Charlie

I can’t stop thinking about Charlie......

 Charlie was the guide (also owner) on our Dune buggy tour that we did while visiting Punta Cana. As you can tell from yesterday’s blog post I was really moved by the tour and how simple life can be. But what I can’t stop thinking about is the decisions Charlie has made for his life. He’s left him homeland of Germany, to move to a tropical island to run his own business and truthfully from what I could tell, a simple life.

I mean really, can you imagine packing up everything you own and moving half way across the world to follow a passion of driving dune buggies? And yes he’s passionate about the dune buggies because if you ‘claim’ you can drive a stick shift and then you don’t drive his cars to the standards he expects, then you will surely be reprimanded for it.

And the fact that he’s so successful is further testament that following his dream was obviously the right decision. As we were heading back to our buggies after swimming in the ocean, I told Charlie that it was a great trip. He told me that he likes to keep it simple. He likes to share what he likes and interests him. I said well obviously it’s working, it’s been an awesome tour so far J

At the end of the tour we headed back to Charlie’s place where his partner made a comment about us being late....oops...easy to lose track of time when you’re having fun. I would find out later that Charlie advised his partner Angela that he loved our group because we showed genuine interest in what he had to say and actually asked questions, OH and drove his cars how he expected :)

That evening when Angela dropped off a CD of photos from the day in which we had purchased, she advised us that the CD’s were not copyrighted, we were free to copy the CD, share the images with each other, on Facebook, and the list goes on because she said our word of mouth was better advertising for them then they could ever pay for.

Wow!!!! Boy did they hit the nail on the head. I was so impressed I immediately updated my Facebook status to link back to their website. And I’m sure once we get around to updating our Trip Advisor profile it will also include a fabulous review for www.xtreme-buggy.com

But this is also exactly why I can’t stop thinking about Charlie. He gets it! He’s doing everything right. It’s made me want to be a better person and a better business owner. It’s reconfirmed that I want to give all my clients not a great experience but the BEST experience when they choose me as their photographer whether it be for portraits of the family dog or their wedding day. It’s made me what to GIVE more to my clients, because really them, YOU being happy is what I truly want. I do this not only because I like to take pictures but because I want people to feel good! Be happy about the people that they are and who they are now, at this moment in their lives.

Thanks Charlie, not only did you cover this girl in mud, show her the simple lives that many folks in Punta Cana live, but you also showed her the true meaning of keeping it simple, and sharing what you love. All the rest just falls into place.