Oct
31
Target The Right Clients With Your Photography
Filed Under Photography Business, Six Figure Photographer, Wedding Photography | 4 Comments
Happy Halloween! This has always been one of my favorite holidays. It’s a great time of year with lots of color, and this year its still in the 70’s here in Denver! No snow tonight for trick or treating.
Every year our daughter gets excited to head out and gather candy. When she was little, we’d take her just to a few in our neighborhood. But as she got older, we started going over to some her friend’s houses. One year a few years back, we ended up in one of the top neighborhoods here in Denver. And it was amazing the Read more
Aug
18
We started out our weekend by having dinner with longtime friends, Cliff and Margie. We met them well over 15 years ago at one of our first bridal shows. Though both of our businesses have changed considerably over the past 15 years, we still enjoy “talking shop” on occasional n
ights out.
As we were sitting there having dinner, I realized how unique their business is. You see a lot of photographers I talk with tell me about their troubles. They lost the once referral source for weddings, and their business is drying up. They are competing with 30 photographers for this year’s senior market - up from 8 last year.
But not from Cliff and Margie. Business is up. Business is booming. They are on track to do one of their best years yet. And this isn’t the first time I’ve heard that from them. They pretty much say that year after year. Yep, their business is growing year after year.
So why can some still be very well into a Six Figure Photographer business, and others are struggling? What’s the difference?
Mainly it’s in the attitude. They do well because they push to succeed. They take what worked from the past years, and continue to make it work again and again.
They also listen. I guarantee they aren’t doing what every other photographer is. In fact, they take what everyone else is doing, and turn that into a bigger plus for using their studio?
Tired of no customer service? They offer nothing but customer service.
Handing over digital files on CD’s? Why?
The list goes on and on. In fact, they are doing exactly what I talk about in my Six Figure Photographer program. As we were developing our program, and becoming Six Figure Photographers ourselves, we met with Cliff and Margie on a monthly basis for our mastermind group. They were developing their business right along side us. And neither of us have ever looked back.
One thing we’re both reading right now: The Success Principles. I’ve had this amazing book for a couple of years now, and I pick it up all the time. I read it through once from beginning to end. Now I pick it up, open it up to a page, and read just that chapter. Usually I end up on a chapter that directly applies to what I need in my business. And I take it to heart, and apply what I learn.
I enjoy books like this because you can always learn from them. The principles apply today, and they’ll apply 5 years from now.
So I challenge you to start thinking differently. Don’t concentrate on the negatives - focus on the positives. What can you do to turn your business around?
Aug
7
Seven Figures? I’m still struggling with Six Figures
Filed Under Six Figure Photographer | Leave a Comment
You open up your email and several come in with the phrase “zero to seven figures in less than a year.”
That would be great. But what if you’ve been struggling to make six figures? Since the average photographer makes just above $50,000 per year, making the leap to seven figures may be a bit of a stretch for most photographers.
Everything in life is in logical s
equence. You have to crawl before you walk. You have to walk before you run.
If you’re earning a salary from a job, you have to understand how to turn your “job” mentality into an entrepreneurial mentality. You have to know how to run a business and bring in the same income as your previous “job”.
Then when you achieve your old salary level, it’s time to move to a Six Figure level. Only when you achieve each of these steps is it even feasible to see the seven figure level in sight.
We started our photography studio while we both held full time jobs. Neither of us came from entrepreneurial families, so we learned from mentors around us. Andrew made the break first after being downsized three times in three years. My break was more difficult because I held a guaranteed paycheck with benefits.
We were definitely at the average income level when I quit my position. Yet we doubled and tripled our profits again and again because we were both working full time on our photography - and we learned from the best.
You can’t do it alone. You have to take cues from others. Guidance is the only way to build your business quickly, and to turn it into the business of your dreams.
Jul
29
I’m a firm believer in using mentors to achieve success in your life. Why create the path yourself when you can follow in someone else’s footsteps?
So anytime you find me relaxing by the pool, driving to a meeting, or with spare minutes on the weekends, I’ll either have a book in hand or be listening to an audio file on my iPod. (And of course lots of training seminars!)
I was introduced to a man a few weeks ago, and decided to listen to his tape series. If you believe in laws of attraction, you may be interested as well.
So last night on my way home to and from my Mastermind group, I listened to part 4 in the series by David Neagle. I’ve learned a lot from the entire series, but one thing he said made me stop the program, and sit and think for awhile.
And of course restructure it for my photographers!
Think for a moment about what brings you satisfaction with your business (or your dreams of starting a photography business.) Chances are it’s the artwork itself. You love using your camera to take photographs. You love looking through the viewfinder, knowing you’re about to capture a perfect image. You love opening the digital file, enhancing it, printing it, and displaying it for your customer. Your pleasure comes from the entire process of creating a work of art. That’s where your passion lies.
