

Fi Mims: And I have the, I mean I do have the, you know, they do have to slow you down and make sure you’re not being distracted. But I don’t know, you just feel hot d** vibe and it keeps so often.

Nick Abregu: I know.  So, besides all these fines that you…

Fi Mims: Does anyone want to pay my fine for me?

Nick Abregu: Hey, put it at this, someone of our 20 million listeners might…

Fi Mims: I’ll give you a free headshot.

Nick Abregu: Oh! You hear that? And not the speeding fine charge?

Fi Mims: My headshots cost more than the fine, just so you know. So, I probably shouldn’t have said that, should I? I’ll give you a free image with your headshot session.

Nick Abregu: There you go.

Fi Mims: There we go that’s expensive as it cost.

Nick Abregu: Lovely, so I love your studio.

Fi Mims: I have, I’ve probably got the not… well I have got the nicest space in the building. I’ve got a beautiful space with natural light at the back there.

Nick Abregu: It’s so beautiful.

Fi Mims: I said come and use it when you need to.

Nick Abregu: Yeah, I know. We’ve been building this.

Fi Mims: Yeah, and this is a great little space. Really nice.

Nick Abregu: We put up…

Fi Mims: I love the way you decorate.

Nick Abregu: I don’t know if the camera can see but we put up the… if you just look behind you, the soundproof. And then it all fell. It all fell so we just put it up really quickly right now. So that it doesn’t… but we came in the next day and it was all on the floor. I’m like, that’s…

Fi Mims: Are you using those 3M things?

Nick Abregu: Yes.

Fi Mims: Yeah, they’re usually really good.

Nick Abregu: I know.

Fi Mims: You can’t use my room anyway because… well actually you can use it but…

Nick Abregu: Oh thanks, thanks Fi.

Fi Mims: No, it’s not me. It’s not me. It’s the elements. I have a tin roof.

Nick Abregu: Oh yeah.

Fi Mims: Is it noisy back here? Because when it rains up there you can’t hardly hear something.

Nick Abregu: We don’t really pick it up in these mics.

Fi Mims: Ah.

Nick Abregu: Yeah.

Fi Mims: Okay.

Nick Abregu: And if we do. With my… the editing team, the specialized editing team.

Fi Mims: They do that reduce noise thing?

Nick Abregu: Do their magic thing.

Fi Mims: That is magic too. It does seem like magic on what you guys do in your videos.

Nick Abregu: And we also on this thing, I don’t know if you guys can see. We record, these records two files. One at this normal speaking sound and another one at a lower speaking sound. So, at a lower decibel. So that if anything picks or anything, there’s any distraction, we can switch over to that one. And we can amp that one up so it picks up less of the sound. Is it nice to be you’re text techy?

Fi Mims: It is but you know what, that’s why people use you. Because you’re good and you’ve got the gear.

Nick Abregu: That’s right. And we’re good. And we…

Fi Mims: You’re good. I did say that, didn’t I? Didn’t they hear?

Nick Abregu: GorillaCo is good at what they do.

Fi Mims: You’re lying. You guys are amazing! I checked the videos you made this year and I loved it!

Nick Abregu: When that gets transcribed…

Fi Mims: I love what you do. The one for Gemma. I loved it!

Nick Abregu: Awesome! I’m glad. It’s nice when we can get feedback like that. I wanted to ask you. You’ve been in business for more than ten years. That’s amazing.

Fi Mims: Yes, it is. And I actually feel very proud of that. In business doing the same thing which is running my, I mean look how it has been flexible around kids. So, I pulled it back a little bit and then built it up again. But I have been able to pay myself for 15 years which, yeah. Because I think as a business owner you can often just bash yourself around a lot about, you know, I’m not successful enough. I’m not making enough money. I’m not this, I’m not that. I’m not as good as them, you know. And in the online world of social media we’re always, I think at risk of comparing ourselves to other people that look like they’re doing better than we are. But I have learned to really stop and go, hey, I’m still in business then just that’s success, really. That’s success to me. I’m doing what I love. And you know, I’m always trying to do it better and run my business better but I’m really proud that I’m still, still in business.

Nick Abregu: What you just said comparing yourself is so, it’s something that we try and stay away from as much as we can. But I did that the other morning. Like I woke up and the first thing I did, I open my Facebook which I shouldn’t. That was a mistake. That was a mistake. And there was a competitor of mine and I just see them doing so well. And I just couldn’t help but get a little bit like, why is my business not, you know, why are we not celebrating those things. It was hard.

