Lately, I’m on the phone and email—earlier than ever before and later than ever before—speaking with my colleagues, clients and friends to search for solutions and ways we can help each other. As uncertain as the future may be for every individual and business alike, I’m extremely hopeful and excited for the challenges and changes to come to so many industries.

It’s clear the grant and loan programs are scrambling to send out aid and support, unable to deliver on the demand to their promises. All of their websites are crashing and phone lines are overloaded and collapsed. While there may still be a chance for relief funding to be sorted, I have been focusing on the future with my peers, sharing ideas and new (and sometimes rogue) approaches.

While no one knows for certain what the future will bring, we are certainly cautious that needs and resources are changing daily as we try to navigate back to the steady and familiar course of commerce that we once knew.

Time to Reset

It feels crazy to think it—and as I hear myself say it—even more so. But it is an exciting time for entrepreneurs and creatives. A huge reset button has been hit and nearly the entire world, it feels, is back at zero. Basically, we’ve all been given a big old pot of dirt, but it’s up to us to plant seeds in that dirt. The seeds we plant are our skills and resources. The water we pour on the seeds are our routines and rituals. The only thing that will produce anything fruitful is consistent watering and care to these seeds in the pot of dirt that we have been given.

The Future Starts Now

It will be important now, more than ever, to stay focused and more determined. As a self-employed creative, I try to keep the hyphens used in my title to a minimum. Don’t try to take on too many tasks in different directions. Keep your finger on the pulse of society and how our commerce is changing globally. Through all of this, the best thing you can do is, is trust your gut.

In an effort to continue to support the brands I’ve worked with the past eight years in New York and abroad, I’m determined to lead the response to the shifts in my industry. We are changing our day-to-day routines, the way we communicate, the information we share, the support we give. We’re all ready to get back out there when the time is right and do what we do best and pound the pavement.

So ask yourself, what can you do to stay connected to your clients right now? In an effort to remain available as an extension to our clients’ brands—as well as support their creative and communication processes—my team has come up with a list of remote services, including things we already have resources for, to provide our clients, including photo retouching and other remote workflow solutions, video editing on short or long-form brand communication (IGTV, IG Stories, You Tube, etc.), creative direction (commercial and editorial concepting and storyboarding) and more. This remote work will take up the overwhelming majority of our time the next weeks and I’m looking forward to chipping away at the projects now on the table with my clients from afar.

Getting Back to Work, Safely

As soon as we feel that we can accommodate a more routine interaction with talent and clients on set, my studio operations will be enhanced. Daily disinfecting will done by a professional on top of our routine cleaning regiment. Additional PPE and sanitary products will be supplied, as well as enhanced guidelines with a clear and responsible message for the safety of everyone.

We are all facing challenges but we’re coming up with solutions as well! By sharing these processes, trials and accomplishments, the hope is that we will all come back to the workforce stronger, more intelligent and emotionally focused with a beautiful, brand new set of priorities and opportunities.

Andrew Day is a fashion and beauty photographer based in New York City. He is known for his commercial work with Maybelline, Victoria’s Secret and Ralph Lauren, as well as his celebrity portraits of Lionel Richie, Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra. From his beginnings—composing images amongst the madness backstage at runway shows across the globe—he has translated a quick, reactive eye and intuition to remain a collaborative image maker with the world’s top brands and talent in entertainment and fashion.