Now let me ask you one question.
How do you feel about selling your photography?
Did you just tense up? Did you think of a used car salesman? Did you think high pressure? Did you think that’s the worst part about being in business for yourself?
In order to be in business - especially if you strive to be one of my Six Figure Photographers - you have to get just as much pleasure from selling your work as you do from creating your work.
I remember one wedding in particular that Andrew and I did. We flew several thousand miles to attend a weekend long event. We attended the rehearsal dinner, and a full day at the wedding itself. It was nothing short of phenomenal. The bride and groom were ecstatic to have us there - photographs meant the world to them.
We were the true professionals. And we knew each image we captured would be a treasure in their final album. We knew what to take, and how we would ultimately place it in each page layout. We let the bride and groom relax, and allowed them to enjoy the day without a lot of interruptions. We had guests tell us how beautiful the images were - and they hadn’t even seen them yet! They just loved the entire process, and KNEW they would turn out perfectly.
Needless to say they did, and the bride and groom purchased a several volume set. Because selling was as important as the images themselves, and we sold constantly along the way with everything we did.
That’s being a Six Figure Photographer. Want to be one too?
Jul
23
A Photographer Makes How Much?
Filed Under Six Figure Photographer | 1 Comment
I haven’t looked up statistics on salaries for photographers in awhile, so I went on the hunt this morning to see what the averages are.
According to Indeed, the average salary for a photographer now stands at $52,000 in the U.S. That average also stands in other countries.
But what really caught my eye was where photographers are making the most money. Work online photographers are bringing in the highest income - $60,000 per year!
This particular site doesn’t tell you what people are doing when they list work online photography as their job title. But I can guess. How about stock photography - selling to the dozens of stock photo houses online? What about fine art photography - people that start up galleries of their images, and sell them as fine art? What about commercial photography - people that photograph businesses and products for online marketing possibilities?
The lowest - studio photography and children photography coming in at $17,000. A lot of this I’m assuming comes from the fact that most children’s photographers are part time. It also comes from most studio/children’s photographers don’t charge their true value.
Are you ready to go online with your photography business?
Two courses that can help you break these odds are Stock Photography and Six Figure Photographer. I broke the odds - will you?
Jul
22
Your dream has always been photographing. Your true desire is to become a full time photographer, and have the lifestyle you’ve always dreamed of.
But somewhere along the way you’ve been caught up in chaos.
- Photographing seven days of the week.
- Having client after client purchase just the bare minimum.
- Wondering where your next client will come from.
- Lowering your prices because everyone else is doing it too.
When will it all end?
Have you ever had someone tell you to double your prices and you’ll actually gain more clients?
It’s true.
Instead of following in the footsteps of non-successful photographers, make a change and follow in the footsteps of successful ones.
Successful photographers know:
- People that love photography don’t care about price.
- Price conscious photographers don’t take the best photos possible; they’re too worried about survival.
- The more you concentrate on your photography and your final products, the better your clients will perceive you to be.
- The value comes from your expertise and your creative eye; not from the prices of your 8×10s.
Jul
15
Come To The First Episode of Six Figure Photographer
Filed Under Photography Training, Six Figure Photographer | Leave a Comment
After months of talking about it, playing with podcasts and different Internet radio sites, and talking with “jillions” of people, I’ve finally scheduled my first episode of Six Figure Photographer.
We’ll be chatting about how to build up your photography studio and tips to turn it into a Six Figure success. Plan on joining us now - or listen in to the recording if you can’t make it to the show. And if you have any questions ahead of time, please email me. If I don’t get to all of your questions on the first episode, stay tuned to Episode 2!
Jun
24
How many true fans do you need to have a successful photography studio?
A true fan is someone that doesn’t just buy from you - they love you. They follow you all the time. They buy whatever you are selling. They are lifetime clients.
But what does it take to get enough lifetime clients to have a successful studio? Kevin Kelly says it best in his post on 1000 True Fans.
In his post he specifically talks about an artist needs to grow his list to 1000 true fans in order to become successful. In theory, if you can sell $100 to 1000 true fans every year, you’ll easily become a six figure business.
Sounds easy, yes?
But the problem lies in business and marketing skills. Frankly, some people just aren’t cut out for finding and keeping true fans. Kelly says:
A more important caution: Not every artist is cut out, or willing, to be a nurturer of fans. Many musicians just want to play music, or photographers just want to shoot, or painters paint, and they temperamentally don’t want to deal with fans, especially True Fans. For these creatives, they need a mediator, a manager, a handler, an agent, a galleryist — someone to manage their fans. Nonetheless, they can still aim for the same middle destination of 1,000 True Fans. They are just working in a duet.
For those that prefer to “do” their art, not their business, it’s time to hire someone that can help you find your True Fans.
Blog Updates
To stay up with the news, click the RSS feed logo button.-
-
Blogroll