Fi Mims: Everyone looks like they’re doing well online though. I mean that’s a yeah, it’s tricky and I get triggered a lot as well. But I recognize my triggers now and you have to be in the right mindset when you go online. And do not spend too much time on there. And I think, like you said time of day is important. So, I was finding I was always looking at Instagram last thing before bed. And it put me in such a bad mindset. I mean this, I jump on there at times and love what I see but you’re right if you come across you know, a competitor. And lots of my competitors are also wonderful friends like we get along really well but I actually just would be honest and transparent I will not follow them through my business account or I will choose when I will go and just say, hey I want to see what so-and-so is up to. And then you know I’ll shoot up a message and say, love that shot or love your work. You were doing great but you have to be really careful I think because it is so easy to, yeah.

Nick Abregu: Spiral.

Fi Mims: To spiral. There’s a fine line between, what do I say, inspiration and well, I had a better

word for it but it was between inspiration and comparison. Yeah, yeah.

Nick Abregu: It’s so unhealthy for the mind. And I can’t imagine what it’s like having kids. You know like how do you break the cycle of feeling sorry for yourself in a sense and then you might pass that on to your kids. Like if you, if your competitor did something amazing. You’re like d** it. I should have done that or, you know, it is that hard to break that cycle of passing that negativity on to your kids?

Fi Mims: Yeah, I think so and you also want the best for you kids. So really being careful around how much you push them or let them do what they want to do or be at the level they’re at. Really important. And I think, I suppose maybe as a woman as well, I feel a lot of pressure because, you know, I know it’s tough for guys as well. But as a woman, you know, there’s a lot of judgment around looks, and shape, and what you achieve, and trying to do all the things. So, I’m really mindful of how I talk about, not only how I talk in terms of whether I’m happy or sad. But also, about how I talk about myself in front of my kids. I’ve got a girl and a boy; they’re twins by the way. So, it’s important for both of them but yeah, I find as a parent the hardest thing is battling the lack of sleep from the tiredness because I find when I’m tired, I’m a bad parent. And that’s when I can get down on my kids. And it’s got nothing to do necessarily with how they’re behaving but it’s just, yeah, which comes back to, you know, looking after yourself. Which I think again, something as a business owner you can put yourself last a lot.

Nick Abregu: Absolutely.  And you guys are…

Fi Mims: Do you find that?

Nick Abregu: Yeah, absolutely. Definitely! So, I’ve always said when you own a business, you are in a relationship with your business and that means you’re in a relationship with your staff. So, you have to treat them you know, and you have to go home and have the relationship with your family. And then go to work have a relationship with your staff. That’s hard. That’s hard to do. It’s hard to switch off you know, at times when you need to. But I wanted to ask you your family, you’re all entrepreneurs. Right? Your husband owns his own business as well.

Fi Mims: Yes, he does.

Nick Abregu: So, you’ve got your own business. And I find that business owners we strive, we’re a different breed of human. Not better or worse than, you know, but just different. And I find that we are very headstrong.

Fi Mims: I think you have to be, to survive. Because business is, how long have you been successful?

Nick Abregu: So, I started I think at the end or just at the start of 2011.

Fi Mims: Yeah, okay. Which is a long time too. I think I mean back to when I started, it was still yellow pages and social media wasn’t around. And workshops were always in person and it was just such a different ball game. So, it’s much harder now. So, I think unless you’re driven you just don’t survive. And you have to be savvy as well. You have to know how to run your books as well as market. And do what you’re really gifted at. Unless you’re lucky enough to

outsource but again you have to be able to do all that stuff still to get to that point. And I think regardless of outsourcing, you have to know how to do all that stuff and be across it all day. You can see how your business but I caught up with a friend a few weeks ago. She got her own business and she’s just coming back in after having a little girl, 18 months. And we were sitting there, banging on about all this business stuff, about the coaches we follow, and the podcast we listen to, and just all manner of things. And then I just stopped and went, oh my God. If people around us weren’t running their own business and they were listening to our conversation, they would just think we’re crazy! Like you just feel like you’re in a bit of a bubble, I think. Like you said it’s a different type of lifestyle.

Nick Abregu: And I find that with my friends. We have different things to talk about. So, like they talk about the politics at work. Which is what I’m sure my stuff talks about, you know, if there is. But as the business owner we talk about how we close the next deal or how we, you know, I find something that really rewarding is being able to provide for the family. Like that’s a massive thing.

Fi Mims: It’s massive. Yeah, really massive and I think I suppose personally as a photographer I have battled with that a lot over the years because It’s, you know, you have to work really hard I think to make an income that’s comparable to what you would get working for a corporate which I did for seven years before I went into photography. And I don’t know why it’s so different but when you step out on your own it’s really hard to then charge those same rates it’s, I suppose it’s more competitive as well. But we’re more willing to give up our time for some reason and yet we work harder. So, yeah, I’m getting off track here. Oh, no. I don’t know. But I was, yeah, it is what were you saying?

