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The latest Photo Archive News 'brief' interview.
When did you start in the picture library business?
8th January 2002, when the concept of fotoLibra hit me like a watershed
What were you doing before that?
Having a pleasant and relatively lucrative time as a book publishing consultant — also writing books on architecture and selling agreeable listed buildings.
How many employees do you have?
Four as I write, plus three great freelancers who seem to earn more than I do.
Describe your day
So that our plans for world domination may soon be realised, I relax with my friends the venture capitalists, our shareholders, lawyers, Customs & Excise, HSBC staff, the Inland Revenue, Welsh Assembly business mentors and three separate accountancy firms before counting the cash in and then handing it all over to them.
How involved are you in every day picture sales decisions?
We’re small, new and flexible enough for me to check each picture deal as it goes through, except of course for the ones downloaded directly from the website via credit card purchases.
Is the future totally digital?
No. But ours is.
Do you have any advice for a new picture library?
Join fotoLibra as a Partner Member instead and save yourself the entire cost of set-up, the legal, accountancy and banking fees as well as digital storage, colocation, bandwidth, more huge IT charges plus all that expensive marketing.
Which picture library web site has caught your eye recently?
www.fotoLibra.com, of course. And www.yuridojc.com.
Which papers do you read regularly?
Guardian, Telegraph, Times, Independent, Western Mail.
What activities do you pursue when you are not at work?
I drink, I smoke, I go out with women. There is no hope for me.
Which system do you use for your online library?
We needed to offer more than other picture libraries, such as a colour search, so we built it ourselves from scratch.
Is it web based?
Yes.
How many pictures do you sell overnight directly through your web site?
It’s never enough, and it works perfectly. Give it a go.
What percentage of your outgoings do you spend on marketing the library?
We intended to spend £5 out of every £1 we raise, but some staff members have now started whimpering about food and shelter.
Where do you live?
Harlech and Crouch End.
Family status?
My partner Yvonne and I are childless by choice. Instead we have a dog, a cat and a tortoise.
How are your camera skills?
Good, with buildings on fine days.
What’s hot, what’s new?
Oh, please — fotoLibra of course!!
Any last thought?
Can I go to bed yet?