Entrepreneurship

I love filmmaking, but I enjoy running a business even more. Which is a large part of why I enjoy filming. Each project has a different brand message I need to help communicate and it has limited resources I have to navigate to accomplish the goal. For each project I enjoy painting the big picture in my mind and then figuring out the road map of small steps it will take to get there. Financial, time, and tool management are some of my favorite skills to tap into for the success of each job. However, leading a team of individuals and helping them be incredibly successful for both the project and themselves is my greatest joy in my work. I hope to get to step into rolls that carry much more responsibility and opportunity to help those I’m leading to be so much better than I am.

Little Orange Monster Hot Sauce

Late in the summer of 2019 I created a fermented raw organic hot sauce. After a few sample batches I decided to try and turn it into a small business. From that decision I had everything licensed and up and running 2 months later. I wanted to show that I could go into a market I had zero experience in and no connections with. Overcoming many unknown barriers and forging new relationships with local businesses the hot sauce is now being sold in all PCC’s around the puget sound area of Seattle, WA. In 1 year we sold over 1,000 bottles. Its young in its journey and we hope to begin selling in Whole Foods in 2021.

To learn more about this Hot Sauce please visit the website: LOMHotSauce.com

Hearts Last Surrender - Music Album

From 2006-2008 I embarked on a journey of recording a full length music album. I had never done anything like it, but wanted to accomplish it…and do so at a high level. At the time bands like Secondhand Serenade, Mae, and Anberlin were popular among teenagers in the Seattle area. Targeting that demographic I wrote, produced, and recorded this album. At the time it was performing extremely well on MySpace with over 20,000 fans and 400 plays per day. There were some discussions with a record label, but that was not the direction long term I was looking to go.

You can find the album on:
- Spotify / Hearts Last Surrender
- Apple Music / Hearts Last Surrender
- Amazon Music / Hearts Last Surrender

Josh Gunkler Studios - Wedding & Engagement Photography

In 2001 I wanted to build a website to sell a product so that I could learn about business. So I bought a camera to take pictures to try and sell. Soon after friends asked me to photograph their wedding. Seemed strange to me as I never thought of taking photos of people, but I accepted and that quickly lead to a small wedding photography business. I always strived to capture an image that would look like a piece of art or painting. After a couple years and 40 weddings photographed I decided to close the business to move onto other ventures.

Though I did not seek out to be a wedding photographer I am so thankful I was. I learned so much about making creative decisions very quickly and what it means to perform at a high level at all times. This began developing my director, composition, and color correction skill sets. Somewhere after 100,000 pictures taken and countless hours of editing it all started to click and become second nature.