From the Desk Of: On Being Scrappy
Why big ideas don’t need big budgets
Let’s be honest, most of us aren’t working with million-dollar production budgets. We don’t have six assistants, three lighting techs, or a stylist flying in from Paris. But that’s never been a prerequisite for great work.
Some of my favorite projects weren’t born out of abundance, they were born out of constraint. A last-minute idea, a tiny crew, a friend holding a bounce board. A shoot that came together on borrowed time and intuition.
There’s a beauty in being scrappy. In making it work with what you have. In trusting that a clever idea, a clear eye, and a little bit of resourcefulness can take you further than a stacked crew ever could.
Because the truth is, scrappy work often hits harder. It’s more intimate. More present. More human. You see the fingerprints of real people all over it, and that makes it more powerful, not less.
Some of the most iconic images in culture weren’t created with endless resources, they were made with vision. They were made by people who didn’t wait for perfect conditions. They worked with what they had and made it feel big.
So if you're in the middle of a passion project with no budget... good. That’s where your creative muscles get stronger. That’s where you learn to stretch. That’s where you find your voice.
Big doesn’t mean better. Scrappy doesn’t mean unpolished. Some of the best work comes from the wild constraint of having to figure it out as you go.
It keeps you agile. Hungry. Creative.
And it just might lead you to something great.