Creative OperationsManager.

The operating model

This was the exact shape of fractional work: embedded, ongoing financial operations across distinct creative businesses, each with its own records, workflows, and reporting needs.

The companies

Cahall Media, Ashlee Emerson Photography, Aztec Printing & Design, Viamark Advertising's Delaware branch, David Heitur of Dream Art Media Group, and filmmaker Thor Freudenthal.

The financial controls

I categorized transactions, reconciled accounts, kept the books clean, managed budgets, and built QuickBooks reports. For Thor Freudenthal, I tracked receipts from several countries and converted the currencies before reporting.

Plan

I worked with the library’s Marketing Director on access, built the call sheet and shot list, and did the reading: Palmer’s career, the book, the angles worth pursuing. Hired one videographer to cover the talk. Unpaid press assignment; treated like a paid one.

Deliver

Shot the talk, edited overnight, wrote the feature. Ran the Sunday-night review with the library’s team and held the Monday 10 a.m. publication window.

Result

Hundreds of shares. The library used the coverage to bring preorder customers back in to collect their books. The photos did a second job after publication.

The operation

I built and ran the operating system end to end: set the monthly schedule, briefed each contractor, managed every handoff, and held the delivery cadence for 18 months. One contractor handled live performance video, two handled interviews, and one built the graphic layouts. On the first Wednesday of every month, I also photographed the Open Mic Jam Session at Wilmington Public Library.

The constraint

The operation ran with zero budget. I managed the team and the monthly cycle without paid media, and every featured artist received professional images at no cost.

The reach

More than 100,000 Instagram profile views a month for 18 months straight. The photographs moved through social posts, flyers, press kits, and investor decks that helped fund bigger projects.

The story

I turned the 18 months into an essay on artist development, local visibility, and the relationships that keep a music scene alive.

The operation

Each month, I manage the event production cycle, photograph the event, deliver the edited gallery within 48 hours, run the content calendar, and prepare the campaign materials.

The sponsorship work

I wrote and designed the sponsorship decks that secured the CC’s Rooftop booking during Miami Music Week. I also produced the press release that supported ticket sales.

The engagement model

The work is recurring by design: one monthly operating rhythm that connects live production, post-production, content planning, and campaign delivery.

Plan

Phil Lee invited me to cover it for Glass & Gain. I researched the artists on my day, picked the sets to follow, and built the shot list around the festival schedule.

Deliver

Shot it solo on a tight festival schedule, edited overnight, wrote the feature over the weekend. Timed the gallery and the article to ship together.

Result

Roughly a dozen collaborative posts, tens of thousands of views for the festival, and a reason to watch the next one.

Plan

Asked Katerina Sky for access, researched the series and the lineup, built shot lists and artist profiles for the night.

Deliver

Shot through the night, edited overnight, delivered the full gallery and article to the artists by 8 a.m. Held the approval window so the post went live around 10.

Result

Tens of thousands of views on the collaborative posts. Katerina Sky, Ben Arsenal, and Sky Society made the photos their profile pictures. Katerina booked me again. The simplest metric there is.