Nick Abregu: No, I understand. What, why is that the case though? Why is that the case that we will sacrifice?

Fi Mims: I think it’s because, it’s we treat, we look at our business as selling ourselves when really, we should be looking at our business in a different perspective. The products and the value that we give to people. And I think we often sell ourselves short or we just find it because it’s, yeah, I think because it’s personally. I know because I work with a lot of women in particular that run their own business that’s what I feel from them. And I think that’s why I love working with them as well because I, it just resonates with me. I understand it. I feel it. I battle it as well. But I think there’s a lot of struggle around charging what you’re worth and understanding what you’re worth. And then there’s competition on top of that. So, we get sort of, we get hammered and then we lose our confidence. And we compare ourselves to other people. And yeah, I think that’s, you know, then you start spiraling, don’t you? Yeah.

Nick Abregu: I don’t know if this is going to sound silly or not but because of the way mainstream media is that we have there’s women compare themselves a lot more because there’s a lot more material for them to compare themselves to. I find like every magazine or everything on the news is all about some woman you know, looking like this or being like this or whatever. So, naturally women are going to be more they’re gonna compare themselves a lot more because that’s all they seen. Right? So, when you take right and you put that woman into a business environment right? How can you not continue those traits? How can you not compare yourself to other women because you’re so trained at doing it? But men as well, right? Men as well. But for us I think it’s a little bit different.

Fi Mims: Your success is often graded differently. I agree and it’s whilst I know there’s also a certain image quality around guys. It’s definitely much more amplified for women and it’s stupid things like I’ll never be over successful because I’ve got fat thighs or, you know. Something really stupid and completely irrelevant but I think it’s just it’s just what evolution has done to us and it’s where we are right now. And I think we’re slowly trying to battle that I don’t know if I’ll ever go completely. Honestly don’t but I think, I hope we’ll get better at battling it. And again, like for our generation hopefully teaching our children not to judge themselves that way.

Nick Abregu: Is that a big emphasis at the home?

Fi Mims: It is. I think I had a lot of those issues when I was sort of late teens, early 20s which I got over. And I have never really looked back like I still have my bad days and don’t like my thighs. But I don’t let it judge the way I feel about myself or what I do. But particularly having a girl like I don’t talk about the way I look around her or my ways. But you know, she’s 10 going on 11 and she’ll comment on things about her body. And I know that, I can tell that image is important to her. And looking pretty.

Nick Abregu: At such a young age.

Fi Mims: At such a young age because they’re on social media now, you know. They’re on YouTube even just watching Barbie in the Dreamhouse, you know. Like unless you completely show to your kids what she can’t. It’s really impossible to escape that.

Nick Abregu: Yeah. I’ve heard a lot of papers on raising your, especially with girls telling them not that they’re pretty but rather telling that they’re smart. Because when a girl understands that she’s smart, like the world’s her oyster. But when a girl thinks that all she had is her looks, then it’s all dependent on what other people perceive of you.

Fi Mims: Yeah, yeah. So, I continually trying to point out good role models for them, getting them to read the right books. Yeah, absolutely. Trying to use that right language and I think that’s really Even if that’s exactly what you intend to do. I mean I probably slip up all the time. Just not even knowing it because that’s just become our language, the way we talk. And I know my parents, you know, they grew up in that generation of the 60s and 70s and oh my God a lot of the things they say make me cringe and yet I know they’re very like, you know, they’re not racist. They’re over quality and all the rest of it but it’s just the language they use in the time they grew up in. So, I just hope that we get better and better.

Nick Abregu: Yeah. Well if kids are gonna look at us when we’re like, you know, 80s and they were like, uh, there’s mom again. With her tolerant c***.

Fi Mims: Yes, yes. I think we’re pretty; I mean the world is changing. It’s too slow. It’s way too slow just in terms of, you know, all sorts of issues, equality, indigenous rights you know, the meter movement, everything. It’s just so slow. So, it’s part of me that’s like, what the f*** are we doing? Like this is ridiculous. We should be a really progressive country and this should be just done and dusted. And let’s just move on but then you have to understand that it’s just generational. And you’ve, it just takes time, doesn’t it? And you’ve got to boot certain politicians out and get new ones in.

Nick Abregu: Yeah, exactly.

Fi Mims: But I don’t know. I wonder like this is completely shifting our subject matter but I wonder if, like as Australians where we are maybe slightly too apathetic as well. You know, we don’t and maybe that’s because our politicians don’t really impress

us that much or inspire us but I know but I know personally…

Nick Abregu: They just don’t give a s** of these politicians.

