Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Vincent Ledvina. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Vincent, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
My journey with photography, the aurora, and space physics started on October 31, 2003. One of the strongest geomagnetic storms on record caused auroras to appear as far south as my childhood home in St. Paul, Minnesota, and I remember seeing the shimmering curtains of green and white as I walked home from trick-or-treating. While I didn’t go home the next day and start studying physics, I believe that night embedded a latent passion for aurora chasing that eventually resurfaced later in life.
During my teenage years, I was active in Boy Scouts and would spend a lot of time outdoors – I loved it. When my dad gave me a camera, I soon learned I could capture the beauty of nature around me and share those views with other people. I transferred this passion to astrophotography and auroras after seeing the lights one night in northern Minnesota – the memories of that fateful night in 2003 resurfaced, and I was hooked! The rest is history, and now living in Alaska full-time under the lights, I have fully embraced the aurora chaser life.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
Currently, I am beginning graduate school at the University of Alaska Fairbanks working towards a Ph.D. in Space Physics. On the side, I run a photography business and small company called Substorm Studios LLC where I sell prints and aurora merch. The moment I am finished with classes and research, I am in full aurora chasing mode – watching geomagnetic activity and cloud cover to find where and when the northern lights will appear near Fairbanks, Alaska. While I have seen hundreds of auroras over the past year, I am still motivated by the natural beauty of the night sky and the awe-inspiring feeling it gives me. Every night is different, and the aurora can do strange and unexpected things, despite our best efforts at understanding and predicting them. Second to their natural beauty is the opportunity of sharing the views of the night sky with others and inspiring them to get out and experience nature. I do this through social media and e-books which explain the fundamentals of aurora chasing and aurora photography. I didn’t have a business for quite some time – I thought monetizing the auroras would take away from my message, but after I had requests from my audience to purchase my photos as prints and for more aurora merch, I made the decision to start a small business to support my hobby.
Over the past month, I’ve created an online shop on my website vincentledvinashop.com where I sell prints and e-books, and currently, I am transitioning my Redbubble storefront to Shopify to sell calendars, coffee mugs, stickers, and photo books. On my website theauroraguy.com, I post monthly blog articles and provide educational guides on aurora chasing and photography. This year, I want to develop an ecosystem of products to support my work and bring the beauty of auroras to peoples’ homes and lives.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Motivation, work ethic, and vision are the three most important qualities to have if you’re starting a small business or want to accomplish something. Motivation or passion is the number one reason why you should be in the game – if you’re not passionate, you will have no reason to get something done, and if you’re only doing something to turn a profit without being personally invested in the cause, people will realize and you will lose credibility. You may still make money, but no one will respect you.
My advice is that before you fully invest your time, money, and energy into something, make sure you are doing it for the right reasons. Bounce ideas off your family and friends and make sure from the outside looking in, it seems like a cohesive brand with a story and a mission. Ask yourself, “Why am I doing this? What are my passions? Does my passion align with my business?”
Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?
Time management is my biggest issue right now. As a full-time student and full-time researcher, it’s hard to find time to create and curate content for social media and run my sales channels. I am still figuring out how to balance everything, but over the last couple months, I have realized I need to expand my personnel and outsource a lot of the tedious day-to-day of running my photography shop. For example, this summer, I hired a web designer to build my website and online storefront. While the overhead cost was higher than doing it myself, it relieved a lot of stress and let me focus my time on creating content and thinking of a better marketing strategy for my products. I think for any small business, it’s good to realize that sometimes, you can’t do it all yourself and you need to hire others to help you out. If you’re worried about losing money upfront, remember that if the business idea is sound, that early decision will pay dividends later.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.theauroraguy.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vincentledvina/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vincentledvina/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Vincent_Ledvina
Image Credits
The aurora selfie (with the auora in the background) was captured by Nathan Klok