Fi Mims: That’s all the games. It’s all the game but I’ve felt really disengaged from politics over the last few years. And I’m, this year thinking, right, I’ve got to get back engage and I think it’s important but it sucks because you just feel like you had so little power.

Nick Abregu: Yes. I agree. What’s one voice gonna do? It seems like nothing.

Fi Mims: But you just have to do it.

Nick Abregu: Yeah, absolutely.

Fi Mims: Anyway, that’s politics though.

Nick Abregu: And in a, life is so short and everything takes so long to change like it feels like we’ll never see anything progressive in our life, in our lifetime.

Fi Mims: And for people that are impacted you know, whether it’s gender issues or, you know, indigenous Australians like, God it must be frustrating. So frustrating because for a privileged white person or you know guys not gay male, that you know straight white male or whatever, you know, you don’t feel it.

Nick Abregu: She call me a gay, a gay male.

Fi Mims: Slipped out. Sorry. I don’t know maybe, maybe that for both sides.

Nick Abregu: It wasn’t my idea to bring that gay man. It wasn’t. Actually, we don’t know

who was gonna be gay? What’s your background? Where, are you Australian?

Fi Mims: Yes. I grew up in Springville-South. For a first ten years of my life and then my parents moved to Berwick. And I grew up the rest went to Uni. I lived in Berwick. My parents had a small business in Noble Park just place to Dandenong for 30-40 years. I don’t know. A long time.

Nick Abregu: What was the business?

Fi Mims: It was a retro vision store. They sold electrical appliances.

Nick Abregu: Oh, really?

Fi Mims: Yes, back in the not so competitive days. Before the big super stores and my dad is a very, very quiet conservative guy but he just had such a loyal customer base that generations of family are coming to him because he was so honest and authentic. So, I suppose I can look at my dad and go, well he knew how to market in an authentic way, you know, he just, he was just honest with people. And yeah, people loved him. So, he was very trustworthy. But I don’t know if that’s what drew me into running my own business. I think I’ve always just been really independent and stubborn. And wanted to run my own show which I don’t know, what part comes to that.

Nick Abregu: What did you, what did you do, you said you worked in corporate. Were you a photographer in corporate?

Fi Mims: No, but I was in the media kind of. I worked for a media monitoring company called Rehame which isn’t around anymore but they monitored the media. So, I literally came out of Uni and got a job on reception. And worked my way up through management and it was a really fun job. Really fast-paced. It was like 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM. So really long day. So, I was there for seven years and I think it felt like I’d aged about 30 years by the end of it. But you’re really fun. Just transcribing we had reporters in there that would listen to the radio and monitor things. And we’d provide our clients with media content so they could react to issues or comments. So yeah, so…

Nick Abregu: Did that help? Seeing the processes that they had, has that helped with your business?

Fi Mims: I don’t think so, really. Nah, I don’t think I really got back and apply that so much. I try to work shorter days. No, I think. I think I just learned as I’ve gone, I think and I’ve I don’t know. I think I’ve just pulled from all sorts of areas of my life. I think people have influenced me more than my previous work history. Just seeing what other people do and being surrounded by people that are doing things well. I don’t know. How about you?

Nick Abregu: Well my engineering days when I used to be an engineer. They… its…

Fi Mims: You’re an engineer?

Nick Abregu: I used to be, Electrical engineer.

Fi Mims: I was gonna say, what sort of? Because when you say engineer like, it’s like a million options in there.

Nick Abregu: The good one. It was a, it was, the pressures that I had it was like a it was like an animal house there. It was like just all these guys testosterone, no one really knew what they were doing. But it was a successful company so, but I couldn’t implement any of that. So, the engineering place was just Like I didn’t really learn any processes in place that I could implement into my own business which was a little bit sad now that I look back on it. Because I’m sure they had like, that would bring in like I think like billion-dollar projects I think we did Qatar’s National Bank. So, I was the I was the young engineer, the graduate engineer working on that project.

Fi Mims: You must have been young because you still look young.

Nick Abregu: I’m 30,

Fi Mims: Must be that peninsula lifestyle. Everyone needs to move down there.

Nick Abregu: Yeah. I was probably twenty- two? And they gave me so much so much responsibility.

Fi Mims: So much opportunity. That’s awesome!

Nick Abregu: And I’m like, uh.

Fi Mims: But that would have help you deal with responsibility now. Running a team and running a business, surely.

Nick Abregu: Well I went traveling for a long time after that. So I lost all the, I was like carefree kind of guy. But that was what taught me a lot.

Fi Mims: Travelling?

Nick Abregu: Yeah, travelling taught me a lot. Yeah. Understanding how people work. How people deal with situations. And I realized like it’s a, and now we can have staff all over the world because we know how to communicate with them. And that’s where I started my business when I was when I was overseas. Because I was running out of money.

Fi Mims: Where were you?

Nick Abregu: I was in Thailand. In Bangkok. And I was like, we’ve only got a thousand dollars left in the account, oh, oh.

Fi Mims: That I’ll start a business so I can stay.

Nick Abregu: And I just hustled my way into getting a client. I had no idea what I was gonna do.

Fi Mims: That’s great! There you go I think you need ingenuity in business thing.

Nick Abregu: Yeah. Well that’s exactly, what they say it’s like an entrepreneur, you jump off a cliff and you build a plane on the way down.

Fi Mims: I think running a business is just solving problems, isn’t it really? One after the other. And you know, do what you love in the middle. So, that’s what I think. I think It’s just learning; you know what my past job did teach me they had a lot of fun there was a lot of, it’s quite a young team. It was always a lot of fun in the office. So, I think it just taught me that I just always wanted to just do something I loved and that was fun.  That’s a pretty brief for a job

Nick Abregu: Do you feel you’re there?

Fi Mims: Yeah, and I have been for 15 years. And I think I’m not someone who was born with a grandfather who handed me a box brownie or you know an instinctive photographic eye. I did not know what I wanted to do for years. And I thought every time I got to the next level in my education, I would find out something would hit me and it never did. I went off and did arts and I study Japanese and psychology.

Nick Abregu: What?

Fi Mims: Crazy? Well I lived in Norway for years as an exchange student between year 11 and year 12. A lot of kids did exchange that, exchange things when I was, well I still do. And I love, I mean I’ve always been a travel bug and I loved that experience so much. And learning the language and communicate in any language. That I came back to Australia I was like, I just want to speak another language. And the Asian tourism boom was on at the time. So, everyone was like you’ve gotta learn Japanese. So, I went off and studied Japanese at Monash and really struggled. Really struggled. I literally joined the dance club and just danced my way through the year. But I was still like I just don’t know what I want to do. And then I’d always loved photography but I just came from a very typical blue color, white color, I don’t know, yeah family. You know, I just didn’t necessarily think I was someone who had a creative mind or eye. So, I suppose even though I loved the idea of it but I never entertained it for years. And I went over, then I did the London thing for two years. Worked on holiday in London and took a lot of snaps while I was there. I went to the Portrait Gallery and that experience is always in my mind is the turning point where I just remember looking at the portraits on the gallery wall thinking I’d just love to be able to do that. That was all that I just, that was what hit me. And when I came back to Melbourne, I dated a guy for a few months. And he just finally handed me a brochure for the Melbourne Camera Club and said, would you just go and do a short course. And that was it. And So, I always feel like I’m a good example of someone who didn’t necessarily follow their passion but I just found my passion. And I worked at it and I have made it work. And I get up every morning even on the s*** days So, feeling so lucky that I get to do what I love. That’s what I love about my job. And I wish everyone was able to do that. Just get up and, you know, mind you I have to say, today’s my first day back at the studio from holidays.

Nick Abregu: And you’ve got a fine.

Fi Mims: I could have stayed home today. Oh, and I got a fine! Oh my gosh. Yes. I got a fine. But anyway, other good things have happened today. That’s all right.

Nick Abregu: Like this podcast?

Fi Mims: Yeah, like this podcast. Yes. And other things so it’s been a great day. It is good. Yes, you do feel like you’ve got to do what you love though and something creative, you know. You’re the same. You get to do new stuff every day. We met really cool people. My clients really inspire me. So, yeah. I love it.

Nick Abregu: Yeah. It’s nice.

Fi Mims: We’re lucky.

Nick Abregu: I love that. Fi, thank you so much for coming on.

Fi Mims: Thank you for letting me just waffle for a bit.

Nick Abregu: Please, that’s what we do.

Fi Mims: It was fun, really fun.

Nick Abregu: It was, wasn’t it?

Fi Mims: And you are by far the highest tech podcast I’ve ever been on. And I’m sure will ever will be on. It’s a great set-up.

Nick Abregu: I’ve tricked you with a few, I’ve just put a few cables on the table.

Fi Mims: Yeah, they’re not even on. Are they? It’s just for show.

Nick Abregu: We got number 24 in the amp. That shows that’s good.

Fi Mims: Now this been really fun. Thank you. Thanks for the opportunity.

Nick Abregu: Thanks everyone for listening.